Long Island Motor Parkway

The Long Island Motor Parkway, also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway, opened in 1908 as the first road in the world built specifically for automobiles and is considered a direct ancestor of the modern motorway. William Kissam Vanderbilt II financed it privately to give him a controlled track for his Vanderbilt Cup races. The roughly 77-kilometre route had no level crossings, used bridges and underpasses, was paved in concrete, and operated as a toll road for the wealthy. New York State took it over in 1938 and closed it. Today preserved sections survive as cycle and walking paths on Long Island, including the Long Island Motor Parkway Trail in Queens; a few of the original toll bridges still stand and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.