U.S. Route 40
mi km
UT 174.54 280.89
CO 496.44 798.94
KS 423.67 681.83
MO 255.05 410.46
IL 159.99 257.48
IN 143.95 231.67
OH 228.37 367.53
WV 15.87 25.54
PA 82.46 132.71
MD 220.88 355.47
DE 17.18 27.65
NJ 64.28 103.45
Route description
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east-west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the first U.S. Highways created in 1926 and its original termini were in San Francisco, California and Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the western United States, US 40 was functionally replaced by Interstate 80 (I-80), resulting in the route being truncated multiple times. US 40 currently ends at a junction with I-80 in Silver Summit, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City. Starting at its western terminus in Utah, US 40 crosses a total of 12 states, including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. US 40 passes through or by major cities including Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Baltimore, and Wilmington. Three former and four current state capitals lie along the route. [a] For much of its route, US 40 runs parallel to or concurrently with several major Interstate Highways: I-70 from Colorado to Washington, Pennsylvania; and again from Hancock, Maryland to Baltimore; I-64 in parts of Missouri and Illinois; I-68 along the Maryland Panhandle; and I-95 from Baltimore to New Castle, Delaware. The route was built on top of several older highways, most notably the National Road and the Victory Highway. The National Road was created in 1806 by an act of Congress to serve as the first federally funded highway construction project.