"The later turnpike was planned and constructed by Virginia partly as a result of the rival activities of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland to secure the advantage in transportation facilities for the trade of the West; and was especially regarded as a rival of the National Road which was opened from Cumberland to Wheeling in 1818, and with which parts of Virginia obtained better connection in 1830 by a stage line established from Winchester to Cumberland. It was built across the Appalachian Divide with the hope of securing commercial superiority, and was the main thoroughfare between East and West through northern Virginia."
