Ray Shepherd, age 9, of Willingboro, N.J., for his question:

HOW LONG IS THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY?

A highway that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean is called the Lincoln Highway, in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. The road stretches from New York City to San Francisco, for a total distance of 3,384 miles.

The highway is now called U.S. 30.

The idea for a coast to coast road was suggested in 1912. An organization called the Lincoln Highway Association was established to help finance the major highway project.

The Lincoln Highway followed many old and famous trails. It started with the old colonial road between New York City and Philadelphia and then the Pennsylvania Road on to Pittsburgh.

The road continued west a bit south of Chicago and then on to Omaha, Neb. It next took the route of the old Oregon Trail to Salt Lake City and continued on the old Pony Express trail into California.