When you're driving around the midwest, take a look at the roads around you. You may notice an underpass or overpass every mile in some areas. It may seem odd if you're not used to it, but it's by intentional design.
Back in the original days of the United States, when the country was combing over its newly won or purchased territories, organization was needed. The land ordinances, created by the Founding Fathers, called for the land to be split into square mile chunks. Four 160-acre parcels would then be allocated, with a chunk reserved every now and again for a "city center" to handle official affairs. Postal roads would be established along the boundaries in many cases to help the land prospectors access these lands.
Today, evidence of this grid setup is still seen and very commonly used today. In North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, farm roads about a mile apart are given numbers, sequentially increasing from their starting point of the state border. This starting point can vary in other states. In Indiana, when driving along US Route 20, the numbers are a percentage of a mile north and south of the highway itself. In Detroit Michigan, counting begins at the Detroit River, separating the United States from Canada. If you've ever wondered where the term "8 Mile" originates, it references this grid setup, being 8 miles from the start of the grid. In Ohio, letters and other names may be used for these farm roads, but the grid still very much exists.
The grid in these areas isn't perfect, either. In some cases, a land owner will own a couple square miles in succession, and will let the road going through their land fall out of maintenance. Not to fear, the grid still remains mostly intact, and there's another intersection down the road. Maybe, as you're driving along a state or US highway, you'll have to take a detour. If you use their signs, they're take you sometimes 20 miles out of the way to another US or state road. Why waste the gas, especially if you're trailing your RV with you? Trust the grid. Use the farm roads. They're able to handle a small amount of heavier traffic, as these farms have to make deliveries somehow. Be mindful that a number of these are dirt roads, so take weather and kicking up dust into account. Also try to keep to just the area needed. Some municipalities ban through truck traffic as a result of the road being a good shortcut, so keep local ordinances in mind.
So the next time you're following your internal compass in the midwest, know that you'll always have a way to get there. All you need to do is trust the grid.
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