 The first limited access highways were "Parkways", so called because of their often park-like landscaping and, in the metropolitan New York City area, they connected the region's system of parks.When the German autobahns built in the 1930s introduced higher design standards and speeds, road planners and road-builders in the United States started developing and building toll roads to similar high standards.The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which largely followed the path of a partially built railroad, was the first, opening in 1940.