These roads were simply a narrow clearing through brushes that was not paved. Several roads bearing the King's Highway name connected Philadelphia to Dover and points south. Most of the colonial roads im Delaware ran east–west, connecting coastal ports to inland areas. In the 18th century, the King's Highway ran between Lewes and Wilmington via Dover. By the later part of that century, a post road ran from Horn Town, Virginia north across the Delmarva Peninsula towards Philadelphia. In Delaware, this road passed through Selbyville, Georgetown, Milford, Dover, and Wilmington. During the course of the 18th century, the road network in Delaware became more developed and provided links to waterways, which were still the primary mode of transportation at the time. In the 19th century, private turnpike companies constructed and improved a few of the more important roadways in the state. Turnpikes were chartered by the state and privately financed, with tolls collected at toll houses every few miles along the road. The first turnpike in Delaware was the Newport Gap Pike, which was built in 1808 and completed to Wilmington in 1811. Many other turnpikes were constructed in northern New Castle County radiating from Wilmington and connected the industrial city to agricultural areas. The turnpikes were built as straight roads in order to reduce costs. Many of these roads were constructed with a macadam surface. During the course of the 19th century, new methods of transportation such as canals and railroads came about and there was less investment on roads. The revenues of the turnpike companies fell and roads became more of a local concern. At the turn of the 20th century, the automobile was introduced and a push came for better roads to be constructed. In 1903, the state attempted to create a state highway system by passing a state aid law where both the state and county would finance improvements to roads. However, this law was repealed in 1905 due to public outcry. In 1908, Thomas Coleman DuPont proposed a modern road that was to run the length of the state from Selbyville north to Wilmington as part of a philanthropic measure. This roadway was planned to improve travel and bring economic development to Kent and Sussex counties. The DuPont Highway was to be modeled after the great boulevards of Europe and was to have a wide right-of-way consisting of a wide roadway for automobiles flanked by dual trolley lines, wide roadways for heavy vehicles, wide unpaved roadways for horses, and sidewalks. Utilities were to be buried underground below the horse roadways.