The Lander Trail was unusual among western emigrant routes because, unlike earlier trails that evolved from Indian paths, it was surveyed, engineered, and constructed by the US Government as the Lander Trail New Wagon Road. In 1858, a crew of 115 men built 230 miles of new trail, moving more than 62,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock, clearing 34 miles of heavy timber and willows, and completing the work ahead of schedule and under budget at a cost of $40,260. Using techniques learned from railroad building in the East, laborers used mules to pull plows that broke the hard soil, then moved and leveled earth with mule-drawn buck and scoop scrapers, while men with picks and shovels worked through rocky patches. According to road superintendent Lander, the workers were paid $30 per month, and the crew included lumbermen and bridge builders from Maine, Mormons from Salt Lake City, Utah, and destitute men encountered along the road whom he felt compelled to feed and shelter.