West of Frostburg, travelers climbing into the mountains entered the longest straightaway on the National Road between Cumberland and Wheeling, West Virginia, a long ribbon of road they called the "Long Stretch." In 1921, a new Federal Highway Act provided funds to pave America’s old roads, and this section of the National Road, in use for over a century, became part of U.S. Route 40, the "Ocean to Ocean Highway." Just west of the Long Stretch, a deep forest of pines known as the Shades of Death stirred travelers’ imaginations, and Winthrop Sergeant in Pioneer Roads portrayed it as a dark, empty, and foreboding place. Along this route, hotels and restaurants became landmarks for pleasure travelers; the New Colonial Inn opened here in 1932, offering automobile service, home cooked food, overnight cabins, a gift shop, and picnic grounds, and though the tourist cabins are gone, travelers can still enjoy the food.