Through the first half of the twentieth century, increasing automobile traffic and the transportation demands of industry and the armed forces during two world wars drove highway improvements in western Virginia. In 1934, plans were made to replace the nineteenth-century Front Royal and Luray turnpike through Page County with a modern roadway designated U.S. Route 340. Completed in 1936, the new highway provided a safer route through the county and ran in a nearly straight line from Overall to Gooney Run, including large-span bridges such as the one at Overall Run. The highway and other roads constructed between the wars were essential to the Shenandoah Valley's expanding industries, where abundant iron ore, limestone, and charcoal had long supported iron production, and Page County's tanneries received huge quantities of bark, with more than one hundred tons delivered daily to the nearby Delford Tannery at the height of production. Page County tourism also benefited from U.S. Route 340 and the amenities that followed, as the county served as a gateway to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, where visitation soared between the wars. Residents recognized the economic opportunities offered by the improved highway and accommodated growing numbers of visitors by building lodges, cabins, campgrounds, restaurants, motels, and shops along the road, helping earn Page County the nickname "Cabin Capital of Virginia."