The Cayuga Bridge Company was formed in 1797 to build a bridge from Cayuga to the west shore of Cayuga Lake as a connecting link to the Great Genesee Road or Turnpike. Costing $150,000 and taking 18 months to construct, the Cayuga Bridge opened in 1800. At one mile and 3 rods long and 22 feet wide, it was then the longest bridge in America and possibly the world, and it allowed travelers to avoid the Montezuma marshes. After its completion in 1800, it fell a few years later in 1804, but it was rebuilt in 1812-1813 and again in 1833. It was abandoned in 1857. For years, this noted bridge served as a popular dividing point between the East and West, with continual travel on the Genesee Turnpike and across Cayuga Lake Bridge by stage coaches carrying passengers, heavy wagons drawn by oxen, horseback riders, and people crossing on foot with bundles.