1834. Although the Turnpike was much needed and well traveled, the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company did not have the funds to maintain the road. Early maps show the route as "Mud Pike." Angry at the poor, muddy condition of the road, particularly in the rainiest seasons, travelers occasionally destroyed tollgates. The Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company was disbanded February 28, 1843 when the Ohio legislature repealed the act that incorporated it. Two years later an act was passed that established the road as a public highway. US 23 was established in 1926 as part of the original U.S. highway system. The original route began at US 52 in Portsmouth, Ohio, and followed the old turnpike north to Sandusky, where it continued north to end at US 31 in Mackinaw City, Michigan. In 1929, US 23 was extended from Portsmouth, Ohio into Kentucky, ending at Pikeville. The following highways form the original route of US 23: Former U.S. Highway 23 Business through Pikeville Kentucky Route 1428, Allen to Prestonsburg Kentucky Route 321, Prestonsburg to north of Paintsville Kentucky Route 2565 into Louisa from the south Kentucky Route 3, Louisa to south of Catlettsburg Kentucky Route 3294, Catlettsburg The southern terminus remained in Pikeville for only two years. In 1930, US 23 was extended to Atlanta. US 23 was extended into Florida along U.S. Route 1 in 1951. When the 20th Street Expressway was built around downtown Jacksonville, U.S. Route 1 was moved but US 23 remained. It has never changed its route in Florida, though at one time it was planned to extend south, maybe to Fort Myers via US 17, SR 19, SR 33, US 98, US 17, and SR 31. In the mid to late 20th century when the coal industry declined in the Appalachian Mountains, US 23 was often dubbed the Hillbilly Highway, and it was said the three "R's" of the region were "reading, writing and Route 23", as workers migrated to northern industrial cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, or Chicago. The Dwight Yoakam song "Readin', Rightin', RT.23" and the Steve Earle song "Hillbilly Highway" in particular reflect this heritage. In 1985, US 23 was upgraded to interstate standards on the initiative of Eddie Williams, chief executive officer of economic development for Johnson City, Jonesborough and Washington County, Tenn. "The original idea for that project happened in 1985, when two young men [later named as