At the time of incorporation, the federal National Road had not yet reached Columbus. Other than trails, the main shipping route for the Great Lakes region to the rest of the nation to the east of the Allegheny Mountains suitable for trade was via the rivers leading to the Great Lakes and from there, to points east along the Erie Canal and south on the Hudson River to the major port of New York City. Winter rendered transportation over the Alleghenies impracticable for large shipments, and the Erie Canal was subject to freezing. The only alternative winter shipping route to points east was a lengthy circuitous southern route by riverboat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans for transhipment east. The entire regions adjacent to the Great Lakes lacked waterway access to the Ohio River for shipment of their products. Ohio had a rather extensive network of canals under construction by this time, to provide such access, but their waters also froze in winter.