Trade Routes

[RandyT0001]

In Bullets and Bluegrass the KFS uses the Ohio River as a trade route where riverboats travel. I'm going to assume that the KFS uses paddlewheel steamboats both below and above the Falls of the Ohio (rapids) situated at Louisville where overland portage, possibly by steam locomotive railway, of cargo is used to connect the upper Ohio to the lower Ohio.

Are there established trade routes in your setting? Do they use waterways for transport? What type of craft is used to transport cargo and people, steamboats, IC engine riverboats? Are there entities (like the Corps of Engineers, etc.) that keep the waterways clear of snags and other obstacles? Do rivertowns undertake this task to keep the local section of the river clear of snags, etc.?

Do you have specified roads, maybe old interstate roadways or old US highways, for trade routes? Are these roads dirt roads, gravel roads or paved roads? How wide are these trade roads, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet? About how long are longest single span bridges, 50 feet, 100 feet? What is the most common type of bridge, stone arch, steel (or wood) truss, wood trestle, etc.? Who maintains them? Do travelers on the road pay a toll?

For roads how large is the vehicle, typically, a cart, a wagon, a stagecoach, a 10 wheeled van truck, etc.? How often does said vehicle transverse the trade route past a town, once per day, twice a week, once per week, twice per month, once per month, etc.?