40 miles of bad road

[G S C]

Am attempting to find the earliest cite for '40 miles of bad road', or
'forty miles of bad road'.  Personally, I recall the phrase being used
in the very early 1960s, in northern Delaware.  Duane Eddy had a hit
tune that topped the charts in June 1959.  Had to have been used before
then.

Is the phrase a creation of the age of the automobile?  Or, were roads,
before that time, uniformly bad, and not in need of note (as being
bad)?  With only the good roads, the exceptions, being noted?

Anyway, the following are some web sites that carry mention of at least
'miles of bad road'.

George S. Cole   gscole at ark.ship.edu
Shippensburg University

Search on 'miles of bad road', at:
(at least a June 1959 date is given on the 1st one below)
http://www.universalonestop.com/chap8.asp
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/~genevinc/ERAB.html
http://www.americanmusicclassics.com/thefifthies.htm

100 miles of bad road at:
http://www.presidiopress.com/catalog/vietnam/Vietnam1.htm
http://www.seattletimes.com/news/lifestyles/index_100498.html

33 miles of bad road, at:
http://www.bmwnorcal.org/norcal/bookshelf/lost_coast.html

"proverbial" 20 miles at:
http://sd.znet.com/~schester/grand_canyon/supai_fact_sheet.html

15 miles at:
http://home.att.net/~rldp/9809rmm.htm

10 miles at:
http://www.phillybikeclub.org/ridelist/aug98.html

8 miles at:
http://www.climber.org/pcs/Reports/1996/uncompahgre.html