The most famous Roman road is the Appian Way (Via Appia) between Rome and Capua, built by the censor Appius Claudius (later, known as Ap. Claudius Caecus 'blind') in 312 B.C., site of his descendant Clodius Pulcher's murder. In Northern Italy, the censor Flaminius made arrangements for another road, the Via Flaminia (to Ariminum), in 220 B.C. after the Gallic tribes had submitted to Rome. As Rome expanded, it built many roads in the provinces for military and administrative purposes. The first roads in Asia Minor were built in 129 B.C., when Rome inherited Pergamum.
Milestones on the roads give the date of construction. During the Empire, the emperor's name was included. The roads did not have a foundation layer. Stones were laid directly on topsoil. Where the path was steep, steps were created. There were different paths for vehicles and for pedestrian traffic.
Sources:
Colin M. Wells, Roger Wilson, David H. French, A. Trevor Hodge, Stephen L. Dyson, David F. Graf "Roman Empire" The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996
"Etruscan and Roman Roads in Southern Etruria," by J. B. Ward Perkins. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 47, No. 1/2. (1957), pp. 139-143.
