In April 2010, pieces of three-inch-thick pine planks were found by construction crews under East Genesee in downtown Saginaw. The planks were found at various depths but are believed to be connected to the historic plank road built in the 1850s by Saginaw founder Norman Little. The road ran from Saginaw to Flint and was built when towns and cities all over Michigan were celebrating opening plank roads. The craze did not last long as the roads, which were operated under a toll system, were not making a profit. By 1900 only 23 of the 202 plank roads were in operation.