I really don't think that is true. That sounds more like that League of American Wheelmen made-up and rewritten history. I think if you research road building... you may find a completely different history.

Although good story telling has rarely depended on accurate information. Since (as I am sure you know) your "Victorian Era clothing".... doesn't fit into what most historians would consider the Industrial Revolution (1760-1850). And barely slips into the broader use of the term (1700-1900).