crossway n [Appar either because it is made of logs laid crossways, or because it is a way that crosses a swampy area, but perh in origin a folk-etym for causeway] Cf crossway v, pole road n 1
A road, usu through a swampy area, supported by closely spaced transverse logs or poles.
1794 in 1971 Denny Military Jrl. 200 PA, There must be a cross-way for four or five miles, and some of the old bridges repaired, the root holes filled. 1822 AL Genl. Assembly Acts 1821 46, Be it enacted . . , That if any person or persons shall obstruct or demolish any such bridges or crossways [etc]. [Side note:] Causways, toll bridges, not to be injured. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69, Crossway, causeway. 1841 Knickerbocker 18.499 GA, Oh the delights of travelling on a Georgia road! Those picturesque gulleys; those corduroy cross-ways . . ! 1846 Crawford Hist. White Mts. 97 nNH, We now found . . a crossway which had been laid down for many years and firmly covered with dirt . . taken up, and every log had been disturbed and laid in different directions. 1896 Wagner Our City 94 cNY, A road had been cut through this swamp and a crossway of logs laid down the whole distance, so that teams could pass over it in winter; but in spring, summer and fall, up to 1819, the crossway was impassable. 1968 DARE Tape NJ51, We also call ’em a crossway, but the right name is causeway. 1985 Folklife Annual 1985 26 sNJ, George Brewer works in Great Cedar Swamp near Heislerville. . . He drives as far as he can in a large truck and goes the rest of the way by tractor over the crossway.