Roads With A Difference
There are some pretty amazing roads around our world that might just be worth going to see. Following are spectacular roads that have world record status, and you’ll see just why these ones stand out.
The Road Of Bones
1/ First of all, here in Australia we have the world’s longest road. Highway 1 circumnavigates the continent and travels around the outside of Australia for over 14,000 km. Along the way, you’ll be passing through some incredible scenery as well as some of Australia’s major cities that include Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide – along with a huge number of smaller towns. Northern Territory roads allow a speed limit of 130 km/h on open road travel.
2/ Head over to Saudi Arabia and you’ll be able to take yourself down the world’s straightest road: Highway 10, Saudi Arabia. This road was originally built as a private road for King Fahd and connects Highway 75 to Highway 95. It runs for almost 240 kilometres, and is the perfect straight road to try out your Lane Assist and Fatigue Warning safety features!
3/ The world’s twistiest bit of road is found on Lombard Street, San Francisco, USA. Unbelievable, the road features a 400 metre slope with a 27% gradient and a sum total of 1440 degrees to turn through and has a 5 mph speed limit.
4/ For those of you with a head for heights: you will enjoy the world’s highest roads around Uturunku, Bolivia. Not only do they have amazing views but they are over 5500 m above sea level. You will feel the lack of oxygen on this run!
5/ There are also roads that travel below sea level, and, in Israel, Route 90 is home to the world’s lowest road. The road follows the western side of the Dead Sea where the water is so salty that you can go for a swim and float unaided. No fish or plant-life are able to survive in this salty environment, either.
6/ Temperature is always a great leveller, and in Russia you’ll find the world’s coldest road that is called the ‘Road of Bones, (or M56). Not for the faint hearted, the M56 has claimed many people’s lives whose cars have broken down and they’ve frozen to death. Travelling in convoy is best. During winter the temperature is rarely warmer than -30C.
7/ The world’s oldest road is the Via Appia, Italy. Parts of this road have been preserved and are only open to pedestrians. The Via Appia is located in south east Italy and can be dated back as far as 312 B.C.
8/ Our neighbours over the Tasman sea can lay claim to the world’s steepest road which is called Baldwin Street and is found in Dunedin, New Zealand. Walking up Baldwin street can be as much fun as driving up it. If you do drive up, just make sure there is room to turn around because it can be alarming having to stop just before the top of the road – your Hill Start Assist might just come in very handy. A popular activity is to roll M&Ms down it!
9/ The world’s widest road is the ‘Monumental Axis’ found in Brasilla, Brazil. In one part it is 250m wide!
10/ You are sure to find the world’s longest road bridge called the ‘Bang Na Expressway, Bangkok, Thailand entertaining. Lasting for over 50 km, the bridge required an enormous 3.84 million tonnes of concrete in its construction. Needless to say it wasn’t cheap to build, costing as much as £770 million to complete it build.
11/ On the other hand, the world’s tallest road bridge is the ‘Millau Viaduct’, France. At its highest pint it is almost 250 m high! The views are awesome.
Who said civil enginering was ever boring. Let yourself loose on these roads, and you’ll have plenty of new conversation starters.
Level 2, 9 Help Street