Most people drive on normal highways every day. However, there are amazing, wildly constructed, and imaginative roads around the world with crazy stories to tell.
10 The Highway That Sings
We all know one of the major reasons for motor crashes is speeding. However, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) curbs the speeding trend along Route 66 with a very creative trick. Route 66 in New Mexico plays the tune of “America the Beautiful” whenever someone drives over it. The highway itself is the musical instrument.
The patriotic tune can only be heard when drivers drive over the rumble strips on the right side of the highway at the speed of 72 kilometers per hour (45 mph). This is meant to act as a form of speed control, rewarding the driver with music if they do not speed. The feature was not added only for the entertainment—driving over the rumble strips prevents the drivers from falling asleep, another major cause of car accidents. The NMDOT also believes that by slowing down to enjoy the tune, motorists can enjoy the view of the state.
The construction was paid for by the National Geographic Channel as part of their show Crowd Control, which conducts experiments to understand more about human behavior.
9 The Highway With A House In The Middle
Most of us can only imagine what it’s like to live in the middle of a highway, but 67-year-old Luo Baogen of China and his 65-year-old wife actually did. Trouble started when the Chinese government wanted to construct a highway leading to a new railway station. They paid all the occupants of Xiazhangyang to vacate the neighborhood, but Baogen and his wife rejected the compensation because the money was not enough for them to build a new house.
The Chinese government went ahead and built a highway around the house. The five-story house stood in the middle of a four-lane highway. Chinese laws prevents the government from demolishing people’s houses forcefully, leading to many “nail houses.”
The building was later demolished after Luo Baogen and his wife choose to accept the compensation of 260,000 yuan ($41,000). Baogen didn’t want the attention from the media his bizarre living arrangement was causing.
8 The Highway Through A Runway
A major problem with the British territory of Gibraltar is the lack of flat land. This often results in rather inconvenient routes. The Gibraltar Airport runway runs straight through the Winston Churchill Avenue Highway. The highway is the busiest in the peninsula because it is the only road connecting Gibraltar to Spain, and it runs through Gibraltar’s only airport. Whenever an airplane has to land or depart, the gates and barriers on the road are shut, putting all traffic at a standstill. Any pedestrian on the runway is also expected to get out of the way of the aircraft.
This overlap is dangerous for both the motorists and planes. There are stern warnings around the airport warning pedestrians and motorists that dropping litter can hinder the safety of the people on the plane.
Fortunately, the airport is not a busy one, handling only about 30 flights a week. There are also plans to reroute the road so that it passes under the runway instead. Recent plans by the Gibraltar government to construct a tunnel will prevent the traffic obstructions, delays, and danger on the highway.
