Engineering in Plain Sight

‌

3 Roadways

Introduction

Of all the elements of our constructed environment, roads may be the least noticed, yet they are almost as fundamental as the air we breathe. You almost certainly arrived where you are now via a road, and one will likely take you wherever you go next. The first roadways in history were formed as people or animals followed the same trail long enough to erode a path between two points. They have always existed in some form, but they haven’t always been safe, comfortable, or able to accommodate the enormous number and weight of vehicles that use our present system of roadways every day. Over the years, the demands on ...