What If We Built a Road Around the World?

Imagine an ultimate road trip around the world. On a highway along the equator. Wait, there is no highway along the equator. Still. How about we build one? There are about 64 million km (40 million mi) of all types of roads worldwide. But there is not a single highway network that takes you directly from New York to Cape Town. The imaginary freeway we are going to build will easily take you from Colombia to Indonesia. Combine that with some existing road systems, and you may be able to drive the bus, but it would be a very expensive engineering feat. Because a large part of this highway has to be constructed underwater. It takes an average of five to ten years to build a highway. But we will not build any highway. We are aiming for a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long, two-lane equatorial road. To build it in almost the same time frame as a normal highway, we need to work on all parts of it at the same time. Our globe-spanning highway will require about 8 million skilled workers, and some $ 9.2 trillion to build. Yes, there are some good numbers to consider. I would say that it is very good. The equator crosses through 13 countries and three oceans. Suppose you start in South

America, in Ecuador, and move east through Colombia to Brazil. You will be enjoying a humid tropical climate and very high temperatures. Make sure your car's air conditioning is working before your vacation for the trip. You will be passing over the mountains and over the Amazon River. And if you decide to go for a refreshing swim, remember that the Amazon is full of blood-thirsty waits for you to eat in a few minutes. Just kidding, piranhas are really cool scavengers, so you can go swimming at your own risk. Your Amazon adventure will be just the beginning.

What If We Built a Road Around the World?

You will soon arrive on the Atlantic coast of Brazil and you are about to enter the Underwater Stretch, the Great Atlantic Tunnel for the first time. And the scene here is rather dull. Finally, their island. After days of travel, you will make it to Africa. You will be driving in the savanna, swamps, and dense rainforests of Gabon and the Congo and the deserts of Kenya and Somalia. On your way, you can see elephants, gorillas, buffalo, and leopards. And it makes the long journey through the tunnel worth it. But then, you run out of the land. And you enter another underwater tunnel. This time, it is the Great Indian Tunnel. I see the ground again. This is Indonesia, with 17,000 islands scattered around the equator. You will be driving through a series of small tunnels to cross from one island to another. And every time you return to the ground, the scenes are majestic. Volcanic landscape, rice fields, tropical rainforest. I'm sure you can use a day at the beach after such a long drive. Okay, it's time to proceed to the next tunnel, the Great Pacific Tunnel. Is it just for me, or is it three times longer? Ah, no, this is the longest underwater stretch of the entire journey. And by the end of it, you have a slight bonus as to the Galapagos Islands, the last exciting spot on the highway. A demonstration of evolution, where the most unusual forms of life are flourishing in the wild. A feast for the eyes after that long drive. Then, you will drive a little further through a small underwater tunnel, and end up where you start in Ecuador. Congratulations, you took a road trip around the world. By traveling at 100 km / h (62 mph), you will spend twelve of those days, you will be trapped inside a tunnel under the sea. The entire journey time will take at least two months, with some time for night rest, and some time for sightseeing. Hope you can afford such a long holiday. But as fun as this idea sounds, it will be a huge hit on the planet. The construction of the highway will disrupt the ecosystem in both land and sea areas. On top of that, during this epic journey, your car will emit almost twice as much carbon dioxide as an average car does in a year. It seems that we will never see a highway running along the equator. Perhaps we can start building flying cars that will require a completely different type of highway.

Geekstalk