The idea of moving travel underground has been explored with the creation of subways, trains that zoom by underground and out of sight, but what about the normal everyday roads. What would happen if we moved all our loud, polluting, bulky roads underground? We’ve done it with trains, powerlines, pipes, sewers, and cables, so why can’t we do it with roads?
There’s a huge appeal to putting infrastructure underground, says Bradley Garrett, a cultural geographer at University College Dublin and author of Subterranean London. “Human beings tend to like those things to be operating in the background.” It gives the illusion of seamlessness, he says. “There’s almost something magical about it.”
Not only would people themselves appreciate underground roads for the aesthetic, but underground roads would also greatly increase available land space. It is estimated that as our population grows, there will be 2 billion cars on the roads in 2040, increasing the severity of traffic by 50%. This population growth will cause a need for even more roads, taking even more space up and destroying the environment and different ecosystems that the world already doesn’t have enough of.
Moving roads underground will allow these ecosystems to be untouched, keeping our environment a little safer. Also, traffic is scientifically proven to take a toll on people. It has been observed that individuals living and working in areas of heavy vehicle traffic have a high susceptibility to anxiety, depression, and cognitive deficits and traffic is bad for the environment too. Traffic increases fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and air and noise pollution as well.
Of course, there is still the question of how much moving roads underground would cost. Aurecon Tunnelling Expert Tom Ireland says that “A major barrier will be cost, however, we live in a complex transport environment where multi-modal solutions must be on the table and, for some of the world’s largest cities, this solution could be an attractive option,”. Ireland along with other people who support the move to underground roads believes that providing more space on land will counterbalance the cost to move the roads.
A 2021 report looking at the impacts of capping highways in Seattle found that it could relink neighborhoods and provide space for up to 4.7 million sq ft of new housing improving our economy in general
So, if these roads went underground, it could mean keeping more rural areas of nature and not taking other animals’ homes away from them, more land for farming, and pulling carbon from the air. Moving our everyday asphalt roads below the ground under our feet could make our world cleaner, safer, and generally better for all species.
There’s a huge appeal to putting infrastructure underground, says Bradley Garrett, a cultural geographer at University College Dublin and author of Subterranean London. “Human beings tend to like those things to be operating in the background.” It gives the illusion of seamlessness, he says. “There’s almost something magical about it.”
Not only would people themselves appreciate underground roads for the aesthetic, but underground roads would also greatly increase available land space. It is estimated that as our population grows, there will be 2 billion cars on the roads in 2040, increasing the severity of traffic by 50%. This population growth will cause a need for even more roads, taking even more space up and destroying the environment and different ecosystems that the world already doesn’t have enough of.
Moving roads underground will allow these ecosystems to be untouched, keeping our environment a little safer. Also, traffic is scientifically proven to take a toll on people. It has been observed that individuals living and working in areas of heavy vehicle traffic have a high susceptibility to anxiety, depression, and cognitive deficits and traffic is bad for the environment too. Traffic increases fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and air and noise pollution as well.
Of course, there is still the question of how much moving roads underground would cost. Aurecon Tunnelling Expert Tom Ireland says that “A major barrier will be cost, however, we live in a complex transport environment where multi-modal solutions must be on the table and, for some of the world’s largest cities, this solution could be an attractive option,”. Ireland along with other people who support the move to underground roads believes that providing more space on land will counterbalance the cost to move the roads.
A 2021 report looking at the impacts of capping highways in Seattle found that it could relink neighborhoods and provide space for up to 4.7 million sq ft of new housing improving our economy in general
So, if these roads went underground, it could mean keeping more rural areas of nature and not taking other animals’ homes away from them, more land for farming, and pulling carbon from the air. Moving our everyday asphalt roads below the ground under our feet could make our world cleaner, safer, and generally better for all species.
