Roads pollute cities. Gobble up public spaces and fragmented habitats. Can such roads be converted into underground tunnels? Does that help solve this problem?
In 1863, in an attempt to reduce traffic on the streets, london opened the world's first tunnel, the Metropolitan Railway. Twenty years earlier, the world's first under-river tunnel was built under the River Thames. It is popular with pedestrians and tourists.
Initially, the underground railways in london were dug just below the surdata-face and covered above, making tracks. But as technology improved and trains switched from steam to electricity, the tracks also went deeper underground. The overland routes that now lie beneath Londoners' feet, along with an extensive network of tube routes, transport people quickly and efficiently.
Along with trains, power lines, pipelines, cables, and sewers, some have long wanted to move roads underground.
What is the impact of undergrounding roads?There are 64 million km of roads worldwide. As the world's population grows and incomes rise, more people are predicted to be able to afford cars, especially in developing countries. It is predicted that by 2040 there will be two billion cars on the road. Total traffic volume will increase by more than 50 percent.
Traffic jams consume a lot of people's time. The average American driver wastes 54 hours each year sitting in traffic. Also, it increases the ecological effects of fuel consumption, organic emissions, air and noise pollution.
"Finally, I think we can solve the transportation problem," tesla founder Elon Musk said at an event for his subway company Boring in 2018. His solution was to dig underground for roads.
However, not even Elon Musk advocates turning every road in the world underground. But what happens if you move them all from surdata-face to underground?
Imagining the impact this could have at a time of increasing urbanization, inequality and climate crisis raises the important question of what the global transport system looks like. Also, it forces us to consider where we really want to go.
One of the most immediate impacts on a world without surdata-face roads would be the release of large tracts of land around the world.
In rural areas, more land is available for wildlife habitats, organic capture and agriculture. It will also reduce another problem that can be caused by roads which is land fragmentation.
For wildlife, roads can act as a barrier. They can be separated from their flock or their prey. The global expansion of road connectivity threatens wildlife conservation efforts by predators. Also, forest fragmentation by encroaching roads increases the data-size of forest edges, where the loss of trees is high. This also leads to higher organic emissions.
Alyssa Coffin, a research ecologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says roads also interfere with streamflow. He points to the Tamiami De Rail, a road connecting Tampa and Miami. This had devastating consequences by blocking the flow of water to the Everglades. Blockage of water flow causes wildfires to increase and damage plants and wildlife. "This is an example of how a road is built without understanding what the impacts will be," says Coffin.