Can’t get back to all the comments, thanks all <3
EDIT: I used HILLS and not MOUNTAINS on purpose lol, c’mon guys I’m not *that* clueless. Tunnels absolutely do not figure into my question. Thank you everyone for answering this has been enlightening.
EDIT 2: I don’t think it has occurred to some browsers of this sub that the people asking these questions have probably considered their own question and come up with hypotheses already. Trust me, I had 2 hours longer to drive and think after I posted the question at a gas station haha. has confirmed some of my hypotheses about this and also added many new pieces of information to the puzzle which I am grateful for. Some of you taking time out of your day to say “stupid question” or something along those lines, please don’t consider becoming teachers, and go forth in this sub operating under the assumption that a lot of the questions asked here are not just asked out of curiosity, but also just seeking confirmation of hypotheses before going out into the world and spewing BS lol.
In: Engineering
I actually work for a company that build roads in mountainous region. Besides economics, there are few other reasons
1. Weather – there are mountains where it snows all year round. It becomes unmanageable in winters and these kind of roads are usually closed for 5-6 months during the winter.
2. Safety – some hilly roads are prone to mudslides and avalanches.
3. Time – roads in mountains take a lot of time to traverse, if the road is an important connection between two points, usually a tunnel can decrease the time by hours.
The composition of the landscape is also a factor. It’s a lot easier to blast through loose earth and hills than it is solid granite or sedimentary layers like shale that won’t be structurally sound even after reinforcement.
Spent my childhood in Colorado and western South Dakota. You’d be AMAZED at the number of crazy roadways when a “simple” tunnel would suffice.
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