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
Go drive across Costa Rica sometime. You’ll know exactly why. You might want to bring some Dramamine.
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.
Many roads are built to be “more level” to save fuel and meet modern fuel economy standards. Or so I once heard.
Railroads in my area are so much more level than the roads next to them. Hilarious to see actually.
Too steep. My dad had to excavate the entire tip off of a hill because cars would stall trying to climb it. Had to rebuild the entire highway after he cut the hill down
My ex boyfriend in NZ used to bitch and moan all the time about how the roads there snake around mountains when places like Switzerland get all those neat tunnels going straight through, it’s just cheaper though
Lots of good and right answers here. I’ll just add that if an engineer can achieve something equally with an explosion or using other means, he will choose the explosion.
Just sayin’
EDIT:
OK OK… I’ll be honest… explosions will be used when possible. Its just so cool!
Its cheeper to blast hill tops for back fill. You need both cut and fill to prep for a road so they are able to use the environment around the road to make a better road.
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.
Great easy-to-understand treatment about road design in general: https://youtu.be/9XIjqdk69O4
He addresses your specific question beginning at about 7:55.
It comes down to the fact that if you don’t blast through hills, your roads have to either go up and down a lot, have a lot of curves, or both. The more curves you have and the more you have to go up and down, the slower you have to drive. A lot of curves and up’s and down’s also means that the road is longer than if it goes in a practically straight line, so even if you could drive at the same speed, it would still take longer.
Another Problem if the road goes up and down a lot is that it’s a lot harder on the cars and trucks driving over them. Think of when you’re on a bicycle. What wears you out more, the straight, flat bike bath, or the one that goes up and down and has a lot of curves? Well, the same applies to the cars and trucks.
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