

Where in the world has the straightest roads? - dalek2point3
http://www.technomancy.org/openstreetmap/bendy-roads/

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Pyrodogg
Once Google Maps reached sufficiently high-resolution satellite images to
actually see all of the gravel roads, I was actually a bit awestruck. The
majority of the state of Iowa looks like a sheet of graph paper.

I grew up a in the region and spent plenty of time driving around endless
country roads. It's just so weird to see it from above, all at once. Makes one
appreciate the skill of surveying without the modern aid of gps.

~~~
ourmandave
I grew up in Iowa and spent a fair amount of time chasing hot-air balloons (my
dad is a full time balloonist).

The grid system was pretty nice until I came to a river and had to find the
nearest bridge.

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nl
In Australia, we have a 146 km straight stretch of road[1]. That's part of
1000 km+ of pretty-much-straight road[2][3]. It's difficult to express how
isolated that area is.

[1] [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-10-13/sign-at-the-start-
of-9...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-10-13/sign-at-the-start-of-90-mile-
straight-australias/1102102)

[2] [http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/11/the-long-and-lonely-
eyr...](http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/11/the-long-and-lonely-eyre-highway-
worlds.html)

[3]
[https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.5176141,126.9613846,7z](https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.5176141,126.9613846,7z)

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mattmalin
Very well presented and interesting analysis.

Primary compliments I also have in particular for the author is inclusion of a
link to source code and the concise but complete and informative "tools used
section" describing the process. I wish more analysis (particularly those
presented on more reputable news outlets) was presented with a similar section
for reproducibility and exposure to analysis techniques.

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abruzzi
The site's not loading for me (swamped?) so this is based just on what I can
infer, but the thing that popped into my mind was the U.S. Midwest. As an avid
motorcyclist, I am always seeking out curvy roads. I just got back from a
three week vacation in Italy where there was rarely a straight road to be
found (in the Chianti area, the GPS would be set for fastest route, the
destination would be 60 kilometers away, and the GPS would estimate 2 hours to
arrive.). But there are areas in Kansas where, if the earth were flat, you
could see someone 30 miles ahead of you .

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
It turns out that while Kansas is indeed flatter than a pancake, other US
states are even flatter.
[http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/scienc...](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/science-
several-us-states-led-by-florida-are-flatter-than-a-pancake/284348/)

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forgottenpass
I'd be interested in calculating just a subset of roads and comparing to the
overall average. Dual carriageways are the most likely to adapt the terrain to
the road rather than building the road to the terrain. If I recall correctly,
Germany has the strictest requirements for the straightness, and the States
has a rule that every X miles must have a section that can be converted to an
impromptu landing strip. The website is completely crushed right now, but once
it's back I may play with the data.

~~~
__z
> States has a rule that every X miles must have a section that can be
> converted to an impromptu landing strip

This is not true.

[http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/00mayjun/on...](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/00mayjun/onemileinfive.cfm)

[http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp](http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp)

~~~
jameshart
It's not as ridiculous an idea as Snopes makes it sound - there are plenty of
places which do put those large expanses of tarmac to dual use. I remember
seeing a stretch of highway in Switzerland which was also a military airstrip
(flat stretches of ground being at something of a premium in the Alps). There
are plenty of real examples:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_strip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_strip)

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mcv
Netherland has a lot of polders, which are very flat, and particularly the
largest polders (Flevoland, Wieringermeer, Haarlemmermeer) are very recent
(last 200 years) and have a lot of perfectly straight roads. It's a shame the
Afsluitdijk got divided between 4 pixels instead of getting its own pixel, or
you might have had one pixel of 100% there.

Also, we're pretty boring and organized people. You should see how perfectly
the trees in our "forests" are lined up. Also straight.

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grecy
The map doesn't show Australia for me, which I suspect must be a contender for
straightest roads.

~~~
mcguire
Weirdly, it doesn't, for the data it has. But most of Australia is white, with
no data.

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philfrasty
OT but curious (non-english native here): Is the title correct or some kind of
saying? „Where in the world has the straightest roads?“

~~~
bradleyland
It is not specifically a saying, but it could be a variation on the title of a
popular computer game from the 80's: "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?"

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen_S...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen_Sandiego%3F_\(1985\))

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ohmshalalala
<>Maine

