What is a road? Roads and railways.

The article tells about what a road is, what kinds it is. What is the importance of message paths? What old roads have survived to this day?

Ancient times

From time immemorial, when the first towns and cities arose, people realized the importance of reliable roads. Especially the strong need for them appeared with the development of trade relations and military operations, as it was in the Roman Empire.

Initially, all roads were of natural origin and ground, formed during the trampling of the surface. By the way, such have survived until now throughout the world. However, they became unusable when the climatic conditions (rains, winters) changed. And the movement itself was not so lively as it was in our times: often the roads grew corny. What does it mean to go to a dictionary? What is its significance, besides the convenience of movement? When did the first stone roads? This is what we will talk about in the article.

What is the road: the definition

According to encyclopaedic terminology, the road is the way of communication for people or transport, which in the mass forms a developed infrastructure.

Naturally, the very first dirt roads could not survive, we do not know anything about them. But the number of artificial can be attributed to the paths found in the territory of modern England and Mesopotamia, their approximate age dates back to the 4th millennium BC. E. One of the oldest is, again, the road found in England, which received the name "Sweet Track". She survived, because they built it by laying on the ground trunks of oak, ash and maple. Now we know what a road is. By the way, this method was also used to bridge the roads of ancient Moscow. As decay and destruction, a new layer was applied. There is an assumption that some areas of the city are due to this a few meters higher.

The need for reliable communication routes has arisen not simply because of the desire to travel easily and cheerfully, without looking at the feet, but because of the development of a truck transport. And by the way, when analyzing the question of what a road is, we should mention an interesting fact. The width of the Roman roads, which were built in Europe, were calculated on a war chariot, and this parameter became decisive for the future highways of the movement. Some of them have survived to our days, for example, on the remains of the ancient city of Pompeii.

Almost two millennia after the invention of the steam engine, this method of movement, like the railway, became widespread.

Trains

In the US in 1830, a little later in the Russian Empire began to appear the first railways. In our country, the first line stretched from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo. But what is the reason for such a costly way of construction?

The thing is that for those times, and today such roads are considered one of the most reliable. At the beginning of the new era, the cost of transporting goods was rather low on the first primitive locomotives. Moreover, in conditions where long-distance travel could only be carried out on carts or ships, the railways were a real revolution. So now we know what is the road, including the railway, and what is its importance.

And to this day, despite the development of air traffic and the improvement of motor roads, trains remain an important strategic and economic factor. They are unpretentious in the form of fuel, and if necessary, even old steam locomotives come into action, which can manage with one coal and water.

There is a railway in all states, and for a number of underdeveloped countries it is practically the only way for ordinary people to move around the country and transport cargo. And in India, by the way, passengers climb even on the roofs of cars, because of what they often die.

Famous Railways

Probably the most famous such road is the Trans-Siberian Railway, which stretches across our entire country. It is also the longest in the world. Also worth mentioning is the grandiose construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

Car roads

With the wide development of motor transport in the early XX century, there was a need for high-quality and smooth roads. After all, where the horse could have passed with the cart, the car could get stuck in the mud. Yes, and poor coverage contributed to the rapid deterioration of engine parts and suspension.

Road threads entangle almost the entire globe, where there is land. But the sea is not a problem, in this case long bridges come to the rescue.

Automobile roads are also paid: the money is collected in order to limit the amount of "excess" transport and constantly maintain the asphalt road in the proper condition, without waiting for municipal repair.

There is also a division into general purpose roads and highways. The latter differ in several bands, the absence of obstacles in the form of tram tracks and railway crossings.