World Record Roads

WORLD

RECORD ROADS!

As street sweeping guys, we at NiteHawk know the importance of wellmaintained roads. In fact, for thousands of years, paved roads—especially clean ones—have been a critical part of society. And with the Olympics happening this summer, we wanted to share some amazing world records related to this essential industry.

WHERE IS THE WORLD’S LONGEST STREET?

Yonge Street in Canada is believed to be the longest in the world. It begins in Toronto and stretches all the way to the Ontario/Minnesota border, totaling 1,178 miles.

HOW ABOUT THE SHORTEST STREET?

The shortest street in the world is called Ebenezer Place, and it’s only 6 feet and 9 inches long. Located in a small town in Northeast Scotland, it originated when a hotel builder had to display a name on the shortest side of his new building. It officially became a street in 1887.

WHICH COUNTRY HAS THE MOST PAVEMENT?

Given its landmass, it’s no surprise that China holds the record for the most pavement of any country. It is estimated to have about 33,590 square miles of paved roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and buildings. But another way to think about this question is in pavement per capita. In that case the answer is The United Arab Emirates! This middle eastern country is home to Dubai, a city known for elaborate urban development and lavish buildings. The United Arab Emirates has over 146 square miles of pavement per person. In contrast, China has only 26 square miles per person.

WHERE IS THE OLDEST PAVED ROAD IN THE WORLD?

Lake Moeris Quarry Road, in Egypt, is believed to be the oldest existing paved road. It was built sometime between 2500 and 2100 BC and was used to transport heavy blocks of basalt from a quarry near Cairo. Those blocks became part of royal sarcophagi and pavements for temples.

WHAT ROAD GETS MORE TRAFFIC THAN ANY OTHER IN THE WORLD?

This is somewhat difficult to measure, but Moscow, Russia was recently ranked as having the most congested traffic in the world. Its busiest road is called the Moscow Automobile Ring Road, or MKAD. It is ten lanes wide, 69 miles long, and often called “Death Road” due to the number of driving fatalities that occur there. We hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer, and we invite you to call us anytime for help taking care of those roads! NiteHawk Sweepers 1-800-448-9364

Works Cited American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 2020. Lake Moeris Quarry Road. Available at https://www.asce.org/project/lakemoeris-quarry-road/. Elvidge et al. 2007. Global distribution and density of constructed impervious surfaces. Sensors. Available at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=FS1P-LSnpwk. Guinness World Records. 2021. Shortest street. Available at

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/ shortest-street/?fb_comment_id=682245911873853_11785 04175581355 Traffic Index 2020. Tomtom.com. Available at https://www. tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/.