Straight Roman Roads

[davidprout]

How did the Romans manage to get their roads straight over long distances

[anthomson]

Roman roads are not necessarily straight over long distances and will follow river valleys etc. in the same way modern roads do - but they are characteristically made of very straight sections. This is acheived by sending somebody up ahead and shouting at him to move left or right until he is in line with the exsiting road (in the same way hill-walkers would maintain a straight line). The course of the road will tend to change at high vantage points where it was easier to corrections. There are some maps of roman road in England on the following site where you see they are not as straight as is commonly believed.

http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_
rome/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/.Texts/CODROM/home.html

[David H]

It is more a political question than an engineering one. It is no great effort if you can already make a road to use simple physics to keep it straight, as with buildings from times BC which were also built with very accurate lines, (eg the pyramids, American Indian monuments). In Britain, the Romans had the universal power to build roads wherever they liked as they basically took over the land as invaders and had no regard for who owned the land. Internationally, even the poorest countries tend to build straight roads, it's the obvious way if not interrupted by physical features to traverse, but as Britain stopped building straight roads except for rarities after the Romans they stand out. Due to our major land-owner's great economic power, they have prevented use of their land for roads since the Romans lost power, and it is the only country I can find that doesn't have straight roads as the norm. For instance, even Baghdad on the news showed a tendency towards a grid system. Other capitals like Paris and Brussels were planned unlike most cities in the UK, and you'll have to go to Glasgow or Middlesbrough to find ones in the UK. Too much information?!