There are different reasons why roads on mountains and hills are constructed in a curved way instead of a straightway.
First, it’s because heavy vehicles such as trucks and semi-trucks find it tough when moving on a steep hill. Another reason is that during cold seasons, the roads can get icy and therefore, in a straight path it would be tough for vehicles and even people to move up and down on a slick way. In such cases, if the road were straight, there would be a case of accidents all the time. Vehicles would be sliding all over the place. Therefore roads are created in a curved way to avoid such cases.
For people to reduce the inclined nature of a mountain, they make the roads longer by putting curved in the way. Riding a bicycle up a hill can be a very challenging task but riding it on a zig-zagged road makes it easier to go up and down. Making it curved ensures that it’s flatter even though it becomes longer.
Another reason why roads are made in a curved way is that most mountains have natural curves paths where roads can be constructed therefore making it easier to build an arched way rather than the straightway.
When building a road as an engineer, you must balance the quantities of the earthwork. In simple terms, you use what you dig from the mountain to make the road. This becomes a huge determining factor when developing a road since it dictates how the way will be constructed. Constructing a straight path up a hill is difficult because of the many obstacles which would have to be eliminated first. In the mountain ground, obstacles such as rocks would have to be blasted for the road to go up. To avoid these hard tasks, engineers take the road in a zig-zag manner.
There are also natural disasters that can be prevented by building a curved road. When there are cases of mudslides and landslides, it can be dangerous when having a steep trail. Another reason is that in very steep areas the only options would be building a curved road or a tunnel. Remember making a pit would be very expensive, therefore the cheaper way is just creating a curved road. In cases of accidents, steep roads can cause more damage than curved paths. It’s easier to control a vehicle on a curved road than a steep trail. That is one of the factors considered when building the roads. Lastly, it would be easier to maintain a curved path than a straight road on a hill.
