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The first time I drove across the US, I wondered why the two lane roads we were driving on in the midwest (scenic route) did a quick dogleg every so often. htt
by TYPE_FASTER 4y ago
The first time I drove across the US, I wondered why the two lane roads we were driving on in the midwest (scenic route) did a quick dogleg every so often.
https://kottke.org/18/01/us-road-grid-corrections-because-of-the-earths-curvature https://kottke.org/18/01/us-road-grid-corrections-because-of...
- rob74 4y agoOk, the title "US road grid corrections because of the Earth’s curvature" is slightly misleading. The doglegs are not there because of the curvature of the earth, but because of the "Jefferson Grid", which divided a large portion of the US into plots which were each a square mile. But, due to the curvature of the earth, the north-south boundaries between these plots couldn't be exactly straight, and that led to these "misalignments".
- helsinkiandrew 4y ago> Ok, the title "US road grid corrections because of the Earth’s curvature" is slightly misleading OK, but "US road grid corrections because of the north-south boundaries between Jefferson Grid plots that aren't straight due to the Earth's curvature" doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well.
- InCityDreams 4y agoI always figured it was to give drivers something to do to keep them awake.
- drewzero1 4y agoI had heard of that idea in relation to the design of the US interstate highway system. I looked into it[0] and found that it may be a consideration, but not a requirement as I thought I remembered. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.cfm#question31a https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.cfm#question31a
- Mountain_Skies 4y agoThough not the intended purpose, it probably also helps serve as a ground level windbreak.