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Roads

Could a secret ingredient make crumbling concrete a thing of the past?

With Fungi in the Mix, Concrete Can Fill Its Own Cracks

Adding fungus might be one way to endow concrete with the ability to repair any damage, without the need for human intervention

The Abbey Road crosswalk, which has been moved slightly since 1969, in modern times.

A Short History of the Crosswalk

Pedestrian crosswalks and roads have a complicated relationship

Pandamonium

Panda Habitat Is Severely Fragmented, Placing Pandas at Risk

Despite recent habitat improvements, roads and development are isolating panda populations

Part of the Great Trail in Nova Scotia

Trending Today

Canada Completes World’s Longest Hiking Trail

After 25 years and millions of dollars, the coast-to-coast hiking, biking and paddling trail has an official route

Logs discovered under 168th Avenue in Grand Haven Township, Michigan

“Corduroy Road” From Civil War Era Found in Michigan

Used to stabilize swampy pathways, corduroy roads are among the earliest types of manufactured thoroughfares

A relatively significant number of people lace up their shoes to run across the country every year.

A Brief History of People Running Across America

Fictional character Forrest Gump wasn’t the only one to do it, not by a long shot

Rendering of the Innerbelt National Forest, a "pop-up forest" in Akron, Ohio

An Ohio City is Turning an Unused Highway Into a Pop-Up Forest

Akron, Ohio hopes to fight urban inequality by removing a divisive highway. Other cities across America are looking into doing the same.

Roman roof tile with its cat print

Cool Finds

Cat Left a Pawprint in a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Roof Tile

While excavating a highway in Lincolnshire UK, archaeologists found thousands of artifacts, including tiles with dog, cat and deer prints

Marilyn Leistner, who was the last mayor of Times Beach, stands next to a caution sign erected in front of the town in 1991, not long before the town was bulldozed and buried.

How Agent Orange Turned This American Small Town Into a Toxic Waste-Ridden Deathtrap

“Walking into the houses, many of them were like people had just simply stood up, walked out and never come back”

This Adopt-A-Highway sign is located on the Florida Keys Scenic Highway. The program, which began in Texas, is now used by states across the country.

Two States Have Gone to Court to Keep the KKK From Adopting a Highway

In 2016, Georgia’s Department of Transportation actually put the program on hold so it wouldn’t have to respond to the hate group’s application

An unidentified player takes a putt at the original "Tom Thumb Golf" built by Garnet Carter.

The Brief 1930s Craze for ‘Tom Thumb Golf’

Miniature golf courses had been around before, but Garnet Carter gave it a roadside attraction spin

Monument declaring Rugby, North Dakota, the city claiming geographic center—until now.

Trending Today

New Calculations Reposition the Geographical Center of North America

After an 90-year-reign, the title moves from Rugby, North Dakota, to the city of Center, in Oliver County

Inventor Sir Clive Sinclair demonstrates his battery-assisted pedal powered tricycle at Alexandra Palace, London.

This Three-Wheeled, Battery-Powered Plastic Car-Bike Was a Giant Flop in 1985

But today, some have asked if Sir Clive Sinclair was just ahead of his time

New Research

France Is Paving More Than 600 Miles of Road With Solar Panels

In five years, France hopes the panels will supply power to 5 million people

A postcard of the Motel Inn, circa 1940s.

The World’s First Motel Was a Luxury Establishment, Not a Dive

The first motel was supposed to turn into a chain, but it was quickly overtaken by cheaper competitors.

Cool Finds

New Underpass Helps New Zealand Penguins Cross Busy Road

The blue penguin colony in Oamaru can now cross between their nesting area and the ocean without dodging traffic

On a majority of American roads, potholes and bumps are the norm.

New Research

These Places Have the Nation’s Worst Roads

Bumps and potholes are par for the course on more than two-thirds of America’s roads

A model for how suburbs could one day be designed. The white objects on the left are delivery drones.

Suburbia Gets No Respect, But It Could Become a Very Different Place

For starters, driverless cars would mean a lot less pavement

A rainbow-colored crosswalk in St. Louis, Missouri.

Trending Today

The Federal Highway Administration Says Stop to Crosswalk Art

Street art will no longer color crosswalks in St. Louis, Missouri

Henry Ford is at the wheel with John Burroughs and Thomas Edison seated in the back of a Model T.

When America’s Titans of Industry and Innovation Went Road-Tripping Together

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and their friends traveled the country in Model Ts, creating the Great American road trip in the process

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