Development of the motorways and its impact on the society Essay

Development of the motorways and its impact on the society - Essay Example otorways were constructed to fit into a maze of road networks that link major parts of Britain by road and aid high speed transportation throughout the country. Roads are important components of the development of any nation. The Romans and Chinese Empires relied on roads, which became the bases for motorways almost two millenia after they were started (Needham & Gwei-Djen, 1962). Roads were really vital for each empire in history. In comparative studies, Needham & Gwei-Djen identified that the Aztec empire of Mexico collapsed rapidly because they did not have a network of roads. However, the longevity of the Chinese Empire and the development of European nations is strongly linked to the development of a sophisticated network of roads. 3. It enabled the trading activities of the empire to go on smoothly because it ensured that goods were moved from different points of the Roman empire with ease. This enabled the exchange of goods and ensured the fair development of different parts of the Roman empire over a sustained period of time. Although the Roman roads are quite archaic, it formed the basis for the development of motorways as we have them today. The roads in the Roman Empire started as primitive unpaved roads however, with the increase of traffic on certain roads, there was the need for the infrastructure to be improved to enable the easy movement of persons and goods (Van Tilburg, 2002). This gave way for the development of the paved road-system which is replicated in the construction of motorways (Van Tilburg, 2002). The paved road-system effectively increased the width of roads, supported the integration of engineering constructions like bridges, dams and tunnels into roads and laid the foundation for the development of infrastructure in the Middle Ages (Van Tilburg, 2002). These roads were used by individuals and animal-drawn carts. When cars became popular in the 1900s, there was the need to modify the old road systems to ensure that they could be