"QUANTUM SHOT" #40 ...and Spaghetti Junctions In 2 parts. Make sure to check out Part 2! Modern drivers are understandably confounded and rightfully annoyed, when faced with such traffic-routing masterpieces as these: (see the whole list of them in Wikipedia here). Tom Moreland Interchange, intersection of Interstate 85 and Interstate 285, Atlanta, Georgia, USA The Central Motorway Junction - New Zealand State Highways 1 and 16, Auckland, New Zealand. (image credit: Yann Arthus-Bertrand) They are called the "Malfunction Junctions", or "Spaghetti Intersections", and they are located almost in every major city in the West. You can find the streets that end nowhere, streets that strangely allow traffic in both direction (without providing proper lanes), streets that change names more often than a communist Cold War spies. Wonders of image manipulation: but this junction in Moscow wins the "Arrrrgh!" contest: To make a left turn from Rosanov Street to the adjacent Khoroshev Street, you will have to embark on quite a journey: follow the arrows on the picture According to the Russian auto forums, this is not a unique occasion. Perhaps one day they will discover a junction so confusing and bizarre that it will curl upon itself in the fourth dimension and come out say... in Israel. However in Israel some intersections are just as interesting... For example, here is how you make a turn at Nesharim to Highway 6: Going West: Going East: These directions are helpfully provided on the official Highway 6 web page. But if you are an "experienced driver" and never ask for directions, you may be out of luck :) UPDATE: Click here to see some ideas the traffic planning people could implement in the future :) CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE! - > (Part 2 includes the worst traffic jams ever!) |