On Gab, Hans G. Schantz mentioned the Qianchun road interchange in China. Intrigued, I looked for video of the monstrous spaghetti junction, and found this. At first I thought it was CGI, but it's real enough - just speeded up here and there. Also, at about 29 sec. into the clip, watch for the idiot driver trying to do a 3-point turn and drive back up a one-way road, into the face of oncoming traffic. I don't think a CGI simulation would dare put in something that stupid!
The complex structure consists of 11 ramps going in eight different directions stacked on five layers. With its largest vertical drop of 55 meters, the interchange has been dubbed as a super "roller coaster" by many netizens.
Thanks to its high piers, plenty of room beneath the overpass is used for a recreational park. Many locals come to spend their leisure time.
There's more at the link, including a brief video clip of the interchange at night.
I don't like big cities at the best of times. If I had to navigate that thing, I think my inner heavy traffic anxieties would be working overtime. If traffic came to a standstill, I wonder what weight of vehicles would be supported by its piers?
Oy!
Peter
Looks like the I805 and I8 interchange in San Diego CA
ReplyDeleteI remember when we thought the spaghetti bowl in Houston was way out there.
ReplyDeleteGiven that it is built by the Chinese, the piers are probably a lot less sturdy than they look. Just watch some of the videos of apartment buildings falling over and revealing very shallow foundations.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what kind of seismic activity rears its head there. That thing looks like a disaster waiting to happen!
ReplyDeleteAs far as stupid driving it isn't as bad as the person I saw doing a U-turn, in a round-about.
ReplyDeleteAre we sure some of my relatives don't live there ?
ReplyDeleteWhat impressed me was the road signs, the directional signs, the signs [in the United States, per Wikipedia, these are formally called, "Interchange Signs"] that would tell you what exit to take, what ramp that you would want to turn off on, or on to. Go back and look at the video and press stop when a green sign comes on the screen. Could you figure that out? Would you know what you wanted to do?
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