The world’s biggest road networks

Aerial view of a long stretch of highway surrounded by lush green trees and mountains in the distance.

Posted By:Infra Bazaar



United States of America: The US boasts the world's largest road network, followed by China and India, the world's two most populous countries. Roadtraffic-technology.com profiles the ten biggest road networks in the world based on total road length. The US road network exceeds 6.58 million kilometres in total length, making it the world's longest and biggest road network. It comprises approximately 4.3 million kilometres of paved roads including 76,334km of expressways and 2.28 million kilometres of unpaved roads. The country's road network includes many of the world's longest highways.

China: China has the world's second biggest road network, exceeding 4.24 million kilometres (as of 2012 data). National highways and provincial highways respectively comprise 4% and 7% of the Chinese road network. The country's expressway network, which extends over 96,000km, is the world biggest network of this type.The Chinese road network has witnessed rapid development in the last decade and the trend is set to continue in future. The country's 2030 Road Master Plan envisages 5.8 million kilometres of total road network including 400,000km of national highways and over 180,000km of expressways.

India: India's road network, which spanned over 4.1 million kilometres by 2012, ranks as the third biggest in the world. The road network is the key transport infrastructure, accounting for 65% of freight and 80% of total passenger traffic in the country. The Indian road network comprises over 79,000km of national highways and express highways, over 1.5 million kilometres of state highways and approximately 4.4 million kilometres of district and village roads. National highways make up slightly less than 2% of the road network, but account for about 40% of total road traffic. The Golden Quadrilateral Highway Network which spans 5,846km and connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata - the four major Indian cities - is one of the biggest highway networks in the world.

Brazil: The Brazilian road network, with a total length of approximately 1.6 million kilometres, is the fourth biggest road network in the world. The road network operated under federal jurisdiction covers 74,000km in length, while state and municipal jurisdiction roads cover 242,000km and 1.2 million kilometres respectively.

Russia: The Russian road network covers a total length of more than 1.28 million kilometres. The network spanned 927,721km of paved roads including 39,143km of expressways and 355,666km of unpaved roads at the end of 2012.The country's highway network comprises 50,000km of federal highways and 527.200km of regional public highways. The Trans-Siberian Highway comprised of seven federal highways and the stretch from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok is one of the longest highways in the world. 

 



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