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The Highway Of Future Will Have Fewer Lanes, But Will Include Space For Drones

A Chinese architectural firm from Shenzhen has reimagined highways as would be seen in the future. The conventional solution used for improving the flow of traffic on the clogged roads is to widen the highways. However, adding more lanes to the roadway only worsens the transport problems.

 

Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner

 

Avoid Obvious Architects from Shenzhen collaborated with Tetra Architects and Planners and BCCI and propose the design of a new road which aims to streamline the traffic flow of a 12-lane highway by shrinking it! Vicky Chan, the Director of the architect firm, believes that the future highways will see significantly fewer cars on the road.

“We believe, in the future, cars won’t be operating the way they are now. With drones and driverless cars, we think that we’ll be able to drive faster, and have fewer cars if we share. I think the concept of having a 12-lane highway is just irrelevant.”

 

Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner

 

The proposed futuristic design of the highway includes two tube-covered four-lane roads to control atmospheric pollution. The G107 highway is longer than Manhattan and divides the Bao’an District of the city into eastern and western parts. An elevated road will not only reconnect the two sides of the city but will also provide space for green regions and pod-like co-working offices underneath it.

 

Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner

 

The design of the elevated highway of the future includes water channels to offer a solution to the water management issues in the city. As Chan puts it:

“They built the city very quickly. If you look at aerial photos from the 1990s, it’s all farms—it took just 30 years to do it. After all this crazy construction, they realised, oops, we built too many buildings, and they don’t have enough water treatment plants.”

 

Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner

 

The winding highway twists around the buildings and provides access to the new subway and transit systems.

The designers have also proposed the first drone highway that will be built above the elevated highway. Since the developers believe that the bottleneck is created by the delivery trucks, they have suggested a design where drones will replace the delivery trucks.

“One way to reduce traffic, besides driverless vehicles, is to actually change the whole transportation mode altogether in terms of delivery.”

 

Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner
Image Source: Avoid Obvious Architects + Tetra Architecture & Planner

The firm wants to change  the concept that a 12-lane highway is a sign of prosperity and a developed country. Their proposed design will certainly redefine the entire perception of a highway.

What do you think about the futuristic design of the highway? Do you think it will work? Let us know in comments!

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