Russia Wants To Build A Superhighway To Connect Europe And America

The Russian Academy of Sciences has just unveiled its ambitious plans to create a rail and transport corridor that would connect Europe and America through a series of interconnected railroads and superhighways across Russia.

The plan is to build the roads in eastern Europe, connecting to the established road networks in central and western Europe. The superhighways would then cross Russia towards the Bering Strait, where a bridge would connect the Chukotka Peninsula to Alaska, supported by two small islands that lie in the middle.

It’s all part of a bid to build up Russia’s failing economy, with oil and gas pipelines running along the route in an attempt to better connect the country’s export industries to the rest of the world.

The Trans-Eurasian Belt Development is in its very early stages right now, but if Russia can find a way to bankroll it, it’d be a much needed improvement to the road network, particularly in the east of the country. Currently the only main road in the region is the Road of Bones; built by Stalin’s political prisoners from 1932 to 1953, it earned its nickname thanks to the fact its foundations hold the bones of those who died building it. It’s essentially a dirt track which is crumbling away.

In the unlikely event this does get built, who’s up for a 12,400-mile road trip from London to New York?