Note - even though it is not a "highway" system, I have posted in this board because the Incan Qhapaq Nan road system is an international road system.
After reading that the Alamo was recently granted World Heritage status, I began to wonder if any roads are World Heritage sites. Just last year, the Qhapaq Nan road system was granted World Heritage status, as reported by the BBC on June 21, 2014:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27958466
Quote
A road system built by the Inca Empire has been granted World Heritage status by the United Nations cultural agency, Unesco.
The Qhapaq Nan roads go through six South American countries.
It was built in the most diverse terrains, linking communities in the Andes mountains to fertile valleys, rainforests and deserts.
Unesco described the system as an engineering wonder that must be restored and preserved ....
It covers some 30,000 km (18,600 miles), from modern-day Colombia in the north to Argentina and Chile in the south, via Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Parts of it are still preserved, but most of the route has deteriorated since the Inca Empire was defeated.
"We still cannot see the entire road because a large part of it is covered by vegetation," said Fernando Astete, chief archaeologist at Peru's Machu Picchu site told AFP news agency.
The route system used to link the Inca capital, Cusco, to distant areas of the empire.
"The Qhapaq Nan by its sheer scale and quality of the road is a unique achievement of engineering skills. It demonstrates mastery in engineering technology," Unesco said in a statement.
Unesco says that granting the Qhapaq Nan roads World Heritage status will make them eligible for much-needed restoration funds.
At least one trekking service provides tours on parts of it in Peru:
https://www.chaskatours.com/trekking-and-hiking-peru
Has anyone in the Forum trekked part of it?
If someone posted about the designation last year, then I simply missed it.
I wonder what civilizations hundreds / thousands of years from now will think of our highway systems.
30 000 km is a long walk for clinching ;-)
Quote from: Grzrd on July 19, 2015, 06:28:55 PMAfter reading that the Alamo was recently granted World Heritage status, I began to wonder if any roads are World Heritage sites.
The Camino de Santiago (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago) (a fixture on my personal bucket list) is one example, and I suspect there are others.
Quote from: Grzrd on July 19, 2015, 06:28:55 PMAfter reading that the Alamo was recently granted World Heritage status, I began to wonder if any roads are World Heritage sites.
Ironbridge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironbridge_Gorge) - not that you can drive it now (and it's the whole gorge, rather than just the bridge), nor was it particularly designed for heavy traffic.
Wales has the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontcysyllte_Aqueduct) and Scotland the Forth (rail) Bridge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge) as World Heritage Sites. I'm highly surprised that none of the Menai Bridge (http://menai%20suspension%20bridge), Clifton Suspension Bridge (http://clifton%20suspension%20bridge), Tower Bridge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge), Newport Transporter Bridge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Transporter_Bridge), or similar are even on the UK's waitlist for World Heritage Status. Then again, save the Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueduct_of_Padre_Tembleque) and the Pont du Gard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard) there's not any other bridges. Also, the committee has made it clear that they aren't big fans of bridges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Elbe_Valley).
There's the Silk Road (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Sites), but rather than the road itself, like El Calmio Real de Tierra (http://el%20camino%20real%20de%20tierra%20adentro), (but not like Qhapaq Nan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_road_system) or Camino de Santiago), it's just sites and cities along the route, rather than the actual route.