Pan American Highwaylandmark of the American continent. The unique motorway, the length of which exceeds the length of the equator, has been built for several decades, starting in 1925, when a decision was made to build at the First Conference of the Pan-American Highway in Buenos Aires.
The project brought together 17 countries.It includes Canada and the United States in the northern part of the continent. Mexico, Colombia, Peru and other Latin American countries have become involved in the construction of the southern segment. The total length of the Pan-American highway is about 48 thousand kilometers, it is the longest road in the world, entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
Pan American Highway connects North and SouthAmerica, crosses six time zones and four climatic zones. Separate sections of the road become unsuitable for passage during the rainy season, therefore there is a special monitoring that regulates traffic in an extreme situation. In general, the Pan-American Highway is a unifying factor for the infrastructure of all the states through which the highway passes.
The entire territory of the United States and Canada has a developed network.highways independent of the Pan-American Highway, however, it is the main artery with many branches and peripheral routes connecting industrial regions. Several highways in different states of America are called Pan-American, including the Inter-American Highway, built during World War II, when there was a danger of German submarines attacking port warehouses and effective ways were needed for urgent transportation.
From the border of Mexico and the United States originates the mainpart of the Pan American Highway. The road passes through the major Mexican cities of Monterrey, Oaxaca, Mexico City and many others. The route was laid in such a way that the capitals of all the countries of Central America were on its route. An exception was Honduras: to its capital, the city of Tegucigalpa, a branch of the Pan-American highway is suitable.
На границе Панамы и Колумбии есть участок, which is impossible to drive in an ordinary car. This is the so-called Dariensky gap with a length of 87 kilometers. Untouched jungles are protected by environmental bans, Panama’s nature reserves are located nearby, and for this reason, laying the route has become impossible. But even without this, the development of the site would be impossible due to the landscape features of the local nature. The jungle in some places is completely impassable, and there is practically no land, only swamps. The road would occasionally fall through.
To top it all, the US Congress is activelyobjects to the construction of a road in this area, fearing an uncontrolled flow of drugs from Colombia. Thus, the Darien Span cars pass through a ferry connecting the Colombian city of Buenaventura with the port of Panama. Of course, this is associated with certain inconveniences, as drivers have to lose a lot of time waiting for the ferry, but there is no other solution yet.
Pan American Highway originates fromthe northern city of Fairbanks in Alaska and descends south to the city of Edmonton. This stretch of 2230 km is called Alaska Highway. Then the highway forks and passes on two separate highways across the US to re-connect in the city of San Antonio, in southern Texas. From this place the route goes further south, to the city of Panama City. After the ferry service, the Pan-American Highway becomes a full-fledged highway for thousands of cars and passes through the whole of Colombia, the mountain valleys of the Andes mountain range and the Cauca River valley. From the city of Bogota, the highway branches off and reaches Caracas.
Затем Панамериканское шоссе проходит через горное plateau of Ecuador, passing the city of Cuenca and Quito, Next, the route goes along the Pacific coast to the capital of Peru, Lima. After that, the highway branches again, one branch goes towards the city of La Paz, the actual capital of Bolivia, the other branch continues to go south to the city of Valparaiso in Chile. Then the highway turns left and goes to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, crossing the entire Latin American continent. From Buenos Aires the highway continues to the southernmost point, the city of Ushuaia, located on the shores of the Strait of Magellan.
In addition to the strategic economic value, there isone more function that Pan American highway performs. Traveling on the longest road is associated with unforgettable impressions. For example, the highway runs along the arid terrain of the planet Earth, the Akatam desert. The main attraction of the desert - a giant human hand, rising from the sands, symbolizing the perishing traveler, sinking in the sandy abyss. The sculpture with a height of 11 meters was created by sculptor Mario Irarrasabal in 1992. The Pan-American Highway, the description of which is not possible to do in one article, will give the traveler a lot of impressions.
