# What's the oldest road still used as-is for motor vehicles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197 "2007-10-01T20:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/1 "2007-10-01T20:21:02Z")
What’s the oldest road that’s been in more or less continuous use since its construction, that’s still in use for motor vehicle traffic today? One more stipulation: the basic method of its construction and maintenance has to have been unchanged: changing the pavement composition or grading method would “reset” the clock, but adding new lanes by the same original method and/or do routine maintenance with the same exact materials (but not necessarily the same techniques,) would still count. Are there any old Roman roads that are being used by motor vehicles that still use the old Roman pavement? I know there are plenty of _routes_ that still follow Roman paths, but not with the pavement still intact. Dirt roads would still count, too, provided they’ve been in use for some time as roads with the same style of drainage. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/2 "2007-10-01T21:27:43Z")
Not the oldest, probably, but it’s worth mentioning the Grosse Strasse on the [Nazi rally grounds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_party_rally_grounds) in Nürnburg; 2 kilometers long, 40 meters wide, and paved with granite. It was finished in 1939, and isn’t going to wear out anytime soon. When I was there a few years ago, there were traffic lanes along the edges and trucks parked down the middle. I don’t suppose the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (finished in 1909) counts. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/3 "2007-10-01T21:51:04Z")
I was thinking of limiting it to more than a certain size, but that certain size would only be a block or so. So the Nazi rally grounds qualifies by size, but the yard of bricks wouldn’t under the qualifications I was _going_ to issue. However, I suppose I shouldn’t limit my enquiry, and it’s still eminently being used by motor vehicles and has been since inception. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/4 "2007-10-01T22:00:59Z")
I immediately thought of the Appian Way. A road build in 350 BCE could be a contender. > **[Appian Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Appia)** > > The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recorded by Statius, of Appia longarum... regina viarum ("the Appian Way, the queen of the long roads"). > The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 The Appia... But at the end of the article I see that the current Appian Way was built paralled to the old one in 1784. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/5 "2007-10-01T22:12:37Z")
Wade’s Road in Scotland was constructed in 1730. Parts of it are still being used today. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/6 "2007-10-01T22:13:50Z")
i would look in Iraq (Mesopotamia, Sumaria, etc.) or in Egypt. Although elsewhere in the middle east would also be a good guess. I believe Jerico is thought to be the oldest dity and Damascus is the oldest continuously occupied place. So maybe a street in Damascus would be a candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/7 "2007-10-01T22:27:29Z")
A related question, and perhaps the one a _really_ wanted to ask all along: in those ancient cities, are there places where the pavement technique has not changed in all this time, and where you could still drive a motor vehicle? I mean, I 'm sure there’s a European city somewhere with continuous medieval/renaissance cobblestones that you can still drive a car through as a regular part of a street. I just don’t know how to look for cites (a quick Google led me to a cite from New York City from the 1600s, but I didn’t look into that one much further.) ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/8 "2007-10-01T22:40:14Z")
Okay let’s take David Simmons’ example… [http://damascus-online.com/se/geo/street\_called\_straight.htm](http://damascus-online.com/se/geo/street_called_straight.htm) _“ **Street Called Straight** (Roman Via Recta): One of the main streets of ancient Damascus. Mentioned in the New Testament in connection with St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity, it’s believed to be the oldest known street in the world.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/9 "2007-10-01T22:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] i would look in Iraq (Mesopotamia, Sumaria, etc.) or in Egypt. Although elsewhere in the middle east would also be a good guess. I believe Jerico is thought to be the oldest dity and Damascus is the oldest continuously occupied place. So maybe a street in Damascus would be a candidate. [/QUOTE] If you look in the Bible at Acts 9:11, you’ll find reference to “the street called Straight” in Damascus at the time of St. Paul’s conversion, usually dated to about 35 A.D. That street was the main thoroughfare of Roman Damascus, and [it still exists in approximately the same form as then.](http://www.abu.nb.ca/Courses/NTIntro/images/DamasStraight.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/10 "2007-10-02T12:20:48Z")
[QUOTE=Doug Bowe] Okay let’s take David Simmons’ example… [http://damascus-online.com/se/geo/street\_called\_straight.htm](http://damascus-online.com/se/geo/street_called_straight.htm) _“ **Street Called Straight** (Roman Via Recta): One of the main streets of ancient Damascus. Mentioned in the New Testament in connection with St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity, it’s believed to be the oldest known street in the world.”_ [/QUOTE] Ahhh, that’s probably a contender even if it’s unclear to me whether motor vehicles are allowed (especially thru that narrow gate.) It seems to be a perfectly good part of the city transportation infrastructure and not much changed in its construction. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/11 "2007-10-02T14:23:40Z")
Some of the Italian towns, like Siena, have roads that are made of stone pavers, and that look like they haven’t been touched in hundreds of years. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/12 "2007-10-02T15:59:10Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Ahhh, that’s probably a contender even if it’s unclear to me whether motor vehicles are allowed (especially thru that narrow gate.) It seems to be a perfectly good part of the city transportation infrastructure and not much changed in its construction. [/QUOTE] Other pictures, which I did not link to, show the area outside the gate (i.e., behind the camera view from the picture I linked to). The road is not remarkably wide at that point, but is the equivalent of a narrow two-way street, and in fact did have a couple of (compact) cars parked along one side. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/13 "2007-10-02T17:04:12Z")
[QUOTE=Doug Bowe] I immediately thought of the Appian Way. A road build in 350 BCE could be a contender. > **[Appian Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Appia)** > > The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recorded by Statius, of Appia longarum... regina viarum ('the Appian Way, the queen of the long roads'). The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who, during the Samnite Wars, began and completed the first section as a military In July 20... But at the end of the article I see that the current Appian Way was built paralled to the old one in 1784. [/QUOTE] The original road, the Via Appia Antica, on the outskirts of Rome is still open to cars (because there are houses along it) and that stretch, out beyond the tomb of Cecilia Metella, still has bits of the Roman road surface. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/14 "2007-10-02T20:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Wade’s Road in Scotland was constructed in 1730. Parts of it are still being used today. [/QUOTE] Do you know of places where the original surface, as specified in the OP, is still being used by traffic? Personally I would not count the occasional landrover as “traffic”. All roads that are regarded as part of the road network in Scotland have been tarred at some point, so if Wade’s routes are still being used the surface has been replaced. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/15 "2007-10-02T20:54:43Z")
Hey, the OP said “as is” and “motor vehicles.” There was no mention of frequency of traffic! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/16 "2007-10-02T21:10:23Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Some of the Italian towns, like Siena, have roads that are made of stone pavers, and that look like they haven’t been touched in hundreds of years. [/QUOTE] Ditto Dubrovnik. The main street (Stradun) was paved in 1468. Some of the paving has been replaced to repair shell damage from the siege in the 1990s, but to all intenst and purposes it’s still “as is” after 539 years. Check out [this picture](http://p.vtourist.com/2412767-Stradun-Dubrovnik.jpg). Those stones aren’t wet, just polished mirror-smooth by centuries of traffic. Unfortunately for the purposes of this question, the town centre is pedestrianised, but when I was there I did see motorised garbage carts using the street, if that counts. 🙂 I do remember that parts of the town centre of Padua in Italy are virtually unchanged since the 1200s. Whether any of the original paving is still there on roads open to motor traffic I cannot recall. But to be honest, I think the terms of the OP would lead you to a dirt road somewhere in the Middle East. I doubt if you could identify a single candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-road-still-used-as-is-for-motor-vehicles/421197/17 "2007-10-02T21:27:37Z")
There is good evidence that Wilshire Blvd started as an animal path in prehistoric times (think La Brea Tar Pits). Although clearly not in its original condition, it would satisfy the OP’s first condition.