# World's Widest Road? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510 "2005-08-10T21:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/1 "2005-08-10T21:32:15Z")
I heard a trivia question asking how many cars would fit across Brazil’s “monumental axis”, I think the rioad was called. The answer was 160! Sheesh! Is this true? How do cars maneuver on such a road? If you gotta go potty, and you’re in the fast lane, better let the driver know hours in advance to exit! …I wag it’s 10% driving lanes, 90% median strip! What’s the SD on this road? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/2 "2005-08-10T21:37:17Z")
It appears that this is just another huge myth. [Scroll 3/4 down this site](http://www.geocities.com/thetropics/3416/errors_and_myths_about_brasilia.htm) and you can see a picture of it. It is really just two 6 lane roads running somewhat parallel. It is not that big at all. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/3 "2005-08-10T21:56:56Z")
I’m sure it isn’t the biggest but at one time I-15 near the Mirimar air station in San Diego has a half mile stretch with ten lanes in each direction. I’m sure there are bigger roads but that is approaching the limit of practicality. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/4 "2005-08-10T22:52:00Z")
I 80 heading westbound has a stretch where it’s 20 lanes wide, but that’s at the Bay Bridge tollbooth. Probably not what you had in mind, but it’s still a huge hunk of pavement. There are spots around here where roads get to be as much as seven and eight lanes wide at junctions. Daunting, especially if you realize that you’re on the wrong side. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/5 "2005-08-10T23:03:19Z")
[Highway 401](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_401) across Toronto, between Dixie Road in Mississauga and Whites Road in Pickering (roughly), a distance of maybe 40 km, is at least twelve lanes wide. Except for the bit between the 427 and the 409. That’s gotta set some sort of record for area at least. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/6 "2005-08-11T02:54:52Z")
I believe the New Jersey Turnpike has twelve lanes near New Brunswick, although there are two sections; one for all traffic and another only for passenger cars. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/7 "2005-08-11T06:05:01Z")
According to the roadgeeks at misc.transport.roads, Canada’s Highway 401 through Toronto is the winner in the “most lanes” category with 20. The US winner is 16 lanes on I-75 north of I-285 in metro Atlanta and I-5 in downtown Seattle. Maybe with that big barrel of pork transportation bill Bush just signed we can take the title back from the Canadians… [http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html#a123](http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html#a123) That entry also says that Brasilia’s Monumental Axis is the world’s widest road, which includes a wide median in the center. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-widest-road/316510/8 "2005-08-11T06:18:37Z")
The “El Toro Y”, where the 405 and the 5 meet in Irvine, has 26 lanes. Here’s the Wikipedia page: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El\_Toro\_Y](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Toro_Y) And here’s a cool Google maps overhead shot: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.644313,-117.735296&spn=0.005422,0.008633&t=k&hl=en I’m very glad I don’t have to drive that anymore.