Run cargo trucks at highway speed over Roman roads and see how well they hold up.
I’m pretty sure modern traffic does use Roman roads, although extreme grades and an uneven surface limits the possible speeds. This meme is saying the opposite thing, which is that Roman roads were overengineered.
and a horse cart weighs a while lot less than even a compact car.
I question that, even. Juvinal’s cart loaded with Ligurian marble would have weighed a damn lot.
So my sister is a civil engineer. I asked her: „The damage a vehicle does to the road doesn’t increase linearly with the weight, right? It’s quadratic.“
„Oh no“, she replied „it’s to the sixteenth power.“
Run cargo trucks at highway speed over Roman roads and see how well they hold up.
Heavier vehicles do dramatically more road damage than light ones, and a horse cart weighs a while lot less than even a compact car.
Roman road construction isn’t some ancient lost secret that cannot be recreated, it just isn’t fit for modern purpose.
I’m pretty sure modern traffic does use Roman roads, although extreme grades and an uneven surface limits the possible speeds. This meme is saying the opposite thing, which is that Roman roads were overengineered.
I question that, even. Juvinal’s cart loaded with Ligurian marble would have weighed a damn lot.
So my sister is a civil engineer. I asked her: „The damage a vehicle does to the road doesn’t increase linearly with the weight, right? It’s quadratic.“
„Oh no“, she replied „it’s to the sixteenth power.“
Oh god. That’s a rare fucking power to see.
Is that tire pressure (on the pavement), total vehicle weight, or axle weight?
I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’m not the civil engineer.
If you asked her sometime, I’d be very appreciative.
Ok, she issued a correction.
It’s the axle weight to the power of 4.
Ah. That’s still uncommonly high though. I see why they say trucks do almost all of the damage.
Looks like it’s axle load, and damage is measured by time for the road to become unacceptably broken by whatever standard.