If life is a highway, it’s bound to be better with music!
Videos by InspireMore
Highway engineers have found a solution to calm traffic that’s just as ingenious as it is creative. They’re called musical roads, and they’re made using rumble strips and grooves that make a certain sound when a car hits them at the right speed and angle. These magical roadways are located all over the world, including a few right here in the United States.
1. The first musical road that was created in Lancaster, California was a failure. Local residents complained about the noise, and drivers reported more cacophony than music. Officials paved over it and later installed a new road farther away that’s still not perfect, but can be enjoyed nonetheless. When drivers maintain a steady 50 miles per hour, they’re treated to “The William Tell Overture,” otherwise known as the theme song for “The Lone Ranger.”
2. Hungary installed rumble strips on the well-travelled Route 67. When drivers keep their speed steady at the limit, they’re treated to the Hungarian rock ballad “67-es út,” which translates to “Route 67.”
3. Drivers traveling the access road to Mt. Fuji in Japan are encouraged to travel at the speed limit to avoid accidents, which used to happen a lot on this road. Now, they hear “Miagete Goran Yoru No Hoshi Wo'” by Kyu Sakamoto when they hit the correct speed.
4. There’s an old stretch of Route 66 near Tijeras, New Mexico where you can hear “America the Beautiful” when you drive a steady 45 miles per hour.
5. Auburn University’s College of Engineering in Alabama designed a musical road that plays the first seven notes of the Auburn Tigers fight song, “War Eagle.” This section of South Donahue Drive was subsequently renamed “War Eagle Road.”
6. Traveling down the 100 expressway in South Korea earns drivers a cheery rendition of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”
7. This musical road in Beijing, China road plays “Ode To The Motherland” when drivers maintain the speed limit.
8. Drive down this road in Indonesia for an unexpected “Happy Birthday” song.
9. In Hokkaido, Japan the musical road plays “Shiretoko Love Song.”
We had never heard of this cool phenomenon before, but now we want to see (and hear!) them all. Who else is up for a road trip?
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