The world’s longest straight road is in Saudi Arabia and is so long that a driver can travel for more than 150 miles without turning their steering wheel. Here’s everything you need to know about the highway
The world’s longest straight road is one which runs for around 150 miles without a single bend. The stretch of tarmac cuts through the Saudi Arabian Rub Al-Khali desert.
The Middle Eastern nation has become a major player in motorsport recently, playing host to the prestigious Dakar Rally, a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the Extreme E off-road championship. The country’s vast expanses of desert have provided the perfect canvas for creating spectacular racing circuits and roads.
But it’s not just racing drivers who benefit from Saudi Arabia’s unique geography. Highway 10, which links Haradh to Al Batha, stands as one of the region’s most remarkable routes – open to ordinary motorists.
Originally constructed for King Fahd through the heart of the Rub Al-Khali desert, it holds the Guinness World Record as the planet’s longest corner-free stretch of road. Motorists can cruise for around 240km (149 miles) without needing to turn their steering wheel once.
The record was previously held by Australia’s Eyre Highway, which measured roughly 146km (91.25 miles) without a turn.
According to Guinness World Records, despite its extraordinary length, the journey doesn’t take as long as you might expect, reports the Express.
They noted: “Built originally as a private road for King Fahd (SAU), the stretch of Highway 10 connecting Highway 75 in the Haradh area to Highway 95 in the west of Saudi Arabia is 240 km (149 mi) long.
“It cuts through the desert with no bends left or right, or any appreciable gradient up or down. The super-straight stretch has an estimated driving time of around 2 hr.”
Officials have warned against speeding or dangerous driving on the road, as the monotonous landscape and absence of turns can leave drivers feeling falsely secure.
It’s not the only instance of Saudi Arabia’s fixation with linear design. The nation has begun construction on a £1trillion “smart city” set to be built in the country’s Tabuk Province.
Neom’s 110-mile-long metropolis – dubbed The Line – consists of two enormously-long parallel structures.
It is the vision of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who aims to liberate the Middle-Eastern nation from its reliance on fossil fuels and establish a fresh economy centred on science and leisure.
However, some who have been involved with the scheme have privately described the proposals as “untethered from reality”.
The metropolis has also been labelled as potentially lethal. The mirrored-glass construction is essentially a “giant greenhouse,” according to prominent design scientist Melissa Sterry.
With global temperatures climbing, June 2024’s 40C heatwave in Saudi Arabia resulted in over 1,000 deaths among those undertaking the traditional Haj pilgrimage to Mecca.