Most Dangerous Roads Ever Built

Constructed: 1977
Risk Factor: Falling rocks, head-on collisions with other cars

The Guoliang Tunnel holds the distinction of being one of the only roads in the world that was carved by hand. Named after a rebel during the Han Dynasty, the tunnel is the village of Guoliang’s only connection to the outside world. It was constructed by a group of villagers in 1977.

Guoliang Tunnel, China @PandoTrip / Pinterest.com

The villagers, desperate for a road to the outside world, sold their livestock to buy tools. With hammers and chisels, they carved a 16-foot-tall, 0.75-mile-long, 13-foot-wide tunnel. Videos on YouTube demonstrate how death-defying this tunnel is. You’re always at a risk for falling rocks or head-on collisions with other cars, as visibility is low on this claustrophobic road. The death toll for the Guoliang Tunnel is estimated between 300 and 1,000.

Constructed: 1964 (Closed in 2017)
Risk Factor: Crashes from sliding on the icy road

The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road was an ice road that crossed the frozen Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean between Canada’s Northwest Territories, Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik. The road reached gas hydrate fields at Langley, Aput, and Malik, and it was the only road that reached two ice-locked barges, the Arctic Star and Wurmlinger.

Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road, Canada @Matt Jacques / Twitter.com

Fans of The History Channel show Ice Road Truckers will easily recognize Tuktoyaktuk, as it was featured on the second and sixth season of the show. We got to see the perilous, icy roads, which looked like something out of a frozen Hoth-like landscape. The risk of sliding on the ice and crashing makes the isolated Tuktoyaktuk one of the most dangerous roads in the world.

Constructed: 1936
Risk Factor: Falling off the side of the steep incline, getting rear-ended

Norway’s King Haakon VII opened Trollstigen in 1938. This serpentine, twisting, one-lane road crosses through Norway’s Rauma Municipality as part of County Road 33. The road is a popular tourist attraction among thrill-seekers, as it has a 10% incline.

Trollstigen, Norway ©BlueGreen / Shutterstock.com

During the tourist season, 2,500 tourist vehicles brave this steep incline daily. In addition to the death-defying hill, there is also narrow driving space, poor traction, and eleven hairpin turns. Though dangerous, one benefit of Trollstigen is you get to see the beautiful Norwegian landscape, which makes you feel like you’ve suddenly dropped into a scene from Warner Bros’ Lord of the Rings. It’s fitting because, in English, Trollstigen means “The Troll Path.”

Constructed: 1950
Risk Factor: Getting stuck in the tough terrain, going over the side of the mountain

The Sani Pass is located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and it is the road between Underberg and Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The route up this dangerous road starts at 5,066 feet high, and it climbs 4,370 more feet to reach a total altitude of 9,436 feet above the ground. One major risk is taking a tumble off the side of the mountain.

Sani Pass, South Africa @Wikimedia

Far from being a smooth, paved road made by a company like Dycom or Fluor, the Sani Pass is made of gravel, with gradients of up to 1:3. According to South African law, only 4x4s are allowed to traverse the Sani Pass, which has claimed many lives. When traveling on the pass, you can occasionally see the wreckage and remains of vehicles that were unsuccessful at navigating the mountain pass.

Constructed: 1890
Risk Factor: The road’s rock turns to dust or mud, causing sliding and getting stuck

The Skippers Canyon Road is the most dangerous road in New Zealand. When the gold rush took off in the nineteenth century, there was no road present. As miners traverse the canyon, they began to form rough, steep tracks that eventually formed the beginnings of Skippers Road. In 1890, an actual road was constructed over the rough-laid tracks.

Skippers Canyon Road, New Zealand @Amazing roads picdump / imgur.com

The legend behind this road is that more money has been spent to build it than all the gold in Skippers Canyon could repay. Skippers Canyon Road is made from local rock, which is so soft that it turns to dust in dry weather and slippery, slimy mud in wet. When the rock turns to mud, traveling this road is like riding a roller coaster at Six Flags.

Constructed: 1965
Risk Factor: Poor conditions of the road cause crashes

The Friendship Highway is a 500-mile scenic route, connecting Lhasa, Tibet to the border of China and Nepal. Friendship Highway traverses three passes that are higher than 16,400 feet before it drops to 5,700 feet when you reach the border, meaning there is a decline of more than 10,000 feet on this road.

Friendship Highway, Tibet @gonomad / Pinterest.com

Despite the Disney name, the Friendship Highway is anything but nice. This road is not in great condition, in part because of devastating earthquakes that hit the region in 2015. The bumpy, rocky road, combined with the drastic decline and peoples’ tendency to speed, has caused quite a few accidents on the not-so-friendly Friendship Highway.

Constructed: 1912
Risk Factor: Hairpin turns cause crashes, possibility of falling off the steep side of the Alps

The Col De Turini is a nail-biter, and fans of the Monte Carlo Rally know how dangerous and thrilling this road is. There are a ton of sharp turns, and the road is pretty narrow, and the chance of falling off the side of the Alps to your doom is present the entire way.

Col de Turini, France @roadtrooper / Pinterest.com

The road is a high mountain pass, traveling through the Alpes-Maritimes in Nice, France. The road connects Moulinet with Lantosque, and, every year, thousands of Monte Carlo fans watch the “Night of the Long Knives,” so-named because of the way cars’ high beams cut through the dark night as they complete the race. A Google Maps view of the Col de Turini reveals that, if you can get past the dangerous twists and turns, the road is actually extremely beautiful and scenic.

Constructed: 1910
Risk Factor: Sharp blind turns and one-way roads cause frequent accidents

The Road to Hana, as it’s nicknamed, is paved with a lot of dangerous, sharp turns and one-way roads. The Hana Highway is part of Hawaii Route 36 and Hawaii Route 360, connecting Kahului to East Maui. Hana Highway travels through lush, tropical rainforests, and it contains approximately 620 curves, so don’t put on your cruise control.

Hana Highway, Hawaii, USA shutterstock.com

Many of the steel and concrete bridges on the highway date back to more than a century ago, in 1910, though they’re still in use. One TripAdvisor reviewer summed up the danger of Hana Highway, explaining that it takes seven hours to traverse, and there are “sharp, blind turns” around every corner, as well as sections of the road that are too narrow for two cars to pass through.

Constructed: 1963
Risk Factor: Extremely hot weather leads to danger if you’re broken down, security concerns along isolated sections of the road

The Trans-Sahara Highway, also known as TAH 2, is a work in progress. It is a transnational highway that is supposed to ease and improve border formalities on a trade route across the Sahara Desert. The Trans-Sahara runs north to south, and it is home to some deadly challenges, particularly in its central section.

Trans-Sahara Highway, Africa shutterstock.com

First, as we all know from National Geographic, the Sahara Desert is one of the hottest regions in the world. Temperatures can reach 117 degrees Fahrenheit. Certain sections of the TAH 2 require special vehicles and precautions just to survive the heat, and you’re out of luck if you get stuck. Additionally, there are security concerns, particularly in the isolated Algerian section of the road.

Constructed: 700/800 A.D.
Risk Factor: Twisty, one-lane road can’t support heavier cars and is intense to try to travel through

The Conor Pass (An Chonair in Irish) is one of the highest asphalted mountain passes in Ireland. The Conor Pass is located in County Kerry along the R560 Road. The mountain pass reaches 1,496 feet high, connecting Dingle with Castlegregory and Brandon Bay.

Connor Pass, Ireland @Kathryn Guare / Pinterest.com

An Chonair is dangerous because of its twists and turns. The road, from above, looks like one of those crazy maps you’d find on the back of a box of Lucky Charms. The pass is one lane, and vehicles over two tons in weight are banned from using the road because An Chonair can’t support their weight. Dangers aside, the Conor Pass is considered one of the loveliest roads in Ireland, for those brave enough to attempt it.

Constructed: 1979
Risk Factor: Fatal landslides have been known to destroy cars

The Karakoram Highway, also known as the KKH, is often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” because it’s amazing it was ever built. During the twenty years of construction, the Pakistani highway was fraught with difficulties, mostly caused by landslides. Eventually, the engineers pulled it off, and the road would become a popular tourist attraction.

Karakoram Highway, Pakistan ©Pawika Tongtavee / Shutterstock.com

The KKH is one of the world’s highest paved roads, traversing the Karakoram Mountain Range and reaching a maximum elevation of 15,466. The landslides that plagued the Karakoram during its construction still exist, and the eight-hundred-mile road is fraught with natural disasters, from landslides to avalanches. During construction alone, 1,110 workers lost their lives from falling rocks.

Constructed: 1945
Risk Factor: Hairpin turns and high elevation cause drivers who aren’t paying attention to take a deadly tumble

The Susten Pass (Sustenpass in German) is a mountain pass that crosses the Swiss Alps. Construction of the road began in 1938 and was completed seven years later, in 1945. The Susten Pass connects Innerkirchen to Wassen.

Susten Pass, Switzerland @Motorcycle Tourer / pinterest.com

The Susten Pass is popular with tourists and thrill-seekers alike. Not only does it have beautiful views of the Alps and the Stein Glacier on the road’s southern side, but it also is high-up, with a lot of twists and turns. The Susten Pass has been described as one of the most dangerous roads in Europe, and, if you’re not paying close enough attention or speeding on the hairpins, you might take a tumble, 7,428 feet down to the ground.

Constructed: 1922
Risk Factor: Falling rocks crush cars, the road is very steep with no shoulder

Chapman’s Peak was carved out of the face of a mountain in the early 1900s, so, as you can imagine, the road is prone to falling rocks and avalanches. At the time of its construction, Chapman’s Peak was considered a huge feat of engineering. But, the road wasn’t without its flaws.

Chapman’s Peak, South Africa @wikipedia

Chapman’s Peak has been closed several times after motorist deaths, either from falling rocks or tumbling off the steep cliff into the harsh Atlantic Ocean. Chapman’s Peak was first shut down in the 1990s after falling rocks caused a death and then a lawsuit. It was reopened a decade later as a toll road, but it was shut down again in 2008 because of more rockfalls. It’s now reopened for tourists bold enough to drive it.

Constructed: 1952
Risk Factor: Extremely dangerous during storms, a peak point of traffic congestion in the state

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel bring with them a lot of drama. Also known as the Bay Bridge, this road was completed in 1952 after decades of delays. It was the longest over-the-water steel structure when it first opened.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, Virginia @WhatsTrending / Twitter.com

The Bay Bridge has gotten on the nerves of its motorists since it opened. It has a dual-span, two-hundred-foot-high deck that becomes truly terrifying during storms. Drivers traveling in bad weather cannot even see the shore from the bridge when they’re driving. Even in good weather, the Bay Bridge is still a major point of traffic congestion. Washingtonian called it one of the top ten “scariest” roads in America.