ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some broad generalisations that emerge from the study of the technical history of roads, and will also make some particular observations that may have some more general validity. The history of the Roman roads and the Scottish highland roads has shown that military roads are two-edged swords. Military roads fulfil their purpose in keeping control of the country only so long as a strong army is present. From the early decades of the eighteenth century until the end of the twentieth century, road builders have generally tried to ‘make the road suit the traffic’ in line with John Loudon McAdam’s maxim. During the nineteenth century period of railway building, tunnels were often used to carry the lines through natural obstructions caused by difficult terrain, and many of the techniques of both hard-rock and soft-ground tunnelling were developed as a consequence.
