Street Maintenance and Construction

The first paved street linked the Circus Maximus to the Aventine in Rome in 174 bc. The Romans eventually constructed the world’s first superhighway system, stretching across most of Europe. The interconnected system, which facilitated communications and trade, chiefly explains the Romans’ 500-year hegemonic rule. After Rome’s fall, warring barbarian tribes shut the system down, ending the trade network and plunging Europe into the Dark Ages.