Taroko Gorge Road, Taiwan
Image source: Flikr
While offering spectacular views of Taroko National Park, this masterpiece of engineering is now recognized as one of the world’s most dangerous roads. Hugely popular with tourism, buses, scooters, and pedestrians all fight for space on the narrow twisting flanked by an enormous canyon while during the rainy season debris from the mountainside lies strewn across the asphalt. Constant seismic activity has left the road in a state of disrepair these days, increasing the danger as well as the risk of rockslides, and other geological events. Coupled with monsoon rains, its a tremendous challenge for engineers to effect any kind of maintenance, and the road gets more dangerous every year.