Your Favorite AH Megaproject/Wonder of the World

For the Sci-Fi-turned-AH file, how about Heinlein's "Rolling roads"? Those were basically giant conveyor belts between cities with passenger compartments and even dining cars on them. They apparently replaced automobiles in his history. I personally think they're totally implausible (for them to be slow enough to step onto reasonably, they'd take forever to get anywhere - unless you have many 'lanes' of varying speed).
The "many lanes" idea is how Asimov's Expressways solve the problem. The central wide portion (with some subway-car-like seats) moves at 60 mph, with many narrow strips on each side, each 5 mph or so slower than the one inside.

The variable-speed detachable cars are used in real life by high-speed ski lifts. A conventional "fixed" lift has to move slowly enough for people to get on and off the moving chairs (around 5 mph max.)- a high-speed lift has a "fast" cable that goes up and down the mountain (at up to 20 mph), and a "slow" cable at each end which is used while people get on and off (at around 2-3 mph).
 
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They glided down an electric staircase, and debouched on the walkway which bordered the north-bound five-mile-an-hour strip." Have you ever ridden a conveyor strip before?" Gaines inquired. "It's quite simple. Just remember to face against the motion of the strip as you get on."[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They threaded their way through homeward-bound throngs, passing from strip to strip...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After passing through three more wind screens located at the forty, sixty and eighty-mile-an-hour strips, respectively, they finally reached the maximum speed strip, the hundred mile and hour strip, which made the round trip, San Diego to Reno and back, in twelve hours.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]From The Roads Must Roll, by Robert Heinlein.

Thats also how he did it.
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IIRC, it was actually H.G. Wells' idea from "When the Sleeper Awakes" for moving people around his London of the far future...

Simon ;)
 
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