Discover the world’s longest straight road that pierces the desert for 149 miles without a single bend!

2 min read

2 years ago Anya

A 149-mile-long or, if you prefer 256 km, stretch of highway connecting two towns holds the title of the world’s longest straight road.

This is Saudi Arabia’s Highway 10, that connect the town of Al Darb, in the southwest, to Al Batha, in the east, and it’s quite a busy road, most traversed by trucks shipping goods from one side of the country to the other, but it is most popular for its stretch through the Rub-al-Khali desert.
This particular piece of infrastructure was originally built as a private road for King Fahd, but then it became part of the public road system, claiming the Guinness Record for the world’s longest straight road, also known as “the most boring road in the world”, due to its complete lack of bends, almost completely flat terrain, and bland, featureless surroundings as far as the eye can see.

The stretch of Highway 10 connecting Highway 75 in the Haradh area to Highway 95 in the west of Saudi Arabia pierces the desert in a curveless line for 149 miles (240 km), before bending slightly just before the town of Al Batha, near the Gulf Coast and the border with the United Arab Emirates, with an estimated driving time of about 2 hours.

While the exact reasons behind building such a long, straight road remain unknown, some speculate it served as a high-speed route for the King. Regardless of its origin, Highway 10 stands as a testament to modern engineering and a truly unique driving experience.

Interestingly, the world’s longest straight road claimed the title from a 91.1-mile (146km) stretch of Australia’s Eyre Highway, still known as Australia’s longest straight road, the Eyre Highway, a stretch connecting Western Australia and South Australia.
While driving on Highway 10 might seem like setting the cruise control on autopilot, drivers are warned against complacency.
In fact, despite the lack of bends, collisions are not uncommon, because the desert landscape presents its own set of hazards, with vehicles needing to be cautious of stray camels (or the occasional kangaroo, in Australia)….