Why the Americas Still Aren't Connected by a Road

Select video clips courtesy of Getty Images

Select video clips courtesy of the AP Archive

Special thanks to MapTiler / OpenStreetMap Contributors and GEOlayers 3

[KJ]

Fact: a COPA airlines plane crashed in the Darien gap and was one of the hardest plane wreckage’s to find due to the location

[bababababababa]

If the Darien Gap was American territory there would already be a 6 lane highway plowing through

[realnutteruk]

I went through the Panama canal at the age of 8, in 1973.... I love the fact that the Pacific entrance is further east than the Atlantic entrance...

[breakt]

Man, I gotta appreciate these videos for a second. The way you explain things in combination with your graphics is so straightforward and easy to follow. Especially when describing strategic situations, this is such easily-digestible content. Great craftsmanship involved and a TON of research I'm sure! You're doing good work to educate myself and many others!

[Yora]

Ironic that a giant road that crosses a whole continent suddenly comes to a stop at a town called Turbo.

[joseibsaborrerobenavides]

I am from Panama. What is going on in Darien is way worst than what is being reported and unscrupulous people and organizations are profiting from it.
That being said, I hope the gap is never opened. We are a third world country with incompetent authorities that will sell us out to cartels and guerrillas in a second.

[WindTurbineSyndrome]

Some YouTubers walked it recently and got caught in Panama and were deported by bus to Costa Rica. They said it was absolute hell.

[Default]

Another big reason why there is no hurry to build a highway through the gap is that it functions as something of a firebreak for holding back the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease and screwworm to North American agriculture. The US, Mexico, and Panama maintain an extensive program of spreading sterile screwworm flies in the Gap to keep outbreaks south of the border.

[aidancadogan]

Civil Engineer here: not only is the construction of a road a nightmare, but before that, immense permitting and surveying must be conducted. That means that every acre of the gap that would be used for a roadway must be surveyed by people or drones in this environment, which is its own issue.

[impendio]

I briefly worked on one of the many proposals for an electrical grid interconnection point between Panama and Colombia, and even that, with HVDC terminals way outside the gap, connecting underwater, is still such an unbelievable expensive and complicated endeavor that I don’t see it ever getting done either. Personally as a Panamanian that has worked in Darien, I don’t see the gap ever getting closed. Another thing that went unmentioned in this video is that the area where the gap exists is home to several indigeous groups that are fairly well protected by our laws and basically self rule themselves, and have no intentions of getting their millennial homeland destroyed. That said, many of these groups also benefit massively by the drug trade, enabling and assisting traffickers through their lands.

And this is not even mentioning the immigration concerns already existing in panama due to the massive and unregulated migration of colombians in the 90s and venezuelans in the 2000s. It’s all so very complicated and we have plenty of other things to worry already…

[erictaylor]

4:55 Concrete doesn't dry, it cures. In fact, allowing concrete to dry out as it cures will cause damage. In dry climates you need to keep the surface wet for several days.
They make concrete that will set under water, so really the rain is not a huge problem. The heat and humidity is however.

[TheOriginalFaxon]

Just FYI, hardening concrete in a wet environment is not only not difficult, but it's actually incredibly easy with the right concrete chemistry, since there are water hardening concretes that will harden more the wetter they get. This is what they use for building bridges and dams. The real issue is with ensuring it doesn't crack (self healing concrete is also a thing to help this), because water getting into any rebar lattice holding the concrete together will rust it apart and cause the slab to spall.

[angusbotham]

Just a little correction: the mountains in the gap are not higher than those in Australia, they are 400m lower than mt Kosciuszko

[adayforgotten]

Great video. One thing though. Google maps with preloaded maps, or another offline oriented map app, work 100% fine without cell service. GPS is global and doesn't require internet.

[m.m.]

I'm so glad that I found this channel. I'm in Europe and never heard of this. Extremely educational and well done.

[ekiMK]

I've seen a video about the geographical challenges of the Darien gap before, but knowing the political climate in the area really adds a lot to the story!

[MsZeeZed]

Fun fact Darien’s lethal environment is why Scotland lost its independence to England. Scotland’s attempt to bridge Atlantic to Pacific trade pre-Canal, and get stinking rich, bankrupted Scotland when all their people sent to develop a road in Darien died.

[astraw]

one thing: common misconception that you need a cell signal to accurately know your location via Google Maps. If you download the map area ahead of time, your phone has a GPS receiver that operates independently from cell service and with a clear view of the sky (regardless of cell service) you can know your location on the planet at all times.

[scottplumer]

Geopolitical issues aside, I think it's great that there's still an area untouched by the modern world. Not implying that this is the only area like that, but there needs to be some blank spots on the map.

[rampy]

In 1961, Chevrolet took 3 1961 Corvairs thru the Darien Gap. Search "Daring the Darien" to watch a GM promotional film about that trip, keeping in mind that GM downplayed the disease aspect of the trip. One of the cars is still in the jungle somewhere, as it was too damaged to bring back home. Great video, RLL.