The history of how roads are built, and what future construction may look like

We've come a long way from what are thought to be the first constructed roads on earth, streets paved with mud bricks and bitumen built in Mesopotamia around 4000 B.C. Today, there are more than 4 million miles of finished roads across the U.S.—enough to circle the Earth 160 times.

In between, society has seen considerable developments: from asphalt to concrete, private projects to federally funded efforts, and beyond. And these leaps aren't just in the field of construction, either. Improved roads mean an improved society. They help facilitate an economic and social connection between previou...