This photo of a road is baffling people, so here’s why it doesn’t take the shortest route

A photo of a road has gone viral on Twitter this week that’s absolutely baffling everyone, so here’s a full explanation of why it does in fact have to be like that.

The image shows a road that curves around and then goes over itself using a bridge, and people can’t understand why the road doesn’t just link up using the shortest route instead.

“I have been pretending to understand for two years.. WHY does the bridge go over itself just to meet the same road?? @grok please explain this,” the post, which has had over 7 million views, says.

It looks like whoever designed the road is just adding extra tarmac for absolutely no reason at all, but there is a very logical reason for it, and it all comes down to the gradient of the road.

I have been pretending to understand for 2 years..
WHY does the bridge go over itself just to meet the same road?? @grok please explain this pic.twitter.com/gNF6U7CxHZ

— ❀Ꮲ ʀ ɪ ɴ ᴄ ᴇ ✰ (@PrinceOf_Darkns) June 2, 2026

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Basically, if the road just connected where the red lines are, it would be too steep for vehicles to get up. The photo is taken from above, so it doesn’t look like that big of a hill, but it’s actually a very big incline.

Having the road go around and loop back over itself means the road can gradually increase in height at a gentle gradient, making it easier for cars to get up. This is especially needed for heavy vehicles like lorries, which find it harder to climb hills.

One person very nicely explained: “It’s all about physics! The loop adds distance so the road can descend at a safe, gentle gradient rather than a steep slope.”

“I think it looks pointless until you remember cars aren’t helicopters. The extra distance is there to keep the slope manageable. Otherwise, we’d all be launching ourselves into traffic,” someone else said. It’s actually a pretty simple concept. 

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Featured image credit: Twitter