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| Paraguayan Highway | Scenic Drive, Manhattan, KS |
| Background Information Scenic Drive in Manhattan, Kansas was built in the last decade. It now connects Anderson Avenue with Kansas Highway 18. The road was cut through farmland and wooded areas. People living in the growing northwest section of Manhattan now have a more direct route to the airport, Fort Riley and locations west on Interstate 70. Houses are being built along this corridor. There had been just dirt paths in the jungle between two Paraguayan towns, Encarnacion and Cuidad del Este (formerly Puerto Presidente Stroessner). General Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay from 1954-1989, wanted to improve the transport system for deployment of the military and movement of goods. He had Ruta 6 (Route 6) built connecting the two cities, destroying forestland in the process. Paraguayans were concerned that no cities were located on this route. Stroessner told them to build the road and the cities would come. And he was right! Santa Rita was founded on this route in the 1990s and is the only planned city in Paraguay. Creative Design Activity Look at a map of your community or state. Design a road taking into account the current or future transportation needs of your community or state and remember to consider the environmental issues in those areas. Address the following questions: Where does the road go? Why does it go there? How was it named? Does the road make a difference? What are the consequences (positive and negative) of this road? Students may use paper maps locally available or get maps from the Internet. Presentations may be in written, oral or Powerpoint form. Mock persuasive presentations may be made to convince local government officials to build the road. **An extension of this activity would be to look into the roads built by ancient civilizations (Romans, Incas). |
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