In 2004 it was determined that the Madrid Calle 30 motorway was a barrier to the urban areas it ran through. So they put it underneath those urban areas. The above photograph is the result of the Madrid Rio Project.

26 miles of motorway have been placed underground. Above ground there is ​​1,210,881 square metres of new park land with 33,623 trees and stunning river views. Instead of Madrid’s busiest road people can now jog, run, cycle, meet, hang out, or simply enjoy a nice sunset. It cost €3.9 billion. The park areas were only just finished when we stayed in Madrid. There’s a promotional video on Youtube that really details the project.

It’s nothing short of mind blowing. It’s incredible that they even came up with the idea. Incredible that they developed, funded and actually made it work. It’s simply incredible to see people putting the overall health of a city above building new apartments or offices. They felt that trees, places to go running and places to enjoy ice-cream with your kids were the most important things to provide. Well done Madrid.