Alliance Highway

Toria

The **Alliance Highway** (Darian: Алаиэнс Хаиуэи) is the longest road in the world. It runs roughly north-south for over 6,700 blocks, connecting four of the six member states of the Coastal Alliance, from which it takes its name. The highway begins in Bereza, Hexipel, and travels south through Shawty and Clerica before ending in Shielded Globe, Mashuiza. Running roughly along the east coasts of Vosa and Frauen, it remains the only road connection between the two continents.

LETO constructed the Alliance Highway in three phases, lasting a total of 51 days. Construction on Phase I began on Day 67. Phase III was completed on Day 118, and the highway was opened to traffic that same day.

## History

    The earliest proposal for an overworld route between Vosa and Frauen was made by CyanKnight\_ on Day 32, as part of his path system in Frauen. He mentioned plans to "connect New Santiago and the UKF by path", and later added Shielded Globe to his goal.

On Day 64, CyanKnight\_ and ratat0ing formed the LoreCraft Exploration and Transportation Organization (LETO) to realize plans for an international highway system. The group proposed routes reaching from New Santiago in the north to Shielded Globe, Kadosh, and Corifiden in the south. Around this time, a public meeting between LETO leadership and the Shawtian triarchy was held to determine the route a new highway would take around the city-state of Shawty. Early LETO proposals marked the NPC village of Oowoo as a major crossroads which would serve as a "LETO hub". Eventually, LETO settled on a shorter but still ambitious route between New Santiago and Shielded Globe. On Day 83, ratat0ing dubbed the planned road the "Alliance Highway", a nod to the four Coastal Alliance nations that the highway would pass through.

### Construction

The Alliance Highway was constructed by LETO in three phases, starting in the north and moving south.

#### Phase I

    Phase I ran from New Santiago to Shawty, as an extension of an existing highway between Bereza and New Santiago. ratat0ing broke ground on Phase I on Day 67. Much of the labor during this phase consisted of clearing vegetation in the Hexipellian province of Lontoing, which was especially intensive since the road is an extra-wide divided highway up to the Hexipellian border. Phase I was completed around Day 94, lasting 27 days.

#### Phase II

Phase II ran from Shawty through Mariun to the south shore of Clerica Minor. CyanKnight\_ and ratat0ing began construction on Phase II around Day 94 and finished only five days later, on Day 99. The relatively short construction time can be credited to the narrower single-carriageway design of Phase II, in contrast to the divided highway of Phase I. Additionally, much of Phase II ran through open plains.

#### Phase III

    Phase III began with the construction of the intercontinental Victoria Bridge. The cable-stayed bridge, designed to span 600 blocks across the Clerican Sea, was expected to be the most labor-intensive portion of the entire project. CyanKnight\_ and ratat0ing broke ground on the bridge on Day 99. The bridge was to be supported by five massive concrete towers, each 65 blocks tall. Ten piles were driven into the seabed to support the five towers. Sixteen diorite cables were then installed at each tower to support the bridge deck. Halfway through construction, LETO hosted an auction to name the bridge. The highest bidder was Toria with 45 diamonds; she named it the Victoria Bridge. After five days of construction, LETO completed the bridge on Day 103.

    After the bridge, construction on Phase III of the Alliance Highway continued south into Mashuiza, wrapped around Makaroon Bay, and turned west to end in Shielded Globe. Near Makaroon Bay, the highway bypassed the NPC villages of Oowoo and New Spawnee. Smaller unpaved spurs were constructed to provide access to the villages. Originally, the segment between Oowoo and Shielded Globe was planned to bridge across Makaroon Bay then run along the northern coast of Mashuiza. LETO later found this route to be unfeasible due to the mountainous terrain along the coast. Instead, the highway was rerouted through a forest south of the mountains. A long, curved bridge was constructed to carry the Alliance Highway across Mashuiza Bay, due to high cliffs along the edge of the bay.

    Mashuese Governor trailhopper27 requested a tunnel to be built through the mountains east of Shielded Globe. ratat0ing initially agreed with his proposal, but later advised against it after land surveys revealed a more viable route around the mountains. They eventually reached a compromise, with LETO accepting the tunnel proposal on the condition that it would be constructed by trailhopper27. When the highway finally reached the tunnel site, construction was delayed for over a week as trailhopper27 had not yet finished the tunnel. Eventually, the impasse was resolved when Toria volunteered to build the tunnel for free. The tunnel was named Tokki Tunnel in her honor.

Phase III was declared complete on Day 118, lasting 19 days. The entirety of the Alliance Highway was officially opened to traffic that same day. In total, construction lasted 51 days.

#### Other improvements

    While construction was delayed on Phase III, ratat0ing took the opportunity to extend the nearby Confederation Highway through Lumière to intersect the Alliance Highway south of Makaroon Bay. The spur route provides road access to Kadosh and the rest of the UKF. A complex interchange with flyover ramps was later constructed at the intersection of the two highways. Nearby, trailhopper27 founded a settlement known as Leto Junction.

ratat0ing also constructed an unpaved road (Portal Road) from the highway to Clayville, providing access to the end portal.

## Route

* **Hexipel**
	+ Six Islands province
		- Bereza
		- Bereza Bay (Glorious Bridge of the People's Republic)
		- Old Growth
		- New Santiago
		- Old Growth
	+ Lontoing province
		- Brucevale
* *Unclaimed land*
* **Shawty**
	+ - Shawty
* *Unclaimed land*
* **Clerica**
	+ - Mariun
		- Clerictown

Clerican Sea (Victoria Bridge)

* **Mashuiza**
	+ - Oowoo
		- Junction with Confederation Highway
		- Leto Junction
		- New Spawnee
		- Tokki Tunnel
		- Shielded Globe

## Footnotes

1. ↑ March 10, 2022
2. ↑ April 30, 2022
3. ↑ February 3, 2022
4. ↑ March 7, 2022
5. ↑ March 26, 2022
6. ↑ March 10, 2022
7. ↑ April 6, 2022
8. ↑ April 6, 2022
9. ↑ April 11, 2022
10. ↑ April 11, 2022
11. ↑ April 15, 2022
12. ↑ April 30, 2022