Pipelines

Pipelines are used throughout the world to transport gasses and fluids over land and sometimes under the sea. They are used to most commonly transport oil, but pipelines carry water, slurry (aggregate mixed with liquid), and even beer.



Druzhba, in Russia, is the world's longest pipeline, spanning 2,500 miles. Built under Soviet reign, the name Druzhba means "friendship," as it was intended to bring oil to poor parts of the Soviet Union and Western Europe. The pipeline carries 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day (that's 50,400,000 to 58,800,000 gallons.)



Though heavily criticized for their environmental impact, pipelines due provide an efficient means of transportation. And, in fact, if the goods currently being carried by pipelines were transferred to truck transport, the highways would be extremely congested, which would undoubtedly cause more road expansion and cause possibly an even greater environmental impact through pollution than pipelines currently do. With the growing emphasis on reducing oil use and environmental impact in general, pipelines could become more widely used, especially as the technology required for maintenance and monitoring develops.

Though pipelines are rather uncommon forms of transportation, in the mega scale, the potential of pipelines as more than just means of transporting goods becomes evident. In a larger scale pipelines could replace highways as elevated tubular networks, as illustrated by Walter Chalk below. His drawing inspired a similar concept in relation to the US. Cities could become dense networks of tunnels, bridges, and pipelines-- a tubular city.




Tubular Nation.