Quote:
Originally Posted by Olefin
Not sure about PA but the New York State Thruway was build to be used for emergency landings and takeoffs for bombers and fighters. I don't know if they were intended for operational loading (i.e. fully loaded with bombs and fuel) but there have been over 20 landings on the Thruway by various small planes over the years - they even have been charged for using the Thruway when then do so (in 1976 there was a 300 dollar fee charged for using the Thruway to take off)
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The relative small size of some countries and the limited number of major airports and airbases would make this necessary due to the fact that they would be likely targets, but I think less so in America. Although some major American roads were undoubtedly designed with this in mind, I don't think the use of the road system by the military for emergency take off and landings is much of an issue due to the fact that the country is literally littered with runways both military and civilian.
California for example probably has nearly as many major runways (and minor ones) as the whole of Western Europe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._in_California
The other states...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._United_States
...and then click on the individual state.