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Japan's Clever Anti-Snow Roadways


Niigata, Japan gets a lot of snow. Way back in the 1960s, they figured out a way to keep the roads clear of snow without requiring plows. Groundwater warmed by geothermal heat is pumped through a network of pipes below the road surface, and sprayed onto the asphalt using sprinklers:

Way back in the 1960s, they figured out a way to keep the roads clear of snow without requiring plows. Groundwater warmed by geothermal heat is pumped through a network of pipes below the road surface, and sprayed onto the asphalt using sprinklers: Niigata reportedly has some 571 kilometers (355 miles) of roadways equipped with shosetsu.

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