Most people are used to hearing songs inside their cars already, but hearing music from a road while driving over it sounds like something out of a movie. But it is very much a reality already, with several road stretches across the globe playing music as you go over them.
Here are 7 highways that play music as you drive over them.
The concept of musical roads began in Denmark in 1995 with the creation of the “Asphaltophone.” Designed by artists Steen Krarup Jensen and Jakob Freud-Magnus in Gylling, it was the first road in the world to incorporate melody into the driving experience. This early example laid the foundation for musical roads around the world.
France followed suit in 2000 with a melody road in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis. Though the installation was paved over within two years, some drivers report hearing faint musical notes when driving through the area. It remains a short-lived but notable early attempt at musical road design.
In 2008, the United States introduced its first musical road in Lancaster, California. Known as the “Civic Musical Road,” it played the finale of the “William Tell Overture” and was later relocated due to noise complaints. Another musical road exists in New Mexico, where a section of Route 66 plays “America the Beautiful” to encourage safe driving speeds.
Japan has embraced the concept more than any other country, with over 30 musical roads across the nation. The idea reportedly began when a construction worker accidentally discovered that road grooves could produce musical tones. Now, roads in Japan play melodies ranging from the theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion to “Always with Me” from Spirited Away.
In South Korea, musical roads serve a practical purpose—keeping drivers alert. A road near Anyang in Gyeonggi Province plays the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” helping to prevent drowsy driving and improve focus on the road.
Indonesia’s musical road on the Ngawi–Kertosono section of the Solo–Kertosono Toll Road plays the first few notes of “Happy Birthday.” The tune was chosen to encourage drivers to maintain the correct speed and reduce the number of traffic accidents in the region.
Hungary added its musical road in 2019 as a tribute to László Bódi, known by his stage name Cipő, lead singer of the band Republic. When driven over at the correct speed, Road 67 plays a 30-second snippet of the band’s song “67-es út,” honoring the artist’s legacy.