Fact Check
In September 2022, public transit advocate Hayden Carlkin posted a photograph of a winding, twisting freeway interchange, calling the public works phenomenon his "literal nightmare."
The picture above is an authentic aerial photograph of the Takaosan Interchange, located in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The same interchange can be viewed using Google Images' satellite imagery.
We reached out to Clarkin by email, asking why he called the interchange his "literal nightmare."
Clarkin, who pushes for greater public transit use, said, "I’m very pro transit and anti highway, so large or complicated interchanges that conventional engineers find amazing I usually find horrifying, as they represent a degradation of the built environment and/or perpetuate climate change."
A caption on the editorial stock photo site Getty Images states the interchange is part of the Ken-O Expressway, a toll road that is still under construction, and that will ring around Tokyo when it's complete.
If you zoom in on the photograph, you can see how unique the interchange is. Aside from its whirling design, the interchange is in the midst of mountains. Some of the roads come off its winding bridges and plunge underground. Using Google Maps Street View feature, you can take a virtual tour of the interchange.