The Gaziantep highway is a six-lane highway that stretches 35 km around the city of Gaziantep in southern Turkey. It features beautiful Nerium oleanders along the medians which look wonderful when they flower in summer but maintain their green and silver leaves all year long.
It is important to landscape highways for many reasons, not just beauty. Firstly, since vehicle traffic contributes significantly to the pollution it is essential to reduce both particle and CO2 pollution by planting along the medians and roadsides.
Furthermore, landscaping has various advantages for drivers in addition to visual appeal. Strong winds, particularly on coastal roads, can be somewhat disruptive to drivers and so shrubs in the median are able to prevent this disruption. They also prevent the glare from oncoming cars from blinding drivers with their headlights at night.