The roads in the area shown on the map appear to have been constructed mainly to avoid
Answer Details
Based on the given information, it seems that the roads in the area shown on the map were constructed mainly to avoid steep gradients. This is because the roads appear to wind around the contours of the hills, rather than going straight up and down them. This would suggest that the engineers who designed the roads were trying to minimize the slope of the road in order to make it easier to travel on. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the roads were constructed in this way to avoid steep gradients.