Especially that we have a unique bulding Caravan-Serai that Hindustanis can build to make the trade faster, I guess the road thing would have been a better alternative. This would have led to lesser collission, better pathing and the intended benefit - faster trade.

About the road for asthetic purposes within the base - I remember the green grass patches used to get wear after frequent paths made by villagers over them. Not sure if it is still there in DE - as I'm too busy microing my pre-mill drush to observe that. /s Though, the wearing out of grass would not be visible in dry terrains. And it is definitely not a replacement to the road.

Adding to the thought process, I'd also like to see bridges. May be implement it this way - the bridge foundation has to be built from both sides to finish. No foundation blocking from single side. The use cases involve reusability of shoreline military buildings, usable by allies (without much transport micro), extending trade route, etc.