This is a
plot device used by
Douglas Adams in
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a
science fiction novel. Details are not given, but apparently one is considered necessary so
interstellar travellers can travel faster.
The book is wild satire of both science fiction and human society. A clear analogy is made between destroying the Earth to build a Hyperspace Bypass and the destruction of Arthur Dent's house to build a regular highway bypass, both of which occur in the beginning of the book.