A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or a translation for motorway, Autobahn, autostrada, autoroute, etc.
The Quebec Autoroute System or le système d'autoroute au Québec is a network of freeways within the province of Quebec, Canada, operating under the same principle of controlled access as the Interstate Highway System in the United States and the 400-series highways in neighbouring Ontario. The Autoroutes are the backbone of Quebec's highway system, spanning almost 2,400 km. The speed limit on the Autoroutes is generally 100 km/h (62 mph) in rural areas and 70–90 km/h (43–56 mph) in urban areas; most roads are made of asphalt concrete.
A dual carriageway (BrE) or a divided highway (AmE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are designed to higher standards with controlled access are generally classed as motorways, freeways, etc., rather than dual carriageways.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarchy can more or less correspond to the hierarchy of roads by their owner or administrator.
A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, and partial controlled-access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway, including limited or no access to adjacent property, some degree of separation of opposing traffic flow, use of grade separated interchanges to some extent, prohibition of slow modes of transport, such as bicycles, horse-drawn vehicles or ridden horses, or self-propelled agricultural machines; and very few or no intersecting cross-streets or level crossings. The degree of isolation from local traffic allowed varies between countries and regions. The precise definition of these terms varies by jurisdiction.
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic.
The Spanish motorway (highway) network is the third largest in the world, by length. As of 2019, there are 17,228 km (10,705 mi) of High Capacity Roads in the country. There are two main types of such roads, autopistas and autovías, which differed in the strictness of the standards they are held to.
Switzerland has a two-class highway system: motorways with separated roads for oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph), and expressways often with oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
The Autopista AP-6 (also called Autopista del Noroeste or Carretera de La Coruña is a part of the Spanish A-6 Autopista del Noroeste starting at Las Rozas de Madrid and finished at Adanero. Between Las Rozas and Collado Villalba, is a freeway. All of it is a Free/tollway or a Motorway. Las Rozas-Collado Villalba is not a Spanish "Autovía" autopista toll route which starts in Collado Villalba and ends in Adanero. The portion, between Las Rozas and Collado Villalba, forms part of it, but without toll. Madrid-Las Rozas, Adanero-Arteixo on the same route is a Spanish "autovía" not a free/tollway, motorway, either a two-lane road. "Autovia" is in the middle between both road types, but the crosses always are with bridges like in the motorways/toll/freeway.
The Shanghai Ring Expressway, designated G1503, formerly designated as A30 and G1501, and also known as the Shanghai Suburb Ring Expressway, is a 209.22-kilometre-long ring expressway (130.00 mi) that encircles Shanghai, a direct-controlled municipality in the People's Republic of China. It is entirely in Shanghai, except for a small section in the nearby province of Jiangsu at its northwest end.
This article describes the highway systems available in selected countries.
The Freeway Bureau is the government agency under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Taiwan (ROC) in charge for freeway-related matters.
Montenegro has had a motorway since July 13, 2022, when the first section of the Bar-Boljare motorway was inaugurated.
Bahrain: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Brunei: Lebuhraya 
China: Gaosu Gōnglù (高速公路) 
Hong Kong: Highways 
India: Expressways 
Indonesia: Toll Road/Jalan Tol (all tolled)
Iran: Āzādrāh (آزادراه) 
Iraq: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Israel: kvish mahir (כביש מהיר) 
Japan: Kōsokudōro (高速道路) 
Jordan: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Kazakhstan: Avtomagistral (Автомагистраль) 
Kuwait: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Lebanon: Autoroutes 
Malaysia: Lebuhraya (all tolled)
Myanmar: Expressway (အမြန်လမ်း) (all tolled)
North Korea: Kosokdoro (고속도로) 
Oman: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Pakistan: Motorways/Maḥrak rāst (محرک راست) 
Philippines: Expressways (all tolled)
Qatar: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Saudi Arabia: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Singapore: Expressways (all tolled)
South Korea: Gosokdoro (고속도로) 
Sri Lanka: Expressways (all tolled)
Syria: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Taiwan: Gaosu Gōnglù (高速公路) 
Thailand: Thangluang phiset (ทางหลวงพิเศษ) 
Turkey: Otoyol 
United Arab Emirates: ṭarīq siyār (طريق سيار) 
Vietnam: Đường cao tốc 
