Types of road

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Asphalt road in Norway Road in Norway.jpg
Asphalt road in Norway

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places that has been surfaced or otherwise improved to allow travel by foot or some form of conveyance, including a motor vehicle, cart, bicycle, or horse. Roads have been adapted to a large range of structures and types in order to achieve a common goal of transportation under a large and wide range of conditions. The specific purpose, mode of transport, material [1] [2] and location of a road determine the characteristics it must have in order to maximize its usefulness. Following is one classification scheme.

Contents

Taxonomy of Road

Marohn distinguishes between roads that are designed for mobility which he terms "roads" and those that function to "build a place", build community wealth and provide access to land. He argues the value of a road in terms of both community wealth and mobility is maximised when the road speed is either low or high, but not at midpoints such as 45mph. He refers to this low-value midpoint of speed and land access as a stroad. [3] :69

Types of roads

Lower capacity roads

Tree tunnel in Florida TreeTunnel.JPG
Tree tunnel in Florida

Street

Primitive roads

Hollow way on the side of La Meauffe, witness of the battle of the hedges in 1944) La Meauffe - Chemin creux 1.JPG
Hollow way on the side of La Meauffe, witness of the battle of the hedges in 1944)

Large roads

E20 highway, Denmark E20 53.jpg
E20 highway, Denmark
Highway A7 during rush-hour Snelweg A7 tijdens de avondspits.jpg
Highway A7 during rush-hour

Private roads

Glenbervie House driveway Glenbervie House driveway - geograph.org.uk - 1387866.jpg
Glenbervie House driveway

Intersecting roads

Roundabout Roundabout - Flickr - Stiller Beobachter.jpg
Roundabout

Material type

Roads also may be classified based on their pavement material types. For instance, the Long-Term Pavement Performance database includes more than 30 types of pavement types for roads in the US and Canada. [2] [4] [5] However, a more generic classification of roads based on material type is as follows. [5] [6]

Other thoroughfares

Road types by features

In this list, roads names are used in different areas and the features of the roads varies. So this table address the differences in that usage when needed.

NameCountrysubdivisionAccess typeSpeedCross trafficDividedNotes
2+1 road IrelandHighNoYes
2+1 road North AmericaHighNoOptional
2+1 road SwedenJunction (roundabout)HighNoYes
2+2 road HighNoYesType of dual carriageway
Alley UncontrolledLowYesNo
Arterial road HighNoOptional
Autobahn GermanyInterchangeHighNoYes
Autocesta InterchangeHighNoYes
Autopista InterchangeHighNoYes
Autoroute InterchangeHighNoYes
AutorouteCanadaInterchangeHighNoYesexpressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province
Autostrada ItalyInterchangeHighNoYes
Autostrasse InterchangeHighNoYes
Autoestrada Portugal InterchangeHighNoYes
Avtomagistral (variously translated) Russia HighYesDesignated so according to the communication importance; features vary
Boulevard UncontrolledLowYesNo
Business route UncontrolledLowYesNo
Collector/distributor road HighNoOptional
Cul-de-sac UncontrolledLowYesNo
Distributor road HighNoOptional
Divided highway HighNoOptional
Driveway UncontrolledLowYesOptional
Dual carriageway IrelandintersectionHighYesYes
Dual carriageway SingaporeintersectionHighYesYes
Dual carriageway UKUncontrolledAnyYesYes
Express-collector HighNoOptional
Expressway PartialVariesLimitedVariesGeneral definition
Expressway USPartialVariesLimitedYesGeneral US definition [10]
Expressway CanadaInterchangeHighNoYesexpressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province
Farm-to-market road HighNousually a state highway or county highway
Freeway USInterchangeHighNoYes
Freeway CanadaInterchangeHighNoYesexpressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province
Frontage road ArgentinaPartialLowYesNo
Frontage road ChinaPartialLowYesNoknow locally as service roads or auxiliary roads
Frontage road USUncontrolled or PartialLowYesNoCan be one way roads with opposing directions on either side of the adjoining freeway
High-quality dual carriageway InterchangeHighNoYes
Highway HighNoOptional
Lane UncontrolledLowYesNo
Link road HighNoOptional
Motorway InterchangeHighNoYes
Parkway HighNoOptional
Regional road UncontrolledLowYesNo
Road UncontrolledLowYesNo
Semi-highway InterchangeHighNoYes
Single carriageway UncontrolledLowYesNo
Street UncontrolledLowYesNo
Superhighway InterchangeHighNoYes
Super two HighNoOptional
Thruway InterchangeHighNoYes
Two-lane expressway HighYesNo

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundabout</span> Traffic intersection

A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are all, with certain distinctions between them, a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontage road</span> Type of road

A frontage road is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private driveways, shops, houses, industries or farms. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a major highway, these are also known as local lanes. Sometimes a similar arrangement is used for city roads; for example, the collector portion of Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, is known as a carriage road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dual carriageway</span> Type of road

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooker Highway</span> Highway in Tasmania, Australia

The Brooker Highway is a highway in the Australian state of Tasmania. As one of Hobart's three major radials, the highway connects traffic from the city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and towns of northern Tasmania. With an annual average daily traffic of 48,000, the highway is one of the busiest in Tasmania. The Brooker Highway has recently been declared part of the National Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road hierarchy</span> Hierarchy in road traffic

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limited-access road</span> High-speed road with many characteristics of a controlled-access highway (freeway or motorway)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuen Mun Road</span> Highway in New Territories, Hong Kong

Tuen Mun Road is a major expressway in Hong Kong which connects Tuen Mun with Tsuen Wan, within the New Territories. It is part of Hong Kong's Route 9, which circumnavigates the New Territories. Opened in 1978, it was once the major trunk route linking the northwest New Territories to urban Kowloon and is known for its frequent traffic jams and road accidents owing to its early design and heavy usage. As a result, speed limits have been enforced to 70–80 km/h (45–50 mph) due to geometric constraints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arterial road</span> High-capacity urban road

An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways or expressways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. Therefore, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature restrictions on private access. Because of their relatively high accessibility, many major roads face large amounts of land use and urban development, making them significant urban places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads)</span> Motorway in New South Wales and Queensland

The Pacific Motorway is a motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, through the New South Wales–Queensland border at Tweed Heads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controlled-access highway</span> Highway designed for high-speed, regulated traffic flow

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-lane expressway</span> Expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction

A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes rise. The term super two is often used by roadgeeks for this type of road, but traffic engineers use that term for a high-quality surface road. Most of these roads are not tolled.

The Hutt Expressway is a 3-4 lane divided highway running from the Wellington Urban Motorway at Ngauranga, past Lower Hutt and central Upper Hutt, to the intersection with Fergusson Drive in Maoribank in north-eastern Upper Hutt. State Highway 2 officially continues north of Maoribank to Te Mārua, Kaitoke, and over the Rimutaka Hill to Wairarapa, but this section is two lanes undivided and is covered in the main State Highway 2 article. The names Hutt Expressway and Hutt Motorway are not official, and actually refers to three different roads: Hutt Road from the Ngauranga Interchange to the Petone Overbridge, Western Hutt Road from the Petone Overbridge to the Silverstream Bridge, and River Road from Silverstream Bridge to Maoribank.

The Hawke's Bay Expressway, known also as the Napier-Hastings Expressway, runs from Hawke's Bay Airport, through Napier and Hastings, and ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings, a total length of 24 km. It is part of State Highway 2.

This article describes the highway systems available in selected countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle Link Road</span> Road in New South Wales, Australia

Newcastle Link Road is a limited-access road in New South Wales linking the interchange of Pacific Motorway and Hunter Expressway at Cameron Park, to Wallsend in western Newcastle. It is designated part of route A15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of road transport terms</span>

Terminology related to road transport—the transport of passengers or goods on paved routes between places—is diverse, with variation between dialects of English. There may also be regional differences within a single country, and some terms differ based on the side of the road traffic drives on. This glossary is an alphabetical listing of road transport terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavement performance modeling</span> Study of pavement deterioration

Pavement performance modeling or pavement deterioration modeling is the study of pavement deterioration throughout its life-cycle. The health of pavement is assessed using different performance indicators. Some of the most well-known performance indicators are Pavement Condition Index (PCI), International Roughness Index (IRI) and Present Serviceability Index (PSI), but sometimes a single distress such as rutting or the extent of crack is used. Among the most frequently used methods for pavement performance modeling are mechanistic models, mechanistic-empirical models, survival curves and Markov models. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been used for this purpose as well. Most studies on pavement performance modeling are based on IRI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stroad</span> Type of thoroughfare

A stroad is a type of thoroughfare that is a mix between a street and a road. Common in the United States and Canada, stroads are wide arterials that often provide access to strip malls, drive-throughs, and other automobile-oriented businesses. Urban planners have criticized stroads for their safety issues and poor efficiency. While streets provide access to shops and residences at safe traffic speeds, and roads can efficiently move traffic at high speed and volume, stroads pose dangers to drivers and pedestrians and are also prone to congestion.

References

  1. Piryonesi, Sayed Madeh (November 2019). Piryonesi, S. M. (2019). The Application of Data Analytics to Asset Management: Deterioration and Climate Change Adaptation in Ontario Roads (Doctoral dissertation) (Thesis).
  2. 1 2 Elkins, G.E., Schmalzer, P., Thompson, T., and Simpson, A. 2003. Long-Term Pavement Performance Information Management System Pavement Performance Database User Reference Guide.
  3. Marohn, Charles L. Jr. (2021). Confessions of a recovering engineer: transportation for a strong town (1st ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN   978-1-119-69929-3. OCLC   1253442641.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Piryonesi, S. M.; El-Diraby, T. E. (2020) [Published online: December 21, 2019]. "Data Analytics in Asset Management: Cost-Effective Prediction of the Pavement Condition Index". Journal of Infrastructure Systems. 26 (1): 04019036. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000512. S2CID   213782055.
  5. 1 2 Piryonesi, Sayed Madeh (November 2019). Piryonesi, S. M. (2019). The Application of Data Analytics to Asset Management: Deterioration and Climate Change Adaptation in Ontario Roads (Doctoral dissertation) (Thesis).
  6. Way, N.C., Beach, P., and Materials, P. 2015. ASTM D 6433–07: Standard Practice for Roads and Parking Lots Pavement Condition Index Surveys.
  7. "9 Types of Roads in civil Engineering and Construction". 2 October 2020.
  8. "Properties of bituminous materials and Uses, Chemical composition". 9 October 2020.
  9. "shunpike". Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC. Retrieved 15 May 2019. A side road taken, instead of a turnpike or expressway, to avoid tolls or to travel at a leisurely pace.
  10. Section 1A.13, Paragraph 27, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices , 2003 ed., rev. 1.