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.
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
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Sometimes with medians.
The term expressway includes limited-access roads and grade-separated highways.
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]
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.
| Name | Country | subdivision | Access type | Speed | Cross traffic | Divided | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2+1 road | Ireland | High | No | Yes | |||
| 2+1 road | North America | High | No | Optional | |||
| 2+1 road | Sweden | Junction (roundabout) | High | No | Yes | ||
| 2+2 road | High | No | Yes | Type of dual carriageway | |||
| Alley | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Arterial road | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Autobahn | Germany | Interchange | High | No | Yes | ||
| Autocesta | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Autopista | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Autoroute | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Autoroute | Canada | Interchange | High | No | Yes | expressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province | |
| Autostrada | Italy | Interchange | High | No | Yes | ||
| Autostrasse | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Autoestrada | Portugal | Interchange | High | No | Yes | ||
| Avtomagistral (variously translated) | Russia | High | Yes | Designated so according to the communication importance; features vary | |||
| Boulevard | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Business route | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Collector/distributor road | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Cul-de-sac | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Distributor road | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Divided highway | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Driveway | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | Optional | |||
| Dual carriageway | Ireland | intersection | High | Yes | Yes | ||
| Dual carriageway | Singapore | intersection | High | Yes | Yes | ||
| Dual carriageway | UK | Uncontrolled | Any | Yes | Yes | ||
| Express-collector | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Expressway | Partial | Varies | Limited | Varies | General definition | ||
| Expressway | US | Partial | Varies | Limited | Yes | General US definition[10] | |
| Expressway | Canada | Interchange | High | No | Yes | expressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province | |
| Farm-to-market road | High | No | usually a state highway or county highway | ||||
| Freeway | US | Interchange | High | No | Yes | ||
| Freeway | Canada | Interchange | High | No | Yes | expressway is synonymous with freeway or autoroute depending on the province | |
| Frontage road | Argentina | Partial | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Frontage road | China | Partial | Low | Yes | No | know locally as service roads or auxiliary roads | |
| Frontage road | US | Uncontrolled or Partial | Low | Yes | No | Can be one way roads with opposing directions on either side of the adjoining freeway | |
| High-quality dual carriageway | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Highway | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Lane | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Link road | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Motorway | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Parkway | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Provincial road | Italy | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Provincial road | Netherlands | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Provincial road | South Africa | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Provincial road | Turkey | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Regional road | Ireland | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Regional road | Italy | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | ||
| Road | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Semi-highway | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Single carriageway | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Street | Uncontrolled | Low | Yes | No | |||
| Superhighway | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Super two | High | No | Optional | ||||
| Thruway | Interchange | High | No | Yes | |||
| Two-lane expressway | High | Yes | No |
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A side road taken, instead of a turnpike or expressway, to avoid tolls or to travel at a leisurely pace.
