what are their differences.

They're practically the same. But one difference though is freeways are toll free. Some highways/expressways require toll.

Highway definition -
a major road for any form of motor transport
http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q=http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn%3Fs%3Dhighway

Freeway definition -
a freeway is an access-controlled, divided highway. Most freeways are four lanes, or two lanes each direction, but many freeways widen to incorporate more lanes as they enter urban areas. Access is controlled through the use of interchanges, and the type of interchange depends upon the kind of intersecting roadway (surface street, rural road, another freeway, urban arterial, etc.).
http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q=http://www.southeastroads.com/glossary.html

Expressway definition -
A multi-lane divided roadway that allows access at public roads via at-grade intersections as well as interchanges.
http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=X&start=5&oi=define&q=http://www.nwwichitabypass.com/glossary.html

Conclusion .... It's all the same !!! :)

I think freeway is a stupid term, because to me that implies that either it's "free of costs" or "free of traffic", which in both cases is not true. I prefer the New York term "expressway" for describing a controlled access highway, to the term "freeway" which is used in much of the rest of the country (and especially out West).

I think freeway is a stupid term, because to me that implies that either it's "free of costs" or "free of traffic", which in both cases is not true. I prefer the New York term "expressway" for describing a controlled access highway, to the term "freeway" which is used in much of the rest of the country (and especially out West).

:ohno: i thought the word 'free' in freeway came from the fact that they have higher or no speed limits as compared to city highways. Also there are no trafiic signals,hence more freedom.

In the context of the U.S., the terms mean the following:

I think the term "freeway" was created because freeways are actually free to use. This is not to say they aren't paid for by public/ taxpayer dollars, but there are no tolls on 'freeways'

I think "expressways" may either be free or have tolls.

"Turnpikes" in the U.S. are generally toll expressways.

"Highways" can have limited access, or just be major thoroughfares with traffic signals.

I found living in the midwest, people often refer to limited access highways as "interstates".

I think in the case of semantics, they all have a relatively similar meanings, with only minor differences.

I think freeway is a stupid term, because to me that implies that either it's "free of costs" or "free of traffic", which in both cases is not true.

Why not? Freeways are free to USE. They are not free when you consider all the taxes you pay to support them...

People use all the terms interchangeably, so the definitions are irrelevant.

The term freeway has nothing to do with whether the highway is tolled or not. The 'free' is derived from 'free-flow' which is by definition what a freeway is. An expressway, is a road with no driveway access, but cross-roads can cross at-grade, even with traffic signals.

For example, this road:
http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_7_images/7_cl_dufferin_east.jpg
can be considered an expressway despite the fact it has a signalized intersection. It does not have any driveway access, and it only meets other major roads.

of this being said, people generally don't follow those definitions well when referring to roads in reality, but that's what is meant by the terms.

Cheers.

still cant understand.

what can this road be called?

http://files.photojerk.com/chinaphoto/Tibetroad/12.JPG

Why not? Freeways are free to USE. They are not free when you consider all the taxes you pay to support them...

That's not true either because there are toll freeways all over the country. Go to google and punch in "Toll freeways". There are many of them.

The word free in freeway is supposed to imply "free flow of traffic", which IMO is rather dubious, and which I'll address in my next post.

The term freeway has nothing to do with whether the highway is tolled or not. The 'free' is derived from 'free-flow' which is by definition what a freeway is. An expressway, is a road with no driveway access, but cross-roads can cross at-grade, even with traffic signals.

For example, this road:
http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_7_images/7_cl_dufferin_east.jpg
can be considered an expressway despite the fact it has a signalized intersection. It does not have any driveway access, and it only meets other major roads.

of this being said, people generally don't follow those definitions well when referring to roads in reality, but that's what is meant by the terms.

Cheers.

Those are the official terms used by the national level organization of American civil engineers, but there are regional differences. That's what engineers here in Ohio call the roads, and that's what they are officially known as, although the most popular term by the lay person here seems to be "highway". In New York an expressway is what you described as a freeway, and a parkway is what you described as an expressway. I'd prefer it if they used the New York terms instead.

I still loathe the term "freeway". "Free-flow of traffic"? That means nothing. You could say a two lane dirt road has a free flow of traffic. You could say someone's driveway has a free flow of traffic. And what if the traffic is backed up? The term expressway actually tells you something about the intent of the road, which is to move traffic through a region in an express manner: not going everywhere like city streets/rural roads, but getting you through large distances more quickly.

To me the word "free" first and foremost implies something about money. And it's dumb because a freeway can and often is a road that you pay a toll on.

still cant understand.

what can this road be called?

That would be called a highway by most people...I think.

That would be called a highway by most people...I think.
but in China,this kind of road cant be called highway,highway must have at least 4 lanes in China.

this road only has 2 lans,it cant be called highway in China,I dont know how to call it in english,in chinese it's called 二级公路。
http://files.photojerk.com/chinaphoto/Tibetroad/12.JPG

4 lanes highway 双向四车道高速公路
http://wxzy.wwjx.org/czpd/kczy/05-06xia/sx/2/02/kebiao/bs/2/kzzl2/image001.jpg http://www.cz165.com/upimages/20031229/200312298575378283.jpg

6 lanes highway双向六车道高速公路
http://news.tom.com/img/assets/200303/gs324.jpg http://kmgs.88ip.net/ItemInfo/yanping/image/bmbk200542718533a.jpg

8 lanes highway双向八车道高速公路
http://www.kshot.net/News/UploadFiles_4439/200512/20051229081929186.jpg http://www.longhoo.net/gb/longhoo/news2004/njnews/chengjian/images/00089558.jpg

I will find some 10 or more lanes highways pics later.

Those are the official terms used by the national level organization of American civil engineers, but there are regional differences. In New York an expressway is what you described as a freeway, and a parkway is what you described as an expressway. I'd prefer it if they used the New York terms instead.

I still loathe the term "freeway". "Free-flow of traffic"? That means nothing. You could say a two lane dirt road has a free flow of traffic. You could say someone's driveway has a free flow of traffic. And what if the traffic is backed up? The term expressway actually tells you something about the intent of the road, which is to move traffic through a region in an express manner: not going everywhere like city streets/rural roads, but getting you through large distances more quickly.

To me the word "free" first and foremost implies something about money. And it's dumb because a freeway can and often is a road that you pay a toll on.

I find the nomenclature rather understandable, but maybe that's just me. The concept of a freeway referring to its free-flow status makes a lot of sense. In any non freeway example, traffic would be legally required to stop at least some point along the way (unless its an expressway, and people are really lucky at traffic lights).

The expressway name is probably the most confusing, since many 'freeway's are called expressways (Toronto's Gardiner Expressway for example). I don't like the name parkway, since it seems to imply a road traveling through a scenic area, and like the expressway moniker does nothing to inform drivers about actual road design.

In the end though, this is all a fairly moot point since the people who name roads and highways seem to give little consideration to the actual status of the road when giving the route its moniker. More consideration seems to be given to how the name sounds instead.

Cheers.

In France is more simple :runaway:

Autoroute

Under normal conditions - 130 km/h (80 mph)
In rain or wet road conditions - 110 km/h (70 mph)
In heavy fog or snowy/icy conditions - 50 km/h (30 mph)
Note that Germany does not impose a speed limit on freeways, in general. In normal conditions, there is a minimum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) in the right lane.

The autoroutes are designed to increase the safety of drivers; this allows a higher speed limit (130 km/h or 80 mph) than on the normal roads (90 km/h or 55 mph) with an acceptable risk of accident.


Dynamic information panel used on the French Autoroute.The safety measures are:

one way driving: the lanes driving in the opposite direction are separated by at least a crash barrier which is designed to resists to the oblique impact of a car up to 180 km/h (110 mph); no intersecting roads but bridges and tunnels;
larger lanes, at least 2 (often 3) lanes driving in the same direction, with a larger turning radius;
long acceleration and slowing lanes to get in or out of the autoroute without disturbing the traffic;
presence of an additional emergency lane where it is forbidden to drive (except for the emergency services) and to park (except in case of emergency);
presence of emergency call boxes every 2 km (1.2 miles) on each side, that allow to call for help with the possibility to locate the call; some call boxes have flashing light that warn when there is a problem ahead;
presence every 10 km (6 miles) (4-6 minutes of driving) of resting zones (aire de repos, i.e. car parks with public toilets), and every 40 km (25 miles) (20-30 minutes of driving) of a resting zone with a restaurant;
regular patrols of the security services, to clear any obstacle and protect drivers in trouble (usually a breakdown or a flat tyre) with appropriate warning signs and beacons;
dynamic information panels which warn about possible difficulties ahead (accident, men at work, traffic jam);
an FM radio station (107.7 MHz) dedicated to information about traffic conditions on the most of the network;
on heavy traffic days (e.g. beginning and end of school holidays): organisation of specific information and recreation events at rest areas;
many radars automatiques (permanent automatic radars) being actually installed on lot of places

http://www.phonk.net/Images/Biot/small/030449-Biot.jpg

Voie Express (expressway isn't an Autoroute )
no intersecting roads but bridges and tunnels;
larger lanes, at least 2 (often 3 or 4) lanes driving in the same direction, with a larger turning radius.
limit speed 70 ..110 km/h
http://clabedan.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/periph_1.jpg

Highway Route national or departemental

A route national or route departemental can be an voie express
limite speed in urban area 50 km/h in Rural area 70..90 km/h or 110 Km/h for an expressway
http://www.alpes-maritimes.equipement.gouv.fr/06_EspacePresse/RN7/dossierpresse/images/rn7.jpg

I find the nomenclature rather understandable, but maybe that's just me. The concept of a freeway referring to its free-flow status makes a lot of sense. In any non freeway example, traffic would be legally required to stop at least some point along the way (unless its an expressway, and people are really lucky at traffic lights).

The expressway name is probably the most confusing, since many 'freeway's are called expressways (Toronto's Gardiner Expressway for example). I don't like the name parkway, since it seems to imply a road traveling through a scenic area, and like the expressway moniker does nothing to inform drivers about actual road design.

In the end though, this is all a fairly moot point since the people who name roads and highways seem to give little consideration to the actual status of the road when giving the route its moniker. More consideration seems to be given to how the name sounds instead.

Cheers.

I guess. Everyone has their own preferences.

If you grew up hearing the term freeway, it may seem very natural to you. And if someone told you that it refers to "free flow of traffic" or "free of traffic lights" or whatever, that kind of justification would seem extremely obvious and natural in your own mind. But to someone else it might be a bit of a stretch.

I grew up in England where these kinds of roads were called motorways. Then I moved to Long Island where they are known as expressways. To me that seemed like a pretty logical term, because it described the intent of the road. As for "parkway" a lot of those in New York really are scenic because they tend to be 4 lane roads of a quaint character that cut through a bit of the countryside, and aren't as big and "heavy" appearing as the interstate expressways.

Of course the movie industry is based in LA, and in movies and TV you hear the term "freeway" a lot. To me, the implication there was about money. I thought that in California maybe they have a state policy banning tolls on roads, and that's why they call their expressways "freeways" as a point of pride. But then later on I found out that California has numerous toll freeways (as does Texas), and the justification of "free flow of traffic" or "free from traffic lights" seemed like quite a stretch to me, because the word "free" usually implies something about money.

A FREEWAY SHOULD BE A FREE WAY 100% OF THE TIME, MAN. IF THEY COLLECT TOLLS ON THEM THEN IT'S A MISNOMER. IT'S RETARDED TO HAVE TO PAY $5 TO RIDE ON THE "FREEWAY"

OK, /rant. :cheers:

they are also called turnpikes and beltways in parts of america, you generally have to pay a toll on these espically turnpikes.


A FREEWAY SHOULD BE A FREE WAY 100% OF THE TIME, MAN. IF THEY COLLECT TOLLS ON THEM THEN IT'S A MISNOMER. IT'S RETARDED TO HAVE TO PAY $5 TO RIDE ON THE "FREEWAY"

OK, /rant. :cheers:

WHY DO YOU PARK IN A "DRIVEWAY"???!!???!

highway doesn't have to be accessed controlled. It might have 4 way intersection. No ramps. It is just a national road.

Turnpike is specific for a toll expressway (or toll "freeway").

Beltway refers to a ring road that goes around a city like I-495 in Washington.

I think freeway is a stupid term, because to me that implies that either it's "free of costs" or "free of traffic", which in both cases is not true. I prefer the New York term "expressway" for describing a controlled access highway, to the term "freeway" which is used in much of the rest of the country (and especially out West).


It's free of traffic lights and other obstacles that stop the flow of traffic.

then you have tollway, motorway, autostrada, autobahn, autopiste..... etc.

Basiacally I guess just a 'big' road allowing a free movement of traffic.

Different countries (or even different parts of same country different word)

basically all the same....no?

motorway, autostrada, autopista, autobahn, autoroute, motorweg are all local names for the Freeway. So yeah it's the same thing.

Tollways are freeway type roads that are tolled. Expressways I believe are just another generic term for Freeways.


FOR EXAMPLE....if this road was in England it would be a motorway; in France it would be an Autoroute; in Spain it would be an Autopista; in the Netherlands it would be a Motorweg, in Germany it would be an Autobahn, in Italy it would be an Auostrada. Some countries might call it an expressway. If it was tolled, it would be a tollway, get the idea...
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/499/c28ya.jpg

Just so you know.

lol

Uhm, who cares?
:runaway:

Ich habe vier Autobahns gegessen.

^^ I do, of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have opened a special thread for it, silly...;)

Autobahn is americanized....

You also say Kindergardens and not Kindergaerten in America.

Btw, I think, the Interstates in the US should be renamed in Autobahns

What is the deathrate on the Autobahn? like 30 a day?

What makes you think so?

What is the deathrate on the Autobahn? like 30 a day?

They are the safest roads you can travell on :|

What is the deathrate on the Autobahn? like 30 a day?

No, because we are the best drivers in the world who respect the traffic rules and we are well trained. :) :cheers:

As long as you move to the right when I come speeding at you at the left lane at 200 kph...NL: Nur Links! :cheers:

Despite the lack of a speed limit, the German Autobahns are the safest to travel on. Several reasons:

- autobahns are designed with high top speeds in mind: curve radii and gradients are small, allowing high top speeds;
- the parts without speed limits are usually three lanes wide, preventing sudden crashes due to overtaking trucks;
- and yes: most Germans can handle high speeds quite well;
- there are no at-grade crossings with other traffic (the most important criterion for an 'Autobahn' to be called as such) - which means you only have to watch the traffic in front of you and behind you. Most deadly crashes occur on roads off the highways, with grade crossings, oncoming traffic, trees alongside the road...;
- cars have become safer and safer over the years. The Germans are especially fond of large, safe cars, that will get you through heavy crashes alive.

Despite the lack of a speed limit, the German Autobahns are the safest to travel on. Several reasons:

- autobahns are designed with high top speeds in mind: curve radii and gradients are small, allowing high top speeds

That's not some German particularity; no country is so stupid to build sharp curves, if not necessary; Germany is mostly flat, you can't compare it to let's say Switzerland. Besides, the A8 Autobahn between Salzburg (the border) and Rosenheim has so annoyingly sharp curves; that stretch is pretty shitty.

^^ Stating that Autobahns (hey, I'm doing it myself as well...:nuts:) are designed for high speeds, does not necessarily exclude the possibility that similar roads in other countries were designed according to the same criteria.

^ You stated that soft curves on the German Autobahns are one of the reason why they are THE safest to travel on (so you excluded other countries); so it can't be one of the reasons why they are the safest; I'd say because of their quality (good asphalt is characteristic for Germany) and perhaps the drivers (although there are many foreigners on German Autobahns as well).

This thread are right
the real work should be Motorways because the internation language is the english

Only Germany Switzerland and Austria use the term Autobahn

Why not autoroute
France Belgium Switzerland Canada
or Autopista
Spain Mexico Argentina Chili etc...

For the quality
France and some other european coutries is as the same level as Germany.

For the quality
France and some other european coutries is as the same level as Germany.

and some even better :yes:

The word "Autobahn" is much more famous in the world than Autoroute or Autopista, but they are doing good too.

When someone says"germany", you almost automatically think about the Autobahn.

Actually I'd prefer the word Autobahn (or autobahn, with small 'a') over several expressions in English, such as motorway, freeway, expressway, not to mention very frequent misuse of the word highway. Autobahn explains it all.:cheers:

^ You stated that soft curves on the German Autobahns are one of the reason why they are THE safest to travel on (so you excluded other countries); so it can't be one of the reasons why they are the safest; I'd say because of their quality (good asphalt is characteristic for Germany) and perhaps the drivers (although there are many foreigners on German Autobahns as well).

'The' safest was of course more of a rhetorical use of the word 'the'. I don't know the statistics (neither do you, I presume), so I can't really say that German Autobahnen are the safest to travel on.

But let's stop being annoying nitpickers, shall we?

^^ Sure.:cheers:

what a silly thread :sleepy:

This thread are right
the real work should be Motorways because the internation language is the english

Only Germany Switzerland and Austria use the term Autobahn

"Autobahn" stands for a high quality toll-free highway with no speed limit. It is a worldwide known word like Oktoberfest.


Wikipedia:

Accident Record
The overall safety record of autobahns is comparable to other European motorways, and motorways are safer than other road types. A 2005 study by the Federal Minister of the Interior indicated that there were an equal number of accidents per kilometer on the autobahn in sections without any speed limits.

Come on. Autobahn is motorway in German und Autobahn heisst motorway in English. Some motorways in Germany may not have speed limits, but they're still only motorways.. Oktoberfest is the name of one particular event, not every "fest" in the world.

"Autobahn" stands for a high quality toll-free highway with no speed limit. It is a worldwide known word like Oktoberfest.

Erm, not only Germany has Autobahnen, we have them too.

The first road resembling an Autobahn was built 1921 in Berlin (the AVUS). However the first real Autobahn was built 1924 in Italy (Milan-Como). Italians call it Autostrada.

Erm, not only Germany has Autobahnen, we have them too.

Also in colloquial spoken Polish language exists word like "Autobana" (written as it is spoken) for Autobahn. It's an obvious intake from German, and is most popular in Silesia region.

^ So it's a lot of us who use this German expression in spoken language (also Slovenians, Turks, ...), but I find it especially useful in English, as it has bunch of words, which just confuse everyone (like motorway, freeway, expressway, highway, ...).

Autobahn = Motorway= Autoroute= Autostrada= Autopista etc
It is the same word in different language.

...but I find it especially useful in English, as it has bunch of words, which just confuse everyone (like motorway, freeway, expressway, highway, ...).
I agree, and don't forget Tollway, which get's into confuson aswell. An autobahn doesn't have to be toll/maut free for example the Brennerautobahn has a maut.

for everyone who isn't australian or british, what do u call other main roads (roads which aren't always divided, can have traffic lights and level crossings)

map of australian roads: the grey roads are our freeways/motorways/interstates/autobahns (if u will).

the other lines are just plain ole' highways..what do u call them in ur country?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a211/aussiehuskie/aussieroads.jpg


it's something that always bugs me...cuz people on this forum are always comparing their countries different stuff..but never on a common factor, and missunderstanding generates alot of crap.

The Netherlands:

Well, we have Motorways, which are the same as Autobahnen, Autoroutes, Freeway's etc.

Than we have National Roads. In the US they call these Highways.
Next are Provincial roads, most of the non-motorway roads are Provincial roads, designated with the prefix Nxxx
National Roads have 1 and 2 digit numbers, Provincial Roads have 3 digit numbers. These are generally the less important roads, althought they want to bring some National Roads to the provinces, which is a bad thing.

National Roads and Provincial roads can be compared to the US Highways or State Highways.

And there are a load of non-numbered roads, which we call just... roads :)

^ I think it was meant how they're called in your (Dutch) language, although I'm not sure...

(Auto)snelweg. Plural with -en added.

Czech: Dálnice
Danish: Motorvej
Dutch: Autosnelweg
English (UK): Motorway
English (US): Freeway, Expressway
English (AUS): Freeway
Finnish: Moottoritie
French: Autoroute
German: Autobahn
Italian: Autostrada
Norwegian: Motorvei A
Polish: Autostrada
Portuguese: Autoestrada
Russian: Avtomagistral'
Slovak: Dial'nica
Slovene: Avtocesta
Spanish: Autopista
Swedish: Motorväg
Turkish: Otoyol

Luxembourgish: Autobunn

Bundesstraße (Federal Road)

nah i meant like just for english, but how u would say em when speaking english. alot of americans call there interstates highways, and all the asian forumers call their freeways highways.

^ If you mean highways (so NOT motorways, freeways, expressways), I think most of us call them highways or main/major roads, no special difference.:dunno: Unless you're having in mind sth like davidkunz/VIE wrote (Federal Road/Bundesstraße). Then I know for Croatia it calls them "State Road" ("Državna cesta", abbreviation "D"), in Slovenia we simply call them "Highway/Main Road/Major Road" ("Glavna cesta", abb. "G"). In Italy they also call them "State Road" ("Strada Statale", abb. "SS").

Autobahn (Motorway):

http://www.fh-bochum.de/images/illustration/autobahn.jpg

Kraftfahrstraße (Expressway):

http://www.verkehrswacht-frankfurt.de/pmwiki/uploads/Site/Z331.gif
yellow signing like on the "Bundesstraße".

Bundesstraße (comparable to US Highway / Federal road):

http://www.torpedo-emscher.de/wr/union/rakete/img/b1_xl.gif

Landesstraße (comparable to US State Highway):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/1/15/L262_Saar.jpg/200px-L262_Saar.jpg
Number usually not used on the signs! In Bavaria and in Saxony they are called "Staatsstraße".

Kreisstraße (County Road)

thats where we can encounter problems, cuz many state roads in california are freeways, and the ones that arnt should be.

Kraftfahrstraße (Expressway):

Isn't it called "Schnellstraße"?

^^ yes, you can call it "Schnellstraße", too, but the official word is "Kraftfahrstraße". A road (Straße) only for motor vehicles (Kraftfahrzeuge); Bikes and very slow vehicles are not allowed to use these roads.

^ I understand, yes, I just haven't heard of the expression yet.

In Switzerland Kraftfahrstraße is called Autostrasse.

In Spain we have Autovías (free) and Autopistas (tolled).

In France
Autoroutes for motorway in majority tolled
Voie express for expressway or freeway

i know nobody is interested in such a small country but in hungarian we say autopalya

Malaysia called as Lebuhraya which same meaning to expressway or highway, jalan persekutuan (federal road), its nation main road which connect state to state.
jalan negeri (state road) is connect between a town or city within state,

The first road resembling an Autobahn was built 1921 in Berlin (the AVUS). However the first real Autobahn was built 1924 in Italy (Milan-Como).
Not true. Before WW-II the Italians havent build a single kilometer of dual-carriageway autostrada. The pre-war autostrada is quite unlike what we nowadays describe as a "motorway"/freeway/Autobahn.

The Plural of Autobahn is Autobahnen, not Autobahns! Just so you know.

There are two main reasons for this:

No.1: Autobahn is actually an English word... now. Of cause, it's originally a German word for the German Motorway's, and the English word "Autobahn" is used only in reference to the Germanic nations motorway systems. However, it is now officially a word in English and to be found in the English dictionary. This means, that it is grammatically correct to use the "s" to signify a plural. (It is also worth pointing out that you can correctly use "en" as well in English, but it is not widely used)

The 2nd reason many people place the "s" for the plural is when it is in an English sentence. If spoken in German naturally, one would end with "en". In most cases, in English, the English Grammar doesn't change to foreign language grammar if throwing in a non-English noun (Autobahn being a common noun). Otherwise it would be far too confusing for everyone to know every linguistic plural combination out there for every language. I suspect this is the case ion most languages.

So to be honest, you are incorrect if referring to Autobahn in an English sentence. It is officially both "s" and "en" in English, but "s" is by far the most common (and still correct) usage.

Just so you know.

In german perhaps, but not in English.

The plural of bureau in English is bureaus, not bureaux.

Ok, I think we got it, the thread can be closed down now. :D

Nice to see there'll always be people who take nonsense threads (or should that be 'threaden'?) seriously...;)

The word "Autobahn" is much more famous in the world than Autoroute or Autopista, but they are doing good too.

The most famous word in the world is "Autostrada" (Italian) because it was the first to be used. Autobahn came later and refered to the raillway word "Bahn".
In France, Belgium, Switzerland, it became "Autostrade" in the 1950'. "Autoroute" replaced it later and nobody know why.

The most famous word in the world is "Autostrada" (Italian) because it was the first to be used.

it wasn't.

That road was just an expressway with level crossings and no median. Not anything we are used to see now.

:master: Yup...

Germany...

Autobahn and Oktoberfest are the things that come to mind first. Not that that's a bad thing at all!! I LOVE Germany, and thanks for the clarification, I would have said Autobahns actually.

Pretty funny that people think everyone drives 180KM/HR on these things screaming and going crazy as they fly down the road like an American would. Of course, this is just cause our speed limits are only 105-120KM/HR in America. When we think of going as fast as you want, we think of 18 year old kids in America who fly down the road at their cars top speeds without a care what happens to them - since that's usually the only ones who would do something so stupid with no knowledge how to control a car at fast speeds, and on roads not perfected for top speeds.

I've only been on the 'bahn once, and it was going to the airport in Munich. The guy was going maybe 135KM/HR, but of course we were thinking "oh la la, so fast"

I've only been on the 'bahn once, and it was going to the airport in Munich. The guy was going maybe 135KM/HR, but of course we were thinking "oh la la, so fast"

I have quite some experience driving on German Autobahnen, i travel through this country mutiple times a year.

On most Autobahnen, the general speed is between 130 / 150km/h. There are some guys who drive 200km/h, especially on the deserted Autobahnen in the Northwest and Northeast, but clearly not everyone.
And traffic is very disciplined in Germany.

The accident-rate on Autobahnen is not higher than other countries in Western Europe.

I've only been on the 'bahn once, and it was going to the airport in Munich. The guy was going maybe 135KM/HR, but of course we were thinking "oh la la, so fast"

:lol:

Once I was so stupid to dare driving 190 km/h in Switzerland.:) It was probably Swiss record of the month.:lol:

^ I think people have the misconception that since these German roads don't have limits, then EVERYONE must just slam their foot on the gas pedal and not let up until they've flown off a bridge or get to their destination.

Obviously if you rationally think of it, why would a normal person be going as fast as humanly possible in their car every time they drive. People are very responsible drivers in Germany - you have to be if you want the privilege of driving as fast as you feel.

It's like drugs being tolerated in Amsterdam. People think - oh, you can do drugs and the cops won't bust you - EVERYONE must be getting high all the time. The first time I went there I asked my friend about it who's from Amsterdam, he said "no, the Dutch might smoke a joint every once in awhile to relax, as you'd go to a pub - but much of the business coffeeshops get is from tourists like yourself". Of COURSE, I was racing to a coffeeshop with him as we had this conversation.

is autobahn already an internationalism?

^ I think people have the misconception that since these German roads don't have limits, then EVERYONE must just slam their foot on the gas pedal and not let up until they've flown off a bridge or get to their destination.

Obviously if you rationally think of it, why would a normal person be going as fast as humanly possible in their car every time they drive. People are very responsible drivers in Germany - you have to be if you want the privilege of driving as fast as you feel.
^^ Absolutely. For most foreigners first thing that comes to mind when they hear the word "Autobahn" is "No speed limit". For me, "Autobahn = Excelent Drivers' Discipline". If I want to drive as fast as I want, I can go to Nevada and do it on I-80 in rural areas, but I-80 will not become the autobahn just because you can put the pedal to the metal there.

When I think of the autobahns (XD) I think of no speed limit, but not because I can floor my car to 180 mph, but rather have ease of mind about not having to worry about straying over the limit and be able to travel at a speed that suits me, and not have to look around every nook and cranny to see if a cop is hiding there waiting to hand me a ticket.

That's not some German particularity; no country is so stupid to build sharp curves, if not necessary.

Portugal is :ohno:

Hi, welcome to this thread.

I'll start to explain some traffic engineering and terminology concerning road traffic.

First of all:

Terminology

There are several ways to mention a "motorway". Throughout Europe, motorway is the most used English term to refer to a motorway-grade road. In the United States and several Asian countries, the word "Expressway" is often used to mention a motorway-grade road. Some states and countries also use the word "Freeway", which, contrary to popular belief, doesn't mean free of tolls, but more to the "freeflowing situation" that occurs on those roads.

Motorway, Freeway and Expressway can all mean the same! Ofcourse, many languages have their own term to refer to the motorway. Within this forum, you'll see forumers use different terms, which apply to the area they live in.

However, an HIGHWAY does not exclusively refer to a motorway-grade road! It's a general term for (usually connecting) roads. One better use the word "motorway" and not "highway", if they refer to a motorway-grade road.

The term Expressway however, is more vague. In some countries, they can also refer to 4 lane main highways with traffic lights, or one lane highways with grade-separated junctions. The latter is usually called a Motorroad. They usually have a higher speed limit than other one lane highways.

2x3, 3+3 or 6 lanes?

This issue also is a source of confusion. Literally, they all mean the same. The correct term in many countries is: The number of lanes per direction multiplied by the number of roadways. So a motorway that carries 3 lanes per direction can be called 2x3. A motorway that carries 4 lanes per direction split over 4 separate roadways is called 4x2.

3+3 or 2+1 usually refers to a highway without central reservation or median, but not exclusively, it depends on location.

x lanes (2,4,6,8 or whatever) is usually the term in North America. 6 lanes usually means 2x3 lanes. Americans rather say the total number of lanes than the number of lanes per direction.

That also brings is to the next issue: The Roadway. A roadway is a piece of paved road which carries a certain number of lanes from median to shoulder. In other words, one roadway can carry 2,3,4 or even more lanes. A collector/distributor, or sometimes called local/express system usually carries 4 separate roadways, with a certain number of lanes per roadway.
If there is no median, there is only one roadway, carrying both directions.

Highway capacity

The capacity of a highway can be estimated. However, there is no definate concensus about how this should be done.
The most common way is to count the number of lanes, multiplied by the lane capacity per hour and multiplied by the number of representative hours.

In example a 2x2 motorway: 4 X 2200 X 10 = 88,000 AADT capacity

There are several points where there is no consensus about.
First of all, the capacity per lane. 2200 is the most used fact, however some experts also suggest 2500 or 2000 vehicles per lane per hour.
Second of all, the number of representative hours (usually 10) is subject to debate, since some also use 11 or 12 hours, which should lead into a higher capacity.

Besides that, there are a number of facts which reduce the capacity of a lane.
1) on motorways with more than 3 adjacent lanes per direction, the capacity per lane decreases, since most traffic tries to stick to the right most of the time, to exit. This increases weaving and reduces capacity
2) tunnels, bridges are capacity reducing objects. This can also occur when there are no shoulders, or limited visibility due to greenery too close to the roadway. There is no hard fact about what the capacity is at those objects.
3) Weather condition can also reduce capacity, for example in rain, people keep more distance, so the capacity is reduced. Ofcourse, some more extreme weather conditions, like hail, snow, ice and fog can reduce the capacity even further.
4) At interchange where there is a lot of entering and exiting traffic, the capacity can reduce because of weaving.
5) Some sections have long merge lanes between 2 exits which functions as a de facto 3rd of 4th (or more) lane. Such lanes cannot be counted for full capacity.
6) The amount of truck traffic is also important. When 20% - 30% on busy 2x2 motorways of the traffic are trucks, the right lane is usually completely taken by trucks. This also reduces capacity significantly.

However, in reality, congestion is starting to exist from about 70,000 to 80,000 vehicles per day on 2x2 motorways. They are able to carry more, there are motorways known that carry over 100,000 vehicles per day on 2x2 lanes.

Intensity vs Capacity
A way to measure intensity vs capacity is the I/C value, the intensity divided by capacity. We now know how to calculate the approximate capacity, and traffic volume stats are often available. This can be done properly with hourly stats, however, they are usually limited available, or only available for pros. One can get an approximate I/C value by calculating daily figures.

For instance, the US 290 in Houston. The road has 2x4 through lanes (and merging/weaving lanes between some exits), which could lead into a capacity of (2200 * 8 * 10) 176,000 to (2200 * 8 * 11,5) 202,400. The actual traffic intensity is 243,000. 243,000 / 202,400 = I/C 1.2 which is extremely high resulting into major congestion. From 0.9 - 1 one can already see congestion.

Another example, the notorious I-405 in Los Angeles near Sepulveda Pass. There are 4 lanes southbound+HOV and 5 lanes northbound, so 10 lanes in total. Let's start: (2200 * 10 * 11)=242,000. The traffic intensity is 278,000. 278,000 / 242,000 = I/C 1.15 which is also very high, but less than the US 290 in Houston.
Caltrans also publishes peak hours. For the I-405 at the same location, the hourly capacity is 22,000. The peak hour intensity is 17,400. Huh, this leads into a 0.79 I/C, no congestion at all! :D It's because these are 2-way figures. Rushhour is usually limited to one direction only, but there are locations where both directions are busy as hell. Therefore, the best way to calculate I/C's is per direction.

Congestion/Traffic Jams/Queue

The definition of a traffic jam is not always defined. Dutch transportation agency defines it as "traffic driving slower than 50km/h (30mph) for 2 kilometers (1.5 mile) or more". Congestion can occur almost anywhere, and can have multiple causes, such as shortage of road capacity, road (more specific: interchange) designs, accidents, weather, holidays and events. A queue is the British term, where Traffic Jam seems to be an American term.

To drivers, the technical definition doesn't matter that much, often dense or sluggish traffic is often seen as congestion, even if the delays are minor. In the perception of drivers, there is usually more congestion than in reality. Most radiostation broadcasts frequent traffic reports, especially local metropolitan radio stations in the US, or regional, commercial and public radio stations in Europe. The traffic information is often gathered by the road authority by detection in the roadway in busy area's, and police and or visual reports in less urbanized areas. Therefore, the accuracy of traffic reports can vary greatly. Some countries or metropolitan areas have full real time traffic information where other area's depend on police reports or even from motorists.

Traffic jam detection also varies by region, some roadway detections are placed at every few hundred meters, giving a very detailed and actual situation of the flow, where other regions only have detection every few kilometers, or near exits, giving a less detailed report.

to be continued.

Great idea for a thread Chriszwolle. I look forward to see diferent opinions and to debate them.

Terminology
Because this forum is called "Highways & Autobahns", you should include "autobahn". :)

2x3, 3+3 or 6 lanes?
In Germany we normaly use "3+3" and we often include the hard shoulder:
3+3 -> no hard shoulder
s3+3s -> hard shoulder ("s" for "Standstreifen")
S3+3S -> hard shoulder, wide enough for changing into an (temporary) extra lane .

In example a 2x4 motorway: 4 X 2200 X 10 = 88,000 AADT capacityBoth directions have to be counted.

The lane-capacity used can differ from the guidelines on freeflow a country uses.
Using 1600-1800 will end up in a more broad motorway with less congestion.
More common is 2000 - 2150. In very busy areas the multiplier of 10,5 - 11,5 is more appropriate than 10.

In case of a 2x4:
2 x 4 x 2150 x 11 = 189.200 AADT

(I use decimal comma and thousand-dot for figures)

I thought about such a thread myself. Now I see that I wasn't the only one who recognised the need for some education. Thank you for starting it.

However, I have to interfere with this one:

Motorway, Freeway and Expressway all means the same! Ofcourse, many languages have their own term to refer to the motorway. Within this forum, you'll see forumers use different terms, which apply to the area they live in.

Motorway, freeway and expressway does not mean the same. Motorway is a legal status, defined by law and marked by signs. Freeway or expressway on the other hand are just ambiguous expressions for a dualled and grade-separated road.

Great idea! I was kind of confused of the terminology myself.

Both directions have to be counted.

The lane-capacity used can differ from the guidelines on freeflow a country uses.
Using 1600-1800 will end up in a more broad motorway with less congestion.
More common is 2000 - 2150. In very busy areas the multiplier of 10,5 - 11,5 is more appropriate than 10.

In case of a 2x4:
2 x 4 x 2150 x 11 = 189.200 AADT

(I use decimal comma and thousand-dot for figures)

I made a mistake, i meant 2x2 :bash::lol:


Motorway, freeway and expressway does not mean the same. Motorway is a legal status, defined by law and marked by signs. Freeway or expressway on the other hand are just ambiguous expressions for a dualled and grade-separated road.

I do not agree, since a Freeway or expressway are just a local term to mention a motorway. All Chinese motorways are called expressway for instance. (except the oldest, which were called freeways, but there are only a few of them). In Europe, the expressway is indeed usually a lower category, but this doesn't apply worldwide. However, it's often seen that expressways have the same grade as motorways, for instance in Spain since a couple of years. The distinction can still be seen between older and newer Autovía's.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Jingshi_Freeway_Signpost.jpg

In Germany we normaly use "3+3" and we often include the hard shoulder:
3+3 -> no hard shoulder
s3+3s -> hard shoulder ("s" for "Standstreifen")
S3+3S -> hard shoulder, wide enough for changing into an (temporary) extra lane .

I think this is a typical German way, i haven't seen it elsewhere (Which doesn't mean it's impossible though).

Sometimes, you can also read " 2x3 lanes: 2 lanes per direction and emergency lanes". Technically, this is wrong since "2x3 / 3+3" only means the driving lanes, and does not include shoulders/emergency lanes.

I do not agree, since a Freeway or expressway are just a local term to mention a motorway.
Not at all. Motorway is not just a road but a legal concept. Most countries in the world don't have this. And I'm curious to know whether this sign in China has any consequences:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Jingshi_Freeway_Signpost.jpg

^^ A legal concept where? In the US (at least in certain states, like California), "freeway" is a legal concept. In fact, I don't even think "motorway" is ever used in most places in North America, including in law. I never heard of this term until coming to this forum.

Interesting thread, Chris! :cheers:

I don't even think "motorway" is ever used in most places in North America

Motorway is a British term... it's not utilized in North America... no one would know what you are talking about.:ohno:

It's similar to the British term "lorry". In North America, one uses the word "truck".

Expressway is mostly used in the eastern United States. Otherwise freeway is the standard terminology elsewhere.

But there is also a separate definition for "freeway standard" and "expressway standard".

Expressway standard refers to a freeway standard highway (same design standards, geometry, etc) except that some lighted intersections exist at low volume intersections, which are upgradeable to interchanges when traffic later warrants.

Some states and countries also use the word "Freeway", which, contrary to popular belief, doesn't mean free of tolls, but more to the "freeflowing situation" that occurs on those roads.In some English-speaking states/countries they indeed mean "free of toll" with "freeway". I don't remember where though.

The term Expressway however, is more vague. In some countries, they can also refer to 4 lane main highways with traffic lights, or one lane highways with grade-separated junctions. The latter is usually called a Motorroad.In Wikipedia I've seen expression "motor-route".

Wikipedia:

The Autostrasse literally means motorroad in English and exists in some European countries, noticeably Austria, and Switzerland, and some others like Sweden, France, Slovakia, Poland, Netherlands and Norway under another name. The faster equivalent is the Autobahn (motorway). The Autostrasse can also be translated as a semi-motorway.

A similar type of road seen in North America is known as a two-lane freeway, albeit with fewer construction standards.

^^ Interesting... but is there also an Autostrasse category in Austria, besides Schnellstrasse? I definitely saw some 2x1 sections with blue signs and a car symbol (the one for expressways). It seems it is used on some bypasses/sections with tunnels.

That's the same. Autostraße is an old expression.

I'd say an expressway is a variant of a motorway, althoug they differ and should be named differently. For example in Poland, expressways are non-tolled (on contrary to motorways), speed is more limited and they undergo less strict regulations (they can have tighter curves, steper slopes or shorter connecting lanes). Still, the class of the road is the same (2 separated roadways, grade-separated interchanges and so on).

^^ That's the Polish version of expressway. And the most important thing here is that the official language in Poland isn't English. If you look in Wikipedia, an expressway can even have intersections in the same level, traffic lights etc. I personally even call a 2-lane road expressway, if it's equipped with the sign of road reserved for motor vehicles (motorroad/motor-route) - sth they don't have in any English-speaking country (or?).

The Dutch law does not define expressways. There are motorways and Motorroads, the latter can be up to motorway standard except shoulders, but it can also be a 2 lane highway with upcoming traffic. Speed limit = 100km/h.

The English term "motorway" is probably best, just because there's no confusion about it domestically. :lol:

When I came to the U.S., I lived on Long Island. In the North-East (and also in Miami and Chicago), "expressway" is the preferred term. I always refer to controlled access, grade separated highways as "expressways". To me, the term makes sense, because your taking an "express" road to your destination. And like most express routes, it may not take you exactly from point A to point B, but you'll cover much of that distance pretty quickly. Expressways that you have to pay tolls for are usually known as "turnpikes" in the Northeast and Great Lakes region, i.e. Ohio Turnpike, New Jersey Turnpike, Pennsylvania Turnpike, etc. The overwhelming majority of expressways, are however not tolled.

When I first heard the Western/Southern term "freeway", I assumed that people in California were trying to make a political statement about how all their expressways were in fact "free". A few years later though, I found out that there's a number of toll roads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toll_Roads_in_the_United_States) in California. :laugh: Which then raises the question: what's a "freeway" free of? Cost? No. Tolls? No. Traffic flow? Drive the 405 sometime. Traffic lights? Nope, got them too on the ramps. That's why I tend to dislike the term "freeway".

In India, they've chosen to favor the American East coast term "expressway" for the new highways they're building. Good choice. :cheers:

Some other terms...

junction, intersection:
* Nederlands: aansluiting
* Catalan: Sortida
* Deutsch: Anschlussstelle
* Français: échangeur
* Español: salida
* Svenska: trafikplats
* Dansk: Frakørsel

diamond-intersection, diamond junction
* Nederlands: Haarlemmermeer-aansluiting
* Vlaams (Flemish): Hollands complex

half-cloverleaf
* Nederlands: halfklaverblad
* Deutsch: Halbkleeblatt

ramp, connector, sliproad
* Nederlands: verbindingsweg
* Deutsch: Rampe
* Svenska: rampe

exit-ramp:
* Nederlands: afrit
* Deutsch: Ausfahrtrampe
* Français: sortie
* Español: enlace
* Svenska: avfartsrampe

onramp, slipway
* Nederlands: toerit
* Deutsch: Einfahrt, Zufahrtrampe
* Vlaams: oprit
* Svenska: påfartsrampe

Motorway Traffic Management system
* Nederlands: verkeerssignalering
* Deutsch: Linienbeeinflussungsanlage (LBA)

Variable Message Sign (VMS)
* Nederlands: Dynamisch Route Informatie Paneel (DRIP)
* Deutsch: Elektronische Anzeigetafel
* Français: Panneaux à messages variables

Traffic jam, queue
* Nederlands: file
* Deutsch: Stau
* Hrvatski: Kolona
* Français: Bouchon

Rampmeter
* Nederlands: toeritdoseerinstallatie (TDI)
* Deutsch: Zufahrtsampelanlage / Zufahrtsbegrenzungsanlage

Gantry
* Nederlands: portaal
* Deutsch: Wegweiserbrücke, Signalbrücke, LBA-Brücke

Carriageway
* Nederlands: rijbaan
* Deutsch: Fahrbahn
* Français: chaussée
* Español: calzada

Lane
* Nederlands: rijstrook
* Vlaams: rijvak, vak
* Deutsch: Fahrspur, Spur
* Français: voie
* Español: carril

Hard shoulder, emergency lane
* Nederlands: vluchtstrook
* Deutsch: Standspur, Seitenstreife
* Français: Bande d'arrêt d'urgence

Service area, service station
* Nederlands: verzorgingsplaats (VZP)
* Deutsch: Raststätte, Autohof
* Dansk: Transport Center
* Français: Aire

If you have any suggestion for apparent mistakes, please tell me.
If you can add some translations from your own language, feel free !

Some corrections on the Swedish terminology:

Ramp: Ramp
Exit: Avfart
Onramp: Påfart
Traffic jam, queue: Trafikstockning, kö
Service area: Rastplats
Hard shoulder: Vägren
Lane: Körfält, fil
Carriageway: Körbana

Polish:

motorway: autostrada
lane: pas
(hard) shoulder: (utwardzone) pobocze
emergency lane: pas awaryjny
exit: wyjazd
traffic jam: korek
road intersection: skrzyżowanie
non-grade intersection: węzeł
road sign: znak drogowy
cloverleaf: koniczynka
...
...
...
shiny crashbarrier: lśniąca barierka :crazy:

diamond-intersection, diamond junction
* Nederlands: Haarlemmermeer-aansluiting
* Vlaams (Flemish): Hollands complex


:cheers:

I would say that "intersection" is "knooppunt" in dutch.

Allow me to correct/complete the German terms. :)
Some other terms...

diamond-intersection, diamond junction
* Deutsch: Holländeranschluss
(but mostly only used for the ramps: Holländerrampe)

half-cloverleaf
* Deutsch: Halbkleeblatt
better: halbes Kleeblatt

exit-ramp:
* Deutsch: Ausfahrtsrampe
mostly only: Ausfahrt

onramp, slipway
* Deutsch: Einfahrt, Zufahrtrampe
mostly: Auffahrt (Auffahrtsrampe)

Motorway Traffic Management system
* Deutsch: Linienbeeinflussungsanlage (LBA)
I think thats only a name by the ministry of transport, the normal term is: 'Verkehrsbeeinflussungsanlage (VBA)'

Variable Message Sign (VMS)
* Deutsch: Elektronische Anzeigetafel
maybe that's an old name or a generic term...
the ministry of transport calls it 'Netzbeeinflussungsanlage' (network-influence-installation)
but today another term is common:
'diWiSta (dynamische Wegweisung mit integrierter Stauinformation)'
-> dynamic sign-posting with integrated queue information

Rampmeter
* Deutsch: Zufahrtsampelanlage / Zufahrtsbegrenzungsanlage
normaly used: Zuflussregelungsanlage

Gantry
* Deutsch: Wegweiserbrücke, Signalbrücke, LBA-Brücke
'Wegweiserbrücke' are normaly called 'Schilderbrücken'

Hard shoulder, emergency lane
* Deutsch: Standspur, Seitenstreifen
also common: Standstreifen

Service area, service station
* Deutsch: Raststätte, Autohof
'Raststätte' ist a Service area on the motorway and a 'Autohof' is accessible over normal exits
All Service areas and parking lots on the motorway are called 'Nebenbetriebe'

I think thats only a name by the ministry of transport, the normal term is: 'Verkehrsbeinflussungsanlage (VBA)'

Verkehrsbeeinflussungsanlage :P

Verkehrsbeeinflussungsanlage :P
D'oh.
Corected it, thanks. :)

Thank you for the corrections and additions !
More of this kind of information is very welcome :)

I would say that "intersection" is "knooppunt" in dutch.No, it isn't in general.
Intersection stands for 'kruispunt'.

Interchange, Junction and Exit are more vague. As far as i know, junctions are called interchanges and otherwise.

^^Intersection is often used for highway, as well for other roads, so we can conclude that it can be translated as knooppunt and as kruispunt :)

A highway is, as said, not exclusively a motorway, but moreoften any major road. An intersection is also not an interchange. The problem is that, especially Dutchmen, usually refer to a "highway" when they mean a motorway/freeway type of road.

I added some to the first post.

Which then raises the question: what's a "freeway" free of? Cost? No. Tolls? No. Traffic flow? Drive the 405 sometime. Traffic lights? Nope, got them too on the ramps. That's why I tend to dislike the term "freeway".

Free of encroaching properties. It is a legal term, first introduced in California.

A highway is, as said, not exclusively a motorway, but moreoften any major road. An intersection is also not an interchange. The problem is that, especially Dutchmen, usually refer to a "highway" when they mean a motorway/freeway type of road.

You're very confident about defining English terms for the rest of us:

Motorway, Freeway and Expressway all means the same! Ofcourse, many languages have their own term to refer to the motorway. Within this forum, you'll see forumers use different terms, which apply to the area they live in.

However, an HIGHWAY does not exclusively refer to a motorway-grade road! It's a general term for (usually connecting) roads. One better use the word "motorway" and not "highway", if they refer to a motorway-grade road.

The term Expressway however, is more vague. In some countries, they can also refer to 4 lane main highways with traffic lights, or one lane highways with grade-separated junctions. The latter is usually called a Motorroad. They usually have a higher speed limit than other one lane highways.

Here (in Victoria, Australia) the term "motorway" & "expressway" are seldom if ever used, so I'm loathe to dispute your assertion that they mean just the same as "Freeway", which is the term which is used in metropolitan areas here. That is, unless there is a toll applied, in which case they are referred to as "tollways". However, since this has a negative impact upon traffic which might use the road, they are then rebranded under less challenging labels like "CityLink" & "East Link".

The language is different in Sydney New South Wales: just as previous correspondents have pointed out; West coast & East-coast USA have their differences, too.

Outside the metropolitan area, well maybe they are Motorways: or "Divided Highways" (implying that they have a median strip). At any rate, Highways are not just connecting roads, but roads declared and gazetted by the State Government as being of particular importance: and maintained by the State, as against the local council.

Roads here fall into a hierarchy: M (for motorway, even if we don't call them that), which implies they have no at-grade intersections, etc., and comply in general with what you've been talking about, then three categories A, B & C, which don't necessarily indicate the condition of the road, but its significance. There are countless unclassified roads as well.

The A1 goes pretty much all around Australia: About 20,000 Km all up. At times it becomes the M1, when it becomes a freeway (or a tollway); around the Gulf of Carpenteria (as just National Route 1) it isn't even bitumenized.

The B100- which winds past me- is in places a 2X2 divided highway; in places a 2-lane road which clings to cliffs with speed restrictions down to 40 kph & U-turns prohibited: it is the B100 because it is a major tourist route: the "Great Ocean Road", with many signs along it to remind visitors from overseas to drive on the right (that is the left!) side of the road.

^^ While Victoria has no "Motorways", this is not the case north of the border, in New South Wales, since in Sydney there are both "Motorways" & ""Freeways": all I can say is that there are no tolls on the Freeways.

In Brisbane Queensland, the main (divided) route north (2x2, with shoulders) is a highway (M1), whereas the same route south (M1) is a motorway. In Brisbane, there are no "freeways", even if they're free. Moreover, there are substantial lengths of "motorway" that are, it seems, undivided ... that is, a single road-way.

I have a question, I hope it's the correct thread to post it. In some official documents I've seen that some expressways are intended to be transformed in future in motorways. My question is the following: how can someone transform an expressway into a motorway.
The standard expressway in Romania: 2x7m carriageway; 1,50m median; 2x1,50m hard shoulders (of which 2x0,75m-bordering band from the same material as the carriageway and 2x0,75m-hard shoulder without asphalt) TOTAL road platform=18,50m
The standard motorway in Romania Nr.1: 2x7,50m carriageway; 3m median; 4x0,50 guidance lanes (2 on each side of each carriageway); 2x2,50m emergency lanes; 2x0,50m hard shoulders TOTAL road platform=26,00m
The standard motorway in Romania Nr.2: 2x7,50m carriageway; 4m median; 2x3,50m hard shoulders (2x2,50m stopping lane, 2x0,50m hard strip, 2x0,50m verge) TOTAL road platform=26,00m
In conclusion I repeat my question how can an expressway become later a motorway? (we are not speaking here of junctions or other criteria)
Waiting for your opinions...:)

^^ While Victoria has no "Motorways", this is not the case north of the border, in New South Wales, since in Sydney there are both "Motorways" & ""Freeways": all I can say is that there are no tolls on the Freeways.



That's technically incorrect, 'motorway' is not a legal definition under the (NSW) Roads Act - they are all declared as 'freeways'.

That said, it doesn't stop it being used just as a type of road naming.

Motorways, expressways and freeways are not always the same. In the UK, a motorway is a road defined by certain standards and regulations, so it's clear what roads are motorways and what roads aren't. The term freeway is not really used in the UK and is often seen as American for motorway, but expressway is often used for an large road with grade separation. The A55, for example, is known as the North Wales Expressway, although it is not a motorway.

^^ What a motorway is in England, is an Expressway in China, and a freeway in the US. So they DO mean the same, only on national level they can differ, or having additional legal status.

But an expressway in England could be the same as a freeway in America as America does not have the concept of Motorway regulated roads, like Europe does), but no mean Autobahn or Autoroute.

^^ That's because definitions are vague, or became the same overtime. Like in the past, there was a significant difference between Autovía's and Autopista's in Spain. Nowadays, the only difference is the number of exits, and the fact that Autopista's are toll roads.

2x3, 3+3 or 6 lanes?

x lanes (2,4,6,8 or whatever) is usually the term in North America. 6 lanes usually means 2x3 lanes. Americans rather say the total number of lanes than the number of lanes per direction.

This is also the usage in Scandinavia, at least in Norway

Highway capacity

The capacity of a highway can be estimated. However, there is no definate concensus about how this should be done.
The most common way is to count the number of lanes, multiplied by the lane capacity per hour and multiplied by the number of representative hours.

In example a 2x2 motorway: 4 X 2200 X 10 = 88,000 AADT capacity

There are several points where there is no consensus about.
First of all, the capacity per lane. 2200 is the most used fact, however some experts also suggest 2500 or 2000 vehicles per lane per hour.
Second of all, the number of representative hours (usually 10) is subject to debate, since some also use 11 or 12 hours, which should lead into a higher capacity.

Besides that, there are a number of facts which reduce the capacity of a lane.
1) on motorways with more than 3 adjacent lanes per direction, the capacity per lane decreases, since most traffic tries to stick to the right most of the time, to exit. This increases weaving and reduces capacity
2) tunnels, bridges are capacity reducing objects. This can also occur when there are no shoulders, or limited visibility due to greenery too close to the roadway. There is no hard fact about what the capacity is at those objects.
3) Weather condition can also reduce capacity, for example in rain, people keep more distance, so the capacity is reduced. Ofcourse, some more extreme weather conditions, like hail, snow, ice and fog can reduce the capacity even further.
4) At interchange where there is a lot of entering and exiting traffic, the capacity can reduce because of weaving.
5) Some sections have long merge lanes between 2 exits which functions as a de facto 3rd of 4th (or more) lane. Such lanes cannot be counted for full capacity.
6) The amount of truck traffic is also important. When 20% - 30% on busy 2x2 motorways of the traffic are trucks, the right lane is usually completely taken by trucks. This also reduces capacity significantly.

I think it is also generally accepted that the capacity per lane is also significantly lower per lane on a 2-lane road than a 4+ lane road. Also of course, the capacity is a function of driving habits and speed limits. The capacity on Norwegian roads is significantly less than some other countries because we like to have what we consider safe distance to the car in front....

^^ What a motorway is in England, is an Expressway in China, and a freeway in the US. So they DO mean the same, only on national level they can differ, or having additional legal status.

I think they CAN mean the same, but not necessarily. Also, the Chinese aren't the ones to define the English language. The terms "expressway" and "motorway" are both used in the UK, and they don't mean the same. Also, the terms "expressway" and "freeway" are both used in the US, and again, they don't mean the same. That's what I think about this.

Honestly if you actually use the word "motorway" in United States, people would call you crazy or they would ask if you are a tourist. Terms in US and Canada are usually: Route-##, Highway ##, State-##, and Interstate ##.

I think it is also generally accepted that the capacity per lane is also significantly lower per lane on a 2-lane road than a 4+ lane road.
Your claim dissents which all scientific research I ever read about this subject. How can you say it would be generally accepted.

I think that that's more a problem of capacity reducing objects on the 2 lane road, like roundabouts, traffic lights and steeper hills/curves etc, rather than the one-lane-per-direction layout. I don't think a freeflowing one lane per direction road has a significant lower capacity per lane than one lane on a motorway.

Your claim dissents which all scientific research I ever read about this subject. How can you say it would be generally accepted.
Well, at least according to the Norwegian road authorities, a two-lane road has a capacity of around 20 000 AADT, whereas a four-lane road has a capacity of around 65 000. Limited access two-lane roads are quite common in Norway, so this has nothing to do with intersection types. And the Norwegian road authorities are very good at filling their roads to the limit....

One reason for the difference could be that on two lane roads with high traffic, there is no possibility of passing slower vehicles, and these types of roads thus typically have some jammed sections even if there are large gaps in traffic at other places.

Edit:
The British road authorities seems to agree with the Norwegians, check page 3 of this document (http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/vol5/section1/ta7999.pdf).

I think that that's more a problem of capacity reducing objects on the 2 lane road, like roundabouts, traffic lights and steeper hills/curves etc, rather than the one-lane-per-direction layout. I don't think a freeflowing one lane per direction road has a significant lower capacity per lane than one lane on a motorway.

I don't know about capacity. But, as a general rule, a two-lane road will operate at a worse Level of Service (LOS) than a four-lane road for any given average traffic volume per lane. This is partly because the LOS criterion for two-lane roads is based on time spent following other vehicles, which is irrelevant for roads of four or more lanes which have continuous passing opportunities. Also, the traffic volume that can be carried at a given LOS on a two-lane road depends heavily on its alignment.

The Highway Capacity Manual (published by the Transportation Research Board in the USA) has a detailed explanation of the Level of Service concept.

Well, at least according to the Norwegian road authorities, a two-lane road has a capacity of around 20 000 AADT, whereas a four-lane road has a capacity of around 65 000. Limited access two-lane roads are quite common in Norway, so this has nothing to do with intersection types. And the Norwegian road authorities are very good at filling their roads to the limit....

Those numbers are not capacities per se. Instead, they are nominal maximum volumes which are accepted for design purposes. My guess is that they represent completely different levels of service for two- and four-lane roads; in other words, a two-lane road loaded to its nominal maximum volume will operate at an inferior level of service compared to a four-lane road which is also loaded to its own nominal maximum volume.

Edit: The British road authorities seems to agree with the Norwegians, check page 3 of this document (http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/vol5/section1/ta7999.pdf).

There is no surprise here. The British sweat their S2 roads.

Motorway, Freeway and Expressway all mean the same!

As others have pointed out, this is not correct. It would be otiose to rehearse all the reasons, so I'll just explain how I try to use those terms before an international audience of English speakers:

* Motorway refers to a comprehensively grade-separated road without frontage access which is legally specialized for use by motor vehicles. If I am talking about a road of this description in Europe, Asia, or Africa, motorway is the term I will use. In the Americas, I will use the term freeway. In Australia, I will use either motorway or freeway according to how the road is described locally (e.g. Hume Freeway in Melbourne, or Coast Motorway in Sydney & environs).

* Expressway has something like 20 different definitions based on local usage. For an international audience of English speakers, expressway is the term I will use if: (1) that is the accepted local name (or English translation thereof) for the road type (e.g. Chinese expressways, which are actually toll motorways); or (2) I wish to refer to a type of divided highway which is inferior to motorways and not necessarily comprehensively grade-separated but is specialized for use by through traffic (e.g. "main A-roads" like the A55 in North Wales). If the expressway is comprehensively grade-separated, and it is relevant, I will also add that it has been developed to full freeway or motorway standard (not that it is a freeway or motorway).

* Freeway is basically the same as motorway except a freeway does not necessarily have to be specialized for use by motor vehicles. In many, but not all, US states they are. I do not believe it is true that the term freeway originated in California. The term was coined in 1930 by Edward M. Bassett, an American planner, and free refers to the absence of frontage access rather than to the absence of tolls (indeed, the US has many tolled freeways, which are often called turnpikes in the eastern half of the country and tollways elsewhere). In fact, in southern California freeways were actually called parkways until the early 1950's.

Where expressway is concerned, some peculiarities are worth noting.

* In some US states, the state DOT may speak about building a two-lane expressway. Clearly the DOT engineers do not mean that they are building an expressway according to the AASHTO definition (divided highway with some but not total limitation of access). Generally what they are proposing is a relocation of an existing two-lane state highway, which is specialized for through traffic (hence "express") and is intended to have generous geometry and limitation of access to major intersections only.

* Conversely, in some US states highways have been widened to four-lane divided in rural areas but have no access control and are blighted by frequent stoplights. These are not expressways except in the limited sense of having a divided-highway cross-section. Often, to distinguish them from divided highways with some control of access, which are intended to benefit through traffic, they are called "divided rural arterials" or similar. These arterials are popular in Southern states because they can be built relatively cheaply.

I changed it into "Motorway, Freeway and Expressway can all mean the same!", which is what I orgininally meant.

Edit:
The British road authorities seems to agree with the Norwegians, check page 3 of this document (http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/vol5/section1/ta7999.pdf).
There's just a note to users on page 3.
The tables for capacities in this document, however, are rather converse to the initial claim. They state greater lane capacity for 2 lane road than for 4 lane roads. The difference isn't significant though.

greater lane capacity for 2 lane road than for 4 lane roads

You've got to be kidding me.. :nuts:

You've got to be kidding me.. :nuts:
No, I don't.

Basic dumb.people meanings in grade schoolers english:

CAR ROAD =
- 2x2 3x2 + lanes
- directional segregation (be it a concrete wall , a 3m wide gap , steel rails , etc)
- large side stoping lanes/hardshoulders
- exits/entrances are not at level
- segregated route such that a pedestrian , an animal or a non motorized veichle is forbiden to enter/circulate
- some may add other "localized" carachteristics such as: tolls , service areas (for fuel , food , hotels, etc) , etc etc etc
- have some bizzar combinations of names such as: auto+route , auto+pista , auto+estrada , motor+way , high+way , something.odd+way , auto/moto+foreighn.language.meaning.road , etc

Priority route =
- anything is permited here ... from CAR ROAD to DIRT ROAD ... usualy just means that is a MAIN ROAD ... with aleatory standards aplied ... wich are different from country to country ...
- call it expresso+way , via+rapida , auto+via , whatever+wherever ...

DIRT ROAD = the rest ... with or without asphalt ... :lol:

Changing subjects:

2 lane = 20.000 vehicles
2+2 lane = 65.000 vehicles
3+3 lanes = 100.000 vehicles

^^ or something like that :ohno:

We would have to upgrade almost all remaining 2x2 motorways if 65.000 is the limit.

I think these are the Dutch top intensities:

2 lane = 30,000 various provincial roads
2x2 lane = 110,000 A15 Sliedrecht, A28 Utrecht
2x3 lane = 180,000 A20 Rotterdam
2x2 through + 2 merging lanes on both sides = 204,000 (A27 Utrecht).

There's just a note to users on page 3.
The tables for capacities in this document, however, are rather converse to the initial claim. They state greater lane capacity for 2 lane road than for 4 lane roads. The difference isn't significant though.

Sorry, I meant page 11, you are right if you think about similar standard single carriageways in Britain, but not dual carriageway (or single direction roads) which I was thinking about:

Single carriageway, two lanes, capacity each direction, hourly capacities:
UAP1, 6.75 m, total: 1320, lane: 1320
UAP1, 7.3 m, total 1590, lane 1590
UAP2, 6.75 m, total: 1260, lane: 1260
UAP2, 7.3 m, total 1470, lane 1470
UAP3, 6.75 m, total: 1110, lane: 1110
UAP3, 7.3 m, total 1300, lane 1110

Single carriageway, 4 lanes, capacity each direction, hourly capacities:
UAP1, 14.6 m, total 3050, lane 1525
UAP2, 14.6 m, total 2100, lane 1050

Dual carriageway, 4 lanes (2+2), capacity each direction, hourly capacities:
UM (motorway), 7.3 m, total: 4000, lane 2000
UAP1, 6.75 m, total: 3350, lane: 1675
UAP1, 7.3 m, total 3600, lane 1800
UAP2, 6.75 m, total: 2950, lane: 1475
UAP2, 7.3 m, total 3200, lane 1600
UAP3, 6.75 m, total: 2300, lane: 1150
UAP3, 7.3 m, total 2600, lane 1300

I.e, all dual carriageway 2+2 urban roads have higher lane capacities than similar standard single carriageway roads according to this British publication (of course, there is no similar standard for motorways). For rural roads I guess the difference is higher, but there safety is still a better argument for building dual carriageways.

In the Netherlands, they use 2200 to 2500 per lane. That's why we widen our roads too late. I heard the Coentunnel (A10 Amsterdam) has 3000 vehicles/hour/lane during rushhours. However, the Coentunnel is jammed for most of the day.

^^I drove from Abcoude to Utrecht (A2) and on to Germany on the A12. From Abcoude to Driebergen most of the traffic was jammed. I made some pics of it.

A single motorway lane has a capacity of ca. 1600 /hr.
This numbeer can be counted every day on the tidal-flow lane of the A1 Diemen-Muiderberg.

Hi guys,

Would all of you guys mind sharing the infos about the motorway / highway standards of your countries...? For me, it is important as highways, motorways and expressways are built with certain standards applied by the government of the respective countries. The factors being considered include lane width, design speed limit, access control, and applications.

Let me start first with the Malaysian highway standards...

All highways and expressways in Malaysia are subject to Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) urban/rural highway standards, ranging from R1/U1 to R6/U6. The application of the standards are as follows:-

R6 (high-speed expressway) /U6 (urban expressway) - High-speed motorway-standard toll expressway with full access control (access via grade-separated interchanges only), with the maximum speed limit of 110 km/h. All expressways must be dual-carriageway with at least 4 lanes (2 lanes per direction). All rural expressways must have emergency lanes but some urban expressways do not have emergency lanes, for example Sungai Besi Expressway (Expressway E9). Exclusive for toll expressways administered by Malaysian Highway Authority. Max design speed: 120 km/h (rural); 100 km/h (urban).
R5 (main federal/state highway) / U5 (primary urban highway) - partial access control (can be accessed via interchanges, roundabouts or at-grade junctions). Some R5-grade highways may have certain characteristics of a typical R6 expressways (emergency lanes, interchanges, dual-carriageways) but the lane width limited to 3.5 m. Max design speed: 100 km/h (rural); 80 km/h (urban).
R4 / U4 - Secondary federal/state/urban road with relatively medium geometric design, partial access control (usually via at-grade junctions, but in some cases the road can also be accessed via interchanges) and lower speed limits. Max design speed: 80 km/h (rural and urban).
R3 / U3 - Tertiary federal/state/urban road intended for local traffic only, with partial or no access control. Max design speed: 60 km/h (rural); 50 km/h (urban).
R2 / U2 - Roads with the lowest geometry design for a typical 2-way 2-lane road, intended for local traffic only. Max design speed: 50 km/h (rural); 40 km/h (urban).
R1 / R1a / U1 / U1a - Single-lane road with very low traffic encounters. Max design speed: 40 km/h (rural and urban).


Lane width:-

R6/U6: 3.6 m
R5/U5: 3.5 m
R4/U4: 3.25 m
R3/U3: 3.0 m
R2/U2: 2.75 m
R1/U1: 5.0 m (whole width)
R1a/U1a: 4.5 m (whole width)



Examples of applications:-

Rural:-

R6: North-South Expressway (Expressways E1 and E2)
R5: Federal Route 1 (national road from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bahru)
R4: Selangor State Route B33 (Kuala Selangor-Batang Berjuntai)
R3: Highland sections of Federal Route 145 (Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands-Gua Musang)
R2: Entrance road from Federal Route 94 junction to Felda Taib Andak, Kulai, Johor
R1: Paved single-lane village roads


Urban:-

U6: Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Expressway (Expressway E12)
U5: Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 (Jalan Tun Razak, Mahameru Highway, Jalan Damansara, Jalan Istana and Jalan Sungai Besi)
U4: Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

U3-U1: Cannot think of any!

The Netherlands

SW (Stroomweg) (highest category)
An SW is the highest road category in the Netherlands, and are divided in national stroomwegen, and regional stroomwegen. They are intended to be high speed roads.

National stroomwegen are usually motorways, which have grade-separated intersections, are prohibited for slow or non-motorized traffic and have a speed limit of 100 or 120 km/h. The lane width is usually 3.5 m. They always feature an emergency lane.
Regional stroomwegen are expressways, but there are few expressways which have motorway-standards. They can be 2x2, but often lack a shoulder. The speed limit is 100 km/h or lower. They can also feature only one lane per direction, and do not always feature a median.

GOW (GebiedsOntsluitingsWeg) (main road)
There are 2 categories: in and outside city limits. Outside the city limits, they have a speed limit of 80km/h, and 50 or 70km/h inside city limits. Their lane width is usually 2,75m and can have 2x2 lanes, but with traffic lights or even roundabouts. These roads carry the bulk of the non-motorway traffic.

ETW (ErfToegangsWeg) (secondary or lower road)

These roads are less important roads, and usually cover a rural area with a 60km/h limit, despite how the road layout is (often 60km/h roads are designed at a 80km/h speed limit). Inside city limits, they are in residential area's witha 30km/h speed limit, but often they also include thoroughfares inside neighborhoods which looks like a 50km/h road.

My comments on this system: The idea of classifying roads is good, but often they degrade roads with a 20km/h lower speed limit than the road is designed for. This results in a major amount of speeding and speeding tickets. They are popular spots to install speed camera's, resulting in a huge amount of speeding tickets. Many drivers are frustrated by these low speed limits.

In czech republic we have those cathegories:

example D26,5/120... D means cathegory of road, 26,5 is whole width and 120 means design speed


D (dálnice = highways)


D 33,5/120 (100,80) - highway with 3+3 lanes, lane width 3,75 , 3,75 and 3,5 m


D 27,5/120 (100,80) - highway with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,75 m


old D 26,5/120 (100,80) - no usage now, highway with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,75 m




R (rychlostní silnice = expressway) - lower standarts of curves and gradient than by highways


R 33,5/120 (100,80) - expressway with 3+3 lanes, lane width 3,75 , 3,75 and 3,5 m


R 27,5/120 (100,80) - expressway with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,75 m


R 25,5/120 (100,80) - expressway with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,75 m


old R 24,5/120 (100,80) and R22,5/-- - expressway with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,5 m




S (ostatní silnice = other roads) - yet divided into first class road, second class and third class


S 24,5/100 (80,70) - first class road with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,5 m


S 20,75/90 (80,70) - first class road with 2+2 lanes, lane width 3,25 m


S 11,5/90 (80,70) and S 9,5/-- - first class road with 1+1 lanes, lane width 3,5 m


S 7,5/-- S6,5/-- and S4/-- (usual design speed 70-30kph) - road with 1+1 lanes, lane width 3,0 to 2,75 m





MR, MS, MO, Mok - city roads


MR - urban speedway


MS - main streets (collecting road)


MO - frontage roadway


Mok - frontage roadway with shoulder



map with highway and expressway cathegories:
http://www.ceskedalnice.cz/doplnky/sirky.gif

Croatia

A roads (A1-A11) are full profiled motorways (autoceste). mostly tolled (about 95% of them)

B roads are so called fast roads (brze ceste). they might be same as motorways, but without SOS lanes, or they can be 2 way roads with or without SOS lanes, but with all denivelated intersections. currently there are only B8 and B9 existing (although there are more roads with B standards). tolls are collected at large objects.

D roads (državne ceste) are state roads.

D1-D9 (one digit) are main routes in the country. some of them have collission with motorway routes (for instance D4 doesn't exist anymore, but its route is completely the same as A3 motorway's - that's because D numbers are much older than A numbers)
D20-D64 (two digits) are not representing that important routes as one-digit D roads, but they might be in better cindition than some one-digit D roads.
D100-D524 are third graded state roads. again, not neccessarly in poor condition. also, there are some three-digits D roads in fantastic condition because new built bypasses or connectors get those numbers. D1xx roads are located at the islands. D2xx go to or from border crossings. D4xx go to or from ferry- and air-ports. D3xx and D5xx have no rules.

some of D roads are "blue" roads (reserved only for motorized vehicles) and some are built in really high standards, for instance D28 has 25 km long section which is pure B road (2+2, no SOS lanes, no same-leveled intersections)

ŽC roads (županijske ceste) are county roads. they may lead between 2 counties, but they are going mostly through inhabited places and have no such high standards as D roads. numbers are in rage ŽC1001-ŽC6253 (allways 4 digits)

LC roads (lokalne ceste) are local roads. it is the lowest class of the roads allways out of some importatn routes. range of numbers: LC10001-LC69065

5-digit road numbers? I don't think I have ever seen that before, are these roads signed?

5-digit road numbers? I don't think I have ever seen that before, are these roads signed?

no. i haven't seen them anywhere signed (if you mean at direction signs), it's only at paper. those are really unimportant roads, long up to some 15 km and usually connecting 2 villages. but those 4 digit can be seen at signs

What about this then?

http://www.elsaverzej.com/images/stories/Znaki/prometni/obvestila/slika58.jpg

We're a big country, so we need many numbers. :D They are rarely signed though.

5-digit road numbers? I don't think I have ever seen that before, are these roads signed?

In czech republic we also have 5-digit road number. In third class roads. For example III/15269.

Here I´m posting the whole road system of south-moravian district
http://www.rsd.cz/sdb_intranet/sdb/img/kraje/kraj_jm.jpg
If you look closely, you can see that first class roads have one or two digits, second class roads have 3 digits and third class roads have 4 or 5 digits.

But I never saw number of third class road on the road sign.

In Slovakia it's similar to Czech republic: D 26,5/120: D - category of road; 26,5 - whole width and 120 - design speed

D - motorways (diaľnice)

D 28/140, 120
D 26,5/140, 120, 100, 80
D 24,5/140, 120, 100, 80

Majority of Slovak motorways is build using D26,5/150, 120, 100 or 80 parameters. (Design speed 150 is not in use anymore).

R - expressways (rýchlostné cesty) - I think no explanations are needed for both motorways and expressways. Maybe only that all those parameters can be modified for 6 lanes just by adding 7 to the width. For example D26,5/120 becomes D33,5/120 when it's six laned.

rarely R 26,5/120, 100, 80
R 24,5/120, 100, 80
R 22,5/120, 100, 80
R 11,5/120, 100, 80

Majority of Slovak expressways is build using R 22,5/120, 100 or 80 parameters.

C - roads (cesty) - Every road is member of some class, we have 3 classes. First class roads have one or two digit numbers, e.g. I/61. Second class roads have three digit numbers, e.g. II/499. Third class roads have four or five digit numbers, e.g. III/06596.


First class roads:
C 22,5/100, 80 and 70
C 11,5/80, 70 and 60
C 9,5/80, 70 and 60;

First class roads connect important national and international destinations, important border crossings and the most important cities.

Second class roads:
C 22,5/100, 80 and 70
C 11,5/80, 70 and 60
C 9,5/80, 70 and 60;
rarely C 7,5/70, 60 and 50

Second class roads connect districts, regions and smaller cities and towns.

Third class roads:
C 11,5/80, 70 and 60
C 9,5/80, 70 and 60
C 7,5/70, 60 and 50
C 6,5/60, 50

Third class roads connect municipalities with first and second class roads. They also connects first and second class roads with each other on places where it's necessary. They have mostly local importance.

Ok, here are Estonian standards.

Motorway:
Project speed: 140km/h. Traffic density: >8 000 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886484


I class road aka expressway:
Project speed: 120km/h Traffic density: > 6000 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886463


II class road
Project speed: 120km/h Traffic density: 3000-8000 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886440


III class road:(the most common one in Estonia)
Project speed: 100km/h Traffic density: 1000-4000 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886419


IV class road:
Project speed: 80 km/h Traffic density: 200-1500 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886393


V class road:
Project speed: 60km/h Traffic density: < 200 cars/day
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/get-attachment.jsp?id=886493

In Spain:

Autopista

National autopista: A-xx, National tolled Autopista: AP-xx
Autonomous autopistas: Galicia: AG-xx, Castilla y León: A-xxx, Cataluña: C-xx, Aragón: ARA-A-x, Canary Islands: TF-xx or GC-xx, Madrid: M-xx

The Autopista, has at least 2x2 lanes, with different grade crossings, or interchanges, and controlled access. The width of the lanes is 3,5 meters, hard shoulders: 1,5 meters (the right ones), 1 meter (the left ones).
Only autonomous or older autopistas are free, all newer ones are tolled.
Max speed: 120km/h

Autovía

National autovía: A-xx, By-Pass autovía: uses one or two letters of the city name, Autonomous autovía: Andalucía, Castilla y León: A-xxx, Aragón: ARA-A-xx, Asturias: AS-x, Balearic Islands: Ma-xx, Basque Country: N-xxx or BI-xxx, or GI-xxx, Canary Islands: TF-xx or GC-xx, Castilla La Mancha: CM-xx, Cataluña: C-xx, Extremadura: EX-Ax, Galicia: AG-xx, Madrid: M-xxx, Region of Murcia: MU-xxx or C-xxxx, Navarra: A-xx, Valencian Community: CV-xx

Autovía is a road with at least 2x2 lanes, it includes all kinds of roads, from an autopista quality road, to a two lane road, filled with roundabouts.
Max speed: 120km/h

Vía Rápida or Vía preferente

National vía rápida: N-x or N-xxx, Autonomous vía rápida: Galicia: CG-xx, Asturias: AS-xx, Cataluña: C-xx

Vía Rápida is a road with 2x1 lanes, with different grade crossings and controlled access, some of them are tolled (C-17 in Catalonia)
Max speed: 100km/h

Nacional Road

N-xxx

First class road, with 2x1 lanes.
Max speed: 100km/h

First class autonomous road

Andalucía, Aragón: A-xxx, Asturias: AS-xxx, Balearic Islands: Ma-xx or C-xxx or Me-xx, Basque Country: BI-xxx or GI-xxx or A-xxx or N-xxx, Cantabria: CA-xxx, Castilla La Mancha: CM-xxx, Castilla y León: CL-xxx, Cataluña: C-xxx, Extremadura: EX-xxx, Galicia: AC-xxx or PO-xxx or OU-xxx or LU-xxx, Madrid: M-xxx, Region of Murcia: C-xxx, Navarra: N-xxx or NA-xxx, La Rioja: LR-xxx, Comunidad Valenciana: CV-xxx

2x1 lanes road.
Max speed: 90 or 100km/h

Local road

Various denominations

2x1 lanes road.
Max speed: 90km/h

Okay... how about the highway standards in Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the USA...? Can anyone of you share with us here...?

Originally, the Norwegian system from the 1990s was meant to differenciate between "trunk roads" (E roads plus other "green" roads) and the rest. However, the current differences are so small that they're almost not worth mentioning... This is the source:
http://www.vegvesen.no/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urlpdf&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=SVVvedlegg&blobwhere=1181822093063&ssbinary=true
But since this is a 200-page document in Norwegian, a brief description of the most important points (note: the AADT is predicted AADT 20 (sometimes 25 or 30) years from opening of a new road):

AADT 0-4,000, speed limit 60 kph: 7.5 m - 0.75+3+3+0.75
AADT 4-12,000 speed limit 60 kph: 8.5 m - 1+3.25+3.25+1
AADT 0-4,000 speed limit 80/90 kph: 8.5 m - 1+3.25+3.25+1
AADT 4-8,000 speed limit 80/90 kph: 10 m - 1+3.5+1+3.5+1 (no guard rail, only wide midsection).
AADT 8-12,000 speed limit 90 kph: 12.5 m - 1.5+3.75+2+3.75+1.5 (central guard rail), 14.5 m - 1.5+3.75+2+3.25+3.25+0.75, 16.5 m - 0.75+3.25+3.25+2+3.25+3.25+0.75
AADT 12,000+ speed limit 60 kph: 16 m - 0.75+3.25+3.25+1.5+3.25+3.25+0.75
AADT 12,000+ speed limit 80 kph: 19 m - 1.5+3.5+3.5+2+3.5+3.5+1.5
AADT 12-20,000 speed limit 100 kph: 19 m - 1.5+3.5+3.5+2+3.5+3.5+1.5
AADT 20,000+ speed limit 100 kph: 22 m - 3+3.5+3.5+2+3.5+3.5+3

Particularly for the latter two, it's important to note that these are so-called "minimum standards". The central divider is often wider than 2 m. On the other hand, due to lack of funding, the concept of not building to standard is well-known (2-laner instead of motorway, for instance), as is the fact that the predictions are notoriously unreliable.

I would like to commend the author of the thread for providing useful English terminology concerning the motorways (expressways). I would like to ask the author or other users to possibly provide some other English terms concerning roads: such as the stages of designing, tender procedures and the construction of roads; terms for decisions important in the process of designing and construction of roads; names for various engineering structures related to roads; layers of a road itself. If it is possible, I would be very grateful to learn some more specific English road-related terminology :)

I thought I might add my two cents, as I don't think any Sydney residents have posted in this thread so far.

All three of the terms "motorway", "freeway" and "expressway" are used in Sydney, but their meanings are not the same, and often not very clear.

Freeways are usually high speed dual carriageways with grade separated interchanges that carry traffic between cities and towns. For instance, Sydney and Newcastle are connected by the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway, Sydney is linked with Wollongong by the Southern Freeway, and one would take the South Western Freeway out of Sydney towards Canberra and Melbourne. They do not have tolls, and are usually owned and maintained by the State government.

Motorways are roads built to freeway standard that carry traffic within Sydney (there aren't any other cities in New South Wales large enough to have significantly long sections of road built to motorway standard). These include the M2 Hills Motorway, the M4 Western Motorway and the M5 South Western Motorway (which becomes the South Western Freeway / Hume Highway duplex past Liverpool), as well as the new Westlink M7, Cross City Tunnel and Eastern Distributor. They are usually toll roads, and often privately owned and maintained.

Expressways are usually short inner city roads, such as the Cahill Expressway, which carries traffic from the Sydney Harbour Bridge around to the east of the CBD - it was originally intended to connect to the Eastern Freeway which was never built, and now forms part of the Sydney Orbital Motorway. As far as I am aware, the Cahill Expressway is the only road to carry this term as part of its name, but it is called that because it does not go more than a kilometre out from the CBD. The Western Distributor could also be considered an expressway.


Exceptions

The Warringah and Gore Hill Freeways' primary function is to carry traffic between Sydney CBD and its northern and north western suburbs, connecting to the Lane Cove Tunnel and, by extension, the M2 Motorway. Their naming as freeways is a relic of the early days of freeway planning in Sydney during the 1950s, when all such planned roads were referred to as "freeways" and given route numbers F1 through F7 (which are no longer in use, although the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and the Southern Freeway are still sometimes colloquially referred to as the F3 and the F6, respectively). Incidentally, none of the seven planned freeways were ever constructed in full, due to a change in government policy in the 1970s.

When the first sections of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (which was then still officially called the F3) were opened, it was named the Sydney-Newcastle Expressway. I believe they changed its name to "freeway" around the time they took the tolls off it.

Finally, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal and NSW State governments regarding the Pacific Highway upgrade referred to it as a "North Coast Motorway", though I do not think this term will ever be used on road signs and they will continue to signpost it as "Pacific Highway".


Highways

Highways in Australia are, as has been mentioned, not of the same standard as highways in many other countries. There are some roads gazetted as highways which still do not have a bitumen seal. What is particularly strange, however, is that often the road which is named a highway is not actually the highway. For example, for the first 150 kilometres or so north of Sydney, the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway has long been the primary north-south route, but the old highway still carries the name "Pacific Highway" (although I think I have seen some road signs refer to it as "Old Pacific Highway"), even though parts of it no longer serve any purpose beyond providing a slower, more scenic alternative to the freeway.


To summarise, it seems like they call roads whatever they feel like at the time, with a basic set of guidelines that changes over the years and makes everything seem very confusing.

Searching through my university library yesterday, I came across a very interesting book called "Economics of Urban Highway Congestion and Pricing" by J.F. McDonald, Edmond L. d'Ouville and Louie Nan Liu. Amidst several articles and in-depth, scientifical analysis (of which I couldn't understand much :nuts:) I found an article on a basic model of a random highway traffic volume.

Most of the points made seem obvious, logical and whatnot, but I learned a couple of new things and I hope you will find it informative and interesting and you will like it.
I'm gonna try to summarize the main assumptions and findings based on a mathematical model, so fasten your seat-belts and pay attention :D



Model foundations

Research is based on a fictional, circular, 1-mile long stretch of a highway without any exits or junctions that might impede traffic flow

Variables:
Q - quantity of travel (i.e. total miles traveled)
S - speed
D - density (number of vehicles on highway at each point in time)
V - volume (measured in vehicles per hour)
T - a fixed duration


Analysis

Q = DST = V ; T = 1 hour ; D = const. ; S = const.

Total quantity of travel (Q) equals the density (D) times speed (S). The result is volume of traffic on our highway (Q = V). Note that each vehicle passes each point S number of times during 1 hour (if the speed is 30 mph, it passes 30 times).

AVC = 1/S = D/V (if T = 1, V = DS --> S = V/D --> 1/S = V/d)

AVC - time cost per mile

When costs refers only to the amount of time, it equals the inversion of speed. The greater the speed, the fewer the cost (1/S).


The Fundamental Diagram of Traffic


http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3317/fundamentaldiagramoftraof1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


The authors applied different amount of vehicles to the model and came out with the above diagram. Volume of traffic depends on density. However, the dependance is not linear.
The function shows that initially, volume rises along with density until a breaking point which in this case is the density of 150 vehicles. At this point highway reaches its capacity and further growth of density results in decline of highway volume. The optimal density is thus 150 vehicles per mile.


Average and Marginal Products of Traffic Density


http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/7398/mpiaptrafficor9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
(MP being the 1st derivative of V/D function from the 1st diagram)


Marginal Product (MP) shows the effects of increasing the number of cars (density) on our 1-mile highway. Within 0 - 150 range it is gradually falling down but reamins positive. This means that additional car brings economic profits until this number reaches 150. Beyond this point, the MP is negative which means that adding each vehicle results in decreasing the volume of the highway.
Average Product (AP) of the highway is speed (as mentioned before S = V/D). The fucntion is negative which means that increasing the density, the average speed on the highway decreases.


Findings

1. The volume of traffic is, ceteris paribus, a function of density.
2. Average speed decreases as long as density rises.
3. With increase in density, volume rises until reaching a critical point (theoretcal capacity).
4. Marginal product (MP) is negative at speeds less than 22 to 47 mph, depending upon the highway studied.
5. The authors claim that the phenomenon of negative marginal product has been observed by virtually every study of urban highway for at least part of the morning and/or evening rush hour.
6. One of the studies on expressway in D.C. area showed that at density of 219 vehicles per mile, the volume was 4829 cars at average speed of 22 mph.

OK, this maybe the stupidiest question ever. But, what is the difference between a Highway, Freeway and Expressway???

Thank-you to those that answer my question!!!!

Add motorway, driveway, parkway... Why do people park their cars on a driveway, and drive their cars on a parkway? :D

Never heard of a parkway!

Highway - used mostly in USA and Australia, refers mostly to interstate roads, aso 1x2 and with no flyovers
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1267/1348975002_5a5f9e6277_o.jpg


Motorway - 2x2 or more road with flyovers
http://www.thegermantruth.com/Graffics/Autobahn1.jpg


Expressway - very wide term, can mean any road only for cars from a simple 1x2 with fluovers to an almost 2x2 motorway, but with narrower lanes. Everything depends on the country.
http://www.gddkia.gov.pl/images/user/f/f0a3b42ff6d7b3697effc40e17bc00d3.8.JPG

It depends indeed on the country.

A motorway, freeway, or expressway is usually a roadway with separated carriageways, controlled access and no slow traffic. However, in some countries, an Expressway sometimes also has a single carriageway as PLH pointed out above.

A highway is more dubious. Many Europeans refer to them when they mean motorways exclusively, which is not completely correct since highways can be any kind of public road. Americans usually refer to highways when they're talking about either Interstate, US or State Routes, regardless of their design.

Never heard of a parkway!

A parkway is basically a highway (can be a freeway, motorway or expressway, depends on the country) with scenic park-like divider, for example the East Coast Parkway in Singapore.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/East_Coast_Parkway.JPG/800px-East_Coast_Parkway.JPG

There's no fixed design for a parkway though. Many New York Parkways are substandard freeways, and some Parkways are full-size freeways such as the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. Other Parkways are just regular roads which are scenic, and do not resemble a freeway at all.

Agreed. In fact, the word "expressway" can also be ambiguous. In the USA, it can be dual-carriageways with at-grade junctions. In the Europe, it can be either non-motorway dual-carriageways or 2-lane motorroad. In many Asian countries, it can be motorways.

There's no fixed design for a parkway though. Many New York Parkways are substandard freeways, and some Parkways are full-size freeways such as the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. Other Parkways are just regular roads which are scenic, and do not resemble a freeway at all.

That's true. Again, the word "parkway" is also ambiguous as well. It can be a motorway / freeway, a dual-carriageway or just an ordinary 2-lane road.

In Iran Freeways have toll booths. Expressways are free. Highway is a general word.

Just make it simple and call them all roads.

In Iran Freeways have toll booths. Expressways are free. Highway is a general word.

:lol:

Why do you think they call them "freeways" in the US? Because they're free! You don't have to pay to drive on them. Tollways are the same way - you have to pay a toll to get on your way. Other kinds of roads are more regional - there are numerous "turnpikes" in Virginia but there are no tolls on them, but in New Jersey a "turnpike" always has tolls (I think)

Why do you think they call them "freeways" in the US? Because they're free!

No. The word freeways imply a free flow of traffic, no traffic lights or intersections, though many people associate the word "free" as in "no tolls".

In Chile, we have what we call "urban highways" which would be more like american expressways because they don't have long exit/entrance ramps and shoulders and there are some low capacity interchanges.

Highways would be normal highways with full standards, this means, shoulders and long ramps and higher capacity interchanges, big median and atleast 2x2.

Although our urban freeways have free flow tolls (this means you don't have to stop at all) while our highways have normal tolls. IMO a highway can have tolls and still be considered a highway.

No. The word freeways imply a free flow of traffic, no traffic lights or intersections, though many people associate the word "free" as in "no tolls".

Well, as this native speaker of American English said some time ago on another thread, I read eons ago that a "freeway" was a toll-free limited-access highway. Gotta allow for language as it is actually used, not just official definitions.

And (as I also said on another thread, with the support of examples, although without photos ;-) ), Pennsylvania uses "freeway" and "expressway" interchangeably* - at least in so far as you'll sometimes see "freeway ends" signs and sometimes "expressway ends." But as far as what they name limited-access roads, I can't think of any freeways in the state. There are Turnpikes (toll roads), Expressways (including a couple of short toll roads in the Pittsburgh area), a Parkway (in the Pittsburgh area....)

*Interchangeably. Get it? I really didn't intend that pun.

EDIT: Which proves that, at least in Pennsylvania, an "Expressway" - capitalization deliberate - really does officially mean limited-access road, regardless of what Californians and the FHWA think.

:lol:

Why do you think they call them "freeways" in the US? Because they're free! You don't have to pay to drive on them. Tollways are the same way - you have to pay a toll to get on your way. Other kinds of roads are more regional - there are numerous "turnpikes" in Virginia but there are no tolls on them, but in New Jersey a "turnpike" always has tolls (I think)

Columbia Pike, Little River Turnpike, Leesburg Pike, and the like are all former toll roads (built in the early 19th century when just paving a road was state-of-the-art) that have kept their names. The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike is (or was) a Virginia example of a post-World-War-II toll limited-access road that no longer charges tolls. But is the name still used? The Connecticut Turnpike likewise no longer charges tolls but definitely still uses its name officially. AND there are some Pikes (can't think of any Turnpikes but that doesn't mean there aren't any) in New Jersey of the early-19th-century type.

Columbia Pike, Little River Turnpike, Leesburg Pike, and the like are all former toll roads (built in the early 19th century when just paving a road was state-of-the-art) that have kept their names. The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike is (or was) a Virginia example of a post-World-War-II toll limited-access road that no longer charges tolls. But is the name still used? The Connecticut Turnpike likewise no longer charges tolls but definitely still uses its name officially. AND there are some Pikes (can't think of any Turnpikes but that doesn't mean there aren't any) in New Jersey of the early-19th-century type.

Also Salem Turnpike in the Roanoke area. I don't know when it last had a toll, if ever, but it hasn't been anytime recent.

Also Salem Turnpike in the Roanoke area. I don't know when it last had a toll, if ever, but it hasn't been anytime recent.

I would assume it was a toll road; that's what "turnpike" originally meant. (The "pike" being the bar across the road that would prevent you passing until you'd paid your toll, at which point the tollkeeper would "turn" it to let you through.) "Pike" as in "Columbia Pike" is just a shortening. (Can you tell I know the Washington area? Went to college there.)

Can't find much about the history of that sort of road....

As for what most people call roads in Virginia... Generally it goes something like this:

- Rural areas, it's a road
- Suburban/urban areas, it's a street, unless it's got 4 or more lanes, in which case it's an X-lane road.
- Limited access, grade-separated highways, it's a innerstate
- Two exceptions: The Beltway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_495_(Capital_Beltway)) and The Parkway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway).

for everyone who isn't australian or british, what do u call other main roads (roads which aren't always divided, can have traffic lights and level crossings)

map of australian roads: the grey roads are our freeways/motorways/interstates/autobahns (if u will).

the other lines are just plain ole' highways..what do u call them in ur country?


Brazil:

well, we have rodovia(singular) rodovias(plural), estrada(singular) estradas(plural), estrada-rural (rural area) = which are the same as freeways/motorways/interstates/autobahns/highways

A highway is any road that connects different areas (IOW, it's not a local road).

An expressway is a highway that is built for high-speed travel, but is not access-controlled (it has at-grade intersections).

A freeway is an expressway that is access-controlled, whether it is tolled or not.

A tollway is a special class of freeway is that is tolled.

^^ you got it!

^^ you got it!

^^He's got it for portions of the US outside the Northeast (also outside the Chicago area) unless you're telling me I'm misusing my own language (and everyone else in this part of the country, including state agencies that put up "expressway ends" signs and name "Expressways" in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia..., is misusing it too)... ;-)

^^ MUTCD considers those freeways, but those states have refused so far to adopt that version of MUTCD and rename their freeways.

^^ MUTCD considers those freeways, but those states have refused so far to adopt that version of MUTCD and rename their freeways.

I'm not sure any government agency has the authority (or the ability) to regulate actual usage of language. And I'm certain individual Dutch people don't have the authority (or the ability) to regulate the usage of English by millions of native speakers.

Capisce?

^^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressway#United_States

However, many states around the Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard have refused to conform their terminology to the federal definition. The following states officially prefer the term expressway instead of freeway to describe what are technically freeways in federal parlance: Connecticut,[32] Florida,[33] Illinois,[34] Maryland,[35] and West Virginia.[36] In those states, it is common to find Interstate highways which bear the name “expressway.” Minnesota officially uses "freeway" and "expressway" interchangeably (with both defined as what federal officials call freeways).

^^"Refused to conform"... I'm not sure there's any obligation on the states to adopt MUTCD terminology, so no question of "refusal." In fact "refusing to conform" sounds like a European country daring to defy Brussels' orders to ban moldy cheeses or change its time zone. ;-)

And I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for people who've mostly never heard of the MUTCD to start saying "Schuylkill Freeway" or "BQF"....

So I'll continue using my native language in the way I always have, if it's okay with you.

So I'll continue using my native language in the way I always have, if it's okay with you.

I have no idea why you are so desperately trying to imply that I have, or think to have, the authority to tell you which words to use.

You are completely free to use any word you want to use to refer to freeway / motorway / expressway / highway. I'm just saying that, according to MUTCD, it is not the correct one.

"Freeway" is such a stupid term. What's it free of? Tolls? Nope. Traffic? Hardly.

I have no idea why you are so desperately trying to imply that I have, or think to have, the authority to tell you which words to use.

You are completely free to use any word you want to use to refer to freeway / motorway / expressway / highway. I'm just saying that, according to MUTCD, it is not the correct one.

My point is that language doesn't work that way! If the entire population of a substantial part of the country uses "expressway" to mean limited-access road, that's what it means within that (sizable) speech community. "Correct," to me when I'm learning or using a foreign language [hint] means the way the native-speaking population (or at least adults with a certain level of education) communicate, and has nothing to do with abstract definitions in some obscure legal document - which really only apply among specialists when they're communicating with each other.

As for you pointing at the other poster's definitions and say "he got it".... If I then say (with ample examples) that it's different in the Northeast, coming back at me - several times - with the MUTCD definition cited as proof of what's "correct" comes across as an attempt on your part to say "you're wrong." Which (1) doesn't make sense linguistically for the reason I laid out in the previous paragraph and (2) is frankly rather out of line for a non-native speaker.

When non-native speakers of English (or for that matter English speakers from outside North America) ask "what expressway means" or "what freeway means," at least some of them are presumably interested in the way the words are actually used by the population, not just by the MUTCD and specialists. My remarks about northeastern usage are relevant information to them. If only because regional variation is part of the answer. Just like I keep asking on the British thread - no one's answered yet - whether the general public would call a road with a number like "A1(M)" a motorway, and whether roadgeeks would.

Peace?

"Freeway" is such a stupid term. What's it free of? Tolls? Nope. Traffic? Hardly.

Intersections.

It's got ramps for that, and nice soft concrete barriers for cars that miss the ramp.

All I know is that where I come from, there is no such thing as a freeway or an expressway, only streets, roads, innerstates and hahways.

Come to Ontario, where we call everything a Highway. A little 2 lane Provincial Highway to a 18 lane Express Collector Highway. Its all a Highway.

edit.

Even suburban streets with parked cars on both sides and no line down the middle?

Actually under the Highway Traffic Act, that technically is a Highway. All roads are considered Highways.

Actually under the Highway Traffic Act, that technically is a Highway. All roads are considered Highways.

So pretty much, if cars drive there and it's not a parking lot or a driveway, it's a highway?

How deviant...

So pretty much, if cars drive there and it's not a parking lot or a driveway, it's a highway?

How deviant...

Pretty much. This is from 1. (1)

“highway” includes a common and public highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct or trestle, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof; (“voie publique”)

Basically they are saying is if you drive on it, and it is within the public domain, it is a highway.

"Freeway" is such a stupid term. What's it free of? Tolls? Nope. Traffic? Hardly.

It's free of obstructions like random driveways, at-grade intersections, stop signs, traffic lights, etc.

When non-native speakers of English (or for that matter English speakers from outside North America) ask "what expressway means" or "what freeway means," at least some of them are presumably interested in the way the words are actually used by the population, not just by the MUTCD and specialists. My remarks about northeastern usage are relevant information to them. If only because regional variation is part of the answer. Just like I keep asking on the British thread - no one's answered yet - whether the general public would call a road with a number like "A1(M)" a motorway, and whether roadgeeks would.


You're absolutely right, linguistic-wise. The general public tend to use language the way they're used to, no matter whether it corresponds to theoretically designed expressions or not. Up here in Norway, it's quite common to hear people call 2-lane undivided expressways "motorways". Why? For years we called proper dual carriageway motorways "Motorvei klasse A" (hopefully pretty self-explanatory...) and single carriageway ones "Motorvei klasse B". The fact that the former now simply are known as "Motorvei" and the latter as "Motortrafikkvei" (road reserved for motor traffic), hasn't changed the language. At least not yet.

Still, it's somewhat puzzling for Europeans talking to Americans about this, since you lot - as you say - tend to phrase things differently depending on where in the US you come from... BTW, the A1 (M) is a motorway, also in the general public's mind. It's simply a part of the non-motorway A1 that has been upgraded to motorway standard. And yes, for (some of) us non-British Europeans, this is rather silly...

My point is that language doesn't work that way! If the entire population of a substantial part of the country uses "expressway" to mean limited-access road, that's what it means within that (sizable) speech community. "Correct," to me when I'm learning or using a foreign language [hint] means the way the native-speaking population (or at least adults with a certain level of education) communicate, and has nothing to do with abstract definitions in some obscure legal document - which really only apply among specialists when they're communicating with each other.

We here in the South have a lot of colloquialisms used in informal, everybody speech. That doesn't make it proper English, however. We have standardizations for a reason. It's to create a point of reference that is automatically understood by everybody.

We here in the South have a lot of colloquialisms used in informal, everybody speech. That doesn't make it proper English, however. We have standardizations for a reason. It's to create a point of reference that is automatically understood by everybody.

Is it understood by everybody ("automatically" or not)? I'm a 46-year-old, educated (if I may be permitted to say so), native of the U.S., interested in language and often asked at work to review others' writing, and I didn't know until I read this thread that "expressway" and "freeway" weren't synonymous. If the MUTCD - which I haven't looked at in years and most people have never heard of - declared 60 years ago (did I see 1949 upthread?) that they mean something different, and hardly anyone from New England to Chicago noticed, that means it didn't take in that part of the country. It's like the tree that falls in a forest where there's no one in earshot of the crash. The MUTCD gets to decide technical usage in contexts like soliciting bids for construction jobs or applying to the feds for funding for a new project. But not to decide the usage of the general public, if only because the general public isn't paying attention. (And not to go too much into linguistics, but there's nothing "improper" about colloquialisms used in informal, everyday speech. In fact, "colloquial" just means "informal, everyday." Example: if I were a foreigner learning English, I'd not only want to learn the traditional rules for distinguishing "who" and "whom," I'd also want to know that in informal, everyday conversation, "whom" is rarely used. Otherwise I'd end up sounding artificial. So there's no intrinsic "correctness" - if there were, everyone in the world would speak the same language and it would never change - but different levels of usage in different situations. The way language is taught in this country, we end up with annoying third-graders like I was who go home and "correct" our educated, intelligent parents' speech, then over the years start speaking like them without even noticing it. [Steps off soap box])

I could of phrased myself better. A point of reference is by definition is something that can be referred to by everybody, so if you don't automatically know, you know how you get to know.

--

I think there is a difference between providing additional information (which is always appreciated) and providing incorrect information (not saying it was you or anybody in specific, but just in general).

Additional information would be saying that the term "expressway" is used more frequently in the North in lieu of "freeway" because of the prevalence of tolled freeways and the fact that the "free" in "freeway" can be confusing to some.

Incorrect information would be saying the tolled freeways aren't freeways because you've always thought the "free" in "freeway" means "toll-free."

Right.

Well, I really did read somewhere - too long ago to remember where - that "freeway" meant toll-free expressway. To me, it was just how Westerners (especially in Los Angeles) said "expressway." (Of course, toll roads were unknown in the West then anyway.) But since the word "freeway" doesn't come naturally to me anyway, and I'm not in the mood to protest the expression "incorrect information," I'll leave it there.

Right.

Well, I really did read somewhere - too long ago to remember where - that "freeway" meant toll-free expressway. To me, it was just how Westerners (especially in Los Angeles) said "expressway." (Of course, toll roads were unknown in the West then anyway.) But since the word "freeway" doesn't come naturally to me anyway, and I'm not in the mood to protest the expression "incorrect information," I'll leave it there.

It really has to do with regional semantics. There are no hard-core definitions here. An Expressway in the east could be the same as a freeway in the west. An Expressway can be tolled, but so can a freeway. It really has a lot do to with what locals have gotten used to. In L.A., almost every divided highway with limited access is known as a freeway, even if tolled. In Chicago, "expressway" is used almost exclusively, despite a toll or not. Why not let these regional terms exist as they are...it adds to the variety and regional differences we have in the U.S., which I truely believe is a good thing. Our differences keep the country interesting!

Let's cut the hyperbole. Nobody's trying to make it illegal to call a freeway an expressway or a tollway a freeway.

To me...
Highway = major link road
Expressway = road with limited property access
Freeway = road with limited property access and grade separation
Tollway = Tolled road
Turnpike = Toll freeway

It really has to do with regional semantics. There are no hard-core definitions here. An Expressway in the east could be the same as a freeway in the west. An Expressway can be tolled, but so can a freeway. It really has a lot do to with what locals have gotten used to. In L.A., almost every divided highway with limited access is known as a freeway, even if tolled. In Chicago, "expressway" is used almost exclusively, despite a toll or not. Why not let these regional terms exist as they are...it adds to the variety and regional differences we have in the U.S., which I truely believe is a good thing. Our differences keep the country interesting!

That's what I'm trying to say!

:lol:

Why do you think they call them "freeways" in the US? Because they're free! You don't have to pay to drive on them. Tollways are the same way - you have to pay a toll to get on your way. Other kinds of roads are more regional - there are numerous "turnpikes" in Virginia but there are no tolls on them, but in New Jersey a "turnpike" always has tolls (I think)

Freeways are tolled but the traffic can flow freely. Expressways are free but the usually don't have hard shoulder, they may not follow the standards for slope and turning radius, they have U-turns, they have less speed limit,

what are their differences.

Highway: strictly any public road for vehicular traffic. Commonly used mainly for main roads, especially longer distance ones.

Freeway: a road where traffic travelling in opposite directions is separated by a barrier or other median/central reservation, with full grade separation and a relatively high standard of curves and gradients. Usually has a hard shoulder, especially in rural areas (sometimes sacrificed for an extra lane in urban areas). Many countries apply special legal restrictions, prohibiting pedestrians, animal-powered vehicles etc. Known as a motorway in some countries.

Expressway: in some countries a road built to a lesser standard than a freeway (sometimes without full grade separation, shoulders etc), in others another term for a freeway.

In Canada, a highway is a major inter-regional/provincial route. It is two or more lanes, with a speed limit ranging from 80-110 km/h and is broken down into the categories below:

Freeway (Motorway to those of you en Europe): Any divided highway* that is limited access and has no at grade intersections. The speed limit is generally 100 to 110 Km/h outside built up areas and lower limits as required in urban areas. There is generally a minimum speed limit of 60 km/h and it may, or may not have a toll. Depending on location, cyclists may be permitted to ride on the hard shoulder.

Divided highway: Similar in characteristics to the freeway, except that there are at grade intersections, railway crossings at grade (Especially in Alberta) and sometimes even access to businesses and private residences. Posted limits are generally 100-110 km/h outside of built up areas, with lower limits in urban areas.

Major Highway: Any highway that is two or more lanes, is generally undivided, has at grade intersections for the most part, a speed limit of 80-100 km/h and connects major centers. There is access to both businesses and private residences. In remote areas, the highway may be gravel.

Secondary Highway: These are Provincial/Territorial routes. They are generally two lanes, though they may increase to four lanes near urban centers. The speed limit is generally 80-90 km/h and connects smaller communities with to a major highway and provides a regional transportation route. There is access to business and residential areas, no grade separated intersections and grades here are generally steeper than those on major highways. In some areas, the road may not be paved.

Local road: This is your typical "country road". It's two lanes and provides access to a regional area, generally connecting a rural area to an urban area. The speed limit is generally 80 km/h and the road may, or may not be paved. Some roads have commercial vehicle restrictions placed on them, though this is generally seasonal.

* In eastern Canada, there is a sub category of freeway: Two Lane Highway with Freeway Characteristics: This is a two lane highway with passing lanes at intervals, that is limited access, divided, has no at grade intersections, may be a toll route. Speed limits are generally 90-110 km/h.