Highway,freeway,expressway

[ChrisZwolle]

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.

[ChrisZwolle]

I added some to the first post.

[TheCat]

Originally Posted by Paddington

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.

[Yardmaster]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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:

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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.

[Yardmaster]

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.

[ionutzyankoo]

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...

[vissiman_m31]

Originally Posted by Yardmaster

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.

[Gareth]

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.

[ChrisZwolle]

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.

[Gareth]

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.

[ChrisZwolle]

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.

[54°26′S 3°24′E]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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....

[Verso]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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.

[deasine]

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 ##.

[flierfy]

Originally Posted by 54°26′S 3°24′E

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.

[ChrisZwolle]

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.

[54°26′S 3°24′E]

Originally Posted by flierfy

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.

[J N Winkler]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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.

[J N Winkler]

Originally Posted by 54°26′S 3°24′E

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.

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

[J N Winkler]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

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.