Highway,freeway,expressway

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 !!!

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.

sonysnob said:

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:

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.

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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.

ttownfeen said:

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

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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。


4 lanes highway 双向四车道高速公路


6 lanes highway双向六车道高速公路


8 lanes highway双向八车道高速公路


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

Paddington said:

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.

Click to expand...

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



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


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

sonysnob said:

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.

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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: