Types of road

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

Taxonomy of Road

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

Types of roads

Lower capacity roads

Primitive roads

Large roads

Image:A8 Autostrasse CH.jpg|thumb|The A8 Autostrasse in Switzerland.

Higher capacity roads

Sometimes with medians.

Expressways

The term expressway includes limited-access roads and grade-separated highways.

Private roads

Intersecting roads

Material type

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

Concrete roads
Asphalt roads
Gravel roads
Earthen roads
Murrum roads
Kankar roads
Bituminous roads

Road types by features

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

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