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For other uses, see Highway (disambiguation) . A highway is a major Road designed for automobile travel that connects Cities , places, other highways, or other significant points of interest. Highway designs vary widely. They can include some characteristics of Freeway s and Motorway s such as multiple Lane s of Traffic , a median between lanes of opposing traffic, and access control ( Ramp s and Grade Separation ). Highways can also be as simple as a two-lane, shoulderless road. , in the Peruvian town of Máncora , where it serves as the Main Street .]] The United States has the largest Network Of National Highways , including Interstate Highway s and United States Numbered Highways . This network is present in every state and connects all major cities. China has the fastest expanding and second largest highway system in the world. Some highways, like the Pan-American Highway or the European Route s, bridge multiple countries. Australia's Highway 1 connects all state Capital s and runs almost the entire way around the country. The longest single national highway in the world is the Trans-Canada Highway , which runs from Victoria, British Columbia , on the Pacific Coast , through ten provinces to the Atlantic Coast , at St. John's, Newfoundland . Highways are not always continuous stretches of pavement. For example, some highways are interrupted by bodies of water, and Ferry routes may serve as sections of the highway. The most famous United States highway is Route 66 . It is immortalized in the song "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66." NOMENCLATURE The terms used for various types of highways, such as Freeway , Expressway , Motorway and Autobahn , vary between countries or even regions within a country. In some places a ''highway'' is a specific type of major road that is distinct from ''freeway'' or ''expressway''; in other places the terms may overlap. In law, ''highway'' may mean any public road or canal. However, in some countries, the term ''highway'' is not generally used at all. Australia In Australia , a ''highway'' is a distinct type of road from freeways and motorways. The word ''highway'' is generally used to mean major roads connecting large cities, towns and different parts of Metropolitan Area s. Metropolitan highways often have traffic lights at intersections, and rural highways usually have only one lane in each direction. The words ''freeway'' or ''motorway'' are generally reserved for the most arterial routes, almost always with no traffic light intersections and usually significantly straightened and widened. The term ''motorway'' is used in some Australian cities to refer to freeways that have been allocated a metropolitan route number, and in Sydney, a ''motorway'' has a toll, whereas a ''freeway'' is free of charge. When the Albury-Wodonga Bypass is opened, it will be possible to travel from Melbourne to Sydney without having to stop at a traffic light. Roads may be part-highway and part-freeway until they are fully upgraded. Brazil In Brazil , highways (or expressway/freeway) are named " Rodovia ", and Brazilian highways are divided in two types: regional highways (generally of less importance and entirely inside of one state) and national highways (of major importance to the country). In Brazil, rodovia is the name given exclusively to roads connecting two or more cities with a sizable distance separating the extremes of the highway. Urban highways for commuting are uncommon in Brazil, and when they are present, they receive different names, depending of the region (Avenida, Marginal, Linha, Via, Eixo, etc). Very rarely names other than "rodovia" are used. Regional highways are named YY-XXX, where YY is the abbreviation of the state where the highway is running in and XXX is a number (e.g. SP-280; where SP means that the highway is running entirely in the state of São Paulo ). National highways are named BR-XXX. National highways connects multiples states altogether, are of major importance to the national Economy and/or connects Brazil to another country. The meaning of the numbers are:
Often Brazilian highways receives names (famous people, etc), but even though, they continue to have a YY/BR-XXX name (example: Rodovia Castelo Branco is also SP-280). See Also: List of Brazilian Highways Canada , showing the wide 14-lane cross-section. This highway is the busiest highway in North America.]]
China, People's Republic .]] "Highways" in China , more often than not, refer to China National Highway s. The fully controlled-access, multi-lane, central-separation routes are instead called Expressways (which are considered Freeways in the United States). As Of 2005 , there were 1.55 million km of highways and 42,000 km of expressways in China; both total lengths are second only to the United States. In Mainland China , private companies reimbursed through Toll s are the primary means of creating and financing the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS). Expressways are lumped with first-grade G-prefixed ''guodaos'' (国道, or "national highway") or A-prefixed first-grade expressways in major municipal cities. All roads in the NTHS and most A-prefixed roads are expressways.
Some highways are numbered with a leading zero (e.g. G030). The term ''Freeway'' during the 1990s was used on a few expressways (such as the Jingshi Freeway ). The term ''freeway'' has since been replaced with ''expressway'' on all signs in China. The Chinese name for expressways (or freeways, as they used to be called) is uniform; in pinyin, it is ''gaosu gonglu'', which literally means "high speed Public Road ". Signs on the National Highways (G-prefix) are green, while on the lower-grade highways and urban expressways (A-prefix) are blue. See Also: Expressways of China near Yuen Chau Kok , New Territories , Hong Kong.]] Hong Kong In Hong Kong , the type of high speed roads is referred to as ''expressway'', but some are named as ''highways'' or ''roads'' ('Yuen Long Highway', 'Tolo Highway', 'Tsuen Wan Road', 'Tuen Mun Road', etc.). Some others are named ''corridors'' and ''bypasses''. France France has a national highway system dating back to the Napoleonic era. The chausees constructed at this time, radiating out from Paris, form the basis for the "routes nationales" (RN), whose red numbers differ from the yellow numbering used for secondary "routes departmentales". The RNs numbered from 1 to 20 radiate from Paris to major ports or border crossings. More recently (after the Second World War), France has constructed Autoroute s, superhighways (usually toll) with a speed limit of 130 km/h (110 in rainy conditions or urban areas). Germany See Also: Autobahn Aside from highways bearing the Autobahn designation, Germany has many two- and four-lane roads. Federal highways not known as autobahns are called "Bundesstraßen" (Bundesstrassen) and, while usually two-lane roads, they may also be four-lane, limited access expressways of local or regional importance. Unlike the Autobahns, though, Bundesstraßen (marked by black numbers on a yellow background) mostly have speed limits (usually 100 km/h, but occasionally higher on limited-access segments, and lower in urban areas or near intersections). But if these roads are built like an Autobahn, there is usually no speed limit. India See Also: Expressways of India In India, 'Highway' refers to one of the many ''National Highways'' that run up to a total length of about 58,000 kilometers. An expressway refers to any elevated road with grade-separated intersections. As Of 2005 , there were 4,885 km of expressways in India. of North-South Expressway in Malaysia , facing towards Kuala Lumpur.]] Ireland The Republic Of Ireland has a similar system to the UK except that its major roads are classed as 'N' Road or 'R' Road rather than 'A' Road/'B' Road as in the UK. Malaysia See Also: Malaysian expressway system The highest level of major roads in Malaysia , '' Expressway (lebuhraya) '', has full access control, grade separated junctions, and mostly Toll ed. The expressways link the major state capitals in Peninsular Malaysia and major cities in Klang Valley . ''Highway'' is lower level with limited access control, some at-grade junctions or Roundabouts , and generally with 2 lanes in each separated direction. These are generally untolled and funded by the federal government, hence the first one is called Federal Highway linking Klang and Kuala Lumpur . The trunk roads linking major cities and towns in the country are called ''federal trunk roads'', and are generally 2 lanes single carriageway roads, in places with a third climbing lane for slow lorries. New Zealand In New Zealand , a ''motorway'' runs through urban areas and an Expressway runs through rural areas. Both motorways and expressways generally have no access to adjacent properties and no facility for pedestrians or cyclists. New Zealand's main routes are designated ''state highways''. State Highway 1 is the only route to run through both the North and South Islands, and runs (in order north-south) from Cape Reinga to Wellington in the North Island , and from Picton to Bluff in the South Island . State Highways 2-5 are main routes in the North Island, State Highways 6-9 in the South Island, and state highways numbered from 10 onwards are generally found in numerical order from north to south. State highways usually incorporate different types of roads, for example, State Highway 1 from Auckland to Hamilton incorporates the Northern and Southern Motorways in the Auckland area, the Waikato Expressway, and a rural road before passing through the streets of Hamilton. The term ''freeway'' is rarely used relating to New Zealand roads, and can only be considered an Americanism . Pakistan Pakistan has its own network of motorways. The first one, the M2 was built in 1997 with the contract being awarded to the Korea n firm Daewoo . It linked the fedral capital Islamabad with Punjab 's provincial capital Lahore . The network was then extended to Sargodha and then to Faisalabad with the M3. There exist plans to construct the M1 motorway to the NWFP 's capital Peshawar . N5 links Karachi to other cities. More highways are being planned and some are also being built by local and foreign firms. South Africa Colloquially, the terms "freeway," "highway," and "motorway" are used synonymously. There are very few references to the term "expressway" in South Africa. A freeway, highway or motorway refers to a divided dual carriageway with limited access/egress, with at least two lanes in either direction. A central island, usually either with drainage, foliage or high-impact barriers, provides a visible separation between carriageways in opposite directions. As with the UK and Australia, South Africans drive on the left-hand side of the road and all steering wheels are on the right-hand side of vehicles. Freeways are designated with one of three labels: N (in reference to national roads), R (short for "route," in reference to provincial roads), and M (in reference to metropolitan roads). This has more to do with the location of a road and its function than anything else. In addition, "N" roads usually run the length of the country over long distances, "R" roads usually inter-connect cities and towns within a province, and "M" roads carry heavy traffic in metropolitan areas. Route markings also determine who paid for the road: "N" was paid for by national government, "R" by provincial government and "M" by local government. In recent years, some "R" roads have been re-designated as "N" roads, so that control and funding comes from the South African National Roads Agency. Switzerland The term '' Autobahn '' is used for normal expressways where there is a central physical structure separating two different directional carriageways. This is often translated into English as ''motorway''. In express routes where there is no central physical structure separating two different directional carriageways, but crossings are still motorway-like otherwise, and traffic lights are not present, the road is instead called an ''Autostrasse'', translated into English as a ''motorroad''. ''Autostrassen'' often have a lower speed limit than ''Autobahnen''. See Also: Transportation in Switzerland United Kingdom In the United Kingdom unless a route is classified as a Motorway , the term used may be '' Main Road '', '' Trunk Road '', '' 'A' Road/'B' Road '', or, where appropriate, '' Dual Carriageway ''. In the law of England And Wales the term ''highway'' covers everything from a Footpath (for foot passage only), to a Bridleway (for foot, bicycle and equestrian use), to a byway open for all traffic (for all the aforementioned users, plus any motorised user), to unclassified county roads, classified roads, trunk roads, motorways and special roads. In British law, there is no definition of "road", and generally the most common usage refers to:
In England and Wales the public are said to have a "right of way" over a Highway. This means that, subject to statutory restrictions, the route must be kept clear to allow travel by anyone who wishes to it. At common law, it is forbidden to obstruct a highway or interfere with passage. However, many statutory provisions provide powers to do so (for instance to carry out road works). Rights of way exist both over roads maintained at the public expense (the majority of roads) and over some roads on private property. In this case, the owner must allow passage over the highway. A right of way may be created by custom (i.e. the road has been used for a long period of time) or under the relevant positions of the Highways Act 1980. A right of way may by only be extinguished or diverted by or under an Act of Parliament. For instance, under the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 authority is given for the builder of the rail link to stop up certain highways mentioned in Schedule 3 of the act. The contrast to a Highway is a private road over which no right of way exists. Travel on a private road is subject to the consent of the owner of the land. United States In the United States, "highway" has two basic meanings: #a high-speed, limited access road like Expressway s and Freeway s #an important road that connects cities The familiarity of the Interstate Highway system implies "highway" describes any Freeway , regardless of whether it is part of the Interstate Highway system. However, the United States Numbered Highways system, which predates Interstate Highways, can vary from 2 lanes (1 lane each direction), shoulderless, paved roads with no access control to roads built to the same standards as Interstate Highways. These roads are usually distinguished by being important, but not always primary, routes that connect populated areas. "Highway" even includes roads that serve similar purposes to United States numbered highways but which are numbered and maintained by state or local governments. The first paved coast-to-coast highway in the United States highway opened on September 10 , 1913 . SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF HIGHWAYS By reducing travel times relative to arterial streets, highways have a positive effect upon balance of leisure or productive time through reduced commute and other travel time. However, highways have criticisms:
FURTHER INFORMATION For information on the history and local styles of highways around the world refer to
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