# Highway,freeway,expressway



## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

Paddington said:


> 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.


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## Danger! 50000 volts (Jul 14, 2005)

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?


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## Saab (Mar 24, 2006)

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...


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

*The Plural of Autobahn is Autobahnen, not Autobahns!*

Just so you know.


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## newyorkrunaway1 (Nov 21, 2004)

lol


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## Maxx☢Power (Nov 16, 2005)

Uhm, who cares? 
:runaway:

Ich habe vier Autobahns gegessen.


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

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


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## pflo777 (Feb 27, 2003)

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


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## Cristovão471 (May 9, 2006)

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


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

What makes you think so?


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## premier (Dec 28, 2005)

chris_underscore47 said:


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


They are the safest roads you can travell on :|


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## YelloPerilo (Oct 17, 2003)

chris_underscore47 said:


> 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:


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Dee Hinnov said:


> 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.


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

^^ 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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ 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).


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

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.


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## Nicolás (Dec 17, 2005)

minato ku said:


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


and some even better :yes:


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

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:


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

Verso said:


> ^ 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?


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ Sure.:cheers:


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## ZZ-II (May 10, 2006)

what a silly thread :sleepy:


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## Deadeye Reloaded (Apr 25, 2006)

> 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.


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## Maxx☢Power (Nov 16, 2005)

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.


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

Deadeye Reloaded said:


> "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.


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

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.


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## Ka-8 (May 4, 2004)

earthJoker said:


> 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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ 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, ...).


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

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


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

Verso said:


> ...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 Brenner*autobahn* has a maut.


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## aussiescraperman (Apr 5, 2005)

*highways?*

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?











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.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

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


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

(Auto)snelweg. Plural with -en added.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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


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## FallenGuard (Nov 2, 2006)

Luxembourgish: Autobunn


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## Bahnsteig4 (Sep 9, 2005)

Bundesstraße (Federal Road)


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## aussiescraperman (Apr 5, 2005)

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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ 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").


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## Nicolás (Dec 17, 2005)

*Autobahn (Motorway):*










*Kraftfahrstraße (Expressway):*









yellow signing like on the "Bundesstraße".

*Bundesstraße (comparable to US Highway / Federal road):*










*Landesstraße (comparable to US State Highway):*









Number usually not used on the signs! In Bavaria and in Saxony they are called "Staatsstraße".

*Kreisstraße (County Road)*


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## LosAngelesMetroBoy (Aug 13, 2006)

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


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Nicolás said:


> *Kraftfahrstraße (Expressway):*


Isn't it called "Schnellstraße"?


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## Nicolás (Dec 17, 2005)

^^ 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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

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


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

In Switzerland Kraftfahrstraße is called Autostrasse.


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## Cicerón (May 15, 2006)

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


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

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


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## milanxyz (Jan 31, 2007)

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


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## khoojyh (Aug 14, 2005)

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,


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

DiggerD21 said:


> 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.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Dee Hinnov said:


> 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.


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## Brice (Sep 11, 2002)

Dee Hinnov said:


> Just so you know.


In german perhaps, but not in English.

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


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

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


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## Alargule (Feb 21, 2005)

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


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## eomer (Nov 15, 2003)

Chris1491 said:


> 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.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

eomer said:


> 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.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

: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"


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Chicagoago said:


> 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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Chicagoago said:


> 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:


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

^ 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.


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## _UberGerard_ (Dec 23, 2004)

is autobahn already an internationalism?


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

Chicagoago said:


> ^ 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.


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## gladisimo (Dec 11, 2006)

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.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Verso said:


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


Portugal is hno:


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Traffic engineering & terminology*

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!  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.


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## ionutzyankoo (Mar 27, 2008)

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


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## ABRob (Feb 10, 2008)

Chriszwolle said:


> *Terminology*


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



Chriszwolle said:


> *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 .


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

Chriszwolle said:


> In example a 2x4 motorway: 4 X 2200 X 10 = 88,000 AADT capacity


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)


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## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

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:



Chriszwolle said:


> *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.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

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


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

aswnl said:


> 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.
> ...


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



flierfy said:


> 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.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

ABRob said:


> 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.


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## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

Chriszwolle said:


> 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:


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## TheCat (Apr 21, 2006)

^^ 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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Interesting thread, Chris! :cheers:


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## Sphynx (Jan 2, 2005)

TheCat said:


> 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.hno:

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.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Chriszwolle said:


> 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.



Chriszwolle said:


> 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".


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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.


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## wyqtor (Jan 15, 2007)

^^ 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.


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## diegogalban (May 31, 2006)

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


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

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


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## ElviS77 (Aug 3, 2007)

*Norway*

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...vedlegg&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.


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## drugastrona (Apr 23, 2008)

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


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## Robosteve (Nov 6, 2008)

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.


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## Majestic (Jan 22, 2007)

*Economic anylysis of highway traffic*

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 



*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*





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*



(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.


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## matty89 (Apr 2, 2009)

*Difference between H/way, Ex/way, F/way????*

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!!!!


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## dubart (Jun 10, 2007)

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


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## matty89 (Apr 2, 2009)

Never heard of a parkway!


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

*Highway* - used mostly in USA and Australia, refers mostly to interstate roads, aso 1x2 and with no flyovers










*Motorway* - 2x2 or more road with flyovers










*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.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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.


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

matty89 said:


> 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.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

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.


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

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.


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

ChrisZwolle said:


> 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.


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

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


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## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

Just make it simple and call them all roads.


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## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

Nima-Farid said:


> 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)


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

nerdly_dood said:


> 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".


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## Xpressway (Dec 2, 2006)

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.


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