Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Surprise meSurprise meSubscribe
Encyclopedia

Types of road

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated July 18, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

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.

01Taxonomy 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.

Tree tunnel in Florida
Tree tunnel in Florida
Hollow way on the side of La Meauffe, witness of the battle of the hedges in 1944)
Hollow way on the side of La Meauffe, witness of the battle of the hedges in 1944)

02Types of roads

Lower capacity roads

Street

Primitive roads

Large roads

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.

Other thoroughfares

The A8 Autostrasse in Switzerland.
The A8 Autostrasse in Switzerland.
Autostrada A1 in Italy
Autostrada A1 in Italy

03Road 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 (roundabout) 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 (variously translated) 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 US Texas 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

Notes

  • Access type
    • Interchange - access limited to grade-separated interchanges
    • Junction (roundabout) - access limited to major roads via a roundabout
    • Partial - Limited access
    • Uncontrolled - no control of access
  • Speed
    • Any - Used in all types of applications
    • Low - Low-speed
    • High - High-Speed
  • Cross traffic
  • Divided
    • Yes
    • No
    • Some - some sections may be divided
Glenbervie House driveway
Glenbervie House driveway
Roundabout
Roundabout
Watch videos about Types of roadExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Types of road”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.