Controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed to allow traffic to safely travel at fast speeds. They are known by various terms around the world. The name motorway is used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and some other Commonwealth nations. In North America and Australia, the name freeway is used. In Germany, they are called Autobahns.
These kinds of highways can have 4 lanes or more. They carry many vehicles. They have no traffic-lights nor ground level intersections. All roads crossing the highway go over a bridge or a tunnel. Ramps connect the highways to smaller roads and other highways. The place where highways meet these roads are called junctions or interchanges. Places where cars can leave or enter the motorway are called exits. Many freeways do not allow slower traffic, such as bicycles and pedestrians, to enter them.
Most controlled-access highways are divided with at least two lanes going each way, but they can be much wider in large cities.[1]
Gallery
Autopista Central, Santiago, Chile
- AutopistaLibertadores.JPG
Autopista Los Libertadores, (International Freeway) Santiago, Chile
- 376 east.jpg
Interstate 376 eastbound in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
- Motorväg - bild.jpg
International E-Road E6 E20 in southwest Varberg, Sweden
- Lowry Hill Tunnel.jpg
Interstate 94 entering the Lowry Hill Tunnel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
- Highway1-cassiar-southbound.jpg
- Alessandria-L'autostrada A-26-tratto appenninico.jpg
The Italian Autostrada A26 while it enters a tunnel
- Atlanta 75.85.jpg
The "Downtown Connector" (I-75 and I-85) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, during rush hour
Controlled-access Highway Media
- US 131, M-6, 68th St interchange.jpg
The cloverleaf interchange between US 131, M-6 and 68th Street in Cutlerville, Michigan, United States, shows many of the features of controlled-access highways: entry and exit ramps, median strips for opposing traffic, no at-grade intersections and no direct access to properties.
- Motorway Sweden, Switzerland and Italy.svg
This sign, or some variation thereof, is used to denote controlled-access highways in many countries.
- King's Highway 401 - Ontario (4118726412) (filtered).jpg
Typical overhead signage on Ontario's King's Highway network featuring an airport pictogram, distances to upcoming interchanges, and lane guidance. These signs have a blue background rather than the usual green to denote the local-express lanes.
- Hämeenlinnanväylä.jpg
An aerial view of Finnish national road 3 (E12), a motorway between Tampere and Helsinki in Finland
- E6-E20 Olskroksmotet in Gothenburg.png
The west coast motorway E6/E20 in central Gothenburg, Sweden
- Autostrada del Sole - Italy - panoramio.jpg
Autostrada A1 (E35/E45) runs through Italy linking some of the largest cities of the country: Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples
- Autostrada between Varese and Como.jpg
The Italian Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway" in the 1950s; now parts of the Autostrada A8 and the Autostrada A9), the first controlled-access highway ever built in the world
- Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1979-025-30A, Reichsautobahn mit zwei KdF-Wagen.jpg
A section of the German Reichsautobahn in 1943, the first nationwide highway system.
- Dolphin and Palmetto Expressway Interchange.jpg
- Highway 401.png
Highway 401 in Southern Ontario, Canada. An example of a collector-express freeway design, the route features four carriageways through Toronto.
References
- ↑ "Urban Highways with the Most Lanes" (PDF). Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 4 Jun 2020.
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