A freeway is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. This is accomplished by preventing access to and from adjacent properties and eliminating all cross traffic through the use of grade separations and interchanges; railroad crossings are also removed. Such highways are usually divided with at least two lanes in each direction. Because traffic never crosses at-gra...
more
A freeway is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. This is accomplished by preventing access to and from adjacent properties and eliminating all cross traffic through the use of grade separations and interchanges; railroad crossings are also removed. Such highways are usually divided with at least two lanes in each direction. Because traffic never crosses at-grade, there are generally no traffic lights or stop signs. Some countries have roads that function as freeways but use different names. These include autobahn, autovía, autoroute, autopista, autostrada, autosnelweg, motorway and expressway.
The word freeway first surfaced in the mid-1930s in proposals for the improvement of the New York City parkway network. It is currently in regular use in the United States as well as parts of South Africa, Canada, and Australia.
In the United States, the term freeway is frequently used. In some regions of the...
less
