Types of road

Various types of road are in use around the world. Roads range in size from private driveways, to the stereotypical two-lane highway, to high capacity dual carriageway routes, such as freeways and motorways. The names associated with a particular type of road vary around the world, and many names are partially equivalent but not exactly equivalent to each other. As a result, the name given to a road in one country could apply to a different type of road in another country. Details for each road type are covered in the specific articles about each type of road.

Road materials

Roads are constructed from many materials. The material used depends on local conditions and other factors such as the amount of traffic the road is designed for and the weight of the vehicles allowed to use the road. Some of the materials used to build roads includes:

*Asphalt concrete
*Brick
*Cobblestone
*Concrete
*Gravel road
*Ice road

Descriptive road terms

Some terms used to describe roads cover characteristics of the road and can be used on many types of roads. These terms include:
*Dual carriageway (also known as a divided highway)
*Toll road

Low capacity

Low capacity roads are generally low speed local roads serving a particular village, town, neighborhood, or city. They provide access to and from roads designed with higher capacities and for higher speeds. They often also serve the broadest variety of road users such as pedestrians, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, animals, wagons, and carriages. This category includes:

*Alley
*Arterial road
*Court
*Cul-de-sac
*Driveway
*Frontage road
*Lane
*Road
*Street

High speed roads

Most countries have major roads of medium capacity that connect cities, places, other routes, or other significant points of interest. They may have multiple lanes of traffic, a median or central reservation between lanes of opposing traffic, and partial access control (ramps and grade separation). Often they are restricted to motorized vehicles that can maintain high speeds. However, they can also be as simple as a two-lane shoulderless road.

These roads go by names like:

*2+1 road
*Expressway
*Farm to Market Road
*Highway
*Parkway
*Super two

High speed restricted access roads

Most high capacity roads are built to a higher standard than general purpose roads. In order to provide for higher traffic volumes, access is restricted to certain categories of motorized vehicles and limited to a certain number of access points where grade separations and ramps enable through traffic to proceed without interruption. These high capacity routes are almost always divided.

Multi Modal

Multi-modal roads are a newer concept in which a dedicated HOV or carpool lane is also set with light rail tracks. This single lane serves dual purpose of providing priority to Buses, Lightrail, as well as carpools.Fact|date=August 2007
Denver, Colorado is one of the first implementations of Multi-modal lanes in North America. In Denver, Lightrail is run manually to prevent any accidents. The second iteration of light rail, called the T-REX Project successfully implemented 17 miles of dual-track light rail, bike path, and also widened conventional roadways along most major arteries in the Denver Metro Area.Fact|date=August 2007