Motorway is a term for both a type of road and a classification or designation. Motorways are high capacity roads designed to carry fast motor traffic safely. In the UK they are predominantly dual-carriageway roads, with two, three or four lanes in each direction (usually three), and all have grade-separated access, comparable with North American freeways and expressways.

In English-speaking countries the term is used in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, some other Commonwealth nations, and Ireland. In Ireland, a road built to motorway standard, but without the designation (and the regulations and traffic restrictions resulting from that designation), is known as a high quality dual carriageway.

Regulations and features

In Ireland and the UK, motorways are denoted by blue signage and an M-prefixed or suffixed road number. In New Zealand, motorways are distinguished from regular state highways with the word 'Motorway' on entrance signage. Historically, New Zealand's motorways had green signage while everywhere else had black, until green signage was spread to the entire State Highway network by Transit New Zealand.

The construction and surfacing of motorways is generally of a higher standard than conventional roads, and maintenance is carried out more frequently; in particular, motorways drain water very quickly to reduce hydroplaning. The road surface is generally asphalt concrete (popularly referred to as tarmac) or portland cement concrete. Other features are crash barriers, cat's eyes and, increasingly, textured road markings (a similar concept to rumble-strips).

Common criteria

For a road to be classified as motorway a number of conditions must be fulfilled. Although they may vary from country to country, the following conditions generally apply:

• Accessed at junctions by slip roads off the sides of the main carriageway;
• Joined by link-roads at an interchange, the object of which is to allow traffic to change route without stopping or slowing significantly;
• Traffic lights are not permitted (except at toll booths and certain interchanges) - see ramp meter;
• Have signposted entry and exit points at the start and end;
• Certain types of transport are banned, typically pedestrians, bicycles, learner drivers, horses, agricultural vehicles, underpowered vehicles (e.g. small scooters, invalid carriages). In the Republic of Ireland, the "Motorway Ahead" sign at every motorway junction lists the excluded classes of vehicles (this sign was also formerly used in the United Kingdom - from which the Irish version is based - but has been almost entirely phased out). The same is true for the "Motorway Entrance" sign on motorways in most Australian states. In New Zealand, a no pedestrians and no cycles sign precede the "Motorway Begins" sign to tell pedestrians and cycles that they are not allowed on the motorway.

In the UK and the Republic of Ireland there are further restrictions:

• The central reservation remains unbroken (an exception being the Aston Expressway in Birmingham, which has an empty lane instead)
• Emergency telephones (which connect directly to the police accept in the UK where they connect you directly to the nearest Highways Agency Regional Control Centre where highly trained officers deal with your call sending either there own officers (HATO's) or other emergancy services as required) are provided at a regular intervals (in the UK emergency telephones are situated at intervals of 1 mile, and at 1 km in Ireland)
• No roundabouts apart from at the start and finish and some motorway interchanges
• Hard shoulder available most of the time
• Other roads are connected at motorway interchanges only. No roads join at any other point except for maintenance access.
• Most junctions are numbered

Note that these only apply to roads directly designated as motorways. Roads may also be indirectly designated as such, see Inheritance below.

Traffic on a motorway is required to keep moving at all times, except in exceptional circumstances (cases where traffic queues have built up, the vehicle has broken down, or the driver has been instructed to stop by a police officer). A minimum speed limit of 30mph does not apply in the United Kingdom (Republic of Ireland may be different). Traffic lights are very rarely present on motorways, but where they are installed (for example, at Junction 3 of the M50 in Ireland), they must be obeyed as usual.

A motorway in the UK, whether by design or inheritance, must have a Statutory Instrument (SI) defining a stretch of road and sliproads as a special road under the Highways Act 1980. In the Republic of Ireland, a Motorway Scheme must be made under the Roads Act 1993.

Speed limits

Motorway speed limits are generally higher than those on single-carriageway roads, and some types of vehicle, such as heavy goods vehicles, may be subject to lower limits.

UK motorways originally had no speed limit, and were designed for traffic travelling up to 100mph. Although the design speed of 100mph remains, the majority of UK motorways and dual carriageways are now subject to the national speed limit of 70 mph (110 km/h) for motorcars and motorcycles; some may have lower limits for various local reasons. A UK Department for Transport (DfT) study at several sites in 2006 showed that over half of all motorway traffic was travelling in excess of this limit.^[1] In 2004 the Conservative Party proposed increasing the motorway speed limit to 80 mph (130 km/h) on some stretches,^[2] although this did not appear in their 2005 election manifesto.^[3] Some road safety groups feel this would be a good idea, as it more closely represents the normal (and, they claim, safe) driving practice of the majority of motorway users.

In Ireland the speed limit for motorways and some dual-carriageways was changed from 70 mph to 120 km/h (75 mph) as part of the conversion to metric speed limits for roads on 20 January 2005.^[4]

In Pakistan, initially the speed limit on Motorway was 140 km/h (85 mph) for Light Vehicles and 120 km/h (75 mph) for Heavy Vehicles; however later it was restricted to 120 km/h (75 mph) for Light Vehicles and 110 km/h (70 mph) for Heavy Vehicles.

In New Zealand the speed limit on motorways and other dual carriageways is normally the top limit for state highways, 100 km/h (62 mph), with restrictions in some areas.

Germany has no general speed limit on its motorways (Autobahn); there are only particular speed limits e.g. at dangerous sections, sections with traffic jam hazards, road works or at motorways through cities. Recently, however, speeds on roughly 2/3 of the German motorway system have been restricted to 120-130 km/h. Some sections still remain free of speed limits, but the myth of the German motorway offering possibilities of unbounded speeding ceases existence day by day.

Lanes

Most motorway carriageways comprise a main running surface, with a hard shoulder along one edge, and a median or central reservation separating it from the other carriageway along the other edge. The hard shoulder is generally provided for use in emergencies, such as breakdowns, only. However the M42 in the UK has recently introduced a system whereby the hard shoulder can be used as an extra lane during busy periods on a small section.

The nearside edge (the edge up against the hard shoulder) of the running surface is marked with a solid white line, or in Ireland, a solid yellow line. The offside edge of the running surface (the edge nearest to the median) is marked with a solid white line. The running surface is divided into lanes by white dashed lines. On the M42 in the UK the hard shoulder line is not textured due to the frequent use of it as a running lane.

In the UK the lanes in a given direction are numbered sequentially from the nearside (left) as lane 1, lane 2, lane 3, etc. Lane 1 is the lane next to the hard shoulder.

The lane closest to the nearside of the road (lane 1 in the UK) is generally intended for normal steady driving, while the other lane or lanes, those closer to the median, are intended for overtaking or passing slower-moving vehicles. Vehicles are expected to use the nearside-most lane which is clear. The Highway Code for the UK recommends that vehicles only overtake on the right. Similar rules apply on German autobahns and in some other countries. In heavy traffic it may be acceptable to cruise in any lane and to pass slower vehicles on either side to avoid constant lane changes.

Junctions

The most basic motorway junction is a two-lane flyover with four slip-roads, two on each side of the motorway, to exit or enter. A simple crossroads or roundabout is present at each end of the flyover. A rather large version of a roundabout, using two curved flyovers, is sometimes used to present a single large junction for users of the slip-roads or crossing road. The slip roads leading off the motorway are known as 'exit sliproads', those leading onto the motorway as 'entry sliproads'. The precise sliproad at any junction may be identified by reference to the direction of the carriageway, for example 'northbound entry slip'.

The signal-controlled roundabout is often used in these situations and has become very common in Ireland. A far greater degree of complexity is present in Britain, with varying types of Spaghetti Junction-style interchanges.

Motorway junctions are usually given a number, indicated in the UK and in Ireland with a white number on a black background in the corner of signs approaching that junction. The same junction number is used in both directions on the motorway. Sometimes, where a junction is newly inserted between two existent junctions, it will be given a letter also (e.g. 2A). In Ireland, the junction numbering has only been used consistently on the M50 since it was opened, however a junction numbering scheme is now being applied to all motorways. This has necessitated certain junctions being renumbered on the M7 (and, in future, on the M4).

Location and construction

Major intercity or national routes are often built or upgraded to motorway standard. Motorways are also commonly used for ring roads around cities or bypasses of built-up areas. In New Zealand, motorways tend to only occur in large cities, for purposes of taking commuters between the suburbs and the central city.

In Britain there are plans to improve many motorways as well as to upgrade some roads to motorway status. In Ireland, the National Roads Authority has been connecting main cities with motorways as part of a six-year National Development Plan. The European Union has part-funded many motorway projects in the past, as part of a Trans-European Transport Networks, and there are plans to invest billions of euro in such projects in the next ten years.



One of the most recently constructed motorways in the UK is the M6 Toll, bypassing Birmingham and Wolverhampton, which opened in 2004 and is the only completely toll motorway in England. There are tolled sections of motorway on the M4 and M48, where they cross the River Severn at the Severn crossings. Although the crossing of the River Thames east of London on the M25 is tolled, the bridge and tunnels themselves are officially designated the A282 to permit usage by non-motorway traffic. In Ireland, the M1, M4, and M50 are all tolled, with sections of the M6, M7 and M8 likely to face tolls also in the future.

Inheritance

In the UK and in Ireland certain types of traffic are not permitted on motorways. Thus, to avoid people being forced to travel illegally, there are a number of rules about stretches of road which must be designated as motorways.

In all cases, there must be an escape route for traffic not wishing or not permitted to enter the motorway. As a result, the motorway technically begins as soon as the escape route has diverged from it; for example at a grade-separated junction, the motorway starts at the junction with the exiting slip road, and the opposite slip road is also part of the motorway for this and the following reason. An exception was the A1(M) near Leeds, which was "illegal", as pedestrians could legally cross 300 yards from the start, but cyclists and other types of traffic not permitted on motorways had no way of turning back - the escape route was the Boot & Shoe a mile before. This is remedied by the A1(M) extension. On some maps the start was disguised or covered so people could not see the blunder.

As a result, this creates a less-restrictive set of rules for the standard of the road. Roads whose only destination is a motorway must be assigned motorway status, notwithstanding the possibility of their not being built to normal motorway standards. For example, the A48(M) motorway outside Cardiff begins after the last exit to St Mellons, since by staying on the dual carriageway you cannot get anywhere other than the M4 eastbound; however, it is a motorway-grade highway. A similar example in Ireland is the M6, currently a short 2 km section of the N6 eastbound that leads exclusively to the M4 motorway. The equivalent westbound section of the N6 is not signed as a motorway however.

Route numbering

UK and Ireland

In England and Wales, the numbers of major motorways were allocated to broadly follow the A-roads heading in the same direction, with a zonal pattern formed by the single-digit motorways, in much the same way as the single-digit A-roads mark out the zone boundaries for all-purpose routes. One major exception is the M5 which follows the route of the A38 south from Birmingham to Exeter. The numbering is entirely separate - the M1 and the A1 can and do co-exist.

In Scotland, where the Scottish Office rather than the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation had the decision, there is no zonal pattern, but rather the A-road rule is strictly enforced. The M8 follows the route of the A8, and the M85 became part of the M90 when the A90 was re-routed along the path of the A85.

In Ireland, motorway and national road numbering is quite different to the UK convention. Since the passage of the Roads Act 1993, all motorways are part of, or form, national primary roads. These routes are numbered in series, (usually, radiating anti-clockwise from Dublin, starting with the N1/M1) using numbers from 1 to 33 (and, separately from the series, 50). Motorways use the number of the route of which they form part, with an M prefix rather than N for national road (or in theory, rather than R for regional road).^[5] In most cases, the motorway has been built as a bypass of a road previously forming the national road (e.g. M7 bypassing roads previously forming the N7) - the bypassed roads are reclassified as regional roads, although updated signposting may not be provided for some time, and adherence to signage colour conventions is lax (regional roads have black-on-white directional signage, national routes use white-on-green).

Under the previous legislation, the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act 1974, motorways theoretically existed indepdendently to national roads, however the short sections of motorway opened during this act, except for the M50, always took their number from the national road which they were bypassing. The older road was not downgraded at this point (indeed, regional roads were not legislated for at this stage). Older signage at certain junctions on the M7 and M11 can be seen reflecting this earlier scheme, where for example "N11" and "M11" can be seen coexisting.

The M50, an entirely new national road, is an exception to the normal inheritance process, as it does not replace a road previously carrying an "N" number. The M50 was nevertheless legislated in 1994 as the "N50" route (despite having no non-motorway sections). The M50's designation was chosen as a recognisable unique number (as of 2007 N34 is the next unused national primary road designation). In theory, a motorway in Ireland could form part of a regional road.^[5]

Elsewhere

In Hungary, similarly to Ireland, motorway numbers can be derived from the original national highway numbers (1-7), with an "M" prefix attached, eg. M7 is on the route of the old Highway No. 7 from Budapest towards Lake Balaton and Croatia. New motorways not following the original Budapest-centered radial highway system get numbers M8, M9, etc., or M0 in the case of the ringroad around Budapest.

In New Zealand, motorway numbers are also derived from the state highway route which they form a part of, but unlike Hungary and Ireland they are not distinguished from non motorway sections of the same state highway route. In the cases where a motorway acts as a bypass of a state highway route, the original state highway is either stripped of that status or renumbered (as in the case of the Auckland Northern Motorway extension from Albany to Silverdale, north of Auckland, where the new motorway was designated as part of State Highway One, while the old state highway one route linking Albany to Silverdale was designated State Highway 17).

Motorway service areas

Motorway service areas, motorway service stations or simply motorway services are, as in the rest of the world, places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. Almost all motorway services in the UK are owned by the Department for Transport and let on 50-year leases to private operating companies.

Food sold at motorway services is notoriously expensive (although discounts are frequently available; for instance, MOD (Ministry Of defence) and The AA breakdown members receive a little-publicised 20% discount on virtually all products at Moto service stations on production of their membership card). This is often attributed to the fact that, under the terms of their leases, motorway services must provide free short-term parking and free toilet facilities and adequate provision for the sale of food and fuel; also, the vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break or RoadChef. Another factor may be that, unlike in other countries, the companies must pay the full cost of constructing the entry and exit ramps and all other required features for safe access to motorway services, as well as the motorway services facility itself. In other countries, the authority responsible for the highway tends to subsidise these costs on the grounds that these areas are partly a public service to drivers. The leases provide that motorway services must operate 24 hours a day, and the costs of providing utilities and services are high. With very few customers in the early morning, they need to earn the money in other ways.

Websites such as 5minutesaway.co.uk show a list of eating places, hotels within a short drive away from the motorway.

Services are prohibited from selling alcohol as this might encourage drunk driving.

The Republic of Ireland does not yet have motorway service areas – initially the National Roads Authority opposed them on the grounds that it preferred to see traffic using existing businesses in bypassed towns, and that the motorway network was not large enough for them anyway. However in 2006 it changed its mind, and the Roads Bill 2007 makes provision for a Motorway Service Area Scheme to be made for proposed motorway service areas.

History

Italy

The first motorway built was the Autostrada dei laghi, inaugurated on September 21 1921 in Milan. It linked Milan to Varese. Piero Puricelli, the engineer who designed this new type of road, decided to cover the expenses by introducing a toll to be paid by whoever used the motorway.^[7][8]

Other motorways built before WWII in Italy were Padova-Venezia, Milano-Torino and Roma-Ostia.

New Zealand

New Zealand's first motorway opened in December 1950 near Wellington. This 5 kilometre (3 mile) motorway now forms part of the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway and State Highway 1.^[9] Auckland's first stretch of motorway was opened in 1953 between Ellerslie and Mount Wellington (between present-day Exit 435 and Exit 438), and now forms part of the Southern Motorway.^[10]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom motorways were introduced into law under the Special Roads Act 1949, with the first motorway, the M6 Preston Bypass, opening in 1958. The first major section of motorway in the UK, part of the M1 motorway, opened in 1959. The completed M25 London Orbital opened in 1986

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act 1974 made motorways possible, although the first section, the M7 Naas Bypass, did not open until 1983. The first section of the M50 opened in 1990, a part of which was Ireland's first toll motorway, the West-Link. However it would be the 1990s before substantial sections of motorway were opened in Ireland, with the first completed motorway - the 83km M1 motorway - being finished in 2005.

Under the National Development Plan, motorways or high quality dual carriageways were to be built between Dublin and the major cities of Cork. Galway, Limerick and Waterford by 2006, although this timescale has now been extended to the end of 2010. Other shorter sections of motorway either have been or will be built on some other main routes. In 2007 legislation (the Roads Bill 2007) was proposed to allow existing roads be designated motorways by order. Current legislation only allows for new build roads to be designated motorways. It is now intended that all the HQDCs on the major inter-urbans - other than some sections near Dublin on the N4 and N7 which do not fully meet motorway standards - will be reclassified as motorway.

Australia

Most of Australia's capital cities feature a significant motorway network within their urban areas. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth each feature extensive freeway and motorway systems, while Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart and the regional centres of Newcastle and Wollongong feature a selection of limited-access routes. Outside these areas traffic volumes do not generally demand motorway-standard access, although heavily-trafficked regional corridors such as Sydney-Newcastle, Brisbane-Gold Coast and Melbourne-Geelong that form part of major long-distance routes feature high-standard motorway links. While Sydney and Canberra are currently the only two Australian capitals connected by a continuous motorway-standard link, upgrades to full dual-highway of the heavy-use Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane interstate routes, a total length of more than 2000 kilometres, are currently underway.

Generally Australia uses the term motorway for tolled roads with grade separated access, where as freeway are similar roads which do not require payment to drive on; the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway for example is free to use, whereas the Logan Motorway in Brisbane, Queensland has a toll. However motorway is becoming the more accepted term, and virtually all have been given an “M” designation in official road numbering.

Pakistan

Pakistan has its own network of motorways. The first one, the M2 was built in 1997 with the contract being awarded to the Korean firm Daewoo. It linked the federal capital Islamabad with Punjab's provincial capital Lahore and its length is 367 km. The network was then extended to Sargodha and then to Faisalabad with the M3. There exist plans to construct the M1 motorway to the NWFP's capital Peshawar. N5 links Karachi to other cities. More highways are being planned and some are also being built by local and foreign firms.

Entry Restrictions On all the motorways in Pakistan, entry is restricted to fast moving wheelers only. Two wheelers (motorcycles and bicycles) and slow moving traffic modes are not allowed. However Motorway Police personnel use heavy motor bikes for patrolling purposes. Construction and agricultural machinery is also restricted.

References

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• Roads in Ireland
• List of motorways in Belgium
• List of motorways in Hungary
• List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
• Motorways of Pakistan
• Freeway (includes links to motorways around the world)
• UK topics
• Interchange

External links

• Department for Transport (United Kingdom)
• Highways Agency (England)
• Czech Motorways (Czech Republic)
• Slovak Motorways (Slovakia)
• Swiss Motorways (Switzerland)
• National Roads Authority (Republic of Ireland)
• European Union Transport Policy
• CBRD Motorway Database
• UK Roads Portal
• How Motorway Numbering Was Organised in the UK
• How Motorways Work (Satirical insight)
• Independent Auckland Motorways Website (New Zealand)

•  • [ e] Types of road
High-speed, Access via interchanges	Autobahn • Autopista • Autostrada • Autostrasse • Auto-estrada • Expressway • Freeway • Lebuhraya • Motorway
High-speed, Other types of access	2+1 road • Divided highway • Expressway • Farm-to-market road • Highway • Parkway • Super two • Two-lane freeway • Collector-distributor road • Express-collector setup
Low speed	Arterial road • Boulevard • Frontage road • Road • Street
Low speed low traffic	Alley • Cul-de-sac • Driveway • Lane
Other	Dual carriageway • Interchange • Range road • Concession road • County road • Roundabout • Toll road
Surface types	Asphalt concrete • Brick • Cobblestone • Concrete • Corduroy road • Dirt road • Gravel road • Ice road • Macadam • Oiled road (Bitumen) • Plank road • Tarmac • Winter road