The functional classification of a road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 is the class, or group, of roads that the road belongs to. There are three main functional classes as defined by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Federal Highway Administration

Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...

: arterial, collector, and local.

Arterial roads

Arterial roads generally provide the fastest method of travel and typically have low accessibility from neighboring roads. They are usually designed with long-distance travel in mind and are not as common as the other two functional classes of roads.

Collector roads

Collector roads are the second most common and are used as a connection between local roads and arterial roads. They provide a balance between access and mobility.

Local roads

Local roads are the most common roads by far, but are also the slowest for travel. They are designed specifically to have high accessibility and to connect to collector and arterial roads, and are typically not used for through traffic.

External links

• FHWA Functional Classification Guidelines - Federal Highway Administration