I am collecting details on how roads are defined in terms of class or hierarchy in different countries. It's not so straightforward as might be thought. Results so far (and posted elsewhere online) are for New Zealand, India and Tanzania. Any help with information for other countries would be much appreciated.
File attached (from here http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/CP/Ch2MovementNetwork?print=1) describes the hierarchy used in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Different local governments in Australia have adopted variations on the theme set by Austroads (qv).
For anyone interested, countries I checked so far are New Zealand, India and Tanzania (see e.g. link).
http://comparativegeometrics.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/road-classification-in-new-zealand/
In Poland, public roads, due to the technical standard and equipment, divided into seven technical classes designated as follows: A (I - highways), S (II - expressways), GP (III - speeded up roads), G (IV - the main roads), Z (V - gather roads), L (VI - local roads), D (VII - access roads). The basic functions and features of each road class are given in attached table - unfortunately in Polish language...
Thanks, Marek. Could you tell me what the source of the chart is please, so I can reference it?
The source of the chart is: "Wytyczne projektowania dróg WPD-1", publisher: Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Publicznych, Warszawa 1995. This is the polish road design guidelines published by General Directorate for Public Roads. Good luck.
Just posted some notes on road hierarchy in Australia (see link). Now working on Poland....
http://wp.me/p27Pox-3z
In my country (IRAQ) the classification is as follows:
1- Primary system;
2- Secondary system;and
3- Tertiary system.
Thanks Ali. I guess there were road hierarchies in ancient Iraq as well ! I will work up some notes on Iraq after I have finished my notes on Poland.
OK Robert. If you want another information about this subject or any one related to highway engineering in IRAQ, I am ready to answer you. Best Regards.
Dear Robert, in my country (Portugal) the current classification is as follows:
- Fundamental Network;
- Complementary Network;
- Motorways;
In some cases, highways might be included in the Fundamental Network or in the Complementary Network. For further information, please take a look at the attached link (There is an option there to translate the pages to English)
I believe that in other European countries, the classification is quite similar. Nevertheless, check with ones who can confirm that to you.
Hope my comment is useful for you!
Kind regards.
http://www.estradasdeportugal.pt/index.php/pt/areas-de-atuacao/prn
Thanks for the information Goncalo - mind you, the countries I have looked at so far seem to have quite complicated (confused?) ideas about road classification. Australia is a good example.
True. I believe that the classification is given taking into account the position and the locations that the road connects more than its characteristics (highway or motorway)
Goncalo, I suspect that there are 30+ types of classification in use in the 4 or 5 countries I looked at so far. I will work up a list to give an overview, and add it as a post to my tech blog.
Hallo Markek, I just posted some notes on road classification in Poland
http://wp.me/p27Pox-3U
Hallo Goncales, I have prepared a first list of different road classifications. For the time being I posted it as one of my publications on Research Gate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235761578_List_of_road_classifications?ev=prf_pub
Just posted a note on road classification in Iraq, thanks to Ali also for his input. Next countries: Montenegro, Portugal
http://wp.me/p27Pox-4x
Latest post on my research blog is a note on road classification in Montenegro. Next countries are Portugal and Nepal. It begins to look as if no country has got road classification / road hierarchy right.
http://wp.me/p27Pox-4Q
Just posted some notes on road classification in Portugal. Next country is Nepal, after that I will summarise my findings in a pdf.
http://wp.me/p27Pox-4Y
I have added notes on road classification in Nepal (see link). Next I will summarise findings. However it already seems that most countries do not have a comprehensive road hierarchy or classification, but that the work stops at the level of responsibility of the organisation involved.
http://wp.me/p27Pox-5e
OK, draft paper now added to ResearchGate. It pulls together the notes on road classification from ten countries (Portugal, Montenegro, Iraq etc) and adds a beginning and an end section. Any comments would be appreciated. After ten days or so I plan to go public with it on "Scribd".
Data GTA-303 Road Classification -some current examples (draft paper)
Indian practice
express way
national highway
state highway
major district roads
other district roads
village roads
total length of roads in india 33 million kilometres
Hallo Sathish,
Thanks for your answer. Since I posted my initial question I have done some more research. The notes I prepared on road classification in India can be seen at the link below. I will check against your info and update as necessary. So far it seems to me that in most countries, road classification is not working very well, and even the concept (functional classification) is beginning to seem a bit weak - but I don't have any clear ideas yet on what could replace it.
http://comparativegeometrics.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/road-classification-in-india/
Dear colleague
The Iraq “Highway design manual of 1982 (ref. 408) grouped roads into a three-level hierarchy of primary, secondary and tertiary highways. There is a secondary classification which has roads grouped into one of 4 classes (A, B, C, D). The allocation of a road to a classification determines factors such as its design speed, total width of highway and design capacity etc.
Regards
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