De la Publicitate Enciclopedica

Highways

A highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In law the word highway is often used as a legal term to denote any public road, ranging from freeways to dirt tracks.[1] An interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network" or a "highway transportation system".

The United States has the largest network of highways, including both the Interstate highways and United States Numbered Highways. At least one of these networks is present in every state and connects most major cities. China's highway network is the second most extensive in the world, with a total length of 3.573 million km. China's expressway network is also the second longest in the world and quickly expanding, stretching some 60,300 km at the end of 2008, In 2008 alone, 6,433 km expressways were added to the network.

Some highways, like the Pan-American Highway or the European routes, bridge multiple countries. Australia's Highway 1 is the longest national highway in the world at over 20,000 km (12,000 mi) and runs almost the entire way around the continent.

Highways are not always continuous stretches of pavement. For example, some highways are interrupted by bodies of water, and ferry routes may serve as sections of the highway.... mai mult... ^[1]