What does AARoads consider the difference between...

[TravelingBethelite]

a freeway and an expressway, or what they exactly are? This is considering that each has so many definitions. 

[Alex]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

[iBallasticwolf2]

a freeway and an expressway, or what they exactly are? This is considering that each has so many definitions. 

Basically a freeway is a fully limited access roadway while an expressway is a partially limited access route.
Ex. Interstate 75 is a freeway while OH 32 is an expressway. Think of an expressway as a divided highway with a depressed grass median and at least some at-grade intersections. Think of a freeway as a fully controlled access road with zero at-grade intersections and only interchanges.

[PHLBOS]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 

Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

[iBallasticwolf2]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

[PHLBOS]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

To tell you the truth, I never heard the term Freeway used for any road in the northeast until I moved to the Delaware Valley 25 years ago and such was only used towards one road... NJ 42 (aka the North-South Freeway).

[iBallasticwolf2]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

To tell you the truth, I never heard the term Freeway used for any road in the northeast until I moved to the Delaware Valley 25 years ago and such was only used towards one road... NJ 42 (aka the North-South Freeway).

The northeast seems to be the main people who use "expressway" instead of freeway. Cincinnati seems to do that too but they don't sign their freeways by name EVER.

[Pete from Boston]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

Not fooled.  That's what "expressway" means in the Northeast.  Language fluidity and all that.

[oscar]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 

Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

Conversely, some roads called "freeways" have at-grade intersections that would ordinarily make them "expressways". San Diego's old South Bay Freeway (CA 54, since upgraded to full freeway standards) comes to mind.

Even if there were official definitions of "freeway" and "expressway", there are regional variations on how well they are followed. So the better question is how those terms are defined in a specific place or region.

[bzakharin]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

Not fooled.  That's what "expressway" means in the Northeast.  Language fluidity and all that.

Not really. Not in the Philadelphia area anyway. Expressway is just part of the name, just like Freeway is for NJ 42. Depending where you are "The Expressway" may be the Schuylkill Expressway in Philly proper or the Atlantic City Expressway in South Jersey. There's no such thing as a generic expressway here. They're all "highways" if they're any kind off limited access or even just multi-lane.

[ekt8750]

Yeah people generally say highway or expressway around here. I very rarely hear anyone say freeway.

[riiga]

To me and probably most of Europe,
Freeway = Motorway, limited-access, grade-separated, and divided with at least 2+2 lanes.
Expressway = Motorroad, limited-access and grade-separated but not necessarily divided.

[bzakharin]

Why would you have a fully grade separated, limited access highway that is undivided? I would think separating opposite direction movements would do more for safety, not to mention be cheaper to implement, than removing 90 degree crossings.

[1995hoo]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 

Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

Conversely, some roads called "freeways" have at-grade intersections that would ordinarily make them "expressways". San Diego's old South Bay Freeway (CA 54, since upgraded to full freeway standards) comes to mind.

....

West Virginia indeed posts yellow warning signs saying "freeway ends" on some roads that have at-grade intersections. US-340 between Charles Town and Harpers Ferry is one example–eastbound, it narrows to a two-lane road after you pass the sign in question.

[TravelingBethelite]

Around here, when people are asked about freeways vs. expressways, they say expressways is right and that freeways are a California thing.

[riiga]

Why would you have a fully grade separated, limited access highway that is undivided? I would think separating opposite direction movements would do more for safety, not to mention be cheaper to implement, than removing 90 degree crossings.

Separating the traffic flow is indeed a much better option in terms of safety, but back in the day they were very common as a form of budget motorways. Because they were undivded you could still pass slower vehicles and often fit three vehicles in total due to the wide shoulders used, however this lead to a lot of head-on collisions. Nowadays almost all of them have been replaced by 2+1 roads where you have alternating passing lanes. Due to the design of the older undivided expressways with wide shoulders most 2+1 roads in Sweden could be built by just repainting lines and putting up a barrier, saving a lot of money and lives at the same time.

[jwolfer]

In many parts of the country (at least in the northeast); expressways have the same characteristics/are defined the same as freeways. 
Examples: neither Boston's Southeast Expressway (I-93) nor Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) have any at-grade intersections.

I've noticed that too. But don't let the name of the road fool you.

To tell you the truth, I never heard the term Freeway used for any road in the northeast until I moved to the Delaware Valley 25 years ago and such was only used towards one road... NJ 42 (aka the North-South Freeway).

The northeast seems to be the main people who use "expressway" instead of freeway. Cincinnati seems to do that too but they don't sign their freeways by name EVER.

Jacksonville Florida  people used expressway, at least natives.. Which there are few.  ( other cities in Florida as well. The Orlando Orange County- now Central Florida expressway authority or the Miami Dade expressway authority)

I think because when the expressway system was built it was tolled, freeway implied a " free" road

[Sykotyk]

For me, to call it an expressway, it has to have very few, if any, lights on it. For instance, I won't count US22 in western PA from I-376 to roughly Blairsville. From Blairsville to US219 near Ebensburg, I'd call it an expressway. It's a freeway east of Ebensburg.

Now, I would call US1 north of the freeway north of the Tobin Bridge in Boston until you reach I-95. For the few lights you have on it (I remember 3 or so), it by far is the most expeditious route north out of the downtown without going I-93.

[hotdogPi]

Now, I would call US1 north of the freeway north of the Tobin Bridge in Boston until you reach I-95. For the few lights you have on it (I remember 3 or so), it by far is the most expeditious route north out of the downtown without going I-93.

Should be only 1 spot with traffic lights.

[froggie]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

This is the engineering definition, which many forum members here use (myself included).  As others have noted, your local vernacular will vary...

[SteveG1988]

So it would be the Atlantic City Freeway?

Expressway does have a bit of a weight to it...it does say that it will take you there faster than the regular roads.

[vtk]

Just because the name of the road ends in Road, Street, Avenue, Boulevard, Parkway, Terrace, Pike, Highway, Expressway, Freeway, Beltway, Bypass, or Gateway, it doesn't mean the road is that thing. It's just the name.

That said, there's general agreement across the country about what a "freeway" is, even if it's named something else or if another word is commonly used to describe that class of road. The engineer's definition of a freeway is the same. An engineer's "expressway" is almost like a freeway, except at-grade intersections with public roads are allowed. These intersections may have traffic signals, too, though this may be less than ideal in most cases. Technically, every freeway is also an expressway – just like every square is also a rectangle – but not vice versa.

When an engineer or a roadgeek or the MUTCD wants to refer to a road that is not an expressway or freeway, the term is "conventional road".

[SSOWorld]

a road is a road is a road is a road is a road is a road is a road is a road is a road.

[PHLBOS]

Now, I would call US1 north of the freeway north of the Tobin Bridge in Boston until you reach I-95. For the few lights you have on it (I remember 3 or so), it by far is the most expeditious route north out of the downtown without going I-93.

Should be only 1 spot with traffic lights.

There is only one traffic light (the jughandle in Peabody between the I-95/MA 128 and the partial I-95 interchanges).

Again, and this was mentioned in another related-thread; US 1 north of MA 60 is not, repeat not a full-blown limited-access freeway.  It's more of an arterial, Jersey-type freeway.

[Ned Weasel]

Simple answer,
Expressway is a controlled access route (no private driveways or direct business entrances) with some at-grade intersections.
Freeway is limited access with no private driveways or at-grade intersections.

This is the engineering definition, which many forum members here use (myself included).  As others have noted, your local vernacular will vary...

I've always gone by the MUTCD definition of "expressway," which simply says, "a divided highway with partial control of access" (US DOT and FHWA, MUTCD, 2009 ed., http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/mutcd2009r1part1.pdf, Section 1A.13).  This definition says nothing about whether the road has private driveways or business entrances, but it does say that it needs to be divided in order to be an expressway (which means Super 2s are typically only a subset of conventional roads).