Is it incorrect to call a toll road a "freeway"?

[NE2]

Though the Whitehurst Freeway (also U.S. 29) is definitely not functionally classed as a freeway.

Eh? http://www.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/About+DDOT/Maps/Functional+Classification+Map (PDF)
It's 'other freeway and expressway'. Functional classification makes no distinction between freeways and expressways.

[AsphaltPlanet]

from Google:

free·way 
/ˈfrēˌwā/
Noun
An express highway.
A toll-free highway.
Synonyms
highway - expressway - motorway - speedway

ex·press·way 
/ikˈspresˌwā/
Noun
A highway designed for fast traffic, with controlled entrance and exit, a dividing strip between the traffic in opposite directions, and...
Synonyms
highway - freeway - motorway - speedway


toll·way 
/ˈtōlˌwā/
Noun
A highway for the use of which a charge is made.

[Alps]

am I the only one who calls a road an expressway if, and only if, it has no stops on the mainline?  it can have at-grade intersections, but no traffic signals or stop signs. 

As long as I've been around this community, I still have no idea what a non-freeway expressway is.

No driveways or other private access points.

Signalized intersections are allowed.

At-grade unsignalized intersections are allowed.

Grade-separated interchanges are, of course, allowed, but I have seen expressways that had very few grade-separated interchanges - U.S. 29 (Columbia Pike) in Montgomery and Howard Counties, Maryland once had three grade-separated interchanges, with everything else at-grade (about 15 to 20 signalized intersections in a row).

The "original" interchanges were near the southern end of the expressway section of U.S. 29 at Md. 650 (New Hampshire Avenue); and at the northern end - U.S. 40, and I-70 (U.S. 29 ends just north of I-70 at a signalized intersection with Md. 99).

Va. 286 (the Fairfax County Parkway - former Va. 7100) is a good example of an East Coast expressway with long sections of almost-freeway like driving, but then suddenly (signalized and unsignalized) intersections at-grade.

I'd add the NYC Exception - no parking along the mainline, either. Otherwise 9th Avenue would be an expressway.

[Rick Powell]

No driveways or other private access points.

Not necessarily true in IL and some other states.  There are several Illinois expressways, past and present, that have farm field entrances and private entrances, usually but not always with a median opening and sometimes left and/or right turn lanes for access.  This is usually to accommodate existing property access, and no new entrances are allowed.  In some cases, the private access does not have a median opening and the driver will need to make a right turn out of the drive and go to the next median opening to make a U-turn if they want to go in the opposite direction.

[mgk920]

No driveways or other private access points.

Not necessarily true in IL and some other states.  There are several Illinois expressways, past and present, that have farm field entrances and private entrances, usually but not always with a median opening and sometimes left and/or right turn lanes for access.  This is usually to accommodate existing property access, and no new entrances are allowed.  In some cases, the private access does not have a median opening and the driver will need to make a right turn out of the drive and go to the next median opening to make a U-turn if they want to go in the opposite direction.

Ditto Wisconsin.

Mike

[Alps]

No driveways or other private access points.

Not necessarily true in IL and some other states.  There are several Illinois expressways, past and present, that have farm field entrances and private entrances, usually but not always with a median opening and sometimes left and/or right turn lanes for access.  This is usually to accommodate existing property access, and no new entrances are allowed.  In some cases, the private access does not have a median opening and the driver will need to make a right turn out of the drive and go to the next median opening to make a U-turn if they want to go in the opposite direction.

I feel like Midwestern farm entrances are always ignored in definitions. I've encountered traffic making a left turn onto I-40 from a Texas ranch driveway in the early morning.

[Kacie Jane]

...like Midwestern farm entrances...

...a Texas ranch driveway...

Sorry, this amused me.

[Alps]

...like Midwestern farm entrances...

...a Texas ranch driveway...

Sorry, this amused me.

I've never grown up with Mid-South as a term. It now occurs to me as where Texas is, but Midwest is equally valid. In my mind, Midwest = that flat place with a bunch of farms.

[Brandon]

...like Midwestern farm entrances...

...a Texas ranch driveway...

Sorry, this amused me.

I've never grown up with Mid-South as a term. It now occurs to me as where Texas is, but Midwest is equally valid. In my mind, Midwest = that flat place with a bunch of farms.

"Midwest", to us here in Illinois (and Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, etc) goes as far south as Kansas and Missouri, but not Texas or Oklahoma.  It's more than geography.  It's mannerisms and accents.  Texas is distinctly its own place, and Oklahoma is more South than Midwest to us.

[Anthony_JK]

Though the Whitehurst Freeway (also U.S. 29) is definitely not functionally classed as a freeway.

Eh? http://www.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/About+DDOT/Maps/Functional+Classification+Map (PDF)
It's 'other freeway and expressway'. Functional classification makes no distinction between freeways and expressways.

Really?? I thought that the functional definition of "expressway" allowed for at-grade intersections; while "freeway"/"tollway" directly imply full control of access, with only interchanges and grade seperations.

[NE2]

Really?? I thought that the functional definition of "expressway" allowed for at-grade intersections; while "freeway"/"tollway" directly imply full control of access, with only interchanges and grade seperations.

Functional classification is a specific way of classifying roads that replaced the federal-aid systems in 1991: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/hpms/functionalclass.htm

[Duke87]

"Freeway" describes a type of design rather than a lack of payment at point of use, so no, it is not incorrect to classify a toll road as a "freeway". That said, when speaking I would probably refer to such a road as a "toll road" or "turnpike" since it's less confusion-inducing.

Point is, it's not a different type of road just because it's tolled. If you ask "how many freeway miles are in such and such area", toll road mileage would be included in the answer.

[jeffandnicole]

from Google:

free·way 
/ˈfrēˌwā/
Noun
An express highway.
A toll-free highway.
Synonyms
highway - expressway - motorway - speedway

ex·press·way 
/ikˈspresˌwā/
Noun
A highway designed for fast traffic, with controlled entrance and exit, a dividing strip between the traffic in opposite directions, and...
Synonyms
highway - freeway - motorway - speedway


toll·way 
/ˈtōlˌwā/
Noun
A highway for the use of which a charge is made.

I see 2 of the 3 definitions quoted above are incorrect.

And I would argue the 3rd definition is grammatically incorrect.

[Roadsguy]

from Google

Exactly.

[empirestate]

Well, there are many people who do use "freeway" to refer to a free facility as distinct from a toll road. So while they themselves may arguably be incorrect in their usage, it is quite correct for a dictionary to report on that usage and include that definition. Dictionaries describe words as they are used, not as they should be used.

At the same time, of course–yes, the online dictionaries that appear from a search aren't often the best-written.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Ok, from Websters Dictionary:

free·way
noun \ˈfrē-ˌwā\
Definition of FREEWAY
1
: an expressway with fully controlled access
2
: a highway without toll fees

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeway


Expressway:

Definition of EXPRESSWAY
: a high-speed divided highway for through traffic with access partially or fully controlled

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expressway?show=0&t=1367247456


toll·way
noun \-ˌwā\
Definition of TOLLWAY
: turnpike 2a(1)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tollway

[A.J. Bertin]

I was just about to post Webster's definitions of the terms freeway and expressway, but AsphaltPlanet beat me to it. Thanks for posting those!

I have to say that the second definition of freeway seems to be too broad. The term highway generally incorporates all road-design types: freeways, expressways, and 2-lane roads, and usually implies long distance. According to Webster, though, a highway is "a public way; especially, a main direct road." That also seems to be too broad because it doesn't imply travel between cities/towns of any significant distance.

Personally, I like the idea of the term expressway having two definitions: 1) an urban freeway (as they often say out East), and 2) a partially-controlled, high-speed road that may have occasional at-grade intersections. I also had a thought though... all the named freeways in Chicago are referred to as "expressways": Kennedy Expressway, Stevenson Expressway, Eisenhower Expressway, Dan Ryan Expressway, and so on. (It's not just an Eastern U.S. thing.) Two types of expressways definitely exist.

We've definitely veered off from the original topic, but this is good discussion.

[empirestate]

As to urban vs. rural highways, particularly in the East, don't forget that an early term for rural, intercity facilities was "superhighway". By happenstance, the term was usually applied to toll roads, but not exclusively so. It was common during the turnpike/Thruway boom, but hung around long enough to apply to free roads like the Adirondack Northway (I-87).

[myosh_tino]

Regional differences in terminology are quite interesting. If the Eastern U.S. calls their freeways "expressways", that's cool I s'pose, since it sounds like actual expressways are pretty rare there and because that's what they are used to saying. In the Midwest, however, where expressways and freeways are two separate and distinct highway types, we need to have two separate words to describe them.

On the other hand, someone made a distinction of rural vs. urban, where:

Rural limited-access highways = "freeways"
Urban limited-access highways = "expressways"

This is not the case in California.

All controlled-access highways are considered freeways.  Expressways are, for the most part, limited access but can have at-grade intersections.  A good illustration of the difference between the two road types can be found in Santa Clara County.  The county has a network of high-speed roads with speed limits of 45-50 MPH that have interchanges, at-grade signalized intersections and the occasional private driveway.  All of these roads are called expressways (Lawrence Expressway, Capitol Expressway, Montague Expressway, etc) and are maintained by the county but patrolled by the California Highway Patrol.  For the most part, all county expressways are assigned a county route number and signed with the yellow-on-blue shields.

[A.J. Bertin]

Regional differences in terminology are quite interesting. If the Eastern U.S. calls their freeways "expressways", that's cool I s'pose, since it sounds like actual expressways are pretty rare there and because that's what they are used to saying. In the Midwest, however, where expressways and freeways are two separate and distinct highway types, we need to have two separate words to describe them.

On the other hand, someone made a distinction of rural vs. urban, where:

Rural limited-access highways = "freeways"
Urban limited-access highways = "expressways"

This is not the case in California.

All controlled-access highways are considered freeways.  Expressways are, for the most part, limited access but can have at-grade intersections.  A good illustration of the difference between the two road types can be found in Santa Clara County.  The county has a network of high-speed roads with speed limits of 45-50 MPH that have interchanges, at-grade signalized intersections and the occasional private driveway.  All of these roads are called expressways (Lawrence Expressway, Capitol Expressway, Montague Expressway, etc) and are maintained by the county but patrolled by the California Highway Patrol.  For the most part, all county expressways are assigned a county route number and signed with the yellow-on-blue shields.

Yep... this is a perfect example of the second type of expressway that I described above: "a partially-controlled, high-speed road that may have occasional at-grade intersections."

[realjd]

No love for "turnpike"?

[myosh_tino]

No love for "turnpike"?

When I was little, I thought all toll roads were called Turnpikes and everything else was a Freeway.

[kphoger]

My working definitions:

Freeway:  Fully controlled access, divided highway, in urban settings; or almost fully controlled access in rural settings (those cross roads in West Texas don't make me stop calling the highway a freeway).

Expressway:  Only used in urban settings.  Urban freeways could be called expressways, but so could four-lane arterials that are designed to carry higher-than-usual speed limits by means of fewer intersections.

I have no idea what to call two-lane highways that are fully or mostly access-controlled.

[vdeane]

We usually use super-2.  I think super-4 refers to a four lane, undivided freeway.

[kphoger]

We usually use super-2.  I think super-4 refers to a four lane, undivided freeway.

Except I've been on highways called "super-2" that had driveways and crossroads.