An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and some other Commonwealth countries) is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''

underpass A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

'' together form a grade separation. Stack interchanges are made up of several overpasses.

History

The world's first railroad flyover was constructed in 1843 by the

London and Croydon Railway The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Origins The Croydon line and other railways Th ...

Norwood Junction railway station Norwood Junction railway station is a National Rail station in South Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon, south London and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is down the line from . The station is managed by London Overground and trains are oper ...

to carry its

atmospheric railway An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating e ...

vehicles over the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

Highway and road

In North American usage, a ''flyover'' is a high-level overpass, built above main overpass lanes, or a bridge built over what had been an at-grade intersection. Traffic engineers usually refer to the latter as a '' grade separation''. A flyover may also be an extra ramp added to an existing interchange, either replacing an existing cloverleaf loop (or being built in place of one) with a higher, faster ramp that eventually bears left, but may be built as a right or left exit. A cloverleaf or partial cloverleaf contains some 270 degree loops, which can slow traffic and can be difficult to construct with multiple lanes. Where all such turns are replaced with flyovers (perhaps with some underpasses) only 90 degree turns are needed, and there may be four or more distinct levels of traffic. Depending upon design, traffic may flow in all directions at or near open road speeds (when not congested). For more examples see

Freeway interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

Pedestrian

pedestrian overpass A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

allows traffic to pass without affecting pedestrian safety.

Railway

Railway overpasses are used to replace

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

s (at-grade crossings) as a safer alternative. Using overpasses allows for unobstructed rail traffic to flow without conflicting with vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

systems use complete grade separation of their

rights of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

to avoid traffic interference with frequent and reliable service. Railroads also use

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

s and

flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is " g ...

s instead of

flat junction A level junction (or in the United Kingdom a flat crossing) is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front of ...

s, as a way to reverse direction and to avoid trains conflicting with those on other tracks.

Gallery

Overpasses in Spain.JPG, Overpasses near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Cumberland Highway.jpg,

Cumberland Highway The Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links the Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/ ...

overpasses a street in Sydney Los Angeles Freeway Interchange.jpg, A high-capacity stack interchange: the

Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange The Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange is a stack interchange near the Athens and Watts communities of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the interchange of the following routes: * * The interchange permits traffic entering the interc ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

SandgateRailOverpass.JPG,

Sandgate Flyover The Sandgate Flyover is a grade-separated railway flyover that carries the Main North line across the Kooragang Island line, located in Sandgate, in the City of Newcastle local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Description Si ...

, New South Wales, where two main railway lines pass over two dedicated coal lines South entrance of Zheng Qi Overpass 20110114.jpg, Zheng Qi overpass,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. Overpass-NYThruway-355.25-c.jpg, New York State Thruway overpass Pedestrian overpass.JPG, Pedestrian overpass,

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. This overpass is located at the

St. Louis Science Center The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of ...

. Sion Panvel Highway Kharghar exit.jpeg, A road sign on

Sion Panvel Highway The Sion Panvel Expressway is a 25 km Indian highway located entirely in the state of Maharashtra, that connects Sion in Mumbai with Panvel, via Navi Mumbai. It is one of the busiest and most important roads in the Mumbai Metropolitan Reg ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

instructing travellers to use flyover for onward journey. Burbank Ave I-5 overpass under construction in Burbank, California.JPG, Overpass under construction over

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

in Burbank, California, July 2021 Athens-Kiffisia-aerial.jpg, Round overpass in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

General Holmes Drive from aircraft window.jpg, Sydney airport taxiway going over a major road.

References