The local–express lane system is an arrangement of

carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traf ...

s within a major

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

where long distance traffic can use

lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads ( highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...

s with fewer

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

s compared to local traffic which use 'local' or 'collector' lanes that have access to all interchanges. This can also be called a collector–distributor lane within a single interchange. One of the longest examples is

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access 400-series high ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, where

highway ramp 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, usi ...

s between express and local/collector lanes cross over one another; these are commonly known as braided ramps.State Route 180 Braided Ramps Project
Dot.ca.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-16. Given the considerable overall width of this design, new suburban freeways are often designed with interchanges spaced far enough apart to avoid the need for parallel roadways. This concept is different from

express toll lanes A high-occupancy toll lane (or HOT lane) is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a variable fee that is adjusted in response ...

Examples

The following examples include both local–express lanes and collector–distributor lanes.

Canada

United States

Other countries

Gallery

File:Acceso Norte y calle Melo hacia el noroeste.jpg, North Access freeway over

National Route 9 (Argentina) National Route 9 (in Spanish, ''Ruta Nacional 9'') is a major road in Argentina, which runs from the center-east to the northwest of the country, crossing the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta a ...

. The express lanes (left, all vehicles) and local lanes (right, cars and buses only) seen in the view towards the north. File:Ruta Panamericana Buenos Aires Florida.jpg, A view of North Access's Freeway at Buenos Aires, Argentina from the bridge on Pres H.Yrigoyen street at Florida, Buenos Aires, Argentina. File:Merter.jpg, Local lanes in in Merter,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

File:The Basketweave.svg, Local and express lanes can be connected using a basketweave. File:Highway 401 The Basketweave Aerial.jpg, Basketweave on

File:Highway 401.png, 'The Transfer' on Highway 401 near Toronto Pearson Airport (top of image). File:Highway 401 transfer.jpg, Express to collector transfer on Highway 401 File:401atMcCowan.JPG, Collector–express roadway configuration on Highway 401 File:M20westCobtree.jpg,

M20 motorway The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long. Although not signposted in England, ...

near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, showing separated local express lanes File:Leningradsky Prospekt at night 2.jpg, Express and local lanes of Leningradsky Prospekt in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

File:M-30 (Madrid, Spain) 03.jpg, Express and local lanes, M-30 circular highway in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, east section File:Interstate 270.jpg, Local–express lanes on Interstate 270 in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

File:A1motorwayNoviSadCenter.jpg, A1 motorway through

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

File:2020-07-16 11 01 28 View south along New Jersey State Route 444 (Garden State Parkway) at Exit 124 (Main Street) in Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey.jpg,

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

split into local and express lanes in

Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United S ...

Example of cloverleaf interchanges

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

may have collector–distributor lanes on a freeway or expressway to handle entering and exiting traffic. Usually, this lane will begin as an entrance-only ramp initially, but it will sometimes become a main lane or possibly an exit-only lane. The purpose of this lane is to facilitate traffic to the freeway exits and from the freeway entrances. File:I-10 at Garfield Avenue.jpg File:US 131, M-6, 68th St interchange.jpg File:Cloverleaf interchange.png File:Cloverleaf.jpg

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Local-express lanes Road traffic management Types of roads