Portal:World Class Roads

What are World Class Roads?

That is what we will endeavor to define here as we move forward.

In later posts and pages we will lay out minimum road standards and define some common road terms. and even give a laymans road report regarding the status of the roadway networks in various regions in the country. There is no doubt that our road networks need some work. Our infrastructure, all around, has been neglected for decades and needs a major upgrade.

Continue to explore the site as it is developed and enjoy as we discover what are world class roads.

World Class Roads

Intelligent Roads

World Class roads are roads that are built to higher standards that allow for less congested, safer roads that allow traffic to move more freely with fewer accidents and at higher speeds. World Class roads include freeways, tollways, major highways and collector routes to supplement the system, all working seamlessly along with intelligent transportation technologies to efficiently monitor and route traffic. This includes Visual Messaging Systems (VMS), Interactive Lane control systems, Variable speed controls that can operate on a per lane basis and respond to congestion. And even Auto-piloting systems where the vehicles drive themselves, Etc.

Better Design Features

It is obvious that we cannot keep building freeways everywhere, so the idea is to find ways to make freeways and highways operate much more efficiently than they do now. This includes better interchanges where tight corners are removed. Traffic signals are removed in favor of other traffic control methods such as roundabouts and flyovers to keep traffic moving. On our most congested corridors a multi-modal system may be the answer where vehicles can be transported at high speeds between major cities taking cars off of congested freeways.

Separate Freight Lanes

Separate freight lanes and Truck bypasses can also help. In California where truck bypasses have already been put to use it keeps truck traffic from having to use the left lanes to merge onto another highway which can cause accidents and traffic jams. My separating them to their own dedicated lanes they no longer have to deal with the issues of cars darting in and out of their way and they also do not obstruct traffic. Dedicated truck lanes have been proposed and studied all over the United States. Throughout the midwest along I-70 and in Texas along the conceptual "Trans-Texas Corridors". Whether these will ever become reality remains to be seen, but with increasing truck traffic on narrow interstates capacity needs to be increased. Even strategically placed truck bypasses at congested interchanges can have a positive impact on traffic flow.