
The local–express lane system is an arrangement of
carriageway
A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is 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 traffic lane ...
s within a major
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
where long distance traffic can use inner express
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
interchanges compared to local traffic which use outer local lanes that have access to all interchanges. This can also be called a collector/distributor lane system 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 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, where
highway ramps between express and local 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.
Some places may have only three carriageways on the highway instead of four, utilizing one directional express lanes. They may be permanent, or they can be reversible express lanes such as in Seattle where they alternate direction.
While a local–express system and a collector/distributor system are used interchangeably, some transportation departments make a distinction between the two. In a ''local–express system'', the inner lanes are called express lanes whereas the outer lanes are called local lanes. In a ''collector/distributor system'', the inner lanes are called mainlines while the outer lanes are called collector/distributor lanes. Generally speaking, a local–express system will have the extra outer lanes present for a long duration of the highway, as opposed to a collector/distributor system where the extra outer lanes are only present at an interchange.
Examples
The following examples include both local–express and collector/distributor lane systems.
Canada
United States
Other countries
Gallery
File:Acceso Norte y calle Melo hacia el noroeste.jpg, North Access freeway over National Route 9 (Argentina). 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:The Basketweave.svg, Local and express lanes can be connected using a basketweave.
File:Highway 401 The Basketweave Aerial.jpg, Basketweave on 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 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
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 Controlled-access highway, motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 road (England), A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25 motorway, M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports a ...
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 east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, showing separated local and express lanes
File:Leningradsky Prospekt at night 2.jpg, Express and local lanes of Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
File:M-30 (Madrid, Spain) 03.jpg, Express and local lanes, M-30 circular highway in Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, east section
File:Interstate 270.jpg, Local–express lanes on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...
File:A1motorwayNoviSadCenter.jpg, A1 motorway through Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
, Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
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 highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...
split into local and express lanes in Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. 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 2020 Uni ...
File:Zhongshan Freeway at Taishan District, New Taipei 20180418a.jpg, Freeway 1 in Taishan District, New Taipei
New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...
showing the Ground Level and Elevated lanes
Example of cloverleaf interchanges
A cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), 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 passe ...
may have collector/distributor lane system 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
See also
* Frontage road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Local-express lanes
Road traffic management
Types of roads