Limited-access highway

A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway (freeway or motorway), including limited or no access to adjacent property, some degree of separation of opposing traffic flow, use of grade separated interchanges to some extent, prohibition of some modes of transport such as bicycles or horses, and very few or no intersecting cross-streets. The degree of isolation from local traffic allowed varies between countries and regions. The precise definition of these terms varies by jurisdiction.

The first implementation of limited-access roadways in the United States was the Bronx River Parkway in New York, in 1907. The New York State Parkway System was constructed as a network of high-speed roads in and around New York City. The first limited access highway built is thought to be the privately built Long Island Motor Parkway in Long Island, New York. The Southern State Parkway opened in 1927, while the Long Island Motor Parkway was closed in 1937 and replaced by the Northern State Parkway (opened in 1931) and the contiguous Grand Central Parkway (opened in 1936).

The concept evolved into uninterrupted arterial roads that are commonly known as expressways in some parts of the world and by other names including motorway and autobahn in others.

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