TYPES OF ROADS

TYPES OF ROADS

Roads have been the oldest mode of transport since ancient times and serve an important role in connecting different parts of a city, state and the entire country.  

CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

Based on whether they can be used during different seasons of the year:

• ALL WEATHER ROADS: as the name suggests these types of roads are built to handle any and all types of weather conditions.
• FAIR WEATHER ROADS: these roads are permissible for all weather conditions in exception to river crossings. At the river crossings these roads are interrupted during monsoon season because of rise in water level hence posing a threat to the vehicles passing by. 

Based on the type of carriage way or the road pavement:

• PAVED ROADS: if the road is equipped with a hard pavement course at the least having a water bound macadam (WBM) layer are called paved roads.
• UNPAVED ROADS: if the road is not provided a hard pavement course or a WBM layer, then those roads are classified as unpaved roads. Earth roads and gravel roads are examples of unpaved roads.

Based on the type of pavement surfacing provided:

• SURFACE ROADS: the roads which are provided with a bituminous layer or cement concrete surface are classified as surface roads. The roads with a bituminous are also called black toped roads.

• UNSURFACED ROADS: the roads which are not equipped with a bituminous layer or cement concrete surface are called unsurfaced roads.

METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

Roads are generally classified on the following basis:

• Traffic volume
• Load transported or tonnage
• Location and type of function served by the road