A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places that has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by foot or some form of conveyance, including a motor vehicle, cart, bicycle, or horse.
Roads consist of one or two roadways (British English: carriageways), each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks (British English: pavement) and road verges.that are available for use by the public may be referred to as parkways, avenues, freeways, interstates, highways, or primary, secondary, and tertiary local roads.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as “a line of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels, “which includes” bridges, tunnels, supporting structures, junctions, crossings, interchanges, and toll roads, but not cycle paths.”
In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a dual function as urban space easement and route.Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel. Historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.
The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted; in many cases animals do not follow constant paths.Others believe that some roads originated from following animal trails. The Icknield Way is given as an example of this type of road origination, where man and animal both selected the same natural line. By about 10,000 BC, rough roads/pathways were used by human travelers.
The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway; there is no formal definition for a highway in the relevant Act. A 1984 ruling said “the land over which a public right of way exists is known as a highway; and although most highways have been made up into roads, and most easements of way exist over footpaths, the presence or absence of a made road has nothing to do with the distinction.