A road is a thoroughfare for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, whose primary function is to serve as public spaces, the main function of roads is transportation.
There have been routes and trackways in Ireland connecting settlements and facilitating trade since ancient times and the country now has an extensive network of public roads connecting all parts of the country.
The first routes in Ireland were prehistoric trackways, some of which were later developed into roads suited for wheeled vehicles. Many of Ireland's minor roads "may well have had their origin in pre-existing paths and trackways aligned in direct response to the physical environment". Traces of these "evolved roads" which developed over very long periods, frequently from tracks of the prehistoric period, are still evident. Such roads usually followed the tops of ridges and crossed rivers and streams at fording points.
Image 4The Great North Road near Highgate on the approach to London before turnpiking. The highway was deeply rutted and spread onto adjoining land. (from History of road transport)
Image 8Car fatalities per pax-km vs. car usage per pax-day; in Europe. It seems, at least in these European countries, that car fatalities per person-km have no strong correlation with massification of car usage. The average car usage in these countries is around 30km per person-day with varying number of fatalities ratios. These differences might be related with different cultural approaches to traffic codes, or more safety measures implemented on such countries. (from Road traffic safety)
Image 9The Dutch Reach - Use far hand on handle when opening to avoid dooring cyclists or injuries to exiting drivers and passengers. (from Road traffic safety)
Image 10Replacing the old road with cobblestones of cement in Bo'ao Road area, Haikou City, Hainan, China. (from Roadworks)
Image 11Jan Brueghel (I) - Travellers on the Way, second half of 16th Century (from History of road transport)
Image 15John Metcalf, also known as Blind Jack of Knaresborough. Drawn by J R Smith in The Life of John Metcalf published 1801. (from History of road transport)
Image 16German roadworks sign. Similar signs are used in other European countries. (from Roadworks)
Image 18According to Eurostat, there is almost a linear proportion between the total number of passenger-km driven by car and road fatalities. (from Road traffic safety)
Image 24Polymer cement overlaying to change asphalt pavement to brick texture and color to create decorative crosswalk (from Road surface)
Image 25Replacing the old road with concrete blocks in Bo'ao Road area, Haikou City, Hainan, China (from Road surface)
Image 26A patched road rut at a PortlandOregon bus stop. During the summer this part of the road will be hot and combined with a bus’s high ground pressure will compress and deform part of the road. Due to the lower elevation from the driveway, a large portion of the buses weight leans on one wheel causing damage to the road. Despite the repairs, you can see the patch is already damaged. This is all happens yearly. (from Road surface)
Image 29Vehicles experiencing a breakdown or an emergency can stop in the emergency lane; these lanes may themselves present risks to traffic. (from Road traffic safety)
Image 31According to Eurostat and European Railway Agency, in European railway mode of transport, there is a fatality risk for passengers and occupants 28 times lower compared with car usage. Based on data by EU-27 member nations, 2008–2010. (from Road traffic safety)
Image 33The schedule of maximum tolls allowed on the Woodstock to Rollright Turnpike Trust on the Great Road to Worcester in 1751 (from History of road transport)
Image 35Sacrifices to the Modern Moloch, a 1923 cartoon published in St. Louis Star, criticizing the apparent acceptance by society of increasing automobile-related fatalities (from Road traffic safety)
Image 39Different layers of road including asphalt layer. The total thickness of a pavement can be measured using granular base equivalency (from Road surface)
Image 40Closeup of asphalt on a driveway (from Road surface)
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Interchange in Dubai, United Arab Emirates where Al Quta'eyat Road and Zabeel Road meet adjacent to Zabeel Park (on the left in the picture) next to the neighborhoods of Zabeel (at the bottom), Karama (in the upper left), and Oud Metha (in the upper right). Credit: Imre Solt
Improve: You may always improve the quality of road articles by adding more information and references to enhance the overall readers' experience. Improvements to GA and FA quality is much appreciated! Also, nominations for Selected article and Selected picture are always needed, as with Did you know and News. Add to the Portal
Photo request: Just about all of them! Any pictures of Highways regions, road surface or infrastruture varieties or Highways would be useful. In particular we need Highways region maps that can be licensed for Wikipedia.
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