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A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations.
In the context of railways, a road is a single track, which may be part of a multi-track system or may be an isolated line. In the context of sea transport, a road is an anchorage.
In original usage, a "road" was simply fit for riding ("road" is cognate with "ride", e.g.: ships ride at anchor in roads). The word "street" was kept for paved roads that had been prepared to ease travel in some way (thus, many "Roman Roads" have the word "street" in their names whose origin is the Latin strata, given before the usage changed).
However modern usage does not usually make this distinction, and it is only important since place names often hold the earlier usage in them; these days roads are also prepared in some way. This includes, at the least, the removal of trees and smoothing of the ground. In some dialects, lower grade roads are called trails and wheel track s, and it is uncertain where "road" begins and trail ends. Roads are a prerequisite for road transport of goods on wheeled vehicles.
Many historical examples exist of road and road-building. Some of the most famous are the Roman roads and the Incan courier roads. The oldest engineered road yet discovered is the Sweet Track causeway in EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England, dating from the 3800s BC40th century BC 39th century BC 38th century BC other centuries) ( 5th millennium BC 4th millennium BC 3rd millennium BC) Events Construction in England of the Sweet Track, the World's first known engineered roadway. Significant persons Inventions, discov. In ancient times, transport by riverMurray River in Australia Australia A river is a large natural waterway. It is a specific term in the vernacular for large streams, stream being the umbrella term used in the scientific community for all flowing natural waterways. In the vernacular, strea was far easier and faster than travel by road, especially considering the cost of road construction and the difference in carrying capacity between cartNote: A cart may also be short for cartridge particularly in the radio industry, where 8-track cartridges (and later CDs and zip drives) were used. A cart is a vehicle or device using, usually, two wheels for transport. A dray is a heavy transport versions and river bargeNote that "Barge" is the NATO reporting name for the Soviet Tupolev Tu-85 bomber. A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Most barges are non-self-propelled and need to be moved by tugboats towing them os - provided only that the rivers were navigable in the right places; availability of water transport also influenced settlement patterns. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boatA horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking on a special road along the canal, the tow-path. It has been in use, both for public transport and freight from ca. 1630 to ca. External links http://www..
During the industrial revolution, a development of the road was made: the railway. Today, roads are almost exclusively built to enable travel by car and other wheeled vehicles. In most countries, road transport is the most utilized way to move goods. Also, in most developed countries, roads are formally divided into lanes to ensure the safe and smooth movement of traffic.
Roads situated in cities are often, but not always, called streets or alleys; this reflects the historical fact that when they were first named there were more likely to be unmade roads in open country and paved roads in urban areas. This leads to roads being sometimes named from their destination or direction, while streets may be named from their location.