Trunk road
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A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road, usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports and other places, which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic. Many trunk roads have segregated lanes in a dual carriageway, or are of motorway standard.[1]
United Kingdom
Trunk Roads Act 1936 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Trunk Roads Act 1946 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
In the United Kingdom, trunk roads were first defined for Great Britain in the Trunk Roads Act 1936 (
At that time, 4,500 miles (7,200 km) of British roads were classified as trunk roads. Additional roads have been "trunked", notably in the Trunk Roads Act 1946 (
Since 1994, trunk roads in England have been managed by National Highways (formerly Highways England, and before that, Highways Agency), while Scotland has had responsibility for its own trunk roads since 1998; these are currently managed by Transport Scotland, created in 2006. The Welsh Government has had responsibility for trunk roads in Wales since its establishment in 1998.
England has 4,300 miles (6,900 km),[3] Scotland has 1,982 miles (3,190 km) and Wales has 1,048 miles (1,687 km) of trunk roads, inclusive of motorways. National Highways publishes a full network map of trunk roads and motorways in England.
Most interurban trunk roads are
Historically, trunk roads were listed on maps with a "T" in brackets after their number, to distinguish them from non-trunk parts of the same road, however this suffix is no longer included on current Ordnance Survey maps, which simply distinguish between primary and non-primary "A" roads. A trunk road which has been upgraded to motorway standards may retain its original "A" number, but with an "M" in brackets to denote that motorway regulations apply on it. Long distance examples of this are the A1(M) in England, and the A74(M) in Scotland.[1]
De-trunking
It is possible for roads to be "de-trunked" – for example, when superseded by a motorway following a similar route – in which case they normally become ordinary
In England, the government has de-trunked much of the trunk road network since the late 1990s, transferring responsibility to local councils to allow National Highways to concentrate on a selection of core trunk routes, mostly dual carriageways and motorways.
Ireland
In Ireland, major roads were previously classified under an old system as "trunk roads", and had route numbers prefixed by a "T". Connecting roads were classified as 'link roads", and had route numbers prefixed by an "L". Many of these roads had their origins in
Although a number of
The current "L"-prefixed local roads are unrelated to the previous "L"-prefixed link road classification.
De-trunking
Some former trunk roads, or sections of former trunk roads, became non-trunk regional roads under the new road numbering system introduced in the 1970s and 1980s. More recently, sections of former national primary routes which have been bypassed by motorways or other road improvement schemes have been downgraded to regional road status.
United States
Though the term "trunk road" is not commonly used in
Canada
Trunk highways in Canada consist of core routes within its National Highway System.
China
Trunk highways in China consist of China National Highways and Expressways of China.
India
Trunk highways in India consist of
Italy
Trunk highways in Italy consist of
France
Poland
Sweden
The most important roads in Sweden are labelled "national trunk road". In 1982, the parliament decided upon which roads were to become national trunk roads. They are considered recommended main roads for long-distance traffic. They were also supposed to be used for movement and transport of heavy military vehicles, ordnance and logistics and during wartime were to be guarded and defended at all odds.
National trunk roads are planned nationally, as opposed to other roads, which are planned locally. They also have a special, slightly larger budget. However, they are not signed in any special way. Therefore, there is no difference in signage, numbering, road standard or map marking from other national roads. Some national roads are only considered trunk for part of their length.
List of Swedish trunk roads
- E4, Haparanda to Helsingborg
- E6, Trelleborg to Svinesund
- E10, Kiruna to Luleå
- E12, Lycksele to Holmsund
- E14, Storlien to Sundsvall
- E16, Norwegian border to Gävle
- E18, Västerås to Kapellskär
- E20, Malmö to Stockholm
- E22, Trelleborg to Norrköping
- E45, Gothenburg to Karesuando
- E65, Malmö to Ystad
- Riksväg 25 , Halmstad to Kalmar
- Riksväg 26 , Halmstad to Mora[5]
- Riksväg 40 , Gothenburg to Västervik
- Riksväg 50 , Jönköping to Söderhamn[6]
- Riksväg 56 , Gävle to Norrköping
- Riksväg 70 , Enköping to Mora
See also
- Controlled-access highway
- Off-network tactical diversion route
- Post road
References
- ^ a b "Trunk Roads". Sabre. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Department for Transport". www.dft.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2006.
- ^ "Trunk or Strategic Road Network in England 2019". Gov.uk. Highways England. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "The A435 Trunk Road (South of Norton to Arrow) De-Trunking Order 1991". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Nationell vägdatabas (NVDB) [National road database] (Map) (in Swedish). Swedish Transport Administration. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
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