A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel; though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.

The term was also commonly used to refer to roadsteads, waterways that lent themselves to use by shipping. Notable examples being Hampton Roads, in Virginia, and Castle Roads, in Bermuda (also formerly in Virginia).Fact: date=February 2008

In urban areas roads may pass through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a dual function as urban space easement and route. Economics and society depend heavily on efficient roads. In the European Union (EU) 44% of all goods are moved by trucks over roads and 85% of all persons are transported by cars, buses or coaches on roads.

The United States has the largest network of roadways of any country with 6,430,366 km (2005). India has the second largest road system in the world with 3,383,344 km (2002). People's Republic of China is third with 1,870,661 km of roadway (2004). When looking only at expressways the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) in People's Republic of China has a total length of 45,000 km at the end of 2006, second only to the United States with 90,000 km in 2005.

History

Historical road construction dating to 4000 BC

• Stone paved streets are found in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC

• Corduroy roads (log roads) are found dating to 4,000 BC in Glastonbury, England

• The timber trackway; Sweet Track causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered and the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe. Built in winter 3807 BC or spring 3806 BC, tree-ring dating (Dendrochronology) enabled very precise dating. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world.