thumb|The St. Gotthard Pass road with hairpin turns in the Swiss Alps

A road is an identifiable route, way or path between 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).

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. 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. thumb|Interstate 80, the second-longest U.S. Interstate highway, runs from California to New Jersey thumb|Castle Roads, in Bermuda. An example of the maritime application of the word roads. The United States has the largest network of roadways of any country with (2005). The Republic of India has the second largest road system in the world with (2002). People's Republic of China is third with 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 at the end of 2006, second only to the United States with in 2005.

Historical road construction

right|thumb|A Greek street from the 3rd to 4th century BC in Velia, Italy. The Porta Rosa was the main street of Elea. It is paved with limestone blocks, with a gutter for the drainage of rain water. Main: History of road transport That the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted, arguing that 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 pathways were used by human travelers.

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