Road Types and Classifications in Spain

Posted on Feb 7, 2025 in Civil Engineering, Transportation, and Urban Services

Road Types and Classifications

Urban vs. Interurban Roads

Roads can be classified by their location and traffic characteristics:

  • Urban Roads: Characterized by diverse traffic composition (light vehicles and pedestrians), frequent intersections, short routes, and access to buildings.
  • Interurban Roads: Primarily composed of light vehicles and heavy vehicles (PSA2), distant intersections, long routes, and access to adjacent terrain (Reduced-Flow Series).

Administrative Classification

Roads are also classified based on the administrative body responsible for them:

  • State Network: Roads of general interest, affecting more than one autonomous community (CCAA).
  • Autonomous Network: Includes regional backbone networks (mission-critical) and secondary local area networks (LANs).
  • Provincial Network: Subdivisions of autonomous networks, managed by councils and town halls.
  • Local Network: Dependent on municipalities (Ayuntamientos).
  • Other Networks: Managed by organizations like IRIDA, ICONA, Ministry of Defense, and other autonomous bodies.

Characteristics of Interurban Roads

  • Major Roads Network: Includes state-interest roads and the main autonomous network. Connects communities and major cities, handles long-distance traffic, has reduced accessibility, and features links and intersections.
  • Secondary Roads: Includes provincial and regional networks. Connects regional communication centers, handles increasing long-distance traffic, has poor accessibility, and is regulated through intersections and links.
  • Collector-Distributor Roads: Connects to or from streets, usually allows access to adjacent buildings, has at-grade intersections, and may have regulatory systems at intersections and mid-street.
  • Local Roads: Handles a high volume of vehicles not originating from or destined for the street, has high accessibility to buildings, features at-grade intersections, and has few regulatory systems.

Roads Act and General Regulations

Roads are defined as public domain and use ways, designed and built primarily for vehicle movement.

Based on their characteristics, roads are classified as:

  • Highways (Autopistas): Specially designed, built, and marked for exclusive automobile traffic. Key characteristics include:
    • No access to adjacent properties.
    • No at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or tram lines.
    • Separate roadways for each direction of traffic, separated by a median (except in special or temporary cases).
  • Dual Carriageways (Autovías): Roads that do not meet all highway requirements but have separate lanes for each direction and limited access to adjacent properties. No at-grade crossings.
  • Express Roads (Vía Rápida): Roads with a single carriageway and total access limitation to adjacent properties. No at-grade crossings.
  • Conventional Roads: Roads that do not meet the characteristics of highways, dual carriageways, or express roads.

Considerations

The following are *not* considered roads:

  • Service roads built as auxiliaries or complements to specific activities.
  • Roads built by private individuals for purposes analogous to service roads.

State highways are integrated into itineraries of general interest. Routes are considered of general interest if they meet any of the following criteria:

  • Part of major international traffic routes (including those in relevant agreements).
  • Provide access to a port or airport of general interest.
  • Provide access to a border crossing.
  • Link Autonomous Communities (CCAA), connecting major population centers to form a continuous network that regularly supports long-distance traffic.
  • Whose function in the transport system affects more than one CCAA.