An expressway is a wide highway designed for fast travel between cities or across long distances. Unlike regular streets with traffic lights and stop signs every few blocks, expressways let drivers travel at higher speeds without interruptions. Cars enter and exit through special ramps rather than turning at intersections.

Expressways have multiple lanes going in each direction, usually separated by a concrete barrier or grass median. You might hear them called freeways or highways depending on where you live. The term expressway emphasizes their purpose: to help people travel quickly and efficiently, moving traffic through an area without constant stops.

Most expressways ban pedestrians, bicycles, and slow-moving vehicles. Speed limits typically range from 55 to 75 miles per hour. This makes expressways useful for long trips but means drivers must stay alert and follow rules carefully, since everyone around them is moving fast too.

When your family takes a road trip to visit relatives three hours away, you'll probably spend most of that journey on an expressway. The smooth, uninterrupted flow lets you cover far more distance than you could driving through towns and neighborhoods where you'd need to stop every few minutes.