Highway - Statistics

Statistics

The United States has the world's largest network of highways, including both the Interstate Highway System and the U.S. Highway System. At least one of these networks is present in every state and they interconnect most major cities.

China's highway network is the second most extensive in the world, with a total length of about 3.573 million km. China's expressway network is the longest Expressway system in the world, and it is quickly expanding, stretching some 85,000 km at the end of 2011. In 2008 alone, 6,433 km expressways were added to the network.

• Longest international highway: the Pan-American Highway, which connects many countries in the Americas, is nearly 25,000 kilometres (15,534 mi) long as of 2005. The Pan-American Highway is discontinuous because there is a significant gap in it in southeastern Panama, where the rainfall is immense and the terrain is entirely unsuitable for highway construction.

• Longest national highway (point to point): The Trans-Canada Highway is 7,821 km (4,860 mi) long as of 2006. The T.C.H. runs east-west across southern Canada, the populated portion of the country, and it connects many of the major urban centres along its route crossing almost all of the provinces, and reaching almost all of the capital cities. The T.C.H. begins on the east coast in Newfoundland, traverses that island, and crosses to the mainland by ferry. It reaches most of the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada, and a side route using ferries traverses the province of Prince Edward Island. After crossing the two most populous provinces of Quebec and Ontario, the T.C.H. continues westward across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. After reaching Vancouver, B.C., on the Pacific Coast, there is a ferry route west to Vancouver Island and the provincial capital city of Victoria, B.C.

• Longest national highway (circuit): Australia's Highway 1 at over 20,000 km (12,000 mi). It runs almost the entire way around the continent's coastline. With the exception of the Federal Capital of Canberra, which is far inland, Highway 1 links all of Australia's capital cities, although Brisbane and Darwin are not directly connected, but rather are bypassed short distances away. Also, there is a ferry connection to the island state of Tasmania, and then a stretch of Highway 1 that links the major towns and cities of Tasmania, including Launceston and Hobart (this state’s capital city).

• Largest national highway system: The United States of America has approximately 6,430,366 kilometres (3,995,644 mi) of highway within its borders as of 2008.

• Busiest highway: Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada, has volumes surpassing an average of 500,000 vehicles per day in some sections of Toronto as of 2006.

• Widest highway (maximum number of lanes): The Katy Freeway (part of Interstate 10) in Houston, Texas, has a total of 26 lanes in some sections as of 2007. However, they are divided up into general use/ frontage roads/ HOV lanes, restricting the traverse traffic flow.

• Widest highway (maximum number of through lanes): Interstate 5 along a 2-mile section between Interstate 805 and California State Route 56 in San Diego, California, which was completed in April 2007, is 22 lanes wide.

• Highest international highway: The Karakoram Highway, between Pakistan and China, is at an altitude of 4,693 m/15,397 ft.