in England was built in a series of tunnels to save space and avoid physically separating the city's centre from its suburbs. , Ahmedabad Most orbital motorways (or beltways) are purpose-built major highways around a town or city, typically without either signals or road or railroad crossings. In the United States, beltways are commonly parts of the Interstate Highway System. Similar roads in the United Kingdom are often called "orbital motorways". Although the terms "ring road" and "orbital motorway" are sometimes used interchangeably, "ring road" often indicates a circumferential route formed from one or more existing roads within a city or town, with the standard of road being anything from an ordinary city street up to motorway level. An excellent example of this is London's North Circular/South Circular ring roads, which are largely made up of (mainly congested) ordinary city streets. In some cases, a circumferential route is formed by the combination of a major through highway and a similar-quality loop route that extends out from the parent road, later reconnecting with the same highway. Such loops not only function as a
bypass for through traffic, but also to serve outlying
suburbs. In the United States, an Interstate highway loop is usually designated by a three-digit number beginning with an even digit before the two-digit number of its parent interstate. Interstate spurs, on the other hand, generally have three-digit numbers beginning with an odd digit.
United States around
Washington, DC Within the United States, even numbered three digit interstate highways act a circumferential route of the two digit parent interstate. Some instances (such as
Interstate 495, DC) completely circle, while some (such as
Interstate 495, MA) partially loop, either due to geographical or cancelled/non-completed highways. Within cities, ring roads sometimes have local nicknames; these include
Washington DC's Interstate 495 (The "Capital Beltway"),
Interstate 270 in
Columbus, Ohio (The "Outerbelt"), and
Interstate 285 in
Atlanta (The "Perimeter"). The longest complete beltway in the United States is the
Charles W. Anderson Loop, a loop in
Texas that forms a complete loop around the
Greater San Antonio area. The longest complete belt road, or a beltway that is only two lanes, in the United States is
Hawaii Belt Road, a belt in
Hawaii that forms a complete belt road around
Hawaii Island. Other major U.S. cities with such a beltway superhighway: •
Atlanta, Georgia—
Interstate 285 (the Perimeter) •
Athens, Georgia—
Georgia State Route 10 Loop/Athens Perimeter •
Augusta, Georgia/
North Augusta, South Carolina—
Interstate 520, and
Interstate 20 •
Baltimore—
Interstate 695 formerly including the
Francis Scott Key Bridge •
Boston—
Route 128/
Interstate 95 and
Interstate 93/
U.S. Route 1 form an inner beltway, and Interstate 495 (Massachusetts) forms an outer beltway. Inside the inner Route 128/I-95 and I-95/US 1 beltway, there were proposals (sinced canceled) for another beltway (at the time called the "Inner Belt" that would have carried
Interstate 695; I-95 would have entered Boston via the
Southwest Corridor (Since redeveloped as part of the
Northeast Corridor Mile Posts 217.3-228.7), while the rest of the belt would have carried Interstate 695. •
Birmingham, Alabama—
Interstate 459 and proposed/under construction
Interstate 422 •
Charlotte, North Carolina—
Interstate 485, and
Interstate 277 •
Cincinnati—
Interstate 275 •
Cleveland—
Interstate 271 and
Interstate 480 •
Columbia, South Carolina—
Interstate 26,
Interstate 77, and
Interstate 20 •
Columbus, Ohio—
Interstate 270 •
Dallas—
Downtown Circulator,
Interstate 20/
Interstate 635/
Loop 12/
Spur 408, and
President George Bush Turnpike •
Denver—(Partial)
Colorado State Highway 470 and
E-470 •
Des Moines, Iowa-
Interstate 35/
Interstate 80,
U.S. Route 69,
Iowa Highway 5 •
Detroit—
Interstate 275 and
Interstate 696 •
Dothan, Alabama—
Ross Clark Circle;
U.S. Route 231,
U.S. Route 431,
U.S. Route 84, and
Alabama State Route 210 •
El Paso, Texas—
Loop 375 •
Fort Wayne, Indiana—
Interstate 69 and
Interstate 469 •
Fort Worth, Texas—
Interstate 20/
Interstate 820 •
Greensboro, North Carolina—
Interstate 85,
Interstate 840,
Interstate 73 •
Hawaii Island—
Hawaii Belt Road •
Houston—
Interstate 610,
Beltway 8, and the
Grand Parkway. •
Indianapolis—
Interstate 465 •
Jacksonville, Florida—
Interstate 295 •
Kansas City, Kansas/
Kansas City, Missouri—
Interstate 435 •
Lansing, Michigan—
Interstate 96,
Interstate 69,
U.S Route 127 and
Interstate 496 •
Las Vegas—
Interstate 215 •
Lexington—
KY-4 •
Louisville—
Interstate 264,
Interstate 265 •
Lubbock, Texas—
Loop 289 •
Memphis, Tennessee—
Interstate 240 and
Interstate 40 (Inner Beltway);
Interstate 269 (Outer Beltway) •
Minneapolis/
Saint Paul, Minnesota—
Interstate 94,
Interstate 494, and
Interstate 694 •
Nashville, Tennessee—Downtown Loop (
Interstate 24,
Interstate 40, and
Interstate 65),
Interstate 440, and
Briley Parkway •
Oklahoma City—
Interstate 44,
Kickapoo Turnpike,
Interstate 40,
Interstate 240,
OK-152 and
John Kilpatrick Turnpike •
New York City—
Interstate 287 •
Norfolk, Virginia/
Hampton Roads—
Hampton Roads Beltway;
Interstate 64 and
Interstate 664 •
Philadelphia—
Interstate 476,
Interstate 276 and
Interstate 95 around Philadelphia •
Philadelphia/
Camden—
Interstate 676 and
Interstate 76 around Center City and Camden •
Philadelphia/
Camden/
Wilmington—
Interstate 95 in PA/
DE and
Interstate 295 •
Phoenix, Arizona—
Arizona State Route 101 and
Arizona State Route 202 •
Pittsburgh—
Interstate 79, the mainline
Pennsylvania Turnpike and the
Allegheny County belt system. (all
de facto or, in the case of the latter, largely on surface streets) The
Southern Beltway, which is currently under construction, will serve as a true beltway. •
Portland, Oregon—
Interstate 405 and
Interstate 205 •
Providence, Rhode Island—
Rhode Island Route 10 serves as a partial inner beltway, while
Interstate 295 serves as a partial beltway to the west of Providence. Two different proposals (both since canceled) would have completed the outer I-295 beltway; the unbuilt sections were going to be designated
Interstate 895. •
Raleigh, North Carolina—
Interstate 540/North Carolina State Route 540 (Raleigh Outer Loop) and
Interstate 440 (Raleigh Beltline) •
Richmond/
Petersburg, Virginia—
Interstate 295 •
Sacramento—
Interstate 80,
U.S. Route 50,
Capital City Freeway •
Saint Louis, Missouri—
Interstate 255 and
Interstate 270 •
Salt Lake City—
Interstate 215 •
San Antonio—
Downtown Circulator,
Interstate 410, and
Loop 1604 •
San Diego—
California State Route 54,
California State Route 125,
California State Route 52 •
San Francisco Bay Area—
Interstate 280 and
Interstate 680 •
Scranton, Pennsylvania—
Interstate 81 and
Interstate 476 •
Toledo, Ohio—
Interstate 475 (Ohio),
Interstate 75, The
Ohio Turnpike and
Interstate 280 There are other U.S. superhighway beltway systems that consist of multiple routes that require multiple interchanges and thus do not provide true ring routes. Two designated examples are the
Capital Beltway around
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania using
Interstate 81,
Interstate 83, and
Pennsylvania Route 581 and "The Bypass" around
South Bend, Indiana using
Interstate 80,
Interstate 90,
U.S. Route 31, and
Indiana State Road 331.
Canada Edmonton, Alberta, has two ring roads. The first is a loose conglomeration of four major
arterial roads with an average distance of from the downtown core.
Yellowhead Trail forms the northern section,
Wayne Gretzky Drive/75 Street forms the eastern section,
Whitemud Drive forms the southern and longest section, and
170 Street forms the western and shortest section. Whitemud Drive is the only section that is a true
controlled-access highway, while Yellowhead Trail and Wayne Gretzky Drive have interchanges and intersections and are therefore both
limited-access roads. Yellowhead Trail is currently being upgraded to full freeway standards. 170 Street and 75 Street are merely large arterial roads with intersections only. The second and more prominent ring road is named
Anthony Henday Drive; it circles the city at an average distance of from the downtown core. It is a freeway for its entire length, and was built to reduce inner-city traffic congestion, created a bypass of Yellowhead Trail, and has improved the movement of goods and services across Edmonton and the surrounding areas. It was completed in October 2016 as the first free-flowing orbital road in Canada.
Stoney Trail is a ring road that circles the city of
Calgary, Alberta, for an entire length of .
Winnipeg, Manitoba, has a ring road which is called the
Perimeter Highway. It is designated as
Manitoba Highway 101 on the north, northwest and east sides and as
Manitoba Highway 100 on the south and southwest sides. The majority of it is a four-lane divided
expressway. It has a second ring road, planned since the 1950s and not yet completed, called the Suburban Beltway. It consists of several roads—
Lagimodière Boulevard,
Abinojii Mikanah, the Fort Garry Bridge, the Moray Bridge,
William R Clement Parkway,
Chief Peguis Trail and the
Kildonan Bridge.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has a ring road named Circle Drive. It is cosigned as
Saskatchewan Highway 16 and
Saskatchewan Highway 11 along the whole route since the 2013 opening of Circle Drive South.
Regina, Saskatchewan has a partial ring road that is named
Ring Road; however, due to the city's urban growth since the road was originally constructed, it no longer functions as a true ring road and has instead come to be used partially for local arterial traffic. The
Regina Bypass, a new partial ring road, has replaced it, although Ring Road must still be used in the northeast quadrant of the city.
Hamilton, Ontario, has the
Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway,
Highway 403 and the
Red Hill Valley Parkway which form a ring on three sides.
Sudbury, Ontario, has a partial ring road consisting of the
Southwest and Southeast Bypasses segment of
Highway 17, and the Northwest Bypass segment of
Highway 144. An unofficial northeast "bypass" route can also be completed on city arterial roads that largely bypass the urban core of the city, but are not fully controlled-access and must be shared with local traffic in the
Nickel Centre and
Rayside-Balfour districts of the city.
Europe , the ring road of
Rome, Italy Most major cities in Europe are served by a ring road that circles either the inner core of their metropolitan areas or the outer borders of the city proper or both. In major transit hubs, such as the
Île-de-France region surrounding Paris and the
Frankfurt area, major national highways converge just outside city limits before forming one of several routes of an urban network of roads circling the city. Unlike in United States, route numbering is not a challenge on European ring roads as routes merge to form the single designated road. However, exit and road junction access can be challenging due to the complexity of other routes branching from or into the ring road. One of the most renowned ring roads is the
Vienna Ring Road (
Ringstraße), a grand boulevard constructed in the mid-19th century and filled with representative buildings. Due to its unique architectural beauty and history, it has also been called the "Lord of the ring roads", and is declared by UNESCO as part of Vienna's
World Heritage Site. Major European cities that are served by a ring road or ring road system: •
Amsterdam, Netherlands –
A10 motorway •
Antwerp, Belgium –
R1 •
Athens, Greece –
Attiki Odos (Motorway A6) •
Barcelona, Spain –
Ronda de Dalt and
Ronda Litoral (inner city), B30 and B40 (metropolitan region) •
Belgrade, Serbia –
Belgrade bypass •
Berlin, Germany –
Bundesautobahn 100 (inner city),
Bundesautobahn 111 (city proper),
Bundesautobahn 10 (inner metropolitan region) •
Birmingham, England –
A4400 (Birmingham Queensway);
A4540 (Birmingham Middleway);
A4040 (Birmingham Outer Circle), Birmingham orbital motorway (parts of
M42,
M6 and
M5 motorways, inner metropolitan region) •
Bochum, Germany - Nordring, Ostring, Südring, Westring (inner city), Bochumer Außenring (former L705, now west- and southpart are part of
Bundesautobahn 448, city proper), Bochumer Autobahnring (
Bundesautobahn 40,
Bundesautobahn 43 and
Bundesautobahn 448, inner metropolitan region) •
Bologna, Italy –
Tangenziale di Bologna (periphery half-ring road) and Viali di Circonvallazione (full and inner ring road: around the city center) •
Bordeaux, France –
Rocade de Bordeaux •
Bratislava, Slovakia –
D4 motorway (Bratislavsky okruch) •
Brussels, Belgium –
Petite ceinture/Kleine ring (inner city),
R22 (outer districts),
Brussels Ring (city proper) •
Bucharest, Romania –
A0 Motorway •
Budapest, Hungary –
M0 •
Caen, France –
Périphérique de Caen •
Catania, Italy –
Tangenziale di Catania •
Charleroi, Belgium – (inner city),
R3 (inner metropolitan region) •
Cologne, Germany –
Cologne Ring (inner city),
Cologne Beltway (metropolitan region) •
Copenhagen, Denmark –
Ring 2, , , and
Motorring 4 •
Coventry, England –
A4053 Coventry ring road •
Dortmund, Germany - Wallring (inner city), Dortmund Beltway (
Bundesautobahn 2,
Bundesautobahn 1 and
Bundesautobahn 45; metropolitan region) •
Dublin, Ireland –
M50 motorway •
Frankfurt, Germany –
Bundesautobahn 66 and
Bundesautobahn 661 (city proper),
Frankfurter Kreuz system (inner metropolitan region) •
Ghent, Belgium – R4 •
Glasgow, Scotland –
Glasgow Inner Ring Road (inner city) •
Hamburg, Germany –
Inner Ring (inner city) •
Helsinki, Finland –
Ring I,
Ring II,
Ring III •
Herning, Denmark – , , , •
Kyiv, Ukraine –
Small Ring Road, Kyiv •
Košice, Slovakia – and •
Leeds, England –
Leeds Inner Ring Road (inner city),
Leeds Outer Ring Road (suburbs) •
Leipzig, Germany –
Inner City Ring Road (Leipzig) (inner city), (double ring road of the
Halle-
Leipzig metropolitan region) •
London, England –
London Inner Ring Road (inner city),
North Circular Road and
South Circular Road (inner suburbs),
M25 motorway (metropolitan region) •
Lisbon, Portugal – 2ª Circular (Inner City),
IC17-CRIL (City Proper),
IC18/A9-CREL (Metropolitan Region) •
Lyon, France –
A7 autoroute and
A46 autoroute (city proper) •
Ljubljana, Slovenia –
Ljubljana Ring Road •
Madrid, Spain –
M-30 (inner city),
M-40 (inner metropolitan region),
M-50 (outer metropolitan region, incomplete) •
Malmö, Sweden – Inre ringvägen (inner city),
E6 &
E20 (outer city city) •
Manchester, England –
Manchester Inner Ring Road (inner city),
M60 motorway (metropolitan region) •
Milan, Italy –
Autostrada A4,
Autostrada A50 (West),
Autostrada A51 (East),
Autostrada A52 (North) and
Autostrada A58 (Outer Eastern) bypass roads (it is the largest system of ring roads around a city in Italy, for a total length greater than •
Bengaluru, India -
Outer Ring Road. The
Peripheral Ring Road and
Satellite Town Ring Road are upcoming ring roads around Bengaluru. •
Chiang Mai, Thailand – Chiang Mai Outer Ring Road (National Highway 121) •
Christchurch, New Zealand –
Christchurch Ring Road includes parts of State Highways
1,
74, and
76. The "
Four Avenues" (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue, and Deans Avenue) serve as an inner ring around the central city. •
Delhi, India –
Inner Ring Road, Delhi,
Outer Ring Road, Delhi, and the Peripheral Expressway consisting of two halves, the
Western Peripheral Expressway and the
Eastern Peripheral Expressway. •
Erbil, Iraq – Four ring roads circulating through/around the city. •
Fukuoka, Japan –
Fukuoka Expressway Circular Route •
George Town, Malaysia –
George Town Inner Ring Road, Penang Middle Ring Road •
Hanoi, Vietnam –
Ringway 3 •
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Ringway 3 •
Hawaii Island,
Hawaii –
Hawaii Belt Road •
Hong Kong, Hong Kong –
Route 9 (New Territories Circular Road) •
Hyderabad, India –
Outer Ring Road, Hyderabad •
Jakarta, Indonesia –
Jakarta Inner Ring Road,
Jakarta Outer Ring Road,
Jakarta Outer Ring Road 2 •
Kalaburagi, India –
Kalaburagi Ring Road •
Kathmandu, Nepal –
Kathmandu Ringroad •
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road,
Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1,
Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2,
Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road •
Lahore, Pakistan –
Lahore Ring Road •
Manila,
Philippines –
Circumferential Road 1,
Circumferential Road 2,
Circumferential Road 3,
EDSA,
Circumferential Road 5,
Circumferential Road 6 •
Medina, Saudi Arabia – King Faisal Road (1st Ring Road) and King Abdullah Road (2nd Ring Road) •
Mysuru, India –
Outer Ring Road •
Nagoya, Japan –
C1 Inner Ring Route Expressway,
C2 Second Ring Route Expressway,
C3 Third Ring Route Expressway,
Japan National Route 302,
Nagoya Municipal Road Nagoya Inner Ring •
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand – Nakhon Ratchasima Ring Route (National Highway 290) •
Nagpur,
Maharashtra,
India - Inner Ring Road,
Outer Ring Road •
Osaka, Japan –
Loop Route •
Peshawar, Pakistan –
Peshawar Ring Road •
Ranchi, India –
Ranchi Ring Road •
Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Pakistan =
Rawalpindi Ring Road (under construction) •
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Riyadh Ring Road •
Sendai, Japan – Gurutto Sendai •
Seoul, South Korea –
Capital Region First Ring Expressway •
Shanghai, China –
Inner Ring Road,
Middle Ring Road,
S20 Outer Ring Expressway,
G1501 Shanghai Ring Expressway •
Singapore, Singapore –
Outer Ring Road System •
Suphan Buri, Thailand – Suphan Buri Ring Route (National Hightway 357) •
Tianjin, China –
Inner,
Middle and
Outer Ring Roads •
Tokyo, Japan –
C1 Inner Circular Expressway,
C2 Central Circular Expressway,
C3 Gaikan Expressway,
C4 Ken-Ō Expressway,
CA Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line/
B Bayshore Route,
Yokohama Ring Expressway,
Japan National Route 16,
Japan National Route 298,
Japan National Route 357,
Japan National Route 468 Africa •
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Addis Ababa Ring Road •
Bloemfontein, South Africa –
Bloemfontein Ring Road •
Cairo, Egypt –
Ring Road (Cairo) •
Durban, South Africa –
Durban Outer Ring Road •
Johannesburg, South Africa –
Johannesburg Ring Road •
Polokwane, South Africa –
Polokwane Ring Road •
Pretoria, South Africa –
Pretoria Ring Road ==See also==