Tag:highway=motorway
+/- highway=motorway
High capacity highways designed to safely carry fast motor traffic.
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Use highway=motorway to identify the highest-performance roads within a territory, typically controlled-access highways with a minimum of two lanes in each direction separated by a barrier (referred to as a freeway' in American and Australian English and as an Autobahn in German). Non-motorised traffic is banned from using these roads in most territories, with some exceptions, for example rural motorways in western U.S.
For roads that do not meet the above requirements consider using highway=trunk. See Highway:International equivalence for guidance on the use of motorway in different countries.
Use highway=motorway_link for shorter link roads (sliproads/ramps) leading to and from a motorway.
How to map
A motorway it normally represented by a series two parallel ways, one for each carriageway tagged with highway=motorway. These ways should all point direction of travel and be tagged with oneway=yes. In the less usual case of a motorway where traffic travels i both directions along the same carriageway use a single way and tag it with oneway=no. When drawing parallel ways, place the nodes for each direction next to each other, which results in a better representation on most maps. The following tags may be applicable:
| Tag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| name=* | Name of the motorway. | Autostrada dei Fiori |
| ref=* | Reference name. | A 3 |
| oneway=yes | See section #How to map | |
| lanes=* | Number of lanes. | 3 |
| maxspeed=* | The maximum speed which is allowed (in km/h). | 130 |
| minspeed=* | Minimum speed which a vehicle must be capable of to use the motorway (in km/h). | 50 |
| destination=* | Name of town for the direction of the motorway. Normally the town written on the sign wich belongs to the motorway-link. | Frankfurt |
| carriageway_ref=* | In the UK, the reference number for the carriageway, as displayed on Highway Agency signing | B |
Consider adding the all of these ways to a relation of type (what type of relation? PeterIto 02:47, 20 January 2013 (UTC)).
Use highway=motorway_junction at each point along a motorway with numbered exits to identify the exit number.
International equivalence
| Country | Roadsign | Description | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Motorways, freeways, and freeway-like roads. Divided roads with 2 or 3 lanes in each direction, limited access via interchanges, no traffic lights. Generally 100 or 110 km/h speed limit. For example: Hume Freeway. |
Australian Roads Tagging | |
| Austria | Autobahn | ||
| Belarus | автомагистраль (avtomagistral') | ||
| Belgium | nl:autosnelweg fr:autoroute d:autobahn maxspeed=120 km/u | ||
| Brazil | Autoestradas, >80 km/h | ||
| Czech Republic |  
|
Dálnice & Rychlostní silnice | WikiProject Czechia/roads tagging |
| Denmark | 
|
Motorvej | [Map Features] |
| Dominican Republic | Autopista | ||
| France | autoroute (A) | Fr:Map Features | |
| Israel |
|
Kwish Mahir | |
| Italia | Autostrada, compresi i raccordi autostradali come le tangenziali di Milano e il Grande Raccordo Anulare di Roma. | It:Italian Roads Tagging | |
| Germany | Autobahn | WikiProject Germany/Autobahn | |
| Hong Kong | 
|
Designated expressways and other public roads with expressway-like rules. | HK:Hong Kong tagging |
| Hungary | Autópálya | ||
| Korea | 
|
Divided, grade-separated highway with 2 or more lanes in each direction designated by a red and blue shield (toll roads). Also, some National Routes (blue oval) which have been upgraded to Motorway status (toll-free). | Ko:Map Features Korea_Motorways |
| Netherlands | Autosnelweg | Kaarteigenschappen | |
| Norway | 
|
Motorvei & Motortrafikkveg | |
| Poland | Autostrada | WikiProject Poland/Klasyfikacja dróg | |
| Portugal | Auto-estrada - the national road institute changed the reference to IP (Itinerário Principal) or IC (Itinerário Complementar). There are still some "Auto-estradas" not renamed so they keep the name. | ||
| Romania | .gif){kind=small}
|
Autostradă | |
| Russia |
|
автомагистраль (avtomagistral'), которая уже имеет статус trunk. | RU:Map_Features:highway |
| Slovak Republic |  
|
Diaľnica & Rýchlostná cesta | |
| Spain | Autopista/Autovía | WikiProject Spain/Autopista Normalización | |
| Sweden | Motorväg | Sv:Map_Features#Vägar | |
| Switzerland | 
|
Autobahn / autoroute | |
| Turkey |
|
Otoyol | |
| UK | motorway | ||
| US | A freeway, turnpike, or interstate Grade-separated highway, normally divided with 2 or more lanes in each direction. Access by ramps only. This includes all Interstate Highways (with a couple of rare exceptions) and some US and state highways (or portions thereof). |
Related terms: <motorway> <highway>
