Arterial road

An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed.^[1][2] The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to highways or expressways, and between urban hubs at the highest level of service possible. Therefore, many arteries are limited-access roads or feature restrictions on private access. Because of their relatively high accessibility, many major roads face large amounts of land use and urban development, making them significant urban places.^[3]

In traffic engineering hierarchy, an arterial road delivers traffic between collector roads and highways. For new arterial roads, intersections are often reduced to increase traffic flow. In California, arterial roads are usually spaced every half mile, and have intersecting collector(s) and streets.