the.com/ring road
A highway built so nobody has to experience the city it circles.
means A road that loops around a town or city so through-traffic can bypass the center entirely.
from A plain compound of 'ring' (circle) and 'road,' describing exactly what it is — the term took hold in the 20th century as cities built circular bypass routes to handle growing car traffic without routing it through old, narrow centers. Britain favors 'ring road'; America more often says 'beltway' or 'loop,' same idea, different accent.
- purpose
- diverts through-traffic away from congested centers
- side effect
- often spawns sprawl along its edges
- irony
- frequently becomes as jammed as what it bypasses
- famous example
- M25 around London, 117 miles of patience