Talk:Overpass
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[edit] Flyover
It was my understanding that here (in the UK) as well as in America a 'flyover' is specifically a high level overpass, or one existing solely for grade-separation (ie not part of an embankment etc). Midlandstoday 22:06, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
Copied from User talk:Ewlyahoocom#Flyover: I'm in the UK, and I always understood a 'flyover' to be a high-level road overpass, or one existing solely for grade seperation. I had never heard of an 'overpass' until relatively recently. In short, I do not believe that use of 'flyover' to be US-centric. Midlandstoday 16:32, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
- I assumed using "flyover" to only mean a high-level overpass was US-centric, but since you're not USian I guess I assumed wrong. Also, http://m-w.com/dictionary/flyover just shows them as synonyms. (I think a lot of these roadway terminology pages are horribly ambiguous e.g. Expressway vs Freeway vs Motorway.) Anyways, I changed the link on the Flyover disambiguation page to a redirect which I hope we can both agree on. Ewlyahoocom 04:11, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
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- I agree international road terminology is rather ambiguous, possibly due to the residents and governments of different nations developing their own terms for roads which are, in engineering terms, very similar. I must admit though that my understanding of the word 'flyover' may apply mainly to English Midland Dialect which is of course the most familiar to me. As far as I can tell, 'overpass' is rarely used here, yet 'flyover' has much the same meaning as in the US. Most people would call a US-'overpass' simply a 'bridge', with no specific term in common use. 'Underpass' however is widely used, especially to refer to a pedestrian underpass, particularly those constructed as part of the grand urban road schemes of the 60s and 70s. Midlandstoday 16:39, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
- Interesting. I've always seen the terms flyover and overpass as fairly synonymous in Australian usage, with flyover being less common and possibly perceived as a "foreign" term. A flyover would generally have approach ramps at both ends to get it "up and over", but a lot of older flyovers are referred to as overpasses. In particular, a road flyover going over a railway line to replace a level crossing is often referred to as a railway overpass. A pedestrian footbridge over a road is usually referred to as a "pedestrian overbridge", "pedestrian walkway" or similar. Here, where a road and a railway line cross, the choice between calling it an "overpass" or "underpass" appears to be whether the road passes over or under the railway line. To make it really confusing, in some places where a road or footpath was put through an existing raised railway formation by replacing part of the formation with a bridge or tunnel, it's not uncommon to see it referred to as a "subway" by people over about 60yo. --Athol Mullen 00:09, 24 August 2007 (UTC)
- I agree international road terminology is rather ambiguous, possibly due to the residents and governments of different nations developing their own terms for roads which are, in engineering terms, very similar. I must admit though that my understanding of the word 'flyover' may apply mainly to English Midland Dialect which is of course the most familiar to me. As far as I can tell, 'overpass' is rarely used here, yet 'flyover' has much the same meaning as in the US. Most people would call a US-'overpass' simply a 'bridge', with no specific term in common use. 'Underpass' however is widely used, especially to refer to a pedestrian underpass, particularly those constructed as part of the grand urban road schemes of the 60s and 70s. Midlandstoday 16:39, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
