Editing Local–express lanes (section)

{{short description|Arrangement of carriageways within a major highway}}
{{redirect|Collector–distributor lane|a low-to-moderate-capacity road that connects to local streets|Collector road}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2010}}
[[File:Snelwegmetparallelbanen.PNG|thumb|System with four roadways/carriageways, where access ways primarily connect with the outer roadways. Through traffic on the inner carriageways can flow without interruption.]]
The '''local–express lane system''' is an arrangement of [[carriageway]]s within a major [[highway]] where long distance traffic can use inner express [[lane]]s with fewer [[interchange (road)|interchange]]s compared to local traffic which use outer local lanes that have access to all interchanges. This can also be called a '''collector/distributor lane system''' within a single interchange. One of the longest examples is [[Ontario Highway 401|Highway 401]] in [[Toronto]], where [[highway ramp]]s between express and local lanes cross over one another; these are commonly known as braided ramps.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlXSOnPqPGE VDOT: Braided Ramp Demo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410195753/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlXSOnPqPGE |date=2017-04-10 }}. YouTube (2009-02-26). Retrieved on 2013-07-16.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx18W4yVNwo I-5 196th Braided Ramp animation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410200536/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx18W4yVNwo |date=2017-04-10 }}. YouTube (2010-12-02). Retrieved on 2013-07-16.</ref><ref>[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i405/ne8thtosr520/ WSDOT - Project - I-405 – NE 8th St to SR 520 Braided Ramps – Interchange Improvements - Complete May 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710004331/http://wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I405/NE8thtoSR520/ |date=2010-07-10 }}. Wsdot.wa.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-16.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/rti/psr/5105.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820165627/http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/rti/psr/5105.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-20 |url-status=dead |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-12-11 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.pgal.com/portfolio/txdot-ih-10-section-3-2/ TxDOT IH-10 Section 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141201110319/http://www.pgal.com/portfolio/txdot-ih-10-section-3-2/ |date=2014-12-01 }}. PGAL. Retrieved on 2013-07-16.</ref><ref>[http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist6/environmental/projects/sr180braidedramps/ State Route 180 Braided Ramps Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220162045/http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist6/environmental/projects/sr180braidedramps/ |date=2011-12-20 }}. Dot.ca.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-16.</ref>

Some places may have only three carriageways on the highway instead of four, utilizing one directional express lanes. They may be permanent, or they can be reversible express lanes such as in Seattle where they alternate direction. 

While a local–express system and a collector/distributor system are used interchangeably, some transportation departments make a distinction between the two. In a ''local–express system'', the inner lanes are called '''express lanes''' whereas the outer lanes are called '''local lanes'''. In a ''collector/distributor system'', the inner lanes are called '''mainlines''' while the outer lanes are called '''collector/distributor lanes'''. Generally speaking, a local–express system will have the extra outer lanes present for a long duration of the highway, as opposed to a collector/distributor system where the extra outer lanes are only present at an interchange.