paved road widths from the 50's

[Flatrat]

Many of the highway roads on my layout from the early 50's will be tar and chip, gravel and concrete roadways. What were the average widths of auto roadways from that era? I think I read roads were more narrow then than current widths. Were they about 11 foot a lane back then? 22' foot wide overall? What does that scale out to in inches, etc.?
Thoughts?

Scott

[GimpLizard]

I'm not possitive about this, but I thought lanes were around 10" back then. Which would be .75" in N-scale. (10 x 12)/160 = .75

11" works out to .825" in N.

[Flagler]

I would go with 11' width,N scale automobiles and trucks are a little out of scale anyway.The human eye will not notice.

[MichaelWinicki]

What's more important that getting the width right, i.e. accurate is creating contrast between roads.  What I mean by that is a more "important" road on your pike should be a little wider than a lesser important road. 

What you're trying to do is create the perception that road "A" is a country lane that doesn't get a lot of traffic but road "B" is in a more populous are and the road has the appearance of not only being more important but sees more traffic as a consequence.

I have a couple roads that are only 1/2" per lane.  One is a country lane kind of thing, the other meanders through an industrial area.

I have a "main street" that is close to 1" per lane.  Again I'm trying to create a contrast between this and that other streets/roads on the layout. 

And then I have several roads that are in the area of 3/4" per lane.

[highway70]

1948 MUTCD   Normal lane width  not less than 10', Minimum 9'

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/1948-MUTCD.htm





On a two lane paved road with minimal paved shoulders the pavement would most likely be 22' wide.   

An interesting point.  Today edge lines (between the lane and paved shoulder)  are "standard" on highways and rural roads, although not always used on minor roads  In 1948 they were allowed but not recommended because they might be mistaken for lane lines.

The 1961 MUTCD - normal lane width 10', desirable lane width 12'

The 1971 MUTCD  - normal lane width 12'

[btsnyder27]

Even today, you will occasionally see new roadway construction with 10 and 11 foot lanes.  The most common lane widths nowadays is 12 foot, by far.  Back then, I would guess 10' would be typical, with 11' on "newer" construction.

Side note, in the present, certain folks are looking at lane narrowing as a source of traffic calming (in much the same way are roundabouts, traffic islands, etc.) in towns and suburbs that were designed and built when the ideology was "wider is always better".  Some roads are even going on so called "road diets" to make them safer and slower for the motoring public.

[Kentuckian]

I live on a two lane state-maintained road that is about 18' wide on some stretches.  The where is as important as the when.

[pnolan48]

Overall, there was a "standard," but the standard was not always followed. It depended on what agency built the road. Until quite recently, rural roads could be the width that the county determined was adequate. I just drove Kentucky Rte. 36, which can't be more than 18' wide, not accounting for the washouts, where it might have been 12' wide. In other words, there really was no standard for rural roads. The standard for Interstates is 12'--but even that is squeezed in many urban areas.