Roads

For tips on how to best handle traffic, see traffic.

For Road Editing or modding, see Road Editor.

Roads are the most basic tool for building your city, but also the most important. There are several different types of roads available and they serve mainly two purposes: traffic and zoning. At the start of a new city only two-lane road is available. More types of roads are unlocked after building the first road and the rest through milestones.

Certain road types are more suitable for residential zones and some for faster and heavier traffic. Some of the higher capacity roads such as highways do not even allow zoning next to them. Vehicles on larger roads also tend to generate more noise pollution and decrease the land value around them.

Driving side

When creating a new city, the side of the road (left or right) on which vehicles drive can be selected. Right-hand-drive is the default. The driving side cannot be changed later in the game.

Building a road

Roads can be drawn with the Road Tool. There are four different options for drawing roads. There is also an option to make roads snap to zone grid.

• Straight – allows you to draw sections of roads in straight lines by choosing the start and end points.
• Curved – allows you to make roads that curve and bend. To make a curved road, the first left mouse click makes a point which is used as a tangent for curve in the road and the second click will build the road.
• Freeform – allows you to draw straight and curved roads.
• Upgrade – allows you to change existing roads to a different road type. Despite the name, the tool can also be used to change any form of road to another, including "downgrades" to narrower or less decorated roads. Also, when right-clicking a one-way road (of any type, including highways) the driving direction is reversed.

If city service buildings and other overlapping objects are in the way you will be unable to build or upgrade your road until these have been demolished or relocated. Ordinary zoned buildings don't enjoy such privileges and will be automatically demolished.

To build a straight road, first click the left mouse button at the starting point, move the mouse cursor to plan the road placement, and click again to build the road. You can cancel road building with the right mouse button.

Creating a straight road
1. Click the left mouse button at the starting point.	2. Plan the road by moving the end-point with the mouse cursor.	3. Click the left mouse button again at the ending point. The road is built and the zoning grid appears next to the road.

Controlling road height

Controlling road height is the primary way to achieve grade separation, allowing traffic to cross with minimal interference. Elevated and underground roads allow traffic to move faster and smoother because they remove the need for stop signs and traffic lights, but come with the disadvantage that they typically do not allow zoning next to them, removing some constructible space. Some buildings can be placed partially underneath elevated roads (depending on the height of the road), but elevated roads typically require support pillars, which limit the usable space beneath them.

Road height can be adjusted by using the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys while drawing the road. On Mac keyboards, where the page up/down keys are unmarked, the keyboard combinations are Fn + ↑ or Fn + ↓. You can adjust the height step increment (the change in height caused by pressing PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN once) by clicking on the vertical bar next to the road types. The default height step is 12 meters, but it can be adjusted to 3, 6 or 12 meters.

Elevated roads

Road elevation is dependent on the height of the ground on which the start of the road is built. This means that not all roads at the same amount of increased elevation will be at the same height. There is a limit to how steep a road incline/decline can be. There is also a limit on how high a road can be. Roads above a certain height become bridges.

The ongoing upkeep expense for elevated roads is higher than the ground-level version of the same road, often 2-to-3 times more. For example, the basic ground-level Highway road has an ongoing upkeep expense of .96/week/cell. While a one-tier high, elevated road of the same type has an upkeep expense of 2.08/week/cell.

Underground roads

All roads (excluding the gravel road) can be made underground in the same manner as an elevated road. Like elevated roads, the initial construction expenditure for underground roads cost extra but do not occupy zoned areas, thus they free up more space for building. However, underground roads tend to collide with metro tunnels or underground train tracks and can only be viewed by bringing up the transportation panel or by using PAGE DOWN to go below ground level when the road tool is equipped. Similar to elevated roads, there are limits to how steep an underground road incline/decline can slope, and has limits of depth for the tunnels. Be aware that the ongoing upkeep expense for underground roads is quite substantial as compared to its basic ground-level version of the same road (For example: The basic ground-level Highway road has an ongoing upkeep expense of .96/week/cell. While the underground tunnel for the Highway road has an upkeep expense of 5.12/week/cell ).

Road features

Directions

One-way roads allow traffic in one direction only and can decrease traffic congestion. The direction in which the road is drawn also determines the direction of the traffic. Traffic will move from the starting point to the end point of the road. One way roads include Highways and Highway ramps, so make sure to place your highways in the right direction. Service vehicles cannot go against the flow of traffic and so even if a building next to a fire station is on fire if it is the wrong way down a one-way road the fire trucks will have to take the long route. Commercial and industrial buildings also require goods to be delivered and picked up, if they are unable to be serviced often enough on a one way road they may stop operating effectively.

Two-way roads allow travel in both directions. These roads can increase traffic congestion but allow for less restricted pathing for cars through cities and so small two-way roads make for ideal low traffic roads.

It is possible to change one-way road to two-way and vice-versa using the road building tool in upgrade mode (exclamation mark button). It also allows to change one-way road direction by right-clicking a one-way road when in upgrade mode.

Upgrades

Decorations on roads reduce noise pollution and increase local land value. Roadside trees have a greater effect than grass but cost more for placement and upkeep.

Roads without decorations (grass or trees) provide parking spaces, allowing residents and tourists to switch to pedestrian mode (to enter their homes or businesses, switch to bus or metro lines, visit tourist areas, etc.). Four-lane roads, with or without decorations, will always provide parking spaces, allowing residents and tourists to leave their cars, and reducing noise. Indeed, land value will be increased.

Sound barriers reduce noise pollution from highways but increases the cost.

The best way to reduce noise pollution from highways is, if possible, to build them under the ground. Noise will be limited to entrances and exits of the highways.

Lanes

Two-lane roads support low traffic and are suitable for most residential areas and low-traffic service roads.

Four-lane roads support moderate traffic. Also, the median barrier prevents service vehicles and trucks from making U-turns so they will act like two one-way roads. Vehicles must take the good way to reach their destination, and thus if necessary the longer path. This can reduce/remove congestion around some buildings (i.e. : freight, …)

Six-Lane roads support high traffic and are suitable for mass traffic that still requires development on the roadside.

Highways support very high traffic and high speeds but do not allow for roadside zoning.

Highway ramps support medium traffic and average speed, and are used to connect highways to roads or other highways. They are slightly more expensive than one-way two-lane roads, but are subject to different traffic rules than one-way roads. Highway ramps do not allow roadside zoning.

Intersections & Traffic

When two roads cross they create an intersection. There are two types of intersections: with and without the traffic lights. The traffic lights are one of the main reasons for traffic jams and - in general - should be avoided. It is also possible for the player to place or remove traffic lights. Their appearance depends only on the type of the roads that cross at the intersections, and the rules for initial placement are as follows:

• Two-lane roads don't create traffic lights at their crossing (both one- and two-way).
• Four-lane roads create traffic lights at crossings excluding one-way and in some cases two-lanes two-ways roads going away from the four-lane. This rule overrides no-lights rules of other road types, so an intersection of a four-lane with a highway WILL have traffic lights.
• Six-lane roads create traffic lights at all crossings excluding one-way roads going away from the six-lane.
• Highways do not create traffic lights if connected with one-ways, if not it will create.

• Two-lane roads can be used to make round-abouts. There will not be traffic lights on a round-about, and thus can reduce congestion by avoiding "collisions". The round-about is the best solution for multiples roads on a same intersection, but manages a lower traffic.

Traffic Routes

This info view contains three features, all aiming to help the player analyse and control the player's network.

Routes

The routes view. With all the vehicles showing, it is quite hard to figure out anything.

With this info view, the player is able to see the routes that the vehicles take. By clicking on any street, multiple coloured lines will show up. Each of these lines represents a vehicle travelling through this piece of road. It is possible to filter the view to view only the vehicles that the player wants to see.

Junctions

The junctions info view allows the player to control the signage of the junction, and to add or remove traffic lights. To do so the player must either click on the stop signs of the roads that should stop, or click on the traffic lights.

Adjust Roads

The adjust roads info view allows the player to redraw the route of the road. This can be done by dragging the circle at either end of the green line to somewhere else. It is also possible to rename the road from this view.

Maintenance

Roads do not actually degrade and do not require maintenance. The Road Maintenance Depot deploys trucks that simulate road maintenance as they drive over them, temporarily boosting the maximum speed on the road. This speed boost will gradually fade until the road is back to its normal maximum speed, or until a Road Maintenance truck passes over it again. Snow removal (on snow maps only) is provided by plows from Snow Dumps.

Building	Unlocked	Cost (₡)	Upkeep (₡/week)	Pollution	Noise Pollution	Water (m3/week)	Electricity (kW)	Size (cells)	DLC	Notes
Road maintenance depot	Busy Town	40,000	480	0	0	160	160	8×4		Maintenance Trucks boost speeds on roads for a short while. Maintenance truck capacity: 10
Snow dump	Little Hamlet	5,000	32	0	100	160	160	10×8		Snow ploughs clear snow from roads and take it to the Snow Dump where it is slowly melted. Can only be moved or demolished when empty. Capacity: 10 snow ploughs and 250,000 snow

Collapsed roads

A collapsed road with traffic waiting for the obstacle to be removed.

Some disasters, such as the tornado, can damage roads. When this happens the road is marked with the collapsed icon and becomes impassable to traffic. There is no automatic method to repair collapsed road: maintenance depot ignores the problem, and disaster response units limit themselves to buildings. You have to manually repair all the roads, doing it quickly, because emergency units, firefighters and people returning from shelters are prevented like anyone else. Sadly, emergency units have no jeep/special vehicles.

Repairing a collapsed road
1. Select the type of road from the roads menu and then select upgrade road.	2. Place the cursor over the section of road with the collapsed icon. The section of road will highlight blue.	3. Click the left mouse button. The collapsed icon will be removed and traffic will now be able to pass.

NOTE: It is not necessary to select exact type of road. With any road selected, left click on damaged segment, and the original type will appear. Clicking a second time the road would be upgraded to the new type selected.

List of road types

Note that the road width of all roads under the "small roads" tab, and the "highway ramp" under the Highways tab, is 2 squares. The road width of every other road is 4. Highway is 3.

As of the free update released alongside Airports, tree-lined roads can have their trees changed by clicking on a segment of a tree-lined road with any tree you want. This does not cost anything and works identically to the upgrade tool.

Please note that speed is increased when maintenance is correctly done. Emergency vehicles will drive faster than the speed limit on all types of roads. They will change lanes frequently to pass other vehicles, but will not cross into oncoming traffic.

Road	Category	Unlocked	DLC	Cost (₡)	Upkeep (₡/week)	Speed limit (km/h)	Notes
Asymmetrical Three-Lane Road	Small Roads	Busy Town		60/cell	0.80/cell	40	A three-lane road with two lanes going in one direction and one in the other. Can be reversed with the upgrade tool.
Four-Lane Highway	Highways	Boom Town		110/cell	1.76/cell	100	A large highway with four lanes going in one direction
Four-Lane Highway with Sound Barriers	Highways	Busy Town		130/cell	2.08/cell	100	A large highway with four lanes going in one direction, with sound barriers
Four-Lane Road	Medium Roads	Start*		60/cell	0.80/cell	50	Provides parking spaces
Four-Lane Road with Decorative Grass	Medium Roads	Busy Town		70/cell	0.96/cell	50	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value Provides parking spaces
Four-Lane Road with Decorative Trees	Medium Roads	Busy Town		80/cell	1.12/cell	50	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value Provides parking spaces
Four-Lane Road with Bicycle Lanes	Medium Roads	Busy Town		60/cell	0.80/cell	50	Allows usage by cyclists
Four-Lane Road with Bus Lanes	Medium Roads	Boom Town		60/cell	0.80/cell	50	Has a dedicated lane for buses
Four-Lane Road with Tram Tracks	Medium Roads	Boom Town		100/cell	1.36/cell	50	Allows connection to the Tram network
Four-Lane Road with Trolleybus Wires	Medium Roads	Busy Town		80/cell	0.96/cell	50	Allows connection to the Trolleybus network
Highway	Highways	Boom Town		70/cell	0.96/cell	100	Road is one-way
Highway Ramp	Highways	Boom Town		30/cell	0.32/cell	80	Road is one-way
Highway with Sound Barrier	Highways	Busy Town		90/cell	1.28/cell	100	Reduces noise pollution
Large Avenue with Bus Lanes	Medium Roads	Busy Town		80/cell	0.60/cell	50	Two-lane avenue with bus lanes
Large Avenue with Grass	Medium Roads	Busy Town		80/cell	0.60/cell	50	Two-lane avenue with a decorative grass strip and parking space
Large Cargo Airport Road	Large Roads	Boom Town		75/cell	1.20/cell	38.33333	A large road optimized for airport area cargo traffic. Can not be built on slopes. Place cargo aircraft stands along this road for maximum efficiency. Must have a level 3 airport area to unlock.
Medium Cargo Airport Road	Medium Roads	Boom Town		60/cell	0.96/cell	40	A road optimized for airport area cargo traffic. Can not be built on slopes. Place cargo aircraft stands along this road for maximum efficiency. Must have a level 3 airport area to unlock.
Medium Industry Road	Medium Roads	Tiny Town		50/cell	0.64/cell	50	Cheaper than regular Four-Lane Road, but generates more noise pollution.
Monorail Tracks on Four-Lane Road	Medium Roads	Small City		110/cell	1.76/cell	50	A four-lane road with built-in elevated monorail tracks Can be connected to other monorail tracks and stations
Monorail Tracks on Two-Lane Road	Small Roads	Small City		80/cell	1.28/cell	40	A two-lane road with built-in elevated monorail tracks Can be connected to other monorail tracks and stations
Six-Lane One-Way Road	Large Roads	Start*		80/cell	0.96/cell	60	Provides parking spaces
Six-Lane One-Way Road with Decorative Grass	Large Roads	Busy Town		90/cell	1.12/cell	60	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Six-Lane One-Way Road with Decorative Trees	Large Roads	Busy Town		100/cell	1.28/cell	60	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Six-Lane Road	Large Roads	Start*		80/cell	0.96/cell	60	Provides parking spaces
Six-Lane Road with Decorative Grass	Large Roads	Busy Town		90/cell	1.12/cell	60	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Six-Lane Road with Decorative Trees	Large Roads	Busy Town		100/cell	1.28/cell	60	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Six-Lane Road with Bicycle Lanes	Large Roads	Busy Town		90/cell	0.96/cell	60	Allows usage by cyclists
Six-Lane Road with Bus Lanes	Large Roads	Busy Town		80/cell	0.96/cell	60	Has a dedicated lane for buses
Small Industry Road	Small Roads	Tiny Town		30/cell	0.25/cell	40	Cheaper than regular two-lane road, but generates more noise pollution.
Two-Lane Gravel Road	Small Roads	Start*		20/cell	0.19/cell	30	Cannot tunnel, but when elevated, turns into a wooden bridge. straight is, in most cases, a covered bridge ;Curved is wooden bridge. Can be steeper than other roads.
Tram track	Tram track	Boom Town		65/cell	0.48/cell	40	Allows connection to the Tram network
One-Way Tram track	Tram track	Boom Town		45/cell	0.32/cell	40	Allows One-Way connection to the Tram network
Two-Lane (One-Way) Highway	Highways	Boom Town		50/cell	0.80/cell	100	A one-way highway with two lanes in the same direction
(Two-Lane) One-Way Highway with Sound Barriers	Highways	Busy Town		65/cell	1.04/cell	100	A one-way highway with two lanes in the same direction, with sound barriers
Two-Lane One-Way Road	Small Roads	Start*		40/cell	0.32/cell	40	Provides parking spaces
Two-Lane One-Way Small Industry Road	Small Roads	Tiny Town		30/cell	0.25/cell	40	Cheaper than regular Two-Lane One-Way Road, but generates more noise pollution.
Two-Lane One-Way Road with Grass	Small Roads	Busy Town		50/cell	0.40/cell	40	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Two-Lane One-Way Road with Trees	Small Roads	Busy Town		60/cell	0.48/cell	40	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Two-Lane One-way Road with Tram Tracks	Small Roads	Boom Town		70/cell	0.56/cell	40	Allows connection to the Tram network
Two-Lane One-way Road with Trolleybus Wires	Small Roads	Busy Town		50/cell	0.40/cell	40	Allows connection to the Trolleybus network
Two-Lane Road	Small Roads	Start		40/cell	0.32/cell	40	Provides parking spaces
Two-Lane Road with Grass	Small Roads	Busy Town		50/cell	0.40/cell	40	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Two-Lane Road with Trees	Small Roads	Busy Town		60/cell	0.48/cell	40	Lowers noise pollution Increases land value
Two-Lane Road with Bicycle Lanes	Small Roads	Busy Town		40/cell	0.32/cell	40	Allows usage by cyclists.
Two-Lane Road with Tram Tracks	Small Roads	Boom Town		70/cell	0.56/cell	40	Allows connection to the Tram network
Two-Lane Road with Trolleybus Wires	Small Roads	Busy Town		50/cell	0.40/cell	40	Allows connection to the Trolleybus network
Two-Way Highway	Highways	Boom Town		60/cell	0.80/cell	100	Two-lane highway with one lane going in each direction
Two-Way Highway with Sound Barriers	Highways	Busy Town		80/cell	1.12/cell	100	Two-lane highway with one lane going in each direction, with sound barriers
64px American Two-Lane Truss Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		40/cell	0.32/cell	40	US style, 2 lane wide metal truss bridge and road with custom concrete textured sidewalks.
64px American Four-Lane Truss Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		60/cell	0.80/cell	50	US style, 4 lane wide metal truss bridge and avenue with custom stone textured sidewalks.
64px American Six-Lane Stone Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		80/cell	0.96/cell	60	US style 6 lane fake stone bridge and avenue with custom colored concrete sidewalks.
64px European Two-Lane Stone Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		40/cell	0.32/cell	40	Euro style, 2 lane wide medieval road bridge with custom stone textured sidewalks.
64px European Four-Lane Stone Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		60/cell	0.80/cell	50	Euro style 4 lane wide concrete bridge and avenue with custom concrete textured sidewalks.
64px European Six-Lane Stone Bridge	Bridges and Piers	Start*		80/cell	0.96/cell	60	Euro style 6 lane stone bridge and avenue with custom cobblestone sidewalks.
64px Three-Lane Highway Viaduct	Bridges and Piers	Boom Town		70/cell	0.96/cell	100	3 lane, highway bridge with a concrete look.

*The very first road built must be a two-lane road. After building any amount of this anywhere on the tile the other starting road types are unlocked.

Steam Workshop modifications are necessary in order for custom road types to be constructed.

Intersections and Roundabouts

Included in the roads menu are four pre-built road structure assets, two roundabouts, two highway intersections, and four types of toll booths. In a technical sense, these add nothing to the options available to the player, as these structures can be built at the same cost manually from the road types listed above and are identical to such manually built roads once placed. Practically however these are useful, simplifying the task of creating complex road structures. Once placed, the player can bulldoze or upgrade any of the structure's road sections without needing to change the rest of the structure.

Players can change the elevation at which a new intersection or roundabout is placed using the Page Up and Page Down keys. Raising or undergrounding an asset will make the construction considerably more expensive.

Custom intersections can be created in the Asset Editor. A large number of custom intersections are also available on the Steam Workshop; however, some of those intersections require Steam Workshop modifications, as those intersections use custom road types.

Road	Category	Unlocked	Cost (₡)	Upkeep (₡/week)	Top Speed	Notes
Small Roundabout	Intersections	Start*	2,480	20	varies	Consists of a loop of one-way, two lane road and four equally spaced two-way, two-lane entry/exit roads.
Large Roundabout	Intersections	Boom Town	7,600	99	varies	Consists of a loop of highway and four equally spaced two-way, six-lane entry/exit roads.
Three-Way Intersection	Intersections	Boom Town	16,240	195	varies	Consists of highway and highway ramps.
Cloverleaf Intersection	Intersections	Boom Town	25,930	320	varies	Consists of highway and highway ramps.

*The very first road built must be a two-lane road. After building any amount of this anywhere on the tile the small roundabout is unlocked.

Toll Booths

Toll booths, which were introduced in Patch 1.11.0, allow the player to earn extra money for using a road or accessing an area. All vehicles must pay a certain fee to pass through the toll booth, which can be set by the player via the Toll Booths info panel. Toll booths require both power and water in order to function properly. Pedestrian traffic is not allowed.

The "Automated Toll" policy prevents vehicles from stopping at toll booths, improving traffic flow but reducing toll booth income.

The main drawback with toll booths is that they slow down the traffic, as all vehicles must stop to pay the toll. Toll Booths also affect the pathfinding of vehicles - Toll Booths will make roads less desirable the higher the price.

	Building	Unlocked	Cost (₡)	Upkeep (₡/week)	Pollution	Noise Pollution	Water (m3/week)	Electricity (kW)	Size (cells)	DLC	Notes
	Two-Way Small Toll Booth	Boom Town	12,000	120	0	25	64	480	5×19	-	Capacity: 2+2 lanes
	One-Way Small Toll Booth	Boom Town	12,000	120	0	25	64	480	5×19	-	Capacity: 4 lanes
	Two-Way Large Toll Booth	Big Town	35,000	200	0	50	128	960	7×19	-	Capacity: 4+4 lanes
	One-Way Large Toll Booth	Big Town	35,000	200	0	50	128	960	7×19	-	Capacity: 8 lanes

Placing one of each type of toll booth will earn the "Just Tolling" achievement, which is achievable without the Industries DLC, as the toll booths are a part of the free patch.

Road Editing

A Road Editor tool was added in patch 1.9.0. See main article Road Editor.