service road

Noun

service road (plural service roads)

1. A relatively narrow road which runs alongside a major transportation route, such as a canal, a railway line, or a controlled-access highway.
   • [I]t can only pinpoint phones to within a few hundred feet. That makes it difficult to tell if a signal is coming from a vehicle on the highway or from one on a parallel service road.2006 December 3, John R. Quain, “Real-Time Traffic Reports? Get Real”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 Jul 2014
   • RCMP issued a news release reporting that a passing motorist had found a woman's body in a ditch next to a service road adjacent to Highway 16.2014 April 30, Hannah Spray, “GPS tracking led police to Woods's body”, in Faceoff.com, Canada, retrieved 28 Jul 2014

   Synonyms:

   frontage road, parallel road

2. A route which enters or circulates through an institution, compound, land area, etc. for purposes of private access, maintenance, or security.
   • From the day-use area behind Longmire Lodge, we walked up the service road behind the ranger station and employee housing.2004 December 8, Karen Skyes, “Hike Of The Week”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 28 Jul 2014
   • Large steel columns from the fallen World Trade Center have been found beneath a service road being excavated at Ground Zero.2007 February 1, “Pieces of WTC found beneath road”, in USA Today, retrieved 28 Jul 2014

   Synonyms:

   access road, driveway