I'm reading a book, set in Australia, referencing a metal road. Can you explain? We have paving in the USA.?

Question

I'm reading a book, set in Australia, referencing a metal road. Can you explain? We have paving in the USA.?

Answer 1

By metal, they mean metalised, which as far as you're concerned means tarmacadam, or asphalt - the normal road covering you'd expect to find on central road systems throughout the world.

Elsewhere you might find it called an all-weather road surface.

Answer 2

There are no metal roads in Australia, I am unsure what they mean lol. Australia has bitchamin (sp?) roads ;).

Answer 3

A metal road could mean a metallised road, as the other answer suggests, but that is a much more common expression in Britain, and not used as much in Australia.  In normal usage, people in Australia call a metallised road tarmac or asphalt or bitumen (the terms are usually used interchangeably, even though technically they are different processes)

When the word "metal" is used on its own, it refers to the stone chips or gravel that are used to make roads.  Using the metal on its own, without the tar, gives a road that is in between a dirt road, and a bitumen (asphalt, tarmac) road.  This is often called a 'gravel' road.

Concrete is rarely used in Australia for road surfaces in the way that it is used in the US, but is often used for driveways.

So the answer to your question might depend on whether the author is Australian or English, not just where it is set.

In the context of the book, if the road is in a city or major town it will probably mean a tarmac road, and if the road is in a country area, it will mean a gravel road.