roadbed

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noun road·bed \ˈrōd-ˌbed\

Definition of roadbed

1a : the bed on which the ties, rails, and ballast of a railroad restb : the ballast or the upper surface of the ballast on which the ties rest
2a : the earth foundation of a road prepared for surfacingb : the part of the surface of a road traveled by vehicles

Recent Examples of roadbed from the Web

The state board identified causes like broken tracks, motors that dropped out of trains, concrete crumbling into the roadbed and misaligned switches.

— jim dwyer, New York Times, "How to Fix Mounting Miseries on the Subway? Political Bickering Isn’t the Answer," 27 June 2017
City engineers have said that a true fix for Ann Street involves comprehensive structural work - replacing the roadbed, updating some buried utilities and installing new curbs and sidewalks.

— lawrence specker, AL.com, "'Band-Aid' to smooth Ann Street pending expensive permanent fix," 15 June 2017
There would have been crops here then, Brian said, and a low roadbed that would have afforded some cover for Federal troops.

— john kelly, Washington Post, "A blind veteran’s view of Memorial Day," 28 May 2017
On the region’s main highway back to Yellowknife, entire guardrails have sunk into the roadbed, and a ribbon of asphalt that was once entirely flat now swells and dips because of thawing permafrost.

— dan levin, New York Times, "Ice Roads Ease Isolation in Canada’s North, but They’re Melting Too Soon," 19 Apr. 2017
Officers also found a ladder on the elevated roadbed of the railway, not far from the museum.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "World’s Largest Gold Coin Stolen From Berlin Museum," 28 Mar. 2017
Officers searching the crime scene found a ladder on the elevated railway’s roadbed, which is near the museum’s back wall.

— melissa eddy, New York Times, "Thieves Take a Chunk of Change, All 221 Pounds of It, From a Berlin Museum," 27 Mar. 2017
On the other hand, flooding along the Peninsula gave builders an opportunity to make adjustments to the roadbed while revising specifications for drains, culverts and bridges.

— shirley burgett, The Mercury News, "Matters Historical: Rail line from San Francisco to San Jose changed the Peninsula," 15 Mar. 2017
The exhibit offers scores of vendors for collectors looking to find engines, passenger cars or roadbeds for their models.

— nathan percy, Orange County Register, "Great Train Show lets aficionados of all ages go loco," 15 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'roadbed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.