Definitions of driveway terms

Brisbane City Council has provided a list of definitions for the most popular driveway terms. 

Box culvert

A depression or ditch to help water drainage beside or under a road. Can also mean a type of pipe, often concrete or corrugated steel, which may be partially or entirely buried. Box culverts are available either as an inverted U on a concrete base foundation (crown type) or as a U-shaped trough with a lid (invert type). 

Commercial driveway

A commercial driveway provides car access for premises other than a single detached house.

Concrete invert to a table drain

An invert crossing from the road edge at the start of a table drain system.

Footpath

The paved area intended for pedestrians.

Grid crossing

A ramp in the kerb and channel to lift the vehicle higher to stop it scraping when entering or exiting the property. Grid crossings are only permitted in special circumstances as they can cause water run off into properties.

Invert crossing

A cut out of the kerb line to ensure greater access across the footway into the property. The height of the invert entry point depends on the type of kerb and channel outside the property.

Major intersection

A major intersection is located on a major road. Major roads include motorways, arterial, suburban or district access routes, a road controlled by Main Roads or a road with a national, state or metropolitan route number.

Minor intersection

A minor intersection is located on a minor road. A minor road is any public road not classified as a major road. These include neighbourhood, local and industrial access roads.

Non-standard grid crossing

Where the height of the existing kerb is raised to allow vehicle access into a property to alleviate scraping. This could be done due to the height of crown in centre of road or depth of channel.

For more information see standard drawing BSD-2023.

Pipe crossing

A driveway that goes over an open drainage pipe. Pipe crossings are common in rural areas.

Residential driveway

A residential driveway provides car access for a single detached house.

Swale

An open drainage system designed to manage water run off from the street or footway area. Driveway gradients must match the levels of the swale to prevent flooding of neighbouring properties.