A general method to assess articles at the first stages of developments involves the "Big Three" article sections: a route description, a history, and the junction list.
Stub-Class
Has only one section, indistinct from the lead, that contains all of the information about the route and its history.
Has only one section separated from the lead, which may be the list of the road's junctions or another of the Big Three
Start-Class
Has two sections separated from the lead
C-Class
Has all three sections, but they may be incomplete. Articles at this stage can have their basic content completed, polished and cited to bump the assessment to B-Class.
For any of the above, if a section is substantially incomplete, it may be discounted in determining which class to assess an article.
A brief but informative lead section which introduces all the article sections.
A section devoted to describing the road's route, well-written and referenced. Don't just summarise what you can see on a map, put the map in the article instead! The guidelines for writing plot summaries may be useful here; Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a travel guide.
A history section, covering all major events that a layman reader will be looking for. This may cover the social, economic and political impact of the highways; road protests are frequently covered in the news and may be worth including if significant enough (eg: Twyford Down, Newbury Bypass)
A list of the road's junctions and landmarks, if appropriate. If towns, railways, rivers or historic monuments are covered in reliable sources in conjunction with the highway, consider those too.
Consider adding an infobox if appropriate; however remember that infoboxes are optional and are not worth edit-warring or arguing over.
Talk page banners
Please place the appropriate template on all highway / freeway related articles in Wikipedia. The general international template is listed first for those world wide areas without a task force or wikiproject for roads, transport or highways, followed alphabetically by regional templates for the talk page of the article to indicate that the article is part of the wikiproject for further improvements. Add a filled in to do list: {{to do}}, to the article's talk page to list the tasks that need to be completed to raise it to the next level of assessment class.
International
{{WikiProject Highways|europe=|asia=|africa=|oceania=|latin-america=|class=|importance=}} and set the appropriate regional task force.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Highways, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of highways on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HighwaysWikipedia:WikiProject HighwaysTemplate:WikiProject HighwaysHighways
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Australian Roads, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to roads and highways in Australian states and territories. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.Australian RoadsWikipedia:WikiProject Australian RoadsTemplate:WikiProject Australian RoadsAustralia road transport
{{Canada Roads WikiProject|tch=|province=|class=|importance=}}
Set the province parameter to be the postal abbreviation. See the template for more details.
This article is part of the Canada Roads WikiProject, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to roads in Canadian provinces, territories and counties. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.Canada RoadsWikipedia:WikiProject Canada RoadsTemplate:WikiProject Canada RoadsCanada road transport
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Highways, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of highways on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HighwaysWikipedia:WikiProject HighwaysTemplate:WikiProject HighwaysHighways
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Indian roads, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to roads and highways in Indian states and territories. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.Indian roadsWikipedia:WikiProject Indian roadsTemplate:WikiProject Indian roadsIndia road transport
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Highways, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of highways on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HighwaysWikipedia:WikiProject HighwaysTemplate:WikiProject HighwaysHighways
This page is within the scope of the U.S. Roads WikiProject, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to state highways and other major roads in the United States. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.U.S. RoadsWikipedia:WikiProject U.S. RoadsTemplate:WikiProject U.S. RoadsU.S. road transport