Geof says:

Bill,

Your road work will vary according to its location. Figuring that 3/4″ is ten feet in N scale, a single lane dirt road would be just that wide. A side city street that has two way traffic would be about 1 1/2″ wide and a busy downtown street would be anywhere from 40 to 60 scale feet wide which gets you to 3″ to 4.5″.

What type of parking areas along side the roads also plays a part in the width. Some cities/towns have parallel parking (that is the cars are lined up with the sidewalks) whereas others have diagonal parking with cars lined at a 45 degree angle to the sidewalk.

Your best bet is to just pace off the widths of the roads you wish to model (providing they’re not super highways) and figure your scale distance accordingly. The average adult male has a stride of roughly three feet so the next time you cross the street, mentally count how many steps it took. Multiple the number of your steps by three and you’ll have a rough equivalent of the street width. Do get too hung up on being exactly correct with these numbers. Bottom line, just go with what looks right.

Hope this helps,

Geof