How are OpenStreetMap ways linked?

Question

I'm using OSM API (overpy and overpass using Python3) to extract toll roads "toll=yes" in a certain search area (e.g. searchArea = California). The API spits out all the tolled ways in CA split into ways. What I'd like to see is each toll road as a whole, i.e. not split into ways.

Is there a way to regroup all the tiny ways back into the bigger road? How are ways linked in OSM?

Answer 1

The ways are linked via common/shared end nodes. Essentially you need to define which properties/tags should be the same over a "bigger road" (for example the name tag) and create one geometry our of the segments by joining them at the end nodes.

(answer by SimonPoole from https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/61358/how-to-link-ways-to-form-the-bigger-road )