Numbered highways in the United States
Highways in the United States are split into at least four different types of systems.
- Interstate Highways
- The Interstate Highway System is a federally funded and administered (but state-maintained) system of freeways that forms the transportation backbone of the U.S., with millions of Americans relying on it for commutes and freight transport daily. Interstate highways are all constructed to precise standards, designed to maximize high-speed travel safety and efficiency. Interstate Highways also contain auxiliary routes, which are normally assigned a three-digit route number. All Interstate Highways are part of the National Highway System, a network of highways deemed essential to the defense, economy, and mobility of the country.
- U.S. Highways
- The U.S. Highway System (officially "United States Numbered Highways") is an older system consisting mostly of surface-level trunk roads, coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and maintained by state and local governments. U.S. highways have been relegated to regional and intrastate traffic, as they have been largely supplanted by the Interstate system for long-distance travel except in areas (especially in the west) where the Interstate system is absent or underdeveloped. This has led to the decommissioning and truncation of U.S. Highways that were formerly vital long-haul routes, such as U.S. Route 21 and U.S. Route 66.
- State Highways
- Each state also has a state highway system. State highways are of varying standards and quality. Some state highways become so heavily traveled they are built to Interstate Highway standards. Others are so lightly traveled that they are roads of low quality.
- County Highways
- The final administrative level in some states is the county-maintained county highway. (The term "parish" is used instead in Louisiana.) County routes vary widely from well-traveled multilane highways to dirt roads into remote parts of the county.
Highways are generally organized by a route number or letter. These designations are generally displayed along the route by means of a highway shield. Each system has its own unique shield design that will allow quick identification to which system the route belongs. Below is a list of the different highway shields used throughout the U.S.
Contents |
[edit] Shield list
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
[edit] Interstate Highways
Shown: Interstate 95
Interstate Highway, 3-digit variant
Shown: Interstate 695
.svg)
Interstate Highway, state-name variant
Shown: Interstate 80 in California
.svg)
Shown: Interstate H-1
.svg)
Hawaii Interstate Highway, thin font variant
Shown: Interstate H-201
Shown: Interstate 96 Business (Lansing, Michigan)
Shown: Interstate 75 Business (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)
[edit] U.S. Numbered Highways
United States Numbered Highways
Shown: U.S. Route 20
.svg)
United States Numbered Highways, California variant
Shown: U.S. Route 6 in California
United States Numbered Highways, Old Style variant
Shown: U.S. Route 66 in Arizona
Suffixed United States Numbered Highways
Shown: U.S. Route 25E
.svg)
Historic United States Numbered Highways
Shown: Historic U.S. Route 66
.svg)
Historic United States Numbered Highways, California variant
Shown: Historic U.S. Route 99 in California
Shown: U.S. Route 1 Business
Shown: U.S. Route 60 Bypass
Business Route, Arkansas variant
Shown: U.S. Route 71 Business in Arkansas
.svg)
Business Route, Maryland variant
Shown: U.S. Route 1 Business in Maryland
Truck Route
Shown: U.S. Route 9 Truck
Shown: U.S. Route 40 Alternate
Shown: U.S. Route 412 Scenic
[edit] Generic routes
Generic county route
Shown: County Route 64 in Baldwin County, Alabama
Generic county route (Alternate shield)
Shown: County Route 7 in St. Louis County, Minnesota
Generic Forest Highway
Shown: Forest Highway 16
Generic Indian Route
Shown: Indian Route 18
.svg)
Generic U.S. Bicycle Route
Shown: U.S. Bicycle Route 76
.svg)
Generic numbered bicycle route
Shown: Bicycle Route 13
[edit] State highways and other similar systems
Many state highway markers are designed to suggest the geographic shape of the state or some other state symbol such as its flag. Most of the others are generically rectangular or some other neutral shape. The default design for state highway markers is the circular highway shield.[1]
Shown: State Route 5
Shown: Alaska Route 1
Shown: State Route 89
Shown: State Highway 87
Shown: State Route 1
Shown: State Highway 62
Shown: Route 15
Shown: State Route 1
Shown: District of Columbia Route 295
Shown: State Road 60
State Roads in Florida, tolled
Shown: State Road 417
Shown: State Route 5
Shown: Route 76
Shown: State Highway 1
Shown: Illinois Route 53
Shown: State Road 37
State Highway in Iowa*
Shown: Iowa Highway 92
State Highway in Kansas*
Shown: K-99
Shown: State Highway 1
Shown: Louisiana Highway 3234
State Route in Maine
Shown: State Route 9
Shown: Maryland Route 2
Shown: Route 24
Shown: M-28
Shown: Highway 55
Shown: Mississippi Highway 1
Shown: Route 43
Route in Missouri, supplemental variant
Shown: Route M
Shown: Montana Highway 80
Shown: Montana Secondary Highway 326
Shown: Nebraska Highway 2
Shown: State Route 28
Shown: New Hampshire Route 16
Route in New Jersey
Shown: Route 33
Shown: New Mexico State Road 14
Shown: New York State Route 7
Parkway in New York City and Upstate New York[2]
Shown: Bronx River Parkway
Parkway on Long Island, New York
Shown: Meadowbrook Parkway
State Highway in North Carolina
Shown: North Carolina Highway 3
State Highways in North Dakota*
Shown: State Highway 23
State Route in Ohio
Shown: State Route 2
State Highway in Oklahoma, new shield
Shown: State Highway 1
State Highway in Oklahoma, old shield
Shown: State Highway 1
Shown: Oregon Route 3
Pennsylvania State Traffic Route
Shown: Pennsylvania Route 10
Quadrant Route in Pennsylvania
Shown: State Route 3032 (Dauphin County)
Tolled State Routes in Pennsylvania
Shown: PA Turnpike 66
Shown: Route 3
State Highway in South Carolina, new shield
Shown: South Carolina Highway 6
State Highway in South Carolina, old shield
Shown: South Carolina Highway 64
Shown: South Dakota Highway 10
Shown: State Route 14
Secondary State Route in Tennessee
Shown: Secondary State Route 14
Shown: State Highway 6
State Highway in Texas, tolled
Shown: State Highway 121
Shown: Loop 1
Shown: Spur 366
Shown: Texas Beltway 8
Shown: Farm to Market Road 1960
Shown: Ranch to Market Road 2243
Shown: Park Road 5
Shown: Recreational Road 2
Shown: NASA Road 1
Shown: Texas OSR the first road in Texas
State Route in Utah
Shown: State Route 12
Shown: Vermont Route 15
Vermont Route, "state numbered town highway" variant
Shown: Locally maintained Vermont Route 35
Shown: State Route 7
Virginia State Highway, secondary or frontage state highway
Shown: State Route 620
Shown: State Route 9
Primary State Highways in Washington
Shown: PSH 1
Secondary State Highways in Washington
Shown: SSH 1U
Shown: West Virginia Route 46
Shown: County Route 5
Shown: State Trunk Highway 32
Wisconsin County Trunk Highway
Shown: County Trunk Highway Z
State Highway in Wyoming*
Shown: Wyoming Highway 24
- A * means that the official name is unconfirmed.
[edit] Territorial Highways
Shown: Territorial Route 001
Shown: Guam Highway 8
Shown: Puerto Rico Highway 1
Puerto Rico Highway, Urban primary variant
Shown: Puerto Rico Highway 1
Puerto Rico Highway, Secondary variant
Shown: Puerto Rico Highway 139
Puerto Rico Highway, Tertiary variant
Shown: Puerto Rico Highway 3
Shown: U.S. Virgin Islands Highway 10
- A * means that the official name is unconfirmed.
[edit] History
In 1918, Wisconsin became the first state to number its highways.[3] In 1926 the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) established and numbered interstate routes (U.S. route numbers), selecting the best roads in each state that could be connected to provide a rational network of "federal" highways.[4]
[edit] See also
- Auxiliary route
- List of roads and highways
- List of toll roads
- Circular highway shield
- National Highway System
- Numbered highways in Canada
- Road signs in the United States
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Numbered highways in the United States |
- Full list of state route markers
- Road Signs (drawings and photos of old and new signs)
- Old Trails - US and Canadian Roads in the 20th Century (includes drawings and photos of old signs)
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Section 2D.11
- ^ Signs for NYC Pkwys
- ^ "The Yellowstone Trail". South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. http://www.southmilwaukee.org/yt/history.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ Richard F. Weingroff. "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
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