Portal:U.S. Roads
The U.S. Roads Portal
The highway system of the United States is a network of interconnected state, U.S., and Interstate highways. Each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands own and maintain a part of this vast system, including U.S. and Interstate highways, which are not owned or maintained at the federal level.
Interstate Highways have the highest speed limits and the highest traffic. Interstates are numbered in a grid: even-numbered routes for east–west routes (with the lowest numbers along Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico), and odd-numbered routes are north–south routes (with the lowest numbers along the Pacific Ocean). Three-digit interstates are, generally, either beltways or spurs of their parent interstates (for example, Interstate 510 is a spur into the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is connected to Interstate 10).
U.S. Numbered Highways are the original interstate highways, dating back to 1926. U.S. Highways are also numbered in a grid: even numbered for east–west routes (with the lowest numbers along Canada) and odd numbered for north–south routes (with the lowest numbers along the Atlantic Ocean). Three-digit highways, also known as "child routes," are branches off their main one- or two-digit "parents" (for example, U.S. Route 202 is a branch of U.S. Route 2). However, US 101, rather than a "child" of US 1, is considered a "mainline" U.S. Route.
State highways are the next level in the hierarchy. Each state and territory has its own system for numbering highways, some more systematic than others. Each state also has its own design for its highway markers; the number in a circle is the default sign, but many choose a different design connected to the state, such as an outline of the state with the number inside. Many states also operate a system of county highways.
Selected article
State Road 404 (SR 404), the Pineda Causeway, is an east–west divided highway currently running from Interstate 95 (I-95) to SR A1A at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was opened as a toll road in 1971 and classified as a state road two years later. The tolls were removed in 1990. It was named after Pineda, a former village east of Suntree on U.S. Route 1 (US 1). With interchanges at US 1 (SR 5), South Tropical Trail (Brevard County Road 3, CR 3), and South Patrick Drive (SR 513), the Pineda Causeway is (along with SR A1A) the primary access for Patrick Air Force Base and the southern end of Merritt Island. From US 1 to the eastern terminus, it is part of the Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway system.
Recently selected: Baltimore–Washington Parkway • Washington State Route 339 • Prairie Avenue
Selected picture
Bikers using the Salt Creek Tunnel along Oregon Route 58 activate a signal to let drivers be aware of their presence in the tunnel.
Recently selected: Big I snowman • M-15 centerline • Blue Ridge Parkway
Did you know...
- ...that scenic State Route 160 crosses California's Sacramento River twice on 1923 bascule bridges (one pictured) patented by Joseph B. Strauss, who went on to design the Golden Gate Bridge?
- ...that Pennsylvania Route 152 was originally a pathway known as the Limekiln Road built in 1693 to transport lime from kilns in Upper Dublin Township?
- ...that Virginia State Route 204 is the access road to George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland County, Virginia?
- ...that the northern terminus of Massachusetts Route 21 was truncated from Athol to Belchertown due to the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir?
- ... that the state of Wisconsin proposed the route of Highway 57 as an Interstate Highway corridor in the 1950s?
Categories
Things you can do
Nominations and votes for selected articles and selected pictures are always needed. Anyone can nominate an article, and anyone can vote for an article. You can also recommend items for Did you know?. If you have news related to U.S. roads, you can add it to the news section above.
See also Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/to do, Category:U.S. road articles needing attention and individual state highway project to-do lists.
U.S. Roads news
- December 10: Discovery of substandard soil thought to be bedrock along a portion of the Interstate 580 Extension between Reno and Carson City, Nevada, has increased the project cost by $20 million and added an additional six months to the construction schedule. Now projected to be open in June 2012 at a cost of $555 million, the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) project is the largest highway construction contract ever awarded by the Nevada Department of Transportation.[1]
- November 28: As part of the 11th Street Bridges project in Washington, D.C., I-695 is signed along the Southeast Freeway.[2]
- November 22: The second portion of Maryland Route 200 (Intercounty Connector) opens between Maryland Route 97 and I-95, with tolls to be waived until December 4.
- November 7: The new Lake Champlain Bridge between New York and Vermont, replacing the Champlain Bridge demolished in 2009, opens to traffic.[3]
- November 2: A 3-mile-long (4.8 km) section of I-680 between the Missouri River and I-29 reopened after floods this summer destroyed the old roadway. Construction was fast-tracked and completed in 34 working days.[4]
- October 10: A temporary bridge for North Carolina Highway 12 in the Outer Banks opens over a 200-foot (61 m) inlet carved by Hurricane Irene on August 27, 2011, providing access to Hatteras Island. The bridge, which is 662 feet (202 m) long, could be in place for more than 10 years while other solutions are thought out.[5]
- August 19: The Minnesota Department of Transportation opened an extension of State Highway 610 to traffic in Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park.[6]
- July 15: A portion of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California through Sepulveda Pass that carries 500,000 motorists a weekend is closed for construction until Monday, July 18 to allow for the demolition of a bridge as part of a widening project. The closure is expected to cause major traffic headaches throughout Los Angeles and has been referred to as "Carmageddon".[7]
U.S. Transportation WikiNews
- September 25: Nepal plane crash kills 19
- March 26: Part of California highway near Big Sur falls into the sea
- March 13: New York tour bus crash kills 14
- January 27: U.S. Army revives next-generation Ground Combat Vehicle program
- January 21: Tanker crash kills two in Brevard County, Florida
- January 15: US Marine killed after vehicle capsizes, sinks in Oceanside Harbor, California
WikiProjects
- Interstate Highways
- U.S. Routes
- Auto Trails
- US 66
- and task forces for each state...
Related portals
Numbered highways in the United States
References and notes
- ^ Delong, Jeff (December 7, 2011). "Geologic surprise boosts freeway's cost $20 million". Reno Gazette–Journal. http://www.rgj.com/article/20111211/NEWS/112070409/Geologic-surprise-boosts-freeway-s-cost-20-million. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ DeBonis, Mike (November 28, 2011). "Interstate 695 reappears in D.C.". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/post/interstate-695-reappears-in-dc/2011/11/28/gIQAcelz5N_blog.html?socialreader_check=0&denied=1. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Waldman, Scott (November 6, 2011). "Lake Champlain Bridge set to open". The Albany Times-Union (Albany, New York). http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Lake-Champlain-Bridge-set-to-open-2251370.php. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Interstate 680 to reopen on Nov. 2; grand reopening ceremony planned" (Press release). Iowa Department of Transportation. http://www.news.iowadot.gov/newsandinfo/2011/10/interstate-680-to-reopen-on-nov-2-grand-reopening-ceremony-planned-moriver.html. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ Fernandes, Deirdre (October 10, 2011). "N.C. 12 has opened, restoring traffic to Hatteras Island". The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA). http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/nc-12-reopen-restoring-traffic-hatteras. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
- ^ Baca, Maria Elena (August 16, 2011). "High-fives all around for another leg of Hwy. 610". Star Tribune (Minneapolis). Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/613tW2CdH. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam; Lovett, Ian (July 15, 2011). "Los Angeles Puts It in Park As Freeway Project Starts". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/16/us/16freeway.html. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
