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 1 Shield list 1.1 Interstate Highways 1.2 U.S. Numbered Highways 1.3 Generic routes 1.4 State highways and other similar systems 1.5 Territorial Highways 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Shield list [edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Interstate Highways [edit]

Interstate Highway

Shown: Interstate 95

Interstate Highway, 3-digit variant

Shown: Interstate 695

Interstate Highway, state-name variant

Shown: Interstate 80 in California

Suffixed Interstate Highway

Shown: Interstate 35W in Texas

Hawaii Interstate Highway

Shown: Interstate H-1

Hawaii Interstate Highway, thin font variant

Shown: Interstate H-201

Business Loop Highway

Shown: Interstate 96 Business (Lansing, Michigan)

Business Spur Highway

Shown: Interstate 75 Business (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)

U.S. Numbered Highways [edit]

United States Numbered Highways

Shown: U.S. Route 20

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

Historic United States Numbered Highways

Shown: Historic U.S. Route 66

Historic United States Numbered Highways, California variant

Shown: Historic U.S. Route 99 in California

Business Route

Shown: U.S. Route 1 Business

Bypass Route

Shown: U.S. Route 60 Bypass

Business Route, Arkansas variant

Shown: U.S. Route 71 Business in Arkansas

Business Route, Maryland variant

Shown: U.S. Route 1 Business in Maryland

Truck Route

Shown: U.S. Route 9 Truck

Alternate Route

Shown: U.S. Route 40 Alternate

Scenic Route

Shown: U.S. Route 412 Scenic

Generic routes [edit]

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

Generic U.S. Bicycle Route

Shown: U.S. Bicycle Route 76

Generic numbered bicycle route

Shown: Bicycle Route 13

State highways and other similar systems [edit]

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, which is how state highways are designated on most maps. Several states still use the circular shield for road signage on their state highways.^[1]

State Routes in Alabama

Shown: State Route 5

Alaska Routes

Shown: Alaska Route 1

State Routes in Arizona

Shown: State Route 89

State loop redesignations in Arizona

Shown: Arizona State Route 303

State Highways in Arkansas

Shown: State Highway 87

State Routes in California

Shown: State Route 1

State Highways in Colorado

Shown: State Highway 62

Routes in Connecticut

Shown: Route 15

State Routes in Delaware

Shown: State Route 1

District of Columbia Routes

Shown: District of Columbia Route 295

State Roads in Florida

Shown: State Road 60

State toll roads in Florida

Shown: State Road 417

State Routes in Georgia

Shown: State Route 5

Routes in Hawaii

Shown: Route 76

State Highways in Idaho

Shown: State Highway 1

Illinois Routes

Shown: Illinois Route 53

State Roads in Indiana

Shown: State Road 37

State Highways in Iowa*

Shown: Iowa Highway 92

State Highways in Kansas*

Shown: K-99

State Highways in Kentucky*

Shown: State Highway 1

State Highways in Louisiana*

Shown: Louisiana Highway 1263

State Routes in Maine

Shown: State Route 9

Maryland state highways

Shown: Maryland Route 2

Routes in Massachusetts

Shown: Route 24

State Trunklines in Michigan

Shown: M-28

Highways in Minnesota

Shown: Highway 55

Highways in Mississippi

Shown: Mississippi Highway 1

Routes in Missouri

Shown: Route 43

Routes in Missouri, supplemental variant

Shown: Route M

Highways in Montana

Shown: Montana Highway 80

Secondary Highways in Montana

Shown: Montana Secondary Highway 326

State Highways in Nebraska

Shown: Nebraska Highway 2

State Routes in Nevada

Shown: State Route 28

Routes in New Hampshire

Shown: New Hampshire Route 16

Routes in New Jersey

Shown: Route 33

State Highways in New Mexico*

Shown: New Mexico State Road 14

Routes in New York

Shown: New York State Route 7

Parkways in New York City and Upstate New York^[2]

Shown: Bronx River Parkway

Parkway on Long Island, New York

Shown: Meadowbrook Parkway

State Highways in North Carolina

Shown: North Carolina Highway 3

State Highways in North Dakota*

Shown: State Highway 23

State Routes in Ohio

Shown: State Route 2

State Highways in Oklahoma, new shield

Shown: State Highway 1

State Highways in Oklahoma, old shield

Shown: State Highway 1

Routes in Oregon

Shown: Oregon Route 3

Pennsylvania State Traffic Routes

Shown: Pennsylvania Route 10

Quadrant Routes in Pennsylvania

Shown: State Route 3032 (Dauphin County)

Pennsylvania Turnpike System

Tolled State Routes in Pennsylvania

Shown: PA Turnpike 66

Routes in Rhode Island

Shown: Route 3

State Highways in South Carolina, new shield

Shown: South Carolina Highway 170

State Highways in South Carolina, old shield

Shown: South Carolina Highway 64

State Highways in South Dakota

Shown: South Dakota Highway 10

State Routes in Tennessee

Shown: State Route 14

Secondary State Routes in Tennessee

Shown: Secondary State Route 14

State Highways in Texas

Shown: State Highway 6

Tolled State Highways in Texas

Shown: State Highway 121

State Highway Loops in Texas

Shown: Loop 1

State Highway Spurs in Texas

Shown: Spur 366

State Beltways in Texas

Shown: Texas Beltway 8

Farm-to-market roads in Texas

Shown: Farm to Market Road 1960

Ranch-to-Market Roads in Texas

Shown: Ranch to Market Road 2243

Park Roads in Texas

Shown: Park Road 5

Recreational Roads in Texas

Shown: Recreational Road 2

State NASA Road in Texas

Shown: NASA Road 1

Old San Antonio Road in Texas

Shown: Texas OSR, the first road in Texas

Texas State Highway Business Routes

Shown: Texas Business State Highway 70-G

State Routes in Utah

Shown: State Route 12

Routes

Shown: Vermont Route 15

Routes, "state numbered town highway" variant

Shown: Locally maintained Vermont Route 35

Virginia State Routes

Shown: State Route 7

Virginia State Routes, secondary or frontage state highway

Shown: State Route 620

State Routes in Washington

Shown: State Route 9

Primary State Highways in Washington

Shown: PSH 1

Secondary State Highways in Washington

Shown: SSH 1U

West Virginia Routes*

Shown: West Virginia Route 46

West Virginia County Routes

Shown: County Route 5

Wisconsin State Trunk Highways

Shown: State Trunk Highway 35

Wisconsin County Trunk Highways

Shown: County Trunk Highway Z

State Highways in Wyoming*

Shown: Wyoming Highway 24

A * means that the official name is unconfirmed.

Territorial Highways [edit]

American Samoa Highway*

Shown: Territorial Route 001

Guam Highways*

Shown: Guam Highway 8

Puerto Rico Highway

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 301

U.S. Virgin Islands Highway*

Shown: U.S. Virgin Islands Highway 10

A * means that the official name is unconfirmed.

History [edit]

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]

See also [edit]

• List of roads and highways
• List of toll roads
• National Highway System
• New England road marking system
• Numbered highways in Canada
• Road signs in the United States

References [edit]

External links [edit]

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)

v t e Numbered highways in the United States National systems Interstate Highways U.S. Numbered Highways State highways Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Other areas Washington, D.C. American Samoa Guam Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

v t e Route designations in the United States Multistate systems Interstate Auxiliary Business U.S. Highway Intrastate systems Toll road State highway County highway Farm-to-market road State- and district- specific types District of Columbia route Missouri supplemental route Montana secondary route Nebraska Connecting Link, Spur, and Recreation routes New York State Parkway Pennsylvania quadrant route Tennessee secondary route Texas Loop, Spur, Park, Recreation, and Beltway routes Special route types Alternate route Business/city route Bypass route Connector route Divided route Emergency detour route Loop route Scenic route Spur route Street types Numbered street Other Bicycle route Forest highway Indian route Territorial highway