United States Numbered Highway System
United States Numbered Highway System | |
---|---|
System information | |
Maintained by primarily state or local governments; numbers and routings approved by AASHTO[a] | |
Length | 157,724 mi[b] (253,832 km) |
Formed | November 11, 1926[1] |
Highway names | |
US Highways | U.S. Highway nn (US nn) U.S. Route nn (US nn) |
System links | |
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these highways were coordinated among the states, they are sometimes called Federal Highways, but the roadways were built and have always been maintained by state or local governments since their initial designation in 1926.
The route numbers and locations are coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).[4] The only federal involvement in AASHTO is a nonvoting seat for the United States Department of Transportation. Generally, most north-to-south highways are odd-numbered, with the lowest numbers in the east and the highest in the west, while east-to-west highways are typically even-numbered, with the lowest numbers in the north, and the highest in the south, though the grid guidelines are not rigidly followed, and many exceptions exist. Major north–south routes generally have numbers ending in "1", while major east–west routes usually have numbers ending in "0".[1][c] Three-digit numbered highways are generally spur routes of parent highways; for example, U.S. Route 264 (US 264) is a spur off US 64. Some divided routes, such as US 19E and US 19W, exist to provide two alignments for one route. Special routes, which can be labeled as alternate, bypass or business, depending on the intended use, provide a parallel routing to the mainline U.S. Highway.
Before the U.S. Routes were designated,
Expansion of the U.S. Highway System continued until 1956, when the Interstate Highway System was laid out and began construction under the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the national implementation of the Interstate Highway System, many U.S. Routes that had been bypassed or overlaid with Interstate Highways were decommissioned and removed from the system. In some places, the U.S. Routes remain alongside the Interstates and serve as a means for interstate travelers to access local services and as secondary feeder roads or as important major arteries in their own right. In other places, where there are no nearby Interstate Highways, the U.S. Routes often remain as the most well-developed roads for long-distance travel. While the system's growth has slowed in recent decades, the U.S. Highway System remains in place to this day and new routes are occasionally added to the system.
System details
In general, U.S. Routes do not have a minimum design standard, unlike the later
Except for
- Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Illinois; the old road is Illinois Route 251.
- US 278 Business. The tolls were removed in July 2021.
- US 301 is a toll road through Delaware; the former routing is a free road and uses several Delaware state routes.
- US 412 uses the Cimarron Turnpike in Oklahoma; the old road is US 64.
- US 412 also uses the US 412 Alternate.
Numbering
U.S. Routes in the contiguous United States follow a grid pattern, in which odd-numbered routes run generally north to south and even-numbered routes run generally east to west, though three-digit spur routes can be either-or.[d] Usually, one- and two-digit routes are major routes, and three-digit routes are numbered as shorter spur routes from a main route. Odd numbers generally increase from east to west; U.S. Route 1 (US 1) follows the Atlantic Coast and US 101 follows the Pacific Coast. (US 101 is one of the many exceptions to the standard numbering grid; its first "digit" is "10", and it is a main route on its own and not a spur of US 1.) Even numbers tend to increase from north to south; US 2 closely follows the Canadian border, and US 98 hugs the Gulf Coast. The longest routes connecting major cities are generally numbered to end in a 1 or a 0;[7] however, extensions and truncations have made this distinction largely meaningless.[8] These guidelines are very rough, and exceptions to all of the basic numbering rules exist.
The numbering system also extended beyond the borders of the United States in an unofficial manner. Many Canadian highways were renumbered in the 1940s and 1950s to adopt the same number as the U.S. Route they connected to – mostly in the western provinces.[citation needed] Examples include British Columbia's highways 93, 95, 97, and 99; Manitoba's highways 59, 75, and 83; or 71.[citation needed] The reverse happened with U.S. Route 57, originally a Texas state highway numbered to match Mexican Federal Highway 57.[9]
In the 1950s, the numbering grid for the new Interstate Highway System was established as intentionally opposite from the US grid insofar as the direction the route numbers increase. Interstate Highway numbers increase from west-to-east and south-to-north, to keep identically numbered routes geographically apart in order to keep them from being confused with one another,[8] and it omits 50 and 60 which would potentially conflict with US 50 and US 60.[e]
In the US Highway system, three-digit numbers are assigned to spurs of one or two-digit routes.
AASHTO guidelines specifically prohibit
Some two-digit numbers have never been applied to any U.S. Route, including 37, 39, 47, 86 and 88.
Signage
Route numbers are displayed on a distinctively-shaped white shield with large black numerals in the center. Often, the shield is displayed against a black square or rectangular background.[13] Each state manufactures their own signage, and as such subtle variations exist all across the United States. Individual states may use cut-out or rectangular designs, some have black outlines, and California prints the letters "US" above the numerals.[14] One- and two-digit shields generally feature the same large, bold numerals on a square-dimension shield, while 3-digit routes may either use the same shield with a narrower font, or a wider rectangular-dimension shield. Special routes may be indicated with a banner above the route number, or with a letter suffixed to the route number. Signs are generally displayed in several different locations. First, they are shown along the side of the route at regular intervals or after major intersections (called reassurance markers), which shows the route and the nominal direction of travel. Second, they are displayed at intersections with other major roads, so that intersecting traffic can follow their chosen course. Third, they can be displayed on large green guide signs that indicate upcoming interchanges on freeways and expressways.[13]
Divided and special routes
Since 1926, some divided routes were designated to serve related areas, and designate roughly-equivalent splits of routes. For instance, US 11 splits into US 11E (east) and US 11W (west) in Bristol, Virginia, and the routes rejoin in Knoxville, Tennessee. Occasionally only one of the two routes is suffixed; US 6N in Pennsylvania does not rejoin US 6 at its west end. AASHTO has been trying to eliminate these since 1934;[15] its current policy is to deny approval of new split routes and to eliminate existing ones "as rapidly as the State Highway Department and the Standing Committee on Highways can reach agreement with reference thereto".[4]
Special routes—those with a banner such as alternate or bypass—are also managed by AASHTO.[4] These are sometimes designated with lettered suffixes, like A for alternate or B for business.[f]
Naming
The official route log, last published by AASHTO in 1989, has been named United States Numbered Highways since its initial publication in 1926. Within the route log, "U.S. Route" is used in the table of contents, while "United States Highway" appears as the heading for each route. All reports of the Special Committee on Route Numbering since 1989 use "U.S. Route", and federal laws relating to highways use "United States Route" or "U.S. Route" more often than the "Highway" variants.[16] The use of U.S. Route or U.S. Highway on a local level depends on the state, with some states such as Delaware using "route" and others such as Colorado using "highway".[17][18]
History
Early auto trails
In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson became the first documented person to drive an automobile from San Francisco to New York using only a connection of dirt roads, cow paths, and railroad beds. His journey, covered by the press, became a national sensation and called for a system of long-distance roads.[19]
In the early 1910s, auto trail organizations—most prominently the Lincoln Highway—began to spring up, marking and promoting routes for the new recreation of long-distance automobile travel. The Yellowstone Trail was another of the earliest examples. While many of these organizations worked with towns and states along the route to improve the roadways, others simply chose a route based on towns that were willing to pay dues, put up signs, and did little else.[1]
Planning
Wisconsin was the first state in the U.S. to number
Behind the scenes, the
The
Secretary
The auto trail associations rejected the elimination of the highway names. Six regional meetings were held to hammer out the details—May 15 for the
The second full meeting was held August 3 and 4, 1925. At that meeting, discussion was held over the appropriate density of routes. William F. Williams of Massachusetts and Frederick S. Greene of New York favored a system of only major transcontinental highways, while many states recommended a large number of roads of only regional importance. Greene in particular intended New York's system to have four major through routes as an example to the other states. Many states agreed in general with the scope of the system, but believed the Midwest to have added too many routes to the system. The group adopted the shield, with few modifications from the original sketch, at that meeting, as well as the decision to number rather than name the routes. A preliminary numbering system, with eight major east–west and ten major north–south routes, was deferred to a numbering committee "without instructions".[1]
After working with states to get their approval, the committee expanded the highway system to 75,800 miles (122,000 km), or 2.6% of total mileage, over 50% more than the plan approved August 4. The skeleton of the numbering plan was suggested on August 27 by Edwin Warley James of the BPR, who matched
Disagreement and refinement, 1925–26
The new system was both praised and criticized by local newspapers, often depending on whether that city was connected to a major route. While the
In the Northeast, New York held out for fewer routes designated as US highways. The Pennsylvania representative, who had not attended the local meetings, convinced AASHO to add a dense network of routes, which had the effect of giving six routes termini along the state line. (Only
Many local disputes arose related to the committee's choices between designation of two roughly equal parallel routes, which were often competing auto trails. At their January meeting, AASHO approved the first two of many split routes (specifically US 40 between Manhattan, Kansas and Limon, Colorado and US 50 between Baldwin City, Kansas and Garden City, Kansas). In effect, each of the two routes received the same number, with a directional suffix indicating its relation to the other. These splits were initially shown in the log as—for instance—US 40 North and US 40 South, but were always posted as simply US 40N and US 40S.[1]
The most heated argument, however, was the issue of US 60. The Joint Board had assigned that number to the Chicago-Los Angeles route, which ran more north–south than west–east in Illinois, and then angled sharply to the southwest to
With 32 states already marking their routes, the plan was approved by AASHO on November 11, 1926.[1] This plan included a number of directionally split routes, several discontinuous routes (including US 6, US 19 and US 50), and some termini at state lines.[23] By the time the first route log was published in April 1927, major numbering changes had been made in Pennsylvania in order to align the routes to the existing auto trails.[24] In addition, U.S. Route 15 had been extended across Virginia.[25]
Much of the early criticism of the U.S. Highway System focused on the choice of numbers to designate the highways, rather than names. Some thought a numbered highway system to be cold compared to the more colorful names and historic value of the auto trail systems. The New York Times wrote, "The traveler may shed tears as he drives the Lincoln Highway or dream dreams as he speeds over the Jefferson Highway, but how can he get a 'kick' out of 46, 55 or 33 or 21?"[26] (A popular song later promised, "Get your kicks on Route 66!") The writer Ernest McGaffey was quoted as saying, "Logarithms will take the place of legends, and 'hokum' for history."[1]
Expansion and adjustment, 1926–1956
When the U.S. numbered system was started in 1925, a few optional routings were established which were designated with a suffixed letter after the number indicating "north", "south", "east", or "west". While a few roads in the system are still numbered in this manner, AASHO believes that they should be eliminated wherever possible, by the absorption of one of the optional routes into another route.
In 1934, AASHO tried to eliminate many of the split routes by removing them from the log, and designating one of each pair as a three-digit or alternate route, or in one case
"Wherever an alternate route is not suitable for its own unique two-digit designation, standard procedure assigns the unqualified number to the older or shorter route, while the other route uses the same number marked by a standard strip above its shield carrying the word 'Alternate'."
Most states adhere to this approach. However, some maintain legacy routes that violate the rules in various ways. Examples can be found in California, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oregon, and Tennessee. In 1952, AASHO permanently recognized the splits in US 11,[15] US 19, US 25, US 31, US 45, US 49, US 73, and US 99.[15]
For the most part, the U.S. Routes were the primary means of inter-city vehicle travel; the main exceptions were
Interstate era, 1956–present
The
A few major connections not served by Interstate Highways include US 6 from Hartford, Connecticut, to Providence, Rhode Island and US 93 from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada, though the latter is planned to be upgraded to Interstate 11. Three state capitals in the contiguous U.S. are served only by U.S. Routes: Dover, Delaware; Jefferson City, Missouri; and Pierre, South Dakota.
In 1995, the National Highway System was defined to include both the Interstate Highway System and other roads designated as important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
AASHTO is in the process of eliminating all
The 1925 routes
The original major transcontinental routes in 1925, along with the auto trails which they roughly replaced, were as follows:[1][11]
US 10, US 60, and US 90 only ran about two thirds of the way across the country, while US 11 and US 60 ran significantly diagonally. US 60's violation of two of the conventions would prove to be one of the major sticking points; US 60 eventually was designated as US 66 in 1926, and later it became a part of popular culture. US 101 continues east and then south to end at Olympia, Washington.[23] The western terminus of US 2 is now at Everett, Washington.[10]
See also
Notes
- ^ The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) was renamed the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on November 11, 1973.[2]
- ^ As of 1989[update].[3]
- ^ The Interstate Highway System also assigns even numbers to east–west highways and odd numbers to north–south highways. It uses different origins, with the lowest numbers in the south and west. That system also skips some numbers so that generally speaking, a state would not have highways in both systems with the same number.[4][5]
- ^ These three-digit spur routes are not to be confused with special routes signposted as "SPUR", such as US 95 Spur.
- ^ Exceptions to this rule do occur.
- ^ For example, compare the following for an alternate route in Ohio:
- Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Technical Services, GIS/Mapping Section (2011). Official Transportation Map (Map). 1:570,240. Columbus: Ohio Department of Transportation. §§ B2–F2.
- Google (May 5, 2013). "Street View of US 20A/SR 15 near Pioneer, OH" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
- Rand McNally (2013). The Road Atlas: United States, Canada & Mexico (Map) (2013 Walmart ed.). 1:760,320. Chicago: Rand McNally. p. 78. §§ NE2–NE6. ISBN 0-528-00626-6.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Weingroff, Richard F. (April 7, 2011). "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the US Numbered Highway System". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 4, 2012). "November 13". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ a b Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (1989). United States Numbered Highways (PDF) (5th ed.). American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. iv. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (January 2000). "Establishment of a Marking System of the Routes Comprising the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" (PDF). AASHTO Transportation Policy Book. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 1, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (n.d.). "Interstate FAQ". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2009.
Proposed I-41 in Wisconsin and partly completed I-74 in North Carolina respectively are possible and current exceptions not adhering to the guideline. It is not known if the U.S. Highways with the same numbers will be retained in the states upon completion of the Interstate routes.
- ISBN 0-528-00626-6.
- ^ "Ask the Rambler: What Is The Longest Road in the United States?". Federal Highway Administration. April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 1-4027-3468-9.
- ^ "An Application From the State Highway Department of Texas For the Establishment of a U.S. Route (U.S. 57)". American Association of State Highway Officials. September 15, 1970. pp. 2–3. Retrieved March 14, 2023 – via AASHTO Route Numbering Archive.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-528-94209-9.
- ^ .
- ^ OCLC 749860157.
- ^ ISBN 9781615835171. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- OCLC 43890586.
- ^ a b c d Weingroff, Richard F. (April 7, 2011). "US 11 Rouses Point, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (2006). "2006 Traffic Count and Mileage Report" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Colorado Department of Transportation. "Segment Descriptions for Highway 006". Colorado Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ISBN 0-375-41536-X.
- ^ "Motor Sign Uniformity". The New York Times. April 16, 1922.
- ^ McNichol (2006), p. 67.
- ^ McNichol (2006), p. 121.
- ^ .
- ^ Weingroff, Richard F. (April 7, 2011). "US 22: The William Penn Highway". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ISSN 0002-8746.
- ^ McNichol (2006), p. 78.
- ^ Feldstein, Dan (June 27, 1999). "A rare quiet interlude for area's first freeway/ Next major upgrade: Causeway in 2002". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- American Association of State Highway Officials, transcribed at "State Route 66". California Highways. Retrieved June 10, 2011.[self-published source?]
- ^ Rand McNally (1946). Road Atlas (Map). Scale not given. Chicago: Rand McNally. p. 42. New York and Vicinity inset. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- ISSN 0008-1159. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ISSN 0008-1159. Retrieved July 24, 2015 – via Archive.org.
Further reading
- Ingram, Tammy (2014). Dixie Highway: Road Building and the Making of the Modern South, 1900–1930. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469615523.