Freeway names used in conversation but not signed (anymore)

[epzik8]

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, which is I-95 between the I-895 merge/split just outside of Baltimore and the Delaware state line. I consider it my home stretch of Interstate.

[Pete from Boston]

If you count conversations only had involving public officials, "Boston Extension" could go on this list. The Mass Pike was originally built to Route 128 in the 50s, then extended into Boston in the 60s.  Old maps mention the Massachusetts Turnpike extension, but most people make no distinction at this point.  Especially because it is handled under a separate cost center than the rest of the turnpike, there are numerous references to the Extension made in hearings and other discussions with state transportation officials.

[Pete from Boston]

Was there ever any signed reference to the Bergen Viaduct in Hudson County, New Jersey?  There isn't now, and the phrase itself is rarely used, but it lingers on in traffic reports and the like.

[freebrickproductions]

People will still sometimes call AL 255 (Research Park Boulevard) "Rideout Road".

SM-G900V

[Brian556]

Quote from the Stranger:
Speaking of the Metroplex...is the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike name for today's I-30 still in common usage?

I don't hear it anymore. There were street name signs in Dallas that said DFW Turnpike way past when it became I-30. They were not changed until it became Tom Landry Highway

[roadman]

If you count conversations only had involving public officials, "Boston Extension" could go on this list. The Mass Pike was originally built to Route 128 in the 50s, then extended into Boston in the 60s.  Old maps mention the Massachusetts Turnpike extension, but most people make no distinction at this point.  Especially because it is handled under a separate cost center than the rest of the turnpike, there are numerous references to the Extension made in hearings and other discussions with state transportation officials.

I remember when traffic reporters in the Boston area used to refer to this section of the Turnpike as "the Extension."

[PHLBOS]

The Southeast Expressway (I-93) between Boston and Braintree is still referred to as such by both locals and the traffic reporters.  However, most of the 1962-era button copy signs - which read EXPRESSWAY SOUTH, and not SOUTHEAST EXPRESSWAY - were removed as part of the 1984-1985 reconstruction project, and the remaining signs were removed when the elevated Central Artery was closed and replaced with the O'Neill Tunnel in 2006.

IIRC, the old button-copy signs along the Artery were changed sometime during the late 80s (just prior to US 1 being rerouted onto I-93).  The newer BGS' were lower-profile signs and utilized the original overhead gantries.


Photo courtesy of matredsoxfan

Has the "Blue Route" moniker ever been signed on I-476 in metro Philly?

No.

I remember when traffic reporters in the Boston area used to refer to this section of the Turnpike as "the Extension."

I thought they still referred to it as such.

I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned the Canton-to-Braintree stretch of I-93 still being referred to as Route 128.

In Philadelphia, many refer to I-76 as the Schuylkill Expressway even though it hasn't been signed as such for decades; the last button-copy entrance ramp signs (at PA 291) that listed Schuylkill Expressway NORTH for I-76 westbound was taken down just over a decade ago.

Traffic reporters in the Delaware Valley refer to the short stretch of I-76 in NJ (from the Walt Whitman bridge to I-295) as Route 42.

[TheStranger]

I've seen mentioned on this forum before that I-90 between the Shoreway and I-71 is often referred to as "I-71" by locals (it was proposed in the 1950s as such before the segment of 90 that continued west from the Shoreway towards the existing freeway in Lakewood was canceled).  Is that still the case in 2016?

Traffic reporters in the Delaware Valley refer to the short stretch of I-76 in NJ (from the Walt Whitman bridge to I-295) as Route 42.

Was that portion of 76 ever part of Route 42, or was it built as I-76?

[jakeroot]

The 167 south of Seattle is almost always referred to as the Valley Freeway, but there are only a handful of official references to this name (this is the only one I know of)

AFAIK, the freeway was constructed under the guise of "Valley Freeway"; a couple of route number changes over the years likely increased the popularity of the name (the only unchanged thing about the freeway since opening).

[Rothman]

If you count conversations only had involving public officials, "Boston Extension" could go on this list. The Mass Pike was originally built to Route 128 in the 50s, then extended into Boston in the 60s.  Old maps mention the Massachusetts Turnpike extension, but most people make no distinction at this point.  Especially because it is handled under a separate cost center than the rest of the turnpike, there are numerous references to the Extension made in hearings and other discussions with state transportation officials.

Huh.  When I was a kid in the 1980s, to hear about "The Extension" was still commonplace.  Not so sure about now, but the term lingered for a long time.

[coatimundi]

Speaking of the Metroplex...is the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike name for today's I-30 still in common usage?

I was actually going to mention this. I believe some people do, though Texans really love emphasizing "IH" when they refer to interstates, so I'm not sure they could get past that.

Similarly, US 36 is still called "Boulder Turnpike" by some. Ironically, after removing the tolls something like 30 years ago, they added HOT lanes just last year. So it's once again tolled.

The little stub that connects US 51 with the northwest portion of I-240 in Memphis (future I-69) is referred to, by traffic reporters and most of the public in Memphis, as the "101 connector". It goes back to a number for a federal aid bill, which is pretty weird.

[Kacie Jane]

AFAIK, the freeway was constructed under the guise of "Valley Freeway"; a couple of route number changes over the years likely increased the popularity of the name (the only unchanged thing about the freeway since opening).

Error.  North of Auburn (the section most commonly referred to as the Valley Freeway), the highway has always been SR 167.  (Well, okay, "always" since 1964 when the current set of numbers was first assigned.)  This section is also where the first sections of freeway were completed.  South of there, what is now SR 167 was US/SR 410 from Tacoma to Sumner, and SR 163 from Sumner to Auburn.  But these sections were changed to 167 in the early 70s, several years before the freeway in that area was completed.

Conclusions:
(1) Not "a couple" of route number changes "over the years".  No section of road changed number more than once (twice if you count the switch from PSH to SR numbers in 1964), and not in the past 40+ years.
(2) Even if you want to count 1964 and the early 70s as "a couple" of route number changes "over the years", that's before the Valley Freeway was a thing.  Any section of road that became part of the Valley Freeway has been part of SR 167 at least as long as it's been a freeway.

[jakeroot]

AFAIK, the freeway was constructed under the guise of "Valley Freeway"; a couple of route number changes over the years likely increased the popularity of the name (the only unchanged thing about the freeway since opening).

[snip]

Ah, I see. I knew there were some route number changes in the south sound; sort of guessed for the rest. Thanks for the info.

This image from the Tacoma Public Library sums up the freeway numbers pretty well:

[roadman]

IIRC, the old button-copy signs along the Artery were changed sometime during the late 80s (just prior to US 1 being rerouted onto I-93).  The newer BGS' were lower-profile signs and utilized the original overhead gantries.

The elevated Artery sign replacement was done in late 1988-early 1989.  The replacement signs, using 13.33/10" mixed-case legend, were taller and wider than the 1962 button copy signs, which used 10" uppercase legend.  Many of the 1962 installations had three signs per gantry, whereas the 1988 replacements were generally limited to two signs per gantry - this was to minimize possible loading issues with the gantries, which were welded box beams that were hollow inside.

[PHLBOS]

Traffic reporters in the Delaware Valley refer to the short stretch of I-76 in NJ (from the Walt Whitman bridge to I-295) as Route 42.

Was that portion of 76 ever part of Route 42, or was it built as I-76?

Answer to the first part of your question is "I don't believe so."; but such might have been originally planned as such.

The wiki accounts on this (as least in terms of route number history) are a bit sketchy; but in a nutshell:

The North-South Freeway (which covers I-676, I-76 & NJ 42) was originally planned as a parkway circa the 1930s and may have been envisioned as the new, relocated Route 42 (the original Route 42 ran along the Black Horse Pike (current NJ 168) at the time).  By the time highway construction began, from the late 50s through the late 70s depending on segment; the portion north of I-295 was already designated as part of the Interstate system.  Originally, all the North-South Freeway from I-295 to the Ben Franklin Bridge was to become I-80S with the Walt Whitman Bridge becoming I-680.  Both would later change to I-76 & 676 respectively circa 1964.  During the early 70s, I-76 & 676 northwest of the Gloucester City split swapped identities to their current designations. 

Note: most of what is now known as I-676 in Camden wasn't completed until the early 1980s.

[Bickendan]

For Oregon:
I-5: Baldock Freeway, Eastshore Freeway, Minnesota Freeway; officially, it's all Pacific Hwy -- very rarely referred to by any of its names
OR 18: Salmon River Hwy; no reason for its use
US 20: (Albany-Santiam Pass portion) Santiam Hwy (this one's actually signed, and ISN'T a freeway!) -- outside Santiam Hwy, I doubt any of its names are known
OR 22: (Salem-Stayton/Sublimity portion) North Santiam Hwy -- no reason to believe it's referred to by its name(s)
US 26: (Seaside-Portland) Sunset Hwy -- common parlance, even the Mt Hood Hwy portion
I-82: McNary Hwy -- not reffered by name
I-84/US 30: Banfield Expwy/Frwy; officially Columbia River Hwy and Old Oregon Trail -- Banfield in occasional use, other two no.
US 97: Bend Parkway; officially The Dalles-California Hwy -- probably just called 'the Parkway'
OR 99W/OR 18?: Newberg-Dundee Bypass -- still under construction, it'll probably just end up being called 'the Bypass'
OR 99E: (Milwaukie-Portland) McGloughlin Blvd -- common parlance
I-105/OR 126: Eugene-Springfield Frwy -- no reason to believe it's used
US 199: Redwood Hwy; signed as such, no idea if referred to in common parlance
I-205: War Veteran's Memorial Hwy; officially East Portland Freeway -- War Veteran's signed, referred to just as 205
OR 217: Beaverton-Tigard Freeway; once in a blue moon
OR 224: Milwaukie Expressway; very occasionally
I-405: Stadium Freeway; surprisingly often, which is to say not as often as the Sunset or Banfield

[jakeroot]

For Oregon:

[staggering amount of names]

I gotta hand it to Oregon. If there's one thing they do way better than Washington, it's keeping the original highway names.

[vtk]

In Columbus:

The Outerbelt (I-270; commonly used; also named Jack Nicklaus Freeway and maybe that's on a supplemental sign or two but nobody calls it that; can be prefixed with a direction word to specify which side of town)

North Freeway, South Freeway, East Freeway, West Freeway (I-71 & I-70 outside of downtown; infrequently used, nowhere signed)

The Innerbelt (box of freeways formed by I-70, I-71, I-670, OH 315; infrequently used, nowhere signed except for a handful of tiny, ancient location reference markers; can be prefixed with a direction word to specify which side of the box)

[lepidopteran]

Also in MD, I think State Route 3 used to be signed as "Crain Highway", though admittedly, I've heard very few people ever refer to it as that.  But lots of folks call MD-2 "Ritchie Highway", though it's really signed as "Gov(ernor) Ritchie Highway".

At least in its pre-Interstate days, part of I-97 and the I-895 spur were called the "Glen Burnie Bypass".  There was a green identifying sign on the flyover ramp where the spur breaks off the main route up until maybe 10 years ago.

[wanderer2575]

Metro Detroit has several names used in conversation and in traffic reports:  I-75 Chrysler Freeway (not be be confused with I-75 Fisher Freeway; the route changes freeways through an interchange on the east side of town), I-94 Ford Freeway, M-10 Lodge Freeway, and I-696 Reuther Freeway. 

Michigan has largely moved away from including freeway names on BGSs and other signage, although a couple exceptions here and there (some of the new signs installed on I-75 a few years ago for the interchange at I-94, and some signs for M-8 Davison Freeway).  And the one big exception in Detroit has always been M-39 -- it has never had any control cities and all BGSs on intersecting freeways say it's the Southfield Freeway.

[JasonOfORoads]

For Oregon:
I-5: Baldock Freeway, Eastshore Freeway, Minnesota Freeway; officially, it's all Pacific Hwy -- very rarely referred to by any of its names

It was also the Portland-Salem Expressway for a little while in the 1950s. I've never heard it referred to as such, probably because I was born in the 1980s. It's called "I-5" or "5" -- calling it "the 5" is a dead giveaway that you're from out of town... or a California transplant.

US 26: (Seaside-Portland) Sunset Hwy -- common parlance, even the Mt Hood Hwy portion

However, this is "the Sunset", but I've also heard and used "Sunset Highway"/"the Sunset Highway". It's also rarely "eastbound" or "westbound" -- usually, eastbound is "inbound" and westbound is "outbound", with Portland being the obvious reference to the in/out.

I've always just called the portion east of Portland "26" or "Highway 26". Within Portland, its called the Ross Island Bridge and Powell Blvd. -- never by its number.

Had the Mt. Hood Freeway been built, it likely would've been called that instead any route number it would have.

I-84/US 30: Banfield Expwy/Frwy; officially Columbia River Hwy and Old Oregon Trail -- Banfield in occasional use, other two no.

I'd say "Banfield" is at "Sunset"-level amount of awareness. Traffic reports always call it "the Banfield". Like the Sunset, the Banfield shares the inbound/outbound designation, though inbound is west and outbound is east, again in reference to Portland. I occasionally hear inbound and outbound used for the portion east of 205 that isn't the Banfield.

If you refer to the "Columbia River Highway", you're describing the windy 2-lane Historic Columbia River Highway, and only the portion from Troutdale to Hood River.

OR 99W/OR 18?: Newberg-Dundee Bypass -- still under construction, it'll probably just end up being called 'the Bypass'

I've only ever heard "the Dundee Bypass" because that's the town that caused the backups that necessitated the bypass in the first place.

OR 99E: (Milwaukie-Portland) McGloughlin Blvd -- common parlance

99E is pretty much called by its street names between North Portland and Oregon City. Within Portland it's either Grand or MLK depending on direction of travel, and south to Oregon City is McLoughlin Blvd. I think it's just called "99E" -- "ninety-nine e" -- south of there to Salem.

I-105/OR 126: Eugene-Springfield Frwy -- no reason to believe it's used

I think it used to have a street-name freeway in its early days. I forget what it was.

OR 217: Beaverton-Tigard Freeway; once in a blue moon

I don't think I've ever heard it called that. It was always "217" or "Highway 217" to me. Maybe a generation ago?

Back when it ran on city streets bn, it was likely just called "Hall Blvd.", "Durham Rd.", or "Boones Ferry Rd."

I-405: Stadium Freeway; surprisingly often, which is to say not as often as the Sunset or Banfield

Yeah, it's used in traffic reports all the time. I only occasionally hear "405".

Some other non-freeway designations in the area:

• OR-224/Sunrise Expressway - This just opened. I think it's called the "Sunrise Expressway," but I don't know for sure.
• OR-99W - The former portion from Portland to Tigard was called "Barbur Blvd." I've also heard "Pacific Highway" and "99W" -- "ninety-nine w" from Tigard southward.
• Pretty much any state/US route that runs on city streets is called by its street name, almost never by its number.
• At least in the Portland area, "the freeway" means any freeway or freeways you could use to get to where you need to go. If I'm in Troutdale and need to go to Oregon City or Beaverton, I'd say I need to take the freeway to those places, despite needing to take multiple freeways to get there. When giving directions, "the freeway" is the closest freeway to where you are.
• And again -- if you use "the (number)" for any freeway, you might as well hold up a sign saying "transplant".

[PHLBOS]

The elevated Artery sign replacement was done in late 1988-early 1989.

The only reason why I commented regarding the old Artery signs was due to your earlier post (see below) on such gave the impression that the old 1962-era signs (weren't some of them older?) were still standing until the O'Neill Tunnel replaced the Central Artery.

The Southeast Expressway (I-93) between Boston and Braintree is still referred to as such by both locals and the traffic reporters.  However, most of the 1962-era button copy signs - which read EXPRESSWAY SOUTH, and not SOUTHEAST EXPRESSWAY - were removed as part of the 1984-1985 reconstruction project, and the remaining signs were removed when the elevated Central Artery was closed and replaced with the O'Neill Tunnel in 2006.

Rereading the above, I'm assuming that you were likely referring to the viaduct between the Pike/South Station Tunnel and just north of Mass Ave.; which was actually named the Pulaski Skyway but never referred to as such.  While such may have been considered part of the Central Artery (& Fitzgerald Expressway) system; most people only refer to the elevated green steel road north of South Station as the Central Artery. 

Given that that particular viaduct (Pulaski Skyway) was neglected so much (in anticipation of the Big Dig roads replacing it); it doesn't surprise me at all that the older signs remained until the very end.

[cpzilliacus]

Also in MD, I think State Route 3 used to be signed as "Crain Highway", though admittedly, I've heard very few people ever refer to it as that.  But lots of folks call MD-2 "Ritchie Highway", though it's really signed as "Gov(ernor) Ritchie Highway".

There are plenty of street name blade signs installed by  Anne Arundel County that sign MD-3 as Crain Highway.  Also MD-3 Business (which no longer has any connection to its parent) in Glen Burnie is Crain Highway.  The name Crain Highway extends south across Prince George's County (as MD-3 and U.S. 301) and then across Charles County to the Harry Nice Bridge.  There's also an Old Crain Highway south of Upper Marlboro.

At least in its pre-Interstate days, part of I-97 and the I-895 spur were called the "Glen Burnie Bypass".  There was a green identifying sign on the flyover ramp where the spur breaks off the main route up until maybe 10 years ago.

Correct. The old (pre-I-97) Glen Burnie Bypass was signed as MD-3 and ran from I-895B; I-895A; past I-695 in the north to the old at-grade intersection at MD-3 Business.  South of there it was an arterial highway.

Fun fact: Crain Highway is named for Robert S. Crain, a Charles County lawyer who worked for and lobbied for a new highway from Southern Maryland to Baltimore.

[ChiMilNet]

IL-53 (signed as IL-53, but not "Route 53") joins I-290 between I-90 and Biesterfield Road.

FWIW, the word "route" seems to be the way state highways are referred to in Illinois speech, whereas US highways are sometimes called "route" and sometimes called "highway".  That's just my observation, anyway.

The reason this stretch is sometimes referred to as "Route 53" is that IL-53 did, in fact, run the entire length of this segment at one point. Prior to the tolled section of I-355 opening in 1989, IL-53 went the entire distance from Dundee Road to Army Trail Road, where it exited and resumed its surface road alignment. After the original portion of the I-355 tollway opened, IL-53 was re-routed back to it's original (pre-expressway) alignment south of Biesterfield Road. Why this was done rather than keep IL-53 on the entire free portion of this route does baffle me a bit, but that was IDOT's decision. Might have been for reasons of redundancy, or to better indicate an alternate option to travelers in the event of a backup or something.

[thenetwork]

I've seen mentioned on this forum before that I-90 between the Shoreway and I-71 is often referred to as "I-71" by locals (it was proposed in the 1950s as such before the segment of 90 that continued west from the Shoreway towards the existing freeway in Lakewood was canceled).  Is that still the case in 2016?

I've always heard it as just "The Innerbelt" (between I-71/I-490/SR-176 and Dead Mans Curve/SR-2).  Depending where you are entering the Innerbelt/I-90 Westbound, signage marks it as either I-90 or a combination of I-90, I-71 and I-77.  It may have briefly been referred as only I-71 when that was the only Interstate connecting to the Innerbelt at the time in 1967 -- I-90 was not "finished" on the west side until the late 70's/early '80s and therefore did not connect with the west end of the Innerbelt until then.  That also may explain why to this day I-90 from DMC to Euclid is still just called the East Shoreway, and then the Euclid Spur between SR-2 and I-271.

Metro Detroit has several names used in conversation and in traffic reports:  I-75 Chrysler Freeway (not be be confused with I-75 Fisher Freeway; the route changes freeways through an interchange on the east side of town), I-94 Ford Freeway, M-10 Lodge Freeway, and I-696 Reuther Freeway. 

Michigan has largely moved away from including freeway names on BGSs and other signage, although a couple exceptions here and there (some of the new signs installed on I-75 a few years ago for the interchange at I-94, and some signs for M-8 Davison Freeway).  And the one big exception in Detroit has always been M-39 -- it has never had any control cities and all BGSs on intersecting freeways say it's the Southfield Freeway.

The Reuther Freeway moniker never caught on by name, even though there were plenty of signs for it -- probably because the first sections of I-696 were completed long before it was fully opened (and officially named the Reuther), so the number was always used.

On the flip side, The Davison Freeway name was around forever before they added the M-8 shield, and is probably still used on the BGSs to differentiate it between the Freeway portion and the Davison Avenue portions on either end.  Same goes with the Southfield Freeway with Southfield Road on either end of the freeway, although the M-39 route has always been there between the I-696/M-10 and I-75/M-85 areas.

As far as the other highways (I-75/I-94/I-96/I-275/I-375/M-10), since they are all full freeways, their namesakes were dropped from most freeway signage, except for I-275 which never had any to begin with.