I-795 North Carolina mileage

[hbelkins]

Anyone ever explain why the mileage for I-795 is backwards and it goes up as you drive southward?

[bob7374]

Anyone ever explain why the mileage for I-795 is backwards and it goes up as you drive southward?

I thought this was weird too. Especially since NCDOT kept the US 264 milepost exit numbers between I-95 and where I-795 splits off. The recent MUTCD though says spur routes should start their exit numbering where they meet their parent route, so even though the I-795 numbers go up heading southbound, this is technically the correct order.

[Alps]

I thought this was weird too. Especially since NCDOT kept the US 264 milepost exit numbers between I-95 and where I-795 splits off. The recent MUTCD though says spur routes should start their exit numbering where they meet their parent route, so even though the I-795 numbers go up heading southbound, this is technically the correct order.

Say what? MUTCD says route mileposts begin at the southern or western end of the route... (Section 2H.05, paragraphs 12-13)

[bob7374]

I thought this was weird too. Especially since NCDOT kept the US 264 milepost exit numbers between I-95 and where I-795 splits off. The recent MUTCD though says spur routes should start their exit numbering where they meet their parent route, so even though the I-795 numbers go up heading southbound, this is technically the correct order.

Say what? MUTCD says route mileposts begin at the southern or western end of the route... (Section 2H.05, paragraphs 12-13)

Well, according to my copy of the 2009 MUTCD (with 2012 revisions); according to Section 2E.31, paragraph 14-- "Spur route interchanges shall be numbered in ascending order starting at the interchange where the
spur leaves the mainline route (see Figure 2E-20), p. 216. There is also another note saying the exit number designation where a spur route meets the mainline route can either be 0 or 1.

I-795 is a case NCDOT followed the rule, but maybe it would have been better to sign it as other interstates with numbers starting at the southern end. (There's also the possibility that NCDOT sees the route continuing further south in the future in which the current exit scheme works best).

[deathtopumpkins]

Bob's correct here. The 2009 MUTCD specifies some interesting things for exit numbers that I think surely must be new additions.
Other interesting ones:
-"For circumferential routes, interchange numbering shall be in a clockwise direction.  The numbering shall begin with the first interchange west of the south end of an imaginary north-south line bisecting the circumferential route, at a radial freeway or other Interstate route, or some other conspicuous landmark in the circumferential route near a south polar location"
-"If a circumferential, loop, or spur route crosses State boundaries, the numbering sequence shall be coordinated by the States to provide continuous interchange numbering."
-"The interchange numbers on loop routes shall begin at the loop interchange nearest the south or west mainline junction and increase in magnitude toward the north or east mainline junction" [I hadn't realized this one was actually a rule. It's one that certainly gets violated, because there are 3dis that loop off their parents are numbered the opposite way (I-664 VA being one example)]

[Alps]

Bob's correct here.

I think the better way to phrase it is, "The MUTCD has some consistency issues."

there are 3dis that loop off their parents are numbered the opposite way (I-664 VA being one example)]

I-664 is an odd case. I-64 is nominally east-west, but then changes to inner/outer. In a way, you can't go right.