A highway may have one or more alternative alignments through a certain area. Sometimes these alternate routes serve other towns and cities, while others provide a different method of passing through a city. Many U.S. and state routes utilize alternate routes to provide options. On occasion, the alternate route might be faster or shorter than the original route. Signage for alternate routes may have a banner above the sign that says “ALTERNATE” or “ALT.”  Other alternate routes may have the letter “A” suffixed onto the route number.