A bypass route, such as a freeway around a city or town, may be shown with the "BYPASS," "BY-PASS," or "BYP" designation. U.S. and state routes both use bypass routes in select states. Bypass routes are not necessarily limited or controlled access routes. At-grade bypasses often represent the main commercial corridors for smaller cities, such as Jackson, Tennessee.
A business spur is a surface street route leading from the Interstate highway into the central commercial district. The spur route ends upon reaching a specified point within that urban area. An example is Business Spur I-44 into Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
A business loop freeway (or freeway loop) is a freeway that is designated as a business route of an Interstate highway with green and white shields. Business Loop Freeways are created as a result of a newer freeway route being constructed parallel to the original Interstate, and the Interstate designation is transferred to the new alignment. Normally, the older route is not up to Interstate standards, so it is not [...]
A business loop is generally a surface street route that leads into a downtown or business district and returns to the freeway at the other end. Frequently, the business loop is the alignment of the original highway before that highway was bypassed. An example is Business Loop I-83, which follows old U.S. 111 through York, Pennsylvania.
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 [...]