Names vs. Numbers on highways

[tdindy88]

On I-65 from just before Lafayette, through downtown, and to I-465 south, the highway is signed as Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds highway.  But NO ONE calls it that.  It's pretty much a joke around here.  Many people will use "the dogleg" for the I-865 section and the I-65/I-70 merge are known as "the splits" and the actual splits are either the north split or south split.

I'm curious about circuit loops.  Some use beltway, some use inner and outer loops.  Some may use clock notation.  We use two directions.  Direction and side.  I-465 northbound on the east side.

There's also the Sam Jones Expressway and I have on occasion refered to the area between the North and South Split as the Spaghetti Bowl (or Mixing Bowl). And then there was the time David Letterman wanted to get I-465 named for him. I would admit, I would have liked to refer to 465 as "the Letterman."

[Ace10]

In Orlando.....
-The toll roads, except the Turnpike, are called by their numbers (408, 417, 528, 429).
-Orange Blossom Trail is OBT (north and south added, if no major intersecting road is stated along with it)
-FL 50 is mostly referred to as Colonial (West and East added to describe which part of town, if no major intersecting road is stated along with it)
-436 is used more than its name, Semoran Blvd
-434 is the collective name for that road, but it can be called Alafaya south of Oviedo.
-US 17/92 is acknowledged only as a duplex; its triplexes go by their respective street names.
-I-4 is I-4, not common to just call it "4".
-Other numbered routes are just known for their street names, for the most part. (You won't hear someone say "423 and 438" instead of "John Young and Princeton".)

I've heard on quite a few occasions FL-417 referred to as the GreeneWay or Central Florida GreeneWay.
FL-528 is usually the Beachline or the Beeline (older name).
FL-408 is usually "the 408". Haven't ever heard FL-429 referred to as "the 429" by anyone.

And FL-414 (John Land Apopka Expressway) is relatively new, and I don't live near that area so I'm not sure what the locals have chosen to call it.

US-1 in the Keys is usually called and signed as "Overseas Highway".

In Central Florida, especially the Orlando area, when referring to a non-toll road, most times we say the route number instead of the name. But in Miami-Dade, their streets are all on a grid and it's all numbers for them, but for the expressways they mostly reference the name instead of the number - Palmetto, Dolphin, Airport, Gratigny, Don Shula, Snapper Creek ... kinda threw me off when I expected them to call them by route number.

[agentsteel53]

I've heard on quite a few occasions FL-417 referred to as the GreeneWay or Central Florida GreeneWay.

it's formally called that.  



Though apparently this trailblazer is a tough find.

FL-528 is usually the Beachline or the Beeline (older name).

it was signed as such in the 70s.

[njroadhorse]

This might be off-topic, so I apologize, but I do like the way Maryland signs their highways with the shield and the name on the BGSes.  I find that to be a nice bonus to already good signage.

[US71]

How about  highways  named after entertainers or  celebrities?  Presidential  or political names do  not count.
   The  most obvious  first:  Elvis Presley Blvd in Memphis,TN
                                      Andy Devine  Ave in Kingman,AZ
                                      Don Knotts Blvd  in Morgantown, WV
                                      Rex Allen Drive in Willcox, AZ
                                      Garth Brooks Blvd in Yukon, OK
                                      Lee Trevino  Drive  in El Paso,TX
                                      Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert, CA
                                      Gene  Autry  Trail in Palm  Springs, CA
  OTHERS  ????????????

Sam Walton Blvd -- Bentonville, AR

John Q Hammons Blvd -- Springfield, MO

[Bickendan]

A couple come to mind in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan:

Knight St, no number. Vancouver.
Sea to Sky Highway, BC 99 north of Vancouver.
Upper Levels Highway, BC 1, 99. Metro Vancouver.
Coquihalla Highway, BC 5.
Yellowhead South, BC 5 north of Kamloops.
Okanagan Connector, BC 97C.
Okanagan Highway, BC 97.
Caribou Highway, BC 97.
John Hart Highway, BC 97.
Alaska Highway, BC 97, YT 1, AK 2/AK A1.
(Stewart-)Cassiar Highway/Deese Lake Highway, BC, YT 37.
Liard Highway, BC 77, NT 7.
Spirit River Highway, BC, AB 49.
Northern Woods and Water Route, BC 49, AB 49, 2, 55, SK 55, 9, MB (secondary) 283, 10, 5, 68. This may qualify for a named route changing numbers the most times (the TCH doesn't count).

Klondike Highway, AK 98, YT 2.
Haines Road, AK 7, YT 3.
Robert Campbell Highway, YT 4.
Dempster Highway, YT 5, NT 8.
Canol Road, YT 6, no number in NT.
Atlin Road, YT 7.
Tagish Road, YT 8.
Top of the World Highway, no number in AK, YT 9.
Nahanni Range Road, YT 10, no number in NT.
Silver Trail, YT 11.
Takhanni Hot Springs Road, YT 14.
Faro Road, YT 15.

Hay River Highway, NT 2.
Yellowknife Highway, NT 3.
Ingraham Trail, NT 4.
Fort Smith Highway, NT 5.
Fort Resolution Highway, NT 6.
Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Ice Road, NT 8 Ice.
Inuvik-Aklavik Ice Road, no number.
Dettah Ice Road, no number.
Jean Marie River Connector, no number.
Nahanni Winter Road, no number.
Gameti Winter Road, no number.
Deline Winter Road, no number.
Wahti Winter Road, no number.
Coleville Winter Road, no number.
Contwoyto Ice Road, no number (arguably NT 4 Ice), only overland route to NU.

Crowchild Trail, portion of AB 1A. Calgary.
Stony Trail, entirety of AB 201. Calgary.
Whitemud Drive, portion of AB 2 and AB 14. Edmonton.
Deerfoot Trail/Queen Elizabeth II Highway, freeway portion of AB 2 from AB 3 to Edmonton.
Glenmore Trail, AB 8 (and a bit beyond). Calgary.
Scarcee Trail, no number. Calgary.
Macloed Trail, AB 2A (number may be decommed). Calgary.
Spruce Meadows Trail, AB 22X (future AB 201). Metro Calgary.
Shaganappi Trail, no number. Calgary.
Bedington Trail, no number. Calgary.
Memorial Drive, no number. Calgary.
Edmonton Trail, AB 2A (decommed?). Calgary. Not a freeway/expressway.
Crowsnest Highway, BC and AB 3. Even gets its own special shield.
Anthony Henday Drive, AB 216. Edmonton.
Stony Plain Drive, AB 16A. Edmonton.
Yellowhead Highway, BC, AB, SK and MB 16. TCH, duh.
Groat Road, no number. Edmonton.
Capilano Freeway (formerly Wayne Gretzky Drive), no number. Edmonton.
Sherwood Park Freeway, may have a secondary number (AB 6xx). Edmonton.
Terwilliger Drive, no number -- yet. Edmonton (looks like a freeway under construction ala Clark County 215).
St Albert Trail, AB 2 north of Edmonton.
Grizzly Trail, AB 33.
Mackenzie Highway, AB 35, NT 1, NT 1 Ice.

Circle Drive, no number, SK 16. Saskatoon.
Ring Road, SK 1, 6. Regina.
Louis Riel Trail, SK 11.

And the list is incomplete -- I can't remember what the Dinosaur Trail's number in AB is offhand
I've the feeling most of these routes are known by their name and not their number.

[SignBridge]

Yes, around Washington D.C., both Maryland and Virginia have both name and route-shield on their signs, especially on the Capital Beltway and other highways in that vicinity.

[exit322]

In the Cleveland Area, most freeways are referred by route number and most surface streets are referred by name.

Exceptions:

I-90 through downtown is referred to as The Innerbelt
I-90 between SR 2 and I-271 is referred to as The Euclid (/Wickliffe) Spur
I-90 between The Innerbelt and E. 140th St. is referred to as The East Shoreway
SR 2 between I-90 in Euclid and roughly SR 91/SR 640 in Eastlake is referred to as The Lakeland Freeway
SR 2 between The Innerbelt and Lake Avenue is referred to as The West Shoreway
And The Ohio Turnpike is referred to as The Turnpike

The majority of the aforementioned named freeways are known as their names due to the multiplexes on said freeways. 

Don't forget "The Jennings" (OH 176 - Jennings Freeway)

[BigMattFromTexas]

Here in Angelo, everyone calls US 67 either Houston Harte (which is its name) or "the Loop". But after I emailed the people who BUILT it, they told me that Loop 306 starts/ends at Business 67 (Sherwood way) and then it continues South and goes around San Angelo, then interchanges with US 67 again on the North-East side. So it would be wrong to call Loop 306 Houston Harte Expressway. The main thing I was trying to say is, here people always call US 67 Houston Harte and a majority of them don't know what highway they're actually driving on.

And in San Antonio I-410 is signed on I-10 as 410 - Connally Loop:

BigMatt

[TheStranger]

In Austin this weekend...Loop 1 is signed as "MoPac Boulevard" off of US 183, SH 71 is "Ben White Boulevard"...on the other hand, while 183 is signed for "Research Boulevard" off of Interstate 35, this seems to specifically refer to the surface frontage road and not the freeway.

[US71]

Rarely used, but there is the Wilbur Mills Freeway in Little Rock (aka I-630)

There is the North Belt Freeway (AR 440) near Little Rock

Also John Paul Hammerschmidt Highway (I-540 from Alma to Bentonville, then US 71 to the AR-MO state line)

[hm insulators]

How about  highways  named after entertainers or  celebrities?  Presidential  or political names do  not count.
    The  most obvious  first:  Elvis Presley Blvd in Memphis,TN
                                       Andy Devine  Ave in Kingman,AZ
                                       Don Knotts Blvd  in Morgantown, WV
                                       Rex Allen Drive in Willcox, AZ
                                       Garth Brooks Blvd in Yukon, OK
                                       Lee Trevino  Drive  in El Paso,TX
                                       Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert, CA
                                       Gene  Autry  Trail in Palm  Springs, CA
   OTHERS  ????????????

There's a Bob Hope Drive in the Palm Springs area; it actually crosses Frank Sinatra Drive.

[thenetwork]

There's a Bob Hope Drive in the Palm Springs area; it actually crosses Frank Sinatra Drive.

Also in that area: Monty Hall Drive. Must have been a heck of a deal to get that street named for him.


Isn't there a Muhammad Ali Boulevard in Louisville, KY?  I remember seeing something with "The Greatest's" namesake off of I-65 in Downtown Louisville.

[nyratk1]

How about  highways  named after entertainers or  celebrities?  Presidential  or political names do  not count.
    The  most obvious  first:  Elvis Presley Blvd in Memphis,TN
                                       Andy Devine  Ave in Kingman,AZ
                                       Don Knotts Blvd  in Morgantown, WV
                                       Rex Allen Drive in Willcox, AZ
                                       Garth Brooks Blvd in Yukon, OK
                                       Lee Trevino  Drive  in El Paso,TX
                                       Frank Sinatra Drive in Palm Desert, CA
                                       Gene  Autry  Trail in Palm  Springs, CA
   OTHERS  ????????????

Guy Lombardo Avenue (was Nassau CR 88 when that system existed) runs through Freeport, NY

[SSOWorld]

Similarly, in the Boston area, you'll hear traffic reporters and locals refer to the inner beltway as Route 128.  MassHighway eliminated most 128 signage from I-95's BGSs (and altogether on the I-93 portion), but old habits die hard.   (Route 128 is named the Yankee Division Highway).
They'll often just refer to it as "The Expressway"

US 12, (along with it's "friends" (US 18, 14, 151)) is referred to as "The Beltline" in Madison sometimes separated into "West Beltline and South Beltline

Milwaukee almost never refers to its freeways by name.  It, however uses the names of the interchanges between freeways for reference points.

you'll get references to the Southeast Expressway (MA, not US 3 heading out of Boston) and until recently it was inevitable that the Central Artery (I-93) was clogged.  Now it's the Big Dig that's backed up.

[SP Cook]

West Virginia:

Most every 4-lane road has a name (only half of them being named after you-know-who), generally a dead politician or after a particular war.  No one ever uses any of them.  If you asked somebody where the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway or the Cecil Underwood Expressway was, they would not know.

All interstates are simply "I-##" or "##", as I-64 or 64.

Despite almost no signage to encourage this (the only signage is on the mile markers) most Appalachian highways are called "Corridor *".  Corridor G, L, D, H are always called this by locals, rather than US 119, 19, 50 or 33.  The exception is US 460, which is called "four-sixty" and rarely "Corridor Q".

The WV Turnpike is always "the turnpike", never "I-64/77".

All other roads in the state are simply "Route #", never "US" or "WV" or whatever.  The exception being US 52 in Wayne County.   US 52 was moved about 8 miles west between Kenova and Crum in the mid-70s.   The new road (which may someday be four-laned as a part of the I-73/73 foolishness) is signed as "US 52" but is always called "The Tolsia Highway", while the old road, now signed as "WV 152" is generally "Old 52" to locals.

[agentsteel53]

(only half of them being named after you-know-who)

no, I do not.  Likely not Robert E. Lee, as WV was a union state - in fact, it specifically seceded from VA in 1862 so that it could join the union!  Hm, famous West Virginians - so famous that half the place would be named after them?  Mary Lou Retton, still alive.  Chuck Yeager, still alive but so awesome that I wouldn't object if they renamed the entire country to Yeagerland...

[Scott5114]

I think you haven't given that train of thought a Byrd bath...

[Michael in Philly]

^^^
And of course Orlando is probably the only place other than Southern California where people often refer to freeways with "the", as in "the 408". This only applies to the toll roads. I-4 is, as you stated, always I-4.

And people here in Brevard still often call 528 "The Beeline".

"The 401," for example, is apparently normal usage in Ontario, and I've heard "the" in front of numbers on traffic reports in the Buffalo area (the two times in my life I was there....)  Canadian influence in Buffalo?
Hearing a TV character who's supposedly spent her entire life in Connecticut say "the 95" used to make me want to throw things at the TV.

[Michael in Philly]

Standard practice in New York State is to use only the route number on most signs, as per the Manual. However there is an exception in the five-boroughs of New York City. Most BGS's there have both the route shield and route name on the top line of the sign (as was also seen in Los Angeles). This deal between NYC and NYSDOT has been for over 40 years, since the 1960's.

Interesting history there. Prior to the BGS era that began circa 1960, all signing in NYC was by road name only. With the coming of the 1964 Worlds Fair, there was a major rebuilding of highways in Queens including upgrading of existing ones to Interstate status. When the new signing went up with numbers only there was a serious revolt in the NYC media. New Yorkers just couldn't accept the infamous Long Island Expwy. being signed as only "495"  or the Brooklyn-Queens Expwy. as just "278". So after several years of controversy NYSDOT finally agreed to post both number and name in NYC only, (not on Long Island). A major resigning project was done circa 1972 and the practice continues in the present era.

And I might add, New Yorkers continue to refer to these roads as the "L.I.E." and the "B.Q.E."         

I didn't know that history.  It may also be a factor that lots of New York area expressways have been through a couple of number changes, including a major overhaul of Interstate numbering in about 1973 - did you know that I-78 used to end in the Bronx, after a swing down by Kennedy?  Which brings to mind that Rand McNally maps of the right vintage show a distinction between signed and unsigned Interstates - black-and-white markers for the former, red-and-white for the latter.  I forget exactly how the legend defined "unsigned" - "markers not erected," maybe - but you'd see the red markers on some roads that had been in place for decades, not just on unbuilt segments.

[SignBridge]

You are correct on both issues Michael. In the 1960's I-78 included the Clearview Expwy. which led to the Throgs Neck Bridge to the Bronx. It was supposed to be extended south to JFK Airport, but that was never built. During the big resigning project of the early 1970's, the Clearview Expwy. was changed to I-295.

And I do remember those maps you mentioned indicating theoretical Interstates with "markers not erected". They showed the New Jersey Tpk. like that, as I-95, with no markers. And so it goes...........

[agentsteel53]

anyone got a picture of a New York state-named I-78?

[agentsteel53]

I think you haven't given that train of thought a Byrd bath...

he's been dead for a month.  these things take time.

[hbelkins]

he's been dead for a month.  these things take time.

Heh. The entire APD system in the state is signed for him as well as at least one of the APD routes itself and numerous other roads/public works. And that's while he was still alive and functioning. No need to name anything after him after his death since so much was named for him while he was alive.

And speaking of him, I was totally stunned at the governor's choice of an unknown to succeed him in the Senate. I would have bet both my houses on Congressman Rahall being named to that seat, since he was basically Byrd's adopted son. What was Manchin thinking? That he wants to run for the seat himself and didn't want a strong incumbent already in it?

[SP Cook]

Manchin tried to claim that the law said a special election did not have to be held until the 2012 general election (when both his and Byrd's term expire anyway), but was rebuffed by the courts, and thus named an unknown to the seat until this November's election.  The placeholder's father is a longtime political hack who is now a federal judge and is elligiable for retirement in 2011, and the placeholder will be appointed to that slot.

The next big mess is when, and its probably a when, not an if, Manchin get the Senate seat this November.  WV does not have a Lt. Gov., and the state Constitution is quite confusing on how long the President of the State Senate (a part time job, more or less just the majority leader of the part-time legislature) gets to "act" as governor. 

Anyway, working from memory, I am certian I am missing many:

Highways:

Entire Appalachian Corridor System - RCB Appalachian Highway System
Corridor H - RCB Expressway
Corridor G - RCB Freeway
US 22 - RCB Highway
"New" 5th St. Bridge in Huntington - RCB Bridge
South Valley Drive in Beckley - RCB Drive

Schools:

Consolidated HS in Harrison County - RCB High
Main building at Marshall U Medical School - RCB Center for Rural Health
WVU Med School - RCB School of Medicine
Main Building at WV School of Osteopathic Medicine - RCB Health Center
Building at MU Graduate College in South Charleston - RCB Hall
MU Program to fund transfer of  DoD research to private sector - RCB Institute
Lumber Research at Concord U - RCB Wood Technology Program
Pharmacy program at U of Charleston (a private school) - RCB School of Pharmacy
Consolidated Off-Campus instruction center in Beckley - Erma (wife) Byrd Center

Others:

RCB Federal Courthouse, Charleston
RCB Federal Courthouse, Beckley
RCB Lock & Dam, Ohio River near Pt. Pleasant
RCB Lodge at Ogalby Park (Wheeling's city park)

Byrd had no sons and a very contensious relationship with his daughters, only one of which (a Muslim convert) attended his funeral.  I'm no psychologist, but the source of this weird narcisism is probably in that fact somewhere.