AARoads Forum

As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

There are a lot of symbolic highways like you talk about, but  I don't think Dane County PB has anything to do with those things.  First, PB historically went well north of Paoli.  Second it doesn't go to Belleville - it actually serves as a bypass of the village.  Third, the historic lead mining region of Wisconsin is well southwest of Dane County.

Brown County VK is interesting.  But Brown County has a lot of two letter roads that don't seem to make a lot of sense...so who knows.

Rock County recently renamed a former Hwy 11 segment County WC. It connects existing Hwy 11 to, of course, West Court St. in Janesville, which eventually leads to downtown.

I'm very interested in this thread! I would love to learn where more of the letter designations came from.  Also, why is a lot of former US18 from Verona to Dodgeville signed as County "ID"?

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 01, 2021, 09:18:49 AM
I'm very interested in this thread! I would love to learn where more of the letter designations came from.  Also, why is a lot of former US18 from Verona to Dodgeville signed as County "ID"?

County ID stands for Iowa and Dane counties, which it runs between.

I know County LO in Waukesha County, formerly STH 99, is named after former county board chairman Lloyd Owens.

Many other double letter designations may be just random picks of letter combinations. Or they may be connecting routes between "parents". But I don't think there are any rules over how double or triple-lettered county highways are named.

How much money did Kenosha County get for this one? :spin:

https://goo.gl/maps/hXWoo3DUPFzDF4FV9

Intersection of County Road P and County Road OO: NE2's profile picture.

I know county road S in Kenosha is because it goes through the Southport neighborhood in the city. EZ because it was an Easy route from the state line to Kenosha but it has since been truncated to Pleasant Prairie. The other ones in Kenosha County (ML, H, C, U etc) I have no clue. I think in most cases they're randomly generated. In Illinois they're based on letters and numbers in certain counties (Boone, Cook, Lake, McHenry, St Clair) North and South roads get letters at the end of the alphabet while east west roads get letters at the beginning of the alphabet and then the numbers descend as one heads west (for N/S roads) and ascends as one heads south ,(for E/W roads). So for example County Road A1 denotes the IL/WI state line and county road A50 is the Lake Cook county line. With this system the letters W, and V are all shared across Cook , Lake and McHenry counties. B & C are exclusive to cook. It's more organized this way but not all counties follow this system.

CTH-OK in Sheboygan County, symbolizes how it's OK, not great, not terrible.

But it actually does sort of connect Oostburg and Kohler.

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

That one still baffles me as VK is the best combination for Vikings.

Quote from: Big John on October 01, 2021, 12:31:29 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

That one still baffles me as VK is the best combination for Vikings.

Some two-letter county trunk highways in Brown County are named because of their connections. CTH GV, Monroe Road, once connected CTH V (Lime Kiln Road) and CTH G (Dickenson Rd) before it was extended to CTH X (Heritage Rd). But the only newer two-letter CTH that makes sense is HS for Howard-Suamico.

CTH VK is relatively new. Lombardi Avenue once was US 41 before the bypass between Main St De Pere and Velp was built. IIRC, it was WI 119 for a while and may have been a Business Route too. But CTH VK isn't the only baffling two letter combo in Brown County. Packerland Drive is CTH EB. Bay Settlement Rd and Huron Rd have been connected and are CTH EA. CTH KR north of Pamprin Park is also a puzzle as is CTH KB east of Denmark on the former WI 96. At least the former US 141 and rerouted WI 32 were given more traditional single letters, CTH R and CTH W respectively.

Brown County is also one of the counties with triple letter CTHs. CTH AAA is Oneida St just east of Lambeau and eventually Waube Ln in Ashwaubenon. CTH DDD is an old connector from US 41 to Wrightstown (I believe it was formerly CTH DD. No idea when it acquired the third D.). CTH HHH was Ashland Av when WI 32 was Lombardi Av; Hazelwood Rd (CTH VK west of US 41) was CTH BBB at that time. Many of the roads in Brown County have changed names since I was a kid in Allouez.

County BD in Sauk County was created from the former route of US 12 from Baraboo to Lake Delton as a link between those two cities.

Quote from: skluth on October 01, 2021, 02:09:28 PM

Quote from: Big John on October 01, 2021, 12:31:29 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

That one still baffles me as VK is the best combination for Vikings.

Some two-letter county trunk highways in Brown County are named because of their connections. CTH GV, Monroe Road, once connected CTH V (Lime Kiln Road) and CTH G (Dickenson Rd) before it was extended to CTH X (Heritage Rd). But the only newer two-letter CTH that makes sense is HS for Howard-Suamico.

CTH VK is relatively new. Lombardi Avenue once was US 41 before the bypass between Main St De Pere and Velp was built. IIRC, it was WI 119 for a while and may have been a Business Route too. But CTH VK isn't the only baffling two letter combo in Brown County. Packerland Drive is CTH EB. Bay Settlement Rd and Huron Rd have been connected and are CTH EA. CTH KR north of Pamprin Park is also a puzzle as is CTH KB east of Denmark on the former WI 96. At least the former US 141 and rerouted WI 32 were given more traditional single letters, CTH R and CTH W respectively.

Brown County is also one of the counties with triple letter CTHs. CTH AAA is Oneida St just east of Lambeau and eventually Waube Ln in Ashwaubenon. CTH DDD is an old connector from US 41 to Wrightstown (I believe it was formerly CTH DD. No idea when it acquired the third D.). CTH HHH was Ashland Av when WI 32 was Lombardi Av; Hazelwood Rd (CTH VK west of US 41) was CTH BBB at that time. Many of the roads in Brown County have changed names since I was a kid in Allouez.

Lombardi Avenue was most recently WI-32 up until 1999, which is when it received the County VK designation.  According to Chris Bessert's page, the WI-119 designation was on maps along with Business US-41, but may not have been signed in the field. 

Also, why is University Avenue on the west side of Madison called "MS" ? (Maybe because it connects Middleton with Shorewood Hills? In addition, it feeds into US 14 westbound which links to Spring Green. Perhaps it's that.)

WD in Door County leads to Whitefish Dunes State Park.

Quote from: Big John on October 01, 2021, 12:31:29 PM
CTH DDD is an old connector from US 41 to Wrightstown (I believe it was formerly CTH DD. No idea when it acquired the third D.).

No idea of the history behind these roads, but right now DDD runs south from I-41 and CTH U into Wrightstown, and DD is the east-west Broadway St in town. It appears as though DDD is just a branch of DD, which is itself a branch of D.

:| http://www.google.com/maps/@43.7980642,-88.6752245,3a,15y,204.6h,86.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLuo3u8GgBzCGaIADkvxhWw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Always liked County HHH: https://goo.gl/maps/58ML2zXJS8ShcUH27

Quote from: JREwing78 on October 01, 2021, 08:45:40 PM
Always liked County HHH: https://goo.gl/maps/58ML2zXJS8ShcUH27

(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/smackdown/images/e/e5/The_Game_Triple_H_%282K19%29.jpg)

Quote from: pianocello on October 01, 2021, 05:05:50 PM
WD in Door County leads to Whitefish Dunes State Park.

Quote from: Big John on October 01, 2021, 12:31:29 PM
CTH DDD is an old connector from US 41 to Wrightstown (I believe it was formerly CTH DD. No idea when it acquired the third D.).

No idea of the history behind these roads, but right now DDD runs south from I-41 and CTH U into Wrightstown, and DD is the east-west Broadway St in town. It appears as though DDD is just a branch of DD, which is itself a branch of D.

That is usually the logic that was employed for county highways in the past.

Quote from: JREwing78 on October 01, 2021, 08:45:40 PM
Always liked County HHH: https://goo.gl/maps/58ML2zXJS8ShcUH27

That is the most-used triple-letter county highway designation.

IIRC there's also a CTH-AAA somewhere?

Quote from: thspfc on October 02, 2021, 09:58:48 PM
IIRC there's also a CTH-AAA somewhere?

I already mentioned it. It's Oneida St  (https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4894755,-88.0649488,18.77z?hl=en)and Waube Ln (https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4712801,-88.0925546,18.06z?hl=en) in Ashwaubenon, connecting Lambeau Field to Packerland Drive.

Here in Madison, Broadway (old US 12/18) is known as CTH-BW. I wish it was signposted on the Beltline. Exits 262 through 265 all intersect (or in 265's case, nearly) County Highways, but none are signed. 262 intersects CTH-MM, 263 marks the eastern terminus of CTH-MC, 264 marks the western terminus of CTH-BW, and 265 is located just south of CTH-BB's southern terminus at CTH-BW (I don't think BB was ever extended to the Beltline interchange). Even CTH-MS has never been signed at Exit 251A-B.

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 05:01:52 PM
Also, why is University Avenue on the west side of Madison called "MS" ? (Maybe because it connects Middleton with Shorewood Hills? In addition, it feeds into US 14 westbound which links to Spring Green. Perhaps it's that.)

While this is a supposition, County Trunk MS connected County Trunk M/US 12 along University Avenue and Park Street with the urban extension of County Trunk S /Mineral Point Rd/Speedway Road/Regent Street.  Granted these streets are not signed as county trunks anymore, but I remember very small route markers that did not conform to WisDOT standards in the early "˜60s. 

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM
County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

So we can't drive on them.

Call a pot a kettle.  Put peanut butter on an apple, not an orange.

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 05, 2021, 03:28:15 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM
County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

So we can't drive on them.

Call a pot a kettle.  Put peanut butter on an apple, not an orange.

So...County Trunk Highways are not County Roads...

Quote from: Rothman on October 05, 2021, 06:54:23 AM

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 05, 2021, 03:28:15 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM
County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

So we can't drive on them.

Call a pot a kettle.  Put peanut butter on an apple, not an orange.

So...County Trunk Highways are not County Roads...

It's not like West Virginia, where their "county" roads are actually state-maintained.

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

Calumet County has County HR for Hacker Rd and LP for Lake Park Rd but is decommissioned.
Door Co uses WD for Whitefish Dunes and NP for Newport State Park.
Brown County has 3 county Roads stating with an "I" . IL goes to a dump, IV goes to a sewage plant, and IR goes to the Zoo. All 3 are spurs. Other than that Brown Co doesn't use logic. County G west of De Pere was recently changed to County GF. County HS was most likely for Howard/Suamico which it passes through and was once US 41.
GV in Outagamie Co. was Wis 76 and stands for Greenville. Ironically it's not that far away from GV in Brown Co and they're the only 2 in the state.

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

I have rarely, if ever, heard them called "County Roads."

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on October 04, 2021, 09:14:09 PM
Here in Madison, Broadway (old US 12/18) is known as CTH-BW. I wish it was signposted on the Beltline. Exits 262 through 265 all intersect (or in 265's case, nearly) County Highways, but none are signed. 262 intersects CTH-MM, 263 marks the eastern terminus of CTH-MC, 264 marks the western terminus of CTH-BW, and 265 is located just south of CTH-BB's southern terminus at CTH-BW (I don't think BB was ever extended to the Beltline interchange). Even CTH-MS has never been signed at Exit 251A-B.

There really is no reason to sign most of them.  There is no reason to sign most urban county highways in Wisconsin because they are not really used for navigational purposes.

On the way home from work, I exit on Mason Street on the east side of Green Bay, which is also Brown County V.  No one calls it "County Highway V."  It's "Mason Street."  Yet it has the V shield on the BGS, which is undoubtedly accurate, but wholly unnecessary. 

Quote from: peterj920 on October 05, 2021, 11:02:56 AM
IL goes to a dump

I bet they did that intentionally. ;)
Then did the other I's to make it look like part of a system and not a cheap dig at the southern neighbors.

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 05, 2021, 01:40:10 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

I have rarely, if ever, heard them called "County Roads."

Um... up here in the northwest, it's all "county roads" all the time, and you never ever hear "county trunk". 

Quote from: invincor on October 05, 2021, 01:57:19 PM

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 05, 2021, 01:40:10 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

I have rarely, if ever, heard them called "County Roads."

Um... up here in the northwest, it's all "county roads" all the time, and you never ever hear "county trunk". 

Really?  That's interesting.  I have not heard "county trunk" either though.

Our parlance where I grew up is "County W"; "County F"; "County M".
But if you wrote an address, it was usually "CTH W" "CTH F" etc.

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 05, 2021, 02:10:13 PM

Quote from: invincor on October 05, 2021, 01:57:19 PM

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 05, 2021, 01:40:10 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

I have rarely, if ever, heard them called "County Roads."

Um... up here in the northwest, it's all "county roads" all the time, and you never ever hear "county trunk". 

Really?  That's interesting.  I have not heard "county trunk" either though.

I heard it when I was a kid in the 60's, but I think it's dropped out of the local vernacular. My dad used to say it; he also washed his hands in the "zinc" and fished in the "crick." These days, it's just Highway X or just X (Webster Av where I grew up) when I go back to GB.

Here's what I do. I will refer to them as "County B" or "County G" when speaking, especially to non-roadgeeks. I will write it out that way too. If I'm writing more formally, I will then use CTH-B or CTH-G. These ways are most logical and simple.

I didn't grow up in Wisconsin, but I've spent enough time here to have an opinion. :bigass:

Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 05, 2021, 02:17:19 PM
Our parlance where I grew up is "County W"; "County F"; "County M".
But if you wrote an address, it was usually "CTH W" "CTH F" etc.

In Vilas County, where I spent my summers as a kid, county roads were either called "County xx" or just "Highway xx." 

I'm old enough to remember the road signs spelling out the full name of the road, such as "County Trunk Highway J" or "State Forest Road E," for those lettered roads that were on State Forest land.  Those designations ended around 1962 or so, and regardless of who's land they ran over, they were signed "County x" after that.

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

Calm down.  It is completely on topic. 

And if you don't think so, report it to the moderator.  Because whining about topic changes never works.

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM
County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.

Sure they are. A county road is a road maintained by the county. A county highway is a highway maintained by the county. A highway is a road.

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 06, 2021, 08:58:16 AM

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

However, you're making mountains out of molehills and are taking it off topic - please read the topic title.  This is my mod mode speaking.

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 06, 2021, 07:35:22 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 06, 2021, 08:58:16 AM

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

However, you're making mountains out of molehills and are taking it off topic - please read the topic title.  This is my mod mode speaking.

Classic over-moderation here. Threads go different directions sometimes. Not every reply has to be about the specific topic in the title. This is relevant discussion, no need for purple text.

I've always heard county roads referred to as "Highway C" , or sometimes just the letter with no prefix. CTH is the official abbreviation; nobody outside of this forum cares about that.

Quote from: thspfc on October 06, 2021, 09:42:22 PM

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 06, 2021, 07:35:22 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 06, 2021, 08:58:16 AM

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

However, you're making mountains out of molehills and are taking it off topic - please read the topic title.  This is my mod mode speaking.

Classic over-moderation here. Threads go different directions sometimes. Not every reply has to be about the specific topic in the title. This is relevant discussion, no need for purple text.

OK, fair enough. It's just that when I create threads, I often check them several times a day for new replies (especially if they pertain to a topic I'm really curious about, which is, after all, the main reason I make them in the first place). Because I'm looking for new examples, it just kind of bothers me to discover that the latest few posts are nothing more than (what appears to me to be) a pointless squabble over semantics.

All right, rant over. Anyway, here's my attempt to get the thread back on track. In Fond Du Lac, Winnebago Drive (which runs along the lake of the same name, east of downtown) is marked as County WH, presumably named for Lake Winnebago and the nearby Lighthouse Harbor.

County WH is mostly former Wis 149 that became 3 different county roads. Between Marytown and Kiel, it became an extension of County HH. The concurrent section with County G is just County G. Between US 151 and County G the route was changed to County WH. When US 151 was rerouted, County WH was extended through Taycheedah along old 151. No idea why WH was chosen other than Old Wis 149 intersecting County HH and County W.

Keep in mind Fond Du Lac County may have more County road routes than any other county in the state.

It has HHH, VVV, and OOO for triple letters and once had County KKK which probably went away for obvious reasons. However, it was renamed Triple Kay Rd.

Other odd choices are County AS, AW, TC, and RP.

Quote from: thspfc on October 06, 2021, 09:42:22 PM

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 06, 2021, 07:35:22 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 06, 2021, 08:58:16 AM

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

However, you're making mountains out of molehills and are taking it off topic - please read the topic title.  This is my mod mode speaking.

Classic over-moderation here. Threads go different directions sometimes. Not every reply has to be about the specific topic in the title. This is relevant discussion, no need for purple text.

Cry harder.  Context: I literally work at a county DOT.  A county road is a county route is a county highway.  We all use them interchangeably.   Nitpicking between which synonym you prefer is NOT productive discussion.  It's insanely irritating and pointless.  Arguing between your preference toward the word "big" versus the word "large" is not only completely irrelevant to this thread; it's completely irrelevant in general.  I was looking forward to this thread until there was an entire page's worth of pointless bickering.

Moderators: Delete several posts (including what I'm typing right now) and continue with the actual discussion.

Another one would be DK the old routing of highway 57 a good bet that stand for Door and Kewaunee Counties.
There is also the famous DL in Sauk County which of course stands for Devils Lake.
Rock County has a BT which I assume is an abbreviation for Beloit.
Outagamie County has a CA which you could argue is an abbreviation for College Ave the name of the road or county airport since that is where it goes to.
Richland County has RC which would stand for Richland Center

Quote from: 1 on October 07, 2021, 10:15:23 AM
Moderators: Delete several posts (including what I'm typing right now) and continue with the actual discussion.

Yep, delete civil discussion about roads on a road forum. Because that makes sense.

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

Having not traveled extensively in Wisconsin, and definitely not off the signed Interstate, US, and state route system, I ask: Are all county highways designated with the "County X" black-on-whilte-in-a-square-with-rounded-corners marker? Or is there a difference between levels of maintenance and funding the way there is in neighboring Minnesota, where you have county routes signed with two different markers, the standard pentagon, and a black-and-white square, where one designates a CSAH (county state-aid highway) and one doesn't?

The USPS can choose to name a mail delivery route anything it wants to. In some places in Kentucky, those are still called Rural Routes (RR) or Home Contract Routes (HCR). My grandmother's address changed from a RR, where mail was addressed to "Rt. X Box XXX," to a HCR, where the mail was addressed to "HCR X, Box XXX."

When my county instituted a 911 system, they did an exhaustive study of roads and when duplicate names were found, the appropriate government body (city or county) was asked to eliminate the duplicates. State-maintained routes were named with the route number, and if appropriate, the direction of travel. "Highway 52 West" and "Highway 52 East" going out of the county seat; other routes being differentiated directionally if there was a concurrency. ("Highway 708 North" and Highway 708 South," based on a concurrency with KY 52.) The post office adopted those 911 names as its official routings.

In Breathitt County, however, delivery addresses are mostly based on names. KY 52 runs west from its terminus at KY 30, near Jackson. Its post office and 911 name isn't "Highway 52" or "Highway 52 West." It's "Beattyville Road."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a "county highway" and a "county road" be the same thing unless the terms are used differently to distinguish between funding sources?

Also, aren't some of Missouri's lettered state secondary routes so "numbered" for special reasons?

Quote from: SSOWorld on October 06, 2021, 07:35:22 PM

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 06, 2021, 08:58:16 AM

Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 05, 2021, 11:08:21 PM
Oh my god shut up about the stupid gatekeeping of what you think is proper nomenclature and stop derailing the thread.

The discussion sure seems relevant to the thread title to me.

However, you're making mountains out of molehills and are taking it off topic - please read the topic title.  This is my mod mode speaking.

Not sure if you just picked a random post to quote or not, but I'm not really the one gatekeeping:

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM
The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2021, 01:15:57 PM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

Having not traveled extensively in Wisconsin, and definitely not off the signed Interstate, US, and state route system, I ask: Are all county highways designated with the "County X" black-on-whilte-in-a-square-with-rounded-corners marker? Or is there a difference between levels of maintenance and funding the way there is in neighboring Minnesota, where you have county routes signed with two different markers, the standard pentagon, and a black-and-white square, where one designates a CSAH (county state-aid highway) and one doesn't?

The USPS can choose to name a mail delivery route anything it wants to. In some places in Kentucky, those are still called Rural Routes (RR) or Home Contract Routes (HCR). My grandmother's address changed from a RR, where mail was addressed to "Rt. X Box XXX," to a HCR, where the mail was addressed to "HCR X, Box XXX."

When my county instituted a 911 system, they did an exhaustive study of roads and when duplicate names were found, the appropriate government body (city or county) was asked to eliminate the duplicates. State-maintained routes were named with the route number, and if appropriate, the direction of travel. "Highway 52 West" and "Highway 52 East" going out of the county seat; other routes being differentiated directionally if there was a concurrency. ("Highway 708 North" and Highway 708 South," based on a concurrency with KY 52.) The post office adopted those 911 names as its official routings.

In Breathitt County, however, delivery addresses are mostly based on names. KY 52 runs west from its terminus at KY 30, near Jackson. Its post office and 911 name isn't "Highway 52" or "Highway 52 West." It's "Beattyville Road."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a "county highway" and a "county road" be the same thing unless the terms are used differently to distinguish between funding sources?

Also, aren't some of Missouri's lettered state secondary routes so "numbered" for special reasons?

All county highways are designated the same way and there are no primary or secondary highways.  They are all signed with the "traditional" county highway sign like you mention, although some counties are better than others at signage.  And Waukesha County has a weird sign that is used every so often but it is still black on white.

Most unincorporated portions of counties are set up on a grid of some sort that determines addressing and would be something along the lines of "W1234 County Highway T."

Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2021, 01:15:57 PM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

Having not traveled extensively in Wisconsin, and definitely not off the signed Interstate, US, and state route system, I ask: Are all county highways designated with the "County X" black-on-whilte-in-a-square-with-rounded-corners marker? Or is there a difference between levels of maintenance and funding the way there is in neighboring Minnesota, where you have county routes signed with two different markers, the standard pentagon, and a black-and-white square, where one designates a CSAH (county state-aid highway) and one doesn't?

The USPS can choose to name a mail delivery route anything it wants to. In some places in Kentucky, those are still called Rural Routes (RR) or Home Contract Routes (HCR). My grandmother's address changed from a RR, where mail was addressed to "Rt. X Box XXX," to a HCR, where the mail was addressed to "HCR X, Box XXX."

When my county instituted a 911 system, they did an exhaustive study of roads and when duplicate names were found, the appropriate government body (city or county) was asked to eliminate the duplicates. State-maintained routes were named with the route number, and if appropriate, the direction of travel. "Highway 52 West" and "Highway 52 East" going out of the county seat; other routes being differentiated directionally if there was a concurrency. ("Highway 708 North" and Highway 708 South," based on a concurrency with KY 52.) The post office adopted those 911 names as its official routings.

In Breathitt County, however, delivery addresses are mostly based on names. KY 52 runs west from its terminus at KY 30, near Jackson. Its post office and 911 name isn't "Highway 52" or "Highway 52 West." It's "Beattyville Road."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a "county highway" and a "county road" be the same thing unless the terms are used differently to distinguish between funding sources?

Also, aren't some of Missouri's lettered state secondary routes so "numbered" for special reasons?

I believe that Wisconsin's county routes are some of the most consistent in the country in terms of signage and maintenance. All of them are considered to be the same "level". Almost all of them have adequate pavement markings (contrary to a lot of the paved backroads that are not county routes).

The nicer ones, such as this, look the same as WI state routes: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.2217202,-89.263898,3a,50.4y,176.87h,81.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFj_zyIUvfiWDgnSKh6OF5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

That stretch of CTH-C is probably one of the nicer two lane roads in Wisconsin right now.

Most of them look more like this: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3009682,-89.3829271,3a,75y,9.48h,84.86t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBbYP4eJ8TciFwkCsT7uk6Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DBbYP4eJ8TciFwkCsT7uk6Q%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D89.28088%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

There's the occasional unsigned ghost route. It's also annoying how some of them have really odd routings. CTH-A in Sheboygan County, for example, begins in Oostburg, goes southwest to near Kewaskum, then north to Elkhart Lake, then back east to Howards Grove.

Some of them are really long because one county picks up where the other left off, and then another, and so on. CTH-F in southwestern Wisconsin, between Belmont and Black Earth, is longer than more than 100 WI state routes.

In Burnett County I saw a Minnesota-style square on a county road (even included the county name), which I assumed was an error.

The GSV image quality is terrible, but you can still make out the design. https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8992623,-92.3639293,3a,15y,148.77h,85.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQjrMN7hywDYEcEpZ9UHwhQ!2e0!5s20090701T000000!7i3328!8i1664

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 05, 2021, 02:17:19 PM
Our parlance where I grew up is "County W"; "County F"; "County M".
But if you wrote an address, it was usually "CTH W" "CTH F" etc.

Among my family, we just called them "Hwy __".

In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route. The other interesting thing I've seen is decommissioned CTH routes keeping their name in some form or another. Here again in Waukesha County, we have "Road X", "Road DT", and "Town GE".

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route.

Bonus points if it happens to have a doctor's office or medical building of some sort located along it. (Does it?)

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 07, 2021, 10:22:04 PM

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route.

Bonus points if it happens to have a doctor's office or medical building of some sort located along it. (Does it?)

Yeah in matter a fact it does the Aurora Oconomowoc Hospital is on it.

Quote from: dvferyance on October 07, 2021, 12:06:46 PM
Another one would be DK the old routing of highway 57 a good bet that stand for Door and Kewaunee Counties.
There is also the famous DL in Sauk County which of course stands for Devils Lake.
Rock County has a BT which I assume is an abbreviation for Beloit.
Outagamie County has a CA which you could argue is an abbreviation for College Ave the name of the road or county airport since that is where it goes to.

DK could also be for Dyckesville which it passes through. County DK starts in Brown Co and is in Kewaunee County for the least amount of miles with the majority in Door County.

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route. The other interesting thing I've seen is decommissioned CTH routes keeping their name in some form or another. Here again in Waukesha County, we have "Road X", "Road DT", and "Town GE".

When I was a young child living in rural Waukesha County, both DT and GE were county highways.  That whole area is a lot more built up than it used to be, which is why they were likely demoted.

Has anyone mentioned College Ave in Appleton (CA)?

Quote from: mrose on October 08, 2021, 09:01:26 AM
Has anyone mentioned College Ave in Appleton (CA)?

See reply #50.

Ah there it is. Kinda got lost in the shuffle between some of the arguing.

Quote from: mrose on October 09, 2021, 01:10:29 AM
Ah there it is. Kinda got lost in the shuffle between some of the arguing.

And that being said, this thread still has not been cleaned up...

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 08, 2021, 08:46:23 AM

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route. The other interesting thing I've seen is decommissioned CTH routes keeping their name in some form or another. Here again in Waukesha County, we have "Road X", "Road DT", and "Town GE".

When I was a young child living in rural Waukesha County, both DT and GE were county highways.  That whole area is a lot more built up than it used to be, which is why they were likely demoted.

DT probably should again as it makes a nice alternative to the congested Waukesha west bypass. Same as the part of road X between 83 and E. It's a major enough route to justify being a county road.

Quote from: dvferyance on October 11, 2021, 05:52:25 PM

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 08, 2021, 08:46:23 AM

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route. The other interesting thing I've seen is decommissioned CTH routes keeping their name in some form or another. Here again in Waukesha County, we have "Road X", "Road DT", and "Town GE".

When I was a young child living in rural Waukesha County, both DT and GE were county highways.  That whole area is a lot more built up than it used to be, which is why they were likely demoted.

DT probably should again as it makes a nice alternative to the congested Waukesha west bypass. Same as the part of road X between 83 and E. It's a major enough route to justify being a county road.

Neither is built to a level to be a decent alternative.

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 13, 2021, 08:55:35 AM

Quote from: dvferyance on October 11, 2021, 05:52:25 PM

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 08, 2021, 08:46:23 AM

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 07, 2021, 10:10:27 PM
In Waukesha County, we have CTH-DR which runs along Delafield Road as part of it's route. The other interesting thing I've seen is decommissioned CTH routes keeping their name in some form or another. Here again in Waukesha County, we have "Road X", "Road DT", and "Town GE".

When I was a young child living in rural Waukesha County, both DT and GE were county highways.  That whole area is a lot more built up than it used to be, which is why they were likely demoted.

DT probably should again as it makes a nice alternative to the congested Waukesha west bypass. Same as the part of road X between 83 and E. It's a major enough route to justify being a county road.

Neither is built to a level to be a decent alternative.

I use Road X all the time it's the best way to get to The Kettle Moraine area from the eastern part of the county. If it was once a county highway before I don't see why it couldn't work now.

Quote from: thspfc on October 07, 2021, 04:05:27 PMThere's the occasional unsigned ghost route. It's also annoying how some of them have really odd routings. CTH-A in Sheboygan County, for example, begins in Oostburg, goes southwest to near Kewaskum, then north to Elkhart Lake, then back east to Howards Grove.

County Trunk A in Sheboygan County rings the county similar to WI 100 in Milwaukee County.  And it was nearly a complete ring originally.  On the north end instead of terminating in Howard's Grove it went a mile north on 42 and headed east on what is today FF, then before Haven it headed south on today's Dairlyand Drive (CTH DL) ot meet 42 again just northwest of Sheboygan in the crossroads town of Erdman.  On the south from Oostburg it does still head north/northeast and terminates in Kohler at CTH PP.  It used to instead head up the current Taylor Drive on the east side of 43 and curve into Sheboygan on Union Avenue.  Not quite a full circle tour of the county even in the original form but pretty close.

That actually points out two more county trunk letters chosen for a specific reason:

When Dairyland Drive was upgraded to a county trunk in Sheboygan and into Manitowoc Counties it was named DL
When Taylor Drive's southern portion was completed and upgraded to a county trunk in Sheboygan it was named TA

Beyond those two and the previously-mentioned LS for Lakeshore, Sheboygan County's lettering creativity was most often limited to combining the letters of two major county highways to designate a connector between them.  Examples (some still current, some no longer evident due to decomissioning) are JM the spur to Johnsonville from J and M, OJ near Plymouth joining O and J, JP near Elkhart Lake joining J and P, VN connecting V and N southwest of Sheboygan Falls, GW connecting G and W and KW connecting K and W both west of Oostburg / Cedar Grove, CJ joins C and J near Crystal Lake.  Not the most exciting system but not without its usefulness.

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 05, 2021, 09:44:38 AM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on October 01, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
As anyone who lives in or has visited Wisconsin will know, the state marks its county roads with letters instead of numbers. The vast majority of these roads are designated either by a single letter, or by the same letter doubled (or sometimes even tripled). However, there are some county roads throughout the state whose designation consists of two different letters. Sometimes, these letter combinations are chosen due to having some symbolic meaning, such as:

• County Road KR, which runs along the border of Kenosha and Racine counties
• County Road PB southwest of Madison, named such because it connects Paoli and Belleville; also, it's in a former lead-mining region, and the road's name is the chemical symbol for lead
• County Road LS, which parallels the Lake Michigan shoreline between Sheboygan and Manitowoc (short for "Lake Shore," perhaps?)

Aside from what I mentioned, what are some other similarly meaningful or symbolic lettered county-road designations that might be found throughout Wisconsin? In addition, there are some others I'm aware of but don't know their meaning; for example, why is Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay marked as County Road VK? (If anything, it should be "VL" for Vince Lombardi.)

County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.  Most people have posted using the correct CTH acronym.  For generations, county highways were called county trunks (County Trunk A), with CTH A, County A, or County Highway A also used.  However, County Road is incorrectly used due to the incorrect addressing by the USPS (when did the post office ever have jurisdiction over or maintain county highways?), and also by Google et. al., and people from surrounding states that call them county roads.

The official name may be CTH, but does it really matter that much if we call them County Roads?

For many years now, the USA's Federal Government (AKA, the United States Postal Service) has insisted on calling them 'County Roads' (eg, N1234 COUNTY ROAD BC CITY NAME WI 54999').

Also, Wisconsin has NEVER used MUTCD 'pentagons' for marking its county highways.

Mike

Quote from: NE2 on October 06, 2021, 05:22:09 PM

Quote from: midwesternroadguy on October 04, 2021, 11:15:46 PM
County highways in Wisconsin are not county roads.

Sure they are. A county highway is a road maintained by the county. A county highway is a highway maintained by the county. A highway is a road.

IMHO, one of the best two lanes roads in the entire State of Wisconsin is Dodge County 'A' between US 151 in Beaver Dam and WI 26 a short distance north of Watertown.  I'm thinking that it was built like it was by the Dodge County Highway Department in the hopes that it would soon be taken over by WisDOT and used as a reroute for WI 26.  It is a major truck route between the Fox Valley (Appleton, Green Bay and Oshkosh area) and points south and west of Chicago.

Mike

I think it was somewhere north of Augusta I saw consecutive CTH ND and SD. I thought that was pretty great.

Quote from: peterj920 on October 07, 2021, 01:39:13 AM
County WH is mostly former Wis 149 that became 3 different county roads. Between Marytown and Kiel, it became an extension of County HH. The concurrent section with County G is just County G. Between US 151 and County G the route was changed to County WH. When US 151 was rerouted, County WH was extended through Taycheedah along old 151. No idea why WH was chosen other than Old Wis 149 intersecting County HH and County W.

Keep in mind Fond Du Lac County may have more County road routes than any other county in the state.

It has HHH, VVV, and OOO for triple letters and once had County KKK which probably went away for obvious reasons. However, it was renamed Triple Kay Rd.

Other odd choices are County AS, AW, TC, and RP.

I always thought that Kenosha County had the highest lettered county highway density in the state.

Mike

Quote from: dvferyance on October 07, 2021, 12:06:46 PM
Another one would be DK the old routing of highway 57 a good bet that stand for Door and Kewaunee Counties.
There is also the famous DL in Sauk County which of course stands for Devils Lake.
Rock County has a BT which I assume is an abbreviation for Beloit.
Outagamie County has a CA which you could argue is an abbreviation for College Ave the name of the road or county airport since that is where it goes to.

Brown and Outagamie County 'CE' is the eastward extension of College Ave from WI 441 in Appleton to WI 57 in Brown County (unincorporated Hollandtown).  The part that is closer to Appleton is built to a fairly high standard and it is what I would consider to be a 'natural' future reroute for US 10 eastward from Appleton towards Manitowoc. 

Also, running north-south past the ATW airport is Outagamie and Winnebago County 'CB'.

Mike

One that I noticed is CTH-GG from Clam Lake to Mellen. This is basically an alternate route of WIS 77, coming within a couple blocks of WIS 77 on both ends. I assume it was given this designation because G is the 7th letter of the alphabet.

CTH-NN in Waukesha County is so named because it was the original routing of WI-99, before it moved south and then later became CTH-LO

My late stepfather had a CTH-BB sign hidden in the garage of his and my mother's for many years (I believe it dated back to when he lived in Vernon County back in the 1970s). The one county designation I would hope never comes into fruition is a CTH-BS, for obvious reasons.

I'm about 1/4 mile away from the "P OO" intersection. I noticed today that about a mile south of there is the "P UN" intersection!

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on April 25, 2023, 10:19:24 PM
My late stepfather had a CTH-BB sign hidden in the garage of his and my mother's for many years (I believe it dated back to when he lived in Vernon County back in the 1970s). The one county designation I would hope never comes into fruition is a CTH-BS, for obvious reasons.

Did he use the sign as a BB gun target, by chance?

I have a correction to make. It was a CTH-DD sign, not a CTH-BB sign (DD was his initials, same as my mother's).

Ah yes, CTH DD, the Dolly Parton Commemorative Highway. :P

Quote from: KCRoadFan on April 26, 2023, 12:54:00 AM

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on April 25, 2023, 10:19:24 PM
My late stepfather had a CTH-BB sign hidden in the garage of his and my mother's for many years (I believe it dated back to when he lived in Vernon County back in the 1970s). The one county designation I would hope never comes into fruition is a CTH-BS, for obvious reasons.

Did he use the sign as a BB gun target, by chance?

Prospect Ave on the Outagamie/Winnebago County Line here in the Appleton area is County 'BB'.

Mike

To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

For many years, well into the mid 20th century, before they were converted to the present day 'arrows', sign tabs with a 'L' or an 'R' on route marker shields advised drivers that the route was turning.  Thus, there were no county highways 'L' or 'R' in Wisconsin until that rule was changed in the federal MUTCD.  Since then, some have appeared (ie, former US 141 between Green Bay and Manitowoc became Brown and Manitowoc County 'R' when I-43 was completed).

Mike

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 02:56:54 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Who?  The Romans, or Wisconsin?

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:59:00 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 02:56:54 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Who?  The Romans, or Wisconsin?

Wisconsin

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 04:30:34 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:59:00 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 02:56:54 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Who?  The Romans, or Wisconsin?

Wisconsin

Where are they here?  https://goo.gl/maps/iGpVg8f59RcPmJ3q8

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 04:58:56 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 04:30:34 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:59:00 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 02:56:54 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Who?  The Romans, or Wisconsin?

Wisconsin

Where are they here?  https://goo.gl/maps/iGpVg8f59RcPmJ3q8

While local jurisdictions don't always add serifs, WisDOT does. https://goo.gl/maps/pUkeHCrYpQUkrPJr8

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 04:58:56 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 04:30:34 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:59:00 PM

Quote from: Big John on April 26, 2023, 02:56:54 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

and they put serifs on that

Who?  The Romans, or Wisconsin?

Wisconsin

Where are they here?  https://goo.gl/maps/iGpVg8f59RcPmJ3q8

There is also a County 'II' (former WI 150) in the Neenah, WI area.

Mike

Quote from: mgk920 on April 26, 2023, 06:53:55 PM
There is also a County 'II' (former WI 150) in the Neenah, WI area.

I for sure saw some maps that had it is CTH "Eleven" the first year after 150 and 110 were decom'd in the area.
Misunderstandings like that are why I think counties would not want to have an II.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on April 27, 2023, 11:16:56 AM

Quote from: mgk920 on April 26, 2023, 06:53:55 PM
There is also a County 'II' (former WI 150) in the Neenah, WI area.

I for sure saw some maps that had it is CTH "Eleven" the first year after 150 and 110 were decom'd in the area.
Misunderstandings like that are why I think counties would not want to have an II.

The BGS on 41 had an erroneous CTH 11 when STH 150 was decommissioned.

Well no wonder the maps got it wrong! :P

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

I hope there will never be a CTH IO anywhere. Then many will think it's Hwy 10.

Quote from: dvferyance on May 07, 2023, 05:53:25 PM

Quote from: kphoger on April 26, 2023, 02:40:49 PM
To me, CTH II looks like CTH Roman Numeral 2.

I hope there will never be a CTH IO anywhere. Then many will think it's Hwy 10.

Or an On/Off switch for the road.  :)

IV = 4
IX = 9

The one place where WISDOT will not use a unisign because of the letter combination on Wis 28 near Cascade.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bC9Nf1cJaZBcFCUM9?g_st=ic

Quote from: peterj920 on May 10, 2023, 02:37:59 AM
The one place where WISDOT will not use a unisign because of the letter combination on Wis 28 near Cascade.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bC9Nf1cJaZBcFCUM9?g_st=ic (https://maps.app.goo.gl/bC9Nf1cJaZBcFCUM9?g_st=ic)

:wow: :-D :spin:

The perfect place for someone to make a real "donkey" out of themselves.