Why doesn't Missouri use all letters?

[dvferyance]

Wisconsin uses all letters however Missouri leaves out a few. The letters G,I,L,Q and S are never used. The letter R is only occasionally used and the letter X is used just once in the whole state. The other 19 are used often. Any reason for this?

[US71]

Wisconsin uses all letters however Missouri leaves out a few. The letters G,I,L,Q and S are never used. The letter R is only occasionally used and the letter X is used just once in the whole state. The other 19 are used often. Any reason for this?

Maybe to avoid confusion. S could pass for 8 at a glance , G for 6,  I or L for 1 ?

R is often RA (Recreation Areas) or AR (Ozark County becomes  Hwy 87 in Arkansas). Maybe single R is avoided to not be confused with P ?

[dvferyance]

Wisconsin uses all letters however Missouri leaves out a few. The letters G,I,L,Q and S are never used. The letter R is only occasionally used and the letter X is used just once in the whole state. The other 19 are used often. Any reason for this?

Maybe to avoid confusion. S could pass for 8 at a glance , G for 6,  I or L for 1 ?

R is often RA (Recreation Areas) or AR (Ozark County becomes  Hwy 87 in Arkansas). Maybe single R is avoided to not be confused with P ?

Although O is similar to zero and they use that. Using all letters works in Wisconsin there is no confusion I can't see why Missouri can't do the same.

[US71]

Wisconsin uses all letters however Missouri leaves out a few. The letters G,I,L,Q and S are never used. The letter R is only occasionally used and the letter X is used just once in the whole state. The other 19 are used often. Any reason for this?

Maybe to avoid confusion. S could pass for 8 at a glance , G for 6,  I or L for 1 ?

R is often RA (Recreation Areas) or AR (Ozark County becomes  Hwy 87 in Arkansas). Maybe single R is avoided to not be confused with P ?

Although O is similar to zero and they use that. Using all letters works in Wisconsin there is no confusion I can't see why Missouri can't do the same.

But there is NO Highway Zero, and you'll never see "5-oh" (not even in Hawaii).  Five-Zero (50) yes.

[Scott5114]

Q isn't used because it could be confused for O, which is used.

I have no idea why X isn't used. The only reference to it I've seen was a line in a newspaper article where there was a flip remark about "nobody wanting to drive on an X-rated highway". My guess is that there's some weird superstition about it, like it resembling a cross/death. Or maybe to avoid confusion in MoDOT records since it might look like the highway designation was crossed out.

[Henry]

Theoretically, Interstate 0 would run along the Mexican border and the Gulf Coast (something that is handled by I-8, I-10 and now I-2), and US 0 would run along the Canadian border (which US 2 does), but the reason you will never see any Route/Highway 0 is because of a little thing called common sense. Most state highways start with the number 1, unless US 1 already runs through them, in which case 2 would be the first in line. In ME and NH, it would be 3, since both US 1 and US 2 exist in those states!

[hotdogPi]

In ME and NH, it would be 3, since both US 1 and US 2 exist in those states!

NY also has a US 1 and US 2, but NY 2 also exists (as an extension of MA 2), as US 2 is so short in NY.

NH has a US 1, US 2, US 3, AND a US 4. This means NH 5 would be first..., except NH 4 also exists, and NH 5, 6, 7, and 8 don't.



I don't see 0 being a problem in certain cases. Definitely don't use it if numbers are assigned randomly. However, if there is a grid system, like the Interstates and US routes have, 0 is fine for a similar role as a coordinate axis.

[dvferyance]

Q isn't used because it could be confused for O, which is used.

I have no idea why X isn't used. The only reference to it I've seen was a line in a newspaper article where there was a flip remark about "nobody wanting to drive on an X-rated highway". My guess is that there's some weird superstition about it, like it resembling a cross/death. Or maybe to avoid confusion in MoDOT records since it might look like the highway designation was crossed out.

X is used once in Macon county however it's AX not solely X. I assume this is an abbreviation for a town in the area forget the name though.

[kphoger]

X is used once in Macon county however it's AX not solely X. I assume this is an abbreviation for a town in the area forget the name though.

Axtell

[silverback1065]

0 is an even number

[hotdogPi]

0 is an even number

What point are you trying to make here? Nobody here claimed that 0 was an odd number or tried to put a route numbered 0 onto a north-south corridor.

[silverback1065]

0 is an even number

What point are you trying to make here? Nobody here claimed that 0 was an odd number or tried to put a route numbered 0 onto a north-south corridor.

the 0 as a beltway comment

[kphoger]

0 is an even number

What point are you trying to make here? Nobody here claimed that 0 was an odd number or tried to put a route numbered 0 onto a north-south corridor.

the 0 as a beltway comment

So is 270, but that doesn't stop Ohio from using it on a beltway.

[dvferyance]

0 is an even number

What point are you trying to make here? Nobody here claimed that 0 was an odd number or tried to put a route numbered 0 onto a north-south corridor.

the 0 as a beltway comment

So is 270, but that doesn't stop Ohio from using it on a beltway.

Colorado and Maryland use it too not as beltways but they use it.

[kphoger]

And Florida uses some even numbers on roads that aren't beltways too.   

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma did put 0 onto a north-south corridor, but they didn't sign it. (Then again, they put 9 on an east-west corridor, because I think initially the odd/even convention was flipped in Oklahoma, at least until the system became riddled with inconsistencies, as happens with anything ODOT touches).

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma has never had a renumbering. The original set of routes were established in 1924 and it's just organically grown from there. 9, for instance, is an original 1924 route. New routes were just assigned whatever number was available. A lot of the lower-numbered routes are on their second or third iteration, since a lot of the low 1924 routes were wiped out by US highways in 1926.

[MikeTheActuary]

I suppose you could use 0 as an inner loop and 00 as an outer loop on a two beltway city. 

[Scott5114]

I suppose you could use 0 as an inner loop and 00 as an outer loop on a two beltway city. 

Oklahoma actually had two roads they wanted to use 0 on in the same county. One became 0 and the other became 0B.

[bugo]

Oklahoma has never had a renumbering. The original set of routes were established in 1924 and it's just organically grown from there. 9, for instance, is an original 1924 route. New routes were just assigned whatever number was available. A lot of the lower-numbered routes are on their second or third iteration, since a lot of the low 1924 routes were wiped out by US highways in 1926.

There was never a great renumbering, but a lot of numbers have changed over time. For example, the only highway in LeFlore County that hasn't changed is OK 9. The only highway in Tulsa County that hasn't changed is OK 11 north of the Gilcrease Expressway.

[bugo]

Don't forget about Highway 00 in Poteau.

[bugo]

Oklahoma has never had a renumbering. The original set of routes were established in 1924 and it's just organically grown from there. 9, for instance, is an original 1924 route. New routes were just assigned whatever number was available. A lot of the lower-numbered routes are on their second or third iteration, since a lot of the low 1924 routes were wiped out by US highways in 1926.

The only parts of OK 9 that run along the same basic corridor as they did in 1924 are from the Texas state line to Chickasha and from Stigler to Braden.

[US 89]

Getting the thread slightly back on topic, why does Missouri use O when it could be confused for 0?

[Scott5114]

Good question. It doesn't make much sense.

[US71]

Getting the thread slightly back on topic, why does Missouri use O when it could be confused for 0?

Maybe because they don't have a highway Zero?