How do locals differentiate multiple segments of the same highway route?

[SeriesE]

California colloquialisms apply here. When someone is saying "the 101", it probably refers to the Los Angeles segment of US-101. When it's highway 101 or just 101, probably the Bay Area segment.

[zzcarp]

In the Denver area, US 36 is referred to as the "Boulder Turnpike". I-25/I-70 interchange is called the mousetrap. Some older locals still call I-25 south of I-70 through downtown the Valley Highway. US 6 west of downtown is called "Sixth Avenue" or the "Sixth Avenue Freeway". US 6-85 from I-70 to I-76 is referred to as Vasquez Boulevard. US 85 between C-470 and I-25 is always referred to as Santa Fe Drive. US 285 is referred to as Hampden (even when it's not directly on the Hampden Avenue alignment). US 40 is called Colfax Avenue until west of Golden. US 287 is used in Broomfield and points north; otherwise it's known by its surface street names - 120th Avenue, Federal Boulevard, and Colfax Avenue. We also differentiate between C-470 (the freeway CO 470 from I-25 to US 6) and E-470 (the name of the toll road on the east side of the metro from I-25/C-470 to I-25/Northwest Parkway).

[KCRoadFan]

My Street View trip along US 20 made me think of the following: how do the locals in the Finger Lakes region of New York State tend to refer to the US 20/NY 5 multiplex between Avon and Auburn? Is it "five twenty," or do they just call it "Route 20"? Or is it referred to as "5 and 20," akin to "1 and 9" in New Jersey?

[GenExpwy]

My Street View trip along US 20 made me think of the following: how do the locals in the Finger Lakes region of New York State tend to refer to the US 20/NY 5 multiplex between Avon and Auburn? Is it "five twenty," or do they just call it "Route 20"? Or is it referred to as "5 and 20," akin to "1 and 9" in New Jersey?

5 and 20.

[Rothman]

My Street View trip along US 20 made me think of the following: how do the locals in the Finger Lakes region of New York State tend to refer to the US 20/NY 5 multiplex between Avon and Auburn? Is it "five twenty," or do they just call it "Route 20"? Or is it referred to as "5 and 20," akin to "1 and 9" in New Jersey?

5 and 20.

Yep.  5 and 20.

[Scott5114]

I find it interesting that laymen actually acknowledge concurrencies in some areas. Around here, people will pick whichever route they like the best and refer to it by that alone. It's not "62 and 277", it's just "62". The Canadian River bridge south of Norman isn't "35 and 9", it's just "I-35." It's pervasive enough that I suspect the concept of concurrencies may actually be beyond the average person's understanding around here.

[mrsman]

California colloquialisms apply here. When someone is saying "the 101", it probably refers to the Los Angeles segment of US-101. When it's highway 101 or just 101, probably the Bay Area segment.

And the highway names do become useful in radio traffic reports.  Even though the names are being removed from signs, and most freeways in SoCal are referred to by their number, thankfully, the core freeways that pass through Downtown LA are referred by name, which helps to differentiate the different sections of road.

I-10: Santa Monica and San Bernardino Freeways
I-5: Golden State and Santa Ana Freeways*
110: CA-110 Arroyo Seco Pkwy and I-110 Harbor Fwy**

* Technically of course, a part of the Santa Ana Freeway is also part of US 101.  To my recollection, this is referred to as the 101 freeway in Downtown LA or in East LA and not as the Santa Ana Freeway.  Sometimes this section is mistakenly referred to as the Hollywood Freeway.  Using the term Hollywood Freeway could be a bit misleading as part of the Hollywood Freeway is US 101 and part of it is CA-170.  Similarly parts of the Ventura Freeway are CA-134 and parts are US 101.  From my recollection, it seems that Hollywood Freeway is used to refer to US 101 between North Hollywood and Downtown LA, and "the 170" for the part to the north.  It also seems that "the 101" is used for the Ventura Fwy section of US 101 and "the 134" for CA-134.  So while in the case of US 101, CA 134, and CA 170 the names can be a little confusing, the names work great for I-10, I-5 and "the 110."

** Technically, the freeway between I-10 and US 101 is the CA-110 Harbor Freeway, but generally speaking, aside from that section, I-110 is the Harbor Fwy and CA-110 is the Arroyo Seco Parkway.  There is plenty of wrong signage that refers to the section north of I-10 as being I-110.

[bing101]

Boat Section of I-5 in Sacramento when the freeway enters the downtown area.
Overall the freeway is simply called I-5.
For 80 however it's has the history of being called Beltline aka I-80

Yolo Causeway from Davis to West Sacramento is the bridge section of I-80 in the Sacramento Valley.

Cap city freeway aka WX Freeway is I-305/US-50
Elvas Freeway is Business 80/CA-51.
CA-99 is simply Highway 99.
Solano County in particular has used both Sacramento and Bay Area namings for freeways
Locals have used the Bay Area and Sacramento naming for Interstate 80 as Highway 80 and I-80 to refer to the same freeway
This is due to Solano County being a commuter corridor and suburban area for both the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area. Highway 680, , Highway 780, and Interstate 505 yet all are interstates that enter Solano County.
For state routes we simply call it State Route 113, CA-29, CA-37 and CA-12.

I knew Bay Area residents would call I-80 (Highway 80 Eastshore Freeway) for the Contra Costa and Alameda counties section of I-80
James Lick freeway for the west end of I-80 at the US-101 Bayshore/Central freeway interchange.

[jlam]

In Fort Collins, US 287 is often referred to as College Street until you hit the city limits of Loveland. People hardly ever use US 14, they call it Mulberry or Riverside instead. Few people know US 14 exists west of FC.

[hbelkins]

In Lexington, the signed US routes get called by name as they depart the city in different directions. US 25 north is Georgetown Street, US 421 north is Leestown Road/Pike, US 25/421 south is Richmond Road, US 60 east is Winchester Road, US 60 west is Versailles Road, US 27 north/US 68 east is Paris Pike, US 27 south is Nicholasville Road, US 68 west is Harrodsburg road.

In Louisville, I-264 east of US 31W/US 60 (Dixie Highway) is the Watterson Expressway; west of that interchange, it's Shawnee Expressway. I didn't know that until hearing some traffic reports on WHAS radio. I had called all of it "Watterson Expressway" all my life.

[bing101]

I remember parts of Canada would say Highway 401 and "The 401" to mean the same highway. "The 401" has to be in the Toronto Area and Highway 401 is for other parts of Ontario.

[Dirt Roads]

I'm surprised nobody has pitched in about Raleigh/Durham, which gets served by the same radio/television market. 

US-70 is split into a bunch of sections:
       "70 in Clayton" (referring to Business US-70)
       "The 70 Bypass" (referring to US-70 around the southside of Clayton, future I-42)
       "70 in Garner"
       "South Saunders Street"
       "The connector between Wade Avenue and Capitol Boulevard"
       "Glenwood Avenue" (usually means the US-70 portion, the city portion is almost always referred to as "Glenwood Avenue South")
       "US-70 heading into Durham" (a combination of New Raleigh Highway and South Miami Boulevard)
       "70 Bypass in Durham" (the section soon to become I-885)
       "US-70 over to Hillsborough"

US-1 is a bit easier:
       "Capitol Boulevard"
       "The One and Sixty-four" (that tail off the west end of the Beltline that continues from I-440 westbound as US-1 and US-64)
       "Route 1 down to Apex"

Amazingly, these nomenclatures seem to be used consistently amongst the locals and local media.  Sometimes, the newby Traffic Reporters wlll fumble with these and come back later with an apology.  Not that long ago, I could have added US-64 to the puzzle, but the advent of I-495 and now I-87 has eliminated those tags.

[odditude]

In the Philly area, the following are often used (at least on KYW 1060 traffic reports as of ~5 years ago, so I can't speak to how they describe the renumbered sections of the PA Turnpike, I-95, and I-295):

• I-95 (with "in the Northeast," "in Center City," "in Penn's Landing," "Girard Point Bridge," "south of the airport," and "in Chester", "in Delaware", "in Wilmington" used as locators)
  
• the Pennsylvania Turnpike, occasionally "the Turnpike" if context makes it clear (I-276 and I-76)
• the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76 between the PA Turnpike and the Walt Whitman Bridge, with "by the stadium", "by 30th St," "in University City", "by the Zoo", "in Manayunk", "the Conshohocken Curve" or "at the Curve", or "in King of Prussia" as locators)
• the Walt Whitman Bridge, occasionally "the Walt" (I-76 over the bridge itself)
• the 42 Freeway, the North-South Freeway (I-76 in NJ including the brief concurrency with I-295, freeway portion of NJ 42)
• the Blue Route (I-476 from I-95 to the PA Turnpike)
• the Northeast Extension (I-476 north of the Turnpike)
• the Vine St Expressway, the Vine (I-676/US 30 in Philly)
• the Ben Franklin Bridge, occasionally "the Ben" (I-676/US 30 over the bridge itself)
• 676 (I-676 in NJ)
• Admiral Wilson Boulevard (US 30 between Airport Circle and I-676)
• Airport Circle (northern end of the US 30/US 130 concurrency and western terminus of NJ 38)
• Route 130 (US 130, including the US 30/US 130 concurrency but not the concurrency with I-295)
• White Horse Pike (US 30 east of the concurrency)
• Black Horse Pike (NJ 168, NJ 42, US 322)
• the Route 1 Freeway (US 1 between the PA Turnpike and the NJ state line)
• Roosevelt Boulevard, the Boulevard (US 1 between I-76 and the PA Turnpike)
• City Line, City Ave (US 1 in Philly south of I-76)
• Route 1 Media Bypass, Media Bypass (US 1 south of Philly)
• the Jersey Turnpike, the New Jersey Turnpike, occasionally "the Turnpike" if context makes it clear (NJ Turnpike)
• 295 (I-295 in NJ, including the concurrency with US-130 but excluding the concurrency with I-76)
• the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Delaware Memorial (I-295/US 40 over the bridge itself)
• 295 in Delaware (I-295 in DE, go figure)
• 495 (I-495)
• Route 73 (NJ 73)
• Within the city limits, PA state routes are usually referred to by their street name - it's Broad St, not PA 611; Cottman Ave instead of PA 73, Woodhaven Road instead of PA 63.
• Outside the city, most PA state routes are referred to by number (Route 291, 262, the 309 Expressway) - but PA 73 is still referred to by street name (usually Skippack Pike).

[7/8]

I remember parts of Canada would say Highway 401 and "The 401" to mean the same highway. "The 401" has to be in the Toronto Area and Highway 401 is for other parts of Ontario.

Do you know which parts? In my experience in southern Ontario, people use "the 401" for the entire length.

[jp the roadgeek]

The only major road in CT that has its parts differentiated is CT 15.  It has 5 distinct sections.

NY-Sikorsky Bridge: Merritt Parkway
Sikorsky Bridge-Meriden: Wilbur Cross Parkway (many still erroneously consider it the Merritt)
Meriden-Wethersfield: Berlin Turnpike
Wethersfield - I-91: Route 15 (though concurrent with US 5)
I-91 - I-84: Charter Oak Bridge (although much is on dry land).

A couple of shorter sections: CT 20 between Bradley Airport and I-91 is called the Bradley Connector; Route 20 elsewhere. The southern portion of CT 8/25 is often called the 8/25 Connector or just simply The Connector, though CTDOT catalogs it at Route 8, which extends much farther as an expressway beyond the 8/25 split.  However, CTDOT signs it on BGS's on I-95 with the 25 first, which violates MUTCD standards suggesting the lower number should come first in equally categorized routes (both being state routes).

[webny99]

... the Turnpike (talking mainline) is overwhelmingly just called "The Turnpike" as opposed to I-76.

Same here in NY with the Thruway. It's always just the Thruway, never I-90 unless you're talking about free I-90 in Albany or Buffalo.

My Street View trip along US 20 made me think of the following: how do the locals in the Finger Lakes region of New York State tend to refer to the US 20/NY 5 multiplex between Avon and Auburn? Is it "five twenty," or do they just call it "Route 20"? Or is it referred to as "5 and 20," akin to "1 and 9" in New Jersey?

5 and 20.

Yep.  5 and 20.

Yep again.

[frankenroad]

In Cincinnati, the interstates all have names*, but they are almost never used; they are called by number.  The 20-mile long concurrency of I-71 and I-75 is called both 75 and 71/75 in about equal numbers.  It's never referred to as just 71.

*at least in the Ohio part of the metro
I-71 north of downtown is the Northeast Expressway
I-75 north of downtown is the Millcreek Expressway
I-74 is the Northwest Expressway
I-275 is the Circle Freeway, or the Donald Rohlf Circle Freeway

However, the Ronald Reagan Highway (most of which is OH-126) is mostly called by its former name - Cross-County Highway.  It was renamed the Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway almost 25 years ago.

Just to add more confusion - part of I-275 in Kentucky is also called the Ronald Reagan Highway

[webny99]

The main one that comes to mind in my area is the freeway portion of NY 104 always being just "104" while the surface street portion is usually "Ridge Rd".

The Rochester area freeway network is simple enough that you can sometimes say "I'm taking the highway" and that's sufficient even if you're actually going to take multiple different highways.  Fairport to Webster would be a classic example: "Taking the highway" would be understood as I-490 to NY 590 to NY 104.

[doorknob60]

ID-55 between Eagle and McCall/New Meadows people call "Highway 55". The segment between Eagle and I-84 people just call "Eagle Rd" (this is largely a suburban arterial). The segment between Nampa and Marsing most people call "Karcher Rd". I would bet that a lot of people don't realize the latter 2 segments are actually a part of ID-55.

[zachary_amaryllis]

In Fort Collins, US 287 is often referred to as College Street until you hit the city limits of Loveland. People hardly ever use US 14, they call it Mulberry or Riverside instead. Few people know US 14 exists west of FC.

i do. i live on it. but, and I realize I'm being nitpicky here, it's State Highway 14 not US 14

between Fort Collins and Loveland it's often hard to tell where college ends and I think it's Garfield begins. i used to say it was CR 30 but that is now called 71st St which is on the Loveland St. grid

fun fact Loveland and Fort Collins used to be long distance calls from each other.

[bing101]

I remember parts of Canada would say Highway 401 and "The 401" to mean the same highway. "The 401" has to be in the Toronto Area and Highway 401 is for other parts of Ontario.

Do you know which parts? In my experience in southern Ontario, people use "the 401" for the entire length.

I knew some roadgeek videos I seen describe Highway 401 when it's outside of Toronto and "The 401" when it's in the Toronto area. Or is this interchangeable?

[7/8]

I remember parts of Canada would say Highway 401 and "The 401" to mean the same highway. "The 401" has to be in the Toronto Area and Highway 401 is for other parts of Ontario.

Do you know which parts? In my experience in southern Ontario, people use "the 401" for the entire length.

I knew some roadgeek videos I seen describe Highway 401 when it's outside of Toronto and "The 401" when it's in the Toronto area. Or is this interchangeable?

Interesting, I've never heard someone making a distinction based on if the 401 is inside or outside of Toronto. I personally say "the ___" for all the 400-series highways. "Highway 401" sounds more formal, and for me, would make me think a person is not from around here.

[bing101]

I remember parts of Canada would say Highway 401 and "The 401" to mean the same highway. "The 401" has to be in the Toronto Area and Highway 401 is for other parts of Ontario.

Do you know which parts? In my experience in southern Ontario, people use "the 401" for the entire length.

I knew some roadgeek videos I seen describe Highway 401 when it's outside of Toronto and "The 401" when it's in the Toronto area. Or is this interchangeable?

Interesting, I've never heard someone making a distinction based on if the 401 is inside or outside of Toronto. I personally say "the ___" for all the 400-series highways. "Highway 401" sounds more formal, and for me, would make me think a person is not from around here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_401


OK this may have been a sampling issue here over on my part Highway 401 and "The 401" is referred to the entire length of Ontario Highway 401.