Highway number or highway name? Which does your region use?

[DrZoidberg]

I noticed traveling that locals use either the number or the local highway name when talking about traffic, giving directions, etc.

Growing up in Wisconsin, most everybody used numbers.   "Oh, take 94 and get off on J, then take a left."

Once I moved to Portland, it was names.  "Heavy traffic inbound on the Banfield."

Then my wife, being from Southern Cal. uses "the" on roads such as "the 91".

What type of highway "dialect" do you use in your region?

[vdeane]

Everyone in Rochester, NY uses the road name.  Some probably don't even know what the numbers are.

[corco]

Up in Seattle it's mostly numbers with about 20% of the population prefixing with "the" due to the California influx. Mostly it's I-5, I-90, I-405, 167,  520,* 512 etc

In central Idaho nobody uses names or numbers but towns. To get from McCall, ID to Sun Valley, one might say

"Take the highway up to Banks, turn onto the cutoff road over to Lowman, and then turn left on that road to Stanley and then when you get to Stanley turn right and head down to Ketchum." (use "up" despite McCall's northerly orientation to Banks because you always head "up" to Boise for some reason).

In Boise people are aware of "important" numbers like 84 and 55, but if you tell somebody to take 20/26 you'll get weird looks. I-184 is the Connector no matter what, and I-84 is about 50/50 "I-84" and "the freeway"  so I guess names are used frequently.

It's really confusing for tourists but we like it that way.
*520 is generally referred to as "the 520 bridge"

[Ian]

In Philadelphia its both. The TV traffic report people call I-676 in Philadelphia the Vine Street Expressway, which is the road name. They use the same for I-76 and call it the Schykill Expressway and I-476 and call it the "blue route" which its really called the Mid-County Expressway.

i.c.

[rawr apples]

They use names for state freeways in Detroit like

The Lodge (M10)
The Southfield Freeway (M39)
I think there are a couple more as well, but my head is still foggy

The interstates have names too but people just call them by their number

[John]

Here in Northern CA, we never use names (very few people even know what they are). I-80 is the only one that gets an I prefix, the rest are generally just called by their number (ex. Take 580 to 101 and then exit at San Pedro.)

[Bryant5493]

Well, it depends in Georgia. Several state routes are known -- and referred to -- by either their local name or their highway number.

Example #1: Georgia State Route 314 is called Hwy. 314, 314 or West Fayetteville Road.

Example #2: US 19/41/SR 3 is called 19/41, Hwy. 19/41, Northside Drive, Metropolitan Parkway (or by its old name, Stewart Avenue), North Central Avenue, Old Dixie Road, Old Dixie Highway, Old Dixie or Tara Boulevard -- it just depends upon where you are on 19/41.


Be well,

Bryant

[roadgeek]

I only identify with the route number.

[Tarkus]

Being the huge roadgeek I am, I try to fit as many names in for the routes as I possibly can in normal conversation. I sometimes tend to call everything that's not an interstate just "highway" (i.e. "Highway 26" for US 26, "Highway 8" for OR-8).  Occasionally, if I'm feeling particularly Washington-y (lived there for 2 years), I'll refer to Washington state highways as "SR", as the locals do.

I couldn't stand that Idaho way of doing things, though.  Give me a number, I say.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[Hellfighter]

In detroit, we call them both ways. Example, take M-14 to the Jeffries, then to the Davison, on to I-75, 'till you get to M-15

[FLRoads]

When I lived in the Orlando area, numbers were used for the expressways and freeway (i.e. the 408 for the East-West Expressway or the 417 for the Greeneway).  For the arterial roads, however, the road name was used.  I lived off of Florida 436 but it was always referred to by its street name, Semoran Boulevard.

[corco]

I forgot that a lot of Washingtonians refer to highways as "SR" particularly on Puget Sound/Vancouver area freeways (SR 14/500/16/167/etc).

As a roadgeek I try to refer to everything as it is- so I'll refer to Idaho 55 as State Highway 55, not "The Road up to Boise" and Highway 86 in Oregon as "Oregon Route 86"

[PAHighways]

Both names and numbers are used in Pittsburgh.  The Interstates are referred to by their names with the exception of I-79, Ohio River Boulevard and the Allegheny Valley Expressway are called "Route 65" and "Route 28" respectively.

[Southern Illinois SKYWARN]

In SE IL and SW IN, for the most part, roads are just referred to as the route number, although that is troublesome due to the proximity of I-64 to SR 64.  Though, anything that is named was named in the last few years after some obscure politician.

[MIRoadMan]

all numbers in MI. like "oh just take 96 to 275."

[WillWeaverRVA]

I prefer route numbers. Unfortunately, in Henrico County there are none except for interstates, US highways, and Virginia primary routes, so it was initially pretty hard for me to get around here since I grew up with numbers.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

In Louisiana virtually all freeways are referred to by number, usually "I (something or other)" since most of them are Interstates. Some of them don't even have official names so far as I know (like I-10 thru BR). The only freeway grade facilities that are commonly called by their names are generally those which are not Interstates: this includes the Earhart Expressway (not an interstate), Westbank Expressway (not a signed interstate), and the Pontchartrain Expressway (existence predates interstate status). With the latter, the name is generally used to refer to the US 90B section, but most traffic reporters and some locals use the name to refer to the I-10 section also.

I dare you to find anyone in the New Orleans area not a viatologist who knows the numerical designation of Earhart Expressway.

Surface roads with numerical designations are almost always called by their name in urban areas, by route number ("Highway 25" or "LA 25") in rural areas. The name of Airline Highway (US 61), though, is often taken to encompass its whole length, even the rural sections - as in "Take Airline Highway from Laplace to Gonzales."

[Scott5114]

I dare you to find anyone in the New Orleans area not a viatologist who knows the numerical designation of Earhart Expressway.

Not a what? :red:

In Oklahoma City the Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Northwest Expressway (SH-3), and the Broadway Extension (US 77) are referred to by name. The section of I-40 through Downtown is known either as I-40 or "the Crosstown". Everything else is referred to by number exclusively.

I think Tulsa uses names more often than number, but I'm not sure...

[Alex]

To UPS, I always call the Earhart LA 3139, being the road junkie that I am.



In Delaware its a hodgepodge: Delaware 2 is always called Kirkwood Highway, U.S. 202 is called Concord Pike mostly, but some people call it "202". Dupont Highway is only called "13", even though part of it is U.S. 40 as well. U.S. 40, the Pulaski Highway, is always simply called "40". Delaware 3 is called just by its name Marsh Road. Delaware 92 is called Naamans Road mostly. Delaware 7 is called "7" on the stretches that are not "Limestone Road".

Delaware 1 is "1", Interstate 95 is "I-95" or "95". The others are "295 and "495". Other routes always go by their numbers. Delaware 896 is 896, no matter what (outside of Newark). Though in Newark its "New London Road" north of downtown, its never mentioned on its goofy bypass alignment, and south of Delaware 2/4, its always called "896". Delaware 4 is "4" west of Newport and "Maryland Avenue" east of Newport.

Delaware 9 goes by its names north of New Castle but by "9" south of it. U.S. 301 is only mentioned south of Middletown by locals.


When I lived in San Diego, I got used to the "The xx" freeway number thing. But they don't use that in NorCal.
In Pensacola and Mobile everything is either "Highway xx" or just its number. The freeways are called I-x or Interstate-x.

One thing I learned from my visit to the Twin Cities is that noone refers to the Crosstown Highway by its number, Minnesota 62. In fact its shortened to just "The Crosstown" my friend told me.

[Bryant5493]

In SE IL and SW IN, for the most part, roads are just referred to as the route number, although that is troublesome due to the proximity of I-64 to SR 64.  Though, anything that is named was named in the last few years after some obscure politician.

That's a similar problem with persons not familiar with Metro Atlanta, as well. Georgia State Route 85 (SR 85, Georgia Highway 85 or Highway 85) and I-85 (sometimes just called 85) are in close proximity to one another, only, maybe, a few miles apart at the north end of Highway 85.


Be well,

Bryant

[Sykotyk]

Also from near Pittsburgh. Most of my life, I've called roads by their number. Interstates were given the I- prefix (I-80 to 358 to 19 to 62, etc).

When I moved to Pittsburgh, I-376 is called the Parkway East, and I-279 south/west of the city is called the Parkway West. Some people also call I-279 north of town Parkway North, but not usually. Further out of town after the I-279/I-79 interchange, US22 heads west, and although the new freeway isn't called it, a lot of people still call it the Steubenville Pike (the old road is now called Old Steubenville Pike).

If you're on the southside of the city, most refer to which route you come into the city at, the Fort Pitt Tunnel (or Tubes, as some say), the Liberty Tunnel, or go around the West End Bridge.

From my travels, and spending a lot of time in LA, I do like the LA fashion. Nobody calls it the Pomona Freeway, it's "the 60". The 5, 405, 605, 101, 10, 710, 210, 91, 57, etc.

In New York, I can't stand that a lot of the roads people call by their name, rather than the interstate (New Jerseyians do it, too, with the Atlantic City Expressway, Garden State Parkway, etc).

Sykotyk

[Michael]

In CNY, we use both.  For example, I-81 and the Thruway (I-90)  I've never heard it referred to as "I-90".

[TheHighwayMan3561]

One thing I learned from my visit to the Twin Cities is that noone refers to the Crosstown Highway by its number, Minnesota 62. In fact its shortened to just "The Crosstown" my friend told me.

Actually that's mostly older locals; my school is off of 62, and I never hear any of my friends call it Crosstown. I call it 62 as well, but I'm fluent in both uses   . "Crosstown" died out of official use following 1988, when Hennepin County 62 was upgraded into MN 62, and all the "Crosstown Expressway" signs came down (if I remember reading correctly).

But in Edina is Bredesen Park, at the center of which is a sign listing trail maps. This map still has 62 labeled as "Crosstown 62," having not been updated anytime recently.

Otherwise, to my knowledge there is no other name for a freeway in the entire state of Minnesota that's well known. I-35 is the Red Bull Highway, but you essentially have to go online to actually find that out. It's on rest area signs as well, but it's doubtful too many people actually notice. A couple years ago the idea of naming I-494/694 the "Ronald Reagan Beltway" was toyed with by the Minnesota State Legislature. It fortunately failed though.   

:offtopic:  I don't get the whole Reagan love-fest we had here in MN a couple years ago, considering he lost Minnesota in both his elections. :offtopic:

[Chris]

I dare you to find anyone in the New Orleans area not a viatologist who knows the numerical designation of Earhart Expressway.

Not a what? :red:

Hmm, a Viatologist. Never heard of that. Via is latin for "road". Fancy word for "roadgeek"?

[DrZoidberg]

I sometimes tend to call everything that's not an interstate just "highway" (i.e. "Highway 26" for US 26, "Highway 8" for OR-8).

I've never used Highway 8 (or 10 for that matter) in conversations with the locals here in Portland.  I'm pretty sure a numerical designation would have them scratching their heads unless I clarified by saying "Canyon Road (TV Highway) or Beaverton Hillsdale Highway".