What is the lingo in your area for calling route numbers?

[roadman65]

I lived in NJ for half of my life as I am 50 now and moved to Florida when I was 25.  I noticed big changes down here from up there.  Some I had to adjust to in my reference of some roads here.  For example I had to learn to say "I-4" rather than "Route 4" and use the term "highway" to identify US, State, and County designations as well.

In New Jersey all designations whether Interstate, US, State, and county are all called "Route x" regardless.  I believe PA and NY followed the same calling I-80 as "Route 80" or I-81 as "Route 81" rather than I-80 or I-81 as well.

In Florida we say I-4, I-10, I-75, and I-95 for the four major interstates.  Then US 1 exclusively as no one ever says Highway One or just plain ole One as even US 17 will be called either "US 17" or "Highway 17" and the same for State Road 50 having both "State Road 50" or "Highway 50" and so on.

What does your area you live in call its route numbers?  I am curious to know who says Route, who says Highway, or who uses letter prefixes.

[hotdogPi]

My area uses just numbers, with nothing preceding the numbers. Sometimes names are used instead.

"Take 495 to 114"

(This is in Massachusetts. 495 is an Interstate and 114 is a state route that is always referred to by number.)

[peterj920]

In Wisconsin most people call route numbers (or letters) highways, except interstates.  Interstates will be called I-43, for example.  State and US routes will just be called Highway 10, for example.  County roads vary a little bit.  Wisconsin has lettered county roads, and they may be called Highway D, or County D for example.  On freeway over or underpasses, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will put Hwy X for any type of numbered or lettered road.

[froggie]

Threads we've had in the past:

Highway number vs. local name

Highway or route...what do you say?

Route vs. Highway vs. Other (this thread was last year)

[1995hoo]

About the only one I never hear anyone use is "Highway xx." Otherwise, I hear a mishmash–either just a number, "Route xx," or "I-xx." I don't hear many people distinguishing between types of routes except for Interstates. (Even with Interstates, hearing "I-66" is about equally common as just "66.")

[OCGuy81]

I live in the area with the very well known practice of putting "The" in front of highway numbers.

The 405, The 5, The 10.

Sometimes I do hear people add freeway to the end.  For example "take the 10 freeway east". 

[kkt]

For interstates, usually "I-" and the number.  For other routes, either just the number or "route" and the number.

[KEK Inc.]

Washington uses "I" for interstate, "state route" for some urban state routes and "highway" for US highways or some state routes.  Sometimes people just say the number.  I.e., I-405, highway 2, state route 520, 20.


iPhone

[Mrt90]

In Wisconsin most people call route numbers (or letters) highways, except interstates.  Interstates will be called I-43, for example.  State and US routes will just be called Highway 10, for example.  County roads vary a little bit.  Wisconsin has lettered county roads, and they may be called Highway D, or County D for example.  On freeway over or underpasses, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will put Hwy X for any type of numbered or lettered road.

I live in Kenosha, WI and I agree with this for my corner of Wisconsin, too. But I work in Lake County, IL which borders Wisconsin and I've noticed a difference down there.  Some highways are almost always referred to as routes (typically 60 and 22) while others are just referred to by number (176, 137, 173, 120, 21). No one ever calls 132 anything but Grand[Avenue].  US41 is never called anything but 41.  I-94 is usually called the tollway, or rarely called the Tri-state, and sometimes incorrectly called 294 (this is a common error by southern Lake County/Cook County residents). The word "highway" is almost never used when referring to a specific road which is the opposite of what people do just across the Wisconsin border.

[bzakharin]

I lived in NJ for half of my life as I am 50 now and moved to Florida when I was 25.  I noticed big changes down here from up there.  Some I had to adjust to in my reference of some roads here.  For example I had to learn to say "I-4" rather than "Route 4" and use the term "highway" to identify US, State, and County designations as well.

In New Jersey all designations whether Interstate, US, State, and county are all called "Route x" regardless.  I believe PA and NY followed the same calling I-80 as "Route 80" or I-81 as "Route 81" rather than I-80 or I-81 as well.

In Florida we say I-4, I-10, I-75, and I-95 for the four major interstates.  Then US 1 exclusively as no one ever says Highway One or just plain ole One as even US 17 will be called either "US 17" or "Highway 17" and the same for State Road 50 having both "State Road 50" or "Highway 50" and so on.

What does your area you live in call its route numbers?  I am curious to know who says Route, who says Highway, or who uses letter prefixes.

I may have mentioned it in one of the other threads, but NJ doesn't duplicate route numbers (except county routes, but no-one uses those numbers anyway) which makes the "everything's a route" thing much less ambiguous.

Although just a few days ago I heard a Philly area reporter say "295 is jammed from 95 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge". No direction. This gave me pause for a second. The entire 65+ miles of the roadway jammed? Then I realized they probably meant in Delaware. Also NJ 511 has been known to report jams on 30 between 130 and 130 (they name the intersections, but for someone like me who takes US-30 only rarely, this is really confusing).

[sandwalk]

Growing up in northern Ohio, we called our state and US highways "Route X" (with 'route' rhyming with 'out'). Often times, "Route" would be dropped and you'd just hear the number.

As far as interstates go, I grew up near I-80/90.  Everyone just called it "The Turnpike."

[slorydn1]

Here its "Highway" for both NC and US routes and I for Interstates. We even have a restaurant chain named HWY 55 (usta' be Andy's).

[Scott5114]

Here, it's either Highway xx for a conventional road, I-xx for an Interstate, or just the number for either. For example, a routing from Newcastle, OK to Norman, OK: "Get on 62 and take it down to Highway 9, then take Highway 9 east to I-35, and take that across the river." (Highway 9 is never not "Highway 9".)

[hobsini2]

In Wisconsin most people call route numbers (or letters) highways, except interstates.  Interstates will be called I-43, for example.  State and US routes will just be called Highway 10, for example.  County roads vary a little bit.  Wisconsin has lettered county roads, and they may be called Highway D, or County D for example.  On freeway over or underpasses, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will put Hwy X for any type of numbered or lettered road.

I live in Kenosha, WI and I agree with this for my corner of Wisconsin, too. But I work in Lake County, IL which borders Wisconsin and I've noticed a difference down there.  Some highways are almost always referred to as routes (typically 60 and 22) while others are just referred to by number (176, 137, 173, 120, 21). No one ever calls 132 anything but Grand[Avenue].  US41 is never called anything but 41.  I-94 is usually called the tollway, or rarely called the Tri-state, and sometimes incorrectly called 294 (this is a common error by southern Lake County/Cook County residents). The word "highway" is almost never used when referring to a specific road which is the opposite of what people do just across the Wisconsin border.

I have heard some Wisconsin county roads also referred to as X, County X or Trunk X along with Highway X. Sometimes it depends on which part of the state you are in. For example, in Green Lake County where my Grandmother lives, people most commonly refer to the road just as X. But in Oshkosh where my other Grandmother lives, people use Highway X most often.

[SignGeek101]

Well, everyone here in Winnipeg calls Highways 100 / 101 "the perimeter" because it goes around the city. It's even said on BGS's. No one says "take highway 100 around to Oak Bluff".

As for regular highways, people here just say "59 highway" or "Route 75".

[freebrickproductions]

Interstates here in Alabama (at least Huntsville) are called "I-xxx" with "xxx" being the route number.
Everything else is just called "highway xxx".

[thenetwork]

It seems like in Western Colorado, everybody refers to I-70 as "Interstate 70". And US/State Routes as simply "Highway xxx". In the Denver Metro area they call interstates as "I-xxx"

However, BL-70 is referred to as either "I-70-B" or "The I-70 Business Loop" on the east side of Grand Junction.  West of town it's "Highway 6 & 50" as both US routes multiplex with BL-70. I just call it "The Loop".

[cl94]

New York depends. Western New York is "the" for everything with no other prefix before the route number. From what I've heard, on Long Island in the very rare occasion a number is used, it is just the number. In most other places, it's "I-" for Interstates and "route" for everything else. I do know a couple people from Central New York who call everything "highway xx", but I don't know how prevalent that is.

[democraticnole]

I lived in NJ for half of my life as I am 50 now and moved to Florida when I was 25.  I noticed big changes down here from up there.  Some I had to adjust to in my reference of some roads here.  For example I had to learn to say "I-4" rather than "Route 4" and use the term "highway" to identify US, State, and County designations as well.

In New Jersey all designations whether Interstate, US, State, and county are all called "Route x" regardless.  I believe PA and NY followed the same calling I-80 as "Route 80" or I-81 as "Route 81" rather than I-80 or I-81 as well.

In Florida we say I-4, I-10, I-75, and I-95 for the four major interstates.  Then US 1 exclusively as no one ever says Highway One or just plain ole One as even US 17 will be called either "US 17" or "Highway 17" and the same for State Road 50 having both "State Road 50" or "Highway 50" and so on.

What does your area you live in call its route numbers?  I am curious to know who says Route, who says Highway, or who uses letter prefixes.

In Tampa, I rarely ever hear someone say the word highway. It is almost always the number of the road alone, unless it's I-4, where the "I" seems to always be included. U.S. 19 is US 19 or 19, but I never hear it called Highway 19. Also, I hear State Road 60, never Highway 60.

[SP Cook]

WV:

"Route" (rhymes with root) or "West Virginia" ( or "US") used for non-interstates, about evenly.

Intersates are "I", never "route". 

Appalachian Corridors interchangabably called either their US route number or by their project letter as "Corridor G" for example, despite the project letters only being signed on mileposts.    Locally "the corridor" is generally used when no differention is needed.  "Corridor" also used to mean "a 4 lane rural highway that is not an interstate" whether it is built with ADC money or not, as "US 35 is being upgraded to a corridor". 

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

Bridges over the Kanawha at Dunbar and Winfield are always the "Dunbar Toll Bridge" and "Winfield Toll Bridge" (and always those towns and not those on the other side), despite not being tolled for over 40 years.  Bridge in Fairmont is the "High Level Bridge" even though the "Low Level Bridge" is long gone.

All three digit numbers are read as thus:  460 = four sixty; 522 = five twenty two, and so on.

County roads (which is just a name, maintained by the state) are always called by their name.  It would be "Sand Creek Road", not "County Route 55/2".  No one outside DOH even knows what the numbers are or cares.

Political names, whether they be of the Byrd Cult or otherwise, are universally ignored. 

[Rick1962]

In the Tulsa area, Interstates are typically referred to as "I-XX".

US highways are either referred to as "Highway XX" or just "XX".

State highways are typically referred to as "Highway XX", except State Highway 66 is still called "Route 66".

Exceptions are the turnpikes and the Broken Arrow Expressway, which are usually called by their names, rather than their route numbers, and the Sand Springs Expressway, which is typically still called by its original name, the Keystone Expressway, rather than its route numbers.

The downtown loop is called the Inner Dispersal Loop, not by the individual expressway names, nor the route numbers, and certainly not I-444.

Kindle Fire 2

[StogieGuy7]

In Wisconsin most people call route numbers (or letters) highways, except interstates.  Interstates will be called I-43, for example.  State and US routes will just be called Highway 10, for example.  County roads vary a little bit.  Wisconsin has lettered county roads, and they may be called Highway D, or County D for example.  On freeway over or underpasses, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will put Hwy X for any type of numbered or lettered road.

I live in Kenosha, WI and I agree with this for my corner of Wisconsin, too. But I work in Lake County, IL which borders Wisconsin and I've noticed a difference down there.  Some highways are almost always referred to as routes (typically 60 and 22) while others are just referred to by number (176, 137, 173, 120, 21). No one ever calls 132 anything but Grand[Avenue].  US41 is never called anything but 41.  I-94 is usually called the tollway, or rarely called the Tri-state, and sometimes incorrectly called 294 (this is a common error by southern Lake County/Cook County residents). The word "highway" is almost never used when referring to a specific road which is the opposite of what people do just across the Wisconsin border.

Yes, I live in Lake County and every word of this comment is true.  And, what's even odder (to me) is that some people pronounce route as "root" while others pronounce it as "rout".  Hard to tell, but it seems about 50-50 in the Chicago area.  Go downstate and everyone pronounces it as "rout".   East and north (on the south side) of the Tri-State, expressway names are used (i.e. "the Ike" or "the Kennedy"), outside of that perimeter, the Interstate numbers are more commonly used. Signage reflects this as well. 

And, lets not forget that Indiana folks refer to their state highways as "state road xx". Chicago area traffic reports will use "route" for IL state highways and "state road" for those in IN.  And yet, it is indeed "highway" in Wisconsin and that rubs off on people here too, as in "off Highway 50 in Kenosha".   

[mwb1848]

El Paso is closer to Southern California than East Texas. And that bears out in how folks refer to roadways around here. A unique blend of "The", "Freeway", and "(Road name without Rd., St., Ave., etc)" are typical in local parlance when referring to major roadways or highways. Numbers are occasionally used on roads with an asterisk. For others, I've never heard a number used. Which drives me nuts.

• "The Freeway" = I-10*
• "The Loop"  = Loop 375*
• "The Spur" = Spur 601*
• "The Patriot Freeway" = US 54*
• "The Anthony Gap" = NM 404
• "Montana" = US 62/180
• "Artcraft" = Texas 178
• "Zaragoza" = F.M. 659
• "Doniphan" and "Alameda" = Texas 20
• "North Loop" = F.M. 76
• "Paisano" = US 85
• "MLK" = FM 3255
• "Dyer" = Business 54
• "Pershing" or "Copia" = Loop 478
• "Vinton Road" = "Spur 37

There are a couple of rare exceptions in which folks always use numbers:

• "Spur 1966", referring to a very short spur connecting Paisano to UT El Paso
• "Spur 16", new Canutillo Bypass
• "Highway 28", referring to the old road which runs to Mesilla, NM

A truly horrifying anomaly occurs on Farm-to-Market Road 259 in West El Paso County. As Texans know, it's not altogether uncommon to hear an F.M. referred to as Farm Road XXX. In this case, folks have taken to just calling it  simply "Farm Road." No number.

However, as the area urbanizes, TxDOT has installed a couple of street name shields on traffic light mast arms with the appropriate F.M. 259.

[jp the roadgeek]

For interstates, usually "I-" and the number.  For other routes, either just the number or "route" and the number.

Pretty much describes everything east of I-81 and north of DC.

[MarkF]

I recall when I lived in the San Diego area in the 70s that "Highway" was generally used, Highway 5, Highway 8, Highway 94, Highway 395...
Don't know if that is still the case there.