Concurrencies commonly called by both numbers

[US 89]

U.S. 85-87 leave I-25 and go through the suburbs south of Colorado Springs. The street name is "Highway 85-87". Thing is, only U.S. 85 is posted by the state.

I thought only US 85 left 25, and 87 was concurrent with 25 the entire way through CO.
But how much US 85 signage is there, really? IIRC, the last time I was down there, 85 signage was poor to nonexistent)

[roadman]

In MA, 4 & 225 (where they're concurrent) are called by both numbers.

That is generally the case, although recently I've heard some of the traffic reporters referring to it as just 4.

[lepidopteran]

Near Toledo, OH, most of I-475 is concurrent with US-23.  The concurrency is a little strange at their junction between the two, since I-475 gives the appearance of exiting to the right (east), while the US-23 freeway continues northward, unabated, well into the state of Michigan.

In any case, I used to call that stretch of highway "Four-seventy-five twenty-three". Not sure if anyone else did/does, though.

[Darkchylde]

Heard another one today during a traffic report, "24-40 Highway" was called for as a detour for I-70. That'd be the stretch of US 24 and 40 between Lawrence and Bonner Springs on the Kansas side.

[Henry]

I imagine the eastern half of the Capital Beltway is called I-95/I-495, at least to outsiders anyway.

[roadman65]

US 17/92/441 (Orange Blossom Trail) in the Orlando area is often referred to as "17/92".

No mostly four-fortyone.  Only seventeen ninety-two where the two run from SR 50 to DeLand.  Some say that the section from Kissimmee to Lake Alfred is that too, but I have heard traffic reports call the Osceola County section as Orange Blossom Trail.   As far as Polk County goes, it never makes the reports as that is mainly Tampa's radio coverage.

BTW the sign on the traffic light at the WalMart grocery market north of SR 417 says "US 441" and not even OBT as the rest say.  That light was added because Walmart paid for it and always brings heavy traffic with it, so its needed despite adding an extra five minutes of travel time through the intersection.

[jaehak]

I imagine the eastern half of the Capital Beltway is called I-95/I-495, at least to outsiders anyway.

I've just heard "The Beltway" most of the time, and occasionally 495.

[1995hoo]

I imagine the eastern half of the Capital Beltway is called I-95/I-495, at least to outsiders anyway.

I never hear anyone say that. Similarly, when I lived in North Carolina I never heard anyone refer to the southern part of the Beltline as I-40/I-440 either (I-440 has since been deleted from that portion).

[plain]

I've heard the 1/301 overlap between Richmond and Petersburg called by each number, but rarely if ever both.

Yeah I can't really think of many Virginia examples myself outside of the US 29 ones mentioned, despite the numerous duplexes around the state. The only one I've heard myself is VA 10/32 being called "10 32". US 1/301 is rarely even called a number, just the street names mostly. Even the interstates: the I-95/I-64 one is always called just "95" and the I-81/I-64 one is "81".

I wonder what people in Danville call US 29/58? I've been in the area several times but I've never heard the locals discuss the road.

[1995hoo]

I know a couple of guys from Danville and have always heard them refer simply to 29. However, that could also be because I've usually encountered them in Charlottesville and they might figure the rest of us know 29 a lot better than 58 (probably true).

[WillWeaverRVA]

I've heard the 1/301 overlap between Richmond and Petersburg called by each number, but rarely if ever both.

Yeah I can't really think of many Virginia examples myself outside of the US 29 ones mentioned, despite the numerous duplexes around the state. The only one I've heard myself is VA 10/32 being called "10 32". US 1/301 is rarely even called a number, just the street names mostly. Even the interstates: the I-95/I-64 one is always called just "95" and the I-81/I-64 one is "81".

I wonder what people in Danville call US 29/58? I've been in the area several times but I've never heard the locals discuss the road.

I know a couple of guys from Danville and have always heard them refer simply to 29. However, that could also be because I've usually encountered them in Charlottesville and they might figure the rest of us know 29 a lot better than 58 (probably true).

I've generally only heard people in Danville refer to the whole thing as 29.

[NWI_Irish96]

I-80/90 through IN and OH.

Prior posts claim otherwise, if we stick to common usage (emphasis added; irrelevant quotes removed):

Also, there's I-80/94 in Northwest Indiana

Yes, and there's 80/90 as well.  Both also have names that get used 80/94 is "The Borman", and 80/90 is the "Indiana Toll Road" and "Ohio Turnpike".  However, on Chicago radio, 80/94 is usually called that, and 80/90 is "The Toll Road" or "Indiana Toll Road".

As a South Bend resident and frequent visitor to the Region, I can confirm that you're right about both the Borman and the Toll Road. Both are generally referred to by their names rather than numbers by locals. One occasionally hears the Borman called by one of it's numbers, but almost never by both.

In South Bend, we always know when advertising copy has been written by outsiders, when it refers to something being "just off I-80" (or I-90 or I-80/90), rather than the Toll Road.

Having grown up in the South Bend area, you're right that nobody called it 80/90 but called it the Toll Road, but when I moved to Chicago the road was much more commonly referred to 80/90. 

[Brandon]

Thought of I-290 and IL 53 in the Schaumburg area -- its not usually called both numbers at the same time, but is often referred to Route 53 or I-290 or even Ike Extension (tho that is more proper to the "diagonal" segment between I-88/I-294 and I-355)

You'll hear, from time to time, "355 Route 53 Combo" on WBBM for the entire route from Lake Cook Road to I-80.  I-290 never seems to exist there, sort of like I-96 doesn't really exist in people's minds between M-14 and I-696 around Detroit.

(There's a whole other thread, routes that are primary that don't exist in people's minds, or on the traffic reports.)

[StogieGuy7]

When I was a kid, US-29 and US-211 ran together through Northern Virginia and it was common to hear people refer to "29/211," but since 211 was truncated to Warrenton that habit fell by the wayside years ago.

Yes, I remember that too!  Then again, nothing else is the same in NoVA as it was back in the day.

[Jmiles32]

Even the interstates: the I-95/I-64 one is always called just "95" and the I-81/I-64 one is "81".

You're forgetting the famous I-81/I-77 wrong-way concurrency near Wytheville! Pretty sure that one is referenced by both names because of how irregular it is.

[theline]

I-80/90 through IN and OH.

Prior posts claim otherwise, if we stick to common usage (emphasis added; irrelevant quotes removed):

Also, there's I-80/94 in Northwest Indiana

Yes, and there's 80/90 as well.  Both also have names that get used 80/94 is "The Borman", and 80/90 is the "Indiana Toll Road" and "Ohio Turnpike".  However, on Chicago radio, 80/94 is usually called that, and 80/90 is "The Toll Road" or "Indiana Toll Road".

As a South Bend resident and frequent visitor to the Region, I can confirm that you're right about both the Borman and the Toll Road. Both are generally referred to by their names rather than numbers by locals. One occasionally hears the Borman called by one of it's numbers, but almost never by both.

In South Bend, we always know when advertising copy has been written by outsiders, when it refers to something being "just off I-80" (or I-90 or I-80/90), rather than the Toll Road.

Having grown up in the South Bend area, you're right that nobody called it 80/90 but called it the Toll Road, but when I moved to Chicago the road was much more commonly referred to 80/90.

I don't know many Chicagoans, so I'll figure you're right. However folks I know from Lake County, IN call it the Toll Road.

[mrsman]

In Southern California, traffic reports commonly refer to the 57/60 and the 60/215.

Usually California doesn't do multiplexed routes, so the 60/215 is officially just I-215 (the definition of CA-60 has a break). However, the definitions of CA-60 and CA-57 don't have breaks, so they are technically multiplexed (although the bridge log and postmile services both list this segment as CA-60).

When I lived in CA, I don't remember hearing about these multiplexes referred to as such.   Granted, these are very short multiplexes.

Traditionally, the SoCAl reporters referrred to most freeways by name.  So an incident will be reported as "in Diamond Bar, on the Pomona Fwy eastbound at the split to the northbound 57."  Technically, this section is both 57 and 60, but to most people's mind Pomona Fwy = 60.  But yes, an incident like this would also affect through traffic on the 57 northbound as well.

I wonder if people refer to the 5/10 multiplex as such.  (I don't remember such usage in common talk.)  Again, the old traffic reporters would just say "on the Golden State just north of the East LA interchange at 4th Street."  This denotes a problem for the I-5 obviously, but also affects traffic on the I-10.  A big enough problem would affect every freeway coming out of the ELA interchange.  But since I never heard the term, I don't think anyone ever referred to the 5/10.  Sometimes, the road would be referred to as the transition of the Santa Monica to the San Bernardino, but this stretch is basically the transition of any of Santa Monica/Pomona/Santa Ana to the San Bernardino/Golden State so no good terminology exists for this road, other than calling it the Golden State Fwy and people having to know that traffic following the I-10 uses the Golden State Fwy for 1 mile on the transition from Santa Monica to San Bernardino.

I don't remember any reference to 215/60 in Riverside.  When I lived in SoCal,  (1970's to 1990's) there were very few traffic problems so far away from LA.  I think this stretch may have been referred to as the Moreno Valley Fwy and understood to affect both 60 and 215 traffic.  Heck for most of my days, the 215 wasn't even a full freeway (was known as CA-215) between the 60 and I-15 in Temecula so it was largely unreported territory by the traffic reporters.

[DTComposer]

In Southern California, traffic reports commonly refer to the 57/60 and the 60/215.

Usually California doesn't do multiplexed routes, so the 60/215 is officially just I-215 (the definition of CA-60 has a break). However, the definitions of CA-60 and CA-57 don't have breaks, so they are technically multiplexed (although the bridge log and postmile services both list this segment as CA-60).

When I lived in CA, I don't remember hearing about these multiplexes referred to as such.   Granted, these are very short multiplexes.

Traditionally, the SoCAl reporters referrred to most freeways by name.  So an incident will be reported as "in Diamond Bar, on the Pomona Fwy eastbound at the split to the northbound 57."  Technically, this section is both 57 and 60, but to most people's mind Pomona Fwy = 60.  But yes, an incident like this would also affect through traffic on the 57 northbound as well.

I wonder if people refer to the 5/10 multiplex as such.  (I don't remember such usage in common talk.)  Again, the old traffic reporters would just say "on the Golden State just north of the East LA interchange at 4th Street."  This denotes a problem for the I-5 obviously, but also affects traffic on the I-10.  A big enough problem would affect every freeway coming out of the ELA interchange.  But since I never heard the term, I don't think anyone ever referred to the 5/10.  Sometimes, the road would be referred to as the transition of the Santa Monica to the San Bernardino, but this stretch is basically the transition of any of Santa Monica/Pomona/Santa Ana to the San Bernardino/Golden State so no good terminology exists for this road, other than calling it the Golden State Fwy and people having to know that traffic following the I-10 uses the Golden State Fwy for 1 mile on the transition from Santa Monica to San Bernardino.

I don't remember any reference to 215/60 in Riverside.  When I lived in SoCal,  (1970's to 1990's) there were very few traffic problems so far away from LA.  I think this stretch may have been referred to as the Moreno Valley Fwy and understood to affect both 60 and 215 traffic.  Heck for most of my days, the 215 wasn't even a full freeway (was known as CA-215) between the 60 and I-15 in Temecula so it was largely unreported territory by the traffic reporters.

I've been out of SoCal about three years now, but I'm still down there four-five times a year. KNX reguarly uses 60/215; 57/60 not as much (other than calling it the "57/60 split") but I still hear it at least once every time I'm there. I don't recall ever hearing mention of the 5/10 multiplex.

Over the time I lived there (1997-2014) they started backing off using freeway names as much (I assume as Caltrans started leaving the names off BGSs) - or they would use number and name - I hear "the 10 San Bernardino Freeway" or "the 170 portion of the Hollywood Freeway" and such a lot - but they still do use them.

I wonder for someone new to the area if it's at all confusing, as names are less and less common on signage, or if they manage to make the connections through repetition, context, and the few signs that are left.

[fillup420]

North Carolina has another 100+ mile concurrency, this time two state routes: NC 24 and NC 27. I have heard it called "24/27" by people from all along the corridor.

[Beeper1]

US 7/US 20 south of Pittsfield is usually referred to as "7 and 20".

[roadfro]

Nevada has a couple:

I-515/US 93/US 95 in SE Las Vegas/Henderson. Until the mid 1990s when 515 was initially signed, the stretch was commonly referred to only as US 95 ("the 95" )–US 93 was (and still is) disregarded due to it not being the through route at the Spaghetti Bowl downtown. It took about 10 or so years, but the interstate is now more commonly ingrained in the local vernacular, so people are more likely to refer to that stretch as I-515 ("the 515" ).

I-580/US 395 from Reno to Carson City. People refer to the concurrency as both. However, I think more people have switched to calling it "580"  than "395"  since it was signed in 2012.


In both cases, the US route number was established long before the Interstate number was signed, which leads to differences in how people refer to them based on how long one has lived in an area. Also, in both cases, local traffic reports now tend to favor using the US highway number only on sections north of the respective Spaghetti Bowls (where the US route is the sole designation) and the Interstate number along the overlapping section–this practice helps listeners immediately distinguish what part of the freeway the information applies to.

[slorydn1]

Thought of I-290 and IL 53 in the Schaumburg area -- its not usually called both numbers at the same time, but is often referred to Route 53 or I-290 or even Ike Extension (tho that is more proper to the "diagonal" segment between I-88/I-294 and I-355)

You'll hear, from time to time, "355 Route 53 Combo" on WBBM for the entire route from Lake Cook Road to I-80.  I-290 never seems to exist there, sort of like I-96 doesn't really exist in people's minds between M-14 and I-696 around Detroit.

(There's a whole other thread, routes that are primary that don't exist in people's minds, or on the traffic reports.)

Agreed. My time in Chicagoland basicly predates the I-355 era and back then the traffic reports always mentioned time from Austin to the Post office, the Tristate to the Post Office, and 53 to the Post Office when talking about the Ike corridor. When they did give traffic reports on the 53 corridor (usually evening rush not morning for some reason) they would say that 53 was running x minutes from Army Trail to Lake-Cook giving no mention of 290 at all.

[2000_Watts]

I've heard "80-94" on Chicago radio on multiple visits to the region to describe the Illinois side of the interstate concurrency.

The concurrency of US 67 & US 167 in Arkansas is referred to by most in the area as "67-167."

I wonder how they will do down there as that road eventually becomes part of an extended I-57 (30?)... Us Missourians aren't taking kindly to the conversions of US 40-61 and US 71, respectively, to Interstates 64 and 49.

I'm not even sure the number 64 is within the capabilites of Missouri-side STL region vocabulary. KC Traffic reporters and the city of Grandview, MO, public works are trying their damndest to break Kansas Citians into "I/Interstate 49," but KC area public (including me) and Grandview businesses won't leave "71 Highway" alone...

[kphoger]

I-41/US-41.

* kphoger ducks and runs for cover.

[paulthemapguy]

I-41/US-41.

* kphoger ducks and runs for cover.

LOL That made me laugh out loud.  Good job sir.