Old or incorrect local highway names

[kurumi]

There are a few spots in Connecticut where the town has kept an old route number around after the parent route changed. This is great for historical roadgeeks.

• Lebanon: Old Route 89 along CT 289 (http://g.co/maps/bw5ts) (number changed from 89 to 289 in 1964)
• Harwinton: Old Route 72 along CT 4 (http://g.co/maps/zdjak) (changed 1963)
• Litchfield: Old Conn. 25 along US 202 (http://g.co/maps/gb4dh) (changed 1974)
• Middletown: Old Route 6A along CT 66 (http://g.co/maps/sgw26) (changed 1968)
  

The town of Preston has an interesting name for Old Shetucket Turnpike, near CT 165 and CT 164: "Route 165A". It makes a bit of sense, but the state has never used that term.

[NE2]

I know I've come across cases where A was renumbered B at some point, and an old alignment bypassed before the change is known as Old Route B.

[roadman65]

Bridegwater, NJ with CR 614 being called Route 28 to this day spite it being truncated ages and ages ago!
The street signs erected by Bridgewater show it as RT 28.

Old Highway 84 in Sussex County, NJ has its newer alignment as NJ and NY 284.

[kphoger]

One of the main drags through O'Fallon, IL, is still named Highway 50, even though US-50 is routed along the interstate now.  It confused the heck out of me when I first had to make a delivery there; I knew Highway 50 must refer to some other road, but I didn't know which road.  Fortunately, I found the place all right, after one wrong turn (if only I'd had a smart phone at the time).

I recall some rural street blades at gravel road intersections along US-400 far east of Wichita still referring to the road as Highway 96, even though K-96 has been truncated at the east end of Wichita; however, I don't know if people's addresses stayed the same or not.

[TheStranger]

The "Historic Route 163" signs with Route 163 in a US shield along the Cabrillo Freeway in San Diego...when it was 1948-1969 US 395.

(Interestingly, the most historic US 395 routing in San Diego, from 1934-1948?  THAT's now...modern I-15 through Murphy Canyon (which was Route 103 from 1964-1969), and the 1960s Fairmount Avenue freeway being discussed in this thread - https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6368.0 - !!)

[Kacie Jane]

Two from the same general area of Washington (and the same current highway)...

There's an Old Highway 410 near Elma, WA, along what is now US 12.

There's also an Old Highway 9 near Ground Mound, WA, along what is now US 12 (1968-), but was SR 8 before that (1964-68).  You have to go back two designations before you find PSH 9 in the area.

[Alps]

Old US 66 along... well everywhere (:

[hobsini2]

Old US 66 along... well everywhere (:

That's not so confusing in Illinois since they usually have the old route 66 marked with the brown shields. In Chicagoland, while Historic US 66 is still signed along the old route, no one ever refers to Ogden Ave or Joliet Rd as US 66 in Romeoville, Countryside, Berwyn and Cicero.

[hbelkins]

Steve's just rubbing it in about his upcoming trip. 

[The High Plains Traveler]

One example that has caused considerable confusion: in the north Minneapolis suburbs of Blaine, Mounds View, Coon Rapids and adjacent towns, former U.S. 10 from I-35W northwest was replaced by a new section of freeway about 1-1/2 miles north of the original alignment. The original alignment was a divided highway with at-grade signalized intersections and businesses along frontage roads. When the new freeway was opened, the original road (which did not have a true "name" other than "Highway 10") became posted as both Ramsey and Anoka County Road 10, and was just called "County Road 10". Thus, there were two parallel "Highway 10s" within two miles of each other.

One woman blogging in a Twin Cities paper came up with something like "Old 10, Blue 10 [referring to the county route markers], White 10, New 10" to help keep it straight.

Why didn't the cities and counties involved anticipate the confusion and agree upon an actual name for the old highway as well as a different county designation, such as County 110?

Also in the Twin Cities, the "Crosstown Highway" name has held on for Highway 62 even though that name has not been posted since the state took the road over about 1989. If you say "Crosstown" or "Crosstown Commons", almost any resident of the Twin Cities will know where that is. Problem arises when residents tell an out of town visitor, "take the Crosstown off 35W".

[Alps]

One example that has caused considerable confusion: in the north Minneapolis suburbs of Blaine, Mounds View, Coon Rapids and adjacent towns, former U.S. 10 from I-35W northwest was replaced by a new section of freeway about 1-1/2 miles north of the original alignment. The original alignment was a divided highway with at-grade signalized intersections and businesses along frontage roads. When the new freeway was opened, the original road (which did not have a true "name" other than "Highway 10") became posted as both Ramsey and Anoka County Road 10, and was just called "County Road 10". Thus, there were two parallel "Highway 10s" within two miles of each other.

One woman blogging in a Twin Cities paper came up with something like "Old 10, Blue 10 [referring to the county route markers], White 10, New 10" to help keep it straight.

Why didn't the cities and counties involved anticipate the confusion and agree upon an actual name for the old highway as well as a different county designation, such as County 110?

Counties do that too often. Although not posted, Nassau CR 27 overlays former NY 27. CR 3 is old NY 3 in some ol' county up near the western end, and that one IS posted.

[vdeane]

Onondaga county signs former NY 57 as CR 57, though they otherwise don't sign county routes (and that route isn't even officially CR 57).

[pianocello]

Throughout mid-Michigan, old US-27 is still referred to as US-27.

[xcellntbuy]

I believe there is even a old stray NY 57 still posted in the Liverpool area or in the industrial district of Syracuse, if I remember correctly.

[Michael]

I believe there is even a old stray NY 57 still posted in the Liverpool area or in the industrial district of Syracuse, if I remember correctly.

It was installed in the mid-2000s when CR 57 was widened in the area.  Here's a picture form Wikipedia:

[bulldog1979]

Throughout mid-Michigan, old US-27 is still referred to as US-27.

In Northern Michigan, it's called just "Old 27". The replacement freeways are now either I-75 or US 127, of course.

The former surface route for M-76 is also called "Old 76", even though M-76's freeway is now I-75.

Near K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI, there is a secondary county road with the name Old CR 553. The roadway that was CR 553 is now M-553. The number didn't change, but the type of roadway did.

West of Cedar, WI, a road is Old Highway 10. Before that highway became part of US 2, it was State Trunk Highway 10. http://g.co/maps/2ksah

[builder_J]

In Avondale, MO (near Kansas City), there is a road called - and still signed by the town as - "Hwy. 10" which was formerly part of MO 10 until that portion of the highway was decommissioned (I believe in the 1960s).

[Alps]

You also asked about incorrect local highway names. In Quebec, there's a "Route 138A" west of Ormstown, but it's just named that by the town.

[formulanone]

Northern Alabama has an Old US 31, which is local street name, but signed as AL 251.

[agentsteel53]

in Lassen County, CA, there is this street blade:



this refers to the 1909-1964 legislative routing ... the road was bear 7 from 1934-1935, before becoming US-395 until it was bypassed by the current US-395.

[roadfro]

^ Thanks...I had seen the "Old Hwy Route 29" and had been wondering about the origins of that.

[Brian556]

"OLD HWY 24" in Little Elm TX.
OLD HWY 24 is off of FM 720 in Little Elm, Texas at Lewisville Lake.
SH 24 was relocated north to what is now US 380 in 1951. Old maps say that the old alignment became SH 24T after that. FM 720 "functionally replaced" SH 24T in this area when Lewisvile Lake was completed in 1955. At this time SH 24T was eliminated. SH 24 became US 380 in 1971.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.162622,-96.959431&spn=0.005982,0.012531&t=m&z=17

Sorry it's sideways, it was vertical in my computer, when I uploaded it it turned sideways. I rotated it vertical and saved it in Photobucket, but it still displays this way. I've never had this problem before.

[Laura]

I don't know if this counts, but...

Culturally in my neck of the woods (northern Harford County, MD), the locals orally refer to the newer routing of MD Route 23 (East-West Highway) as "New 23" and the old stretch (West Jarrettsville Road) "Old 23". The most amusing part? The reroute happened in 1955, long before like 80% of the population moved into the area. (New 23 is the only part of the Outer Beltway - or the East-West Scenic Freeway - that was built.)

[bugo]

In Avondale, MO (near Kansas City), there is a road called - and still signed by the town as - "Hwy. 10" which was formerly part of MO 10 until that portion of the highway was decommissioned (I believe in the 1960s).

http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u126/bugo348/Missouri%2010/

[roadman65]

In Whitehouse, NJ the old highway through town was called Old Highway 28 because at one time US 22 was NJ 28 west of Bridgewater, NJ.  US 22 bypassing Whitehouse was designated post construction of this.   The last time I was there in 09,though, the sign was gone.