West Virginia "LSR" routes / signed county routes

[logan230]

Living in WV, I always notice how there are a select few county routes that seem to be much like state routes. In fact, almost every quality of these roads would make them a state route, but yet they are county. These routes are signed, often pass through multiple counties with the same designation, sometimes have concurrencies with other roads, and (mostly) have three-digit numbers. These roads are:

CR 21 (Kanawha, Jackson, Wirt, Wood)
CR 56 (Jackson)
CR 120 (Mercer)
CR 151 (Upshur, Randolph)
CR 208 (Hancock)
CR 507 (Hancock)
CR 707 (Harrison)
CR 857 (Monongalia)

What makes this more interesting is how this document from 1993 lists these select few county routes along with the state routes, and abbreviates them with "LSR". (Also, this document lists a lot of non-existent state routes, like 401 and 473.)

I'm curious to know if anyone here would happen to know about the meaning of "LSR" (my guess is local state route) and why these even exist, or why they just aren't state routes, since they might as well be.

[cl94]

WV "county routes" aren't county routes in the traditional sense. They're state secondaries. WVDOT maintains every road in the state outside of incorporated cities.

I'm assuming LSR is a designation for high-quality secondaries. There's no reason to designate them as state routes because, again, WVDOT maintains them no matter what. The fractionals are lower-level secondaries, the HARP roads ("house routes") below that.

[logan230]

WV "county routes" aren't county routes in the traditional sense. They're state secondaries. WVDOT maintains every road in the state outside of incorporated cities.

I'm assuming LSR is a designation for high-quality secondaries. There's no reason to designate them as state routes because, again, WVDOT maintains them no matter what. The fractionals are lower-level secondaries, the HARP roads ("house routes") below that.

I'm aware of how the DOT maintains roads in WV. Since that is the case, what would be the point of having this extra classification that only 8 roads receive? What makes them important enough to be given signage and all but not important enough to be a full fledged state route?

SM-G950U

[hbelkins]

Living in WV, I always notice how there are a select few county routes that seem to be much like state routes. In fact, almost every quality of these roads would make them a state route, but yet they are county. These routes are signed, often pass through multiple counties with the same designation, sometimes have concurrencies with other roads, and (mostly) have three-digit numbers. These roads are:

CR 21 (Kanawha, Jackson, Wirt, Wood)

Former route of US 21

CR 56 (Jackson)

Formerly WV 56. It used to connect WV 2 at Ravenswood to US 21. With the decommissioning of US 21, it lost its importance and thus the need to be signed as a state route.

CR 151 (Upshur, Randolph)

Former route of US 33.

CR 507 (Hancock)

Wasn't this a former routing of US 22?

CR 857 (Monongalia)

This route number designation has been extended over several separate routes to string together one continuously-numbered route from US 119 south of Morgantown to the Pennsylvania state line, and I believe part of it was once WV 73 before that route got decommissioned, but the section from Cheat Lake to the state line is a continuation of PA 857. I'm sure the traffic counts on that road have decreased tremendously now that WV 43 (Mon-Fayette Expressway) has opened.

[logan230]

Thanks for the info, I knew how many of these were decomissioned state/US routes, but I was wondering how they are still signed and treated like state routes, even if they don't need to be state routes (like CR 56, it makes sense that it's no longer a state route, but why is it still signed like one)? And also, for example, CR 707 just pops out of nowhere, which I don't see why WV 279 can't be extended to replace it.

[Mapmikey]

There is also a 2015 version of the control points list - http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/wvroutelog2015.pdf

120 used to be WV 20.

507 is the only (IIRC) LSR that was shown on a WVDOT map as an actual state highway and was also briefly posted that way.

707 predates 279 and 279 was extended to replace some of 707 then past it.

Explanations to the best of my research from not being in West Virginia can be found at the under construction West Virginia Highways Page which has all the state highway pages from 1-7 and 40-972 completed:  http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/index.htm

[logan230]

There is also a 2015 version of the control points list - http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/wvroutelog2015.pdf

120 used to be WV 20.

507 is the only (IIRC) LSR that was shown on a WVDOT map as an actual state highway and was also briefly posted that way.

707 predates 279 and 279 was extended to replace some of 707 then past it.

Explanations to the best of my research from not being in West Virginia can be found at the under construction West Virginia Highways Page which has all the state highway pages from 1-7 and 40-972 completed:  http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/index.htm

Thank you, your website is very helpful! I find it weird how 120, 208 and 707 are listed as WV routes in that version but 507 and 857 are still "LSR".

[hbelkins]

There is also a 2015 version of the control points list - http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/wvroutelog2015.pdf

Many of those routes are not signed and also not shown on the individual county maps.

Explanations to the best of my research from not being in West Virginia can be found at the under construction West Virginia Highways Page which has all the state highway pages from 1-7 and 40-972 completed:  http://www.vahighways.com/wvannex/route-log/index.htm

I didn't know you were doing a West Virginia page. I've been looking to do away with my West Virginia pages (and the never-finished Kentucky exit lists) so if you'd like to steal any of my West Virginia information, feel free. I have some old WVDOT docs on my pages.

[Mapmikey]

I didn't know you were doing a West Virginia page. I've been looking to do away with my West Virginia pages (and the never-finished Kentucky exit lists) so if you'd like to steal any of my West Virginia information, feel free. I have some old WVDOT docs on my pages.

I reference your information where relevant (e.g. only place WV 78 has been described that I can find) and I will take the WVDOT documents you link to so that when I have all routes covered you can remove all your stuff and just put a link to my page.  I'm guessing 2-4 more months to do state routes 8-35, the US routes and the interstates.

For those 3 digit numbers that are on the control points list only, I say in my entries for them how the are actually signed in the field - some are as described in the OP of this thread and some as the CR they were designated originally.

[Bitmapped]

WVDOH doesn't actually have a separate "LSR" classification. These are county routes in DOH records.

To be frank, a lot of those designations in the Control Points list seem like someone's pipe dream. Routes like WV 703 have never actually existed in the field or as a designation for the roads involved. Perhaps they were proposals at one time that never got anywhere?

[hbelkins]

What does LSR stand for, anyway?

[Bitmapped]

What does LSR stand for, anyway?

No clue. Local State Route? That TED 220 document is literally the only place "LSR" is used on the WVDOT website.