Also a related issue about driving roads before getting a certain designation. I've driven some asphalt that is now I-11, I-42, I-87(NC) etc but before they received those numbers. That's OK for me.
All of the examples listed never really got any big changes yet. I don't believe I-42 is designated anywhere yet, though I-11 and I-87 are.
Either way, the same principal applies really for me. If it's an existing freeway upgraded w/ shoulders or something or already interstate standards and has received a designation, it still counts even if I drove it before.
Now the real question is what if a non-limited-access highway is upgraded to interstate standards with new frontage roads, interchanges, etc? Would driving it before the limited-access upgrade count, or would the upgrade change it?
New alignments are separate too for me. If I've driven an arterial highway, but a freeway was built parallel to it as a "bypass" or simply a 4-lane realignment, I don't consider have driven that "freeway" yet if I've not physically driven on it.