Commonly confused routes

[jeffandnicole]

As a general rule, ALT, BUS and other routes can pose problems.

One example, from a wedding reception a few friends went to: Directions say to go down XYZ Road for several miles.  At the traffic light, turn left onto Rt. 553.  Destination will be on the left in 2 miles.

The problem was, there was an ALT 553 the guests will arrive at first (2 traffic lights and 1 mile before the true Rt. 553) .  With a traffic light.  And with many people being from outside the area, they wouldn't know 553 from 553 Alt.  Hell, the bride, groom & whoever came up with the directions probably wouldn't know the different either.  So there was many, many lost guests as a result of the little "Alt" that most people never pay attention to.

[flowmotion]

US-95 and AZ-95 near the California border.

I-80 and Business I-80 in Sacramento.

[hbelkins]

How long has the route which intersects US 89 in Idaho, near the Wyoming state line, been ID 61? I always thought it was ID 89, since it becomes WY 89 when it crosses the state line.

[NE2]

How long has the route which intersects US 89 in Idaho, near the Wyoming state line, been ID 61? I always thought it was ID 89, since it becomes WY 89 when it crosses the state line.

http://www.us-highways.com/idaho/51to75.htm says 1955. It may have been part of 35 or 40 in the 1930s (PS: if you want confusing, try to follow US 89 on that map).

[edit]fucking Wikipedia style external links

[Thing 342]

Apparently MD-68 and I-68 get confused quite often, as there are several large signs on I-70 informing people to keep going to reach I-68.

[vtk]

Apparently MD-68 and I-68 get confused quite often, as there are several large signs on I-70 informing people to keep going to reach I-68.

I believe that's the seed of the thread called They Think We're Stupid.

[english si]

A282 is commonly confused as being part of the M25. Makes sense, as it's of a high build quality and is a short route finishing the orbit of London.

[ap70621]

I-95 before the George Washington Bridge is commonly called 80/95 on traffic reports even though I-80 ends at I-95 in Teaneck.

[sandwalk]

I (and presumably other Ohioans) sometimes refer to the Indiana East—West Toll Road as "the Indiana Turnpike".

I'm guilty of this.

[vtk]

Folks from southern Ohio who come up through Columbus roughly on the US 23 corridor get the idea that I-71 and OH-315 are the same road. This is sort of loosely true, but only if you're approaching from the south.

[hbelkins]

I always thought these two routes in Owsley County, Ky. could be easily confused, especially by a dyslexic:

[Alps]

I always thought these two routes in Owsley County, Ky. could be easily confused, especially by a dyslexic:

Dyslexics are not dysnumerics. (I've known a few, and this has come up.) The problem is when they read individual characters and try to parse it into a word - in other words, the language center of the brain. Math goes a different route.

[Kacie Jane]

"Dysnumeric" yields some hits on the Goog, but I think the correct term is dyscalculic.

[bassoon1986]

FM 121 and TX 121/121 Toll near McKinney TX. There are signs on southbound US 75 saying to continue further south for DFW.

In Shreveport, LA on I-220 before it's western terminus, the last exit before it becomes LA 3132 is for Jefferson Paige Rd. The road is technically LA 3231 from I-220 east to US 79/80 (actually I think there is one sign in the field for it), but I'm sure they didn't sign the number on that exit for the numbers being so close.

[roadman65]

I remember once in Haines City. FL on US 27 SB at Polk County Road 17, there used to be a "TO US 17" shield pointing straight ahead so that SB travelers there would not confuse the two.

Of course now there is a FL 17 that replaced US 27 Alternate from Haines City to Frostproof that intersects US 17 in Downtown Haines City where FDOT does not think people will get confused there on Hinson Avenue.  The SR 17 shield stands alone without a US 17 shield next to it at the intersection as well.

[sdmichael]

Pacific Coast Highway or PCH (SR-1) and Pacific Highway (US 101) in the San Diego area. Pacific Coast Highway ends in Dana Point, Coast Highway is the name south of there. Pacific Highway is the name for an old US 101 alignment in the downtown San Diego area. Pacific Highway also was the name for US 99, though not really until north of Sacramento.

[vtk]

OH 61 intersects Morrow CR 61. Morrow County uses the white square on all its county routes, which is not wildly different from the state route marker at a glance.  At the intersection, there's a sign for CR 61, but none (facing OH 61 traffic) for OH 61.  I'm surprised there isn't an OH 61 sign with an up-arrow next to the CR 61 sign with its right or left arrow – I think if someone isn't paying close attention, they might turn there intending to follow OH 61.

[agentsteel53]

I get many of the Washington 5xx'es confused.

interestingly, I probably wouldn't have that problem if they instead numbered them 105, 205, 305, ...

[bassoon1986]

In Alexandria/Pineville, LA the US routes can be confusing until you are used to them. US 71, US 165, and US 167, plus 165 and 167 have "business" routes (not much business on either of them...) I think it's mainly the digits 6 and 7 that get one tongue-tied.

I think the confusion for me used to be that MacArthur Drive, the main drag around town, is 71/165 at one point and 71/167 at another. Also the criss-crossing of all 3 routes on the Pineville side were a pain to remember.


The best way to keep them straight was to remember those highways in Louisiana as a large X:


Shreveport       Ruston        Monroe
      US 71          US 167      US 165
          \                 |                /
           \                |               /
             \              |              /
              \             |             /
                \           |            /
                 Alexandria/Pineville
                  /         |          \
                /           |            \
              /             |              \
            /               |                \
     US 165          US 167         US 71
Lake Charles     Lafayette        Baton Rouge

[PHLBOS]

The best way to keep them straight was to remember those highways in Louisiana as a large X:


Shreveport       Ruston        Monroe
      US 71          US 167      US 165
          \                 |                /
           \                |               /
             \              |              /
              \             |             /
                \           |            /
                 Alexandria/Pineville
                  /         |          \
                /           |            \
              /             |              \
            /               |                \
     US 165          US 167         US 71
Lake Charles     Lafayette        Baton Rouge

A similar diagram could be used for the north-south freeways in the Greater Boston area (aka The Hub)

  Nashua, NH  Concord, NH   Portsmouth, NH
      US 3             I-93             I-95         
          \                 |                /
           \                |               /
             \              |              /
              \             |             /
                \           |            /
           Greater Boston - The Hub
                  /         |          \
                /           |            \
              /             |              \
            /               |                \
        I-95          MA 24            MA 3
Providence, RI  Newport, RI    Cape Cod

[Zeffy]

I feel like the 6xx series of the New Jersey County Road system would be confusing to any out of staters - if you see a CR 601 shield in Somerset County, the 601 you just found over in Hunterdon County is not the same road. To add on to this confusion, sometimes the numbers change on the same road once you pass into the next county - Mercer CR 604 becomes Somerset CR 601 is an example of this. It gets even worse when you find shields that don't have any indication of what county you're in... but the only ones I've seen these for are 5xx routes which don't change numbers through the counties. And as far as I remember, there are no 6xx shields on guide signs anywhere.

[NE2]

I feel like the 6xx series of the New Jersey County Road system would be confusing to any out of staters - if you see a CR 601 shield in Somerset County, the 601 you just found over in Hunterdon County is not the same road. To add on to this confusion, sometimes the numbers change on the same road once you pass into the next county - Mercer CR 604 becomes Somerset CR 601 is an example of this. It gets even worse when you find shields that don't have any indication of what county you're in... but the only ones I've seen these for are 5xx routes which don't change numbers through the counties. And as far as I remember, there are no 6xx shields on guide signs anywhere.

Sounds just like state highways in different states.

[PHLBOS]

I feel like the 6xx series of the New Jersey County Road system would be confusing to any out of staters - if you see a CR 601 shield in Somerset County, the 601 you just found over in Hunterdon County is not the same road. To add on to this confusion, sometimes the numbers change on the same road once you pass into the next county - Mercer CR 604 becomes Somerset CR 601 is an example of this. It gets even worse when you find shields that don't have any indication of what county you're in... but the only ones I've seen these for are 5xx routes which don't change numbers through the counties. And as far as I remember, there are no 6xx shields on guide signs anywhere.

It appears that the 5XX county routes are Inter-County whereas the 6XX county routes are only Intra-County.

[Kacie Jane]

I get many of the Washington 5xx'es confused.

interestingly, I probably wouldn't have that problem if they instead numbered them 105, 205, 305, ...

I agree, especially since they're numbered in order (south to north), which leads to clustering.  If I'm driving, I'm sure to pay extra attention and don't have a problem, but just sitting here going from memory, distinguishing between 524 through 529 in Lynnwood/Everett or anything besides 539 in Whatcom County is virtually impossible.

[Zeffy]

Sounds just like state highways in different states.

Pretty much - except you're still in the same state.

It appears that the 5XX county routes are Inter-County whereas the 6XX county routes are only Intra-County.

Yeah, that's the basis of it. 5xx routes do not change from county to county, but 6xx routes do.