Numbered Highway "Titles"

[wytout]

I notice that in casual conversation... here in CT we would just say "take 91 south" for I-91... or "Take a left on 159" for CT-159....

...but when it comes to single digit highways (either us or state)... we usually always say.. "take Route 2 east" for CT-2... or  for US routes.... EITHER  "at the light, turn left on US 5" (us 5 obviously) OR "take route 6 east" for US 6, etc. etc. and so on.

[luokou]

And 42S(outh) is technically wrong, though completely understandable, since it's to the south of mainline OR 42. It's actually 42S(pur).

D'oh, my bad! i stand corrected :] i also do understand the confusion of saying the full word for the initial on a split route, but i guess i tend to give the benefit of the doubt if i'm referring a route to a person who already knows which directions said highway goes.

[SSOWorld]

In WI I've found everyone referred to as "Highway ???" (couldn't use a letter since letters can be highway designations ), even interstates.  Highway 94, Highway 41, Highway 29, Highway X. (there are some who use I-94 (43, 894, 794, 39, 90, 535) though.)

[Brandon]

In WI I've found everyone referred to as "Highway ???" (couldn't use a letter since letters can be highway designations ), even interstates.  Highway 94, Highway 41, Highway 29, Highway X. (there are some who use I-94 (43, 894, 794, 39, 90, 535) though.)

Even WisDOT thinks everything is "Highway ##".  For years their mileage signs would be of the following format:
Hwy 94  8
Hwy X  10
Hwy 14 12

And all were different classes of roads (interstate, county, and US)!

[SSOWorld]

Even WisDOT thinks everything is "Highway ##".  For years their mileage signs would be of the following format:
Hwy 94  8
Hwy X  10
Hwy 14 12

And all were different classes of roads (interstate, county, and US)!

That's changing though now that they're starting to use the shields instead of text.

[Scott Onson fails quoting forever.]

[PAHighways]

In Pennsylvania it is route for anything US or PA and Interstates always being called that or I-.  Terminology near the cities is is either name or number or a combination of both.  For example in Pittsburgh, names take precedence when describing the Parkways (or Parkway East, West and North), Crosstown Boulevard, and the Turnpike.  The state route designated expressways are either route 28, [former] 60, 65, or East Ohio Street/Allegheny Valley Expressway, Beaver Valley Expressway, and Ohio River Boulevard.  Turnpike 43 is always the Mon-Fayette, or Mon Valley, Expressway, but Turnpike 66 is always just 66.

[realjd]

In Florida, state highways are "state roads", labeled "SR" on street signs. In conversation, people will sometimes call out a road by type ("state road A1A", "I-95", "US-27"), sometimes they'll refer to them simply by number ("A1A", "95", "27"). US-1 is always "U-S-1" and I-4 is always "I-4". Minor, urban state roads and most county roads are usually referred to by street name, not number, and are often poorly signed.

In Orlando, the toll highways are usually referred to as "the" ("the 408", "the 417"). They all have names, but expressway authority took down the old signs with names so most people just use the numbers now. The only exception is SR-528 which people still often call "the bee-line", even though that's not even the proper name anymore.

In Miami, even though the freeways are signed by number, people typically use the name instead of the number ("the Palmetto", "the Dolphin").

Florida's Turnpike is always "the Turnpike".

You'll occasionally see a private sign at a neighborhood or shopping center entrance use "route", but it's glaringly obvious that those were done by a yankee. You'll also see dumb people sometimes write "1-95" instead of "I-95", or "1-92" instead of "US-192" on business maps or online forums; those people are usually from New Jersey.

[mightyace]

In Pennsylvania it is route for anything US or PA and Interstates always being called that or I-.  Terminology near the cities is is either name or number or a combination of both.

In my part of the state it was pretty much the same.  Now, maybe it's because my dad was an English professor, I said "root" but pretty much everyone else around Bloomsburg said "rowt."

P. S. I remember having this discussion a while ago in another thread but I couldn't find it in a quick search.

[deathtopumpkins]

Yeah it's been brought up before but that was a while ago and the thread's lost to the depths by now.

Here in southeastern Virginia, we are mixed on how we refer to roads. Major ones, such as I-64, are just referred to as "64", never as "the Hampton Roads Beltway", or "199" (VA-199), not "the Humelsine Parkway", or "17" (US-17), not "George Washington Memorial Highway". However, there are exceptions, such as "the Western Freeway" (VA-164), or "Magruder Boulevard/Hampton Highway", not VA-134, and occasionally "Route" will even sneak in, such as "Route 60" for US-60. City streets, on the other hand, are never referred to by number. US-258 is "Mercury [Blvd]", VA-169 is "Fox Hill [Rd]", US-460 is "Granby St." Usually the suffix (road, street, etc.) is omitted, but not always.

As for pronounciation, it's "root" here. 

[froggie]

I heard "rowt" just as often as I heard "root" during my Norfolk days.  "Root" must be a Peninsula thing.

[hm insulators]

In Phoenix, we say "the 17" (I-17) or "the 10" (I-10) or "the 60" (US 60). We also have two major loops, called "Loop 101" and "Loop 202." Loop 101 begins at I-10 near Avondale, heads north for about a dozen miles, then bends east, crosses the 17 and Arizona 51, then bends south through Scottsdale. It makes its first crossing of the Loop 202, crosses the 60 in Tempe, then dead-ends at its second contact with the Loop 202 in Chandler (I think). The western portion of Loop 101 is the "Agua Fria Freeway," the eastern portion is the "Price/Pima Freeway."

The even longer Loop 202 starts at the "Mini-Stack" where it meets I-10 and Arizona 51, goes east for a long way, crossing the Loop 101 for the first time. Way out in east Mesa, the freeway makes a long, sweeping bend to the south to cross the 60 almost out in Apache Junction, then bends again to the west, doubling back through Gilbert and Chandler. It meets the Loop 101 once more, then ends at the I-10, which at that point runs north and south rather than east and west. (It might help you to consult a road map of the Phoenix area.) The portion between the "Mini-Stack" and the 60 is the "Red Mountain Freeway," the portion between US 60 and I-10 back through Gilbert and Chandler is the "San-Tan Freeway." "Detour Dan" will use those names in his traffic reports ("The 'Agua Fria' portion of the Loop 101" for example).

[mightyace]

In cities in TN, highways are generally referred to their names.  That is probably in part due to the poor signing of arterial numbered routes in most Tennessee cities.  The main road where I work is Hillsboro Road not US 431.  The interstates in Nashville go by their I numbers as "I-xx" but the non-interstate freeways go by their names:

Briley Parkway (not TN 155)
Vietnam Veterans Blvd (not TN 386)
Saturn Parkway (not TN 396)

[TheStranger]

In cities in TN, highways are generally referred to their names.  That is probably in part due to the poor signing of arterial numbered routes in most Tennessee cities.  The main road where I work is Hillsboro Road not US 431.  The interstates in Nashville go by their I numbers as "I-xx" but the non-interstate freeways go by their names:

Briley Parkway (not TN 155)
Vietnam Veterans Blvd (not TN 386)
Saturn Parkway (not TN 396)

Would this usage of name extend to the Ellington Parkway (as opposed to calling it US 31E)?

[mightyace]

Would this usage of name extend to the Ellington Parkway (as opposed to calling it US 31E)?

Yes, it would.  That one slipped my mind for some reason. 

[wandering drive]

I find that pronouncing "35W" as "35 west" causes confusion. People can interpret it as meaning "take 35 westbound". I always pronounce it "35-W", and if any further clarification were needed I'd likely resort to the phonetic alphabet ("35-Whiskey" vs. "35-Echo", "80-November", "42-Sierra").

I'll assume you're talking about I-35W in Dallas.  In the Twin Cities, I've never heard it called by anything other than "35-double-u" except by my parents who just called it "35" which irked me to no end growing up. 

[realjd]

I'll assume you're talking about I-35W in Dallas.  In the Twin Cities, I've never heard it called by anything other than "35-double-u" except by my parents who just called it "35" which irked me to no end growing up. 

I-35W is in Fort Worth. I-35E is in Dallas. I don't know about how it goes in Ft. Worth, but all my family in Dallas uses freeway names, not usually numbers. I-635 - "The LBJ", I-35E - "Stemmons", US-75 - "Central Expressway", etc. And if they do absolutely need to use a number for I-35E, they'll usually just say "35".

[algorerhythms]

Occasionally when I feel like watching something stupid on TV, I watch the "To Catch a Predator" shows on MSNBC. The way I can tell that the idiots they catch weren't roadgeeks is that on one of the shows they were doing a sting operation in Ohio, and the decoy girl told her suitors to follow "the 70" to get there. A roadgeek would have realized that she was either from Ontario or Southern California, and not from Ohio...

[shoptb1]

Occasionally when I feel like watching something stupid on TV, I watch the "To Catch a Predator" shows on MSNBC. The way I can tell that the idiots they catch weren't roadgeeks is that on one of the shows they were doing a sting operation in Ohio, and the decoy girl told her suitors to follow "the 70" to get there. A roadgeek would have realized that she was either from Ontario or Southern California, and not from Ohio...

Very good point.  No one in Ohio refers to a highway as 'the <insert number>".  Everything here is either "route <number>" or just "<number>".  Such as, "Take 315 South to 70 East". 

[TheStranger]

I don't know about how it goes in Ft. Worth, but all my family in Dallas uses freeway names, not usually numbers. I-635 - "The LBJ", I-35E - "Stemmons", US-75 - "Central Expressway", etc. And if they do absolutely need to use a number for I-35E, they'll usually just say "35".

Out of curiosity, is the "Central Expressway" name used for the south segment (US 175/SH 310) as well?

[realjd]

Out of curiosity, is the "Central Expressway" name used for the south segment (US 175/SH 310) as well?

I haven't really been out to that part of Dallas too much, but IIRC folks refer to it as the "South Central Expressway", and it's not entirely limited-access.

[F350]

It is a pet peeve of mine, LOL

We Marylanders use "route xx" for everything, just like New Jersey. I suppose it's a Mid-Atlantic thing.

Whenever people are talking about roads, I ask: State route, interstate, or ?

"the 101" or "the 5" is a California thing only.

[roadfro]

"the 101" or "the 5" is a California thing only.

Not quite. As I mentioned upthread, it is very prevalent in southern Nevada. Others have said this nomenclature sees limited use elsewhere.

[corco]

In my experience in Phoenix "the" is also highly used there, particularly with young people.

[architect77]

In Raleigh it's always "I-40" but their outer loop is just "540". In SoCal, the Pacific Coast Highway never gets "the" added before. You just say "on PCH".

[tdindy88]

The only time the "the" is added in Indiana is when refering to the named expressways, "the Borman", "the Lloyd", and "the Sam Jones". I supposed this is being carried over from Chicago where the expressways are refered to as such (the Eisenhower, the Kennedy, the Dan Ryan). Other than that, it is I-X, US-X, or State Road X.