Why don't most states number exits on non-interstate expressways?

[CapeCodder]

I know MO doesn't, at least 10 years ago.

[wanderer2575]

Michigan originally didn't, either.  Exit numbering started when signs were being replaced after Clearview took over.

[US 89]

Utah numbers the exits on all of its freeways, including non-interstates. There are a few one-off exits on otherwise nonfreeway roads that don't have a signed number, but they are all assigned an internal number.

If I recall correctly, current MUTCD guidance is to include mile-based exit numbers on all freeways, but this is obviously slow to be adopted.

[ethanhopkin14]

I don't know.

Growing up, that was the big difference between being on an interstate and a non-interstate freeway in Texas; the exit numbers and mile markers.  It was the steadfast difference, until I saw Central Expressway and my mind was blown.  A US highway with exit numbers?  Of course it is a weird situation being half mile based and half sequential (at the time I first saw it, it was all sequential because it was pre inside I-635 rebuild).  As I grew older, I saw some more non interstates with exit numbers, two in El Paso (Loop 375 and US-54), TX-130, US-82 and US-59 (non I-69).  The last two being random and intermingled with exits with no exit number in the middle of ones with exit numbers.  Basically, I can't figure Texas' non-interstate exit numbering theme, since all but US-75 have reference marker based exit numbers.  Since all non-interstate highways in Texas have reference markers, why don't all non-interstate freeways in Texas have exit numbers???

[ozarkman417]

I know MO doesn't, at least 10 years ago.

Generally MO doesn't, but there are exceptions, such as MO-370 and MO-364. Those are fully-fledged freeways named after one of the interstates they terminate at.
Contrary to those examples, you have segments of state and US routes like US 54, 60, and 65 in the southern part of the state that have some lengthy freeway segments, but their exits are not numbered.

[TheStranger]

Before California went all-out with exit numbering with the 2001-present CalNEXUS project...

The 1971 exit numbering experiment in Los Angeles included several non-interstate freeways:

Route 11 (now I-110 and Route 110) from downtown towards Dodger Stadium
US 101 along the Santa Ana Freeway (between I-5 and the Four-Level)

I-5 near the East Los Angeles Interchange and portions of I-10 also got the test signage around that time.  Some of the 1971 signage (which was all center-justified external tab) was still up about 3-4 years ago but may have been replaced with newer, mostly internal-tab setups since.

Since 2001, California has basically tried to put numbered exits on ANY freeway, whether Interstate, state, or US route.  Route 33 from Ventura north is one of the very few exceptions.

[RobbieL2415]

CT has been numbering exits on non-interstate freeways since at least the 1930s.

[ztonyg]

Arizona generally numbers all exits even on non-freeways.

The one exception being the AZ 71 / US 93 interchange.

[cwf1701]

Michigan originally didn't, either.  Exit numbering started when signs were being replaced after Clearview took over.

I remember US-23 between I-94 and the Ohio line having exit numbers in the late 1980s/early 90s. And i think M-14 also had them on its freeway section between I-94 and I-275 in that same time period.

[jp the roadgeek]

CT has been numbering exits on non-interstate freeways since at least the 1930s.

CT 72 didn't get exit numbers until the 90's.  And the Bradley Connector (CT 20) doesn't have any.

[SkyPesos]

Ohio used to not number exits on non-interstate freeways, until sometime in the past decade when they've been adding exit numbers to them. They even added exit numbers to some signalized turns on expressways for some reason, like the I-75 onramp at US 6 and I-270 onramp at US 23.

[wriddle082]

I think if TN didn't reset state highway mile markers at county lines, they would have exit numbers on all non-interstate freeways.  As it stands now, some have them but most don't.

Non-interstates with numbered exits include:
The infamous Sam Cooper Blvd. (which still features old I-40 exit numbers)
TN 386 Vietnam Veterans Blvd. (a rare case of exit numbers and mile markers not resetting at the Davidson/Sumner Co. line)
TN 155 Briley Pkwy.
TN 153 in Chattanooga
US 25E in the Morristown area

As far as I can tell, all other non-interstate freeways in TN have unnumbered exits, including TN 22 b/w Martin and Union City, most of US 27 in the Chattanooga area, and all freeways stretches of TN 111.  The portion of US 27 in Downtown Chattanooga that does have exit numbers is considered unposted I-124, so for the purposes of this thread it doesn't count.

[Revive 755]

If I recall correctly, current MUTCD guidance is to include mile-based exit numbers on all freeways, but this is obviously slow to be adopted.

It is a full fledged standard.

Interchange numbering shall be used in signing each freeway interchange exit. Interchange exit numbers shall be displayed with each Advance Guide sign, Exit Direction sign, and Exit Gore sign.

My guess on why many states only have exist numbers on interstates is due to not wanting to change exits if the route number or overall route length changes.  Interstate numbers and/or lengths don't seem to change that much.  A non-interstate route may have more changes as parts are rerouted onto other bypasses or decommissioned.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Prior to 2013, INDOT had two state highways that had exit numbers on the expressway system: IN 912 and (former) IN 265. Then, US 31 came along and added exit numbers on the Kokomo bypass, Plymouth to South Bend section, and the Hamilton County section from I-465 to SR 38. Ever since the Hamilton County segment of 31 was upgraded to a freeway, the SR 28 intersection in Tipton was replaced with an interchange, and two more interchanges will be coming to the Hamilton County segment: 236th Street and 276th Street.

The other highways (US 24, US 20/31, and SR 641) don't have exit numbers.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I can think of two in Colorado off the top of my head, there may be more.

A short stretch of CO-115 southwest of Colorado Springs has exit numbers.
And, there's (they might have fixed this by now) exit numbers on the northern/western part of CO-470

[-- US 175 --]

If I recall correctly, current MUTCD guidance is to include mile-based exit numbers on all freeways, but this is obviously slow to be adopted.

It is a full fledged standard.

Interchange numbering shall be used in signing each freeway interchange exit. Interchange exit numbers shall be displayed with each Advance Guide sign, Exit Direction sign, and Exit Gore sign.

My guess on why many states only have exist numbers on interstates is due to not wanting to change exits if the route number or overall route length changes.  Interstate numbers and/or lengths don't seem to change that much.  A non-interstate route may have more changes as parts are rerouted onto other bypasses or decommissioned.

Looks like TxDOT has a *lot* of work to do (with the MUTCD wording as "shall" and not "may") with several non-interstate freeways and exits not numbered.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Massachusetts numbers their non-interstate expressways with a few exceptions.

[mrose]

In my experience, Wisconsin almost always numbers non-interstate exits, and Nebraska almost never does.

Colorado seems to be a mixture.... in the Denver area, C-470 and Pena Blvd have exit numbers, but US 36 does not.

[thenetwork]

I can think of two in Colorado off the top of my head, there may be more.

A short stretch of CO-115 southwest of Colorado Springs has exit numbers.
And, there's (they might have fixed this by now) exit numbers on the northern/western part of CO-470

The Central City Parkway is an un-numbered road that connects I-70 to the casino areas of Central City & Black Hawk, CO.  AFAIK, there is one lone "exit" that is noted as such.  Why they went through all the trouble on a non-numbered road is beyond me.

https://goo.gl/maps/vYDc7oP7C4MqumEi6

[skluth]

Because they don't have to number exits on non-interstate expressways and it costs money.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I can think of two in Colorado off the top of my head, there may be more.

A short stretch of CO-115 southwest of Colorado Springs has exit numbers.
And, there's (they might have fixed this by now) exit numbers on the northern/western part of CO-470

I swear I must have driven past that a million times and never noticed that.


The Central City Parkway is an un-numbered road that connects I-70 to the casino areas of Central City & Black Hawk, CO.  AFAIK, there is one lone "exit" that is noted as such.  Why they went through all the trouble on a non-numbered road is beyond me.

https://goo.gl/maps/vYDc7oP7C4MqumEi6

[CapeCodder]

I can think of two in Colorado off the top of my head, there may be more.

A short stretch of CO-115 southwest of Colorado Springs has exit numbers.
And, there's (they might have fixed this by now) exit numbers on the northern/western part of CO-470

The Central City Parkway is an un-numbered road that connects I-70 to the casino areas of Central City & Black Hawk, CO.  AFAIK, there is one lone "exit" that is noted as such.  Why they went through all the trouble on a non-numbered road is beyond me.

https://goo.gl/maps/vYDc7oP7C4MqumEi6

In a similar vein Pena Blvd gets full fledged end/begin signs.

[andrepoiy]

Ontario couldn't give two [insert word here] about numbering, thus there are freeways that are not numbered (Hwy 409), and partially numbered (Hwy 427). However, it also numbers freeway sections of mostly-non-freeway routes (e.g. parts of Highway 11).

[bwana39]

In Texas, they were originally sequential on the Freeways that were with limited exception all interstates. US-75 north of downtown Dallas was an exception and it too was numbers sequentially.

In the mid-eighties, Texas adopted the policy of ABSOLUTELY following the FHWA standards for Interstate Highways if any upgrades, repairs, or replacements were done. While some things were grandfathered and others waivered, if there was maintenance a non-waivered deficiency was corrected. One of these upgrades was the mileage based exit numbers on the Interstates  (another was a huge bridge widening program in the nineties.)

The bottom line is exit numbers are convenience / marketing tools anyway. It is probably of greater utility to those who call everything "route" (root). Here where we tend to call Interstates,"interstate" and Farm Roads either "Farm Road" or "FM". We do tend to call both SH & US highways "highway", but... In urban areas, we even tend to call freeways and highways by their street name (ex R.L.Thornton FWY for I-30 east of Downtown Dallas and Preston Rd for SH-289.)

[fwydriver405]

Most of the non-interstate freeways in Maine are unnumbered.

ME Route 703, the Maine Turnpike Approach, has lettered exits, but I'm not sure if those count as true "exit numbering" since those are gore only. The same question would apply on ME Route 701, the Scarborugh Connector, but that one just has an auxiliary banner beneath the "EXIT" gore sign. On Route 703, the construction of the proposed Gorham Connector west of current Exit 45 may change that but time will tell.

The freeway portion of US 1 through Brunswick and Bath, as well as a short portion of the Westbrook Arterial are also unnumbered as well. I remember asking MaineDOT about this two years ago and this was their response:

Q: Why are there no exit numbers on the freeway portion on US-1 in Bath?
A: Route 1 isn’t a control of access facility for its entire length, placing exit number in the middle of route 1 for a 5 mile stretch might cause confusion.  MaineDOT uses mile point numbers to number exits and several exits are less than a mile apart which would require us to put exit 60 A – B- C-D  So we decided it was less confusing leaving the exits as they are.