Is there any giant resource available that details how the highways in the 50 states came to be as they are? For example, I know NJ's history of the original routes, the 1927 renumbering, and the 1957(?) renumbering which made the routes as they are today. However, I haven't really seen how states lay out their state highways. I would assume there is some sort of grid or whatnot they follow, but I've been looking at various states and I cannot seem to find the pattern for how they are numbered. The ones out there that interest me right now are Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, but it would be nice to have every state's highway numbering patterns.
Apologies if this has been posted before, but I didn't really see a topic like this so yeah.
Maryland: http://mdroads.com/routes/md.html
QuoteThe State Roads Commission (predecessor of the current SHA) came into being on April 30, 1908. Maryland began numbering primary routes at least as far back as 1927. Although early maps do not show numbering, it is possible for numbering to have been in use at least internally many years prior. This initial state numbering appears to have come after the first US highways in 1926, as these route numbers weren't assigned elsewhere to necessitate a state number change.
QuoteThe low numbers from 2-37 were spread statewide, connecting county seats not otherwise served by a US route. The first objective of the state road system was to be able to travel from one county seat to another 'without breaking a spring.' These numbers run in the still familiar pattern - 2 through 6 through Southern Maryland, 12-21 running up the Eastern Shore (swap 33 for 17 and this shows even more), and finally 22-39 running west starting with 22 in Harford County down to 28 in Montgomery County, then west to Frederick with 33 (now 17), on to Garrett County with 37 (now US 219).
The numbers from 38 up to about 380 were the next set, and these were tightly clustered by county or region with few exceptions as follows. Most of these routes remain intact; Maryland has not had a major renumbering like some other states. Some routes run through adjacent parts of a neighboring county, but near to other routes in the cluster.
Maryland's Route Numbering System 1933:
38-42: Garrett
45-52: Allegany
53-68: Washington
69-81: Frederick
83-93: Carroll
94-106: Howard
107-124: Montgomery (Northern)
125-151: Baltimore
152-165: Harford
166-181: Anne Arundel (Northern)
182-196: Montgomery (Southern)
197-221: Prince George's
223-233: Charles
234-252: St. Mary's
253-259: Anne Arundel (Southern)
260-266: Calvert
267-286: Cecil
287-299: Kent
300-309: Queen Anne's
310-319: Caroline
320-327: (state facilities)
328-334: Talbot
335-343: Dorchester
344-355: Wicomico
356-364: Somerset
365-379: Worcester
System Additions
Above 380, few routes are clustered as those below, most notably numbers in the low 500s in Calvert County and the 440s in Kent County. Routes 313 and 404 were around from the beginning, 313 being a possible alternate for US 213, and 404 extending all the way west to Kent Island. Before the exchange program of the fifties, many seemingly minor connecting roads were numbered. Of these, quite a few were merely stubs and/or noncontiguous, with transitions between state and county maintenance; the number only applied to the state sections. By 1940, the highest number was 684. With the transportation needs of World War II came new routes, increasing the highest number into the 700s. Even today, many of the 700-718 numbers appear near military installations or critical war suppliers. In the old days, Maryland almost never ran concurrent route numbers on one road, even for a few feet. If two roads met another road slightly staggered (e.g. 137 and 138 meeting 45 in Hereford), they got different numbers, even if the separation was a city block or less! Many of these routes were later consolidated into one number or the other as this rule was relaxed.
Alaska has no obvious pattern for its dozen numbered routes.
Hawaii clusters its non-Interstate routes by island, with the first digit indicating which island (for example, all 4xx routes are on Lanai or Molokai). 1-10 were reserved for Interstates and an ancient planned auto ferry system. primary routes get 2-digit numbers, secondaries 3 digits, others 4 digits. Lots of parent-daughter numbering of related routes. 4-digit number assignments seem the most random, but they all follow the general rules on clustering by island and sometimes on numbering of related routes. A vary logical system, completely ignored by residents who (like Alaskans) think of route numbering as a mainland/lower-48 thing. See the FAQs section of www.hawaiihighways.com for more info.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire have more numbers in the low 100s than low numbers.
The lower numbers go through several states (MA 8, NH 9, MA 10, NH 11, MA 12, NH 25, NH 26, and MA 32 go through at least 3 states each). These are usually north-south for evens and east-west for odds (26 is diagonal). The lowest single-state route in New Hampshire is 33.
Routes numbered 60 to 97 usually have more turns than those in the low 100s, since the low 100s were created earlier (but not as early as the 8, 9, etc. mentioned earlier).
Massachusetts numbers above 200 are related to their number minus 200 in some way (for example, 203 and 3). The exception is that 213 is related to 113, not 13.
Zeffy: here's a thread from last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10423.0) on the subject.
Quote from: Zeffy on September 07, 2014, 11:31:34 PM
Is there any giant resource available that details how the highways in the 50 states came to be as they are? so yeah.
Other than this forum (and the list of link resources it has now), I've not seen any single-compendium, be-all-end-all about it.
Quote from: txstateends on September 08, 2014, 10:00:17 AM
Quote from: Zeffy on September 07, 2014, 11:31:34 PM
Is there any giant resource available that details how the highways in the 50 states came to be as they are? so yeah.
Other than this forum (and the list of link resources it has now), I've not seen any single-compendium, be-all-end-all about it.
Yeah, this
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2014, 05:53:55 AM
Zeffy: here's a thread from last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10423.0) on the subject.
is the best I've ever found. Maybe he should publish that.
Kentucky generally follows the system that the US routes do for one- and two-digit routes: Odd numbers run north-south, even numbers run east-west, and the low numbers are in the north and east and the high numbers are in the south and west. There are exceptions, such as KY 26 that runs north-south and is in the southern part of the state.
West Virginia doesn't really have a systematic pattern, but in general odd numbers run east-west and even numbers run north-south.
The CT system is hard to explain. Most of the low numbers are assigned to the US route system (1,5,6,7), or to the old New England Interstate system (8,10,12,32). Many are numbered to be reciprocal with other states if they cross the border. I do see somewhat of a pattern for odd numbers over 70 when you get east of New Haven, and they get higher as you move west to east (77,79,81,83,85,87,89,97), and a lot of consecutive route numbers are set up in clusters (30's and 50's in Fairfield County), 60's and low 70's in greater Waterbury. 140's and 150's in New Haven and Middlesex county, 160's-180's in Hartford county. Only a couple (244, 372) are renumbers of the original routing of the associated 2 digit route.
Besides NE2's thread, does anyone have an Archive.org link to J.P. Kirby's page (now long gone from the active Internet, I am sure) cataloguing numbering patterns?
For Washington, from Wikipedia, partially written by me.
QuoteMost state routes are numbered in a grid, with even-numbered routes running east—west and odd-numbered routes running north—south. Even two-digit routes increase from south to north in three "strips", with SR 4, SR 6, and SR 8 in the western part of the state, SR 14, SR 16, SR 18, and SR 20 along the Interstate 5 corridor, and SR 22, SR 24, SR 26, SR 28, and former SR 30 in the east. Odd numbers similarly increase from west to east, with SR 3, Interstate 5, SR 7, SR 9, SR 11, SR 17, SR 21, SR 23, SR 25, SR 27, and SR 31 following this general progression. (SR 19 was added in 1991, and lies west of SR 3; SR 35 and SR 41 are extensions of highways in adjacent states.) Three-digit routes (and SR 92 and SR 96) are usually numbered by taking the first one or two digits of a route it connects to and adding another digit or two. In some cases, instead of using the two-digit route's actual number, a number that would fit the grid is used instead.
Add to this, that in general, the 3-digit State Routes, increment from South to North and West to East. And that US 101 is treated as SR 1.
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2014, 05:53:55 AM
Zeffy: here's a thread from last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10423.0) on the subject.
There we go, I vaguely remembered something like that but also couldn't find it (I also forgot
I posted in the thread as well!) in a forum search. Thanks for that!
((apologies if some of this is long-ish, the TxDOT way isn't easily put into 1 or 2 sentences ;-) ))
As for Texas (without scouring Wikipedia or TxDOT or some other site-flavor-of-the-moment, which might do more to complicate things), basically there is no set numbering pattern.
Primary state routes
* have 1, 2, or 3 digit numbers basically anywhere in the state
* no odds-over-here/evens-over-there, or smaller-numbers-here/larger-numbers-there type of setup
* no US-style parent-child numbering or Interstate-style 2di or 3di branching
* no orderly statewide grid-shaped pattern
* despite seeing something in the past say to the effect that primary state routes are assigned in order, that hasn't always been the case (if it ever really was)
* most primary routes have termini at other numbered roads (Interstates, US, other TX primary routes) but there are exceptions
* usually there's no primary route with a number that is the same as a number of a route that crosses the primary route along its way
* occasionally, a primary route can be discontinuous
* can also have one or more business routes, which usually can be found along the original or former route of a primary state route through a town
Secondary state routes
* basically made up of Farm-to-Market and Ranch-to-Market roads
* have 1, 2, 3, or 4 digit numbers
* are of the same non-pattern as primary state routes' make-up above
* a divider of sorts has been referred to in the past between where the FMs are and where the RMs are in the state, but that's not a steadfast-brick-wall thing; there are more FMs in the east and more RMs in the west, but the opposite can be found in several places
* no FM and RM share the same route number (you won't find an FM 10 and an RM 10, for example)
* most FMs and RMs have their termini at another numbered road, like primary routes, but there are several exceptions scattered around the state: some FMs/RMs have one terminus not at another numbered road, but at a county road intersection or continue as a county road; while others have both termini that don't involve another numbered road (those do cross at least one other numbered road in-between)
* a few routes tried to convert to so-called 'urban roads' on a somewhat-tangible basis several years ago (due to many of the secondary roads being in urbanized and growing areas), but were largely unpopular when plans for conversion were released...in TxDOT's records, the URs do exist, but actual on-the-road signage still shows them as their original FM or RM route...the URs didn't change numbering upon conversion in TxDOT's system from the previous FM or RM version, either
* usually there's no secondary route with a number that is the same as a number of a route that crosses the secondary route along its way
* a discontinous FM/RM is very rare
* a business route of an FM/RM is very rare as well
Other state routes:
Loops have a mainly 1, 2, or 3 digit number (the 4-digit Loop 1604 around San Antonio is the major exception) and as with primary and secondary routes, have no real numbering pattern. They can be found anywhere in the state. Usually there's no loop route with a number that is the same as a number of a route that crosses the loop route along its way.
Spurs are numbered similarly to loops; 1, 2, or 3 digit numbering, no pattern, anywhere in the state. This applies to regular spurs only. Another set of spurs are actual adjuncts, but only from a few scattered FMs or RMs. The FM/RM spurs are numbered like their main FM/RM route numbers (1, 2, 3, or 4 digit), but aren't signed with a SPUR banner over a FM/RM shield, but use spur shields like regular spurs do.
Park roads/Recreational roads, which are found in or leading to park or recreational areas around the state, have no pattern of numbering. Either one can be found with 1, 2, or 3 digits. They are numbered separately from the other types of state routes. Park roads for the most part take over the function of a numbered road from an approaching US or other state route once the road enters the confines of a state park; otherwise, either type road can connect a numbered road to a nearby park or recreational area.
As for lettered roads, none have been used in TX before, with the exception of OSR within the primary set of routes. Both its termini are along TX 21 and span an historic stretch of the Old San Antonio Road, hence the initials for the route.
County roads are not signed at the same level as TxDOT's numbered state roads, but are labeled on the county level with either individual blue-yellow pentagons or with varying types of street blades, while TxDOT indicates them with varying sizes of LGSes as a guiding tool rather than on a shield/numbering type of basis. As for numbering, it varies by county. Some have solely numbers, others are a mixture of number/letter characters for labeling. Most counties use anywhere from 1 to 5 digits; 3 or 4 are the arrangement of digits usually found on many county road signs. Numbering placement varies, but many use a system based on where precincts are in the county (There are 4 precincts in each county, based on local population count).
New York generally uses two-digit numbers for longer routes and three-digit number for shorter routes within a particular area of the state. Certain regions have three-digit numbers in a particular range. For example, Long Island originally had everything from NY 101 to NY 115, although three of those were decommissioned:
NY 103 - Atlantic Avenue
NY 104 - Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike (currently Nassau CR 257)
NY 113 - Quogue-Riverhead Road (currently Suffolk CR 104)
NY 115 - Wantagh Avenue (currently Nassau CR 189)
It's likely that Westchester once had everything from NY 116 to NY 141. It's known that Mamaroneck Avenue was once NY 126, but I can't say for certain about the other missing numbers. Routes that don't fit in the range (e.g. NY 135, NY 347, and NY 454 on Long Island) are in many cases roads that were constructed at a later date and got assigned some number that was not already taken--or some number that had been decommissioned elsewhere, as in the case of the current NY 113 and NY 115 in Poughkeepsie.
Quote from: txstateends on September 08, 2014, 07:15:15 PM
* a few routes tried to convert to so-called 'urban roads' on a somewhat-tangible basis several years ago (due to many of the secondary roads being in urbanized and growing areas), but were largely unpopular when plans for conversion were released...in TxDOT's records, the URs do exist, but actual on-the-road signage still shows them as their original FM or RM route...the URs didn't change numbering upon conversion in TxDOT's system from the previous FM or RM version, either
Urban roads were so designated because that makes them ineligible for state funding for widening of the road. Maintenance only. Essentially a sneaky way to dump responsibility on the city/county without having to get them to agree to it first.
QuoteLoops have a mainly 1, 2, or 3 digit number (the 4-digit Loop 1604 around San Antonio is the major exception) and as with primary and secondary routes, have no real numbering pattern. They can be found anywhere in the state. Usually there's no loop route with a number that is the same as a number of a route that crosses the loop route along its way.
1604 being the exception because it was originally FM 1604 running between US 87 (I-10 west) and US 281, and was extended piece by piece to create a complete loop, then renamed as a loop.
Quote from: dgolub on September 08, 2014, 07:56:10 PM
New York generally uses two-digit numbers for longer routes and three-digit number for shorter routes within a particular area of the state. Certain regions have three-digit numbers in a particular range. For example, Long Island originally had everything from NY 101 to NY 115, although three of those were decommissioned:
NY 103 - Atlantic Avenue
NY 104 - Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike (currently Nassau CR 257)
NY 113 - Quogue-Riverhead Road (currently Suffolk CR 104)
NY 115 - Wantagh Avenue (currently Nassau CR 189)
It's likely that Westchester once had everything from NY 116 to NY 141. It's known that Mamaroneck Avenue was once NY 126, but I can't say for certain about the other missing numbers. Routes that don't fit in the range (e.g. NY 135, NY 347, and NY 454 on Long Island) are in many cases roads that were constructed at a later date and got assigned some number that was not already taken--or some number that had been decommissioned elsewhere, as in the case of the current NY 113 and NY 115 in Poughkeepsie.
I believe NY adopted a system where 2dny routes would be primary routes across the state (even N-S, odd E-W) with 3dny routes being more minor ones assigned by a clustering system. Of course, there are about a billion exceptions, and it's been ignored since the initial numbering in the early 30s. Before then, there was a small system of 2dny routes in the late 20s that went by the wayside when the US highways were designated. Yep, NY established a system only to have to scrap it a couple years later when the US highways came in. That might be why NY has never cared much for US routes and didn't care to renumber anything other than NY 87 (to NY 812) for the interstates.
EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York))
When North Carolina first started their state number system, it was very uniformed. But after a decade or two they said "f*ck it, let's make meth," which is what we have today. :sombrero:
Quote from: vdeane on September 09, 2014, 01:16:53 PM
Quote from: dgolub on September 08, 2014, 07:56:10 PM
New York generally uses two-digit numbers for longer routes and three-digit number for shorter routes within a particular area of the state. Certain regions have three-digit numbers in a particular range. For example, Long Island originally had everything from NY 101 to NY 115, although three of those were decommissioned:
NY 103 - Atlantic Avenue
NY 104 - Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike (currently Nassau CR 257)
NY 113 - Quogue-Riverhead Road (currently Suffolk CR 104)
NY 115 - Wantagh Avenue (currently Nassau CR 189)
It's likely that Westchester once had everything from NY 116 to NY 141. It's known that Mamaroneck Avenue was once NY 126, but I can't say for certain about the other missing numbers. Routes that don't fit in the range (e.g. NY 135, NY 347, and NY 454 on Long Island) are in many cases roads that were constructed at a later date and got assigned some number that was not already taken--or some number that had been decommissioned elsewhere, as in the case of the current NY 113 and NY 115 in Poughkeepsie.
I believe NY adopted a system where 2dny routes would be primary routes across the state (even N-S, odd E-W) with 3dny routes being more minor ones assigned by a clustering system. Of course, there are about a billion exceptions, and it's been ignored since the initial numbering in the early 30s. Before then, there was a small system of 2dny routes in the late 20s that went by the wayside when the US highways were designated. Yep, NY established a system only to have to scrap it a couple years later when the US highways came in. That might be why NY has never cared much for US routes and didn't care to renumber anything other than NY 87 (to NY 812) for the interstates.
EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York))
The thing is that there aren't too many cases (if any) where the interstate and state route with the same number are at all near each other, except in cases where one turns into the other like I-787 and NY 787. For example, there's I-295 and NY 295, but they're more than 100 miles apart so it's unlikely that anyone would confuse them.
Now, when it comes to county routes, that's a whole other story. People taking the Long Island Expressway (I-495) out to Montauk regularly get off at NY 111 when they really want Suffolk CR 111. And then there's Nassau, which doesn't pose a problem because the county route are all unsigned. However, they've got CR 25, CR 27, and CR 110 that run right next to NY 25, NY 27, and NY 110, respectively. If Nassau were to start signing county routes, those three would have to get renumbered to avoid confusing people.
FL pretty much uses the Federal system for US routes on its one and two digit routes.
However, on its three digits certain numbers are assigned to a specific region. Like NE 2 once said it was intended for an obvious purpose when first implemented, but got messed up later with expansion of the state's road network.
Double 00 routes tend to be long distance routes that diagonally cross the Florida Peninsula with many of them are silent like SR 400, 500, 600, and 700. FL 200, though is signed, but most of it is unsigned where concurrent with US 301 from Ocala to Callahan. FL 100 is signed for several miles across the state, but there is a section from Lake City to the GA Line that is not.
Don't bother asking about Louisiana. There is evidence of loose patterning, but the idea of conformity vanished when major routes got 3xxx numbers. :rolleyes:
Quote from: dgolub on September 13, 2014, 09:58:49 AM
Quote from: vdeane on September 09, 2014, 01:16:53 PM
Quote from: dgolub on September 08, 2014, 07:56:10 PM
New York generally uses two-digit numbers for longer routes and three-digit number for shorter routes within a particular area of the state. Certain regions have three-digit numbers in a particular range. For example, Long Island originally had everything from NY 101 to NY 115, although three of those were decommissioned:
NY 103 - Atlantic Avenue
NY 104 - Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike (currently Nassau CR 257)
NY 113 - Quogue-Riverhead Road (currently Suffolk CR 104)
NY 115 - Wantagh Avenue (currently Nassau CR 189)
It's likely that Westchester once had everything from NY 116 to NY 141. It's known that Mamaroneck Avenue was once NY 126, but I can't say for certain about the other missing numbers. Routes that don't fit in the range (e.g. NY 135, NY 347, and NY 454 on Long Island) are in many cases roads that were constructed at a later date and got assigned some number that was not already taken--or some number that had been decommissioned elsewhere, as in the case of the current NY 113 and NY 115 in Poughkeepsie.
I believe NY adopted a system where 2dny routes would be primary routes across the state (even N-S, odd E-W) with 3dny routes being more minor ones assigned by a clustering system. Of course, there are about a billion exceptions, and it's been ignored since the initial numbering in the early 30s. Before then, there was a small system of 2dny routes in the late 20s that went by the wayside when the US highways were designated. Yep, NY established a system only to have to scrap it a couple years later when the US highways came in. That might be why NY has never cared much for US routes and didn't care to renumber anything other than NY 87 (to NY 812) for the interstates.
EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York))
The thing is that there aren't too many cases (if any) where the interstate and state route with the same number are at all near each other, except in cases where one turns into the other like I-787 and NY 787. For example, there's I-295 and NY 295, but they're more than 100 miles apart so it's unlikely that anyone would confuse them.
Now, when it comes to county routes, that's a whole other story. People taking the Long Island Expressway (I-495) out to Montauk regularly get off at NY 111 when they really want Suffolk CR 111. And then there's Nassau, which doesn't pose a problem because the county route are all unsigned. However, they've got CR 25, CR 27, and CR 110 that run right next to NY 25, NY 27, and NY 110, respectively. If Nassau were to start signing county routes, those three would have to get renumbered to avoid confusing people.
I think I figured out the mystery of why NY 87 was renumbered but others weren't, even though NY 87 didn't go anywhere near I-87: NY 87 and I-87 would have both existed in Region 7. Aside from extensions and the Thruway, this doesn't happen with any of the still-existing duplicates.
Oklahoma is roughly sequential, but all hell broke loose after about 1940 or so, with previous numbers being recycled.
I'm just going to rehash what was said last year.
Quote from: NE2 on October 12, 2013, 03:15:40 AM
South Dakota had numbered and signed its state highways by 1926 in a perfect grid. Numbers ran from 11 in the east to 85 in the west and 12 in the north to 52 in the south.
Quote from: SD Mapman on October 11, 2013, 12:23:47 AM
South Dakota:
Similar grid to the US system for 2 digits started in the 1920s. When the US system was designated, it overrode the previous state highway that just happened to be in the way (US 281 over SD 41, for instance). 3 digits started to show up in the '70s and are assigned based on a statewide street grid, e.g. 100th Avenue at the Wyoming/Montana border, increasing west-to-east, and 100th Street at the ND border increasing north-to-south. The east-west 3 digit numbering goes to the nearest even street, adding 100 if necessary. The north-south 3 digit numbering goes to the inverse of the nearest odd street (101 at the Minnesota border and so on), adding 100 if necessary. 1804 and 1806 are from 1976. They follow the Missouri River.
Illinois was done in legislative order originally. Some of the higher, 3 digit route appear to have been clustered.
I have no idea what Nebraska's system is based on. Iowa's is based on the order in which they were approved, but since the system was created, the US Highways and the interstates came into being, and they renumbered a large number of highways in 1969, so a large number of highways do not have their original number.
Sorry to bump an old thread, but I am currently in Puerto Rico, and here is Puerto Rico's system:
- Sub-100 routes are usually the most critical routes on the main island, although this is not always the case.
- 1xx routes are found all over the main island and are usually secondary routes.
- 2xx routes were once only used for the main routes on the outlying islands of Culebra and Vieques, however, in recent years DTOP has used 2xx numbers on the main island as an alternative to 1xx, since 2xx numbers were underutilized.
- 3xx is used in the southwestern part of the main island.
- 4xx is used in the northwestern part of the main island.
- 5xx is used in the south-central part of the main island.
- 6xx is used in the north-central part of the main island.
- 7xx is used in the southeastern part of the main island.
- 8xx is used in the San Juan metropolitan area.
- 9xx is used in the eastern part of the main island and two routes in Vieques (995 and 997).
4-digit routes are spurs from their parent route. There are also "Ramal" routes with the suffix "R" which are similar in function to Business routes (older signage uses a "RAMAL" banner instead of a suffix).
Quote from: jbnv on September 13, 2014, 12:30:10 PM
Don't bother asking about Louisiana. There is evidence of loose patterning, but the idea of conformity vanished when major routes got 3xxx numbers. :rolleyes:
The lowest-numbered routes there tend to go with odds N-S and evens E-W, with smaller numbers starting in the north and west. Southeast Louisiana has its own subcluster of these using the next lowest numbers after the more statewide system. Overall these are/were assigned with numbers 1-25. Less important primary routes not adhering to the main grid follow, up to 191.
Your 300-series and above routes tend to be secondary routes clustered in certain areas, to a point. Some of the higher-digit 3dlas and the 4dlas were tertiary farm-to-market type routes and also tend to be clustered.
Of course, yeah, it all went out the window when the 3xxx series was commissioned. From what I hear, these were supposed to be internal designations, used until more suitable numbers were designated - but for whatever reason, they were signed, and they can be any class of route, be it primary, secondary, or tertiary/farm-to-market.
For Utah, there isn't really any organization except for a few clusters, some of which date back from the 1920s. Also, numbers from 281 to 320 are reserved for state parks and universities.
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2014, 05:53:55 AM
Zeffy: here's a thread from last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10423.0) on the subject.
Quote from: WashuOtaku on September 13, 2014, 09:40:53 AM
When North Carolina first started their state number system, it was very uniformed. But after a decade or two they said "f*ck it, let's make meth," which is what we have today. :sombrero:
Yeah, the original system made a lot of sense. Main routes were 2-digit-end-in-zero (NC 10). Child routes had the "ones digit" changed (NC 19), children of the child routes had an extra "ones digit" added (NC 194). After a while and a few renumberings to accommodate US routes and interstates, the numbering just became sporadic.
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 11, 2017, 09:59:08 PM
For Utah, there isn't really any organization except for a few clusters, some of which date back from the 1920s. Also, numbers from 281 to 320 are reserved for state parks and universities.
Pretty much. There's no real pattern within the clusters themselves, but a lot of these cluster kind of correspond to a certain part of the state.
To wit, SRs 7-19 (12, 14, 17, 18 and historically 11, 15, and 19) tend to be in the southwest corner and Routes 20-29 are a little to the north in the center of the state (20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, and 29). Routes 30-39 are generally further north still, 40-49 are generally more in eastern Utah, and so forth. There are exceptions, particularly SRs 13, 23, and 26 in northern Utah, but clustering is common.
When a number is assigned to a road, you can bet on it carrying similar digits to another existing route in the area as well (like UT-67 being near UT-68). If there is more than 1 new route assigned in roughly the same area, expect the same (like UT-131 and UT-135, just assigned this year).
XT1585
Alabama used most low numbers under 20 as principal routes (many are now hidden US Route numbers). "AL 1" follows US 431, "AL 2" follows US 72, "AL 3" follows US 31, "AL 4" follows US 78...the even-numbered hidden routes tend to increase as you head down the state. The rest is usually in the order in which they were created, so there's no real grid nor pattern. Some numbers get used elsewhere after decommissioning, and some old alignments have started getting 3xx numbers. There's also few unsigned 3xx routes which are recent additions. In short, there's not a lot of organization.
Florida has a pretty good grid system, considering there's about 700 numbered routes, once downgraded secondary routes are taken into account. The odd-numbered routes from 1-99 start with "1" to the east, and are distributed to 99 as you continue west across the Panhandle...rather obvious if you travel along I-10. Many of the x5 roads became secret numbers for US Routes (not sure if that was intentionally planned). The even numbers run east-west, and start low (2) along the Panhandle, and increase to 94 as you drive south. Usually, they span more than one county.
The x0 routes are generally span the width of the state, and provide a general "band" for the three-digit numbers. For example, the 4xx routes usually appear between FL 40 and FL 50; 6xx routes typically appear between FL 60 and FL 70. Several of the x00 routes are diagonal routes, although many are now mostly overlaid by US Routes (400, 500, 600, 700). The odd three-digits also tend to increase in number as you head west; x0y, x1y, x2y would typically be found on the Atlantic side, and x7y, x8y, x9y would likely to be found closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Numbers also typically increase you move south towards the next band of numbers; although the three-digits sometimes are assigned a bit more scattered...perhaps this is to prevent confusion?
The County Road system usually follows the old Secondary State Road system, and they usually follow the even/odd numbering scheme. Most are in pretty good shape, maintenance-wise. A few of the suffixed numbers seem to do their own thing, but they're usually little spur/alternate routes. Some counties take it a step further, and have four-digit routes which typically use the same band pattern as the three-digit routes. This also allows for some CR 0xxx routes...
The 30s is where things get a little weird...there's no SR 32-34-36-38, and I guess they were just saving them for future use. But there's many 3xx roads all over the north-central part of the state and some in the Panhandle. There's some 7xx roads (727, 742, 749, 751) scattered around the Panhandle instead the Lake Okeechobee area (perhaps the huge lake freed up a lot of numbers). Why is 112 down in Miami, when many other numbers were available? How did 800 wind up on a short east-west road? What does A1A really mean? It's not a perfect system, but 95% is quite intuitive and organized.
Quote from: Rover_0 on June 13, 2017, 07:47:45 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 11, 2017, 09:59:08 PM
For Utah, there isn't really any organization except for a few clusters, some of which date back from the 1920s. Also, numbers from 281 to 320 are reserved for state parks and universities.
Pretty much. There's no real pattern within the clusters themselves, but a lot of these cluster kind of correspond to a certain part of the state.
To wit, SRs 7-19 (12, 14, 17, 18 and historically 11, 15, and 19) tend to be in the southwest corner and Routes 20-29 are a little to the north in the center of the state (20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, and 29). Routes 30-39 are generally further north still, 40-49 are generally more in eastern Utah, and so forth. There are exceptions, particularly SRs 13, 23, and 26 in northern Utah, but clustering is common.
When a number is assigned to a road, you can bet on it carrying similar digits to another existing route in the area as well (like UT-67 being near UT-68). If there is more than 1 new route assigned in roughly the same area, expect the same (like UT-131 and UT-135, just assigned this year).
XT1585
The problem with that is that it often gets confusing. I remember being lost up by Pineview Reservoir in the pre-smartphone days. We knew we had to go to SR-167, but we didn't remember the number exactly, we just had a vague idea. It didn't help that all the route numbers near there were very similar to each other (158, 162, 165, 166, etc.)
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 13, 2017, 10:10:52 PM
Quote from: Rover_0 on June 13, 2017, 07:47:45 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 11, 2017, 09:59:08 PM
For Utah, there isn't really any organization except for a few clusters, some of which date back from the 1920s. Also, numbers from 281 to 320 are reserved for state parks and universities.
Pretty much. There's no real pattern within the clusters themselves, but a lot of these cluster kind of correspond to a certain part of the state.
To wit, SRs 7-19 (12, 14, 17, 18 and historically 11, 15, and 19) tend to be in the southwest corner and Routes 20-29 are a little to the north in the center of the state (20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, and 29). Routes 30-39 are generally further north still, 40-49 are generally more in eastern Utah, and so forth. There are exceptions, particularly SRs 13, 23, and 26 in northern Utah, but clustering is common.
When a number is assigned to a road, you can bet on it carrying similar digits to another existing route in the area as well (like UT-67 being near UT-68). If there is more than 1 new route assigned in roughly the same area, expect the same (like UT-131 and UT-135, just assigned this year).
XT1585
The problem with that is that it often gets confusing. I remember being lost up by Pineview Reservoir in the pre-smartphone days. We knew we had to go to SR-167, but we didn't remember the number exactly, we just had a vague idea. It didn't help that all the route numbers near there were very similar to each other (158, 162, 165, 166, etc.)
Actually, 162 isn't there; it runs from US-191 at Bluff to the Colorado State line via Montezuma Creek and Aneth. The 162 you're referring to is an old state route that was apparently a continuation of UT-165 south from Paradise to about Eden or thereabouts.
XT1585
Quote from: Rover_0 on June 14, 2017, 12:26:10 AM
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 13, 2017, 10:10:52 PM
Quote from: Rover_0 on June 13, 2017, 07:47:45 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on June 11, 2017, 09:59:08 PM
For Utah, there isn't really any organization except for a few clusters, some of which date back from the 1920s. Also, numbers from 281 to 320 are reserved for state parks and universities.
Pretty much. There's no real pattern within the clusters themselves, but a lot of these cluster kind of correspond to a certain part of the state.
To wit, SRs 7-19 (12, 14, 17, 18 and historically 11, 15, and 19) tend to be in the southwest corner and Routes 20-29 are a little to the north in the center of the state (20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, and 29). Routes 30-39 are generally further north still, 40-49 are generally more in eastern Utah, and so forth. There are exceptions, particularly SRs 13, 23, and 26 in northern Utah, but clustering is common.
When a number is assigned to a road, you can bet on it carrying similar digits to another existing route in the area as well (like UT-67 being near UT-68). If there is more than 1 new route assigned in roughly the same area, expect the same (like UT-131 and UT-135, just assigned this year).
XT1585
The problem with that is that it often gets confusing. I remember being lost up by Pineview Reservoir in the pre-smartphone days. We knew we had to go to SR-167, but we didn't remember the number exactly, we just had a vague idea. It didn't help that all the route numbers near there were very similar to each other (158, 162, 165, 166, etc.)
Actually, 162 isn't there; it runs from US-191 at Bluff to the Colorado State line via Montezuma Creek and Aneth. The 162 you're referring to is an old state route that was apparently a continuation of UT-165 south from Paradise to about Eden or thereabouts.
XT1585
Well, it was a long time ago...my point is that having a bunch of highways with very similar numbers all right next to each other may be a source of confusion.
Quote from: Darkchylde on June 11, 2017, 08:00:36 PM
Your ...
I love it when people explain to me things I already know because I
live there. :rolleyes:
Quote from: formulanone on June 13, 2017, 09:42:28 PM
Alabama used most low numbers under 20 as principal routes (many are now hidden US Route numbers). "AL 1" follows US 431, "AL 2" follows US 72, "AL 3" follows US 31, "AL 4" follows US 78...the even-numbered hidden routes tend to increase as you head down the state. The rest is usually in the order in which they were created, so there's no real grid nor pattern. Some numbers get used elsewhere after decommissioning, and some old alignments have started getting 3xx numbers. There's also few unsigned 3xx routes which are recent additions. In short, there's not a lot of organization.
Florida has a pretty good grid system, considering there's about 700 numbered routes, once downgraded secondary routes are taken into account. The odd-numbered routes from 1-99 start with "1" to the east, and are distributed to 99 as you continue west across the Panhandle...rather obvious if you travel along I-10. Many of the x5 roads became secret numbers for US Routes (not sure if that was intentionally planned). The even numbers run east-west, and start low (2) along the Panhandle, and increase to 94 as you drive south. Usually, they span more than one county.
The x0 routes are generally span the width of the state, and provide a general "band" for the three-digit numbers. For example, the 4xx routes usually appear between FL 40 and FL 50; 6xx routes typically appear between FL 60 and FL 70. Several of the x00 routes are diagonal routes, although many are now mostly overlaid by US Routes (400, 500, 600, 700). The odd three-digits also tend to increase in number as you head west; x0y, x1y, x2y would typically be found on the Atlantic side, and x7y, x8y, x9y would likely to be found closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Numbers also typically increase you move south towards the next band of numbers; although the three-digits sometimes are assigned a bit more scattered...perhaps this is to prevent confusion?
The County Road system usually follows the old Secondary State Road system, and they usually follow the even/odd numbering scheme. Most are in pretty good shape, maintenance-wise. A few of the suffixed numbers seem to do their own thing, but they're usually little spur/alternate routes. Some counties take it a step further, and have four-digit routes which typically use the same band pattern as the three-digit routes. This also allows for some CR 0xxx routes...
The 30s is where things get a little weird...there's no SR 32-34-36-38, and I guess they were just saving them for future use. But there's many 3xx roads all over the north-central part of the state and some in the Panhandle. There's some 7xx roads (727, 742, 749, 751) scattered around the Panhandle instead the Lake Okeechobee area (perhaps the huge lake freed up a lot of numbers). Why is 112 down in Miami, when many other numbers were available? How did 800 wind up on a short east-west road? What does A1A really mean? It's not a perfect system, but 95% is quite intuitive and organized.
I never realized that the xxx numbers use the E-W x0 number first digit to get their first digit. That is why most 400 series routes are above SR 50. However, SR 434, 435, and 436 dip to the south side with SR 435 being totally south of SR 50 from Pine Hills into Lockheed- Martin, as that was created for the original Lockheed employees to get to and from work. Yes, Pine Hills was a bedroom community for the plant workers at that time. If you live in Orlando now you would know why I say that. But, anyway that was after rules for numbering got broken.
Plus 434 and 436 and even a small part of 423 were later extended to head south of FL 50, but with the first two were all both north of 50. Then 423 was assigned to John Young Parkway's first segment after SR 438 was rerouted onto the Princeton Extension as it used to use most of JYP and was the original number for Lee Road.
Then you have Tampa too that does have Spruce Street north of SR 60 with a 600 series number. I do not know the history of that one, but I imagine it has to do with the Tampa Airport as that designation connects US 92 to the airport and of course I-275 was built as I-4 in the early to mid 1960's. However, it still is a major airport user route for locals to avoid messing with the already overcrowded freeway, so post interstate it has a valuable function for a state route.
Quote from: vdeane on September 09, 2014, 01:16:53 PM
Quote from: dgolub on September 08, 2014, 07:56:10 PM
New York generally uses two-digit numbers for longer routes and three-digit number for shorter routes within a particular area of the state. Certain regions have three-digit numbers in a particular range. For example, Long Island originally had everything from NY 101 to NY 115, although three of those were decommissioned:
NY 103 - Atlantic Avenue
NY 104 - Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike (currently Nassau CR 257)
NY 113 - Quogue-Riverhead Road (currently Suffolk CR 104)
NY 115 - Wantagh Avenue (currently Nassau CR 189)
It's likely that Westchester once had everything from NY 116 to NY 141. It's known that Mamaroneck Avenue was once NY 126, but I can't say for certain about the other missing numbers. Routes that don't fit in the range (e.g. NY 135, NY 347, and NY 454 on Long Island) are in many cases roads that were constructed at a later date and got assigned some number that was not already taken--or some number that had been decommissioned elsewhere, as in the case of the current NY 113 and NY 115 in Poughkeepsie.
I believe NY adopted a system where 2dny routes would be primary routes across the state (even N-S, odd E-W) with 3dny routes being more minor ones assigned by a clustering system. Of course, there are about a billion exceptions, and it's been ignored since the initial numbering in the early 30s. Before then, there was a small system of 2dny routes in the late 20s that went by the wayside when the US highways were designated. Yep, NY established a system only to have to scrap it a couple years later when the US highways came in. That might be why NY has never cared much for US routes and didn't care to renumber anything other than NY 87 (to NY 812) for the interstates.
EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_state_highway_renumbering_(New_York))
There's a little bit of a "right to left" with the NY route numbers in the teens, and then 17 along the bottom and 18 across the "top" of western NY.
I've never been able to figure out why NY Route 179 is so far out of the cluster of numbers in the central part of the state.
Quote from: upstatenyroads on June 15, 2017, 12:52:42 PM
I've never been able to figure out why NY Route 179 is so far out of the cluster of numbers in the central part of the state.
Because the original 179 connected Chaumont to Depauville?
Quote from: NE2 on June 15, 2017, 07:07:32 PM
Quote from: upstatenyroads on June 15, 2017, 12:52:42 PM
I've never been able to figure out why NY Route 179 is so far out of the cluster of numbers in the central part of the state.
Because the original 179 connected Chaumont to Depauville?
Well now that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the enlightenment. :)
Willing to bet Ohio doesn't have a system. Usually odd numbers run north/south, and even east/west. Of course, this isn't always the case:
--OH-60 runs North-South predominately for it's duration
--OH-4 runs North-South (although it does hook south-west/north-east for an extended period)
--OH-113 is an east-west route almost it's whole duration.
--OH-547 is signed East-West
They don't follow (at least, where I live) the numbering system for interstates at all:
--OH-269 does not connect with OH-69 (OH-69 does not exist anymore, but even when it did, not even close)
--OH-547 does not even come close to OH-47
Prior to 1964, California had a somewhat ordered system where lower numbers were found in the major metropolitan areas, and route numbers generally increased south to north (in Central/NorCal), north to south (in SoCal) and west to east. Every other set of pairs (i.e. 2 + 3, 4 + 5) alternated between SoCal and Central/NorCal. The original routes from 1934 still reflect this pattern today.
After the '64 renumbering, any sense of order was lost, and today route numbers are basically just assigned in sequential order as needed.
Quote from: SFalcon71 on July 31, 2017, 07:01:45 AM
Willing to bet Ohio doesn't have a system. Usually odd numbers run north/south, and even east/west. Of course, this isn't always the case:
--OH-60 runs North-South predominately for it's duration
--OH-4 runs North-South (although it does hook south-west/north-east for an extended period)
--OH-113 is an east-west route almost it's whole duration.
--OH-547 is signed East-West
They don't follow (at least, where I live) the numbering system for interstates at all:
--OH-269 does not connect with OH-69 (OH-69 does not exist anymore, but even when it did, not even close)
--OH-547 does not even come close to OH-47
Add OH-58 which also runs north-south. No pattern in Wisconsin either. WI-164 runs north-south. WI-32 and WI-38 also run north-south. WI-11 and WI-33 runs east-west. WI-164 is nowhere near WI-64. The only exception to that is WI-120 does come close to meeting WI-20 but I think that is just a coincidence because no where else in the state does that come anywhere close to that happening.
Quote from: dvferyance on August 02, 2017, 01:48:30 PMNo pattern in Wisconsin either. ...
As noted in the other thread, both Wisconsin and Michigan numbered their initial highways by length; 10 was the longest.
As new highways were added, they came in sequential order.
Quote from: GaryV on August 02, 2017, 04:58:50 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on August 02, 2017, 01:48:30 PMNo pattern in Wisconsin either. ...
As noted in the other thread, both Wisconsin and Michigan numbered their initial highways by length; 10 was the longest.
As new highways were added, they came in sequential order.
But that's not the case today. I do notice a pattern in South Dakota's highways. As Hwy 11 runs north and south and the eastern edge of the state and the numbers increase as you head west.
Indiana has there state highways numbered just like the US highways. Even numbers run east-west and odd numbers run north-south. The east-west numbers increase as you go south and the north-south numbers increase as you go west.
In Michigan though there isn't any special pattern. Most of the M-numbered routes lower than 15 are typically located in or around Detroit and Grand Rapids.
Quote from: Flint1979 on August 09, 2017, 11:29:12 PM
Indiana has there state highways numbered just like the US highways. Even numbers run east-west and odd numbers run north-south.
IN 47 is waiting for you on Line 1...Its not very North-South oriented...Even if it is signed North-South
I feel like IL has a IL Route numbering plan...there seems to be a pattern to it, but I cannot explain it.
I do feel like Single Digit routes are "of importance" -- IL 1, IL 2, IL 3, IL 4, IL 5 (especially before being mostly replaced by I-88), IL 6...tho I'll stop there. IL 7 is an important link in the SW Suburbs, certainly
I feel like IDOT makes an effort to keep Evens East/West and Odds North/South, but it isn't a hard rule. IL 4 is North/South. IL 13 is East/West. IL 17 is East/West, for example
Quote from: NE2 on June 11, 2017, 10:57:30 PM
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2014, 05:53:55 AM
Zeffy: here's a thread from last year (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10423.0) on the subject.
Quote from: ilpt4u on August 10, 2017, 12:02:09 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on August 09, 2017, 11:29:12 PM
Indiana has there state highways numbered just like the US highways. Even numbers run east-west and odd numbers run north-south.
IN 47 is waiting for you on Line 1...Its not very North-South oriented...Even if it is signed North-South
I feel like IL has a IL Route numbering plan...there seems to be a pattern to it, but I cannot explain it.
I do feel like Single Digit routes are "of importance" -- IL 1, IL 2, IL 3, IL 4, IL 5 (especially before being mostly replaced by I-88), IL 6...tho I'll stop there. IL 7 is an important link in the SW Suburbs, certainly
I feel like IDOT makes an effort to keep Evens East/West and Odds North/South, but it isn't a hard rule. IL 4 is North/South. IL 13 is East/West. IL 17 is East/West, for example
SR 47 is a diagonal route it's signed north-south even though it runs more east-west. SR 37, SR 56, SR 57, SR 62, and SR 67 are also diagonal routes.