In Jackson and neighboring Flowood, MS 25 is known as Lakeland Drive. MS 468 through Pearl goes by Pearson Road. Of course, we all know about the Chicago interstate system with names like the Dan Ryan and the Skyway. Personally, I prefer to used the number assigned to the highway, especially if I'm travelling. Despite this, I rarely use MS 25 (except for a lost traveler asking for directions) to refer to Lakeland. I bet if you were to ask people where highway X was rather than using the local name, they might have a puzzled look on their faces.
It's the same way in New York (city). Everyone uses names, not numbers. Also true in southwestern Connecticut of state highways (usually), but we refer to Interstate highways and some US highways by number (US 7 is exclusively "route 7", US 1 is either "route 1" or "the post road", but US 6 and US 202 never have their numbers spoken in Fairfield County).
Within cities, highways are usually better known by local street names. This isn't always the case though-here in Lincoln, NE 2 along the southern part of the city is officially known in the city limits as "Nebraska Hwy". But nobody here calls it that-it's "Hwy. 2". Most people here wouldn't even know what "Nebraska Hwy" is despite the fact that it is marked on street signs. It also seems to me like in most places the closer you get to the outskirts of a city, the more likely it is you will hear a highway referred to by number instead of name. Also, in rural areas, highways are usually referred to by number despite the fact that many have local names that fit into a county's street naming system.
U.S. 19/41 in Clayton County (GA), south of I-75 and Old Dixie Road, is known as Tara Boulevard, or 19/41 (Nineteen-Forty-One).
Georgia State Route 314 is is know by both 314 or W. Fayetteville Road (West Fayetteville).
Georgia State Route 279 is exclusively known as Old National Highway (Old National), even the portion in Fayette County, which is signed by Fayette County DOT as "Georgia Highway 279" on street blades and is named "Evander Holyfield Highway" on green GDOT mounted signed on the side of the road.
Be well,
Bryant
^^
US 23 is known as Buford Highway. Also, there's a highway that runs by Greenbriar Mall. I think it's called Langford Parkway. It's a state highway.
As mentioned above, names are quite common here over numbers.
We call it Plainfield Rd, Lincoln Hwy, Cass St, but not US-30.
We call it Ogden Ave, not US-34. Even the "Ogden Ave" designation has migrated westward recently over what was "Oswego Rd".
Ditto for many of our routes with a few exceptions such as IL-59, IL-53, and a few others.
We even tend to call things they're not supposed to be, such as "Route 53" for the section of I-290 from I-355 northward (commonly heard on the radio).
I'm sure it's much the same for locals in other areas.
Whether I call it by names or numbers depends on which county I am in.
In Barnwell County (my current residence), we only call it by the highways -- such as US-278 and SC-3 as all but one highway in the county have no local name in the unincorporated parts of it.
In Aiken County, I call it by the street name. Williston Rd (US-278), Charleston Hy (US-78), Columbia Hy (US-1), Jefferson Davis Hy (US-1/US-78), Old Ninety Six Indian Tr (SC-39), Martintown Rd (SC-230), etc.
In the Atlanta area, the most major arterials in the inner metro counties tend to be known by name (the further out you go, the more likely it's known by number instead). However, freeways are referred to by number instead of name, with a few exceptions. In addition to those noted by Bryant and golden eagle above...
Freeways:
"Langford Pkwy" is more common than "GA 166"
"Peachtree Industrial (Blvd)", never "GA 141"
"Stone Mountain Freeway" is usually more common than "US 78"
All others are referred to by number (though "the Perimeter" for I-285 is also common, as is "the (Downtown) Connector" for the I-75/I-85 concurrency).
As for surface roads:
"Lawrenceville Hwy" instead of "US 29"
"Covington Hwy" instead of "US 278"
"Cobb Pkwy" is more common than "US 41"
etc.
When numbers are used, the US highway always takes precedence over its state route multiplex, with two exceptions:
"GA 400", never "US 19"
US 23 in Henry County is always referred to by its state route multiplex, GA 42.
Quote from: Eth on July 31, 2011, 07:23:31 PM
Freeways:
"Langford Pkwy" is more common than "GA 166"
Some folks still refer to 166 by its old name -- "Lakewood (Freeway)."
Be well,
Bryant
Most people often don't even know the highway numbers in Montreal. It all changes once you leave the island though.
In Michigan:
(the first five are all in the Detroit area)
M-1 is more commonly known as Woodward
M-3 is more commonly known as Gratiot
M-5 is more commonly known as Grand River
M-8 is more commonly known as Davison
M-10 is more commonly known as the Lodge
M-11 is more commonly known as 28th St in Grandville, Wyoming, Grand Rapids, and Kentwood
M-37 is more commonly known as the Beltline in Grand Rapids, Broadmoor in Kentwood, and Alpine in Comstock Park
In my experience from living in the DC area for almost 40 years it varies by road and there are no hard-and-fast "rules" other than it seems to me that roads that change names may be a bit more likely to be referred to by number. But those Interstates that do have names are not often referred to by them except for the Beltway. The name Shirley Highway for I-395/I-95 is largely forgotten and Custis Memorial Parkway never caught on for I-66 inside the Beltway. Yet VA-267 is always the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway (often "Dulles" is omitted), never "267," and the only people I've ever heard call the Fairfax County Parkway "7100" are radio traffic reporters. Gallows Road is never "650," but most people I know say "236" instead of "Little River Turnpike," "Duke Street," or "Main Street" (unless they're referring to the part in Old Town Alexandria, in which case Duke Street it is).
I rather hate it when I'm in an unfamiliar place and someone doesn't use Interstate numbers when giving directions. All maps include the numbers; only some include the local names.
In Alaska and Hawaii, locals almost never refer to highways by number rather than name. Indeed, Hawaii's highways were unnumbered until just before statehood (guess they thought route numbers were a mainland thing), except for a temporary wartime system set up for mainland soldiers who were constantly getting lost on roads marked only with Hawaiian names.
The exception for Hawaii is its Interstates, which were unnamed before 2002 except the segments that had names before they became Interstates (Lunalilo Freeway for the eastern third of Interstate H-1, Moanalua Freeway for Interstate H-201 -- only the latter is still regularly referred to by name). The new names added in 2002 never really caught on, especially the tongue-twisty Queen Liliuokalani Freeway for the western two-thirds of Interstate H-1.
South Floridians rarely use numbers in daily speech when referring to roads/highways/ streets, but again, that seems to be the case with most places in the country. Names just sound friendlier to most people, if they exist. I also think numbers are hard to remember for most people, but I think that's just a case of personal preference and ease. Also, a smaller town might only have a few road numbers, while a large metropolis might have fifty or more...just think what is easier to remember?
Common ones are "State Road 7" for US 441 from Miami to West Palm Beach (it's sometimes called NW 7th Street in Miami-Dade County. Sometimes it's called "Four Fourty One", but most people call it State Road 7, even though it's only signed that way in a few places.
State Road A1A, naturally. Usually, everyone calls it "A-One-A". Sometimes in Miami Beach, they use the actual street name (i.e. Collins Avenue), because it split N/S in that area on two different avenues, as well as hopping onto different streets as you head north.
State Road 84 has no real name, except for a short stretch called Marina Mile. It's no longer as long as it once was, when it was part of Alligator Alley. Speaking of which, usually locals refer to the east-west part of I-75 from Weston to Naples as "Alligator Alley" rather than I-75, due to it's original nick-name.
US 27 has no real name in most places in the tri-county area. It used to get a nickname of "Bloody 27" before it was four-laned in 1994. Having driven on the narrow two-laned part back in 1992, I can understand how it earned its reputation.
US 1 / Federal Highway is a toss-up...it's used quite interchangeably in Broward/Palm Beach County. Reporters will refer to Dolphin Expressway/836, Palmetto/826, but I can't say I ever heard the Don Shula or the Snapper Creek expressways used by their numbers by anyone (874, 878). Same goes for the Sawgrass Expressway (869); nearly every reference to "Sawgrass" was removed around 1995-96, but then included again. Nobody called it anything but the Sawgrass.
Interstates are rarely named anywhere in the state, probably because of greater widespread use in advertising, traffic reports, copious signage, et cetera. The lone exception in the Miami area is the Julia Turtle Causeway (I-195). Perhaps because she was legendary in getting Henry Flagler to build the railroad in the area, which started the first wave of tourism, settlement, and large-scale farming of the area? Or because it's close to the I-395, which might be confusing...Also, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge gets a mention for its stature upon the I-275.
It seems that if you ask for directions in most places around the state, you get numbers from people if they're US Routes and Interstates, and typically common street names for everything else (unless none exist).
We call our west highway Mopac. My roommate called it Loop 1 and I laughed at him.
This thread reminds me of a sort of related question. In your area, do people use a compass point (or cardinal direction as the MUTCD calls it) to refer only to the part of a road going in a particular direction, or can it refer to a road in general?
For example, when I lived in Charlottesville (attending UVA), people called the US-29 Business route by its name (Emmet Street or JPA, the latter short for Jefferson Park Avenue), but the part north of town after the business and bypass routes merged back together was always "29 North," regardless of the direction in question. The Wal-Mart was always "off 29 North" regardless of where you were coming from and regardless of whether you actually needed to use the southbound lanes to get there–for example, from the airport, directions might be, "It's on 29 North. Go out of the airport and make a right when you get to 29." You'd actually be going south on 29 once you made that turn.
Similarly, when I-66 inside the Beltway was nearing completion in 1982, everyone I knew called it "66 East." It opened to buses a couple of months before it opened to cars and I recall people in my neighborhood near Fairfax Hospital who rode the bus to the Ballston Metro would say "It leaves the Metro and takes 66 East to the Beltway." Of course that means the bus was actually going west on I-66. This usage disappeared within a few years once people were used to the road being open.
Part of what prompted me to think of it in the context of this thread was that when I lived in Durham (attending Duke) I referred to "I-85 South" when I said "the new exit for the Durham Freeway off 85 South opened today" and a friend from Ohio said, "That's 85 North; you can't get to it when you're going south." What I meant was "the part of 85 south of Durham."
I tend to be very specific when I give directions and I wouldn't use phrases like that if I e-mailed someone directions to my house, but if I were speaking I might still say it. I-95 south of the DC area is "95 South" regardless of which way I'm going at the time because it's "south" of where I live and spend most of my time.
I suppose another similar discussion could arise as to naming conventions for loop highways, like in texaskdog's post. Here in the DC area, the Inner Loop refers to the clockwise carriageway of the Beltway (which is the "inner" of the two carriageways relative to where the District is) and the Outer Loop refers to the anti-clockwise carriageway. I think the names originated with the traffic reporters. Down in Raleigh, they call their clockwise carriageway the "Inner Beltline" and the anti-clockwise carriageway the "Outer Beltline," while the term "Outer Loop" refers to I-540 (officially the Northern Wake Expressway) even though it's not a "loop" because it's a half-beltway. In the DC area, "Outer Beltway" refers to a never-constructed second beltway that would have been located some distance outside of the existing one. I've never heard anyone refer to a road like the Beltway as "Loop 495" or anything of that sort.
In the Twin Cities our freeways do not have names, so they are always referred to by number (except maybe the Crosstown...).
For the highways which run along local streets, it's more of a mixed bag. I've never heard anyone call Snelling Ave "Highway 51". I would say it's about 50/50 between "Arcade St" and "Hwy 61". You're much more likely to hear "Hwy 55" than "Olson Memorial Highway", but you're also more likely to hear "Hiawatha Ave" than "Hwy 55".
So I would say there's no fixed rule.
California seems to be all over the map about this...
i.e.
Bay Area: older freeways tend to be referred to by name (Bayshore, MacArthur, Eastshore, Nimitz) even years after signage for those names has been deprecated, numbers used too
Not sure how often the Junipero Serra name is used for 280 between the Southern Freeway/Junipero Serra split and SJ, but that's another one I've known about for some time
I think myosh_tino mentioned that the Stevens Creek name is used sometimes for 85, the most recent completed new freeway in the region
880 between 80 and 980 was referred as the Cypress Freeway for some time after the earthquake, but not so much since the 1997 reconstruction
Some surface-road state highways are referred to by number (i.e. 37, 1), others never are (82/El Camino Real, 123/San Pablo Avenue).
Some names never caught on with public (i.e. Grove-Shafter for 24/980, Sinclair for 680)
Sacramento: "Capital City" name used for only half of Business 80 (the hidden Route 51 portion), US 50 usually used for the east-west portion (along with the "WX Freeway" for the segment concurrent with Route 99)
Los Angeles/Orange County: Though the usage of "the xx" is most known in that area...some of the names - particuarly older ones that are still signed or have been - continue to be used, i.e. San Diego, Hollywood freeways
Not sure if any of the surface-street state routes get noted, except for 1 being the PCH for much of the region
In Rochester it's a mix; surface streets are by number but freeways are all by name. Most probably don't even know our freeways even have names. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Sea Breeze Dr is still called "Route 590" several years from now despite having been decommissioned north of Titus Ave last year.
Exception: the Thruway is always the Thruway, never I-90 or I-87. I-86 is "Route 17".
And yes, we are a "route" area. No distinction between interstates, US routes, state routes, and country routes (where signed). For this reason I think it would be very amusing if the Thruway Authority built an interchange where I-90 and NY 90 cross each other.
There's some disconnect for roads in the Rockford, IL area.
For example, Illinois Route 251 is partially an expressway with controlled access and frontage roads from the north side of Rockford up to Beloit, Wisconsin. Most people will refer to it only as North 2nd Street (from downtown and the suburbs to as far north as South Beloit, IL). Similarly, IL Route 251 is referred to by its local road names of Kishwaukee Street and 11th Street south of downtown. It's not until south of Bypass 20 (as it's called locally) that the IL 251 name kicks in.
Another one is Main Street (Illinois Route 2). From Rockford north to Rockton it is more commonly referred to by its name rather than number. Conversely, on the south side of town it picks up the Route 2 moniker.
Also, in the suburb of Machesney Park, Illinois Route 173 runs along what is apparently 'West Lane Road.' NO ONE calls it that; it's referred to as 'Highway 173' or just '173.' The Illinois Tollway decided that it would put the West Lane Road name on the I-90 exit anyway LOL
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 01, 2011, 11:21:10 AM
This thread reminds me of a sort of related question. In your area, do people use a compass point (or cardinal direction as the MUTCD calls it) to refer only to the part of a road going in a particular direction, or can it refer to a road in general?
For example, when I lived in Charlottesville (attending UVA), people called the US-29 Business route by its name (Emmet Street or JPA, the latter short for Jefferson Park Avenue), but the part north of town after the business and bypass routes merged back together was always "29 North," regardless of the direction in question. The Wal-Mart was always "off 29 North" regardless of where you were coming from and regardless of whether you actually needed to use the southbound lanes to get there–for example, from the airport, directions might be, "It's on 29 North. Go out of the airport and make a right when you get to 29." You'd actually be going south on 29 once you made that turn.
Similarly, when I-66 inside the Beltway was nearing completion in 1982, everyone I knew called it "66 East." It opened to buses a couple of months before it opened to cars and I recall people in my neighborhood near Fairfax Hospital who rode the bus to the Ballston Metro would say "It leaves the Metro and takes 66 East to the Beltway." Of course that means the bus was actually going west on I-66. This usage disappeared within a few years once people were used to the road being open.
This happens here too.
Post Merge: August 01, 2011, 01:12:24 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 01, 2011, 11:21:10 AM
This thread reminds me of a sort of related question. In your area, do people use a compass point (or cardinal direction as the MUTCD calls it) to refer only to the part of a road going in a particular direction, or can it refer to a road in general?
For example, when I lived in Charlottesville (attending UVA), people called the US-29 Business route by its name (Emmet Street or JPA, the latter short for Jefferson Park Avenue), but the part north of town after the business and bypass routes merged back together was always "29 North," regardless of the direction in question. The Wal-Mart was always "off 29 North" regardless of where you were coming from and regardless of whether you actually needed to use the southbound lanes to get there–for example, from the airport, directions might be, "It's on 29 North. Go out of the airport and make a right when you get to 29." You'd actually be going south on 29 once you made that turn.
Similarly, when I-66 inside the Beltway was nearing completion in 1982, everyone I knew called it "66 East." It opened to buses a couple of months before it opened to cars and I recall people in my neighborhood near Fairfax Hospital who rode the bus to the Ballston Metro would say "It leaves the Metro and takes 66 East to the Beltway." Of course that means the bus was actually going west on I-66. This usage disappeared within a few years once people were used to the road being open.
Part of what prompted me to think of it in the context of this thread was that when I lived in Durham (attending Duke) I referred to "I-85 South" when I said "the new exit for the Durham Freeway off 85 South opened today" and a friend from Ohio said, "That's 85 North; you can't get to it when you're going south." What I meant was "the part of 85 south of Durham."
I tend to be very specific when I give directions and I wouldn't use phrases like that if I e-mailed someone directions to my house, but if I were speaking I might still say it. I-95 south of the DC area is "95 South" regardless of which way I'm going at the time because it's "south" of where I live and spend most of my time.
I suppose another similar discussion could arise as to naming conventions for loop highways, like in texaskdog's post. Here in the DC area, the Inner Loop refers to the clockwise carriageway of the Beltway (which is the "inner" of the two carriageways relative to where the District is) and the Outer Loop refers to the anti-clockwise carriageway. I think the names originated with the traffic reporters. Down in Raleigh, they call their clockwise carriageway the "Inner Beltline" and the anti-clockwise carriageway the "Outer Beltline," while the term "Outer Loop" refers to I-540 (officially the Northern Wake Expressway) even though it's not a "loop" because it's a half-beltway. In the DC area, "Outer Beltway" refers to a never-constructed second beltway that would have been located some distance outside of the existing one. I've never heard anyone refer to a road like the Beltway as "Loop 495" or anything of that sort.
It happens here, especially in commercials. The section of I-55 north of the I-20 split is refered to as I-55 north, and I-55 south for areas south of I-20.
Freeways in Milwaukee are referred to by number, but US/State routes are referred to by street names.
Quote from: Duke87 on July 31, 2011, 03:58:05 PM
It's the same way in New York (city). Everyone uses names, not numbers. Also true in southwestern Connecticut of state highways (usually), but we refer to Interstate highways and some US highways by number (US 7 is exclusively "route 7", US 1 is either "route 1" or "the post road", but US 6 and US 202 never have their numbers spoken in Fairfield County).
Don't forget the expressways and parkways (their terms for freeways with some exceptions in the parkways which for here are obvious as no route number is assigned). Not only do they have names,
they ave acronyms - actually abbreviations for freeway names (Brooklyn Queens Expressway = BQE, Cross Bronx Expressway = CBE, Franklyn D Roosevelt Drive = FDR, etc. (I don't believe all expressways are that way, any New Yorker chime in).
Chicago refers to expressways (their term for the freeways) by name where applicable. notable exceptions are I-57 and I-80. Also I-55 is mentioned. I think they take the Stephenson as from the Tri-State into Downtown, but I'm not sure.
Several cities often look at endpoints as names - especially interchanges
Milwaukee: Marquette, Zoo, Stadium, Mitchell, Hale
Chicago, The Junction (on the Kennedy), The Circle
Boston: The split (I-93 and MA route 3) - someone confirm)
The south suburbs of Chicago have some variation here.
I've seen I 80 (west of I 294) labeled as the Moline Expressway on some maps, but if someone were to use that name, no one would know what he's talking about. It's always referred to as I 80 or simply 80. If you say "the 80," we'll instantly know you're from out of town.
On the other hand, there's Harlem. It's also IL 43, but no one ever cares. Many may not even know. It's well signed, but if you ever refer to Harlem as route 43, most won't know what you're talking about. Some even reply with, "You mean 45, right?" Harlem is wedged in between US 45 and IL 50, which are other north-south routes that parallel it just 3 miles away east or west. Speaking of US 45, either works for that one. It's most commonly called LaGrange, but Mannheim or its other names aren't unheard of. The difference is with 45, locals may know what you're referring to if you say 45.
Portland tends to use route numbers with two, three exceptions, though all the freeways have names:
I-84/US 30 is still referred to as the Banfield, US 26 (west of I-405) is known as the Sunset (and Canyon Rd is very rarely tossed in for the OR 8 - I-405 segment as SW Canyon Rd duplexes onto the freeway), and I-405 is occasionally called by its name, the Stadium. Of course, US 26 east of the Willamette is universally referred to as Powell. Southeast of Gresham, it's the Mt Hood Hwy.
I-5: Pacific Hwy, Baldock Freeway, Eastbank Freeway, Minnesota Ave/Freeway. The last particularly left some distaste with some commentators as they didn't like 'honoring' another state with a freeway name, though in truth I-5 got the name because it was built on N Minnesota Ave. Subsequently, the use of Baldock and Eastbank slowly faded (and along the Pacific Hwy portion -- south of the Metro Area -- it's really only known as I-5 anyway).
I-205: East Portland Freeway/Veterans' Memorial Hwy. Signs posted on the route show the latter; it's still just called the 205.
OR 217: Beaverton-Tigard Freeway. It's just referred to as the 217.
US 30: The only Portland freeway without a name, it'd be an extension of NW Yeon Ave. The portions along Yeon and St Helens Rd are known by their names. Similarly for Bypass 30, it's known by its names (NW Bridge Ave, St Johns Bridge, N/NE Lombard St, NE Killingsworth St, NE Sandy Blvd). Bus 30's decommed, so it doesn't matter.
WA 14: Lewis and Clark Freeway, Evergreen Hwy. Generally called SR 14.
WA 500: It has no name, though 'Orchards Expressway' fits well. Called SR 500, though east of WA 503 it probably uses local names.
OR 6: Wilson River Hwy -- far enough out of the area to be called Hwy/Route 6.
OR 8: Gales Creek Rd, Tualatin Valley Hwy, Canyon Rd. Known as all three.
OR 10: Farmington Rd, Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Capitol Hwy. Generally referred to as Farmington or Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy (even on the Capitol Hwy portion!).
OR 210: Scholls Ferry Rd. Known as that.
OR 213: Cascade Hwy, Trail's End Hwy, 82nd Ave. South of I-205, Hwy/Route 213. North, 82nd Ave.
OR 43: Pacific Hwy (State St, Macadam Ave). I forget what its name is in West Linn if it's not an extension of State in Lake Oswego. In Portland, it's known as Macadam.
OR 99W: Pacific Hwy West, Barbur Blvd, [Front Ave/Naito Pkwy, Interstate Ave]. About even on the name/number split.
OR 99E: McGloughlin Blvd, MLK/Grand Ave, Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Almost exclusively by name. MLK preferred over the full name; older folks prefer its original name, Union Ave.
OR 224: Milwaukie Expressway. Known as the 224.
I haven't paid attention to how the 212/224 are called.
Indianapolis is very funny about this when it comes to our U.S. and State Roads. It has helped that the state rerouted all of our non-interstate highways around the city along I-465, so the local name was forced to take over along the old numbered routes, such as Michigan Road for US 421, Rockville Road for US 36, Meridian Street for US 31 north of the city and Madison Avenue and East Street for 31 south, Kentucky Avenue for SR 67, and Harding Street for SR 37. Though in just about all of these cases, the local name was already being used, perhaps more so than the number. Meridian and Washington Streets are both historically important to the city (being the main north-south and east-west axises) so people would use those names more, even on the parts of US 31 and US 40 outside the loop, the local name will still be refered, such as the Meridian Street Corridor along US 31 in Carmel (it would be interesting to see what happens when this highway becomes a freeway.) To the south of the city, Kentucky Avenue and SR 67 seem to be used equally, until the county line where it just becomes 67. SR 37 is always refered to by number, and US 31 is sometimes called East Street for the first mile or so south of 465 until the highway turns more southeasterly and it gets called simply US 31.
In North Carolina
Outside of town's and cities (let's call them municipalities), numbers are always used on primary routes 1-999.
Inside municipalities of lets say under 10,000, numbers are still likely used. Some of the less important 3 digit routes will probably be referred to it's local name. Then there is also NC Highway 5 in Aberdeen where east of US 1, it's known by local names. In Boone, US 421 is known as King Street but US 321 is 50/50 between Highway 321 and Blowing Rock Road. NC 105 is simply called "105" but the part between US 421 and US 321 is "105 Extension" because that was a road built in recent times. Then there is a "105 Bypass" which isn't NC 105 at all but simply a western bypass of Boone using a two lane state secondary road called "NC 105 Bypass".
Municipalities over 10,000 and less than around 30,000 will be a case-by-case scenario. Asheboro is a big street name user but Pinehurst/Southern Pines uses numbers (except NC Highway 2 ironically).
Over 30,000+are more than likely going to use local names. This is where even *some* freeway bypasses would not even be called their numbers. Example would be the locals calling it the "the bypass". There are exceptions like US 74 through Monroe where it's still called "Highway 74" but in Charlotte, it's Independence Boulevard/Freeway. Greensboro with the exception of Interstates, numbers are not used.
The fact of the matter is, you can go through practically anywhere in NC and expect signage to be present to guide through small and large areas. On the other hand, figuring out where to get back to NC XX(X) won't be easy giving an exact location to AAA or a local who has never left the county who refers NC 87 between Graham and Burlington as "E Webb Ave".
And of course on state secondaries numbered 1000 and above, local names are ALWAYS used. There are RARE exceptions say in SW NC where roads are not named.
I've only been living in DFW for about 7 months now but on interstates and freeways its mostly the name. Ex: I-635 is LBJ Freeway, I-35E is Stemmons throughout Dallas and the suburbs, and in Fort Worth I-35w is the north or South Freeway. TX 121 has so many sections I'm not sure what they are all called locally because it could refer to the Sam Rayburn Tollway, the 121 from Lewisville to Grapevine, except maybe in Fort Worth its the Airport Freeway. I know theres posts on here somewhere else talking about how the "E" and "W" designation is rarely used for I-35 on tv news and radio, which is definitely true
I feel like this has been discussed before...anyway...
Primary use in Nevada is to rely on the number.
Nevada parlance in reference to freeways tends to follow the SoCal/NoCal terminology. So in Reno/Northern Nevada, one would say "Take 80 to 395" in giving freeway directions from I-80 to US 395. In the Las Vegas area/Southern Nevada, one would say "Take the 95 to the 15" in giving freeway directions from US 95 to I-15. Las Vegas references to the I-215/CR 215 beltway vary between "the 215" and "the beltway".
References to US highways that are not freeways tend to vary. Some people will say "US xx" while others will say "Highway xx". However, US 50 is almost universally referred to as "Highway 50" and US 6 is rarely called "Highway 6".
State highways are a bit different though. Some people will use numbers ("State Route 225" or "S.R. 225") while use of the name is more common, especially when the highway name incorporates the name of the place that the highway goes to (as in "Mountain City Highway" for SR 225). State highways in urban areas are always referred to by the street name, as the state route number is not always well signed.
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 01, 2011, 11:21:10 AM
This thread reminds me of a sort of related question. In your area, do people use a compass point (or cardinal direction as the MUTCD calls it) to refer only to the part of a road going in a particular direction, or can it refer to a road in general?
One example of this in Nevada is in Carson City. There, US 50 comes in from Lake Tahoe to the west, multiplexes with US 395 for a few miles, then heads eastward to Dayton and Fallon. The eastern leg follows William Street, but it is much more commonly referred to as "Highway 50 East".
Another reference to this is NDOT's current design-build project on I-15 in Las Vegas, which they call the "I-15 South Design Build". Even though work is being done on both directions of the freeway, they name is due to the location being on the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley--NDOT may have done this to distinguish the project internally from the "I-15 Design Build" through North Las Vegas, which was already underway while the current I-15 South project was in planning stages.
Quote from: Master son on August 01, 2011, 01:12:18 PM
Freeways in Milwaukee are referred to by number, but US/State routes are referred to by street names.Quote from: Duke87 on July 31, 2011, 03:58:05 PM
It's the same way in New York (city). Everyone uses names, not numbers. Also true in southwestern Connecticut of state highways (usually), but we refer to Interstate highways and some US highways by number (US 7 is exclusively "route 7", US 1 is either "route 1" or "the post road", but US 6 and US 202 never have their numbers spoken in Fairfield County).
Don't forget the expressways and parkways (their terms for freeways with some exceptions in the parkways which for here are obvious as no route number is assigned). Not only do they have names, they ave acronyms - actually abbreviations for freeway names (Brooklyn Queens Expressway = BQE, Cross Bronx Expressway = CBE, Franklyn D Roosevelt Drive = FDR, etc. (I don't believe all expressways are that way, any New Yorker chime in).
Chicago refers to expressways (their term for the freeways) by name where applicable. notable exceptions are I-57 and I-80. Also I-55 is mentioned. I think they take the Stephenson as from the Tri-State into Downtown, but I'm not sure.
Several cities often look at endpoints as names - especially interchanges
Milwaukee: Marquette, Zoo, Stadium, Mitchell, Hale
Chicago, The Junction (on the Kennedy), The Circle
Boston: The split (I-93 and MA route 3) - someone confirm)
The
Stevenson is only from the Tri-State to LSD. Beyond there to I-355, the "Stevenson" name has been extended, but out here, it's just "I-55" or "55".
On maps of Albuquerque, I-40 is called the Coronado Freeway, I have NEVER heard it refered to that way. People would say there is no such freeway, it is just called I -40. I-25 is known as the Pan American Freeway, and the frontage roads sometimes show that designation, but it is also known as just I -25. I guess New Mexicans like numbers better than names. US 666 was known as the Devil's Highway, but was decomissioned to US 491 a few years ago by Bill Richardson. I have not heard the term Devil's Highway since then, so maybe that worked.
Quote from: ftballfan on July 31, 2011, 10:40:57 PM
In Michigan:
(the first five are all in the Detroit area)
M-1 is more commonly known as Woodward
M-3 is more commonly known as Gratiot
M-5 is more commonly known as Grand River
M-8 is more commonly known as Davison
M-10 is more commonly known as the Lodge
M-11 is more commonly known as 28th St in Grandville, Wyoming, Grand Rapids, and Kentwood
M-37 is more commonly known as the Beltline in Grand Rapids, Broadmoor in Kentwood, and Alpine in Comstock Park
It's funny here in Grand Rapids though. The names for Alpine, East Beltline/Broadmoor and 28th Street/Wilson Avenue are used versus the highway numbers because those are really just local arterial streets that happen to be part of state highways. North of Sparta or south of M-6 or Caledonia, I'd say that M-37's number reappears. M-11's number never gets used, but M-44's number would reappear north of the Plainfield Avenue junction.
I-196 is about 50-50 on people using the number or its name, the Ford Freeway (Gerald R. Ford or GR Ford on the rare cases to differentiate with the Edsel Ford Freeway in Detroit). Many around here mis-read I-196 as I-96 and vice-versa and get confused. Some traffic reporters try to call M-6 "the Henry" but that name is not really in the local lexicon. (Unlike the BGSs for I-196 junctions that list "G.R. Ford Freeway", only one sign ever proclaims the "Paul B. Henry Freeway".) Speaking of traffic reporters, one must have been from SoCal, calling it "the M-6" and "the 131".
It's kinda odd in the Cleveland area. Just about every surface street within Cuyahoga County is referred by it's street name and not by it's route number. Meanwhile, for Cuyahoga County's, for example:
Medina County: Nearly all roads are referred to their route number.
Lorain County: It's a mix (i.e. US-6 along Lake Erie is still more commonly known as Lake Road, while SR-58 is more known as...SR-58).
Summit County: Again, a mix, with street names more common closer to Akron, and highway numbers further out -- even going as far as the road being more commonly known as it's de-commissioned name. I.e. Cleveland-Massillon Road is still known more as "Old (U.S.) 21", while there is an Old (US) 224, Old Route 8 and even a section of Old 8 that is named "Olde Eight Road".
Lake County: Mostly by Route Number, with few east-west exceptions (SR-283/Lake Shore Boulevard and US-20/Mentor Avenue)
Geauga County: Mostly by route number.
In Monroe, MI, M-125 goes by not only M-125, but also Monroe Street & Dixie Hwy. I've seen all 3 used on street sign blades within a mile of each other.
I think Baton Rouge and New Orleans have names for all of their US highways. In both towns, US 61 is known as Airline Highway, and within Baton Rouge; older alignments are called Jefferson Highway and Scenic Highway (and it's anything but scenic!). Part of 190 is called Florida Blvd, and an older alignment of that road is called Old Hammond Hwy.
In New Orleans, parts of US 90 are known as Chef Menteur Hwy and Jefferson Hwy. I seem to remember there was a local name for US 51, which runs to a point near New Orleans to its west, but I've forgotten what it was.
In Pascagoula and Moss Point, some old segments of US 90 are called Old Mobile Hwy. Throughout North MS, scattered segments of old US 78 alignments are locally known as Bankhead Hwy and Bankhead St. In Tupelo, an old expressway alignment of US 78 is called McCullough Blvd.
I can't verify this, but as I understand it US 51, though unmarked on the route except at the US 80 interchange, officially runs along State Street in Jackson. I have never heard State St referred to as 51, though.
MDOT has issued press releases in the past expressing intentions for the future re-christening of US 90 as the Old Spanish Trail and US 84 as the El Camino Highway. Whether the idea goes anywhere or not I have no idea, but OST, along with Bankhead and Jefferson Hwys, date to the old Auto Trails.
Quote from: TheStranger on August 01, 2011, 12:07:46 PM
Bay Area: older freeways tend to be referred to by name (Bayshore, MacArthur, Eastshore, Nimitz) even years after signage for those names has been deprecated, numbers used too
True, older freeway names are commonly heard on traffic reports, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone use them in the vernacular. You would never hear someone say "Take the Eastshore to Nimitz and exit at Hegensberger". Maybe they would if California bothered to sign the highway names.
Also more Bay Areans have adopted the Socal convention of "The 101" than Northern Californians like to admit.
It seems like most locals prefer names over numbers, but in the Illinois Quad Cities, "IL-92" trumps the many names on that road. One name is a lot easier to remember than 5th Ave, 38th St, 7th Ave, 5th Ave, 6th Ave, 5th Ave, 4th Ave, 17th Ave, 18th Ave, and 1st Ave.
See for yourself: http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.508272,-90.561676&spn=0.012968,0.027466&z=16 and pan eastward.
Quote from: flowmotion on August 04, 2011, 02:57:32 AM
Also more Bay Areans have adopted the Socal convention of "The 101" than Northern Californians like to admit.
why is prefixing a freeway designation with "the" such a horrible thing? I don't think, objectively, it's better or worse than omitting it.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 04, 2011, 12:16:27 PM
Quote from: flowmotion on August 04, 2011, 02:57:32 AM
Also more Bay Areans have adopted the Socal convention of "The 101" than Northern Californians like to admit.
why is prefixing a freeway designation with "the" such a horrible thing? I don't think, objectively, it's better or worse than omitting it.
It's because saying "the" before the route number is considered a "southern California thing" and that's what makes it taboo among northern Californians. This feeling is so strong I've heard new radio traffic reporters (probably from so-cal) be admonished, in a playful manner, on the air about the use of the word "the".
As for flowmotion's assertion that more Bay Areans have adopted this socal convention, I'd say the majority of those saying "the 280" are recent transfers from so-cal or other regions in the US that use the "the".
And believe me, northern Californians do not like anything to do with southern California! :no:
Growing up in the DC area (and with most of my relatives hailing from Brooklyn) I never heard anyone use "the" with a number except when I heard people talking about trips to Europe and referring to "the M4" or "the A90" or the like. It still sounds extremely weird to me but I recognize it as one of those peculiar regionalisms that doesn't bother me as long as the people who do it don't try to "correct" you if you don't do it. It would mark you as an outsider if you came here and referred to I-395 as "the 395," that's for sure.
To me the weirdest regionalism is the people from Texas who refer to Interstates as "IH-x" instead of the more common "I-x." I gather that's how the state DOT does it and the usage may have spread, but I never really understood it for two reasons: (1) The term "Interstate" is so ubiquitous in referring to the highway system that the word "highway" seems to me to be implied by the word "Interstate" to a degree that if you want to use that word to refer to something else, you pretty much need to clarify. Think of how people might say, "I stayed off the Interstate because a truck overturned." So I don't understand why anyone would need to say "Interstate Highway 95" (or "IH-95") instead of simply "Interstate 95" (or "I-95"). (2) I've always thought that when you abbreviate, you eliminate as much unnecessary verbiage as possible in the abbreviation as long as it's still clear, although sometimes a potential ambiguity might require an otherwise-omittable character. (For instance, I worked for a law firm whose former name had the initial letters C, G, and L. But they abbreviated it as "CG&L" instead of "CGL" because they did insurance work and "CGL" is a type of insurance policy. In that case, the inclusion of the normally-unnecessary ampersand in the abbreviation made sense.) So if the word "Highway" is unnecessary because it's clearly implied, I don't understand why the "H" in the abbreviation is needed either.
But as I said, it doesn't really BOTHER me, I just think it sounds weird. The most important thing from my point of view is that it's clear what you mean. Come to think of it, do any of you West Coast folks know whether this "the" usage is one reason California doesn't want to have different classes of roads with the same number (e.g., a state route and an Interstate)? It seems to me to be easy enough just to say "US-x" and "I-x," but if the prevailing usage is "the x," you get into a potential situation of ambiguity when someone gives directions.
Quote from: hm insulators on August 04, 2011, 01:49:13 PM
And believe me, northern Californians do not like anything to do with southern California! :no:
We cross-posted....from what I'm told, the reverse is also true. Doesn't the University of Southern California administration complain about the name "Southern Cal" because they think people might interpret it as meaning they're affiliated with the UC system, perhaps as a southern branch of the one in Berkeley that's often called "Cal" in the sports context?
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2011, 02:05:12 PM
Quote from: hm insulators on August 04, 2011, 01:49:13 PM
And believe me, northern Californians do not like anything to do with southern California! :no:
We cross-posted....from what I'm told, the reverse is also true. Doesn't the University of Southern California administration complain about the name "Southern Cal" because they think people might interpret it as meaning they're affiliated with the UC system, perhaps as a southern branch of the one in Berkeley that's often called "Cal" in the sports context?
Hmmm... I thought, from a purely sports perspective, the University of Southern California was always referred to as "USC" or "The Trojans" (although I suspect the University of South Carolina would have a problem with the USC moniker). I, for one, jokingly refer to USC as the University of Spoiled Children :p
At least on the East Coast the name "Southern Cal" is frequently used in the newspapers; the Associated Press uses it as well. No doubt part of that is to avoid ambiguity as to the other USC located in Columbia, South Carolina (students and alumni there more often call it Carolina).
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2011, 02:02:32 PM
... Come to think of it, do any of you West Coast folks know whether this "the" usage is one reason California doesn't want to have different classes of roads with the same number (e.g., a state route and an Interstate)? It seems to me to be easy enough just to say "US-x" and "I-x," but if the prevailing usage is "the x," you get into a potential situation of ambiguity when someone gives directions.
I think the notion of not repeating numbers predates the "the xx" nomenclature, as highway names used to be a lot more prominent in California.
California's non-repetition of numbers between highway types probably has more to do with the fact that California highways are legislatively defined (all as "routes", regardless of highway class) and that the legislative route number and signed route number correspond in nearly all cases.
The AP uses "Southern Cal" in the polls but is equally likely to use "Southern Cal" or "USC" in a story. However, it's always "LSU" and "BYU" in sports stories, almost never the full name.
As far as Kansas goes, it depends. But I think in most cases, it's going to be called whatever the city itself calls the street. The prime example would be Kellogg in Wichita. There aren't too many people calling it U.S. 54. Even people from outside Wichita know what "Kellogg" means, mostly because 2/3rds of Kansas is in the Wichita TV market and is exposed to the local Wichita use. There's also the "Canal Route" over I-135. Not used as much as "Kellogg" but I'd say quite a few outside Wichita are also familiar with the use through TV reports. The "Northeast Expressway" hasn't been around nearly as long as the other two, so I think most people from outside Wichita would know it better as "K-96".
Sometimes in small towns, the state will post the highway number on the traffic signal post even if the town calls the road "Main St." Greensburg is an example, where it's always said "U.S. 54" or "U.S. 54/400" on the signal post instead of "Kansas Ave."
Quote from: myosh_tino on August 04, 2011, 03:22:21 PM
Hmmm... I thought, from a purely sports perspective, the University of Southern California was always referred to as "USC" or "The Trojans" (although I suspect the University of South Carolina would have a problem with the USC moniker). I, for one, jokingly refer to USC as the University of Spoiled Children :p
As a graduate of one of Southern Cal's many archrivals, I could cite some other alternate definitions of USC ... except every one of them is NSFW. At football games, we'd also mock their "Tommy Trojan" (on a horse) with a guy walking the sidelines wrapped in white plastic garbage bags.
U. of South Carolina goes by Gamecocks, oft-shortened to something also kind of NSFW (but I've seen it on baseball caps).
Quote from: oscar on August 04, 2011, 06:15:08 PM
U. of South Carolina goes by Gamecocks, oft-shortened to something also kind of NSFW (but I've seen it on baseball caps).
Someone came up the great idea to design hats with sexual connotations. Beaver(s) for Oregon State, Woody (as Woody Hayes) for Ohio State, and the the shortened version of Gamecocks for South Carolina.
There is only one OSU that matters. (I don't care for the affirmative article used with said university)
Right, Mr. Tressel? <elbow to the side>
I think it's okay to use the shortened version of "gamecocks" on this forum.
OCKS IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD.
In Parts of Los Angeles I'm used to saying Santa Ana Freeway or Hollywood Freeway. For example though the Golden State Freeway I-5 once your over the Grapevine, I don't think anyone refers to it as anything but "the 5".
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2011, 05:08:17 PM
At least on the East Coast the name "Southern Cal" is frequently used in the newspapers; the Associated Press uses it as well. No doubt part of that is to avoid ambiguity as to the other USC located in Columbia, South Carolina (students and alumni there more often call it Carolina).
As a big college football fan who follows college football closely, I would say "Southern Cal" is used almost as often as USC to refer to the University of Southern California. I prefer USC, and just refer to the other USC as South Carolina. But I have heard too that USC doesn't like "Southern Cal" because they think it gives the false impression that they are part of the University of California system since the flagship Berkeley campus is often called "Cal". The University of Southern Mississippi has the same problem-they don't like being called "Southern Miss" because they don't like being compared with the University of Mississippi, which is often called "Ole Miss".
As far as acronyms for teams go-there was real difficulty with this at my college where there a lot of students from Tennessee and Texas who both referred to their state's major university as "UT". Unless you knew the context, if somebody said something about "UT" you had to ask which one they were talking about.
As to roads, in West Virginia, everybody uses the route number a "I-*" "US-*" or "Route *". Named roads are reserved for rural county routes (no one uses WV's unique fractional CR system in everyday speach, only the DOT uses it for recordkeeping, as CR 5/52 would be called "Johnson's Hollow Road" or such) ; or for city streets.
The exception would be the Appalachian Corridor system. In WV lingo "corridor" means "non-interstate four lane road" (note that the WVDOT traffic conditions page now lists US 35, the only significant non-ARC rural four lane in the state, with all of the ARC roads under the heading "corridors"). Most people, particularly, people over 40, call all of the ARCs by their project name, despite almost no signage to reinforce this, as "US 19" is "Corridor L".
In Charleston, the shopping and residential area developed by the completion in the early 90s of Corridor G is called "Corridor G", as "he lives out Corridor G" or "the Applebee's on Corridor G or the one on Route 60?". The four lane from the 1960s of the then undeveloped opposite shore of the Kanawha River, is still called "South Side Expessway" rather than its route number (US 60 and WV 61 at different points) or its street name (MacCorkle Ave), again without any signage.
The WV Turnpike is always "West Virginia Turnpike" never "I-77".
Despite naming every structure in the state for politicians, 85% of them for Byrd, no one calls any of them by those names, road or non-road.
Quote from: SP Cook on August 05, 2011, 07:26:10 AM
The WV Turnpike is always "West Virginia Turnpike" never "I-77".
that's a mouthful! the Massachusetts Turnpike is very rarely called I-90. It is, instead, referred to as "the Pike".
Well no one calls it the "Indiana East West Toll Road". It is always refered to as 80/90 or the Toll Road.
Quote from: bassoon1986 on August 01, 2011, 05:31:52 PM
I've only been living in DFW for about 7 months now but on interstates and freeways its mostly the name. Ex: I-635 is LBJ Freeway, I-35E is Stemmons throughout Dallas and the suburbs, and in Fort Worth I-35w is the north or South Freeway. TX 121 has so many sections I'm not sure what they are all called locally because it could refer to the Sam Rayburn Tollway, the 121 from Lewisville to Grapevine, except maybe in Fort Worth its the Airport Freeway. I know theres posts on here somewhere else talking about how the "E" and "W" designation is rarely used for I-35 on tv news and radio, which is definitely true
As a long-time DFW-area resident and traveler, I can say that generally, you can use either the name or number and people will know what you're talking about. For example, whether you use "635" or "LBJ", or "75" or "Central", you'll get your point across and locals will understand what you're asking/saying. Sometimes you'll also hear them referred to by both name and number, especially in Fort Worth - for example, "North Loop 820" or "I-30 East Freeway". Some notable exceptions:
- Airport Freeway is usually referred to by its number, either 121 or 183, because it covers parts of both highways.
- As you noted, 121 is usually just called "121" north of 183. The Sam Rayburn Tollway name applies to the section between Grapevine Mills Mall and McKinney, but it's so new, not many people use it yet.
- There are two un-numbered tollways, the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike. The first is almost universally called only the "Tollway", while the latter is usually referred to as "PGBT" or "Bush Turnpike".
- 114 is sometimes referred to by its name, the Carpenter Freeway, within Dallas, but is just "114" west of DFW Airport since it has no official name. The multiplexed section with 121 through Grapevine is sometimes referred to as "The Funnel".
- SH-360 is referred to only as "360". I think it's technically just "Watson Road" in Arlington. A part of it is now the Angus G. Wynne Freeway, but nobody calls it that, and my guess is most folks in Arlington won't know what you're talking about if you do.
- I-20 is, simply, I-20, except for a small portion on the south side of Fort Worth, which is also referred to as "South Loop". Some old timers still call it "South Loop 820", even though the multiplex disappeared years ago.
- I-30 between Dallas and Fort Worth is officially the Tom Landry Highway, but the name has not been universally adopted. Most locals just call it I-30. Some long time residents still call it the "DFW Turnpike", a throwback to when the road had tolls prior to 1978.
- US-80 through Mesquite to Terrell has no name, and is just "Highway 80".
Welcome to the Metroplex, by the way.
Quote from: hobsini2 on August 05, 2011, 12:34:47 PM
Well no one calls it the "Indiana East West Toll Road". It is always refered to as 80/90 or the Toll Road.
Very true. However, the Ohio Turnpike is rarely ever called I-80/I-90 (or I-76), but rather "the Ohio Turnpike" or just "the Turnpike."
Also in the Cleveland area, State Route 176 is always called the Jennings Freeway (never the route number).
- 114 is sometimes referred to by its name, the Carpenter Freeway, within Dallas, but is just "114" west of DFW Airport since it has no official name. The multiplexed section with 121 through Grapevine is sometimes referred to as "The Funnel".
Aaaah, that makes a lot of sense. And its an awful funnel right now with all the construction.
What part of DFW are you from, MeanMeosh
Quote from: Master son on August 01, 2011, 01:12:18 PM
Freeways in Milwaukee are referred to by number, but US/State routes are referred to by street names.Quote from: Duke87 on July 31, 2011, 03:58:05 PM
It's the same way in New York (city). Everyone uses names, not numbers. Also true in southwestern Connecticut of state highways (usually), but we refer to Interstate highways and some US highways by number (US 7 is exclusively "route 7", US 1 is either "route 1" or "the post road", but US 6 and US 202 never have their numbers spoken in Fairfield County).
Don't forget the expressways and parkways (their terms for freeways with some exceptions in the parkways which for here are obvious as no route number is assigned). Not only do they have names, they ave acronyms - actually abbreviations for freeway names (Brooklyn Queens Expressway = BQE, Cross Bronx Expressway = CBE, Franklyn D Roosevelt Drive = FDR, etc. (I don't believe all expressways are that way, any New Yorker chime in).
Chicago refers to expressways (their term for the freeways) by name where applicable. notable exceptions are I-57 and I-80. Also I-55 is mentioned. I think they take the Stephenson as from the Tri-State into Downtown, but I'm not sure.
Several cities often look at endpoints as names - especially interchanges
Milwaukee: Marquette, Zoo, Stadium, Mitchell, Hale
Chicago, The Junction (on the Kennedy), The Circle
Boston: The split (I-93 and MA route 3) - someone confirm)
If an ex-north-Jerseyan who's been spending lots of time with maps since about 1970 and sometimes listens to traffic reports for fun counts as "a New Yorker," I've never heard "CBE." BQE and LIE, yes. Can't think off the top of my head of any other abbreviations (as opposed to acronyms, which - if you'll excuse a moment of pedantry - are pronounceable abbreviations like NATO or UNICEF) in the New York area that are used in conversation, or on traffic reports. Incidentally, I-83 inside of the Baltimore Beltway is often called the JFX (Jones Falls eXpressway). And outside, it's "the Harrisburg."
In Duluth, US 53, MN 23, and MN 194 are referred to by their street names (Piedmont Ave/Miller Trunk Highway, Grand Ave, and Mesaba Ave respectively). I have never heard MN 61 referred to by its street names though. When someone says "London Road" (which is 61's street name) they usually refer to the section of London Road southwest of I-35 after the end of 61.
I-535 and US 2 are often referred to by the names of the bridges they cross as well.
Quote from: huskeroadgeek on August 05, 2011, 03:47:00 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2011, 05:08:17 PM
At least on the East Coast the name "Southern Cal" is frequently used in the newspapers; the Associated Press uses it as well. No doubt part of that is to avoid ambiguity as to the other USC located in Columbia, South Carolina (students and alumni there more often call it Carolina).
The University of Southern Mississippi has the same problem-they don't like being called "Southern Miss" because they don't like being compared with the University of Mississippi, which is often called "Ole Miss".
As a grad of Southern Miss, I never really heard any complaints about it. Even the play-by-play announcer on the radio calls them Southern Miss. I usually refer to it as USM, as well as most folks on campus.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on August 08, 2011, 03:06:37 AM
I-535 and US 2 are often referred to by the names of the bridges they cross as well.
It's obvious why they would use the name of the US 2 bridge as much as possible.
OK 51 in Tulsa, the Broken Arrow Expressway, is almost universally referred to locally as "The BA." It is rarely if ever referred to as OK 51 (or US 64 over the western section.)
Quote from: Coelacanth on August 08, 2011, 11:51:17 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on August 08, 2011, 03:06:37 AM
I-535 and US 2 are often referred to by the names of the bridges they cross as well.
It's obvious why they would use the name of the US 2 bridge as much as possible.
One step further, US 2 and WIS 35 are referred to by street name in Superior (Belknap St and Tower Ave respectively). I want to say US 53 is also referred to as East 2nd St, but I can't remember for sure.
I'm always amazed how few people in SoCal seem to actually know "Topanga Cyn." is CA-27. I think it's because the two are entirely identical: CA-27 is exactly the length of Topanga Cyn. Blvd. and vice versa. It's not like, say, the nearby CA-23, where there is more than one distinct segment.
In the Columbus area, non-freeways are almost always referred to by their local name inside of I-270, and almost always by their route numbers outside of Franklin County. The area inside Franklin County but outside I-270 is a kind of a transitional area.
The freeways are usually referred to by number, but in the Columbus area (out to the suburbs) names are also used:
Outerbelt: I-270 in its entirety
North Outerbelt: I-270 from Dublin to Westerville
East Outerbelt: I-270 from Westerville to Obetz
South Outerbelt: I-270 south of I-70 (there is some overlap with West Outerbelt and East Outerbelt)
West Outerbelt: I-270 from Grove City to Dublin
Innerbelt: Collectively, the 4 segments of Innerbelt described below
North Innerbelt: I-670 from OH 315 to I-71
East Innerbelt: I-71 from I-70 to I-670
South Innerbelt / The Split: I-70/71 overlap (from the East Split [interchange] to the West Split [interchange])
West Innerbelt: OH 315 from I-70 to I-670
North Freeway: I-71 north of the Innerbelt
East Freeway: I-70 east of the Innerbelt
South Freeway: I-71 south of the Innerbelt
West Freeway: I-70 west of the Innerbelt
Airport Freeway / Northeast Freeway: I-670 east of the Innerbelt
Northeast Expressway / New Albany Bypass: OH 161 east of I-270
Southeast Expressway: US 33 east of its easternmost junction with I-70
Olentangy Freeway: OH 315 from the Innerbelt to I-270
Frank-Refugee Expressway: OH 104 from just east of I-71 to just west of US 33
A highway number plus a direction usually means that direction on that highway, though businesses outside of I-270 may break this rule, either for brevity, or assuming most of their customers come from Columbus and therefore must actually drive in that direction. To refer to one direction of a highway by name, the appropriate modifier is, for example, "northbound East Outerbelt".
For the Chicago area it really depends. For example, IL-43 is always called Harlem Ave, IL-50 is always called Cicero Ave, IL-19 is always called Irving Park Rd....But IL-59, IL-53, IL-83, IL-25, and IL-31 are usually referred to by their numbers. For IL-64 and IL-38, it depends on where you are.
It also varies by highway in the Philadelphia area. On the one hand, you've got 95, 295, and 676. On the other hand, you've got City Ave and the Roosevelt (US 1), the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), the Blue Route and Northeast Extension (I-476), and the PA Turnpike (I-276). On other highways, it varies based on section - US 30 is Route 30 in Camden along Admiral Wilson Blvd, and the White Horse Pike the rest of the way to Atlantic City, while it's almost always Girard and Lancaster in Philadelphia proper, becoming Route 30 again in the Main Line towns.
Quote from: TXtoNJ on August 16, 2011, 07:05:10 AM
It also varies by highway in the Philadelphia area. On the one hand, you've got 95, 295, and 676. On the other hand, you've got City Ave and the Roosevelt (US 1), the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), the Blue Route and Northeast Extension (I-476), and the PA Turnpike (I-276). On other highways, it varies based on section - US 30 is Route 30 in Camden along Admiral Wilson Blvd, and the White Horse Pike the rest of the way to Atlantic City, while it's almost always Girard and Lancaster in Philadelphia proper, becoming Route 30 again in the Main Line towns.
A quibble or two: I'd call it Lancaster Avenue at least out to Wayne or so. KYW traffic reports call 676 the Vine Expressway at least as often as they call it 676.
I heard a mention (again on KYW) of the "Whitman Expressway" the other day. Not sure what they meant, but somewhere, I've seen an old street map that labels the piece of 76 south of the Passyunk/Oregon exit as the "Whitman Approach," a term that I assume carried all the way to the bridge.
Quote from: Michael in Philly on August 16, 2011, 07:53:18 AM
Quote from: TXtoNJ on August 16, 2011, 07:05:10 AM
It also varies by highway in the Philadelphia area. On the one hand, you've got 95, 295, and 676. On the other hand, you've got City Ave and the Roosevelt (US 1), the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), the Blue Route and Northeast Extension (I-476), and the PA Turnpike (I-276). On other highways, it varies based on section - US 30 is Route 30 in Camden along Admiral Wilson Blvd, and the White Horse Pike the rest of the way to Atlantic City, while it's almost always Girard and Lancaster in Philadelphia proper, becoming Route 30 again in the Main Line towns.
A quibble or two: I'd call it Lancaster Avenue at least out to Wayne or so. KYW traffic reports call 676 the Vine Expressway at least as often as they call it 676.
I heard a mention (again on KYW) of the "Whitman Expressway" the other day. Not sure what they meant, but somewhere, I've seen an old street map that labels the piece of 76 south of the Passyunk/Oregon exit as the "Whitman Approach," a term that I assume carried all the way to the bridge.
Two possibilities - there is the Whitman Approach in New Jersey, stretching from Black Horse Pike (NJ 168) to 676. More likely is your suggestion, since the Schuylkill Expwy technically ends at the Passyunk/Oregon exit.
True on the Vine St Expwy, but at the same time, it's never called the "North-South Freeway" in Camden. It's 676 from the Ben Franklin to the Walt Whitman Bridge, then 76 to 295, then Route 42, then finally the AC Expressway
In Houston, there's an interesting distinction in that names are generally used in traffic reports, while there's a tendency, with exceptions, to use numbers in everyday conversation. So you'd hear on the radio about traffic jams on the North Freeway, the Eastex Freeway, the Baytown-East Freeway, the Southwest Freeway, and the Northwest Freeway, but you'd tell people to avoid 45 North, 59 North, I-10 East, 59 South, and 290. However, I-10 West is always the Katy Freeway, I-45 South is always the Gulf Freeway, I-610 is always the North, South, West or East Loop, Beltway 8 or the Sam Houston Tollway is always simply the Beltway, but the South Freeway is always simply 288, and the LaPorte Freeway is always simply 225. Tomball Parkway and 249 are interchangeable, with a greater tendency toward simply 249.
Quote from: TXtoNJ on August 16, 2011, 09:32:17 AM
Quote from: Michael in Philly on August 16, 2011, 07:53:18 AM
Quote from: TXtoNJ on August 16, 2011, 07:05:10 AM
It also varies by highway in the Philadelphia area. On the one hand, you've got 95, 295, and 676. On the other hand, you've got City Ave and the Roosevelt (US 1), the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), the Blue Route and Northeast Extension (I-476), and the PA Turnpike (I-276). On other highways, it varies based on section - US 30 is Route 30 in Camden along Admiral Wilson Blvd, and the White Horse Pike the rest of the way to Atlantic City, while it's almost always Girard and Lancaster in Philadelphia proper, becoming Route 30 again in the Main Line towns.
A quibble or two: I'd call it Lancaster Avenue at least out to Wayne or so. KYW traffic reports call 676 the Vine Expressway at least as often as they call it 676.
I heard a mention (again on KYW) of the "Whitman Expressway" the other day. Not sure what they meant, but somewhere, I've seen an old street map that labels the piece of 76 south of the Passyunk/Oregon exit as the "Whitman Approach," a term that I assume carried all the way to the bridge.
Two possibilities - there is the Whitman Approach in New Jersey, stretching from Black Horse Pike (NJ 168) to 676. More likely is your suggestion, since the Schuylkill Expwy technically ends at the Passyunk/Oregon exit.
True on the Vine St Expwy, but at the same time, it's never called the "North-South Freeway" in Camden. It's 676 from the Ben Franklin to the Walt Whitman Bridge, then 76 to 295, then Route 42, then finally the AC Expressway
Or the "42 Freeway." I hear that all the time, actually.
As mentioned already, but NJ loves to keep its original names...
NJ 38 = Kaighns Ave
NJ 70 = Marlton Pike (for a good stretch)
US 30 outside of Camden =White Horse Pike
NJ 168 = Black Horse Pike even after it merges with NJ 42/US 40/US 322
Those are just a few to name, there are so many more though :spin:
Well, there's a difference between a numbered highway that's also a local street - and I'm including as "local streets" non-limited-access highways that are now lined with strip malls and the like - and a freeway. People won't have mailing addresses on freeways (except in places like Texas where the freeways are systematically paired with service roads that have businesses on them). But they will on US 30 in suburban Philadelphia, for example, and the mailing addresses will be "x Lancaster Avenue."
And in a big city downtown, most people will be unaware of where the numbered highways are routed. I know Pa. 3 ends at City Hall, but I'd need to think about which streets it uses to get there. I'd suggest as a general rule of thumb that if the name of a road was well implanted in the locals' consciousness before a route number was assigned (or if the number is changed occasionally), the locals will continue to use it.
Most 5xx county routes in NJ are referred to by street name only. I'd throw NJ 63, 67, and 93, and possibly 5, into this category in Bergen County. NJ 7 in Essex County falls into the same category - even in Hudson, it's often just called Belleville Pike instead of Route 7. NJ 21 is McCarter Highway, NJ 28 is Westfield/North/South Ave., don't even think for a second anyone calls NJ 439 by number, etc. etc.
Quote from: Chicagosuburban on August 16, 2011, 01:58:12 AM
For the Chicago area it really depends.
I listen to WGN traffic reports every morning and the only Interstate numbers I hear are 80, 80/94, 57, 355, and 55. They recently (past 2-3 years) switched from saying "the Stevenson" to "55", but I have no idea why.
Quote from: pianocello on August 16, 2011, 09:18:15 PM
Quote from: Chicagosuburban on August 16, 2011, 01:58:12 AM
For the Chicago area it really depends.
I listen to WGN traffic reports every morning and the only Interstate numbers I hear are 80, 80/94, 57, 355, and 55. They recently (past 2-3 years) switched from saying "the Stevenson" to "55", but I have no idea why.
I sometimes pick up WBBM at night and they seem to consistently use both: it's "the Stevenson" in Cook County (or east of "the Tristate") and "55" elsewhere.
Quote from: Michael in Philly on August 16, 2011, 10:49:02 PM
Quote from: pianocello on August 16, 2011, 09:18:15 PM
Quote from: Chicagosuburban on August 16, 2011, 01:58:12 AM
For the Chicago area it really depends.
I listen to WGN traffic reports every morning and the only Interstate numbers I hear are 80, 80/94, 57, 355, and 55. They recently (past 2-3 years) switched from saying "the Stevenson" to "55", but I have no idea why.
I sometimes pick up WBBM at night and they seem to consistently use both: it's "the Stevenson" in Cook County (or east of "the Tristate") and "55" elsewhere.
That's in part because the Stevenson Expy is only from Joliet Rd (Exit 276 C) to LSD. It was built after the part from Gardner to Exit 276 C.
Quote from: bugo on August 14, 2011, 10:56:07 PM
OK 51 in Tulsa, the Broken Arrow Expressway, is almost universally referred to locally as "The BA." It is rarely if ever referred to as OK 51 (or US 64 over the western section.)
Once it makes it past Broken Arrow though, most people do call it 51, but by that point it's a no longer a limited-access highway, for the most part. Most people around Tulsa associate the BA with connecting to the Muskogee Turnpike.
Oh, first post by the way. I tried registering earlier and realized I evidently registered before. Age is catching up to me evidently.
Quote from: Brandon on August 17, 2011, 07:51:37 PM
Quote from: Michael in Philly on August 16, 2011, 10:49:02 PM
Quote from: pianocello on August 16, 2011, 09:18:15 PM
Quote from: Chicagosuburban on August 16, 2011, 01:58:12 AM
For the Chicago area it really depends.
I listen to WGN traffic reports every morning and the only Interstate numbers I hear are 80, 80/94, 57, 355, and 55. They recently (past 2-3 years) switched from saying "the Stevenson" to "55", but I have no idea why.
I sometimes pick up WBBM at night and they seem to consistently use both: it's "the Stevenson" in Cook County (or east of "the Tristate") and "55" elsewhere.
That's in part because the Stevenson Expy is only from Joliet Rd (Exit 276 C) to LSD. It was built after the part from Gardner to Exit 276 C.
Yeah, I was able to figure that out a few days after I posted. I also recently heard "294" instead of "Tri-State" so I guess it depends on the reporter.
In Phoenix I've noticed the only highway people refer to by name is US-60- which is either called "The 60" or "The Superstition"
I was listening to 100.7 KSLX traffic reports the other day though, and they were calling I-10 the "I-10 Papago" and the "I-10 Maricopa," I guess to distinguish which part of town they were talking about. In normal practice though I don't know anyone who calls the highways by name except the 60.
Quote from: pianocello on August 28, 2011, 09:26:14 PM
Quote from: Brandon on August 17, 2011, 07:51:37 PM
Quote from: Michael in Philly on August 16, 2011, 10:49:02 PM
Quote from: pianocello on August 16, 2011, 09:18:15 PM
Quote from: Chicagosuburban on August 16, 2011, 01:58:12 AM
For the Chicago area it really depends.
I listen to WGN traffic reports every morning and the only Interstate numbers I hear are 80, 80/94, 57, 355, and 55. They recently (past 2-3 years) switched from saying "the Stevenson" to "55", but I have no idea why.
I sometimes pick up WBBM at night and they seem to consistently use both: it's "the Stevenson" in Cook County (or east of "the Tristate") and "55" elsewhere.
That's in part because the Stevenson Expy is only from Joliet Rd (Exit 276 C) to LSD. It was built after the part from Gardner to Exit 276 C.
Yeah, I was able to figure that out a few days after I posted. I also recently heard "294" instead of "Tri-State" so I guess it depends on the reporter.
For the most part (except Lake County), I-294
is the Tri-State. Effectively, they mean and are the same thing.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 05, 2011, 11:41:48 AM
the Massachusetts Turnpike is very rarely called I-90. It is, instead, referred to as "the Pike".
...but more often "MassPike." The old Turnpike Authority eventually gave in to this usage, even posting it on some signs and toll plazas. I understand that MassDOT now wants the Turnpike name gone at some point.
Around Boston, the stretch of I-93 north of town is referred to as "93." South of town, between the O'Neill Tunnel (a.k.a. "The Big Dig") and the "Braintree Split" (junction of I-93/US-1 and MA-3), I-93 is referred to as the Southeast Expressway. The stretch of the Circumferential Highway (a term never used except possibly by us here) between the I-93/I-95 junction in Canton and the "Braintree Split" is still referred to as "128," even though that desgination was removed over ten years ago and "Begin 128"/"End 128" signs were posted at the I-93/I-95 junction. The portion of MA-128 which is concurrent with I-95 between Canton and Peabody is still always referred to as "128." I think if MassDOT tried to retire the "128" name they'd have a revolt on their hands, and not just for historical reasons (it was, after all, America's first beltway). Something more along the lines of "I-95 exists elsewhere; 128 is all ours."
New York State Route 112 is also named Port Jefferson-Patchogue Highway, but everybody, including the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department calls it "Route 112." Only a few street-name signs refer to it as "Port Jefferson-Patchogue Highway." The ones north of NY 347 call it "Patchogue Road," and the ones south of the Village of Patchogue Line call it "Medford Avenue." Between "Old" Medford Avenue and the Patchogue Village line, I've seen both "Medford Avenue" and "Route 112" used. Too bad I can't seem to convince the Wikipedia administrators of this, and I know some of them are here now.
South Florida isn't the only part of the state to use hidden State Road numbers as street names. Groveland uses "SR 55" for US 19-98, and I think I've seen "SR 500" for Alternate US 27.
Quote from: SidS1045 on August 30, 2011, 03:13:21 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 05, 2011, 11:41:48 AM
the Massachusetts Turnpike is very rarely called I-90. It is, instead, referred to as "the Pike".
...but more often "MassPike." The old Turnpike Authority eventually gave in to this usage, even posting it on some signs and toll plazas. I understand that MassDOT now wants the Turnpike name gone at some point.
for some reason I seem to remember "the Pike" more than "MassPike" or "the MassPike".
"take exit 16 off the Pike..." or something similar. but maybe I'm misremembering!
Let's see. Salt Lake has two freeways that are called by their names: Legacy Parkway and I-215 (which is sometimes called the belt route along with its numerical designation). Actually, make that three. SR-201 is sometimes called the 21st South Freeway, but that was never formally a name for that freeway. "201" is becoming more common nowadays in any event.
I've heard "The Pike" more often than "Mass Pike".
For what it's worth, my grandparents who live in Wellesley always refer to it as "Mass Pike." Probably because that's what's seen on the signs.
Quote from: Master son on August 01, 2011, 01:12:18 PM
Freeways in Milwaukee are referred to by number, but US/State routes are referred to by street names.Quote from: Duke87 on July 31, 2011, 03:58:05 PM
It's the same way in New York (city). Everyone uses names, not numbers. Also true in southwestern Connecticut of state highways (usually), but we refer to Interstate highways and some US highways by number (US 7 is exclusively "route 7", US 1 is either "route 1" or "the post road", but US 6 and US 202 never have their numbers spoken in Fairfield County).
Don't forget the expressways and parkways (their terms for freeways with some exceptions in the parkways which for here are obvious as no route number is assigned). Not only do they have names, they ave acronyms - actually abbreviations for freeway names (Brooklyn Queens Expressway = BQE, Cross Bronx Expressway = CBE, Franklyn D Roosevelt Drive = FDR, etc. (I don't believe all expressways are that way, any New Yorker chime in).
Chicago refers to expressways (their term for the freeways) by name where applicable. notable exceptions are I-57 and I-80. Also I-55 is mentioned. I think they take the Stephenson as from the Tri-State into Downtown, but I'm not sure.
Several cities often look at endpoints as names - especially interchanges
Milwaukee: Marquette, Zoo, Stadium, Mitchell, Hale
Chicago, The Junction (on the Kennedy), The Circle
Boston: The split (I-93 and MA route 3) - someone confirm)
Never ever heard CBE. Also, forgot LIE which is used almost exclusively. Many expwys/pkwys, including Deegan, West Side/Henry Hudson and most of the Westchester/LI parkways do not have abreviations. No roads in Nj do besides the Garden State [i think NJT, or NJTPK, or TP or TPK sounds plain wrong. Turnpike works fine]
In Cincinnati, we have OH 562 is known as Norwood Lateral, I-71 through downtown is Fort Washington Way, there's also Ronald Reagan Highway which is OH 126 with the exception of one mile stretch on the west end of the freeway which is not numbered. A tourist would get confused listening to the traffic reports.
Quote from: Mike_OH on September 07, 2011, 09:17:12 PM
In Cincinnati, we have OH 562 is known as Norwood Lateral, I-71 through downtown is Fort Washington Way, there's also Ronald Reagan Highway which is OH 126 with the exception of one mile stretch on the west end of the freeway which is not numbered. A tourist would get confused listening to the traffic reports.
I only visit Cincinnati on occasion and somehow I knew all those.
Most roads in Orlando, FL and its surrounding area are called by names rather than number. For some reason FL 436 is the only exception here other than I-4 (no name) and FL 408. People will not call FL 436 by its local name that is Semoran Boulevard or Altamonte Drive in Altomonte Springs. Its the total opposite here, but that may have to do with the fact Altamonte Springs does not use the Semoran name. It changes from Semoran Boulevard to Altamonte Drive and back to Semoran Boulevard.
The FL 408 used to be called by its name years ago before the shields with numbers were installed. Now FL 408 is called that, but other toll roads and freeways with names are called by name. Even the Southern Connector part of FL 417 is called the Central Florida Greeneway or Greeneway by many as well as the Seminole Parkway part of the eastern Orlando Beltway.
Quote from: Bickendan on August 01, 2011, 03:22:57 PM
US 30: The only Portland freeway without a name, it'd be an extension of NW Yeon Ave.
I remember when it was first built it was often referred to as "the I-405 Extension", even though it really didn't extend I-405 as it was a spur. So it makes sense that the phrase stopped being used. I believe it is officially the "Lower Columbia River Highway" (to distinguish it from I-84, "(THE) Columbia River Highway". And nobody would use that name.
Quote from: Bickendan on August 01, 2011, 03:22:57 PM
OR 8: Gales Creek Rd, Tualatin Valley Hwy, Canyon Rd. Known as all three.
East of Forest Grove to Beaverton, "T.V. Highway" (abbreviate "Tualatin Valley"). Forest Grove west to 6, it's "Gales Creek Road" (since it was never an ODOT maintained highway, it is I believe the only example of a state highway number being given to a county road, rather than a state highway number not being removed when the state highway was turned over to county jurisdiction.) In Beaverton and east to U.S. 26 it's "Canyon Road".
Quote from: Bickendan on August 01, 2011, 03:22:57 PMI haven't paid attention to how the 212/224 are called.
Clackamas Highway (which continues on Oregon 224 to the end of the highway in the middle of the Mt. Hood National Forest). Again, not commonly used, the traffic reporters will just say "Two-Twelve-Two-Twenty-Four". Even though saying "Clackamas Highway" is a syllable shorter (and three shorter if you say add "Highway" and say "Highway Two-Twelve-Two-Twenty-Four".)
A follow up on my post on the first page of this topic, in Indianapolis the interstates are always refered to by number, which isn't a huge surprise to people. 465 recently got named the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway, but with most memorial highways (such as I-69 Korean War Veterans and I-65 Babyface, not a memorial but still named) those names aren't mentioned. Although, when it comes to junctions, the north and south interchanges of I-65 and I-70 are refered to as the North and South Splits and the part inbetween is occasionally refered to as the Innerbelt or Spaggetti Bowl.
US 90 BUS (LA)-Westbank Expy
Quote from: huskeroadgeek on August 05, 2011, 03:47:00 AMThe University of Southern Mississippi has the same problem-they don't like being called "Southern Miss" because they don't like being compared with the University of Mississippi, which is often called "Ole Miss".
Then why do their football helmets say "Southern Miss" on them?
Quote from: BigOkie on August 28, 2011, 02:49:58 PM
Quote from: bugo on August 14, 2011, 10:56:07 PM
OK 51 in Tulsa, the Broken Arrow Expressway, is almost universally referred to locally as "The BA." It is rarely if ever referred to as OK 51 (or US 64 over the western section.)
Once it makes it past Broken Arrow though, most people do call it 51, but by that point it's a no longer a limited-access highway, for the most part. Most people around Tulsa associate the BA with connecting to the Muskogee Turnpike.
Yes, because the BA ends at the beginning of the Muskogee Turnpike. OK 51 exits off the mainline at the Coweta exit.
I also remembered that sometimes the downtown loop (I-244/444) is sometimes known as the "IDL" (Inner Dispersal Loop, a catchy name if I've ever heard one.)
In Wichita, everybody refers to I-135 as 'The Canal Route' or 'I-35'.
I-35, on the other hand, is almost never called 'I-35', but 'The Turnpike' instead.
I about blow up when someone gives an out-of-towner directions and says 'I-35' when he means 'I-135'. My boss insists it's just a matter of local preference, equating it to pronouncing Arkansas Street /ar-KAN-sas/ instead of /AR-kan-SAW/. I reply that we might as well call it Kellogg Avenue.
QuoteIn the Twin Cities our freeways do not have names, so they are always referred to by number (except maybe the Crosstown...).
For the highways which run along local streets, it's more of a mixed bag. I've never heard anyone call Snelling Ave "Highway 51". I would say it's about 50/50 between "Arcade St" and "Hwy 61". You're much more likely to hear "Hwy 55" than "Olson Memorial Highway", but you're also more likely to hear "Hiawatha Ave" than "Hwy 55".
In the Twin Cities most freeways are referred to only by number. "The Crosstown", which was the official posted name for then-Hennepin County 62, now MN-62, until the state took it over still sticks even though it hasn't been posted anywhere for years. Another remnant name is "Cedar Avenue" for MN-77. This was a little unusual in that the state upgraded a road to a freeway on a slightly altered alignment and kept the name for the new freeway. The old road was renamed (Old Cedar north of the Minnesota River, Nicols Road south). Over time, with re-signing projects the Cedar Avenue designation began to disappear but it's still known as that colloquially.
Denver only has two freeways I'm aware of that have historic names: I-25 south of downtown, when it was constructed as U.S. 87, was the Valley Highway. I've not heard it called that. The U.S. 6 freeway west of I-25 is also 6th Avenue (coincidence) and most people refer to it as "6th". I call it the "6th Avenue Freeway" or just "6", which immediately labels me as from out of town. OK, maybe
three freeways because the Boulder Turnpike, which ceased to be a toll road by about 1968, is just marked as U.S. 36. But it's "the Turnpike" on the radio traffic reports.
Quote from: kphoger on December 01, 2011, 02:04:18 PMIn Wichita, everybody refers to I-135 as 'The Canal Route' or 'I-35'. I-35, on the other hand, is almost never called 'I-35', but 'The Turnpike' instead.
I wonder if the confusion between I-135 and "I-35" has to do with the fact that I-135 was originally I-35W. There are also many Wichitans (particularly of an older generation) who still think of the "logical" way to Kansas City as lying entirely on the Turnpike, notwithstanding the fact that one can exit the Turnpike onto free I-35 at Emporia and more than halve the toll while enjoying a higher standard of geometric design (wider median, shallower curves, etc.).
QuoteI about blow up when someone gives an out-of-towner directions and says 'I-35' when he means 'I-135'. My boss insists it's just a matter of local preference, equating it to pronouncing Arkansas Street /ar-KAN-sas/ instead of /AR-kan-SAW/. I reply that we might as well call it Kellogg Avenue.
I have friends who have gotten lost and had to have themselves led in by phone even after they were given the correct directions, so I have gotten very philosophical about it all. Some people struggle, for example, with the idea that if you are coming from Topeka and aiming for west Wichita, it is easier and faster to exit the Turnpike onto K-254 at El Dorado instead of one of the "Wichita" exits (K-96, US 54-400, K-15, I-135).
I've wondered that about I-35W as well, , , but how many years has that been now? They've gotten over calling the highway to Fredonia K-96, and that was more recent.
I take a variety of routes to/through Kansas City depending on time of day. Usually, I'm going straight through to Minnesota, but sometimes I stop in to see friends in Olathe.
My routes through Kansas City:
I-135 to Newton; US-50 to Emporia; I-35 all the way through downtown and out the north end.
I-135 to Newton; US-50 to Emporia; I-35 to Johnson County; I-635 & I-29 to the north side; I-35 out the north end.
I-135 to Newton; US-50 to Emporia; I-35 to Johnson County; I-435 around the east side; I-35 out the north end.
Turnpike all the way to the west side; I-435 & MO-152 around the northwest side; I-35 out the north end.
I-35 all the way to Johnson County; I-435 OR I-635 and see above.
I've even completely bypassed K.C. by using US-169 & KS-4 from Des Moines through St Joe (never again).
Once I avoided rush hour going south by using MO-152 west, I-435 south around the west side, then I-35 south, and hardly ever dropped below 80 mph.
I usually do one route up and another back, as the time of day is different and traffic flow patterns are different.
Two things REALLY amaze me: people who think going through Salina to K.C. saves money over paying a toll on 35, and people who have lived here their whole lives and don't know what highway even going to K.C.
Quote from: J N Winkler on December 02, 2011, 11:47:46 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 01, 2011, 02:04:18 PMIn Wichita, everybody refers to I-135 as 'The Canal Route' or 'I-35'. I-35, on the other hand, is almost never called 'I-35', but 'The Turnpike' instead.
I wonder if the confusion between I-135 and "I-35" has to do with the fact that I-135 was originally I-35W. There are also many Wichitans (particularly of an older generation) who still think of the "logical" way to Kansas City as lying entirely on the Turnpike, notwithstanding the fact that one can exit the Turnpike onto free I-35 at Emporia and more than halve the toll while enjoying a higher standard of geometric design (wider median, shallower curves, etc.).
QuoteI about blow up when someone gives an out-of-towner directions and says 'I-35' when he means 'I-135'. My boss insists it's just a matter of local preference, equating it to pronouncing Arkansas Street /ar-KAN-sas/ instead of /AR-kan-SAW/. I reply that we might as well call it Kellogg Avenue.
I have friends who have gotten lost and had to have themselves led in by phone even after they were given the correct directions, so I have gotten very philosophical about it all. Some people struggle, for example, with the idea that if you are coming from Topeka and aiming for west Wichita, it is easier and faster to exit the Turnpike onto K-254 at El Dorado instead of one of the "Wichita" exits (K-96, US 54-400, K-15, I-135).
Quote from: thenetwork on August 03, 2011, 11:28:10 AM
Summit County: Again, a mix, with street names more common closer to Akron, and highway numbers further out -- even going as far as the road being more commonly known as it's de-commissioned name. I.e. Cleveland-Massillon Road is still known more as "Old (U.S.) 21", while there is an Old (US) 224, Old Route 8 and even a section of Old 8 that is named "Olde Eight Road".
I lived in Norton for a spell and much of my family lives in the Akron area. I've never heard either called "Old 21" or "Old 224." It's either Greenwich or Waterloo in 224's case, or Cleve-Mass in 21's case.
I-76 & I-277 from Lodi to where 277 ends is generally identified with the 224, as US 224 multiplexes with both.
Where I live now (Massillon), OH-172 is Lincoln Way (it used to be US 30 before 30's bypass was built). OH-241 on its small section of the street is Erie Street (old 21 for what it's worth). State Route 21 is "Route 21," though in Stark County it does carry either the Erie Street moniker (south of 30) or Great Lakes Boulevard (north of 30). No one calls it that. Stark County has some pentagon signs with county route numbers, but I've not once heard anyone use them.
Quote from: Master son on August 01, 2011, 01:12:18 PM
Don't forget the expressways and parkways (their terms for freeways with some exceptions in the parkways which for here are obvious as no route number is assigned). Not only do they have names, they ave acronyms - actually abbreviations for freeway names (Brooklyn Queens Expressway = BQE, Cross Bronx Expressway = CBE, Franklyn D Roosevelt Drive = FDR, etc. (I don't believe all expressways are that way, any New Yorker chime in).
You'll see a lot of the abbreviations on, for example, directional signage or VMS's, but only a few are actually used in conversation. BQE, LIE and FDR are the biggest (not sure whether SIE is used on Staten Island). Other expressways are simpy the Cross Bronx, the Van Wyck (with its own long-standing pronunciation controversy), the Gowanus, and so forth. Parkways are the Grand Central, the Cross Island, the Saw Mill...
That said, I have heard several people use route numbers for these roads, usually transplanted residents who have learned the highways from Google Maps directions rather than from local custom.
Quote from: corco on August 28, 2011, 10:09:07 PM
In Phoenix I've noticed the only highway people refer to by name is US-60- which is either called "The 60" or "The Superstition"
I was listening to 100.7 KSLX traffic reports the other day though, and they were calling I-10 the "I-10 Papago" and the "I-10 Maricopa," I guess to distinguish which part of town they were talking about. In normal practice though I don't know anyone who calls the highways by name except the 60.
From Detour Dan (KTAR 92.3FM/620am, The Peak 98.7FM)
By Name & Number
I-10 Papago
I-10 Maricopa
I-17 Black Canyon
I-17 Maricopa
US-60 Grand Avenue
US-60 Superstition Freeway
AZ347 Maricopa Rd
Loop 101 Agua Fria
Loop 101 Pima
Loop 101 Price
Loop 202 Red Mountain
Loop 202 Santan
By Number
AZ51
Loop 303
By Name Only
Arizona Ave, Country Club Dr, Beeline Hwy (AZ87)
Out Of Metro
By Number Only (I-10, I-17, US-60 ECT...)
QuoteIn Wichita, everybody refers to I-135 as 'The Canal Route' or 'I-35'.
I've noticed people do this in Tucson too- they'll say "Take I-10 south to get to Mexico"- a surprising number of people call I-19 "I-10."
Quote from: kphoger on December 03, 2011, 01:56:23 PMI've wondered that about I-35W as well, but how many years has that been now? They've gotten over calling the highway to Fredonia K-96, and that was more recent.
The change to I-135 was sometime in the late 1970's--I think 1979. I think what happens is that people don't think of "I-135," but rather "big north-south road that people call the Canal Route," and choose "I-35" as the designation because it sounds vaguely plausible. On the other hand, Wichita to Fredonia isn't a trip most people do without consulting a map first, and K-96 has been gone on that route (and therefore most free and commercially available mapping) for about ten years now. (The last time I passed through Fredonia, I was in high school and going to math tournaments at Pittsburg State University, and K-96 was still very much alive. I haven't even checked out the improved US 400 east of Augusta, which is one reason I want to take that route to Woolaroc near Bartlesville.)
Some time ago I played around with various routes between Wichita and KC on Google Maps, and was surprised at how small a distance penalty the US 54-US 69 route imposed. I want to try that sometime when I am driving only myself to KC. The last two times I have been, I have had other people with me and thus have had to choose the shortest and most direct route.
Here in Connecticut, I-84 from the partial I-91 interchange in Hartford west towards the New York state line in Danbury is the Yankee Expressway. Although you do see a sign at both ends, nobody will call it that. Traffic reports NEVER refer to that. You may hear something like "84 East tied up from 46-Sisson to the Bulkeley with an accident." (Exit 46 is the left exit from I-84 East for Sisson Avenue, while the Bulkeley Bridge spans the Connecticut River between Hartford and East Hartford.)
Quote from: corco on December 06, 2011, 11:27:48 PM
QuoteIn Wichita, everybody refers to I-135 as 'The Canal Route' or 'I-35'.
I've noticed people do this in Tucson too- they'll say "Take I-10 south to get to Mexico"- a surprising number of people call I-19 "I-10."
I remember growing up on the Jersey Shore people would call "I-195" "I-95"
In Pt Pleasant and Brick it is called Route 88 only now. In the past (and some old timers still) will call the road west of the canal Lakewood Rd although Ocean Road is used east of the canal probably because of the Ocean Road School.
I use highway numbers, not the name given to a particular road.
Quote from: D-Dey65 on August 30, 2011, 07:23:03 PM
New York State Route 112 is also named Port Jefferson-Patchogue Highway, but everybody, including the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department calls it "Route 112." Only a few street-name signs refer to it as "Port Jefferson-Patchogue Highway." The ones north of NY 347 call it "Patchogue Road," and the ones south of the Village of Patchogue Line call it "Medford Avenue." Between "Old" Medford Avenue and the Patchogue Village line, I've seen both "Medford Avenue" and "Route 112" used. Too bad I can't seem to convince the Wikipedia administrators of this, and I know some of them are here now.
Just for clarification, everybody still calls it 112. Even some of the signs that were saying Patchogue Rd. in PJ or Medford Ave. in Patchogue have just been changed to signs with Route 112 on them (former by NYSDOT's project - which replaced every sign north of Old Town Rd., latter by Town of Brookhaven and Patchogue Village which replaced some signs).
There's only a handful of routes on LI that get referred to by number - I think I've heard 25A, 27A, 106/107, 110, 111 (both NY 111 and County Road 111), 112 and 347 (although some interchangeably with local designations too).
What is interesting is the Township of Bridgewater, NJ, will not refer to NJ 28 as its designated name, that is Easton Turnpike. Some relatives of mine live on NJ 28 just east of its western terminus with US 22 and they use Route 28 as their mailing address.
Also, west of where NJ 28 becomes Somerset County Route 614, it is still called Route 28 and at the intersection of CR 614 and Meadow Road the blade street signs say "RT 28."
I think it may also be a misconception for locals to even call CR 614 in nearby Branchburg, NJ where the street signs do refer to it by Easton Turnpike as still Route 28 at that point.
Quote from: TheStranger on August 01, 2011, 12:07:46 PM
California seems to be all over the map about this...
Bay Area: older freeways tend to be referred to by name (Bayshore, MacArthur, Eastshore, Nimitz) even years after signage for those names has been deprecated, numbers used too
Not sure how often the Junipero Serra name is used for 280 between the Southern Freeway/Junipero Serra split and SJ, but that's another one I've known about for some time
I think myosh_tino mentioned that the Stevens Creek name is used sometimes for 85, the most recent completed new freeway in the region
880 between 80 and 980 was referred as the Cypress Freeway for some time after the earthquake, but not so much since the 1997 reconstruction
Some surface-road state highways are referred to by number (i.e. 37, 1), others never are (82/El Camino Real, 123/San Pablo Avenue).
Some names never caught on with public (i.e. Grove-Shafter for 24/980, Sinclair for 680)
Sacramento: "Capital City" name used for only half of Business 80 (the hidden Route 51 portion), US 50 usually used for the east-west portion (along with the "WX Freeway" for the segment concurrent with Route 99)
Norcal I know Sacramento is very anal on route designations due to the history of Business 80 and I-80 in the area.
For Junipero Serra Freeway, Bay Area residents simply call it Highway 280 when I was there.
I have spoken at length about the Route(ROOT)-X issue.
Street names NOT numbers except for MAYBE the interstates. That said, RLT, Stemmons, Central Expressway are always the go to's in Dallas. On the other hand I-30 west is "the old turnpike" I-45 is never the Julius Schepps Fwy. LBJ is LBJ not 635. I-20 is I-20 EXCEPT for the part that was originally I-635 and it is still LBJ.
Nothing like bumping a 9 year old thread.
Quote from: bing101 on March 16, 2021, 09:56:10 PM
For Junipero Serra Freeway, Bay Area residents simply call it Highway 280 when I was there.
FTFY.
I thought we were supposed to stop using [size] tags, especially when they make text unreadable (as they did in your post above, which reduced everything after "For" to two pixels high).
Quote from: oscar on March 16, 2021, 10:27:28 PM
Quote from: bing101 on March 16, 2021, 09:56:10 PM
For Junipero Serra Freeway, Bay Area residents simply call it Highway 280 when I was there.
FTFY.
I thought we were supposed to stop using [size] tags, especially when they make text unreadable (as they did in your post above, which reduced everything after "For" to two pixels high).
On a nine-year-old necropost, no less.
Here in the Greater Toronto Area, we use street names unless it's a numbered freeway, in which case the number is more prevalent.
For example, in Toronto, Yonge Street has no number. When you go north into York Region, Yonge Street gains the Regional Road 1 designation, but nobody knows what that is.
However, Highway 401 is known as the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway. Nobody knows what that is though.
I don't necessarily agree with bumping these threads that no one has posted to in years, but my opinion regarding route designations and street names, is that a route designation should generally not be the street name for addresses (there should be an actual street name that is used for the address of properties along the road). Because the expenses and complications of changing addresses then becomes a reason to avoid rerouting the route to a better road if one is built (or rerouting for other reasons such as traffic management).
As for how people refer to such roads here, in the Atlanta area we generally use street names, except that freeways are referred to by number, and occasionally you'll find an exception where a route number is more known than the street name (one such example is US 78 past the Stone Mountain freeway which is often called 78 and not its street name.
In my hometown, it depends. Great Plain Avenue is used, not 135, and MA 30 in Newton is always Commonwealth Avenue. MA 16, 9, etc are all referred to with numbers, however.