Unusual Exit Numbers

[PurdueBill]

That sign's probably from the early 70s as well.  The 37A patch replaced what was once 11N.  The smaller MILE 10 lettering was indeed above the EXIT lettering.

The approach signs all had the mile number above the exit number whereas the exit sign itself had the mile number next to the exit number (example: MILE 10 - EXIT 11N).

Worth noting: 2 of those exit signs that were replaced during the 90s re-signing project were actually the original signage from the 1960s w/button-copy lettering and beige horizontal 128 shields (that were replaced w/I-95 shields circa 1981-1982).  The last approach sign (before the exit and gore signs) for 128 (95) North from I-93 North and for 128 (95) South from I-93 South were those 2 signs.  The exit tabs were actually separate from the main sign. 

When the DPW changed I-93's exit numbers the first time around (from 25 to 11 at 128/95 during the early 70s); button-copy lettering for the mile and exit numbers were crammed very close together on the older exit tab (due to the tab being originally sized for only the exit number, these tabs had no border outline BTW).  When the exit numbers changed again, I believe the old button copy lettering was removed and a new EXIT number sticker was placed in the middle of the tab.

As my faint recall sorta remembers, I think that the sign in the picture may have been barely old enough to date to the mile posting on signs--that is, a replacement of an older sign with identical layout, then when time came for the renumbering and removal of the mile numbers, it was new enough to remain in place and survive subsequent replacements.  All the other gore signs at the interchange were less tall at the same time I took the picture (about 5 years ago) and didn't have a patch for the exit number--this sign may have been the last vestige of the renumbering. 

I remember the old exit tab design, I think--they were very narrow vertically with a significant space between the tab and the main sign?

[Duke87]

Even though I like sequential numbering, the whole E-W/N-S thing didn't always make sense.  As I-81 spends some places going mostly E-W at many points in PA, you had weird things like the PA 61 exits being labeled E-W.  IIRC It was 36E for PA 61 South and 36W for PA 61 North.

That's just screwy. No reason the suffixes can't be N-S there. Of course, A-B-C-etc. is the preferred method anyway.

To give another example of a state "borrowing" another state's numbers, the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut is an example of that. Originally the numbers on the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York and the Merritt Parkway were continuous, but over the years New York tweaked its numbers a bit and Connecticut never did, so they no longer match. I believe Exit 27 is the first exit in Connecticut going northbound.

This situation exists as a relic. When the Merritt Parkway opened it was the first time ever in the US that a freeway of any sort crossed a state line. The now-ubiquitous standard of exit numbers resetting at state lines did not exist. Indeed, to the people who planned it out in the late 1930's, it would have seemed only logical to just continue the numbers from New York.

Another relic of exit numbering in Connecticut where modern numbering standards are predated is I-84 with CT8. The two separate exits for each direction are not suffixed S-N or at all. They have two different numbers: 19 and 20.

A few examples of this also used to exist on the Merritt Parkway but all have been eliminated by interchange addition or ramp removal:
- US 7, now old US 7 - originally exits 39 and 40, now exits 40A-B (interchange with US 7 freeway is exits 39A-B)
- CT 58 - originally exits 44 and 45, now exit 44 (formerly an 8 ramp "cloverleaf", now a 4-ramp diamond...ish. There is no exit 45 anymore.)
- CT 25, now CT 111 - originally exits 48 and 49, now exit 48 (old 8-ramp "cloverleaf" converted to diamond and later to SPUI, exit 49 is now for CT 25 freeway)
- CT 8, now CT 110 - originally exits 52 and 53, now exit 53 (7 ramp interchange converted to 5 ramps, exit 52 is now for CT 8 freeway)

[PHLBOS]

As my faint recall sorta remembers, I think that the sign in the picture may have been barely old enough to date to the mile posting on signs--that is, a replacement of an older sign with identical layout, then when time came for the renumbering and removal of the mile numbers, it was new enough to remain in place and survive subsequent replacements.  All the other gore signs at the interchange were less tall at the same time I took the picture (about 5 years ago) and didn't have a patch for the exit number--this sign may have been the last vestige of the renumbering.

That being the case that particular sign can't be any newer than the early 80s. 

[bugo]

The original exit numbers on I-244 in Oklahoma were in the 90s. For some reason, ODOT numbered I-244's exits as if 244 began at the same place I-44 began. The former exit numbers for I-444 were also in the 90s, for the same reason. At the time, I-44 ended northeast of OKC at I-35, and that is where mile marker 0 was. In 1982, I-44 was extended to the Texas line, and the exits were renumbered beginning at the Red River. I-244's exit numbers were changed to where mile 0 was at the Texas line, and I-444 lost its exit numbers. I-244 is just a weird highway.

U304AA

[Henry]

The Exit 51 sequence on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago skips a few letters in both directions. For example, there's no 51A eastbound, and no 51E, 51F, 51G, 51H or 51I westbound.

Also, on the Alphabet Loop in Kansas City, you won't find an Exit 2I, 2O or 2Z because those letters look like numbers.

[crispy93]

• Exit 15X on the New Jersey Turnpike
• The northbound Turnpike jumps from Exit 19W to 68, with 68 being the theoretical mile-based exit if the Somerset Freeway were built
• The Southern State Parkway on LI has a double-suffixed exit, something like ##A-S for a single exit. Some LI parkways have a prefix representing the parkway name. So the Sunken Meadow has Exit SM3A

[formulanone]

I-73 seemed to use US 220's exit numbers for a while. Not sure if they have been adjusted, but they went from 95A/B to 78 and then 79, at the interchange with I-40.

Photos from 2015:




Swinging back to Florida's Turnpike...they used Exit 54X on the mainline section to denote the Express Lanes for I-595:



Mentioned up-thread, here's a photo of the Garden State Parkway Exit 155P (since removed):

[webny99]

When I was little, I thought the E and W suffixes used on I-90 in Buffalo were really weird.

[Scott5114]

The original exit numbers on I-244 in Oklahoma were in the 90s. For some reason, ODOT numbered I-244's exits as if 244 began at the same place I-44 began. The former exit numbers for I-444 were also in the 90s, for the same reason. At the time, I-44 ended northeast of OKC at I-35, and that is where mile marker 0 was. In 1982, I-44 was extended to the Texas line, and the exits were renumbered beginning at the Red River. I-244's exit numbers were changed to where mile 0 was at the Texas line, and I-444 lost its exit numbers. I-244 is just a weird highway.

You're leaving out the most amusing part, which is that I-444 lost its exit numbers...but not the letters for a couple decades longer! So you had exits A, B, C...and then for whatever reason they missed a sign, so the next exit was 94D.

Then all the signs were replaced and the exit lettering went away too. And at some point I-244 got exit numbers starting at 1. The 2009 MUTCD says that I-444 should get exit numbers again, and starting at 1 the way they always were supposed to...but who knows if that will ever happen?

[CNGL-Leudimin]

A/AP-7 in Spain. This one really takes the cake.

Since this post was written (before I joined this forum) things have simplified a bit along A-7.

[jp the roadgeek]

US 7 in the Danbury area has some unusual exit numbers because of the cancellation of the freeway north of New Canaan.  Danbury Airport is Exit 7, Park Ave is Exit 8, and I-84 West (NB only) is Exit 9, then you have US 6/202 exit signage which is unnumbered until the exit now signage, which all of a sudden has Exit 4 (an I-84 number).  After the I-84 Exits 4-7, the numbering resumes with Exit 10 for I-84 East (SB only).  However, before the Brookfield Bypass was built, this was inexplicably numbered Exit 13, despite Exits 11 and 12 (both for Federal Rd, the latter now a full interchange) being north of there.  So pre-2009, if you traveled from Brookfield to Ridgefield on US 7, the numbers would go 11, 13, 6, 5, 4, 3, 8, 7. 

[bugo]

Also, on the Alphabet Loop in Kansas City, you won't find an Exit 2I, 2O or 2Z because those letters look like numbers.

But they have no problem signing Route Z in dozens of counties.

[rte66man]

The original exit numbers on I-244 in Oklahoma were in the 90s. For some reason, ODOT numbered I-244's exits as if 244 began at the same place I-44 began. The former exit numbers for I-444 were also in the 90s, for the same reason. At the time, I-44 ended northeast of OKC at I-35, and that is where mile marker 0 was. In 1982, I-44 was extended to the Texas line, and the exits were renumbered beginning at the Red River. I-244's exit numbers were changed to where mile 0 was at the Texas line, and I-444 lost its exit numbers. I-244 is just a weird highway.

You're leaving out the most amusing part, which is that I-444 lost its exit numbers...but not the letters for a couple decades longer! So you had exits A, B, C...and then for whatever reason they missed a sign, so the next exit was 94D.

Then all the signs were replaced and the exit lettering went away too. And at some point I-244 got exit numbers starting at 1. The 2009 MUTCD says that I-444 should get exit numbers again, and starting at 1 the way they always were supposed to...but who knows if that will ever happen?

It will happen when ODOT decides to sign 444 and remove it from hidden status.

[bugo]

I-49 in Arkansas has two Exit 24s. One is at CR 10 in Miller County, while the other is at AR 252 in Crawford County. The reason there are two interchanges with the same number is because the mileage of the southern section of I-49 starts at the Louisiana line. The northern section was originally I-540 from I-40 to the northern US 62 interchange. I-540's mileage once began at I-40 and increased as you went west (south). AHTD submitted an application to AASHTO in 1997 for this section to be signed as I-49, but AASHTO denied it so they made the boneheaded decision to extend I-540 north to exit 86 instead of coming up with a different number. The original (and current) I-540 was signed east-west, but when the highway was extended, it was signed north-south. They changed the mileage so it would begin at the Oklahoma line instead and would increase as you go north. I-40 had an overlap with I-540, but it was only partially signed. I-540 at the Oklahoma line is mile zero for the northern section of I-49. Eventually, they will likely renumber the northern section, but likely not until the final route between Alma and Texarkana is decided upon.

[US 89]

Also, on the Alphabet Loop in Kansas City, you won't find an Exit 2I, 2O or 2Z because those letters look like numbers.

But they have no problem signing Route Z in dozens of counties.

There are plenty of O's, too. Closest you'll get to a Route 0.

[Scott5114]

Also, on the Alphabet Loop in Kansas City, you won't find an Exit 2I, 2O or 2Z because those letters look like numbers.

But they have no problem signing Route Z in dozens of counties.

There are plenty of O's, too. Closest you'll get to a Route 0.

Yet they won't sign G, Q, S, or X as supplementals, but they're okay for exit numbers. MoDOT, man.

[JustDrive]

CA 126 in Castaic has the exit for Commerce Center Drive signed as Exit 13, despite it being near its eastern terminus (which should make it Exit 39). This is most likely because the last signed exit number on 126 is in Santa Paula, Exit 12.

CA 86 in the Coachella Valley has a lone Exit 16 gore-point sign at Airport Blvd despite it being well north of the southern terminus in the Imperial Valley. I'm assuming it's because the exit number follows the Riverside County mileposts.

[rickmastfan67]

I-49 in Arkansas has two Exit 24s. One is at CR 10 in Miller County, while the other is at AR 252 in Crawford County. The reason there are two interchanges with the same number is because the mileage of the southern section of I-49 starts at the Louisiana line. The northern section was originally I-540 from I-40 to the northern US 62 interchange. I-540's mileage once began at I-40 and increased as you went west (south). AHTD submitted an application to AASHTO in 1997 for this section to be signed as I-49, but AASHTO denied it so they made the boneheaded decision to extend I-540 north to exit 86 instead of coming up with a different number. The original (and current) I-540 was signed east-west, but when the highway was extended, it was signed north-south. They changed the mileage so it would begin at the Oklahoma line instead and would increase as you go north. I-40 had an overlap with I-540, but it was only partially signed. I-540 at the Oklahoma line is mile zero for the northern section of I-49. Eventually, they will likely renumber the northern section, but likely not until the final route between Alma and Texarkana is decided upon.

I'm betting they will renumber it by the time the Bella Vista Bypass is fully open.  Reason is because the segment that is open as AR-549 already has exit numbers in the 280's.

[Desert Man]

Exit 99 in I-10 in Banning CA is 22nd Street, meets Ramsey Street (former US route 99, along with 60-70). A lot of numbers circling in my mind (sees numbers in front of my eyes). It should be 99 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica where the from West to East exit number system starts. There's a mini mart gas station (is it still an ARCO AM-PM?) for a pit stop.

[Dustin DeWinn]

Meadowbrook Parkway in Long Island: https://goo.gl/maps/fdZ3ShKYagqLGt8T7

[roadman65]

Didn't the Niagara Thruway used to have N prefix numbering at one  time?

[PurdueBill]

Meadowbrook Parkway in Long Island: https://goo.gl/maps/fdZ3ShKYagqLGt8T7

Exit M6W for SO!  Or is it 50 or 5O (Five O!)?

(See Alphabet loop not using O supposedly because it could be confused for 0.  5 and S adjacent to 0 or O makes for fun if people aren't aware of the Parkway lettered shields, similar to the county lettered routes.)

[machias]

Didn't the Niagara Thruway used to have N prefix numbering at one  time?

Yes.

[vdeane]

Meadowbrook Parkway in Long Island: https://goo.gl/maps/fdZ3ShKYagqLGt8T7

Exit M6W for SO!  Or is it 50 or 5O (Five O!)?

(See Alphabet loop not using O supposedly because it could be confused for 0.  5 and S adjacent to 0 or O makes for fun if people aren't aware of the Parkway lettered shields, similar to the county lettered routes.)

Québec actually does use O regularly for linguistic reasons (they use directional suffixes), but they also use hyphens for suffixes, so there's no chance of 30 and 3-O being confused like there would be with 30 and 3O.

[PurdueBill]

Meadowbrook Parkway in Long Island: https://goo.gl/maps/fdZ3ShKYagqLGt8T7

Exit M6W for SO!  Or is it 50 or 5O (Five O!)?

(See Alphabet loop not using O supposedly because it could be confused for 0.  5 and S adjacent to 0 or O makes for fun if people aren't aware of the Parkway lettered shields, similar to the county lettered routes.)

Québec actually does use O regularly for linguistic reasons (they use directional suffixes), but they also use hyphens for suffixes, so there's no chance of 30 and 3-O being confused like there would be with 30 and 3O.

I always thought that was awesome...wonder why a hyphen/dash never really caught on for lettered exits in the USA.  It is occasionally seen on one-off signs but is nonstandard; for a long time the numerals and letters were squashed together but only recently have they said that they should be spaced (e.g., 37A vs. 37 A).