Interstates as "I-(number)" and Michigan roads as "M-(number)"

[ixnay]

When did "I-(number)" and "M-(number)" become common usage for interstates and Michigan state roads respectively?

And why is the state initial-route number combo unique AFAIK to the Wolverine State?

ixnay

[froggie]

When did "I-(number)" and "M-(number)" become common usage for interstates and Michigan state roads respectively?

I've seen the former for as long as I can remember (at least to the early 1980s).

And why is the state initial-route number combo unique AFAIK to the Wolverine State?

It's not unique.  K-xx is commonly used for Kansas state routes.

[Brandon]

M-xx has been around a very long time, maybe from as long as 1918, when they were first posted.  The original signs were a diamond with a block M at the top, "STATE TRUNK LINE" across the middle, and the number at the bottom.  By 1926, they just had the M at the top and the number below as today.

[cjk374]

When did "I-(number)" and "M-(number)" become common usage for interstates and Michigan state roads respectively?

I've seen the former for as long as I can remember (at least to the early 1980s).

And why is the state initial-route number combo unique AFAIK to the Wolverine State?

It's not unique.  K-xx is commonly used for Kansas state routes.

We always say "ell-ay" (LA) for the Louisiana state highways.

[adventurernumber1]

Many times my dad calls Interstate 75 "I-75", and he has my entire life, so I don't see it as unusual at all. When I'm talking I'll say "I-xx" half the time and "Interstate xx" the other half of the time. When I'm typing I'll almost always say "I-xx".

[Zeffy]

Many times my dad calls Interstate 75 "I-75", and he has my entire life, so I don't see it as unusual at all. When I'm talking I'll say "I-xx" half the time and "Interstate xx" the other half of the time. When I'm typing I'll almost always say "I-xx".

Everything in New Jersey is either Route xx or xx. On NJ.com, US Highways are Routes, State Highways are Routes, County Roads are XX County Road YYY, and even Interstates are referred to as Routes (78, 287, for example). However, some articles do mention Interstates as Interstates and not Routes. Why is this? Because most New Jerseyans (and this is pretty common in the Northeast, so I imagine Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, etc don't care as well) simply know the number and that's it. My Dad knows the US Highway shield from an Interstate shield - but he never calls them anything but the number.

Other ways for state routes are of course SR which can mean State Route, or State Road, or SH, which can be State Highway. Don't expect a British fellow to call Michigan Route 10 M-10 though, because then he would think it's a Motorway. 

[mhh]

Don't expect a British fellow to call Michigan Route 10 M-10 though, because then he would think it's a Motorway. 

Actually, most of M-10 is a "motorway", the John C. Lodge Freeway. 

[roadman65]

Kansas is like Michigan but calls its state highway designations K-x.  No KS 96, but K-96 goes from Hutchinson, KS to Wichita, KS as a Kansan would say.

US routes and interstates are by what we call them.

Some states use SR, SH, or state abbreviation before the number, but Michigan and Kansas use the one letter.

[bzakharin]

Everything in New Jersey is either Route xx or xx. On NJ.com, US Highways are Routes, State Highways are Routes, County Roads are XX County Road YYY, and even Interstates are referred to as Routes (78, 287, for example). However, some articles do mention Interstates as Interstates and not Routes. Why is this? Because most New Jerseyans (and this is pretty common in the Northeast, so I imagine Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, etc don't care as well) simply know the number and that's it. My Dad knows the US Highway shield from an Interstate shield - but he never calls them anything but the number.

I suspect this has something to do with the fact that NJ does not have any state routes that share a number with a US or Interstate route, so just using a number is unique enough. County route numbers do repeat (except the 500 series), but tend not to get used (the street names are used instead) except in very rural areas.

PA and NY are a bit different as they like their main freeways named.

[roadman65]

Everything in New Jersey is either Route xx or xx. On NJ.com, US Highways are Routes, State Highways are Routes, County Roads are XX County Road YYY, and even Interstates are referred to as Routes (78, 287, for example). However, some articles do mention Interstates as Interstates and not Routes. Why is this? Because most New Jerseyans (and this is pretty common in the Northeast, so I imagine Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, etc don't care as well) simply know the number and that's it. My Dad knows the US Highway shield from an Interstate shield - but he never calls them anything but the number.

PA and NY are a bit different as they like their main freeways named.

Interstate 81 is named?  I know I-99 is named after the idiot who created its number, even then do people call it the Bud Schuster Byway as it is implied by some signs on the side of the road.  I never heard I-83, I-84, etc. called by name.

[vdeane]

NY is also "route XX" once you get upstate, despite the fact that we have some duplication.

[TEG24601]

It was explained to me, when I was living in Michigan, that the use of "M" before the number was partially due to the M being on the sign, and also to differentiate between Michigan Trunk Routes, and US Highways as there is no prohibition on duplication between road types.


In Washington, most people either just use the route number, SR, or Highway (even though we haven't had state highways is 50 years), the same is true largely for Oregon.  However, when in Oregon, you normally refer to Oregon routes either by number, or as Route XXX, and always differentiate them from Washington routes by saying SR XXX.

[bing101]

Well in parts California roadgeeks will call state routes CA-XX or the Bay Area calls it Highway XX or in Socal its "The XX"
US Routes similar ways The 101 in SoCal, Highway 101 in the Bay Area and in Sacramento US-50.

Interstates SoCal Calls it "the 5 Freeway", Norcal its Highway 880 and in Solano and Sacramento Counties its I-80, I-505 and I-5.
I know some Socal People visiting Norcal and they refer I-505 as the 505 Freeway similar to the way they say the 405 freeway (I-405)

County Routes in California only local name such as "Capitol Expressway" is used for Public ID. Never its official number Such as E-1, E-2, E-3 as it is in Sacramento.

[ixnay]

Thanks for the answers, but what *hasn't* been answered (unless I missed it) was whether anyone was calling them "I-xx" from 1956 when Ike signed the bill?  Of course, a lot of people who would've had the opportunity to do so in the late '50s would be dead by now and unable to answer.  As for this 53-yo, I first heard "interstate" as a 7yo (in my father mentioning "we're going on Interstate 95").  My mom used "interstate" rather than "I" in that context too.  It wasn't until I was maybe 9 yo that I first heard or read "I-xx".  I turned 9 in 1970, so that would've bene 14 years after Ike signed the bill.

ixnay

[Scott5114]

As far as I know, K-xx is the official nomenclature. The only thing I've seen KDOT expand it to is e.g. "K-31 Highway". I believe the same is true for Michigan.

So the answer to your question is likely whenever highways of that type were first designated. Throwing a guess out there: since Michigan was signing highways before Kansas, the above explanation for Michigan happened first, then Kansas borrowed the term.

It may be different for Interstates since the I- is actually an abbreviation.

[DandyDan]

Officially, Nebraska Department of Roads refers to its highways as N-x, but as far as I know, no one ever calls a state highway anything but Highway X, and US highways are US Highway X.  Then again, if you are in a town somewhere, it's probable they call it whatever the town decided to call the street the highway is on instead of the highway number.

[Pete from Boston]

Growing up in NJ, "I-" was foreign to me, such that when I first heard "I-95," I was certain someone was misreading "195."  The very thought of someone speaking "eye eighty" in New Jersey feels... wrong.  It doesn't happen. 

[Scott5114]

What do they say, just "80"? That practice is common nationwide, and often co-exists with "I-".

[froggie]

New Jersey tends to say "Root" xx, regardless of the type of route shield.

[PHLBOS]

PA and NY are a bit different as they like their main freeways named.

Interstate 81 is named?  I know I-99 is named after the idiot who created its number, even then do people call it the Bud Schuster Byway as it is implied by some signs on the side of the road.  I never heard I-83, I-84, etc. called by name.

People refer to I-95 in Philly as such or just 95 or Route 95 and never refer to it as the Delaware Expressway.

It seems to me that most if not all of the northeastern states refer to any route, regardless of type, as just the route number or Route XX (fill in applicable number).

[1995hoo]

What I find mildly interesting is that the use of "I-xx," with the hyphen, is pretty much universal among people on this forum, yet people often omit the hyphen when referring to other sorts of roads, such as US Routes. Some of us (myself included) use the hyphen for all classes of road in that context: I-95, US-29, VA-236, etc. Some people only use it for Interstates: I-95, US 29, VA 236 (or SR 236 if the state context is clear), etc.

I've always used the hyphen simply because that's how I'd always seen it done and it seems logical to me to use the same format for all the different types. I suppose from a grammatical standpoint the hyphen might be said to serve a similar function to an apostrophe.

I pronounce "route" as rhyming with "out." I once heard someone argue that the distinction is that the pronunciation "root" should be a noun and "rout" should be a verb: A person with a paper route ("root") is required to route ("rout") the papers to customers' homes. (Similar concept to a computer router, I suppose?) But since my grandparents and parents all said it like "rout," it sounds funny to me to hear it otherwise.

[hbelkins]

My first exposure to state abbreviations for highways was in the newspapers years ago, when they referred to Kentucky state routes as KY nn. At some point about 10-12 years ago, they started referring to state highways as Ky. nn. I think the general practice is still to call routes on the United States numbered highway system US nn as opposed to U.S. nn.

KYTC generally refers to them as KY nn and US nn, and those are the abbreviations I use in press releases and so forth. I don't have any interstates in my district but I generally hyphenate, I-nn.

Years ago, I had a girlfriend whose family called it "Hi" (or "High") 64" instead of I-64. I think they were using "Hi" as an abbreviation for "highway" in the context that the interstate was a highway while other roads were just roads.

[Zeffy]

The very thought of someone speaking "eye eighty" in New Jersey feels... wrong.  It doesn't happen.

Yeah... I agree with this statement. Even I just say the number without anything proceeding it, at least in real life. Even on here though, I jump from including the I-, US, SR prefixes to not including them.

[jp the roadgeek]

For all of New England, Interstates are "I-xx" or just "xx" , and any US or state highway is "Route-xx"  Only limited access roads are often called by their actual names.  This includes: Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkways (often just "The Parkway"), Berlin Turnpike, Milford Connector, Mass Pike, Maine Turnpike, Spaulding Turnpike,

[Rover_0]

Traditionally, Utah state routes were referred to as "U-xx," but considering how similar "U-xx" is to "US-xx," those within UDOT and the general public refer to state routes as "SR-xx" for differentiation reasons. That said, it still doesn't curb all confusion between "US" and "SR."