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

[Henry]

Let's not forget that the CO state highways are prefixed as "C-xx". (i.e. the southwestern part of the still-not-yet-complete Denver loop is called C-470)

[odditude]

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

Philly area:
I-95: 95
I-76: Schuylkill Expressway, the Schuylkill, the #$%^ Schuylkill
I-276: the Turnpike, the PA Turnpike
I-476: the Blue Route, 476, the NE Extension
I-676: the Vine, Vine St Expressway
Most PA State Routes: local names only.
US 1: always by local name (City Ave/City Line Ave/Roosevelt Blvd) except N of the Turnpike, where it's Route 1
Everything else: number only (e.g. US 202/422 are just 202 and 422)

NJ side:
I-76: 42, the 42 freeway
I-95(M): 95
I-295: 295, Route 295
I-676: 676, N-S freeway
NJ 42: 42, the 42 freeway, N-S freeway, Route 42
US 30: Admiral Wilson Blvd, White Horse Pike
NJ 154: Brace Rd
NJ 168/42/US 322: Black Horse Pike
Most county routes: local names only. It's not 537, it's Federal St or Maple Ave or Main St or Marne Hwy or...
Everything else: "Route xx," occasionally just "xx". Nobody uses "I-" or "US" or "NJ."

[Road Hog]

Texas, of course, has the farm-to-market roads which are called FM xxxx in normal conversation (even though the shields say "Farm Road"). Interstates are called Interstate xx (though the state has a habit of putting IH-xx on mileage signs), and U.S. and proper state highways are Highway xx. Then there are the assorted loops, spurs and business.

[ixnay]

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).

I've lived my entire life in PA, MD, and, briefly, NJ, and done a lot of vacationing, shopping, and working in Delaware, and rarely venturing west of the Appalachians, and that's how I grew up pronouncing them and hearing them pronounced (using I-xx or "root" xx).   OTOH both of Delaware's daily newspapers, for reasons know only to their editors (apparently), use "(state name) xx" (a mentality that obviously exits on this board, unnecessarily).

If I were to move to MI, KS, etc., tomorrow, I probably would continue to use "root" xx for state and U.S. routes, I hate to tell you.

ixnay

[SSOWorld]

Well I have my father who call all numbered routes "highway ##" - which is very typical of such in Wisconsin.  (Officially, its I-xx, US-xx and STH-XX (alt: WIS-xx)

[halork]

Let's not forget that the CO state highways are prefixed as "C-xx". (i.e. the southwestern part of the still-not-yet-complete Denver loop is called C-470)

Actually, C-470 is the only Colorado state highway referred to with the C- prefix. All others are, for example, SH-83 or just Highway 83.

[dfwmapper]

Actually, C-470 is the only Colorado state highway referred to with the C- prefix. All others are, for example, SH-83 or just Highway 83.

C-470 may be the one most commonly used (to distinguish the free state highway from the E-470 toll road), but it's not uncommon to hear it used colloquially for any other state highway. Same reason as Michigan, because there's a C on the sign.

[1995hoo]

....

If I were to move to MI, KS, etc., tomorrow, I probably would continue to use "root" xx for state and U.S. routes, I hate to tell you.

Heh. I could never bring myself to say "Highway xx" (example: "Highway 83," as in halork's post just up the thread). It sounds utterly unnatural to me because I've always heard "highway" as a generic term referring to the class of road most roadgeeks refer to as a "freeway" (e.g., "If you're heading into DC during rush hour, stay off the highway because of the traffic.").

[Brandon]

If I were to move to MI, KS, etc., tomorrow, I probably would continue to use "root" xx for state and U.S. routes, I hate to tell you.

Then you'd probably be constantly corrected by the locals.  Don't sweat it too much, I tend to use the following for other states:

A-nn for Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona
C-nn for Colorado, Connecticut
Cal-nn for California
D-nn for Delaware
F-nn for Florida
G-nn for Georgia
H-nn for Hawai'i
Idaho-nn for Idaho
Illinois-nn for Illinois (I-nn was used prior to the interstates and survived for years for Illinois 5, locally called "I-5")
Indiana-nn for Indiana
Iowa-nn for Iowa
K-nn for Kansas and Kentucky
LA-nn for Louisiana
M-nn for Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri
N-nn for Nebraska, Nevada
NJ-nn for New Jersey
NY-nn for New York
NM-nn for New Mexico
NH-nn for New Hampshire
NC-nn for North Carolina
ND-nn for North Dakota
O-nn for Ohio, Oregon
OK-nn for Oklahoma
Penna-nn for Pennsylvania
RI-nn for Rode Island
SC-nn for South Carolina
SD-nn for South Dakota
Tenn-nn for Tennessee
Tex-nn for Texas
U-nn for Utah
V-nn for Vermont, Virginia
WV-nn for West Virginia
Wash-nn for Washington
Wis-nn for Wisconsin (they actually had this on the signs at one time)
Wyo-nn for Wyoming
DC-295 for DC

Many are based on having learned the M-nn for Michigan as a youngster.

[hotdogPi]

Then you'd probably be constantly corrected by the locals.  Don't sweat it too much, I tend to use the following for other states:

A-nn for Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona
C-nn for Colorado, Connecticut
Cal-nn for California
D-nn for Delaware
F-nn for Florida
G-nn for Georgia
H-nn for Hawai'i
Idaho-nn for Idaho
Illinois-nn for Illinois (I-nn was used prior to the interstates and survived for years for Illinois 5, locally called "I-5")
Indiana-nn for Indiana
Iowa-nn for Iowa
K-nn for Kansas and Kentucky
LA-nn for Louisiana
M-nn for Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri
N-nn for Nebraska, Nevada
NJ-nn for New Jersey
NY-nn for New York
NM-nn for New Mexico
NH-nn for New Hampshire
NC-nn for North Carolina
ND-nn for North Dakota
O-nn for Ohio, Oregon
OK-nn for Oklahoma
Penna-nn for Pennsylvania
RI-nn for Rode Island
SC-nn for South Carolina
SD-nn for South Dakota
Tenn-nn for Tennessee
Tex-nn for Texas
U-nn for Utah
V-nn for Vermont, Virginia
WV-nn for West Virginia
Wash-nn for Washington
Wis-nn for Wisconsin (they actually had this on the signs at one time)
Wyo-nn for Wyoming
DC-295 for DC

Many are based on having learned the M-nn for Michigan as a youngster.

I don't see Massachusetts in the list.

[Scott5114]

OK- for Oklahoma is mostly a roadgeekism. More professional print sources usually use "SH-xx", "S.H. xx" or "Oklahoma xx", while in speech it's "Highway xx".

[cpzilliacus]

Because I deal with roads in two states and the federal district, I always use the state abbreviation and number for state-maintained roads. 

For U.S. and Interstate routes (many of which can be found in more than one jurisdiction), I try to qualify them so it is clear what road is being discussed.

[hbelkins]

Interestingly enough, one of the newer PIOs emailed his colleagues about abbreviations for Kentucky state routes. I mentioned in the reply that this topic had come up on a transportation board I frequent.

[-NCX75-]

Here in Dallas people mostly just refer to roads as their number, not really any "I" "US" or "TX" used in conversation ("I work right off of 635", etc.) The only exception is the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, which is referred to as its name as opposed to "366". As if you couldn't tell, I live right near US-75 and whenever I hear the road referred to as "I-75", the perfectionist/roadgeek inside of me gets a little sick. Texas is like Oklahoma in the state highway=SH department, personally I would like TX-xx a bit more. 

[bugo]

Remember when Tom From Ohio referred to US routes as "U-xx" and all state highways by the first letter in the state's name ("M-128", "F-84", "T-130")...etc. Everyone would get FURIOUS at him for this.

[sandwalk]

I'm sure it's different in other parts of the state (like so many things are), but growing up in northern Ohio, we'd call our state highways and US highways "routes" (rhymes with 'out').  For example, State Route 113 would often be called 'Route 113' and US Route 250 would be called 'Route 250.'  Or if the route had a local name like Milan Road, etc. it would be called by that name.  Also, sometimes the 'Route' name would be dropped in conversation and the highway would be called '113' or 250.'  All of these would be acceptable (much like every region in the country has a few variations).

Interstates would be called I-71 or I-75 (and interchangeably '71' or '75').  Interstate 80/90 is called the 'Turnpike.'  Also, freeway-standard Ohio State Route 2 is just called "Route 2."

[sandiaman]

The news media in Albuquerque is largely responsible  for not distinguishing a highway as  either a  state or a federal route.  They are pretty good at referring  to Interstates as   I-40  or I-25, but if it is a US highway like US 60, it is often reported as  NM 60.  This mistake  is common in both  newspaper and TV  news.

[hotdogPi]

The news media in Albuquerque is largely responsible  for not distinguishing a highway as  either a  state or a federal route.  They are pretty good at referring  to Interstates as   I-40  or I-25, but if it is a US highway like US 60, it is often reported as  NM 60.  This mistake  is common in both  newspaper and TV  news.

...

[zzomtceo]

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. 

And that interchange with I-696 that is pretty much directional including the US-24 interchange with M-10 but isn't signed in a way that those not familiar with the interchange(s) could go from some directions to others.

[zzomtceo]

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.

The Sacramemto things are because being near CalTrans HQ people are more informed about roads.

[renegade]

Last night, one of the newsreaders in Detroit referred to the highway on the west side of the state as "I-31."

I wish I could be paid so much to be incompetent.

[Brandon]

Last night, one of the newsreaders in Detroit referred to the highway on the west side of the state as "I-31."

I wish I could be paid so much to be incompetent.

Get a degree in meteorology and work as a weatherman.  You can be wrong and still get the big bucks.