The xx

[jwolfer]

My sister lived in San Diego for a few years and my nephew finished high school there.

They moved back to Florida and my nephew still give directions like " take the 95 to the 10"  and that just grates on my ears.  I lived in Florida and New Jersey and have always said " I-10"  "Route 1" "SR 23" or just plain "76" etc, no need to have "The" in there.

Besides California where else do they refer to roads at "The xx"

[Brandon]

Ontario.  The 400 series highways are commonly referred to as "the xxx" as in The 401, The 403.  I do not believe any other highways get that treatment.

[Michael in Philly]

As I said on another thread, I've heard it in Buffalo.  Could be Canadian influence.
Didn't know that in Ontario it was limited to the 400 series.  Is it used in other provinces, then?

[Dr Frankenstein]

Quebec too. And a lot of people here don't even realize there are different classes of routes. (Numbers never overlap, so there's no need) "Take the 132 then the 30 until you get on the 15; follow the signs to New York and it'll become the 87..."

Even in traffic reports. "The on-ramp to the Mercier bridge from the 132 is very heavy this morning... Lots of traffic on the 40 between the two 15s..."

[myosh_tino]

My sister lived in San Diego for a few years and my nephew finished high school there.

They moved back to Florida and my nephew still give directions like " take the 95 to the 10"  and that just grates on my ears.  I lived in Florida and New Jersey and have always said " I-10"  "Route 1" "SR 23" or just plain "76" etc, no need to have "The" in there.

Besides California where else do they refer to roads at "The xx"

Please don't assume that *all* Californians speak like that.  It's a strictly southern California thing.  Up in northern California, we refer to numbered highways as "I-280", "US-101", "highway 237" or just "80".  Hearing the word "the" in front of a route number will make any northern Californian cringe (unless they're a so-cal transplant).

[Quillz]

My sister lived in San Diego for a few years and my nephew finished high school there.

They moved back to Florida and my nephew still give directions like " take the 95 to the 10"  and that just grates on my ears.  I lived in Florida and New Jersey and have always said " I-10"  "Route 1" "SR 23" or just plain "76" etc, no need to have "The" in there.

Besides California where else do they refer to roads at "The xx"

Please don't assume that *all* Californians speak like that.  It's a strictly southern California thing.  Up in northern California, we refer to numbered highways as "I-280", "US-101", "highway 237" or just "80".  Hearing the word "the" in front of a route number will make any northern Californian cringe (unless they're a so-cal transplant).

Every time I'm in NorCal, I don't even hear the "I-" or "US-" prefix. They'll just tell me to take "280 to 101 to 80," etc.

[agentsteel53]

Even in traffic reports. "The on-ramp to the Mercier bridge from the 132 is very heavy this morning... Lots of traffic on the 40 between the two 15s..."

there are two 15s within close proximity to each other?

[Michael in Philly]

Even in traffic reports. "The on-ramp to the Mercier bridge from the 132 is very heavy this morning... Lots of traffic on the 40 between the two 15s..."

there are two 15s within close proximity to each other?

It's a concurrency, but I guess people think of it as part of Autoroute 40 - 15 jogs onto the alignment of 40 for a couple of miles.

[realjd]

Down in Orlando, you'll often hear people refer to the OOCEA toll roads with "the". I imagine this is a holdover from back when they were signed and referred to primarily by name (e.g. "the East West Expressway" became "the 408"). You'll absolutely never hear anyone refer to "the 95" or "the 4" though; it's always "I-95" and "I-4".

Does anyone know about Miami? Do people down there ever refer to The Palmetto as "the 826"?

[froggie]

Somewhat similar....in parts of the Deep South (Mississippi in particular), it's not I-xx or "the xx".  It's "the Interstate".

[agentsteel53]

Does anyone know about Miami? Do people down there ever refer to The Palmetto as "the 826"?

they probably refer to it as the @#!$&( !@&(* !@#$&(* !@)!@# &!@#) !@& !!!! YOU !&*()!@ !#$@&*( !!!! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE !&*(@! #@&*(!@# !@&*(

or they just shoot you.

[xcellntbuy]

Does anyone know about Miami? Do people down there ever refer to The Palmetto as "the 826"?

they probably refer to it as the @#!$&( !@&(* !@#$&(* !@)!@# &!@#) !@& !!!! YOU !&*()!@ !#$@&*( !!!! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE !&*(@! #@&*(!@# !@&*(

or they just shoot you.

True.  Just today, a woman was walking on "the 826" and was struck by a vehicle.  "The 826" was used in the WIOD AM-610 radio report.

[roadfro]

My sister lived in San Diego for a few years and my nephew finished high school there.

They moved back to Florida and my nephew still give directions like " take the 95 to the 10"  and that just grates on my ears.  I lived in Florida and New Jersey and have always said " I-10"  "Route 1" "SR 23" or just plain "76" etc, no need to have "The" in there.

Besides California where else do they refer to roads at "The xx"

Please don't assume that *all* Californians speak like that.  It's a strictly southern California thing.  Up in northern California, we refer to numbered highways as "I-280", "US-101", "highway 237" or just "80".  Hearing the word "the" in front of a route number will make any northern Californian cringe (unless they're a so-cal transplant).

This practice translates into Nevada as well. In Las Vegas it's "the 15", "the 95" or "the 215". In Reno/Carson it's "80" and "395", but "Highway 50".

[ctsignguy]

Most of southern Connecticut, they refer to I-95 as 'the turnpike' from it's days as the Conn Tpke...and Conn 15 is still more frequently referred to as 'The Merritt'

[kharvey10]

in St. Louis, its just the number, or sometimes they refer it as "Highway XXX" for the interstates and the us highways.  and 64 in Missouri is almost always called "Highway 40".

for most state highways its always Route 3 or Route 141, etc.  However, most arterial are referred by their name, as interstates are referred by number.

"The" is only mentioned when talking about the major bridges, such as "The PSB" etc.

[deathtopumpkins]

Somewhat similar....in parts of the Deep South (Mississippi in particular), it's not I-xx or "the xx".  It's "the Interstate".

Very common here. I give directions like that, and people give me directions like that.

Otherwise, it varies by roads. We use lone numbers, road names, or "highway/route/etc. #" in different cases. I won't go into it in detail though as there have already been several threads on this.

[MDOTFanFB]

Here, the freeways are referred to as "the (freeway name here)" as in "take the Ford to the Lodge". For those without names, for example I never refer to I-275 as "the Novi-Carleton".

[xcellntbuy]

In south Florida we often have such things as...

"the Don Shula"  FL 874
"the Palmetto" FL 826.  When FL 826 bends 90 degrees from north-south to east-west in Miami Lakes and the 6-lane curve is known as "the Big Curve."
"the Golden Glades"  The massive interchange of Interstate 95, the Florida's Turnpike, US 441, FL 826 and FL 9
"the Julia Tuttle" or "the Julia Tuttle Causeway" is often heard alongside "I-195"
"the Dolphin"  FL 836
"the Turnpike" for Florida's Turnpike (also hear no possessive, "Florida Turnpike" often)
"the Extension" or even "the Homestead" for the Homestead Extension of the Florida's Turnpike, mileposts 1-47.
"the Snapper Creek"  FL 878
"the MacArthur"  what used to be FL A1A and US 41 from the end of Interstate 395 to downtown Miami Beach
US 1 is often referred to in Broward County by its name, "Federal Highway," in Miami-Dade County as Biscayne Blvd. (also "Biscayne" or "South Dixie" or "the 18-mile stretch" the Miami-Dade County portion of the Overseas Highway to Key Largo.)

But, it is "I-95, "I-75" or "I-595."  I have never heard Interstate 595 called the "Port Everglades Expressway."

[rickmastfan67]

Here in Pittsburgh, all the traffic reports call I-279 and I-376 their Parkway names of "Parkway North", "Parkway West", and "Parkway East".  Occasionally, they do mention the Interstate number too.

[hbelkins]

I've never heard the article "the" used -- all I've ever heard is "Parkway North," Parkway West," etc. w/o the "The" included.

[Rover_0]

A lot of Utahns (including me) will use just the route number.  They'll say "Take 89/91 to get to I-15". Of course, this only refers to driving.  If it's another topic relating to roads, usually you'll hear the type, such as "State Route 165" or "Highway 89". "Highway ##" is another commonly used term, as well.

[rickmastfan67]

I've never heard the article "the" used -- all I've ever heard is "Parkway North," Parkway West," etc. w/o the "The" included.

You're right.  Guess my head wasn't on straight when I made that post.   I've fixed it.

[Sykotyk]

I'm from Ohio/Pennsylvania and saying "The Eighty" sounded completely weird. But, after extensive traveling, if I give directions or tell someone what road I'm traveling on, I always preface with "The".

I'm on the 'The Sixty", which is ambiguous, because they might not know I'm in California rather than Pennsylvania. Or "The Eighty-Two" could mean Washington I-82, Alabama US82, Ohio State Route 82, etc.

Call it lazy, but it's easy to not qualify the road's designation more than its number.

Sykotyk

[WillWeaverRVA]

No "the" here, except from the occasional west coast transplant. Usually it's "95", "64", "288", "the Downtown Expressway" or "195", "Broad Street" (but NEVER "250"), "Midlothian Turnpike" or "60", etc.

News media will actually use "I-95", "I-64", "Route 288", etc., but they'll usually stick to street names for pretty much all surface roads.