Using the word "the" before a highway number

[cbeach40]

There is one person on this forum who says "the I-95," "the I-87," etc., and purported to "correct" me one time when I did not use the word "the" in a sentence along the lines of, "I-95 is backed up for ten miles from I-495 to Woodbridge." This person claimed it should have been "The I-95 is backed up ... from the I-495 to Woodbridge." I believe that poster lives somewhere in New York State.

Ontario uses it, and New York borders Ontario (across rivers with several toll bridges). Depending on where exactly he lives, it might be normal to use it there.

But does Ontario use it before another sort of route designator? That was what I was noting–instead of the style "the 401" that is used in Ontario or parts of California, this poster would say "the I-95." So instead of "take the 95 to the 87," which already sounds wrong to me, this poster would say "take the I-95 to the I-87." I don't understand that to be a common style in Ontario or anywhere.

Don't really hear it in Ontario outside of the 400-series and the 35/115 and 115 highways. Everything else usually gets "Highway" in front of it, and I can't say I've heard too many use it when referring to routes in other jurisdictions.

If the person in question is who I think it is, I don't think their first language is English (as they hail from a Francophone heavy part of the province) and it may just be a habit of theirs to refer to routes with "the" article.

[Brandon]

I believe I heard a traffic report refer to "the 696" during my brief visit to Michigan.

Must've been someone from Ontario.  It's either "I-696", or just "696", or sometimes, "the Reuther".

Never heard "the" in front of a number with the exception of Brits (the M1), Ontarioans (the 401), or Southern Californians (the 405).  Now, "the" is used in front of the name here in Chicagoland (the Ryan, the Stevie, the Kennedy, the Tri-State, the Ike).

[cl94]

A bunch of us have already said this, but I'll repost to summarize. As a state, New York is all over the place when it comes to this and other things pertaining to highways:

*The Thruway is always "the Thruway", except in Western New York where it is "the 90".

*Buffalo is "the" for all remotely limited-access roads, just like Southern California and Ontario. I'll add that locals (and even many street name blades) almost always eliminate the "road"/"street"/etc. when talking about a highway.

*Downstate, numbers are rarely used. When they are used, the number never has "the", while names are always "the" (i.e. the Northern State, the Clearview, the Cross Westchester, etc.). In a reversal of Buffalo, the street "class" is just about always said. One major exception to this is the Lex (Lexington Avenue), which is always "the Lex" in conversation.

*In many parts of the state, freeways referred to only by name are rare or nonexistent and no "the" comes before a number. The class of highway may or may not be mentioned, depending on the area and the highway. The former is more common near New England and the latter is prevalent closer to Buffalo.

[democraticnole]

One thing I don't get is why I-10 in Los Angeles is sometimes referred to as "the 10 Freeway". It's more convenient to say I-10.

I theorize that it's rooted in the fact that, unlike many parts of the country, all (or nearly all) LA freeways are named, the names actually appear on many guide signs, and people in LA have historically referred to most freeways by their name in speech–"the Hollywood Freeway"  and "the Harbor Freeway"  and so on.

But in the cases where one route number follows the same named freeway for most or all of its length, such as with I-405, the full title "the San Diego Freeway"  would get shortened to "the 405 Freeway"  and further to just "the 405" .

Also as people commute further over multiple named freeways, it becomes easier to say "the 101 Freeway"  or "the 101"  instead of "the Hollywood Freeway to the Ventura Freeway..." .

A lot of newer names haven't really stuck ("the Glenn Anderson Freeway" , "the Artesia Freeway" ), so those went straight to being "the 105"  and "the 91" .

Most of the major metropolitan areas in the country have names freeways. Depending on the age though, the name may or may not be likely to be used.

Many of the LA area freeways were built prior to the Interstate numbers being assigned or the newer CA state route designations being assigned. Therefore, it was the "Hollywood Freeway," "The Pasadena Freeway," "The Harbor Freeway," etc. I thought about this subject after being in California for work a couple of months ago. There's some speculation that the massive quantity of freeways that were built as well as some of the odd names led to the shift to using "The XXX Freeway" instead of the name, specifically the 605 Freeway. The 605 Freeway is technically the San Gabriel River Freeway. I guess that's a mouth full for many residents, so some speculate this was the turning point in the dialect to use "The XXX Freeway." Radio and TV traffic reporters couldn't spend time using every freeway name and so it was shortened to the number. Another interesting anecdote I read was that it made describing directions sound better. I actually prefer this method to some of the others I've seen around the country.

Here in Tampa, my observation is that people typically say:
- I-275 -- "275" or "The Interstate." The only time I hear or read "I-275" is on the TV news or in the paper.
- I-4 -- "I-4." I don't usually ever here anyone say just "4."
****My take here is that I-4 is short, so the "I" stays, while I-275 is longer and more syllables, so the "I" gets dropped.
- SR 589 Veterans Expressway -- This is always "The Veterans" or "The Vets." I never hear anyone say SR 589 or 589.
- SR 618 Selmon Expressway -- By locals, this is almost always "The Crosstown," which was the former name of the expressway. I've never head anyone use SR 618 or 618.
- US 301 is just "301"
- US 41 is just "41"
- However, in Pinellas County US-19 is regularly called US-19 although "19" is also used.
- People regularly seem to never use "Blvd., St., Ave." etc. when saying the name. Dale Mabry Highway is just "Dale Mabry," Kennedy Blvd. is just "Kennedy," MacDill Avenue is just "MacDill," etc. This is different from when I lived in Tallahassee, where people would say Thomasville Road, Tennessee Street, etc.
-- Some people will refer to any freeway as an interstate, which personally really bugs me. In fact the FDOT website for the area is called mytbi.com, for My Tampa Bay Interstates, which includes non-interstates like SR 60.
-- The term "freeway" causes many people here confusion. I lived in Texas and have traveled, so I still regularly use the term. Despite the prevalent use of the term freeway in other jurisdictions and in movies, some people act like they don't know what one is.

[hotdogPi]

Here in Tampa, my observation is that people typically say:
- US 41 is just "401"

Any reason why they say 401 and not 41?

[Kacie Jane]

SR 520/Hwy 520/"520" is used, "the 520" is not.

I've heard "the 520" plenty of times. It's not universal by any stretch, but I've heard it. I've heard "the 509", "the 518", "the 101", "the 167", and "the 405" on many occasions as well.

Those are usually used by transplants, at least in my experience.

It's a shame we don't have proper names for our freeways. Some do (SR 167 is unofficially the "Valley Freeway", which is a nice name), but they're never really used by anyone.

Same goes for our interchanges. Plenty of potential names out there, but we don't have a tradition of naming them yet.

Concur that "the" is typically a transplant thing... though there are a great many transplants, perhaps they've infected the locals now.

Regarding the Valley Freeway, it's at least semi-official -- WSDOT uses it in documentation a lot.  (Not most of the time, but a lot.)  And now that I live in the eponymous valley, I think it's used by locals a lot more than you think it is.  But you're right, I can't think of a single other named freeway in the state.  (I think at one point the southern portion of 405 was called the Renton Freeway, but that's certainly not a name that's used currently at all.)

[jakeroot]

SR 520/Hwy 520/"520" is used, "the 520" is not.

I've heard "the 520" plenty of times. It's not universal by any stretch, but I've heard it. I've heard "the 509", "the 518", "the 101", "the 167", and "the 405" on many occasions as well.

Those are usually used by transplants, at least in my experience.

It's a shame we don't have proper names for our freeways. Some do (SR 167 is unofficially the "Valley Freeway", which is a nice name), but they're never really used by anyone.

Same goes for our interchanges. Plenty of potential names out there, but we don't have a tradition of naming them yet.

Concur that "the" is typically a transplant thing... though there are a great many transplants, perhaps they've infected the locals now.

Regarding the Valley Freeway, it's at least semi-official -- WSDOT uses it in documentation a lot.  (Not most of the time, but a lot.)  And now that I live in the eponymous valley, I think it's used by locals a lot more than you think it is.  But you're right, I can't think of a single other named freeway in the state.  (I think at one point the southern portion of 405 was called the Renton Freeway, but that's certainly not a name that's used currently at all.)

Is "Boeing Freeway" official?

[democraticnole]

Here in Tampa, my observation is that people typically say:
- US 41 is just "401"

Any reason why they say 401 and not 41?

Sorry. That was a typo. Should say 41.

[Kacie Jane]

Is "Boeing Freeway" official?

Oops, probably. (To be fair, I didn't say there weren't any named freeways, just that I couldn't think of them.)

[jakeroot]

Is "Boeing Freeway" official?

Oops, probably. (To be fair, I didn't say there weren't any named freeways, just that I couldn't think of them.)

Nahh, most people here in the South Sound aren't familiar with the Boeing Freeway anyways. Can't blame you for not remembering.

OT: We should start coming up with our own names. I remember a year or two ago when the state legislature considered allowing companies to buy naming rights to road infrastructure. That seems like a horrible idea, but we could have some funny names: Amazon Freeway, Bungie Freeway, Valve Freeway, Expedia Freeway, Metropolitan Grill Freeway, Red Robin Freeway, etc.

[Pete from Boston]

"New Jersey Turnpike" is the name of a highway.  It is always referred to as "The New Jersey Turnpike" or, to be more familiar, "The Turnpike".

Likewise, "Interstate 95" is the name of a highway.  Consequently, it should be referred to as "The Interstate 95" or, to be more familiar, "The I-95".  Using the article "The" does not suddenly make part of its name an adjective.

Does using the article "The" make "New Jersey" some sort of external adjective when referring to our turnpike?  No.  It is still an integral part of the highway's name.

I disagree.  I argue that "Interstate" is an adjective of an understood noun, "route" or "highway."  Our language is full of phrases with unstated, understood words (the subject of the grammatically correct sentence "Get out!" for example is "you," understood).  That it is capitalized is irrelevant; this is only to distinguish this adjective as being the proper name of a highway system that is distinct from other interstate roads.

That "the New Jersey Turnpike" is given a definite article is also irrelevant to Interstates because there is no basis for the idea that all road names are styled the same, unless you're going to say "the Broadway."  In Boston, for example, we have a highway called "Storrow Drive," NEVER "the Storrow Drive" unless you want to sound like a rube.  But we still say "the Southeast Expressway."

The mistake, in other words, is assuming there is a rule of article use to apply to all items in the category "road names."  As in a lot of English, there is no rule here.

[GaryV]

Here in Tampa, my observation is that people typically say:
- US 41 is just "401"

Any reason why they say 401 and not 41?

Sorry. That was a typo. Should say 41.

Lot of Canadians vacationing, eh?

[02 Park Ave]

What is on the shield of Interstate highways?

[Pete from Boston]

What is on the shield of Interstate highways?

Colors, numbers, words. 

[jbnv]

New Orleans uses the "the" pattern for several notable bridges ("the Huey" (Huey P. Long Bridge), "the Causeway", "the Twin Spans", etc.) But not for numbered highways. Though, oddly (and this may be a Lafayette/Acadiana thing), interstates get "I-", state highways get "LA" but US highways get "Highway". (For example, "I-10", "I-12", "LA 182" but "Highway 90".)

[dgolub]

Here in New York, if you use "the" before a number, it means you're talking about a subway line, not a highway.  For example, if you say "the 1 and 9," it means a subway line that used to exist on the West Side of Manhattan.  If you say just "1 and 9," it means US 1/US 9 across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

[bing101]

Well in the San Francisco area we call our Freeways "Highway then Number"
As in Highway 880, Highway 280, Highway 680 all are interstates

Highway 24, Highway 17 CA- routes

Highway 101 US routes

This has to be when Eastshore Freeway I-80 was then known as US-40 Eastshore Highway.


But in Sacramento area you must state designation before the number as in Business 80, I-80, US-50 and CA-99 to make sure you have the right route.

Note Solano County residents will use both Sacramento way and Bay Area way of calling route numbers

We say both Highway 80 and I-80 in the Same sentence to mean the same freeway.

[Buffaboy]

In Western New York, it's "Route 5," "Route 20, (or 5 and 20 for the duplex)" "the 90," "the 33," "the Scajaquada," "the 290," "the 190," "the 990," "the 219," etc.

[Rothman]

In Western New York, it's "Route 5," "Route 20, (or 5 and 20 for the duplex)" "the 90," "the 33," "the Scajaquada," "the 290," "the 190," "the 990," "the 219," etc.

Ugh.  I didn't know that Californian tendency was duplicated in western NY.  Must be the contaminants in the soil from all that failed industry affecting people's heads out there.

[cl94]

In Western New York, it's "Route 5," "Route 20, (or 5 and 20 for the duplex)" "the 90," "the 33," "the Scajaquada," "the 290," "the 190," "the 990," "the 219," etc.

Ugh.  I didn't know that Californian tendency was duplicated in western NY.  Must be the contaminants in the soil from all that failed industry affecting people's heads out there.

Yep. Annoyed the hell out of me when I lived there.

[epzik8]

I call U.S. Route 202 between West Chester and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania "the 202".

[hotdogPi]

In Western New York, it's "Route 5," "Route 20, (or 5 and 20 for the duplex)" "the 90," "the 33," "the Scajaquada," "the 290," "the 190," "the 990," "the 219," etc.

Ugh.  I didn't know that Californian tendency was duplicated in western NY.  Must be the contaminants in the soil from all that failed industry affecting people's heads out there.

Yep. Annoyed the hell out of me when I lived there.

It's an extension of Ontario with "the 401", etc.

[Rothman]

I call U.S. Route 202 between West Chester and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania "the 202".

Congratulations.

[jakeroot]

I don't see the issue with using "the". Freeways are things. When you take "the 57 freeway", you're describing the road itself, not the route ("I used this stretch of pavement").

[Rothman]

I don't see the issue with using "the". Freeways are things. When you take "the 57 freeway", you're describing the road itself, not the route ("I used this stretch of pavement").

Congratulations.