What is the lingo in your area for calling route numbers?

[bing101]

I live in the area with the very well known practice of putting "The" in front of highway numbers.

The 405, The 5, The 10.

Sometimes I do hear people add freeway to the end.  For example "take the 10 freeway east".

Yes Los Angeles residents does this The 405, the 5 and the 10!!

[US 89]

For Utah:

Interstates are (I-)xx, except for 215 which may also be referred to as the "west belt", "east belt", or "south belt" depending on what segment is being referenced. Although it is well signed as the Belt Route, I have never heard anyone say this in person.

US highways and state routes are either just their number, "US xx" or "SR xx", or just "Highway xx" which tends to be more common for US highways. You might also hear a few references to "State Route xx", but nobody says "Route xx".

[Super Mateo]

In Chicagoland, we called all expressways and tollways by their names instead of the numbers:

I-55--Stevenson
I-80--Kingery in IL, Borman in IN
I-90 east of I-94 split--Skyway
I-90 from O'Hare to Rockford--Northwest Tollway
I-90/I-94--Kennedy north of Downtown (same applies to I-90's solo route from I-94 split to O'Hare), Dan Ryan south of Downtown
I-94 north of I-90 split--Edens
I-94 south of I-57--Calumet (but then it became Bishop Ford)
I-290--Eisenhower
I-294--Tri-State Tollway (also applied to toll portions of I-94 and I-80)
I-355--North-South Tollway
IL 5, now I-88--East-West Tollway

I-57 was the main exception, because it had no name attached to it. AFAIK, I've never heard it being called the Dan Ryan West Leg, even though that's its official name.

I-80 (west of Hazel Crest) is the Moline Expressway, although I haven't heard the term used in decades.

Generally, in my area, during conversations with others, they call the Interstates by their numbers, usually, but not always, with I or Interstate in front of it.  Radio traffic reports use the names much more than everyday people.  No distinction is made between US and IL routes.

Local routes, followed by how I usually hear them referred to (ordered by most to least frequent):

Interstate 80:  I-80, Interstate 80, 80 (Moline Expressway is never used)
US 45:  Route 45, LaGrange Road, Mannheim (rare here)
IL 43:  Harlem (NEVER called by the number 43)
IL 50:  Cicero, Route 50 (rare)
US 6:  159th Street (only referred to as Route 6 outside of the Wolf, 159th, Torrence, and I-80 segments)
US 30:  Route 30, Lincoln Highway
Interstate 57:  I-57, Interstate 57, 57

[Flint1979]

For Michigan State highways. Usually it's called M and then the number like M-46 which is a long cross peninsula highway in the lower peninsula. A lot of times though you can just say the route number like 46 without saying M first and people will still know what you are talking about.

Not always though.  Say "96", and people will think you're referring to I-96, not M-96 (both in the lower peninsula and not far from each other).

Then, M-14 just gets called "M-14" since it lacks a name like the Southfield (M-39).

Also M-75 isn't that far from I-75. This is why they shouldn't duplicate route numbers.

[sprjus4]

In Hampton Roads, I've heard it all...

Interstate 17, Interstate 168, Interstate 164, Interstate 58... pretty much on any section of road resembling a freeway.

Other than that, it's usually either "Route XX" or simply "XX"

I've heard people refer to I-264 as Route 44, it's former name before it was redesignated in 1999.

The Chesapeake Expressway (VA-168) is often referred to as the bypass, sometimes as the expressway, by locals.

[Jmiles32]

In Northern Virginia, "XX" would likely describe the majority of route number references (I-95, I-66, I-395, US-29, US-50, VA-28, VA-123). The notable expectations being the Beltway, Dulles Toll Road, GW Pkwy, Fairfax County Pkwy, and Prince William Pkwy.

However, I will say that will one digit highways such as US-1 and VA-7 are usually referred to with "Route" in front.

[Brandon]

US 45:  Route 45, LaGrange Road, Mannheim (rare here)

96th Avenue.

[GaryV]

Also M-75 isn't that far from I-75. This is why they shouldn't duplicate route numbers.

Michigan didn't duplicate between M and US route numbers, except for when the M highway was an extension of the US highway.

But when the Interstates came, they didn't bother with that rule any more.  Every 2-di in Michigan has a M highway with the same number.

[kphoger]

MN:
County roads: usually County xx, unless it has a better known local street name

I also hear the name of the county used instead of "County".

Example:  "Anoka 10"

[CtrlAltDel]

In Chicagoland, we called all expressways and tollways by their names instead of the numbers:

I-55--Stevenson
I-80--Kingery in IL, Borman in IN
I-90 east of I-94 split--Skyway
I-90 from O'Hare to Rockford--Northwest Tollway
I-90/I-94--Kennedy north of Downtown (same applies to I-90's solo route from I-94 split to O'Hare), Dan Ryan south of Downtown
I-94 north of I-90 split--Edens
I-94 south of I-57--Calumet (but then it became Bishop Ford)
I-290--Eisenhower
I-294--Tri-State Tollway (also applied to toll portions of I-94 and I-80)
I-355--North-South Tollway
IL 5, now I-88--East-West Tollway

I-57 was the main exception, because it had no name attached to it. AFAIK, I've never heard it being called the Dan Ryan West Leg, even though that's its official name.

I-80 (west of Hazel Crest) is the Moline Expressway, although I haven't heard the term used in decades.

Generally, in my area, during conversations with others, they call the Interstates by their numbers, usually, but not always, with I or Interstate in front of it.  Radio traffic reports use the names much more than everyday people.  No distinction is made between US and IL routes.

Local routes, followed by how I usually hear them referred to (ordered by most to least frequent):

Interstate 80:  I-80, Interstate 80, 80 (Moline Expressway is never used)
US 45:  Route 45, LaGrange Road, Mannheim (rare here)
IL 43:  Harlem (NEVER called by the number 43)
IL 50:  Cicero, Route 50 (rare)
US 6:  159th Street (only referred to as Route 6 outside of the Wolf, 159th, Torrence, and I-80 segments)
US 30:  Route 30, Lincoln Highway
Interstate 57:  I-57, Interstate 57, 57

As something of a test, I just asked my mother how she would get from where she lives to the city, and she said "I'd take 290 or 55." So, there's that.

[Flint1979]

In Chicagoland, we called all expressways and tollways by their names instead of the numbers:

I-55--Stevenson
I-80--Kingery in IL, Borman in IN
I-90 east of I-94 split--Skyway
I-90 from O'Hare to Rockford--Northwest Tollway
I-90/I-94--Kennedy north of Downtown (same applies to I-90's solo route from I-94 split to O'Hare), Dan Ryan south of Downtown
I-94 north of I-90 split--Edens
I-94 south of I-57--Calumet (but then it became Bishop Ford)
I-290--Eisenhower
I-294--Tri-State Tollway (also applied to toll portions of I-94 and I-80)
I-355--North-South Tollway
IL 5, now I-88--East-West Tollway

I-57 was the main exception, because it had no name attached to it. AFAIK, I've never heard it being called the Dan Ryan West Leg, even though that's its official name.

I-80 (west of Hazel Crest) is the Moline Expressway, although I haven't heard the term used in decades.

Generally, in my area, during conversations with others, they call the Interstates by their numbers, usually, but not always, with I or Interstate in front of it.  Radio traffic reports use the names much more than everyday people.  No distinction is made between US and IL routes.

Local routes, followed by how I usually hear them referred to (ordered by most to least frequent):

Interstate 80:  I-80, Interstate 80, 80 (Moline Expressway is never used)
US 45:  Route 45, LaGrange Road, Mannheim (rare here)
IL 43:  Harlem (NEVER called by the number 43)
IL 50:  Cicero, Route 50 (rare)
US 6:  159th Street (only referred to as Route 6 outside of the Wolf, 159th, Torrence, and I-80 segments)
US 30:  Route 30, Lincoln Highway
Interstate 57:  I-57, Interstate 57, 57

As something of a test, I just asked my mother how she would get from where she lives to the city, and she said "I'd take 290 or 55." So, there's that.

Both are well known by their names the Eisenhower and Stevenson though.

[TEG24601]

Also M-75 isn't that far from I-75. This is why they shouldn't duplicate route numbers.

Michigan didn't duplicate between M and US route numbers, except for when the M highway was an extension of the US highway.

But when the Interstates came, they didn't bother with that rule any more.  Every 2-di in Michigan has a M highway with the same number.

M-24 was never an extension of US 24. In fact, until the truncation of US 10, and the extension of US 24, they weren't even in the same county.




In Washington, US Highways and State Routes are often called "Highway XXX", even though there are also several roads that have the name "Highway 99", but aren't part of any active route (former routings).  Interstates are I-XXX.  There are few named highways, but the big ones are "Bothell-Everett Highway" (SR 527), "The Valley Freeway" (SR 167), the "Hewett Avenue Trestle" (US-2 from I-5 to Lake Stevens), "The Boeing Freeway" or "The Casino Freeway" (SR 526), and "Kent-Des Moines Rd." (SR 516).  Over time, however, people are slowly moving to saying "SR" in front of the route number.


In Portland, using "SR" is common to refer to Washington State Routes, whereas Oregon Routes are simply called either by number or "Highway XXX", except again for those that have proper names.  Most things in the Portland Grid, just get called by their Portland Street names (OR 213 is always "82nd Avenue", never "Avenue of the Roses"), regardless of actual designation.  Many are called by the Oregon Highway Names, rather than Route Number by people who actually know such things.  Interstates are called I-XX, or just the number, except for I-84 between I-5 and I-205, which is almost always called "The Banfield", do to its original designation when it was built.

[Flint1979]

Also M-75 isn't that far from I-75. This is why they shouldn't duplicate route numbers.

Michigan didn't duplicate between M and US route numbers, except for when the M highway was an extension of the US highway.

But when the Interstates came, they didn't bother with that rule any more.  Every 2-di in Michigan has a M highway with the same number.

M-24 was never an extension of US 24. In fact, until the truncation of US 10, and the extension of US 24, they weren't even in the same county.




In Washington, US Highways and State Routes are often called "Highway XXX", even though there are also several roads that have the name "Highway 99", but aren't part of any active route (former routings).  Interstates are I-XXX.  There are few named highways, but the big ones are "Bothell-Everett Highway" (SR 527), "The Valley Freeway" (SR 167), the "Hewett Avenue Trestle" (US-2 from I-5 to Lake Stevens), "The Boeing Freeway" or "The Casino Freeway" (SR 526), and "Kent-Des Moines Rd." (SR 516).  Over time, however, people are slowly moving to saying "SR" in front of the route number.


In Portland, using "SR" is common to refer to Washington State Routes, whereas Oregon Routes are simply called either by number or "Highway XXX", except again for those that have proper names.  Most things in the Portland Grid, just get called by their Portland Street names (OR 213 is always "82nd Avenue", never "Avenue of the Roses"), regardless of actual designation.  Many are called by the Oregon Highway Names, rather than Route Number by people who actually know such things.  Interstates are called I-XX, or just the number, except for I-84 between I-5 and I-205, which is almost always called "The Banfield", do to its original designation when it was built.

M-24 isn't an extension of US-24 that is right but they have always ended somewhere in the Pontiac area. Telegraph and Square Lake is where I think that US-24 originally ended at and was extended north when US-10 was scaled back to end in Bay City.

US-10 and US-45 are the only other US highways in Michigan to have a duplicate state highway.

[bulldog1979]

M-24 isn't an extension of US-24 that is right but they have always ended somewhere in the Pontiac area. Telegraph and Square Lake is where I think that US-24 originally ended at and was extended north when US-10 was scaled back to end in Bay City.

US-10 and US-45 are the only other US highways in Michigan to have a duplicate state highway.

The second M-24 did intersect the northern terminus of US 24 in Pontiac in 1926. They did so until 1963 with the completion of I-75 in the Pontiac area.

Also, US 8 and M-8 say hello.

[Flint1979]

M-24 isn't an extension of US-24 that is right but they have always ended somewhere in the Pontiac area. Telegraph and Square Lake is where I think that US-24 originally ended at and was extended north when US-10 was scaled back to end in Bay City.

US-10 and US-45 are the only other US highways in Michigan to have a duplicate state highway.

The second M-24 did intersect the northern terminus of US 24 in Pontiac in 1926. They did so until 1963 with the completion of I-75 in the Pontiac area.

Also, US 8 and M-8 say hello.

Oh yeah I totally forgot about US-8. I knew of M-8 but wasn't even thinking that US-8 entered Michigan when I posted this. I've clinched US-8 in its entirety too.

I still don't think it was meant as an extension of US-24. Other than 24 though the other duplicates aren't that close together. We formerly had US-25 and M-25 as well.

[GaryV]

All the examples of duplicates in MI are latter day numberings, after the start of the Interstates.  M-45 was created to replace a section of M-50 to eliminate a duplication of routes through Grand Rapids.  (I can remember it confusing me to no end when my parents still called it M-50.)  M-8 was applied to the Davison well after the Interstate era began.  M-10 is a replacement for a prior section of US-10 - which itself had replaced part of the original M-10 in 1926.

And yes, the ends of US-24 and M-24 met in downtown Pontiac at one point.

[jakeroot]

In Washington,...Interstates are I-XXX.

Usually with two-digit routes, but three-digit routes are up in the air. I-405 is usually just "405", but I-705 is almost always "the 705". This is likely because the road was originally referred to as "the Tacoma Spur"; the indefinite article stuck around once the number became the more popular reference.

[KEVIN_224]

I-84, from the New York border east to the Connecticut River in Hartford, is called the Yankee Expressway...but nobody calls it that. I-91 was informally the Dike Highway in its early days (being on or next to a dike for the Connecticut River).

[bulldog1979]

I still don't think it was meant as an extension of US-24. Other than 24 though the other duplicates aren't that close together. We formerly had US-25 and M-25 as well.

Since 1926, Michigan has had M-8, M-10, M-24, M-25, M-27, M-33, M-45, M-112, and M-131. (M-102 was not designated until after US 102 had already been decommisisoned in 1928.)


M-8 came many years after US 8. M-10 replaced former segments of US 10. M-24 was an extension of US 24. M-25 was an extension of US 25 created in 1933 after US 25 was extended over the central section of M-29 between Port Huron and Port Austin, severing M-29 in two in the process. M-27 is a former segment of US 27. M-33 has had no connection with US 33; ditto M-45 and US 45. M-112 was a bypass of US 112 in the Ann Arbor area that later became part of I-94. M-131 was an extension of US 131 initially.

Since 1926, M-12, M-16, M-23, M-31 and M-41 have not been reused, and M-127, M-141 and M-223 have yet to be assigned. M-2 may have been used for the I-96 service drives.

[Flint1979]

None of them were extensions of the US route otherwise the US route would have kept on going. I'm pretty sure that they were numbered the same to ease confusion M-24 was never intended to be a part of US 24. It even says so on the Michigan highway site.

[bing101]

SocarBoy just did a segment on I-85 and SC-9 at the 8:40 Mark I saw a description where he said locals in South Carolina call State route 9 as Number 9.

[fillup420]

in North Carolina, interstates will usually get an "I-xx"  and anything else just gets the number. the toll roads around Raleigh are often just called "the toll road" . US 1 is about the only road i hear called "Highway xx"

although i predict some changes in the future due to all the number shuffling being done by NC DOT.

[andrepoiy]

In the Greater Toronto Area, we use "Highway x" for all provincial and former provincial roads (Highway 401, Highway 404, Highway 7). However we pretty much never refer to Regional Routes and we just use the name of the road instead. (Dufferin Street as opposed to Regional Road 53)

[StogieGuy7]

In Wisconsin most people call route numbers (or letters) highways, except interstates.  Interstates will be called I-43, for example.  State and US routes will just be called Highway 10, for example.  County roads vary a little bit.  Wisconsin has lettered county roads, and they may be called Highway D, or County D for example.  On freeway over or underpasses, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will put Hwy X for any type of numbered or lettered road.

I live in Kenosha, WI and I agree with this for my corner of Wisconsin, too. But I work in Lake County, IL which borders Wisconsin and I've noticed a difference down there.  Some highways are almost always referred to as routes (typically 60 and 22) while others are just referred to by number (176, 137, 173, 120, 21). No one ever calls 132 anything but Grand[Avenue].  US41 is never called anything but 41.  I-94 is usually called the tollway, or rarely called the Tri-state, and sometimes incorrectly called 294 (this is a common error by southern Lake County/Cook County residents). The word "highway" is almost never used when referring to a specific road which is the opposite of what people do just across the Wisconsin border.

I have to agree with my neighbor Mrt90 (who seems to live AND work in the same areas as I do  ).  In IL, state highways are called by "route" followed by number.  Some people pronounce it "rout" and others say "root".  41 is 41 and 94 is the Tollway.  In fact, any tollway is "the Tollway".  The Chicago natives that move up here all seem to refer to 94 as 294, which is wrong north of Lake-Cook Road (just as mrt90 says).

And, interestingly enough, folks in IL refer to non-toll limited access highways as "expressways", while Wisconsonites call them "freeways".  Having lived much of my life in western and southern states, the latter verbiage works better for me. 

[DJ Particle]

MN:
Interstates: I-xx, or just xx
All other state-maintained routes: Highway xx, also sometimes just "xx" but less commonly than with interstates
County roads: usually County xx, unless it has a better known local street name

One exception:  MN-62 in the Twin Cities isn't usually "Highway 62" (and from what I understand, before 1988, it wasn't referred to as "County 62" either), it's "The Crosstown".  This also applies to the section in Minnetonka west of I-494 that's still County 62.

That said, I sometimes get weird looks when I call it "Route 62"