Freeway names used in conversation but not signed (anymore)

[DTComposer]

This is a variant on some of the freeway name threads, and if it has been discussed previously, my apologies:

In the Bay Area, there are a number of freeway names used in conversation, on news/traffic reports, etc. that are not (to the best of my knowledge) signed anywhere in the field. Most often I hear the Nimitz Freeway (I-880), Bayshore Freeway (US-101), as well as the Eastshore Freeway (I-80), MacArthur Freeway (I-580) and Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280). And as far back as I can remember (late '70s), I don't think those names ever were signed (an exception being the non-Caltrans "Junipero Serra - the World's Most Beautiful Freeway" sign that used to be on I-280 northbound somewhere around Los Altos Hills).

I do also hear the James Lick Skyway (US-101 in San Francisco) being used, but I do believe it's signed in a couple of places. Most other freeways in the area do have names, but are rarely if ever used in common parlance.

I compare this to the L.A. area, where freeway names are also often used, but those names are posted on reassurance signs, older BGS's, etc., and many of those names are also much more intuitive because they're named after destinations (Long Beach Freeway, Hollywood Freeway, etc.).

How does this compare to other metro areas?

[TheStranger]

This is a variant on some of the freeway name threads, and if it has been discussed previously, my apologies:

In the Bay Area, there are a number of freeway names used in conversation, on news/traffic reports, etc. that are not (to the best of my knowledge) signed anywhere in the field. Most often I hear the Nimitz Freeway (I-880), Bayshore Freeway (US-101), as well as the Eastshore Freeway (I-80), MacArthur Freeway (I-580) and Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280). And as far back as I can remember (late '70s), I don't think those names ever were signed (an exception being the non-Caltrans "Junipero Serra - the World's Most Beautiful Freeway" sign that used to be on I-280 northbound somewhere around Los Altos Hills).

Bayshore Freeway used to be signed off of I-280 at the Alemany Boulevard exit (in an advanced exits sign) but was recently changed to "JUNCTION US 101" about four months ago.

The Bayshore Freeway name used to be signed off of 480/Embarcadero Freeway as well.  (In SF, the Bayshore Freeway and the honorary James Lick name overlap, with Bayshore being much more familiar, having existed in the city since the late 1930s via the still-present Bayshore Boulevard)

MacArthur Freeway is signed off of I-80/I-580 westbound in Berkeley, and off of I-980.  I THINK the MacArthur name may also be signed near Castro Valley though am not sure about this.

Central Freeway is a pretty commonly used name (due to the decade or so of discussion over the fate of the western segment past Van Ness) but has never been signed in the field as far as I know.

Presidio Parkway, the new name for the reconstructed Doyle Drive portion of US 101 in the Presidio, I don't know if that name has been used much in traffic reports yet and it certainly isn't signed. 

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In Sacramento, the portion of US 50/Route 99/(former Business 80) in downtown and midtown Sacramento has been called the WX Freeway for years even though I don't think that name has ever been signed. 

[AMLNet49]

Gowanus Expressway in New York. The DOT still uses the name but it is signed as part of the BQE, which doesn't start until after Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

[Darkchylde]

Ponchartrain Expressway in New Orleans. You hear it all the time in traffic reports, but there's no signage reflecting such in the field.

[Brandon]

Calumet Expressway (I-94/IL-394) in Chicago.  It's referred to as the Bishop Ford Freeway on the radio and on the signs, but a lot of people, especially older people still refer to it as the Calumet Expressway.

Edens Spur (I-94).  The  Edens Spur is referred to as the "Edens Spur", "The Spur", or the "Spur Ramp" in conversation, but the names never appear in any signage anywhere.

Route 53 (along the I-290 stretch, I-90 to I-355).  The name "Route 53" never appears signed here (nor any other name for that matter).  IL-53 (signed as IL-53, but not "Route 53") joins I-290 between I-90 and Biesterfield Road.

Eisenhower Extension (I-290, I-355 to I-294).  Commonly called the "Eisenhower Extension" or "The Extension", the name does not appear here, nor does the Eisenhower Expressway name either (that's east of I-294).

The Feeder Ramp (Ontario/Ohio Streets from I-90/94 to Orleans Street).  A short freeway of sorts (no exit/entry ramps), the name "Feeder Ramp" never appears on any signage.  At the Kennedy (I-90/94), it's signed as "Ohio Street".

[xcellntbuy]

In upstate New York where I grew up, the following have not been heard, mapped or signed in decades:

Interstate 787, Riverside Arterial
Interstate 90, Northside Arterial
NY 85, Crosstown Arterial
US 9 and US 20, South Mall Expressway

[froggie]

The "Crosstown" (MN 62) in the Twin Cities area.  The name is still heavily used, but has not been signed since MnDOT took over the freeway from Hennepin County in 1988.

[dgolub]

On Long Island, the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) is known primarily by its name but signed only by its number.  Also, the expressway portion of Sunrise Highway (NY 27) is signed by number only in most places.  The situation is so bad that a lot of Long Islanders don't even know what the route numbers are!

[vdeane]

Adirondack Northway for the portion to US 20; as far as NYSDOT is concerned, the Northway starts with the I-90 interchange, and the part to the south is signed as just TO I-87 and TO I-90.  Its official name isn't used often outside of NYSDOT - Fuller Road Alternate.

Alternate Route 7 *ducks* 

[roadman]

The Southeast Expressway (I-93) between Boston and Braintree is still referred to as such by both locals and the traffic reporters.  However, most of the 1962-era button copy signs - which read EXPRESSWAY SOUTH, and not SOUTHEAST EXPRESSWAY - were removed as part of the 1984-1985 reconstruction project, and the remaining signs were removed when the elevated Central Artery was closed and replaced with the O'Neill Tunnel in 2006.

[Buffaboy]

I wonder if Niagara Thruway and Youngman could be added to this list. Dunno if they were ever signed.

I'll bet in 4 years Scajaquada Expressway will be in this thread.

[Rothman]

In upstate New York where I grew up, the following have not been heard, mapped or signed in decades:

Interstate 787, Riverside Arterial
Interstate 90, Northside Arterial
NY 85, Crosstown Arterial
US 9 and US 20, South Mall Expressway

Hm.  Wasn't NY 7 around NY 5 also called a Crosstown something-or-other?

[xcellntbuy]

Yes, it still is.

[txstateends]

The only one I know of like this is the part of US 81-US 287 NW of the split with I-35W in north Fort Worth.  Local traffic reporters keep calling it the "Decatur Cutoff", when there's been no mapped or signed reference to such a name, AFAIK.  I think it's only been named with the US route numbers since it was built.

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland's John Hanson Highway (U.S. 50 and partly U.S. 301) is still called that on  traffic reports, even though all of the signs are long gone.  In part to distinguish it from U.S. 50 in D.C. (mostly New York Avenue) and especially U.S. 50 in Northern Virginia (Arlington Boulevard).

The InterCounty Connector (MD-200) is still called by  its name, even though all signs read simply TOLL MD-200.

Sadly, Virginia's Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway seems to have entirely disappeared, now it's just I-95 or I-395.

[Pink Jazz]

When I lived in Virginia Beach there were some people who still referred to the former VA 44 (now part of I-264) as the "Expressway" or "Toll Road" even after the tolls were removed and the VA 44 designation was eliminated.

[TheStranger]

Speaking of the Metroplex...is the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike name for today's I-30 still in common usage?

[kphoger]

IL-53 (signed as IL-53, but not "Route 53") joins I-290 between I-90 and Biesterfield Road.

FWIW, the word "route" seems to be the way state highways are referred to in Illinois speech, whereas US highways are sometimes called "route" and sometimes called "highway".  That's just my observation, anyway.



In Wichita, I-135 is referred to as the Canal Route, often even at points where it is not elevated above the canal; it is nowhere signed as such.

[cl94]

Alternate 7. Hear that one daily.

Contrary to popular belief, the Northway is signed as such along US 20 and up in Essex County

[vdeane]

It's kinda ambiguous, since neither BGS on US 20 has TO banners for any of the shields, even though all of them should have them.  Looks to me like the sign is trying to say "take this ramp to get to the Northway" (which is how NYSDOT considers it), not "this ramp is called the Northway".  In any case, I wasn't referring to the Northway in Essex County, just the Fuller Road Alternate portion.

[TheStranger]

Has the "Blue Route" moniker ever been signed on I-476 in metro Philly?

I'm fascinated equally as much by "route names that were never signed but are in usage" (i.e. the Decatur Cutoff mentioned earlier) as I am with "commonly used route names that are no longer signed."

[Rothman]

Alternate 7. Hear that one daily.

[jbnv]

Ponchartrain Expressway in New Orleans. You hear it all the time in traffic reports, but there's no signage reflecting such in the field.

If we're counting parts of freeways, then you can include the Highrise and the Twin Spans.

[cl94]

Alternate 7. Hear that one daily.

I knew someone here would have that reaction. There was a major fatal accident last week involving some idiot who drove through the median and every report called it "Alternate 7".

[The Ghostbuster]

The US 12/14/18/151 freeway in my city has always been called "The Beltline." I don't think it has ever been signposted as such. Does that still count?