Alternate US routes: Suffixed or bannered?

[TheStranger]

This is something that seems to have varied significantly between states over time...I'm surprised that there never has been a national standard for this type of auxiliary route, though the argument can be easily made that an "A" route forces the motorist to guess at what it stands for - which could be the result of the state-by-state differences in its usage.

Tendencies of some of states I've been to:

Arizona: suffix - http://www.arizonaroads.com/us/us89a.html
California: banner (for its one post-1964 alternate, Alternate US 50)
Delaware: banner
District of Columbia: banner
Kentucky: banner
Maryland: banner
Nevada: banner
New York: suffix
Ohio: suffix
Rhode Island: suffix
Texas: banner
Tennessee: suffix
Utah: suffix
Washington: banner
Wyoming: suffix

[US71]

Missouri : Banner, though I believe they are all defunct now
Arkansas: has no Alternate Routes, but would post with a suffix

[SSOWorld]

Iowa - banner (no alts)
Wisconsin - Banner (but the bannering of Alt is different from how most other states do it - the purpose is to provide relief routes for busy highways Illinois - Banner (at least up north - they do the same thing as WI for Alternates (likely a spillover from WI)
Minnesota - Banner (there's just a few - all business)
(90, 94, 43 and 41.)
Michigan - I believe Banner - I only know the UP though.
North Carolina - suffix for alternate, banner for the rest

[corco]

Wyoming: suffix

Wyoming is entirely bannered. I've clinched and photographed (see my website at the bottom of the page for extensive photographic evidence) every single bannered route but US-14 Business in Sundance and US-16 Bypass in Newcastle, and all routes but 14 Alternate are signed with a banner, and then 14 Alternate is signed with a shield like this:


There is exactly one "14A" shield on a trucker information board, but that's more of an anomaly than anything.

Let's see:

Idaho- bannered
South Dakota- usually suffixed

[agentsteel53]

California: banner (for its one post-1964 alternate, Alternate US 50)

have never seen a pre-1964 "A" either, but have seen "alternate" banner.

add to that: Florida has both banner, suffix AND prefix.  See "ALT A1A", good grief.  



I have also seen secondary S-A1A but never (mercifully) ALT S-A1A.

Also, Idaho has the banner.  

Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming have had the banner inside the shield before.  As has Ohio.

[corco]

Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming have had the banner inside the shield before.  As has Ohio.

As does Washington with Alternate 97 (the other signed Alternates, ALT 141 and ALT 101 are bannered)


Texas sometimes does too for business loops

[agentsteel53]

also, Massachusetts suffixes their alternate state routes, which are old alignments of either state (2A, etc) or US routes (1A, 3A, etc).

I have never seen a photo of the single alternate US route in Mass: 5A, from 1938-1942 or so.  I would assume it had an A after the 5.

Maine also suffixes, and I have seen a single shield for 202A with the A centered directly underneath the 202.  Conn and RI suffix as well, as does NH (at least for state routes) and VT.  Suffixing seems to be a vestige of the old New England highway system.

the word "business" inside the shield is fairly common - Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota also do it as well, sometimes with green shields.

then there's this in South Dakota.

[froggie]

Minnesota - Banner (there's just a few - all business)

No Alternate routes in Minnesota.  OP looks like he's focusing on just ALT routes, not the other bannered routes.

Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia are all bannered.

[agentsteel53]

Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia are all bannered.

I have seen a 9F Mississippi circle shield (or 9V?  Some very strange suffix.)  I've also seen a 58A shield from Virginia, but this is a much older cutout so it may be an older standard.

[Duke87]

Connecticut: suffix

There used to be several 1A's, but only one remains (Stonington). Old alignment hunters have a lot to search for.

Although, 1A in Stamford isn't even walkable anymore unless you have the ability to walk through walls.

[deathtopumpkins]

North Carolina - suffix for alternate, banner for the rest

I've never seen a suffixed route in North Carolina, just bannered.

I just looked up a few alternate routes that I know of on Google Maps, and according to the streetview images all have banners.

[US71]

South Dakota- usually suffixed

Alt 16 is 16A, but are there any other Alternates?

I know SD's Business Routes are Bannered.

[Ian]

New Hampshire mostly does suffixed, but there are a number of bannered routes where the banner is inside the actual shield (e.g. Bypass NH 28, Bypass US 1). Pennsylvania does nothing but bannered routes, with I assume the exception of US 6N. New York does nothing but suffixes, but I believe there are a few bannered routes out there. Maine does both suffixed and bannered routes, but when you visit Damariscotta, you see this:

[dfilpus]

North Carolina - suffix for alternate, banner for the rest

I've never seen a suffixed route in North Carolina, just bannered.

I just looked up a few alternate routes that I know of on Google Maps, and according to the streetview images all have banners.

US 1 Alternate through Wake Forest/Youngsville and Franklinton are both signed as US 1A.

https://www.aaroads.com/southeast/north_carolina001/us-001_sb_at_us-001a_sb_youngsville.jpg

It appears that NC originally used the A suffix and has switched to bannered over the years.

[akotchi]

I have only ever seen bannered routes on New Jersey state routes.  Two former ones, Alt U.S. 22 and Bus U.S. 1-9 were converted to state routes 122 and 139, respectively.

I have seen it both ways (not simultaneously) on county routes in New Jersey, including the designation Spur.

[corco]

Alt 16 is 16A, but are there any other Alternates?

Alt 14 is 14A, but if the business routes are usually bannered I stand corrected- I thought they were suffixed but I don't have anything to back that up with.

[Ian]

I have only ever seen bannered routes on New Jersey state routes.  Two former ones, Alt U.S. 22 and Bus U.S. 1-9 were converted to state routes 122 and 139, respectively.

Wouldn't US 1-9 Truck be considered a bannered route?

[akotchi]

I have only ever seen bannered routes on New Jersey state routes.  Two former ones, Alt U.S. 22 and Bus U.S. 1-9 were converted to state routes 122 and 139, respectively.

Wouldn't US 1-9 Truck be considered a bannered route?

Yes, it would be.  I got caught in professional speak, where anything interstate, federal or state is considered a "state" route.  I was distinguishing state routes from county routes.

[huskeroadgeek]

Nebraska has only 1 "alternate" route and it is suffixed-NE 25A. I've never seen a picture of any Alternate US 30 shields, so I don't know how they were signed, but it's usually referred to as US 30A, so I am guessing they were suffixed too. Business routes are bannered.

[bugo]

Oklahoma uses both, sometimes on the same road.  For example, ALT US 75/US 75A is signed both ways:





It's also signed as OK 75A in at least one place:



Thanks to US 71 for the first and third photo.

[Bickendan]

Oregon uses banner.

[US71]

Alt 16 is 16A, but are there any other Alternates?

Alt 14 is 14A, but if the business routes are usually bannered I stand corrected- I thought they were suffixed but I don't have anything to back that up with.

I think it's both

[ctsignguy]

With Ohio, the only A route i have ever seen was US 20A in northwest Ohio....

most other Ohio alternate routes use ALT tabs over the shields

[SSOWorld]

NH and ME use suffix.

[corco]

Nebraska has only 1 "alternate" route and it is suffixed-NE 25A. I've never seen a picture of any Alternate US 30 shields, so I don't know how they were signed, but it's usually referred to as US 30A, so I am guessing they were suffixed too. Business routes are bannered.

Then there's also the unofficial alternate routes along the interstates- signed along I-76 as


and I-80 as