Meaningful route numbers

[Mr. Matté]

Are there a lot of roads with a number that was intentionally chosen to represent a group, historic event, or specific year? By this, I don't mean routes whose number was chosen to fit into a grid or was numbered based on its chronological creation date.

Some examples I can think of include North Dakota Highways 1804 and 1806 which represent the years Lewis and Clark traveled through the state, the proposed Interstate 14 in the South that references the Constitutional amendment, and the proposed Interstate 3 which represents some Army infantry (and unlike the former, is horribly out-of-sync with the rest of the grid).

Other than those and the rumors about the numbering of I-76 through Philadelphia, are there any other such intentionally-chosen route numbers?

[CentralCAroadgeek]

CA-49 in the Gold Country was chosen to honor the Gold Rush of 1849 (which also gave us our miner's spade state highway shield).

[Brandon]

Wisconsin 32 - chosen to honor the 32nd Infantry Brigade.  The shields have two red arrows representing the brigade.

Illinois 38 - chosen due to its sound.  The route was formerly US-30A.

[dfilpus]

North Carolina 3 - Numbered to honor Dale Earnhardt, the Nascar driver killed in 2001 Daytona 500. His car was number 3.

[NE2]

NJ 139 is old US 1&9 Business.

holy shit old US 66 is now state highway 66

[oscar]

AK 98 in Skagway, Alaska, for the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 (while the gold was in Canada, Skagway is where most of the prospectors started their trek).

[NE2]

US 400. Because goat.

[jp the roadgeek]

I-76 in Philadelphia, for the Spirit of '76 and the Bicentennial.  Also, NY and NJ 94 is the 94th Infantry Memorial Highway.

[NE2]

I-76 in Philadelphia, for the Spirit of '76 and the Bicentennial.

the rumors about the numbering of I-76 through Philadelphia

Wisconsin 32 - chosen to honor the 32nd Infantry Brigade.  The shields have two red arrows representing the brigade.

Maybe it was extended for that reason, but the original 1918 route, from Crandon to Woodruff, likely had no such meaning.

Also, NY and NJ 94 is the 94th Infantry Memorial Highway.

Probably named because of the number, not numbered because of the name.

[Big John]

Wisconsin 32 - chosen to honor the 32nd Infantry Brigade.  The shields have two red arrows representing the brigade.

Maybe it was extended for that reason, but the original 1918 route, from Crandon to Woodruff, likely had no such meaning.

The current route and arrows were later set by the legislature: http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/red_arrow.html

Sidenote that prior to the neutering of state route signs, the arrows were placed on either side of the "WIS"

[Mapmikey]

NC 400 was chosen because it was the 400th anniversary of the Lost Colony in North Carolina.

Mapmikey

[Kacie Jane]

NY 747 near Stewart Airport in Newburgh.

[NE2]

SR A1A was renumbered from SR 1 due to the close proximity of US 1. Supposedly one of the A's stands for Atlantic or alternate or both. But go to the other coast of Florida and you'll find two former routes. SR A19A (now 693 etc.) was a loop off US 19. And SR G1A (now 300) was a spur off US 98 to an island in the gulf.

[yakra]

My avatar.

[The High Plains Traveler]

NM-6563. There is a solar observatory at the end of the road at Sunspot and this number is  the wavelength of the Balmer hydrogen transition (6563 Angstroms) which is observed in sunlight.

[NE2]

Also NM 2001 to the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

[Billy F 1988]

US 400. Because goat.

Uh, no. That'd be ALAN ALAN-HUNDRED because goat. Sorry to pop your goat bubble, NE2.

[Bruce]

Other than former alignments of U.S. routes (SR 99 and SR 10), WA has none.

The Boeing Freeway (SR 526) should really be renumbered to 7x7 or something. Doesn't fit the grid, but it passes right by the Boeing factory and was funded (partially) by the company.

[Road Hog]

North Carolina 3 - Numbered to honor Dale Earnhardt, the Nascar driver killed in 2001 Daytona 500. His car was number 3.

I was going to mention this one.

[NE2]

AL 94: 1849 Alanlandian Goat Mush.

[national highway 1]

I-820 appears to have been named after a local DFW radio station.

Why Interstate 820, instead of 220 or 420? Joe Isham writes that Amon Carter, who owned the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and radio station WBAP (820 AM), rubbed elbows and got some free publicity for the station.  WBAP hasn't responded to polite inquiries about this.

Such backdoor dealing is, of course, completely uncharacteristic of the way Texans do business.

[US81]

I-820 appears to have been named after a local DFW radio station.

Why Interstate 820, instead of 220 or 420? Joe Isham writes that Amon Carter, who owned the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and radio station WBAP (820 AM), rubbed elbows and got some free publicity for the station.  WBAP hasn't responded to polite inquiries about this.

Such backdoor dealing is, of course, completely uncharacteristic of the way Texans do business.

Ah b'lieve yew mean "bidness."   

[kurumi]

I-820 appears to have been named after a local DFW radio station.

Why Interstate 820, instead of 220 or 420? Joe Isham writes that Amon Carter, who owned the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and radio station WBAP (820 AM), rubbed elbows and got some free publicity for the station.  WBAP hasn't responded to polite inquiries about this.

Such backdoor dealing is, of course, completely uncharacteristic of the way Texans do business.

Ah b'lieve yew mean "bidness."   

Ah'm fixin' to, ah, fix that page :-)

[_Simon]

I-99 was chosen to match Bud Shuster's IQ

[briantroutman]

I-99 was chosen to match Bud Shuster's IQ

While that might also be true, he wanted the number because of his fond memories of riding rickety streetcar #99 as a kid in Altoona.

If this isn't a compelling argument against "meaningful" route numbers ever, ever, ever being used (at least on Interstates and US routes), I don't know what is.