Nicknames and local terms

[Bruce]

I found this archived Seattle Times article from 2002 that explained some Seattle-area traffic terms (e.g. nicknames for freeways and landmarks). What does your area have, in terms of nicknames?

[agentsteel53]

we generally refer to things with names like "wack slacks" and "harsh realm".

[kphoger]

Wichitans call I-135 "I-35". 

[NE2]

"Yawn" for this thread, again.

[Billy F 1988]

Ditto.

[Brandon]

If you don't like the thread, then don't respond like an ass.

There a few threads out there, but I'm not so sure they're compiled in one place.

[Alps]

If you don't like the thread, then don't respond like an ass.

There a few threads out there, but I'm not so sure they're compiled in one place.

Brandon, rather than constantly cause us moderators trouble, how about just finding the "ignore" feature and then let us deal with the yawns? Now both of you are in the wrong.

[Alps]

Now, here's a way to get this back on topic without duplicating other threads:

NYC: The entirety of the Queens-Midtown Expressway is referred to as the "L.I.E."
The "West Side Highway" goes all the way down to the (Brooklyn) "Battery Tunnel", or maybe people will call the surface part "West St.," ignoring the other names it carries.
The Harlem River Driveway (north of the I-95 connection) is lumped in with Harlem River Drive.
The I-95 Trans Manhattan Expressway is referred to as "under the apartments."
The NJ approach to the Lincoln Tunnel is called "the helix."
NJ Route 139 is the "1 and 9 approach" to the Holland Tunnel.
Not sure how prevalent it is elsewhere, but traffic reports here use "loaded up" to refer to stop and go traffic.

[roadman65]

If this topic is what I think then you cannot rule out the Garden State Parkway as being called "The Parkway."

[Alps]

If this topic is what I think then you cannot rule out the Garden State Parkway as being called "The Parkway."

Meh. Everyone calls their state's turnpike "The Turnpike." NY drops the words "River" and "State" when talking about its Parkways - and really just says "The Taconic" or "The Saw Mill." Those didn't seem notable enough to me.

[roadman65]

If this topic is what I think then you cannot rule out the Garden State Parkway as being called "The Parkway."

Meh. Everyone calls their state's turnpike "The Turnpike." NY drops the words "River" and "State" when talking about its Parkways - and really just says "The Taconic" or "The Saw Mill." Those didn't seem notable enough to me.

Yeah that is why I did not mention the state Turnpikes.  As far as NY Parkways go, the nickname for the Hutchinson River Parkway is quite nice "The Hutch."

[NE2]

Holy shit. Everyone calls Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue.

[jp the roadgeek]

And everyone calls I-95 between Canton and Peabody, and I-93 between Canton and Braintree "Route 128".

[PHLBOS]

The sharp turn along US 422 between PA 363 & the Oaks exit is referred to as the St.Gabe's Curve by Philly area traffic reporters.

I-676 in Philly is referred to as the Vine Expressway.

I-76 is referred to as the Schuylkill Expressway (aka Skoo-kill or Surekill).

I-76 between the Walt Whitman Bridge and I-295 is referred to as Route 42 by traffic reporters.

I-476 is referred to as the Blue Route.

The Roosevelt Expressway (US 1) bridges in Philly are referred to as the Twin Bridges.

The Massachusetts Turnpike is referred to as either the Mass Pike or The Pike.

I-93 between Mass Ave. (Exit 18) and MA 3 South (Exit 7) is referred to as the Southeast Expressway; prior to 1971, much of the Expressway had no route number assigned to it.

In Boston, the Gas Tanks refer to the elevated BostonGas tanks along the Southeast Expressway (I-93) near Exit 14 (Morrissey Blvd.).  There's only one tank there now; there used to be two.

I-93's Exit 12 (for MA 3A South) interchange is referred to as Neponset Circle.

Exit 7 off I-93 (for MA 3 South) in Braintree is referred to as the Braintree Split.

Traffic reporters actually call out the jughandle intersection at US 1 in Peabody (just north of I-95/MA 128) as either the Peabody Jughandle or just The Jughandle.

In Revere, the MA 1A/16/60 rotary intersection is referred to as Bell Circle.  Way back when, there used to be an Oldsmobile dealer adjacent to the circle that was originally named Bell Oldsmobile.  It was later renamed York Oldsmobile until it eventually closed.

MA 28/16 intersection in Somerville is referred to as Assembly Square.  It's in reference to an old Ford assembly plant that used to exist way back when; the Assembly Square Mall exists there today.

[empirestate]

The "West Side Highway" goes all the way down to the (Brooklyn) "Battery Tunnel", or maybe people will call the surface part "West St.," ignoring the other names it carries.

For traffic purposes, it's pretty much all "West Side Highway", or really just "the West Side", from the Battery to Inwood. This may or may not even be a conflation of all the road names; it could just be referring to the west side of Manhattan Island, as one of two basic ways to get in and out of town from points north. The other is along the Harlem and East Rivers, which is sometimes referred to as the "Harlem/FDR combination".

For addressing and intra-island purposes, I think "West St." is as common as any. Another name you seldom hear until you get to the Bronx is "Henry Hudson Parkway", even though that road begins down at 59th Street.

[roadman]

Some Boston area traffic nicknames and terms:

The lower deck - I-93 southbound between Somerville and Boston (the highway is a double deck structure, with the northbound on top and the southbound on the bottom).
The cloverleaf - interchange of I-93 and I-95 (MA 128) at the Woburn/Reading line
The supermarket overpass - in Newton where I-90 (MassPike)  goes beneath a Shaws (originally Star Market) supermarket building.
The State Police Barracks - in Weston where I-90 (MassPike) goes past the Troop E headquarters and former Mass Turnpike Authority engineering headquarters buildings.
The jughandle - In Peabody at the north end of the US 1/I-95/MA 128 interchange.  Northbound traffic goes through a jughandle to turn back southbound.
The loop ramp - connection between the Tobin Bridge and I-93 in Boston
Lynnfield tunnel - short underpass of US 1 under Salem Street/MA 129 interchange in Lynnfield
East Milton canyon - I-93 (Southeast Expressway) underneath local streets in East Milton Square, Milton.

[vdeane]

If this topic is what I think then you cannot rule out the Garden State Parkway as being called "The Parkway."

Meh. Everyone calls their state's turnpike "The Turnpike." NY drops the words "River" and "State" when talking about its Parkways - and really just says "The Taconic" or "The Saw Mill." Those didn't seem notable enough to me.

In Rochester, we also drop "Lake" and "Ontario", such that the Lake Ontario State Parkway is just "the parkway".  We can do this because the only other upstate parkways are the Taconic and the Robert Moses State Parkway in Buffalo.

We also have the "can of worms" for the I-590/I-490 interchange and "the split" for the I-590/I-390 interchange.  I don't know of a name for the I-390/I-490 interchange though,

[PHLBOS]

The jughandle - In Peabody at the north end of the US 1/I-95/MA 128 interchange.  Northbound traffic goes through a jughandle to turn back southbound.

Already covered that one. 

East Milton canyon - I-93 (Southeast Expressway) underneath local streets in East Milton Square, Milton.

That must be a newer term (post-1990).  I remember Joe Greene of the 'BZ Copter always referring that area as simply East Milton Square.

Another Mass Pike one: tunnel under the Prudential Center at Exit 22 is referred to as the Pru Tunnel.

[empirestate]

In Rochester, we also drop "Lake" and "Ontario", such that the Lake Ontario State Parkway is just "the parkway".  We can do this because the only other upstate parkways are the Taconic and the Robert Moses State Parkway in Buffalo.

Plus one or two other recreational facilities called "parkways" (i.e., Veterans' Memorial at Lake George), but yes, the LOSP is the only parkway in the Rochester media market.

We also have the "can of worms" for the I-590/I-490 interchange and "the split" for the I-590/I-390 interchange.  I don't know of a name for the I-390/I-490 interchange though,

Nor do I; it's usually just "490 at 390" or vice versa.

Is "Troup-Howell" still being used for the I-490 bridge over the Genesee, or has the now-correct Douglass/Anthony nomenclature caught on?

[vdeane]

Still Troup-Howell as far as I know; I'd be hard pressed to know it's really Douglass/Anthony if not able to consult your last post.

[briantroutman]

Wichitans call I-135 "I-35". 

This isn't limited to Wichita. When I worked at a AAA office in Williamsport, PA, I had a very frustrating time with an elderly woman trying to explain the difference between I-80 and I-180.

The 1s seem to be the ugly stepchildren 3DIs. Is it just my imagination–it seems there are a lot of 1XXs that dead-end at airports (190 at O'Hare, 195 at BWI, 105 at LAX). And people tend to think of them as the "road to the airport". Or they lead to godforsaken destinations like Hennepin, Salina, or Reading. Or Williamsport.

People in Williamsport refer to I-180 as "The Beltway" as the entire Lock Haven to Milton 80-to-80 loop was originally promoted as the Susquehanna Beltway. For many of the parochial people of the area, "beltway" has become a generic term for freeway.

[dgolub]

If this topic is what I think then you cannot rule out the Garden State Parkway as being called "The Parkway."

The same can be said for just about any of the parkways on Long Island, especially the Northern Parkway and the Southern Parkway.  There even used to be some old signs at entrance ramps that just read "PARKWAY EAST" or "PARKWAY WEST."

[roadman]

East Milton canyon - I-93 (Southeast Expressway) underneath local streets in East Milton Square, Milton.

That must be a newer term (post-1990).  I remember Joe Greene of the 'BZ Copter always referring that area as simply East Milton Square.

You are correct PHLBOS.  "East Milton Canyon" didn't exist in the Joe Greene and Officer Bill days.  Even now, the term is not universally used by all Boston Traffic reporters to describe East Milton Square - most reporters now just call the location "East Milton", omitting the "Square" part.  The "Canyon" moniker came into being some time after the present sound barriers were installed, and the "flower garden" deck placed over the Expressway, in the 1990s, and was a favorite term of some of the early SmartRoutes reporters for awhile.

Fixed quote. -Connor

[Alps]

Another name you seldom hear until you get to the Bronx is "Henry Hudson Parkway", even though that road begins down at 72nd Street.

FTFY. West Side Highway is 15 blocks long, let it exist in peace.

[Alps]

The 1s seem to be the ugly stepchildren 3DIs. Is it just my imagination–it seems there are a lot of 1XXs that dead-end at airports (190 at O'Hare, 195 at BWI, 105 at LAX). And people tend to think of them as the "road to the airport". Or they lead to godforsaken destinations like Hennepin, Salina, or Reading. Or Williamsport.

People in Williamsport refer to I-180 as "The Beltway" as the entire Lock Haven to Milton 80-to-80 loop was originally promoted as the Susquehanna Beltway. For many of the parochial people of the area, "beltway" has become a generic term for freeway.

Re: I-180 - I-80 EB is signed to Williamsport from I-99, PAST 220, all the way to US 15. Why anyone wouldn't take 220 is beyond me, and it comes to the awkward situation where the top destination (Wport) is over a dozen miles past the bottom (Milton). Also, yeah, Wport isn't on I-80, so quit signing it there. That area's all screwed up.

As for 1xx that actually do something, let's keep in mind that we should only be comparing odd numbered spurs. I-195 MD is better than I-395 or I-795, and I-595 isn't even signed. I-195 NJ is quite important. I-176 PA is useful and goes to a relatively popular tourist spot (if you're poking around Dutch Country) in Reading. I-195 RI-MA is the link from NYC and beyond to Cape Cod, whereas I-395 CT-MA goes to... sigh, Worcester. So yeah, it's just you.