Portal:U.S. roads
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The U.S. Roads Portal
The highway system of the United States is a network of interconnected state, U.S., and Interstate highways. Each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands own and maintain a part of this vast system, including U.S. and Interstate highways, which are not owned or maintained at the federal level.
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Interstate Highways have the highest speed limits and the highest traffic numbers. Interstates are numbered in a grid: even-numbered routes for east–west routes (with the lowest numbers along Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico), and odd-numbered routes are north–south routes (with the lowest numbers along the Pacific Ocean). Three-digit Interstates are, generally, either beltways or spurs of their parent Interstates (for example, Interstate 510 is a spur into the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is connected to Interstate 10).
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U.S. Numbered Highways are the original interstate highways, dating back to 1926. U.S. Highways are also numbered in a grid: even numbered for east–west routes (with the lowest numbers along Canada) and odd numbered for north–south routes (with the lowest numbers along the Atlantic Ocean). Three-digit highways, also known as "child routes," are branches off their main one- or two-digit "parents" (for example, U.S. Route 202 is a branch of U.S. Route 2). However, US 101, rather than a "child" of US 1, is considered a "mainline" U.S. Route.
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State highways are the next level in the hierarchy. Each state and territory has its own system for numbering highways, some more systematic than others. Each state also has its own design for its highway markers; the number in a circle is the default sign, but many choose a different design connected to the state, such as an outline of the state with the number inside. Many states also operate a system of county highways.
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Scenic byways can be designated over any classification of road in the United States. There are the National Scenic Byways, National Forest Scenic Byways and Bureau of Land Management Back Country Byways at the national level. Most states have their own system for designating byways, some more systematic than others. Native American tribes may designate byways as well.
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- Image 1U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway System and runs for over 1,500 miles (2,400 km) along the Pacific Ocean. The highway is also known by various names, including El Camino Real in parts of California, the Oregon Coast Highway, and the Olympic Highway in Washington. Despite its three-digit number, normally used for spur routes, US 101 is classified as a primary route.
The highway's southern terminus is at a major interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and I-10 in Los Angeles. US 101 follows several freeways in Southern California as it travels north of the Santa Monica Mountains and along the coast, where it is concurrent with California State Route 1 (SR 1). The highway travels inland from the coast after it splits from SR 1 and approaches the San Francisco Bay Area, where it becomes the Bayshore Freeway and later traverses San Francisco on city streets to reach the Golden Gate Bridge. US 101 continues north on the Redwood Highway and rejoins the coast before it enters Oregon. (Full article...) - Image 2State Route 76 (SR 76) is a state highway 52.63 miles (84.70 km) long in the U.S. state of California. It is a much used east–west route in the North County region of San Diego County that begins in Oceanside near Interstate 5 (I-5) and continues east. The highway is a major route through the region, passing through the community of Bonsall and providing access to Fallbrook. East of the junction with I-15, SR 76 goes through Pala and Pauma Valley before terminating at SR 79.
A route along the corridor has existed since the early 20th century, as has the bridge over the San Luis Rey River near Bonsall. The route was added to the state highway system in 1933, and was officially designated by the California State Legislature as SR 76 in the 1964 state highway renumbering. The section of the highway through Oceanside and Bonsall is mostly a four-lane expressway; east of I-15, the roadway is mostly a two-lane highway. Originally, the entire highway was two lanes wide; west of Bonsall, the route was widened in stages, after decades of funding shortages, planning, and litigation. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) maintained plans to expand the entire length of the highway west of I-15 to an expressway, and as of May 2017, construction between Bonsall and I-15 was complete. (Full article...) - Image 3State Route 75 (SR 75) is a 13-mile (21 km) north-south state highway in San Diego County in the U.S. state of California. It is a loop route of Interstate 5 (I-5) that begins near Imperial Beach, heading west on Palm Avenue. The route continues north along the Silver Strand, a thin strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay, through Silver Strand State Beach. SR 75 then passes through the city of Coronado as Orange Avenue and continues onto the San Diego–Coronado Bay Bridge, which traverses the bay, before joining back with I-5 near downtown San Diego.
The Silver Strand Highway was constructed and open to the public by 1924. What would become SR 75 was added to the state highway system in 1933, and designated Legislative Route 199 in 1935. SR 75 was not officially designated until the 1964 state highway renumbering. The Coronado Bay Bridge opened in 1969, and provided a direct connection between San Diego and Coronado. Since then, various proposals have taken place to relieve commuter traffic between San Diego and Naval Air Station North Island that traverses the city of Coronado. However, none of these proposals have gained support, including an attempt in 2010. (Full article...) - Image 4U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental highway in the United States, stretching from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion crosses the center of the state and was named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in July 1986. The name was intended as a pejorative, but Nevada officials seized it as a marketing slogan. The name originates from large desolate areas traversed by the route, with few or no signs of civilization. The highway crosses several large desert valleys separated by numerous mountain ranges towering over the valley floors, in what is known as the Basin and Range province of the Great Basin.
US 50 has a diverse route through the state, traversing the resort communities of Lake Tahoe, the state capital in Carson City, historical sites such as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, petroglyphs, alpine forests, desert valleys, ghost towns, and Great Basin National Park. (Full article...) - Image 5State Route 52 (SR 52) is a state highway in San Diego County, California, that extends from La Jolla Parkway at Interstate 5 (I-5) in La Jolla, San Diego, to SR 67 in Santee. It is a freeway for its entire length and serves as a major east–west route through the northern part of the city of San Diego. The road connects the major north–south freeways of the county, including I-5, I-805, SR 163, I-15, SR 125, and SR 67. SR 52 passes north of the Rose Canyon Fault before traversing Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar). East of Santo Road and west of SR 125, the highway goes through Mission Trails Regional Park, a large open preserve. SR 52 is also known as the Soledad Freeway and the San Clemente Canyon Freeway.
Plans for a route between La Jolla and Santee date from 1959, and SR 52 was officially designated in the 1964 state highway renumbering. Construction began in 1966 at the I-5 interchange with Ardath Road leading to La Jolla. It continued with the construction of San Clemente Canyon Road, which was later widened to become SR 52. The freeway was completed east to I-805 in 1970, and was built in two stages from there to Santo Road east of I-15; the last phase was completed in 1988. (Full article...) - Image 6The Chickasaw Turnpike, also designated State Highway 301 (SH-301), is a controlled-access toll road in the rural south central region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A two-lane freeway, it stretches for 13.3 miles (21.4 km) from north of Sulphur to just south of Ada. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) owns, maintains, and collects tolls on the turnpike. The first section of the Chickasaw Turnpike opened on September 1, 1991.
The Chickasaw resulted from a compromise between urban and rural legislators. Originally, it was part of a now-canceled plan to connect southern and eastern Oklahoma with a longer turnpike. It was also intended to link Ada to the Interstate system. A four-mile (6.4 km) segment of the turnpike was transferred to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), making it a toll-free road, in 2011. (Full article...) - Image 7M-35 is a state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the US state of Michigan. It runs for 128 miles (206 km) in a general north–south direction and connects the cities of Menominee, Escanaba, and Negaunee. The southern section of M-35 in Menominee and Delta counties carries two additional designations; M-35 forms a segment of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, and it is the UP Hidden Coast Recreational Heritage Trail, which is a part of what is now called the Pure Michigan Byways Program. Along the southern section, the highway is the closest trunkline to the Green Bay, a section of Lake Michigan. The northern section of the highway turns inland through sylvan areas of the UP, connecting rural portions of Delta and Marquette counties.
M-35 is an original state trunkline that was first signposted in 1919, that was intended to run from Menominee in the south to near Big Bay in the north, before it was to turn toward L'Anse to end at Ontonagon. However, the section through the Huron Mountains in northern Marquette and Baraga counties was never built. Automobile pioneer Henry Ford helped halt this construction to gain favor with and membership into the exclusive Huron Mountain Club. Some discontinuous sections were later ceded to local control. The northern segment of the route between Ontonagon and Baraga was retained as a discontinuous segment of the highway; this northern segment was later redesignated as another state trunkline. The northern end was later rerouted out of the City of Negaunee into Negaunee Township to avoid mining activity near Palmer. (Full article...) - Image 8M-6, or the Paul B. Henry Freeway, is a 19.7-mile-long (31.7 km) east–west freeway and state trunkline highway in the United States that serves portions of southern Kent and eastern Ottawa counties south of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Although the freeway is named for Paul B. Henry, local residents and the press continue to use the original name, South Beltline as well on occasion. The freeway connects Interstate 196 (I-196) on the west with I-96 on the east. M-6 also provides a connection to U.S. Highway 131 (US 131) in the middle of its corridor while running through several townships on the south side of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area in Western Michigan. Each end is in a rural area while the central section has suburban development along the trunkline.
The freeway was originally conceived in the 1960s. It took 32 years to approve, plan, finance, and build the freeway from the time that the state first authorized funding in 1972 to the time of the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2004 that opened the South Beltline to traffic. The project cost around $700 million or around $35 million per mile (approximately $22 million per kilometer). Initial construction started in November 1997, with the first phase opened in November 2001. The full freeway was opened in November 2004. The first phase of construction was completed in asphalt, while the second and third phases were built in concrete. The project was built with two firsts: the first single-point urban interchange (SPUI; /ˈspuːiː/) in Michigan, and a new technique to apply the pavement markings, embedding them into the concrete to reduce the chance of a snowplow scraping them off. In advance of the opening of the freeway to traffic, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) allowed the public to walk or bike the South Beltline in an open-house event called the "Southbelt Shuffle". (Full article...) - Image 9
I-8 in San Diego, from the San Diego Trolley
Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande, Arizona. In California, the freeway travels through the San Diego metropolitan area as the Ocean Beach Freeway and the Mission Valley Freeway before traversing the Cuyamaca Mountains and providing access through the Imperial Valley, including the city of El Centro. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande, in between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson.
The first route over the Cuyamaca Mountains was dedicated in 1912, and a plank road served as the first road across the Imperial Valley to Yuma; east of there, the Gila Trail continued east to Gila Bend. These were later replaced by U.S. Route 80 (US 80) across California and part of Arizona, and Arizona State Route 84 (SR 84) between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. The US 80 freeway through San Diego was largely complete by the time it was renumbered as I-8 in the 1964 state highway renumbering; east of San Diego, the US 80 roadway was slowly replaced by I-8 as construction progressed in the Imperial Valley. The Arizona portion of the road was built starting in the 1960s. Several controversies erupted during the construction process; questionable labor practices in Imperial County led to the federal conviction of mobster Jimmy Fratianno, and a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee found that the Arizona government had mismanaged financial resources. (Full article...) - Image 10U.S. Route 491 (US 491) is a north–south U.S. Highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. It was created in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666 (US 666). With the US 666 designation, the road was nicknamed the "Devil's Highway" because of the significance of the number 666 to many Christian denominations as the Number of the Beast. This Satanic connotation, combined with a high fatality rate along the New Mexico portion, convinced some people the highway was cursed. The problem was compounded by persistent sign theft. These factors led to two efforts to renumber the highway, first by officials in Arizona, then by those in New Mexico. There have been safety improvement projects since the renumbering, and fatality rates have subsequently decreased.
The highway, now a spur route of US 91 via its connection to US 191, runs through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, as well as the tribal nations of the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The highway passes by two mountains considered sacred by Native Americans: Ute Mountain and an extinct volcanic core named Shiprock. Other features along the route include Mesa Verde National Park and Dove Creek, Colorado, the self-proclaimed pinto-bean capital of the world. (Full article...) - Image 11New York State Route 319 (NY 319) was a state highway in Chenango County, New York, in the United States. It was 5.47 miles (8.80 km) long and connected the hamlet of Preston to the nearby city of Norwich. The route began in the hamlet at an intersection with three county-maintained highways and proceeded eastward through the town of Preston to downtown Norwich, where it terminated at an intersection with NY 12.
What became NY 319 was originally built during the early 19th century as the Norwich and Preston Turnpike, one of many privately maintained turnpikes in the state of New York. The state of New York assumed ownership of the turnpike's routing in the early 20th century, and the Preston–Norwich state highway was designated as NY 319 as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Maintenance of NY 319 was split between the state and the city of Norwich, with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) handling the part of the route west of the city limits. (Full article...) - Image 12Interstate 696 (I-696) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Metro Detroit region of the US state of Michigan. The state trunkline highway is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for the prominent auto industry union head by the Michigan Legislature in 1971. I-696 is a bypass route, detouring around the city of Detroit through the city's northern suburbs in Oakland and Macomb counties. It starts by branching off I-96 and I-275 at its western terminus in Farmington Hills, and runs through suburbs including Southfield, Royal Oak and Warren before merging into I-94 at St. Clair Shores on the east end. It has eight lanes for most of its length and is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of downtown Detroit. I-696 connects to other freeways such as I-75 (Chrysler Freeway) and M-10 (Lodge Freeway). Local residents sometimes refer to I-696 as "The Autobahn of Detroit".
Planning for the freeway started in the 1950s. Michigan state officials proposed the designation I-98, but this was not approved. Construction started on the first segment in 1961, and the Lodge Freeway was designated Business Spur Interstate 696 (BS I-696) the following year. The western third of the freeway opened in 1963, and the eastern third was completed in January 1979. The central segment was the subject of much controversy during the 1960s and 1970s. Various municipalities along this stretch argued over the routing of the freeway such that the governor locked several officials into a room overnight until they would agree to a routing. Later, various groups used federal environmental regulations to force changes to the freeway. The Orthodox Jewish community in Oak Park was concerned about pedestrian access across the freeway; I-696 was built with a set of parks on overpasses to accommodate their needs. The Detroit Zoo and the City of Detroit also fought components of the freeway design. These concessions delayed the completion of I-696 until December 15, 1989. Since completion, the speed limit was raised from 55 to 70 miles per hour (89 to 113 km/h). In addition, some interchanges were reconfigured in 2006. (Full article...) - Image 13Interstate 15 (I-15) is an Interstate Highway, running from San Diego, California, United States, to the Canada–US border, through Mohave County in northwest Arizona. Despite being isolated from the rest of Arizona, in the remote Arizona Strip, and short in length at 29.43 miles (47.36 km), it remains notable for its scenic passage through the Virgin River Gorge. The highway heads in a northeasterly direction from the Nevada border northeast of Mesquite, Nevada, to the Utah border southwest of St. George, Utah.
The south portion of I-15's route was built close to the alignment of the old U.S. Route 91 (US 91), but the northern section, through the Virgin River Gorge, was built along roadless terrain. The southern section of the highway was complete and open in the early 1960s, but the gorge section was inaccessible until 1973. When it opened, the Virgin River Gorge passage was the most expensive section of rural Interstate per mile. (Full article...) - Image 14The Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector (officially the Atlantic City Expressway Connector; also known as the Atlantic City Connector or Brigantine Connector) is a connector freeway in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It is a 2.37-mile (3.81 km) extension of the Atlantic City Expressway, connecting it to New Jersey Route 87, which leads into Brigantine via the Marina district of Atlantic City. Locally, the freeway is known as "the Tunnel", due to the tunnel along its route that passes underneath the Westside neighborhood. The connector is a state highway owned and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA); it has an unsigned designation of Route 446X.
Proposals for a similar connector road in Atlantic City date to 1964; planning began in 1995 after businessman Steve Wynn proposed a new casino in the Marina district. The goals were to reduce traffic on Atlantic City streets and improve access to the Marina district and Brigantine. It was supported by Governor Christine Todd Whitman and Mayor Jim Whelan, but faced major opposition during its planning. Residents whose homes were to be destroyed for the tunnel construction fought the project, and competing casino owner Donald Trump filed lawsuits to prevent its construction. (Full article...) - Image 15The Creek Turnpike, also designated State Highway 364 (SH-364), is a 33.2-mile (53.4 km) controlled-access toll road that lies entirely in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The turnpike forms a partial beltway around the south and east sides of Tulsa, Oklahoma's second largest city. The Creek Turnpike's western terminus is at the Turner Turnpike in Sapulpa, while its northeastern terminus is at the Will Rogers Turnpike in Fair Oaks; both ends of the Creek Turnpike connect with Interstate 44 (I-44). Along the way, the highway passes through the cities of Sapulpa, Jenks, Tulsa, and Broken Arrow, and the counties of Creek, Tulsa, Wagoner and Rogers. The road is maintained by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA), except for a brief free section shared with U.S. Route 64 (US-64) and US-169, which is maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The first section of the Creek Turnpike, from US-75 in Jenks to US-64/US-169 in Tulsa, was first authorized in 1987, with construction beginning in 1989. The turnpike's construction was controversial; homeowners along the route of the highway formed a group called Tulsans Against Turnpikes to fight the highway in both the courtroom and the media. The highway was also challenged on environmental grounds, with impacts upon wetlands and endangered species being the chief concerns. Nevertheless, the highway opened to traffic in three sections, starting from the easternmost, over the course of the first half of 1992. (Full article...)
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- Image 1New York State Route 83 (NY 83) is a state route located entirely in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. It extends from an intersection with U.S. Route 62 (US 62) in the hamlet of Conewango Valley (at the Cattaraugus County border) to NY 60 in the hamlet of Laona, near Fredonia. Along the way, NY 83 intersects with NY 322 at Balcom Corners and serves the hamlet of Cherry Creek.
NY 83 initially extended south to Frewsburg when it was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering. The portion of the route between Frewsburg and Conewango Valley became part of US 62 c. 1932, resulting in the truncation of NY 83 to its current southern terminus in the 1940s. (Full article...) - Image 2Mississippi Highway 572 (MS 572) is a former state highway in southwestern Mississippi. The route's western terminus was in Centreville of Wilkinson county. MS 572 traveled east and intersected MS 24 and MS 33, just east of the town. It ended at MS 569 south of Beechwood. MS 572 was designated in 1957, from MS 24 and MS 33 to MS 569. The route was extended west to Centreville, and was removed from the state highway system in 1967. (Full article...)
- Image 3M-10 is a state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan in the United States. Nominally labeled north-south, the route follows a northwest-southeast alignment. The southernmost portion follows Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit, and the southern terminus is at the intersection of Jefferson and M-3 (Randolph Street) next to the entrance to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel. The northern terminus is in West Bloomfield Township at the intersection with Orchard Lake Road. The highway has several names as it runs through residential and commercial areas of the west side of Detroit and into the suburb of Southfield. It is called the John C. Lodge Freeway (The Lodge), James Couzens Highway, and Northwestern Highway. One segment has also been named the Aretha Franklin Memorial Highway.
M-10 was built in segments through the late 1950s and early 1960s. It carried several different names before the entire route was finally officially named the John C. Lodge Freeway in 1987. The freeway has carried a few other highway designations. The southern segment was part of US Highway 12 (US 12) and the whole road was later renumbered Business Spur Interstate 696 (BS I-696). From 1970 until 1986, it was part of US 10, and the freeway has been M-10 since. The non-freeway segment that runs between I-696 in Southfield and Orchard Lake Road was previously numbered M-4. M-10 was named after John C. Lodge, an influential Detroiter and Mayor of Detroit from 1927–28. (Full article...) - Image 4U.S. Route 50 (US-50) in Utah crosses the center of the state. The highway serves no major population centers in Utah, with the largest city along its path being Delta. Most of the route passes through desolate, remote areas. Through the eastern half of the state the route is concurrent with Interstate 70 (I-70). US-50 both enters and exits Utah concurrent with US-6, however the two routes are separate through the center of the state.
Three completely different routings of US-50 have existed between Green River and Ely, Nevada. The route between these cities has become progressively shorter as new roads have been paved through this largely uninhabited region of both states. The earlier routings were a result of a dispute between Utah and Nevada over which auto trails would be paved and converted to U.S. Highways. (Full article...) - Image 5K-187 is an approximately 8-mile-long (13 km) north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located entirely within Nemaha County, K-187 runs from K-9 in Centralia north to U.S. Route 36 (US-36) west of Seneca. The highway passes through grasslands characteristic of the Great Plains and is a two-lane road for its entire length.
Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails. K-187's southern terminus closely follows the former Kansas White Way and the northern terminus closely follows the former Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway. K-187 was established by the Kansas State Highway Commission, now known as the Kansas Department of Transportation, as a state highway on March 9, 1955, and its alignment has not changed since. (Full article...) - Image 6Interstate 70 (I-70) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Cove Fort, Utah, to Woodlawn just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. In Maryland, the Interstate Highway runs 91.85 miles (147.82 km) from the Pennsylvania state line in Hancock east to the Interstate's eastern terminus at its junction with I-695. I-70 is the primary east–west Interstate in Maryland; the Interstate Highway connects Baltimore—and Washington, D.C., via I-270—with Western Maryland. The Interstate serves Frederick and Hagerstown directly and provides access to Cumberland via its junction with I-68 at Hancock. I-70 runs concurrently with its predecessor highway, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), from Hancock to Indian Springs in Washington County and from Frederick to West Friendship in Howard County.
I-70's route from Frederick to West Friendship was constructed as a divided highway relocation of US 40 in the early to mid-1950s and a freeway bypass of Frederick in the late 1950s. The first section of the Interstate to be marked as I-70 was an upgrade of US 40 near Hancock in the early 1960s. The remainder of the Interstate highway in Maryland west of Frederick was built on a new alignment in the mid- to late 1960s. I-70 was constructed from West Friendship to its present terminus in Baltimore in the late 1960s. The highway from Bartonsville in Frederick County to West Friendship was upgraded to Interstate standards in the mid-1970s. The final non-limited access portion of I-70 between Frederick and Bartonsville was eliminated in the mid-1980s. The Interstate has been upgraded through Frederick in a series of projects that began in the late 1990s. (Full article...) - Image 7Park Road 30 (PR 30), also known as Balmorhea State Park Road, is a short Park Road located in the western region of the U.S. state of Texas. The route is 0.277 miles (0.446 km) long, and connects Balmorhea State Park to State Highway 17 (SH 17) in Toyahvale in southwestern Reeves County. The route is made up of several individual drives within the park. The route was first built by the CCC in the mid-1930s, and was designated as PR 30 in 1941. The highway is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). (Full article...)
- Image 8M-54 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that bypasses the city of Flint. It is named Dort Highway for much of its length, in honor of Flint carriage and automobile pioneer Josiah Dallas Dort. The portion from the north end of Dort Highway to Clio Road is part of the historic Saginaw Trail, and was also part of the old Dixie Highway. The modern highway runs for 30.276 miles (48.724 km) through Genesee and Saginaw counties from connections with Interstate 75 (I-75) near Grand Blanc on the south to Birch Run on the north. The highway serves mostly suburban and urban sections of the Flint area. Outside of the city, it also passes through agricultural areas in northern Genesee County and southeastern Saginaw County. It also shares a short east–west section with M-83 near Birch Run.
The first state highway along the general route of M-54 was M-10, one of the original state trunklines signed in 1919. Later, it was redesignated as part of US Highway 10 (US 10) in the 1920s. After a series of realignments in the 1940s and 1960s, the roadway was given the M-54 designation in 1962. A segment of Saginaw Road through Flint was redesignated a business route in the 1940s that became Business M-54 (Bus. M-54) as well in 1962. That business loop was decommissioned in 1974. Previously, two other highways in Michigan bore the M-54 designation: a roadway that is now part of M-37 and one that is Bus. US 2 in Ironwood. (Full article...) - Image 9Iowa Highway 25 (Iowa 25) is a north–south highway in the southwest and west-central portion of the state. It begins at Iowa 2 seven miles (11 km) south of Clearfield. It heads north along a two-lane road through Creston, Greenfield, and Guthrie Center on its way to its northern end at U.S. Route 30 (US 30) near Scranton.
Iowa 25 was created in 1926 as a replacement for Primary Road No. 16, which was redesignated further east. It originally connected US 30 to US 34 in Creston. In the early 1930s, it was extended south to Blockton by absorbing all of Iowa 184. By the end of the 1930s, the highway reached the Missouri state line, where it ended for over 40 years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the highway south of Iowa 2 was turned over to local jurisdictions. (Full article...) - Image 10K-3 is a 43.262-mile-long (69.623 km) state highway in southeastern Kansas that runs through Crawford, Bourbon and Linn counties from K-47 near Girard to K-31 near Blue Mound. It was designated around 1932, and the entire route was paved by 1958. The road is maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), and is a two-lane road for its entire length. The route's concurrency with U.S. Route 54 (US-54) is a part of the National Highway System. (Full article...)
- Image 11New York State Route 590 (NY 590) is a 4.98-mile (8.01 km) north–south freeway located in the eastern suburbs of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The route is a northward extension of Interstate 590 (I-590) that begins at the Can of Worms, an interchange between I-490, I-590, and NY 590 on the boundary between the town of Brighton and the city of Rochester, and ends at a roundabout with Titus Avenue in the town of Irondequoit. NY 590 is known as the Sea Breeze Expressway, a name derived from the small community of Sea Breeze located near the highway's former northern terminus at Culver Road near the southern shore of Lake Ontario.
The portion of NY 590 between the Can of Worms and NY 104 is part of the northeastern quadrant of the Rochester Outer Loop, a series of freeways that form a beltway around the city of Rochester. At NY 104, the Outer Loop turns west to follow NY 104 through Irondequoit. The Sea Breeze Expressway was built in stages from the 1950s to the 1960s and carried various designations until 1970, when the entirety of the Rochester – Sea Breeze highway was designated as part of NY 47. It was redesignated as NY 590 in 1980. In the late 2000s, the section of NY 590 north of Titus Avenue was reconfigured into a two-lane road named Sea Breeze Drive, and NY 590 was truncated to end at Titus Avenue. (Full article...) - Image 12Route 155 was a short state highway in the community of Palmyra, New Jersey in Burlington County. The route ran from the ferry docks to the north of the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge (Route 73) through the community, terminating at an intersection with U.S. Route 130. The highway was a former alignment of Route 73 before the construction of the bridge. The route originated as Route S41N in the 1927 renumbering. The route was decommissioned and turned over to Burlington County, who designated it as an extension of County Route 607. (Full article...)
- Image 13U.S. Route 11 (US 11) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Rouses Point, New York. In Maryland, the federal highway runs 12.83 miles (20.65 km) from the West Virginia state line at the Potomac River in Williamsport north to the Pennsylvania state line near Maugansville. US 11 is the primary north–south surface highway in central Washington County, connecting Hagerstown with Williamsport to the south and Hagerstown Regional Airport to the north. The federal highway was once a major long-distance highway, but that role has been assumed by Interstate 81 (I-81), which parallels US 11 not only in Maryland but for most of its course from Tennessee to Upstate New York. US 11 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration except for the municipally-maintained portions within the corporate limits of Williamsport and Hagerstown.
US 11 is the descendant of a trail blazed through the Great Appalachian Valley in the 18th century. In the 19th century, this trail was upgraded to a pair of turnpikes, one from Williamsport to Hagerstown and the second from Hagerstown to the Pennsylvania state line. The highway was constructed in its modern form in the early 20th century, with the bridge across the Potomac River constructed in 1909 and the old turnpikes paved as all-weather roads by the nascent Maryland State Roads Commission in the 1910s. These highways and the streets of Hagerstown and Williamsport were designated Maryland's portion of US 11 in 1926. The federal highway was improved outside of the towns in the years surrounding 1930 and again around 1950. Since the completion of I-81 in two sections in the late 1950s and mid-1960s removed long-distance traffic from the highway, US 11 has seen its two major relocations: one that removed the highway from downtown Hagerstown and another required by expansion at Hagerstown Regional Airport. (Full article...) - Image 14State Road 538 (SR 538), also known as the Poinciana Parkway, is a 7.2-mile (11.6 km) controlled-access toll road built in Osceola and Polk Counties, Florida. Construction began in 2013 and was completed in 2016. The road had been planned for decades to provide a traffic outlet from Poinciana northwest to US 17/US 92 and Interstate 4. Costs skyrocketed after land along the planned route was converted to a mitigation bank, requiring a bridge to span most of the 1.2 miles (1.9 km) stretch through the restored wetland. The road was originally planned to be built by Avatar—the primary developer of Poinciana—as a four-lane, limited-access highway; after the decision was made to build the bridge across the mitigation bank a toll was planned for the bridge segment of the road, but the collapse of the 2000s housing bubble and increased costs forced Avatar to abandon their plans to build the private toll road. About the same time, Osceola County formed the Osceola County Expressway Authority to build a loop road around the Kissimmee-St.Cloud area, which would include the Poinciana Parkway. (Full article...)
- Image 15U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Indiana is a main east–west highway that is parallel to the Indiana Toll Road. The western terminus of US 20 is at the Illinois state line and the eastern terminus is at the Ohio state line. US 20 through Whiting, East Chicago, and Gary is concurrent with US 12 twice. The route varies between one-way, two-lane, and four-lane streets, in Northwest Indiana. From the east side of Gary to west of South Bend, US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway. The route then heads around the west and south sides of South Bend and Elkhart as a four-lane limited access divided highway. East of State Road 15 (SR 15), US 20 is two-lane rural highway.
US 20 was part of the Dunes Highway from the Illinois state line to Michigan City, concurrent with US 12. The Dunes Highway started being paved in 1922. The section of the highway that is known as Lincoln Way was part of the 1913 section of the Lincoln Highway. Indiana State Highway Commission, later renamed Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), began signing US 20 in 1926. US 20 went through downtown South Bend and Elkhart before the St. Joseph Valley Parkway was built. Before the parkway was completed, the route that was open to traffic was called US 20 Bypass (US 20 Byp.). A small realignment in LaGrange County was done in 2005, in which the roadway was straightened. Other small realignments included the route through Michigan City, which followed US 35 from US 12 to Interstate 94 (I-94). (Full article...)
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U.S. Roads news
- October 1:The Bella Vista Bypass is opened to traffic, making Interstate 49 complete from Kansas City, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas.[1]
- April 6: Work begins on covering the abandoned section of Pennsylvania Route 61 in Centralia, known as "Graffiti Highway", with dirt in order to block public access.[2][3]
- October 3: Nevada Department of Transportation begins renumbering the exits along Interstate 580, which originally reflected mileage along concurrent U.S. Route 395, to reflect mileage along the Interstate designation.[4]
- June 1: The first portion of the I-77 Express HOT lanes along Interstate 77 in North Carolina opened between Hambright Road in Huntersville and NC 150 in Mooresville.[5]
- February 4: A new highway tunnel opens in downtown Seattle to carry a section of Washington State Route 99, replacing the recently-closed Alaskan Way Viaduct. It cost $3.3 billion to construct and took over five years due to delays with its tunnel boring machine, Bertha.[6]
- January 10: The U.S. Route 301 toll road in Delaware between the Maryland border southwest of Middletown and Delaware Route 1 in Biddles Corner opens to traffic. The toll road is the first in Delaware to use all-electronic tolling, with tolls paid by E-ZPass or toll-by-plate.[7]
- November 21: The U.S. Route 219 freeway between Meyersdale and Somerset in Somerset County, Pennsylvania opens to traffic.[8]
- November 7: The section of Texas State Highway Loop 49 bypassing Lindale from Interstate 20 north to U.S. Route 69 opens to traffic.[9]
- October 13: A groundbreaking ceremony is held for the realignment of U.S. Route 219 between Interstate 68 and Old Salisbury Road in Garrett County, Maryland, with Governor Larry Hogan in attendance.[10]
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See also Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/to do, Category:U.S. road articles needing attention and individual state highway project to-do lists.
References and notes
- "I-49 Missouri-Arkansas Connector Project completed after more than 40 years". Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- Strawser, Justin (April 6, 2020). "Graffiti Highway to be closed by owners". The Daily Item. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Reed, J. (April 6, 2020). "Work Begins on Centralia's Graffiti Highway; State Police Enforce". Skook News. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- Munsun, Jeff (October 3, 2019). "Exit numbers to change on Carson City Freeway beginning this weekend". Carson Now. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- Marusak, Joe (May 31, 2019). "First part of I-77 toll lanes finally opened Saturday. Here's what you need to know". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- Lindblom, Mike (February 4, 2019). "New tunnel? No problem? It was an easy, light-traffic day Monday on Highway 99". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Smith, Jerry (January 10, 2019). "U.S. 301 Mainline toll road opens Thursday to cheers and jeers". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- "Route 219 extension opens". The Tribune-Democrat. Johnstown, PA. November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- Campbell, LouAnna (November 7, 2018). "Lindale relief route open, Toll 49 extended from I-20 to US Highway 69, north of Lindale". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- "Hogan Administration Announces Long-Awaited US 219 Realignment Construction Project in Garrett County" (Press release). Maryland State Highway Administration. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.