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.
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).
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.
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.
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 1Maryland Route 36 (also known as MD 36 or Route 36) is a 29.43-mile (47.36 km) state highway located in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. MD 36's southern terminus is at the West Virginia Route 46 (WV 46) bridge in Westernport and its northern terminus at U.S. Route 40 Alternate (US 40 Alt.) near Cumberland. Between Westernport and Frostburg, it is known as Georges Creek Road, and from Frostburg to Cumberland it is known as Mount Savage Road. Like the majority of Maryland state highways, MD 36 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
MD 36 serves as the main road through the Georges Creek Valley, a region which is historically known for coal mining, and has been designated by MDSHA as part of the Coal Heritage Scenic Byway. MD 36 is the main road connecting the towns of Westernport, Lonaconing, and Midland in southwestern Allegany County, as well as Frostburg, Mount Savage, and Corriganville in northwestern Allegany County. (Full article...) - Image 2New York State Route 311 (NY 311) is a state highway located entirely within Putnam County, New York, in the United States. It begins at NY 52 in Lake Carmel, and intersects Interstate 84 (I-84) shortly thereafter. It crosses NY 164 and NY 292 as it heads into the northeastern part of the county, finally curving east to reach its northern terminus at NY 22 just south of the Dutchess County line. The route passes several historical sites.
Part of modern-day Route 311 was originally the Philipstown Turnpike, a road built in 1815 to overcome a lack of transportation when the Hudson River froze during the winter months. The turnpike was a large business center for the county, though it was abandoned due to insufficient tolls to maintain it. Another section was constructed in the early 1900s, from the Patterson Baptist Church near the modern-day intersection of Route 311 and Route 164 to the Village of Patterson, by a group of Italian immigrants. (Full article...) - Image 3State Route 94 (SR 94) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that is 63.324 miles (101.910 km) long. The western portion, known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, begins at Interstate 5 (I-5) in Downtown San Diego and continues to the end of the freeway portion past SR 125 in Spring Valley. The non-freeway segment of SR 94 that continues east through the mountains to I-8 near Boulevard is known as Campo Road.
The Campo road served as a wagon road providing access to eastern San Diego County as well as Imperial County. The road was added to the state highway system in 1933, and signs for Route 94 were posted along local roads later that decade. Efforts to convert the western half of the route to a freeway got underway in the 1950s, and the freeway was complete by 1962 west of the road that became SR 125. Construction continued east to Avocado Road over the next few years. Various proposals for widening the highway have come from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), but local opposition resulted in the delay or cancellation of many of these proposals. (Full article...) - Image 4Interstate 70 (I-70) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. In western Colorado, the highway connects the metropolitan areas of Grand Junction and Denver via a route through the Rocky Mountains. In eastern Colorado, the highway crosses the Great Plains, connecting Denver with metropolitan areas in Kansas and Missouri. Bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles, normally prohibited on Interstate Highways, are allowed on those stretches of I-70 in the Rockies where no other through route exists.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) lists the construction of I-70 among the engineering marvels undertaken in the Interstate Highway System and cites four major accomplishments: the section through the Dakota Hogback, Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Glenwood Canyon. The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) and length of 1.7 miles (2.7 km), is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System. The portion through Glenwood Canyon was completed on October 14, 1992. This was one of the final pieces of the Interstate Highway System to open to traffic and is one of the most expensive rural highways per mile built in the country. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) earned the 1993 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for the completion of I-70 through the canyon. (Full article...) - Image 5Interstate 496 (I-496) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that passes through downtown Lansing in the US state of Michigan. Also a component of the State Trunkline Highway System, the freeway connects I-96 to the downtown area. It has been named the R.E. Olds Freeway (sometimes just Olds Freeway) for Ransom E. Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile and the REO Motor Car Company. I-496 runs east–west from I-96/I-69 near the downtown area and north–south along a section that runs concurrently with US Highway 127 (US 127). The trunkline also passes a former assembly plant used by Oldsmobile and runs along or crosses parts of the Grand and Red Cedar rivers.
Construction of I-496 started in 1963, and the freeway opened on December 18, 1970. Segments of the freeway south of downtown Lansing were built in the location of a historically black neighborhood. This neighborhood was formed based on the segregationist practices of the early 20th century. Community leaders worked for different housing opportunities for the black residents displaced by I-496 rather than fight the freeway. As the trunkline neared completion, competing proposals to name it resulted in two similar, but separate designations applied to I-496. The city originally approved one name in honor of a former mayor. The local historical society proposed that the state name it as a memorial to Olds after the demolition of the Olds Mansion. The city renamed it the Oldsmobile Expressway, the name under which it opened in December 1970. Two years later, the Michigan Legislature restored its preferred name and it has been the Olds Freeway since. (Full article...) - Image 6New York State Route 343 (NY 343) is a state highway located entirely within central Dutchess County, in the Hudson Valley region of the U.S. state of New York. It runs east–west from the intersection of NY 82 in the village of Millbrook to the town of Amenia, where it crosses the Connecticut state line and continues eastward as Route 343, a Connecticut state highway located entirely within the town of Sharon. Along the way, it has a 7.3-mile (11.7 km) concurrency with NY 22 from vicinity of the hamlet of Dover Plains to the hamlet of Amenia.
The entirety of modern Route 343 was originally the Dover branch of the Dutchess Turnpike. The turnpike, which was in operation from the early to the mid-19th century, was a major transportation route at the time, connecting several local communities to Litchfield County, Connecticut, and the city of Poughkeepsie. NY 343 was designated in 1930, connecting the hamlet of Amenia to the state line, but was relocated a few years later onto the portion of New York State Route 200 from South Millbrook to the hamlet of Dover Plains. The NY 200 designation was rerouted east of Millbrook on NY 343's original alignment. NY 343 absorbed NY 200 in the early 1940s, creating an overlap with NY 22 between Dover Plains and Amenia. The Connecticut portion of the highway was originally designated as part of Route 4; it was renumbered to Route 343 in 1932. (Full article...) - Image 7New York State Route 373 (NY 373) is a short state highway in Essex County, New York, within Adirondack Park. It begins at U.S. Route 9 (US 9) and proceeds eastward, ending at a ferry landing on Lake Champlain. It intersects two county routes, several local roads, and a reference route—NY 912T—which connects it with US 9. NY 373 is the only connector between US 9 and the hamlet of Port Kent and the ferry that serves it.
The hamlet of Port Kent and the connecting road were originally built in 1823. The village was planned to act as a source of labor for iron manufacturing and to provide for the industrial needs of Essex County. The hamlet grew and eventually became connected to Burlington, Vermont, via an hour-long ferry across Lake Champlain. The road that accessed Port Kent originally began in Keeseville, but became part of the longer Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike in the 1830s. The highway that is now NY 373 was also designated as part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway in 1919. (Full article...) - Image 8New 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 9Interstate 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 10Interstate 196 (I-196) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 80.6 miles (129.7 km) in the US state of Michigan. It is a state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids. In Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties, I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, after President Gerald Ford, who was raised in Grand Rapids and served Michigan in the House of Representatives for 25 years. This name generally refers only to the section between Holland and Grand Rapids. I-196 changes direction; it is signed as a north–south highway from its southern terminus to the junction with US Highway 31 (US 31) just south of Holland, and as an east–west trunkline from this point to its eastern terminus at an interchange with I-96, its parent highway. There are three business routes related to the main freeway. There are two business loops (BL I-196) and one business spur (BS I-196) that serve South Haven, Holland and the Grand Rapids areas. Another business spur for Muskegon had been designated relative to the I-196 number.
The freeway numbered I-196 is the second in the state to bear the number. Originally to be numbered as part of the I-94 corridor in the state, the Benton Harbor–Grand Rapids freeway was given the I-96 number in the 1950s while another Interstate between Muskegon and Grand Rapids was numbered I-196. That I-196 was built in the late 1950s and completed in the early 1960s. The first segment of the current I-196 was opened as I-96 near Benton Harbor in 1962. Michigan officials requested a change in 1963 which reversed the two numbers, and the subsequent segments of freeway opened northward to Holland and from Grand Rapids westward under the current number. The gap between Holland and Grandville was filled in the 1970s, and a section of freeway that runs through downtown Grand Rapids was rebuilt as a wider freeway in 2010. (Full article...) - Image 11State 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 building 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 12Interstate 94 (I-94) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Billings, Montana, to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state south of New Buffalo and runs eastward through several metropolitan areas in the southern section of the state. The highway serves Benton Harbor–St. Joseph near Lake Michigan before turning inland toward Kalamazoo and Battle Creek on the west side of the peninsula. Heading farther east, I-94 passes through rural areas in the middle of the southern Lower Peninsula, crossing I-69 in the process. I-94 then runs through Jackson, Ann Arbor, and portions of Metro Detroit, connecting Michigan's largest city to its main airport. Past the east side of Detroit, the Interstate angles northeasterly through farmlands in The Thumb to Port Huron, where the designation terminates on the Blue Water Bridge at the Canada–United States border.
The first segment of what later became I-94 within the state, the Willow Run Expressway, was built near Ypsilanti and Belleville in 1941, with an easterly extension to Detroit in 1945. This expressway was initially numbered M-112. In the mid-1950s, state and federal officials planned an Interstate to replace the original route of US Highway 12 (US 12). By 1960, the length of I-94 was completed from Detroit to New Buffalo. Two years later, the US 12 designation was dropped from the freeway. Subsequent extensions in the 1960s completed most of the rest of the route, including the remaining sections between Detroit and Port Huron which superseded the routing of US 25. The last segment opened to the public in 1972 when Indiana completed its connection across the state line. Since completion, I-94 has remained relatively unchanged; a few interchanges have been rebuilt, a second span was constructed for the Blue Water Bridge, and, in 1987, a plane crashed on the freeway during takeoff from the airport in Detroit. The routing of I-94 is notable for containing the first full freeway-to-freeway interchange in the United States, connecting to the Lodge Freeway (M-10), and for comprising the first complete border-to-border toll-free freeway in a state in the United States. The highway has one auxiliary route, I-194, which serves downtown Battle Creek, and eight business routes. Various segments have been dedicated to multiple people and places. (Full article...) - Image 13The 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 14US Highway 141 (US 141) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. The highway runs north-northwesterly from an interchange with Interstate 43 (I-43) in Bellevue, Wisconsin, near Green Bay, to a junction with US 41/M-28 near Covington, Michigan. In between, it follows city streets in Green Bay and has a concurrent section with US 41 in Wisconsin. North of Green Bay, US 141 is either a freeway or an expressway into rural northern Wisconsin before downgrading to an undivided highway. In Michigan, US 141 is an undivided highway that runs through rural woodlands. The highway has two segments in each state; after running through Wisconsin for about 103 miles (166 km), it crosses into Michigan for approximately another eight miles (13 km). After that, it crosses back into Wisconsin for about 14+1⁄2 miles (23 km) before crossing the state line one last time. The northernmost Michigan section is about 43+1⁄2 miles (70 km), making the overall length about 169 miles (272 km).
When the US Highway System was formed on November 11, 1926, US 141 ran from Milwaukee to Green Bay, and one segment of the modern highway in Michigan was originally designated US Highway 102 (US 102). This other designation was decommissioned in 1928 when US 141 was extended north from Green Bay into Michigan. Michigan has rebuilt the highway in stages over the years to smooth out sharp curves in the routing. Since the 1960s, the section south of Green Bay has been converted into a freeway in segments. US 141 has ended southeast of Green Bay in Bellevue since the 1980s—the southern freeway segment was redesignated as I-43. The section north of Abrams, Wisconsin, was converted to a freeway in the opening years of the 21st century, with an additional divided-highway section opening a few years later. (Full article...) - Image 15Interstate 70 (I-70) is a portion of the Interstate Highway System that runs from near Cove Fort, Utah, at a junction with I-15 to Baltimore, Maryland. It crosses the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia through Ohio County and the city of Wheeling. This segment is the shortest of all states through which I-70 passes, crossing West Virginia for only 14.45 miles (23.26 km). The Fort Henry Bridge carries I-70 from Wheeling Island across the Ohio River and into downtown Wheeling before the freeway enters the Wheeling Tunnel. I-470, a southerly bypass of Wheeling and the lone auxiliary Interstate Highway in West Virginia, is intersected near Elm Grove. Before crossing into Pennsylvania, I-70 passes The Highlands, a major shopping center in the panhandle, and the Bear Rocks Lake Wildlife Management Area. On average, between 27,000 and 53,000 vehicles use the freeway every day.
The first road that entered Wheeling was a post road completed in 1794 that connected Wheeling to Morgantown. The National Road was the first interstate road, completed in 1818, that connected Wheeling to Cumberland, Maryland. When the United States Numbered Highway System was created in 1926, the National Road was designated U.S. Route 40 (US 40). The I-70 designation was brought to the Northern Panhandle with the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, and it was built as a controlled-access highway, bypassing portions of the old National Road. The first portions of I-70 in West Virginia were opened in 1963, and construction was completed in 1971. (Full article...)
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- Image 1Arden Valley Road is a scenic road located in Southfields, New York, in the United States, that travels through Harriman State Park and is owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. At 5.2 miles (8.4 km) long, it begins at New York State Route 17 (NY 17) in Southfields and ends at Seven Lakes Drive in Harriman State Park. Arden Valley Road also serves a trout stocking area for the Ramapo River. The road is located entirely in Orange County and is home to the Elk's Pen Trailhead in Harriman State Park. In 1921, plans arose by the commission to construct the road, which was completed the same year and stretched along the borderline with the Harriman estate. Major William A. Welch ordered 75 elk from Yellowstone National Park to be placed in a wired cage between Arden and Southfields in 1919. The elk eventually disappeared from the pen by 1942, and the area became the current Elk's Pen trailhead for trails within Harriman State Park. (Full article...)
- Image 2Delaware Route 7 (DE 7) is a north–south highway in New Castle County, Delaware that connects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) and DE 72 in Wrangle Hill north to the Pennsylvania border near Hockessin, where the road continues into Pennsylvania as State Route 3013 (SR 3013), intersecting Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41) at an interchange. Between Wrangle Hill and Christiana, DE 7 runs parallel to the west of the DE 1 freeway through suburban areas, passing through Bear. DE 7 joins DE 1 next to the Christiana Mall and comes to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95), where DE 1 reaches its northern terminus, before the freeway ends at the DE 58 interchange. After the freeway segment, DE 7 continues north as an at-grade road concurrent with DE 4 through Stanton. From Stanton to the Pennsylvania border, DE 7 heads northwest through suburban areas, passing through Pike Creek.
What is now DE 7 was built as a state highway during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1936, the route was designated to run along its present alignment between US 13 near Red Lion and the Pennsylvania border. From the 1950s to the 1970s, DE 7 became a divided highway between Christiana and Milltown Road. With the construction of the DE 1 freeway in the 1990s, DE 7 was shifted to a portion of the freeway near the Christiana Mall. The route was also extended south to an intersection with US 13 and DE 72 as a result of the relocation of US 13 onto a portion of the freeway. The road also became a divided highway between Milltown Road and DE 72 in the 1990s. In 1999, an interchange was built at DE 58 as a result of a northward extension of the freeway along DE 7. The interchange with I-95 was reconstructed to include flyover ramps in 2013. (Full article...) - Image 3State Route 209 (SR 209) was a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting Cabrillo National Monument with the interchange of Interstate 5 (I-5) and I-8 in San Diego, passing through the neighborhoods of Point Loma. The majority of the route was along Rosecrans Street; it also included Cañon Street and Catalina Boulevard leading to the tip of Point Loma.
The Rosecrans Street portion of SR 209 corresponded to the original routing of the historic La Playa Trail. Rosecrans Street was paved in the late 19th century through the community of Roseville, and was added to the state highway system in 1933 as Route 12. SR 209 was designated in the 1964 state highway renumbering, and a full interchange with I-5 and I-8 was completed in 1969. The designation was removed from the state highway system in 2003 and responsibility for the road was transferred to the city of San Diego. (Full article...) - Image 4Iowa Highway 160 (Iowa 160) is a short state highway that runs east and west in central Iowa. Its begins at Iowa 415 in Ankeny and ends at exit 90 of Interstate 35 (I-35) in Ankeny. Originally ending at a Y intersection, south of the current intersection with Iowa 415, the route has been straightened to run west and east. Iowa 160 passes Des Moines Area Community College near its intersection with U.S. Highway 69 (US 69). (Full article...)
- Image 5Minnesota State Highway 7, or Trunk Highway 7, (MN 7, TH 7) is a state highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 near Beardsley and continues east to its terminus with MN 100 and County Road 25 (CR 25) in St. Louis Park. The highway runs east–west for approximately 194.2 miles (312.5 km) through mostly rural farmland in the central part of the state. On its western end, it is part of the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway where it runs northwest–southeast along the Minnesota River and associated lakes near the border with the adjoining state of South Dakota. For roughly 24 miles (39 km) of its route, it runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) between Appleton and Montevideo. In Montevideo, the highway turns to the east cutting across the state. It passes through several small towns before entering the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In the metro area, MN 7 follows an expressway through several suburbs before terminating in St. Louis Park. Two different segments have been listed on the National Highway System, system of roads considered important to the country.
The highway was first designated along a series of roads between Appleton and Minneapolis around 1933. At first these roads were a mixture of gravel and bitumen surfaces, the latter a forerunner of today's asphalt. Within the first year or so, the western end was extended to terminate MN 7 in the Ortonville area. In 1958, the highway was extended to its modern western terminus at Beardsley by replacing another trunk highway. The section that is now an expressway in the Twin Cities was expanded by the 1950s, and the whole highway was paved in a hard-surface by the end of that decade. The highway was truncated in the Twin Cities to its current eastern terminus in the 1980s. The scenic byways designations were applied at the state and federal levels in 1995 and 2002, respectively. (Full article...) - Image 6
State Route 510 (SR 510) is a state highway in Thurston County, Washington. The 13 miles (20.9 km) long highway extends southeast from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Lacey to SR 507 in Yelm. SR 510 roughly parallels the Nisqually River, the border between Thurston and Pierce counties, between the Fort Lewis and Nisqually Indian Community area to Yelm.
The roadway was built by 1916 as a connector from Saint Clair Lake to the Northern Pacific Railway station in Yelm and was designated as Secondary State Highway 5I (SSH 5I) in 1937. The original route of SSH 5I ran from Tumwater east to Yelm, following the present-day Yelm Highway. In 1959, the highway was realigned to serve a new freeway, later I-5, in Lacey; SSH 5I was replaced in the 1964 highway renumbering by SR 510. The Yelm-Tenino Trail was built over the Northern Pacific line in 1993 and a bypass is being constructed around Yelm. (Full article...) - Image 7U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9 or US 1-9) is the 31.01-mile (49.91 km) long concurrency of US 1 and US 9 from their junction in Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, north to New York City. The route is a multilane road with some freeway portions that runs through urbanized areas of North Jersey adjacent to New York City. Throughout most of its length in New Jersey, the road runs near the New Jersey Turnpike/Interstate 95 (I-95). In Fort Lee, US 1/9 merges onto I-95 and crosses the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge, where the two U.S. Routes split a short distance into New York. US 1/9 intersects several major roads, including I-278 in Linden, Route 81 in Elizabeth, I-78 and US 22 in Newark, Route 139 in Jersey City, Route 3 and Route 495 in North Bergen, and US 46 in Palisades Park. US 1/9 also serves as the primary access point to Newark Airport. Between Newark and Jersey City, US 1/9 runs along the Pulaski Skyway. Trucks are banned from this section of road and must use US 1/9 Truck. The concurrency between US 1 and US 9 is commonly referred to as "1 and 9". Some signage for the concurrency, as well as the truck route, combines the two roads into one shield, separated by a hyphen (1-9) or an ampersand (1&9).
The current alignment of US 1/9 south of Elizabeth was planned as Route 1 in 1916; this road was extended to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City in 1922. When the U.S. Highway System was created in 1926, US 1 and US 9 were marked concurrent through northern New Jersey between Rahway on the current alignments of Route 27 and US 1/9 Truck. In 1927, Route 1 became Route 25, and Route 1 and Route 6 were legislated along the current US 1/9 north of Jersey City. US 1/9 originally went to the Holland Tunnel on Route 25; after the George Washington Bridge opened, the two routes were realigned to their current routing north of Jersey City. After the Pulaski Skyway opened in 1932, US 1/9 and Route 25 were routed to use this road, which soon had a truck ban resulting in the creation of Route 25T (now US 1/9 Truck). South of Newark, US 1/9 was moved from Route 27 to Route 25. In 1953, the state highways running concurrent with US 1/9 in New Jersey were removed. In 1964, the approaches to the George Washington Bridge were upgraded into I-95. (Full article...) - Image 8M-95, designated the Leif Erickson Memorial Highway, is a state trunkline highway in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. Running from Kingsford to near Champion in Humboldt Township, it is the main connection between Iron Mountain and Marquette along with US Highway 41 (US 41).
M-95 was previously designated as M-45. The number was switched when US 45 was designated in Michigan. The trunkline incorporates a portion of the former M-12 which became US 2. A section of the highway near Republic was turned over to Marquette County during a rerouting of the highway in the 1940s, becoming County Road 601. (Full article...) - Image 9Pennsylvania Route 12 (PA 12) is a 9.566-mile-long (15.395 km) state highway located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 222 (US 222) and US 422 in Wyomissing. Its eastern terminus is PA 662 in the community of Pricetown in Ruscombmanor Township. In the Reading area, PA 12 is a four-lane freeway called the Warren Street Bypass that heads northeast through urban areas, coming to interchanges with multiple roads including PA 183, PA 61, and US 222 Business (US 222 Bus.). In Alsace Township, the route becomes a two-lane undivided road with at-grade intersections called Pricetown Road and continues northeast through rural areas, intersecting PA 73 before ending at PA 662.
Pricetown Road originally existed in the 18th century as a road to link farmers in Pricetown to markets in Reading. The Warren Street Bypass was first planned in 1949 as a widening of Warren Street in Reading leading to a new bridge over Tulpehocken Creek to Wyomissing. In the 1950s, the Warren Street Bypass was completed from Wyomissing northeast to US 222 (Allentown Pike, now 5th Street Highway) north of Reading, providing a bypass of Reading. US 222 was routed onto this bypass by 1976, with the Warren Street Bypass extended northeast to Pricetown Road in 1980. The part of the Warren Street Bypass northeast of US 222 along with Pricetown Road became State Route 2026 (SR 2026) when the Location Referencing System was established. In 1998, PA 12 was assigned to its current alignment following the rerouting of US 222 onto a new bypass of Reading. (Full article...) - Image 10Vermont Route 44 (VT 44) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs 10.190 miles (16.399 km) from VT 106 in Reading east to U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 12 in Windsor. VT 44 passes through West Windsor in southern Windsor County, serving the area north of Mount Ascutney. The highway has an auxiliary route, VT 44A, which provides access to Mount Ascutney State Park and connects VT 44 with Interstate 91 (I-91) in Weathersfield. VT 44 was established in 1958 along the highway between Reading and Windsor. The three towns had previously maintained the highway with support from the state for construction and maintenance, including reconstruction along several segments in the 1940s. The state paved VT 44 in the early 1970s and early 1980s. VT 44A was established in 1987 when part of VT 44 in Windsor was returned to town maintenance. (Full article...)
- Image 11New York State Route 342 (NY 342) is a short east–west state highway in Jefferson County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus of NY 342 is at an intersection with NY 12 near the hamlet of Scoville Corners in the town of Pamelia. The eastern terminus is at a junction with NY 3 in the town of Le Ray, west of the village of Black River. Along the way, NY 342 connects to Interstate 81 (I-81) in Pamelia and intersects U.S. Route 11 (US 11) outside of the Le Ray hamlet of Calcium.
What is now NY 342 was originally built during the 1950s as a federal-aid highway known as the "Watertown Bypass". It became a state highway in 1960, at which time it was designated as New York State Route 181. The designation was short-lived as NY 181 was renumbered to NY 342 c. 1963. The portion of NY 342 between US 11 and NY 3 was part of NY 26 from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. (Full article...) - Image 12
State Route 281 (SR 281) is a short state highway in Grant County, Washington. It travels north–south for 10.5 miles (16.9 km), connecting Interstate 90 (I-90) in George to SR 28 in Quincy. The highway is a major freight corridor and also has a short spur route near George that connects it to SR 283.
SR 281 was added to the state highway system in 1915 as part of the Sunset Highway, but was transferred to the North Central Highway four years later. The highway was paved in the 1930s and designated as part of Primary State Highway 7 (PSH 7) before being replaced by SR 281 in the 1964 state highway renumbering. SR 281 has since been proposed for upgrades into a four-lane highway or a freeway due to its importance in linking the Wenatchee area to I-90. (Full article...) - Image 13
State Route 37 (SR 37) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Winchester Bypass, it forms a western bypass of Winchester, connecting to Interstate 81 (I-81) at both ends. Although the road is a freeway, neither I-81 connection is freeway standard; the south end (exit 310) is a diamond interchange with two traffic signals, while, at the north end, drivers must use a short piece of U.S. Route 11 (US 11) to connect with I-81 at exit 317. In addition to local access, the highway connects to US 50 and US 522, two major highways that lead west and northwest into West Virginia and north to I-70 at Hancock, Maryland. An eastern bypass, known locally as "Route 37 East" has been proposed in statewide and local plans to complete the loop. (Full article...) - Image 14State Route 7 (SR 7) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, running from the Calexico East Port of Entry on the U.S.-Mexico border east of Calexico north to its terminus at Interstate 8 (I-8), where Orchard Road continues the route north towards Holtville. The route provides convenient access to the country of Mexico from I-8. The southern portion of the route opened in 1996, and the rest of the route connecting to I-8 opened in 2005. (Full article...)
- Image 15Interstate 590 (I-590) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that serves the immediate southeastern suburbs of the city of Rochester, New York, in the United States. It extends for 5.31 miles (8.55 km) from an interchange with I-390 in Brighton to the Can of Worms, a complex interchange connecting I-590 to I-490 (Eastern Expressway) just inside the Rochester city line. I-590 makes up the southeast quadrant of the Rochester Outer Loop, which continues west on I-390 and north past the Can of Worms on New York State Route 590 (NY 590). The highway is a spur route of I-90; the connection between the two is made via both I-390 and I-490.
The portion of I-590 between Winton Road and the Can of Worms was originally constructed in the 1960s and designated as part of NY 47 from Elmwood Avenue northward. In the late 1970s, I-590 was proposed as a designation for the entire southern half of the Outer Loop. Ultimately, it was cut back to its current western terminus at the then-proposed I-390. I-590 was officially assigned in 1980 following the elimination of NY 47, and the last segment of the freeway between Winton Road and I-390 was completed by the following year. (Full article...)
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Related portals
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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Nominations and votes for selected articles and selected pictures are always needed. Anyone can nominate an article, and anyone can vote for an article. You can also recommend items for Did you know?. If you have news related to U.S. roads, you can add it to the news section above.
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.