NUMBERED HIGHWAYS IN THE UNITED STATES

'Highways in the United States' are split into at least four different types of systems.

★ 'Interstate Highways'

★
★ The 'Interstate Highway System' is a federally funded and administered (but state-maintained) system of freeways that forms the transportation backbone of the U.S., with millions of Americans relying on it for commutes and freight transport daily. Interstate highways are all constructed to precise standards, designed to maximize high-speed travel safety and efficiency. Interstate Highways also contain auxiliary routes, which are normally assigned a three-digit route number. All Interstate Highways are part of the National Highway System, a network of highways deemed essential to the defense, economy, and mobility of the country.

★ 'U.S. Highways'

★
★ The 'U.S. Highway System' is an older system, coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and maintained by state and local governments. Because of the prominence of the Interstate System, many U.S. Routes have been downgraded to state-numbered routes over the years, most famous being the decommissioning of the well-known U.S. Route 66.

★ 'State Highways'

★
★ Each state also has a 'state highway' system (''see also: State highway#United States''). State highways are of varying standards and quality. Some state highways become so heavily traveled they are built to Interstate standards; others are so lightly traveled they are roads of minimal quality.

★ 'County Highways'

★
★ The final administrative level in some states is the county-maintained 'county highway'. County routes vary widely from well-travelled expressways to dirt access roads into remote parts of the county.
Highways are generally organized by a route number or letter. These designations are generally displayed along the route by means of a highway shield; each system has its own unique shield design that will allow quick identification to which system the route belongs. Below is a list of the different highway shields used throughout the U.S.

Contents

Shield list

Interstate Highways

U.S. Numbered Highways

Generic routes

State highways and other similar systems

Territorial Highways

See also

External links

Shield list

Interstate Highways

'Interstate Highway'
''Shown: Interstate 95''
'Interstate Highway, 3-digit variant'
''Shown: Interstate 695''
'Interstate Highway, state-name variant'
''Shown: Interstate 80 in California
'Hawaii Interstate Highway'
''Shown: Interstate H-1
'Alaska Interstate Highway'
★
★
''Shown: Interstate A-1
'Puerto Rico Interstate Highway'
★
★
''Shown:PRI-1

★
★ Note that the Alaska and Puerto Rico Interstates exist but are not signed as such - the above shields are theoretical only, and based on the real-life Hawaii Interstate Highways (H1, H2, H3, and H201), which are signed.

U.S. Numbered Highways

'United States Numbered Highways'
''Shown: U.S. Route 30''
'United States Numbered Highways, California variant'
''Shown: U.S. Route 50 in California
'Historic United States Numbered Highways, California variant'
''Shown: Historic U.S. Route 99 in California''

Generic routes

'Generic county route'
''Shown: County Route 64 in Baldwin County, Alabama''
'Generic Forest Route'
''Shown: Forest Route 7''
'Generic Indian Route'
''Shown: Indian Route 18''
'Generic U.S. Bicycle Route'
''Shown: U.S. Bicycle Route 76''

State highways and other similar systems

Many state highway markers are designed to suggest the geographic shape of the state or some other state symbol such as its flag. Most of the others are generically rectangular or some other neutral shape. Pennsylvania uses the unique shape of a keystone, designating "The Keystone State".
'State Routes in Alabama'
''Shown: State Route 67''
'Alaska Routes'
''Shown: Alaska Route 5''
'State Route in Arizona'
''Shown: State Route 48''
'State Highway' in 'Arkansas'
''Shown: State Highway 87''
'State Route in California'
''Shown: State Route 2''
'State Highways in Colorado'
''Shown: State Highway 62''
'Routes in Connecticut'
''Shown: Route 16''
'State Routes in Delaware'
''Shown: State Route 1''
'District of Columbia Routes'
''Shown: District of Columbia Route 295''
'State Roads in Florida'
''Shown: State Road 13''
'State Roads in Florida, tolled'
''Shown: State Road 869''
'State Route in Georgia
''Shown: State Route 3''
'Route in Hawaii'
''Shown: Route 66''
'State Highway in Idaho'
''Shown: State Highway 41''
'Illinois Route'
''Shown: Illinois Route 19''
'State Roads in Indiana'
''Shown: State Road 67''
'State Highway in Iowa'
★
''Shown: Iowa Highway 92''
'State Highway in Kansas'
★
''Shown: K-99''
'State Highway in Kentucky'
★
''Shown: State Highway 1''
'State Highway in Louisiana'
★
''Shown: Louisiana Highway 3021''
'State Route in Maine'
''Shown: State Route 9''
'Maryland state highway'
''Shown: Maryland Route 2''
'Route in Massachusetts'
''Shown: Route 24''
'State Trunkline in Michigan'
''Shown: M-28''
'Highway in Minnesota'
''Shown: Highway 62''
'Highway in Mississippi'
''Shown: Mississippi Highway 1''
'Route in Missouri'
''Shown: Route 43''
'Route in Missouri, supplemental variant'
''Shown: Route K''
'Highway in Montana'
''Shown: Montana State Highway 80''
'Secondary Highway in Montana'
''Shown: Montana Secondary Highway 201''
'State Highway in Nebraska'
''Shown: Nebraska Highway 2''
'State Route in Nevada'
''Shown: State Route 28''
'New Hampshire Route'
''Shown: New Hampshire Route 16''
'Route in New Jersey'
''Shown: Route 33''
'State Highway in New Mexico'
★
''Shown: New Mexico State Highway 516''
'Route in New York'
''Shown: New York State Route 15''
'Parkway in upstate New York'
''Shown: Bronx River Parkway''
'Parkway on Long Island, New York'
''Shown: Meadowbrook Parkway''
'State Highway in North Carolina'
''Shown: North Carolina Highway 130''
'State Highways in North Dakota'
★
''Shown: State Highway 23''
'State Route in Ohio'
''Shown: State Route 2''
'State Highway in Oklahoma, new shield'
''Shown: State Highway 1''
'State Highway in Oklahoma, old shield'
''Shown: State Highway 1''
'Route in Oregon'
''Shown: Oregon Route 58''
'State Route in Pennsylvania'
★
''Shown: Pennsylvania Route 39''
'Route in Rhode Island'
''Shown: Route 3''
'State Highway in South Carolina'
''Shown: South Carolina Highway 64''
'State Highway in South Dakota'
''Shown: South Dakota Highway 10''
'State Route in Tennessee'
''Shown: State Route 14''
'Secondary State Route in Tennessee'
''Shown: Secondary State Route 14''
'State Highway in Texas'
''Shown: State Highway 6''
'State Highway in Texas, tolled'
''Shown: State Highway 121''
'State Highway Loop in Texas'
''Shown: State Highway Loop 1''
'State Highway Spur in Texas'
''Shown: State Highway Spur 366''
'State Beltway in Texas'
''Shown: Texas Beltway 8''
'Farm to Market Road in Texas'
''Shown: Farm to Market Road 1093''
'Park Road in Texas'
''Shown: Park Road 5''
'Recreational Road in Texas'
''Shown: Recreational Road 2''
'State NASA Road in Texas'
''Shown: NASA Road 1''
'Old San Antonio Road in Texas'
''Shown: Texas OSR the first road in Texas''
'State Route in Utah'
''Shown: State Route 201''
'Vermont Route'
''Shown: Vermont Route 15''
'Vermont Route, "state numbered town highway" variant'
''Shown: Locally maintained Vermont Route 1''
'Virginia State Route'
''Shown: State Route 7''
'Virginia State Highway, secondary or frontage state highway'
''Shown: State Route 620''
'State Route in Washington'
''Shown: State Route 202''
'Primary State Highways in Washington'
''Shown: PSH 1''
'West Virginia State Route'
★
''Shown: West Virginia Route 46''
'Wisconsin State Trunk Highway'
''Shown: State Trunk Highway 29''
'Wisconsin County Trunk Highway'
''Shown: County Trunk Highway L''
'State Highway in Wyoming'
★
''Shown: Wyoming Highway 24''
:'A
★ means that the official name is unconfirmed.'

Territorial Highways

'American Samoa Highway'
★
''Shown: Territorial Route 001''
'Guam Highways'
★
''Shown: Guam Highway 8''
'Puerto Rico Primary Highway'
★
''Shown: Puerto Rico Primary Highway 1''
'Puerto Rico Urban Primary Highway'
★
''Shown: Puerto Rico Urban Primary Highway 1''
'Puerto Rico Secondary Highway'
★
''Shown: Puerto Rico Secondary Highway 970''
'Puerto Rico Tertiary Highway'
★
''Shown: Puerto Rico Tertiary Highway 3''
'U.S. Virgin Islands Highway'
★
''Shown: U.S. Virgin Islands Highway 10''
:'A
★ means that the official name is unconfirmed.'

See also

★ List of roads and highways

★ List of toll roads

★ Circular highway shield

External links

★ Full list of state route markers

★ Road Signs (drawings and photos of old and new signs)

★ Old Trails - US and Canadian Roads in the 20th Century (includes drawings and photos of old signs)