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Hello,
Bit of a newbie question here! I'm not sure what part of the forum it should be asked either...
Anyway. I've been using Google Maps to plan my route. I just want to confirm what the icons are if you could help :)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon1.gif
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon2.gif
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon3.gif
Hi Englebert, welcome to the forum!Quote:
Originally Posted by englebert
Here are the definitions:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon1.gif This is an Interstate.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon2.gif This is a US Federal Route.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/robfenn/icon3.gif This is a State Route (note: actual state shields [the ones on signs] are different).
Hope this helps.
-Brad
ps- you can also find some information on general road signs here.
Thanks for that Brad, and the link.
When it comes to following directions, i know people will call interstate 90 'i 90'. Are there abbreviations for the others?
Unfortunately for the traveler - most others are usually referred to as Highway or just the number. There's no distinction between a state route and a US route in the vernacular.
Laura
Fair enough, i guess the idea is that road signs are meant to be easy to interpret anyway...
When people write highway routes in text or speaking, they may say things like SR 45 for State Route 45. If people are talking about mutliple states, they'll typically use the Postal Abbreviation (WA 9 for Washington State Route 9). So, in a post from us, you'll most likely see directions like this:
Take I-10 to AZ Loop 202 East bound, exiting at Arizona Avenue, and turning north on Arizona Ave, which will become AZ 87.
County routes are usually denoted by the full name of the county route: Maricopa County Route 85 (Buckeye Road).
When talking to someone though, they'll most likely say "Take 9" for Washington Route 9, or SR9.
You'll get more specific details when the directions cross state boundries, people are usually nice enough to denote, for example, a Washington Route vs. a Oregon Route.
Hope this too helps.
I do find the route numbers confusing when planning a route using Streets & Trips or, sometimes, on this forum. But usually it all makes sense when you're on the ground. Thankfully!
All of the RoadTrip Advisors are encouraged (expected) to use and adopt the A/P (Associated Press) standards for describing state highways and other roads on this Forum. We try and provide clear identification of the various roads for this very reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by UKCraig
Mark
Thanks for the help, i'll rely on the good American people to help me along my way ;)
Generally (certainly not always) you will find that routes are numbered in such a way as to avoid mass confusion. So, for instance, you will notice that I-90 is nowhere near US-90, and I-5 is not near US-5. In fact, for both of these instances, the US route is at the opposite end of the compass needle (I-90 North, US-90 South) when looking at an atlas.
I'd say you would be most likely to run into routes with the same number when dealing with state (and in some places, county,) roads.
Occasionally, you'll see a sign with the wrong shield on it. For instance, I know there is a sign locally that shows a square white field with the numbers "20" on it. However, it should be a US shield to denote US-20. On the rare occasions where two routes have the same number, this can cause some undue grief. I find it is best to have a good map handy at these times.
If you really want to get into geek-dom, its pretty facinating to actually look at the different number systems.
For example, Interstates are numbered with even numbers on East/West Routes, starting with low numbers in the south and higher numbers in the north. Numbers ending in zero indicate the major cross country route. Odds are the North/South highways, with the major routes ending in the number 5.
US Highways are almost the opposite. East/West Highways end in odd numbers, with lower numbers in the north and higher numbers in the south. North/South routes are odd numbers, starting with route 1 in the East and ending with 101 in the West. One more slight difference from interstate numbering here is that the major routes end in "1" instead of "5"
Each state has their own way of labeling numbers, but they usually aren't quite as formal as the US and Interstate number. Each state also has their own symbols and signs. Some of them look quite close to the US highway shield, and those are the places where you'll often see the signs mis-marked. Thankfully, many states also take care not to double up numbers, so if their is a US-50 in the state, there often won't be a State-50.
And of course I didn't even get into 3-digit highways, which usually indicate an offshoot of a main highway: ie I-290 is a city bypass for I-90.
There are also some cases where the numbering system breaks the mold, but knowing those basic rules can be helpful at times.