There is a ton to be written about highway signage. You'll learn most of them by simply being observant as you drive. For example, you'll learn that road construction site signage is notoriously incorrect, ambiguous or missing altogether. If you see a sign that says "Left lane closed ahead", you can bank on not just the left most lane being closed, but maybe the two left-most lanes being closed. Or maybe the left lanes are open and one of the right ones will be closed. You'll see that road signage associated with road construction to be among the least reliable that you'll encounter day in and day out.
Other signage and sign formatting is less subtle.
For example, if you are driving along an interstate and see an overhead sign such as the one below (picture to be uploaded soon), what can you glean from it?
You can tell with 99% certainty on which side of the highway the exit will depart from by looking at the sign. All highway exits exit from either the left side or the right side of the highway. The key is looking at the placement of the "Exit # XX" header sign. If it is situated toward the upper left edge of the primary overhead sign, then the exit is off of the left lane.
Also noteworthy is highway numbering, and exit numbering.
If you pull out your US highway atlas, you'll notice that practically every roadway (with the exception of local routes and city streets) will have a numeric associated with it. Interstates 5, 64, 70, 75 and 95 are all examples of popular US highways. What can the numbers themselves tell you about the interstates?
First, ALL US highways route numbers, and most state and county route numbers follow the same general rule: East-west highways are even numbered, and north-south routes are odd. I-75 and I-95, thus, are north-south interstates, whereas I-40 and I-10 are east-west.
The same holds true for most other signage, although you will notice some mistakes here and there. For example, Route 52 runs through parts of West Virginia and Ohio. In some areas it runs north-south, and in others it runs east-west. Being an even number, it should be an east-west route, but through the Huntington, WV area, Route 52 is shown on overhead signage as being north-south routes. It's been that way for the past 25 years that I've passed through the area.
Also, with respect to interstate routes ONLY, all lower-numbered routes will be in the south and west. Conversely, the higher and higher one goes in terms of highway number, the further and further north and east the highway runs. Thus, I-4 runs east-west through Florida. I-8 runs through southern California. Likewise, I-5 runs north-south through California, and I-95 runs north-south all along the eastern seaboard.
Scattered throughout the US are other US interstates, all between the numbers 4 and 99. Mixed in with the federal interstates are countless state highways, which do not follow this numbering pattern.
State and county roads generally don't follow this system. Route 52 in Ohio is east west, but runs at the very bottom of the state, pretty much running parallel to the Ohio River.
ALL three-digit federal interstate highways will either be a loop around a city (such as 275 around Cincinnati), or a "spur" (a short connector length), such as 471 which runs for about five miles through northern Kentucky, connecting 275 in Ky with 71 in Ohio. There are other three-digit highways that don't follow this rule, but they're also not federal interstates, either; they are most likely state highways, such as Ohio State Route 315 through Columbus, Ohio. Rt. 315 is a highway, like any other, but is not a federal highway.
Not all highways are federal interstates. States can have their own typically-shorter length runs of highway, such as Route 315 in Columbus, Ohio, mentioned above. These shorter spans of highway typically tend to be near larger cities, and typically connect sections of town, or other major highways.
Now, a few notes about state and county routes. As a general rule, the more digits a route has, the worse a road will be. Not always, but typically. Open up your atlas, and look at any page. You'll see interstates, state highways, and local county highways and roads. Ignore the highways for a moment and look at the other routes. Let's look at the Washington, Pa area a little closer. I-70 and I-79 are the principal highways, and Route 40 is a secondary route through the area (Route 40 is also the National Highway, a historic roadway which was the first federally-funded long-range access roadway in the US). If you look closely, there are some three-digit roadways in the area: 519, 844 and 331. These are typically the less-traveled routes, often with lanes not as wide as other major roadways, probably with more curves and hills, and possibly passing through a greater number of three- and four-red light small towns. Some of these less-traveled routes may not even meet the standards for truck traffic, i.e., with low clearances and weight-restricted bridges, so be careful. Closer inspection will reveal even more routes, some with up to four digits. Keep in mind that just because a route has a number assigned to it, it may not necessarily be a truck route. It seems the more digits a route has, the less frequently it is used, and you would be wise to check these routes before ever attempting to land your eighteen wheels on them.
Now, some notes about highway exit numbers. It used to be that states themselves were in charge of setting up the numbering system for the exits on the highways in their states. As a result, in some states, the interstate exits were numbered based upon how far the exit is located from the state line. Other states based their exits strictly in a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... fashion, with little regard for allowances to be made for new exits added in the future.
I-79 in Pennsylvania is a prime example. Used to be that the first exit you came to while heading north upon entering the state from WV was exit #1. Sounds reasonable enough, right? So you drive another seven or eight miles and come to the next one, which was called #2. Well, what happens ten years later when it's decided that a new highway exit is needed between the two? What do you call that one? Exit 1 1/2? Years ago Pennsylvania got with the program and changed all its exit numbers to match the mile markers, so as you drive along I-79, with each exit you pass, you'll see a small sign added which says something like "Old Exit #3", which had been renamed exit 18 (I just made that up, as I have no clue what it really is in real life).
Now, pretty much everywhere that I can think of, exit numbers correspond to the mile marker where the exit is located.
Frequently, you'll see alphabetical suffixes added to exit numbers. If you are traveling north on I-75 and enter Ohio, you'll see exits 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, and 1G. I have no clue why there are no 1A or 1F. Anyways, the numbers represent different exits, if there is more than one exit per highway mile.
Just as importantly, it's worthwhile to note that although all these exits exist, they are not always accessible for every driver. By that I mean a driver headed north may only see 1B, 1C, and 1G. Drivers headed south on I-75 may see 1E, 1D, 1C and 1B, in that order. This is because there simply may not have been a need, nor the room for an exit ramp for the traffic in the opposite-headed direction.
Mile markers are another confusing aspect of the highway system. How are the mile markers based? Where do they begin?
Well, for federal and state highways and routes, the numbers will ALWAYS begin at either:
a) the eastern or southern-most point where the highway enters the state, or
b) the eastern or southern-most point where the highway or route actually begins.
I make the distinction, above, because not all routes and highways will begin at the state line. Let's look at West Virginia, for example. I-79 begins in Charleston and works its way north in to Pa. So, in West Virginia, the mile markers for I-79 will begin at Charleston, and end at the Pa-WV state line. I-79 continues north in to Pa, so the mile markers will reset at the state line and Pa will have its own mile markers, beginning, obviously, with MM 1 a mile in to the state.
Now, for a very tricky interstate numbering system: Let's look at I-94 in Illinois. I-94 is just one of those really weird highways. It's even-numbered, meaning it's overall designation is east-west. Yet, pretty much all the way through Illinois, it runs north-south. Naturally, one would assume, based upon what I said previously, as in practically every other example one can think of, that the highway mile markers would start at the Illinois-Indiana state line and work their way north.
Not so. Since I-94 is an east-west highway, the mile markers will start at the NORTH, at the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and work their way south (east). Confusing, I know. It took me forever to figure this one out. I-94 actually begins way out west in Billings, Montana, and works its way eastward, ending up in Detroit. Since it runs, east-west, the mile markers are going to reset every time I-94 enters a new state as one heads eastward. Heading east to west on I-94, you would enter Illinois at just south of Kenosha, Wi, so, that's where the mile markers begin, although your car is pretty much heading south.
Loops around a city, such as 275 around Cincinnati, also have numbered exits, although I've never been able to determine just how the beginning of the loop was determined. The actual beginning of the loop, as far as where the mile markers begin, is where I-71/75 meets 275 near Florence, Ky. Seems to be in the south-western sector of the loop, because the 270 loop around Columbus also has its mile marker reset in the south western sector of the loop.
Another note about loops around cities: depending on where you are on the loop, your north/east/south/west designation can change. Someone heading north on 75 in Kentucky might get on 275 east or west. Someone approaching Cincinnati from the east, as on Route 32, for example, will see options for getting on to 275 north or south.
Making matters even more confusing is that you'll notice frequently that some stretches of highway with be shared by more than one route number. Beginning at the Ohio-Ky state line, I-71 and I-75 share the same stretch of interstate for about fifteen or twenty miles, finally splitting off south of Florence, Ky, each highway going its' separate way.
If you look at the area on mapquest, the obvious question comes to mind: as the two highways merge, will the combined highway take on the exit numbering pattern established by I-71 or I-75? In such cases, the more dominant highway will take precedent. In this case, I-75 is the dominant, more-heavily traveled route, and, as such, the section of interstate shared by both I-71 and I-75 will assume the highway exits that I-75 had already established at the southern end of the state.
Thus, you could he headed north on I-71 in Ky, pass exit # 77, then merge on to I-71/75. Then, a few miles later, you see exit # 175. It's because the exit number is tied to the dominant highway when two highways share the same portion of roadway. I-40 and I-75 share a portion of interstate in Tennessee, just west of Knoxville, and the same theory applies. One might think that I-75 would be the dominant highway of the two, but the section of shared highway assumes the exit numbering already established by I-40.
Another reason I-40's exit numbering was used along the shared stretch is because something even more confusing could potentially happen had I-75's exit pattern been used. The last exit one sees while headed north of I-75 through Tenn is exit 84. Then I-75 and I-40 merge, and the first exit one sees is exit 368. They couldn't very well call this exit #88, for example, following I-75's exit pattern, because imagine the confusion if somewhere else on I-40, somewhere near Jackson, Tenn, there's already ANOTHER exit 88. In this case, there would be an exit 88 along I-40 near Jackson, Tenn, and another exit 88 along I-40/I-75, near the I-40/I-75 merge. Obviously, I just made up exit #88 in this example. I have no clue if there even is an exit #88. But, you can see the potential problems that can arise if there are two similar-sounding exit numbers. Most drivers would not be able to distinguish between exit 88 on I-40 and exit 88 on I-40/I-75.
Other signage and sign formatting is less subtle.
For example, if you are driving along an interstate and see an overhead sign such as the one below (picture to be uploaded soon), what can you glean from it?
You can tell with 99% certainty on which side of the highway the exit will depart from by looking at the sign. All highway exits exit from either the left side or the right side of the highway. The key is looking at the placement of the "Exit # XX" header sign. If it is situated toward the upper left edge of the primary overhead sign, then the exit is off of the left lane.
Also noteworthy is highway numbering, and exit numbering.
If you pull out your US highway atlas, you'll notice that practically every roadway (with the exception of local routes and city streets) will have a numeric associated with it. Interstates 5, 64, 70, 75 and 95 are all examples of popular US highways. What can the numbers themselves tell you about the interstates?
First, ALL US highways route numbers, and most state and county route numbers follow the same general rule: East-west highways are even numbered, and north-south routes are odd. I-75 and I-95, thus, are north-south interstates, whereas I-40 and I-10 are east-west.
The same holds true for most other signage, although you will notice some mistakes here and there. For example, Route 52 runs through parts of West Virginia and Ohio. In some areas it runs north-south, and in others it runs east-west. Being an even number, it should be an east-west route, but through the Huntington, WV area, Route 52 is shown on overhead signage as being north-south routes. It's been that way for the past 25 years that I've passed through the area.
Also, with respect to interstate routes ONLY, all lower-numbered routes will be in the south and west. Conversely, the higher and higher one goes in terms of highway number, the further and further north and east the highway runs. Thus, I-4 runs east-west through Florida. I-8 runs through southern California. Likewise, I-5 runs north-south through California, and I-95 runs north-south all along the eastern seaboard.
Scattered throughout the US are other US interstates, all between the numbers 4 and 99. Mixed in with the federal interstates are countless state highways, which do not follow this numbering pattern.
State and county roads generally don't follow this system. Route 52 in Ohio is east west, but runs at the very bottom of the state, pretty much running parallel to the Ohio River.
ALL three-digit federal interstate highways will either be a loop around a city (such as 275 around Cincinnati), or a "spur" (a short connector length), such as 471 which runs for about five miles through northern Kentucky, connecting 275 in Ky with 71 in Ohio. There are other three-digit highways that don't follow this rule, but they're also not federal interstates, either; they are most likely state highways, such as Ohio State Route 315 through Columbus, Ohio. Rt. 315 is a highway, like any other, but is not a federal highway.
Not all highways are federal interstates. States can have their own typically-shorter length runs of highway, such as Route 315 in Columbus, Ohio, mentioned above. These shorter spans of highway typically tend to be near larger cities, and typically connect sections of town, or other major highways.
Now, a few notes about state and county routes. As a general rule, the more digits a route has, the worse a road will be. Not always, but typically. Open up your atlas, and look at any page. You'll see interstates, state highways, and local county highways and roads. Ignore the highways for a moment and look at the other routes. Let's look at the Washington, Pa area a little closer. I-70 and I-79 are the principal highways, and Route 40 is a secondary route through the area (Route 40 is also the National Highway, a historic roadway which was the first federally-funded long-range access roadway in the US). If you look closely, there are some three-digit roadways in the area: 519, 844 and 331. These are typically the less-traveled routes, often with lanes not as wide as other major roadways, probably with more curves and hills, and possibly passing through a greater number of three- and four-red light small towns. Some of these less-traveled routes may not even meet the standards for truck traffic, i.e., with low clearances and weight-restricted bridges, so be careful. Closer inspection will reveal even more routes, some with up to four digits. Keep in mind that just because a route has a number assigned to it, it may not necessarily be a truck route. It seems the more digits a route has, the less frequently it is used, and you would be wise to check these routes before ever attempting to land your eighteen wheels on them.
Now, some notes about highway exit numbers. It used to be that states themselves were in charge of setting up the numbering system for the exits on the highways in their states. As a result, in some states, the interstate exits were numbered based upon how far the exit is located from the state line. Other states based their exits strictly in a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... fashion, with little regard for allowances to be made for new exits added in the future.
I-79 in Pennsylvania is a prime example. Used to be that the first exit you came to while heading north upon entering the state from WV was exit #1. Sounds reasonable enough, right? So you drive another seven or eight miles and come to the next one, which was called #2. Well, what happens ten years later when it's decided that a new highway exit is needed between the two? What do you call that one? Exit 1 1/2? Years ago Pennsylvania got with the program and changed all its exit numbers to match the mile markers, so as you drive along I-79, with each exit you pass, you'll see a small sign added which says something like "Old Exit #3", which had been renamed exit 18 (I just made that up, as I have no clue what it really is in real life).
Now, pretty much everywhere that I can think of, exit numbers correspond to the mile marker where the exit is located.
Frequently, you'll see alphabetical suffixes added to exit numbers. If you are traveling north on I-75 and enter Ohio, you'll see exits 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, and 1G. I have no clue why there are no 1A or 1F. Anyways, the numbers represent different exits, if there is more than one exit per highway mile.
Just as importantly, it's worthwhile to note that although all these exits exist, they are not always accessible for every driver. By that I mean a driver headed north may only see 1B, 1C, and 1G. Drivers headed south on I-75 may see 1E, 1D, 1C and 1B, in that order. This is because there simply may not have been a need, nor the room for an exit ramp for the traffic in the opposite-headed direction.
Mile markers are another confusing aspect of the highway system. How are the mile markers based? Where do they begin?
Well, for federal and state highways and routes, the numbers will ALWAYS begin at either:
a) the eastern or southern-most point where the highway enters the state, or
b) the eastern or southern-most point where the highway or route actually begins.
I make the distinction, above, because not all routes and highways will begin at the state line. Let's look at West Virginia, for example. I-79 begins in Charleston and works its way north in to Pa. So, in West Virginia, the mile markers for I-79 will begin at Charleston, and end at the Pa-WV state line. I-79 continues north in to Pa, so the mile markers will reset at the state line and Pa will have its own mile markers, beginning, obviously, with MM 1 a mile in to the state.
Now, for a very tricky interstate numbering system: Let's look at I-94 in Illinois. I-94 is just one of those really weird highways. It's even-numbered, meaning it's overall designation is east-west. Yet, pretty much all the way through Illinois, it runs north-south. Naturally, one would assume, based upon what I said previously, as in practically every other example one can think of, that the highway mile markers would start at the Illinois-Indiana state line and work their way north.
Not so. Since I-94 is an east-west highway, the mile markers will start at the NORTH, at the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, and work their way south (east). Confusing, I know. It took me forever to figure this one out. I-94 actually begins way out west in Billings, Montana, and works its way eastward, ending up in Detroit. Since it runs, east-west, the mile markers are going to reset every time I-94 enters a new state as one heads eastward. Heading east to west on I-94, you would enter Illinois at just south of Kenosha, Wi, so, that's where the mile markers begin, although your car is pretty much heading south.
Loops around a city, such as 275 around Cincinnati, also have numbered exits, although I've never been able to determine just how the beginning of the loop was determined. The actual beginning of the loop, as far as where the mile markers begin, is where I-71/75 meets 275 near Florence, Ky. Seems to be in the south-western sector of the loop, because the 270 loop around Columbus also has its mile marker reset in the south western sector of the loop.
Another note about loops around cities: depending on where you are on the loop, your north/east/south/west designation can change. Someone heading north on 75 in Kentucky might get on 275 east or west. Someone approaching Cincinnati from the east, as on Route 32, for example, will see options for getting on to 275 north or south.
Making matters even more confusing is that you'll notice frequently that some stretches of highway with be shared by more than one route number. Beginning at the Ohio-Ky state line, I-71 and I-75 share the same stretch of interstate for about fifteen or twenty miles, finally splitting off south of Florence, Ky, each highway going its' separate way.
If you look at the area on mapquest, the obvious question comes to mind: as the two highways merge, will the combined highway take on the exit numbering pattern established by I-71 or I-75? In such cases, the more dominant highway will take precedent. In this case, I-75 is the dominant, more-heavily traveled route, and, as such, the section of interstate shared by both I-71 and I-75 will assume the highway exits that I-75 had already established at the southern end of the state.
Thus, you could he headed north on I-71 in Ky, pass exit # 77, then merge on to I-71/75. Then, a few miles later, you see exit # 175. It's because the exit number is tied to the dominant highway when two highways share the same portion of roadway. I-40 and I-75 share a portion of interstate in Tennessee, just west of Knoxville, and the same theory applies. One might think that I-75 would be the dominant highway of the two, but the section of shared highway assumes the exit numbering already established by I-40.
Another reason I-40's exit numbering was used along the shared stretch is because something even more confusing could potentially happen had I-75's exit pattern been used. The last exit one sees while headed north of I-75 through Tenn is exit 84. Then I-75 and I-40 merge, and the first exit one sees is exit 368. They couldn't very well call this exit #88, for example, following I-75's exit pattern, because imagine the confusion if somewhere else on I-40, somewhere near Jackson, Tenn, there's already ANOTHER exit 88. In this case, there would be an exit 88 along I-40 near Jackson, Tenn, and another exit 88 along I-40/I-75, near the I-40/I-75 merge. Obviously, I just made up exit #88 in this example. I have no clue if there even is an exit #88. But, you can see the potential problems that can arise if there are two similar-sounding exit numbers. Most drivers would not be able to distinguish between exit 88 on I-40 and exit 88 on I-40/I-75.
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