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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWhat's the word you use for this kind of road? (please add your location)
Iggo
(47,565 posts)SoCal, baby. Yeah!
Flaxbee
(13,661 posts)SoCal born and bred. That's what they're called.
nolabear
(41,991 posts)Seattle.
fifthoffive
(382 posts)Interstate and Federal Highway.
I live in Tennessee.
BillStein
(758 posts)here in Philadelphia/ south Jersey, some are free and some are toll.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,836 posts)Also freeway, but there are some freeways that aren't Interstates.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Brickbat
(19,339 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,836 posts)Brickbat
(19,339 posts)myrna minx
(22,772 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)But the actual number is used more often than the word, although some do use interstate and highway interchangably....
and "highways?" Most here call them "U.S. highway XX"
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)Interstates (with the blue band at the top), and state highways (white shields).
I think of freeways as sections of and interstate near large metropolitan areas.
I'm in Iowa (we have no freeways).
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)State highways are designated by various symbols, often by a state outline, but the shield is always a US highway.
avebury
(10,952 posts)A bit of trivia for you: Odd numbered interstates run north-south and even numbered interstates run east-west.
I should have added - Oklahoma.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)I-4 here in Florida sure tries awfully hard to muck up the system.
I usually say highway when I mean the big 4 to 8 lane road that connects major cities around here and I just say road (even for highways) if there are stop lights or signs on it. (Like Highway 50)...
ElboRuum
(4,717 posts)The Interstate Highway System makes allowances for regional short run extensions which must be numbered according to a set of rules which have been largely adopted by most states in the numbering of state highways.
a 200 series number is a perpendicular route to a main interstate. I.e. 295 crosses 95 as an east-west extension.
a 300 series number is a parallel route which is often built to alleviate congestion along a main interstate highway.
a 400 series number is a loop route which allows states to alleviate congestion around major cities by providing an alternate route for "passing through" traffic.
a 600 series number is a short run extension spur to extend an interstate through areas benefitting from interstate access.
LaurenG
(24,841 posts)I was born and then raised out west.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)I'm in DC/MD, grew up in CT, lived in Philly and NYC in the middle.
Brooklyn is mah home! Southern New England Prep-school (like the singer for Vampire Weekend) is my accent.
Life-long resident of Kansas.
a2liberal
(1,524 posts)Michigan
Little Star
(17,055 posts)The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, Interstate Freeway System or the Interstate)
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)I guess I don't really need to know the exact shape and proportions of the highways - with that I could get from Miami to Seattle without knowing a thing about the in between...
fishwax
(29,149 posts)For instance, I-57 doesn't show up on there at all--it starts at Chicago and ends at 55 between St. Louis and Memphis, and is the fastest route from Chicago to Memphis and further points south.
I-25 does end in Buffalo, as shown on the map, but it is Buffalo, Wyoming, which is south of Billings. Buffalo should really be on the I-90 line between Billings and Sioux Falls. Then I-94 should start in Billings rather than Butte (which is, as the map shows, at the junction of 90 and 15, just not 94) and shoot up to Fargo. 94 should also shoot down to Chicago from Minneapolis/St. Paul.
There may be other issues, I don't know--those are just the ones that jump out at me. Still, it's kind of a fascinating map--any idea where it came from?
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)geardaddy
(24,931 posts)I-94 goes through Minneapolis-St. Paul too.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)Last edited Tue May 15, 2012, 11:34 AM - Edit history (1)
ex, I-80, 480 etc, except around Buffalo where it is the 190, the 290.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)or As I like to call it.. The Ventura Highway..
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)The 101? We'd just call it 101 or Highway 101.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)"See that street? That runs into THE 101. Just take that off ramp and you will be heading south to Goleta, and then Santa Barbara... good luck on THE 101!"
SEE? THAT WAS EASY ...
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Works just as easily our way.
"See that street? That runs into 101. Just take that off ramp and you will be heading south to Goleta, and then Santa Barbara... good luck on 101!"
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)us Northerners don't do that -- it's actually a quick way to tell us apart.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Thanks!
Throd
(7,208 posts)Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)You're the one in The Burbs.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,463 posts)And by the emperors decree, calling The City Frisco was a high misdemeanor punishable by a $25 fine.
fishwax
(29,149 posts)rather than refer to them by number. The first freeway in LA was the Arroyo Seco Parkway (later renamed the Pasadena and since re-renamed the Arroyo Seco again). Then the Hollywood. As the freeway system in Los Angeles developed, other freeways were given names: San Diego, Ventura, Santa Monica, and so on.
For a few reasons, it seems more natural to use a definite article when referring to a named highway, and in some cases it is also expedient, as a way of distinguishing "the Ventura/Hollywood/Santa Monica (Freeway)" from "Ventura/Hollywood/Santa Monica (Boulevard)" or the locations themselves.
Anyway, maybe that theory is wrong, but that's my speculation.
bluesbassman
(19,379 posts)But I don't refer to it as "the eight eighty", just "eight eighty". Can always tell if someone is from or spent some time in SoCal, they invariably will use "the".
'Course I still refer to that gawdforsaken stadium in South San Francisco as Candlestick Park too.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)arbusto_baboso
(7,162 posts)It's just north of Ventura and on the way to Santa Barbara.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)I call those Interstates.
With one exception...We have the Mass Turnpike going East to West
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)RevStPatrick
(2,208 posts)...we call them "Those things that people who are crazy enough to own cars spend all their time on."
Highway.
When I lived in California, I called them Freeways.
WhoIsNumberNone
(7,875 posts)From 2-5 AM they are highways or interstates.
krispos42
(49,445 posts)The number is usually proceeded by "Eye".
If the interstate in question has a name associated with it, it's usually called that, especially if it's a local name, such as the Cross-Bronx Expressway, the portion of I-95 that runs through New York City, or the Massachusetts Turnpike, the portion of I-90 that runs through Massachusetts.
The white ones care called "routes" (typically pronounced "roots" .
frogmarch
(12,158 posts)Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)if not, then I call it a highway. San Francisco onboard.
SteveG
(3,109 posts)Delaware
bluesbassman
(19,379 posts)Even a bass player can figure that out.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)Southern Connecticut I-95 entering NY State.
Other than that I normally use Interstate or just the number 91 or 95
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Impoprtant distinction: In Southern California, their numbers are preceded by "the", as in "take the 405 south.." In Northern California, they are NOT.
raccoon
(31,119 posts)refer to just the Interstates (We call them in SC).
RZM
(8,556 posts)I suspect that what's people do in much of the rest of country. So I guess the term used would be 'interstate,' though it's usually omitted altogether.
We would say: 'Get on 70 until you hit 270 and go north.'
Less frequent:' 'Get on I-70 until you hit I-71 and go south.'
dana_b
(11,546 posts)freeway??? that makes no sense to me.
one_voice
(20,043 posts)I call 95, rt 1, 295, 495, I call them what they are. Don't use highway, interstate etc. I say take 95 north till.....or rt south till...like that.
Maine-ah
(9,902 posts)since there are two there for us...
one is called I-95
the other is route (we pronounce it as root) one.
Silver Swan
(1,110 posts)If I mean a particular one, I'll say "the Kennedy," the Eisenhower," "the Tri-state," etc.
NJ
iverglas
(38,549 posts)hahaha. Actually, in print, I'd say USAmerican.
To a Canadian, they're highways. Pretty much anywhere in Canada, I think. Except Quebec, where they're autoroutes.
Oh, like somebody said above about NY, I think, they're usually just numbers.
The 401.
And if I were travelling in the States, I'd just say I took the I-75, or maybe just I-75, if that's what I did.
Crabby Appleton
(5,231 posts)Godhumor
(6,437 posts)Of course we also say things like "The 290" insured of just "290".
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)... therefore, "I-80", and President Eisenhower's namesake for the landing of planes, which became California's "freeway".
Duer 157099
(17,742 posts)Just numbers. California.
Duer 157099
(17,742 posts)then what happens on a Highway?
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)I associate the term "freeway" with Left-Coasters.
hay rick
(7,639 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,364 posts)It's not a freeway or interstate.
At best, it's a highway.
Mostly, it's a road.
Or, call it U.S. Route 2.
libodem
(19,288 posts)gaspee
(3,231 posts)In RI
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Around here anyway. People go nuts on the freeways. I honestly believe some are having Nascar fantasies while they are driving. Many even have a number in their windows. It's fucking nuts. I avoid them whenever possible.
Yavin4
(35,445 posts)I know. Much more than one word, but the interstate highway system is out dated. When need a new, innovative method of transportation which does not harm the environment.
southerncrone
(5,506 posts)ElboRuum
(4,717 posts)Highway is the proper term.
Highways are generally divided into two types: tollway and freeway, the obvious difference is that tollways take tolls, freeways do not. Since states are responsible for the upkeep on Interstate Highways within the state (those pictured above except for U.S. 1, the PCH/101, and Route 77), they can finance them through toll taking. Thus to say an Interstate is a "freeway" is largely true, but inaccurate. A highway is the only correct term since all the roads depicted are not parts of the Interstate Highway System, but rather a combination of these and famous U.S. highways, and freeway or tollway is too specific to be all inclusive.
rox63
(9,464 posts)Here in eastern Massachusetts.
Shagbark Hickory
(8,719 posts)Response to Shagbark Hickory (Reply #82)
Shagbark Hickory This message was self-deleted by its author.
Shagbark Hickory
(8,719 posts)Last edited Wed May 16, 2012, 05:58 PM - Edit history (1)