States that are italicized indicate that the route is now defunct in that state.
Some entries don't have explanations at the
moment. However, I will be putting in an explanation for each entry when I get
some more time on my hands).
New England Highways
First off is New England highways. This isn't a single highway, but a whole system that traversed New England. It came about when, in March 1922, the highway commissioners of the New England states met. They unanimously approved a proposal by Mr. Wells of the Automobile Club of New York for a uniform system of route numbering. It was a geographic system, with even being north-south, and odd being east-west. It was a system of pole marking with the name or abbreviation of the state, and under that the route number, all inside a square.
However, much has happened since then, so the system isn't what it used to be. However, the following highways still exist today, and were originally part of it:
Well, sort of. This route most definitely used to be a multi-state route, going from near Erie, Penn. to near NYC. Also, at one point in New York it dipped back down into Penn. for a short distance, so Multi 17 is actually "PA-NY-PA-NY-NJ 17"! However, TEA-21, the 1998 transportation bill, is going to ax this one. The Multi 17 corridor is slated to become I-86 soon, and "Future 86" signs have already appeared. NY 17 is being improved to full freeway, and when that's finished, it most likely will become I-86.
E-mail from Rich Carlson:
64 is North Ave. in Chicago, then heads west thru several counties. It is multiplexed with US-52 for the last 30 miles in IL so it can remain contiguos with IA-64.IL-64 is the only route in IL that is multiplexed with another solely to remain contiguois with a foriegn state route.
From Chris Geelhart:
Highway 71 goes through 3 states -- South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. I had never noticed this until recently, although maps I have show this to be the case since at least 1975. The northern end of highway 71 is Hot Springs, SD (at US-18, if I remember correctly), and the southern end is at US-350 southwest of La Junta, CO.Roughly the northern 50 or so miles of NE-71 is multiplexed with NE-2.
Take your typical "meandering" Wisconsin state road and multiply it across four states. The result is this highway, which manages to cross four states without actually going anywhere. My guess is that four states didn't actaully get together and create it, instead each individual state said "I'll copy the 92 number coming in from the other state."
E-mail from Rich Carlson:
Having read your web site with Multi state routes, how about adding Route 92. It starts (ends?) in La Moille IL, heads west thru the Quad Cities area (even has an alternate , IL-192) then into IA where it goes all the way to NB without going thru any town of any substance. In NB it goes thru Omaha and meanders to and thru Scottsbluff then on to WY and it peters out in Torrington.I have traveled the entire route (don't ask why) and find it interesting. It goes absolutly nowhere, and takes it's time getting there. The most impressive stretch is around Council Bluffs IA where it is 4 lanes for a while, and only due to suburban expansion.
This one was pointed out by Scott Nuzum. CO 96 starts in Westcliffe at CO 69, heads northeast to Pueblo, through Ordway, Eads, into Kansas, through Leoti, Scott City, Ness City, Great Bend, Lyons, Hutchinson,Wichita, Augusta, Fredonia, Independence, Oswego and Columbus. In Missouri, it goes through several "don't-blink-or-you'll miss 'em places", and then ends near Halltown at I-44 Exit 58.
However, due to the US 400 construction, KS 96 is being turned back in the eastern part of the state. Here's the sad news from Scott Nuzum, in an e-mail from November 18, 1998:
KDOT just announced that because of the construction of US 400, K-96 will be decommissioned from Wichita to the Missouri state line. That means it won't cross into three states anymore. I do not know what Missouri will do with its part of 96 that goes to the Kansas state line...K-96 from Crestline to the Missouri state line will become a county road. Most of the rest will become either US 400 or US 160 (that's being rerouted from east of Independence to go on old 96, then turn north at Crestline).Just thought you should know. I Guess I'm making you change your page again. These changes were just announced on Tuesday. The first of the changes that lead to the decommissioning of K-96 is set to begin in two weeks.
This is one that has been pointed out to me by Chris "Calvin" Sampang. At first, I didn't include it because I didn't see any M-120, but then Tom Ketchum clarified things. Apparently, there did used to be an M-120 joining IN- and OH-120, and for at least 20 years. Tom has seen it on a 1940 map, but didn't have anything earlier to look at. The M-120 number was recycled, being commissioned in 1969 according to Chris Bessert's site, and Tom says he didn't see Multi-120 on any early or mid-1960s maps.
This one jumps out at you. Staying 200, it goes all the way from jct US 2 near Duluth, MN to jct US 2/95 at Sandpoint, ID. So, that's four states that have SH 200. It was created from state highways that had differing numbers around 1969 or 1970. It used to go farther west into Washington to Spokane. Steve Riner says that the number "200" is a derivative of the original Montana designation, 20.
According to Mark Bozanich, who works at WaDOT, The SR 200 designation in Washington became effective in 1969 about the time that US 195 from Spokane to Sandpoint, ID was decommissioned. SR 200 began at the intersection of 3rd Ave and Division St in Spokane and followed US 2 to the Idaho border where it continued as US 2 and Idaho SR 200. The Washington section of 200 is no longer marked, but Mr. Bozanich believes that it has not been officially recinded.
Looking at a map of Washington, one might think
that going along WA 20 out to the Pacific would be a logical extension of 200.
It might be logial, and seeing the number 20 and how it doesn't fit into
Washington's numbering grid, you might think it used to be 200. However, 20 used
to be 31.
AZ-NM-CO-WY-MT 789
Before I became an online road nut, I figured Wyoming was just being weird with having WY 789, but now I know better. As the greyed-out states indicate, we know that at one time 789 went all the way from Montana to Arizona. It was established in 1954 as a cross-country route from Mexico to Canada. In fact, that's what it was called, "The Mexico-Canada Highway". It originally went from Nogales, AZ, to Sweet Grass, MT, over existing roadways. Think of it as kinda a pre-Interstate NAFTA highway.
It's routing: It strated in Nogales, Arizona, then north along US 89 through Tucson to Florence. From there, it turned east along US 60-70 to Globe, then along US 60 northeast to AZ 61 and to US 666. From there, it went along US 666 into Colorado to Cortez, east along US 160 to Durango, then north along US 550 to Montrose. At Montrose, 789 followed US 50 northwest to Grand Junction, then east along US 6-24 (today's I-70) to Rifle, then north along CO 13 and into Wyoming.
You can still see its routing in Wyoming, because it appears that every state 789 went through, except Wyoming, didn't renumber the roadways that 789 was on, rather just running the number concurrently with whatever the normal number of the highway was. So when 789 disappeared from other states, Wyoming was left holding the bag with the only sections of highway exclusively numbered 789.
789 continued into Montana concurrent with US 310 to Laurel, then east along US 10-212 (today's I-90 and US 212) to Billings. It then followed US 87 all the way to Great Falls, and then north along US 91 (now I-15) to its end at Sweetgrass, Montana.
I'll speculate and say that the number 789 was used because it falls in between US 87 and US 89. That doesn't quite fit right, but it's a place to start. Andy Field thinks that 789 was used because it's a "neat number", like 123 or 456.
Pennsylvania 896 starts near Lancaster. It brushes Maryland for about 1/4 mile. Maryland does not acknowledge that you have entered the state on this route, and it is "unsigned" but it is officially MD 896. From there it enters Delaware. From there it goes into Newark, and then drops down to US 40. At this point it is co-signed with US 301. At an unmarked place, with a huge grain elevator, you make a left turn off US 301 (which goes to Middletown). 896 then goes to US 13 / Delaware Relief Route.
Sources:
If you know of any state-numbered routes that go through three or more states, don't hesitate to e-mail me.