What do you call your local freeways?

[digamma]

I grew up in the Southeast and we referred to freeways by the number alone:
"You need to get on 285 and take it up to 85-South." (I should say, sometimes saying I-285 or I-85 is also acceptable.)

I went to school in the Northeast where several freeways had names:
"Take the Mass Pike to Western Ave."

Now, living on the West Coast, we say "the" followed by the interstate number:
"Take the 10 to the 110 to the 2 to the 134."

What say you?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by digamma

I grew up in the Southeast and we referred to interstates or freeways by the number alone:
"You need to get on 285 and take it up to 85-South." (I should say, sometimes saying I-285 or I-85 is also acceptable.)

I went to school in the Northeast where several freeways had names:
"Take the Mass Pike to Western Ave."

Now, living on the West Coast, we say "the" followed by the interstate number:
"Take the 10 to the 110 to the 2 to the 134."

What say you?

Mass Pike is different like the NJ Turnpike. Not interstates.

In the northeast other than the Mass Pike or Maine Turnpike just the number. 495 to 95 north ect.

[vex]

I-44

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by digamma

I grew up in the Southeast and we referred to interstates or freeways by the number alone:
"You need to get on 285 and take it up to 85-South." (I should say, sometimes saying I-285 or I-85 is also acceptable.)

I went to school in the Northeast where several freeways had names:
"Take the Mass Pike to Western Ave."

Now, living on the West Coast, we say "the" followed by the interstate number:
"Take the 10 to the 110 to the 2 to the 134."

What say you?

Sounds like you lived where I did. growing up it was take 75 to 285 west.

Now in mass its the mass pike to rt 128. (Even though rt 128 and I-95 is the same thing, everyone here calls it rt 128)

[digamma]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Mass Pike is different like the NJ Turnpike. Not interstates.

In the northeast other than the Mass Pike or Maine Turnpike just the number. 495 to 95 north ect.

Fair enough. Changed to freeways.

[albionmoonlight]

I voted for "I," but it is a mix of I and the number.

I always say I-10, but I tend to say 85, 75, etc. I think that it might be a syllable thing. 10 sounds weird by itself.

[rkmsuf]

doh, never saw the word freeway in the original. my bad.

lol, don't call them freeways in the northeast. highways.

[Telle]

Combination of "THE" and by name. And on one particular highway.. you say "the Scajaquada" but generally write it as "198"

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by digamma

Now, living on the West Coast, we say "the" followed by the interstate number:
"Take the 10 to the 110 to the 2 to the 134."

That is a So-Cal thing. They always put "the" in their. In Northern California we just say take 880 to 680 to 580.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Telle

Combination of "THE" and by name. And on one particular highway.. you say "the Scajaquada" but generally write it as "198"

A parkway is another whole discussion. Like the Merritt Parkway. This is a complex issue.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

That is a So-Cal thing. They always put "the" in their. In Northern California we just say take 880 to 680 to 580.

So-Cal is THE west coast. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

(ducks)

[SackAttack]

Depends. Some days it's 'the 5,' other days, 'the parking lot.'

[PackerFanatic]

I live in Wisconsin...we use cows as landmarks...

"Go 12 cows west, then take a right...

[Coffee Warlord]

There's no rhyme or reason in Chicagoland. Some are called by number, some are called by name, some are called 'hell on earth' (that would be the Dan Ryan).

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by digamma

So-Cal is THE west coast. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

(ducks)

Expensive, smoggy, crowded... but dammit, I still love it. Austin is nice, but I'm So. Cal to the heart man.

THE 5, THE 10, THE 710, THE 60, I guess it's a So. Cal thing.

[Pyser]

thats funny, ive had this conversation a lot. its hardest when i go back east, because LA has trained me to say the 5 to the 134, etc.

then i got to nj and say the 23 to the 46, and people laugh at me.

[dacman]

I remember I used to think it was called the Van Ryne. I blame Ryne Sandberg.

Anyway, I usually just use the number (take 65 to 465, etc.)

[Vince]

This is definitely a southern California thing. I got into many arguments in Santa Barbara about this with friends and roommates. Personally, I'm of the opinion that it is "the freeway" or "the highway," but if you are referring to it by name, you call it "101" or "5." The logic is that you don't call your dog "the Fluffy," you call it "Fluffy." However, if you need to refer to it abstractly, you call it "the dog."

[cthomer5000]

Route ____ for most everything. Otherwise just the #.

[Joe Canadian]

Trans Canada Highway, oh and the inter-city highway here is called the Outer Ring Road or the Team Gushue Olympic Gold Medal Winner Highway (they won gold in curling).

[cartman]

By the numbers here, except for Loop 1, which is usually referred to as MoPac. For those wondering where that came from, it's named after the railroad running down the middle of the median, the Missouri-Pacific railroad.

[SnDvls]

some by name and some by number.

we have several "loops out here that are the same #" so they named the different sections

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

A parkway is another whole discussion. Like the Merritt Parkway. This is a complex issue.

In the Boston area I always thought the term "Parkway" meant "Warning: Slum Ahead."

[Pumpy Tudors]

In New Orleans, there were really only two interstates to worry about. There's I-10, and there's I-610. Nobody except truck drivers really uses any other numbers there. I would say "I-10" or "I-610." Since moving to Pennsylvania, though, the only interstate around me is the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76). I don't call it "I-76" or "76", though. I just call it "the Turnpike." I-376 leads into Pittsburgh, but everyone calls that "the Parkway."

Now, I'm near a lot of state routes - or in the case of Route 30, a U.S. route - so I just call those by the number. Go east on 30 and south on 981 to get to the airport. Go up 119, merge with 22, and head east on 22 to go up some damn mountain. Go east on 30 and onto 271 to get freaked the fuck out if you're from a place below sea level.

So it's basically numbers these days, but we don't really have anything resembling "freeways" in my area. With the exception of US 30, there's not much to speak of regarding these roads.

[rexallllsc]

THE 10 to THE 405

[kcchief19]

Here in the Midwest, we don't have "freeways." Interstates go by I-435, I-44, I-70, etc., but collectively are usually referred to as just highways. If you're a bit more rural, then I-70 can be called "the interstate."

State and U.S. highways are more tricky, and can vary from state to state, city to city and road to road. In Kansas, the state highways are called K-10, K-7, etc., short for Kansas Highway 10. In Missouri, it's generally either the number (210, 71) or by putting highway at the end (65 highway).

But calling a highway a freeway definitely let's us know you're not from around these parts.

[JPhillips]

Got to be The Beltway. On one side its 95 and the rest of it is 495, so using the numbers is more confusing.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

In New Orleans, there were really only two interstates to worry about. There's I-10, and there's I-610. Nobody except truck drivers really uses any other numbers there. I would say "I-10" or "I-610." Since moving to Pennsylvania, though, the only interstate around me is the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76). I don't call it "I-76" or "76", though. I just call it "the Turnpike." I-376 leads into Pittsburgh, but everyone calls that "the Parkway."

Now, I'm near a lot of state routes - or in the case of Route 30, a U.S. route - so I just call those by the number. Go east on 30 and south on 981 to get to the airport. Go up 119, merge with 22, and head east on 22 to go up some damn mountain. Go east on 30 and onto 271 to get freaked the fuck out if you're from a place below sea level.

So it's basically numbers these days, but we don't really have anything resembling "freeways" in my area. With the exception of US 30, there's not much to speak of regarding these roads.

Same a little east in Philly, people know them by the names: Turnpike, Northeast Extension, Blue Route, Schuylkill, AC Exressway, etc. Except for 202. Everyone just calls that 202.

[pennywisesb]

I'm a big "the" kinda guy....as most of us are in southern California.

[TroyF]

Denver has two main highways - 70 and 25. There are some other ones that are numbered. Always refered to as the number.

The once exception is where I-25 and I-70 meet. It's called the mousetrap. It used to actually resemble a mousetrap. Now it just feels like one if you get caught there in rush hour traffic.

[Celeval]

Mix of everything. Interstates are 75, 85, 95; Routes are 29, 78, etc. Named roads are the names - the Merritt, the NJ turnpike, etc. If you're on one that's more than one (when the NJ Turnpike and 95 are the same), it's whatever you're going to continue on. (Get on the NJ turkpike to Trenton, or get on 95 to Philadelphia...

[Buccaneer]

Simply I-25. That's all we got.

[JeeberD]

Just the numbers, though all the highways here have alternate names. It confuses the hell out of me when someone says to take LBJ to Stemmons and then catch Tom Landry. Just tell me 635 to 35 to 30, dammit!

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Denver has two main highways - 70 and 25. There are some other ones that are numbered. Always refered to as the number.

Hey man, don't you be dissin' C-470!

South-side represent!

[dawgfan]

In Seattle, it's I-5, I-90 and I-405. You can always tell an out-of-towner when they refer to driving on "the 5" - usually a Californian.

[General Mike]

Interstate's get just the number treatment, all other highways get Route in front of them, so we have:

Route 18 to Route 1 to 95 South gets you from New Brunswick to Philly.

[HJPronk]

Here in Cleveland, if I am talking to someone very familiar with the area, I would say "Hey lets take the freeway out to Mentor"(Suburb 20 miles east of Cleveland). If I was giving directions from Downtown Cleveland to Mentor to someone less familiar it would be "Take route 2 east until you reach the spur, then take 90 East and get off at route 306 North".

[cartman]

North of Wichita Falls, TX, there is a stretch of road that contains 4 highway numbers going in three different directions. On the same road, you are travelling US 287 South, US 283 North, US 183 South and US 70 West. That always freaks me out when I see that sign.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Route ____ for most everything. Otherwise just the #.

Pretty much how we were in Philly. Route 1 and 95 being the most obvious examples.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Since moving to Pennsylvania, though, the only interstate around me is the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76). I don't call it "I-76" or "76", though. I just call it "the Turnpike." I-376 leads into Pittsburgh, but everyone calls that "the Parkway."

Yeah, the Turnpike is just "the Turnpike". In Philly there was the Schuylkill too (well, and later the Blue Route too). I guess there were the share of just names mixed in with the routes.

[finkenst]

just 74...

29
116

just the number since they switch what road they actually are through town

north up river on my side is 29, otherside is 26 and 116 goes into the boonies.

south down river is 116 on my side and 29 on the other...

[Schmidty]

I 5

[TazFTW]

H1, H2, and H3 for the interstates. Names for everything else; Kam Hwy or Kamehameha, Kalanianaole, Likelike, Moanalua, Nimitz, etc..

[Fonzie]

I just call it "The Interstate" as we've only got one.

[k0ruptr]

WTF is a freeway... sorry in hawaii we have 1 or 2 lane roads lol. we call em anything, like the road by 711 or the road by that one crappy bar. or the road by the college
EDIT - Well, I guess on oahu the H1 through H3 kind of count. heh. but over here where i am its like what i posted above

[clintl]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

That is a So-Cal thing. They always put "the" in their. In Northern California we just say take 880 to 680 to 580.

Yes. Northern Californians don't put "the" in front of the number.

[Terps]

Just by number, not with the 'the' in front of it.

[Craptacular]

I'm a transportation engineer, and I almost get confused around here. In short, we have "the beltline", and "the interstate". That just works better, because we like to have routes that run concurrently. For example:

I-39/90 comes up from the south (Beloit and Illinois)
I-94 comes from the east (Milwaukee)
I-39/90/94 comes from the north (can we get another interstate designation on here please?)

The beltline is even worse ... If you get off the interstate and head west, and just stay on the freeway, here are the routes you are on (these are all US Highways)
12/18
12/14/18/151 (14 & 151 get added from opposite sides at the same interchange)
12/14
12

Which means you get to see lovely signs like this:


Some people will just say "Highway 12", since the entire beltline is on 12, but there are so many routes numbers to try and read at some interchanges, it's best to just say "the beltline".

[Craptacular]

I just had to find a picture of one of my favorites:

edit: I'll just provide the link to prevent scrolling:

hxxp://web.mit.edu/smalpert/www/roads/wi/us_12/w261.jpg

[st.cronin]

I believe that is the exit for Le Tigre Lounge?