U.S. Highway in the context of "U.S. Route 25W"

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⭐ Core Definition: U.S. Highway

The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these highways were coordinated among the states, they are sometimes called Federal Highways, but the roadways were built and have always been maintained by state or local governments since their initial designation in 1926.

The route numbers and locations are coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The only federal involvement in AASHTO is a nonvoting seat for the United States Department of Transportation. Generally, most north-to-south highways are odd-numbered, with the lowest numbers in the east and the highest in the west, while east-to-west highways are typically even-numbered, with the lowest numbers in the north, and the highest in the south, though the grid guidelines are not rigidly followed, and many exceptions exist. Major north–south routes generally have numbers ending in "1", while major east–west routes usually have numbers ending in "0". Three-digit numbered highways are generally spur routes of parent highways; for example, U.S. Route 421 (US 421) is a spur off US 21. Some divided routes, such as US 19E/US 19W and US 25E/US 25W, exist to provide two alignments for one route. Special routes, which can be labeled as alternate, bypass or business, depending on the intended use, provide a parallel routing to the mainline U.S. Highway—an example being US 74 and its many special routes.

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In this Dossier

U.S. Highway in the context of U.S. Route 522

U.S. Route 522 (US 522) is a spur route of US 22 in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Highway travels in a north-south direction, and runs 308.59 miles (496.63 km) from US 60 near Powhatan, Virginia, to its northern terminus at US 11 and US 15 near Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. US 522 serves many small cities and towns in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, and northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The highway serves the Virginia communities of Goochland, Mineral, Culpeper, the town of Washington, and Front Royal and the independent city of Winchester. US 522 then follows the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians north and then east through the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, a 2-mile-wide (3.2 km) stretch of Western Maryland, and South Central Pennsylvania to its terminus in the Susquehanna Valley. The highway serves Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; Hancock, Maryland; and the Pennsylvania communities of McConnellsburg, Mount Union, Lewistown, and Middleburg.

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U.S. Highway in the context of U.S. Route 46

U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, and runs for 75.34 mi (121.25 km). The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 (I-80) and Route 94 in Columbia, Warren County, on the Delaware River. The east end is in the middle of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River in Fort Lee, Bergen County, while the route runs concurrently with I-95 and US 1/9. Throughout much of its length, US 46 is closely paralleled by I-80. US 46 is a major local and suburban route, with some sections built to or near freeway standards and many other sections arterials with jughandles. The route runs through several communities in the northern part of New Jersey, including Hackettstown, Netcong, Dover, Parsippany–Troy Hills, Wayne, Clifton, Ridgefield Park, Palisades Park, and Fort Lee. It crosses over the Upper Passaic River at several points. The road has been ceremonially named the United Spanish–American War Veterans Memorial Highway.

What is now US 46 was originally designated as three separate routes. Pre-1927 Route 5 was created in 1916 to follow the road from Delaware to Denville, pre-1927 Route 12 in 1917 to follow the route between Hackettstown and Paterson, and pre-1927 Route 10 in 1917 to run between Paterson and Edgewater. In 1927, Route 6 was legislated to run from Delaware east to the George Washington Bridge, replacing portions of Routes 5 and 12 and paralleling the former Route 10, which itself became Route 5 and Route 10N, the latter being shortly removed from the state highway system. In 1936, US 46 was designated to run from U.S. Route 611 in Portland, Pennsylvania, east to the George Washington Bridge. The route replaced Pennsylvania Route 987 (PA 987) to the Delaware Bridge over the Delaware River, and from there followed Route 6 across New Jersey. In 1953, the Route 6 designation was removed from US 46 in New Jersey, and later that year, the route was realigned to end at US 611 in Columbia, New Jersey, replacing a part of Route 94. US 611 had been brought into New Jersey by two new bridges over the Delaware River, following a freeway between them that became a part of I-80. In 1965, US 611 was aligned back into its original Pennsylvania route (which from 1953 until 1965 was US 611 Alternate), and US 46's western terminus remained as an interchange ramp with I-80 and Route 94. Its number is out of place since US 46 lies north of US 22, US 30 and US 40. US 46 is the shortest 2-digit US Highway.

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U.S. Highway in the context of U.S. Highway 290 (Texas)

U.S. Route 290 (US 290) is an east–west U.S. Highway located entirely within the state of Texas. Its western terminus is at Interstate 10 southeast of Segovia, and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 610 in northwest Houston. It is the main highway between Houston and Austin and is a cutoff for travelers wanting to bypass San Antonio on Interstate 10. Throughout its length west of Austin, US 290 cuts across mountainous hills comprising the Texas Hill Country and the Edwards Plateau; between Austin and Houston, the highway then travels through gradually hilly grasslands and pine forests comprising the Gulf Coastal Plains.

In its original designation in 1926, US 290 originally traveled from US 80 in Reeves County to terminate in San Antonio; though the highway still retains its designation from southeast of Segovia to Fredericksburg, I-10 and US 87 replaced much of the old routing in 1935. US 290 also received several minor re-routings east of Austin in 1951 that moved it further north, eliminating the old SH 20; the old routings were replaced by SH 71 and SH 21. While US 290 does not directly connect to its parent route of U.S. Route 90, ramps at its eastern terminus lead to US 90 and I-10.

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