# What do you call your freeway? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765 "2010-03-25T16:47:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/141 "2012-09-30T10:39:01Z")
In Minnesota, common terminology is: [ul] [li] Never, ever use “the”.[/li][li] Do use the I- prefix (“I-35”, “I-94”). [/li][li] But the I- prefix is usually dropped if there is a suffix (“35W” or “35E”). Old people might not drop the I- prefix.[/li][li] And the I- prefix can be dropped for 3-digit ones (“394”, “494”, “694”). Most (but not all) people do this.[/li] An exception: you can say “the” with “interstate”, like _“took the interstate up to Duluth”_. But only when there is just one possible interstate to take, and then you never mention the number.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/142 "2012-09-30T14:04:24Z")
Slightly off-topic: can anyone in Virginia confirm whether the Blue Ridge Parkway actually has a 35 mph speed limit? ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/143 "2012-09-30T14:13:05Z")
> [@tetranz](#): > > To address the original question, around here in southern NH and I think in MA, the common name for most roads seems to be “route” and the number regardless of whether it’s an interstate, US route or state road. Luckily the numbers seem to be unique in any particular area. > > I notice that NH 13 conveniently joins MA 13 at the border. Is that a common thing that states try to do, i.e, match up the numbers where numbered state roads meet? It’s not common, but it does happen. Iowa changed a bunch of their numbers many years ago so they all stay the same at the border. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/144 "2012-09-30T14:34:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Slightly off-topic: can anyone in Virginia confirm whether the Blue Ridge Parkway actually has a 35 mph speed limit? Yes. We drove it in January. That is indeed the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/145 "2012-09-30T15:29:55Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Spaulding Turnpike Wow, really? Everyone knows what it is, but you’d be the first person I’ve ever heard to call it that rather than route 16 or 16. I mean, mapquest and google maps call it the Spaulding Turnpike, but besides on rarest occasions hearing someone not in a commercial referring to something as being “off the spaulding”… Anyway, OP: with highways, interstate or not, low numbers may or may not get the word “route” stuck in front of them. 4, 9, 16, Route 4, Route 1, Route 9, Route 16 etc. Higher numbers are just the number: 93, 95, 101, 495, 202, 393, 111, 125 etc. ---
**Author:** ![Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stendhal_Syndrome)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/146 "2012-09-30T17:27:24Z")
Just plain numbers. “Take 580 to 238 and then 880” Or… “I HATE 880!” I am from the Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/147 "2012-10-01T12:13:12Z")
Here they are named after the zone the are in - Lunada Sul, Somba, etc. There are a few city-to-city roads that were recently built by the Chinese. The rest of the “roads” that connect other parts of the country are a mixture of dirt and asphalt, and if you stop to relieve yourself on the side of the road you have to be aware of landmines. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/148 "2012-10-02T20:13:13Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Okay, with all due respect for the beauty of NH and the genteel nature of so many residents, this is deeply fucked! 🙂 MA isn’t much better. I’m glad I escaped and was granted refugee status up here in '98. Once I gave directions to my wife on how to get to the hospital that my niece was born in. (Beverly) Go south on 93, and get on 128 North. Of course, it’s really labeled as 95 North, but who calls it 95 between Lynnfield and somewhere on the south shore (The part that is labeled “Here be dragons” to folks from the North Shore). The only sign indicating the roadway is also for 128 is a small black and white sign on the 93 overpass just as you reach it. My wife missed it completely and ended up pulling off in Somerville to ask directions… as a lifelong NH gal, she was not pleased with my directions. All of my MA friends agreed that my directions were fine, and she needed more knowledge of maps. I have not shared that agreement with her. While we’re poking fun at MA, Head south on Rt 3 some day from Billerica to Boston. You end up getting on 128/95 NORTH, while you’re on 3 SOUTH. I’ve long ago stopped trying to figure out what the names/directions are for 128/95/3/93 from the Braintree split to the point on where 95 heads towards RI. That combination of South/North/East/West has nothing to do with actual direction as determined by a compass. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/149 "2012-10-04T03:08:28Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > I’ve long ago stopped trying to figure out what the names/directions are for 128/95/3/93 from the Braintree split to the point on where 95 heads towards RI. That combination of South/North/East/West has nothing to do with actual direction as determined by a compass. Ooooh, word. We were driving SOUTH to NYC from a wedding in Braintree. I remarked upon the signage and its utter lunacy. Decided that the very best thing to do was believe I was still heading south, because the Sun was on my right. And London was on my left. Therefore, I must have been heading south. Stoopid MA signage. ---
**Author:** ![Erny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@Erny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erny)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/150 "2012-10-11T04:29:53Z")
I got the I-35E, Recenctly I’ve started calling highways by the people they are named after… In this case… Stemmons Freeway Others are Sam Rayburns Tollway or Lyndon B Johnson Highway But I mostly do this to confuse people and see if they know the names of the highways… Mwaahauhauhauha ---
**Author:** ![Dano83860](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Dano83860](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dano83860)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765/151 "2012-10-11T04:49:32Z")
Where I grew up it was 280, 85 and 101. But we also called the highways by their numbers too. Where I live now we have no freeways. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-your-freeway/533765.md?page=7)