A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off a parent numbered highway at its beginning, continues through the central business district of a nearby city or town, and finally reconnects with the same parent numbered highway at the business route's end. Their designation is often intended to direct traffic to the business districts bypassed when a new highway is constructed some distance away. [1] [2]
Business routes share the same number as the major (parent) routes they parallel. For example, U.S. Route 1 Business (US 1 Bus.) splits from and parallels US 1, and Interstate 40 Business (I-40 Bus.) splits from and parallels I-40.
Typically, all business routes off the same parent route have the same name on signage. For example, St. Augustine business loop and Fredericksburg business loop are two of the many business routes stemming off US 1, all of which are marked as "US 1 Bus.". But within a state's transportation administration, different business routes may be assigned unique names to differentiate them. For example, Texas has 11 different business routes attached to I-35; while all are signed as "Business Loop Interstate 35", (BL I-35) they are designated by the Texas Department of Transportation as BL I-35-A, BL I-35-B, and so on. [3] [4]
Business routes are typically marked with the word "BUSINESS" above the major route's number or route shield. Alternatively, some states designate business routes by adding the letter "B" after the parent route's number. For example, Arkansas business routes of US 71 are marked as "US 71B". On some route shields and road signs, the word "business" is shortened to just "BUS", though abbreviation is usually avoided to prevent confusion with bus routes.
Business route signage varies depending on the type of major route the business route branches off. Business routes paralleling U.S. and state highways usually have exactly the same marker shapes and nearly the same overall appearance as the routes they parallel, with a rectangular plate reading "BUSINESS" placed above the shield (either supplementing or replacing the directional plate, depending on the preference of the road agency). To better identify and differentiate alternate routes from the parent routes they parallel, some states, such as Maryland, opt to use green shields for business routes off U.S. Highways. In addition, Maryland uses a green shield for business routes off state highways, replacing the state name, "MARYLAND", with the word "BUSINESS". [5]
Interstate Highway business routes use the same four-pointed shield design as regular Interstate Highways, but substitute the normal red and blue layout with an all-green color scheme. Also, the word "BUSINESS" appears within the shield, at its top above the highway number, instead of "INTERSTATE", and either "LOOP" or "SPUR" may appear below the word "BUSINESS" and above the Interstate number.
On maps, business routes are typically denoted by a standard marker containing the route number and the abbreviation "BUS" (e.g., "BUS 81" inside a U.S. Route shield to denote Bus. US 81). For Interstate business routes, an indication of whether the route is a business loop or business spur may also be included (e.g., adding "LOOP 44" inside the Interstate marker). The Michigan Department of Transportation's official state maps denote Interstate business routes with green shields that look similar to Interstate business route signage. [6]
Business routes are maintained by different levels of government in different states. Some incorporate business routes into their state-maintained highway systems; others, such as Indiana [7] and Wisconsin, [8] entrust business route maintenance to local governments.
Business routes typically predate their parent highways. They follow the original numbered route through a city or town. Their designation as business routes is largely the product of the era of large-scale highway construction in the United States from the 1930s through the 1970s. Typically, new highway designations carried traffic directly through the center of a given city or town. In later development, bypasses would be constructed around the central business districts they had once passed directly through. As these bypasses were built, the original sections of these routes that had once passed directly through a given city or town would often be designated as business routes. [9]
These development patterns were the subject of frequent debate, particularly among business owners who feared the loss of customer traffic as highways took motorists away from downtown. For example, U.S. Route 66 was for many years the primary road connecting Chicago and Los Angeles. From the 1950s on, construction of the Interstate Highway System drew traffic away from Route 66, hurting the many businesses built on that traffic. Dozens of old sections of US 66 are now designated as business routes for I-15, I-40, I-44, and I-55. [10] [11]
While business routes frequently integrate into the street grid of their town or city, some maintain the higher-speed, limited-access design of their parent highways. These are sometimes called expressway business routes. [12] [13]
City routes are most commonly found in the Midwestern United States, although there are a number of city routes in other parts of the U.S., as well. These routes serve the same purpose as business routes, but they feature "CITY" signs instead of "BUSINESS" signs above or below the route shields. The designations of many of these city routes are being phased out in favor of the business route designation.
Another definition of a "city route" is similar to a county route, where a particular city forms its own highway system, usually of beltways. The city of Pittsburgh, for instance, has a colored belt system. Officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, created Charlotte Route 4, a loop of surface streets around Uptown Charlotte. A route in Pawtucket, Rhode Island known as the Downtown Circulator was created by the city to help travelers navigate the downtown area.
U.S. Highway 181 is a south–north U.S. Highway located entirely in the state of Texas. Both termini are at Interstate 37, the road that it mainly parallels to the east. US 181 begins in Corpus Christi, Texas at mile marker 0 to the south, through south-central Texas to just south of San Antonio to the north, for a total length of 137 miles (220 km).
U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the route number indicates, it was originally a cross-country route, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Its original western terminus was at Historic US 101 in San Diego, California. However, the entire segment west of Dallas, Texas, has been decommissioned in favor of various Interstate Highways and state highways. Currently, the highway's western terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 30 (I-30) on the Dallas–Mesquite, Texas city line. Its eastern terminus is in Tybee Island, Georgia near the Atlantic Ocean. Between Jonesville, Texas and Kewanee, Mississippi, US 80 runs parallel to or concurrently with Interstate 20. It also currently runs through Dallas, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Montgomery, Alabama; Columbus, Georgia; Macon, Georgia; and Savannah, Georgia.
Interstate 196 (I-196) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 80.6 miles (129.7 km) in the US state of Michigan. It is a state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids. In Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties, I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, after President Gerald Ford, who was raised in Grand Rapids and served Michigan in the House of Representatives for 25 years. This name generally refers only to the section between Holland and Grand Rapids. I-196 changes direction; it is signed as a north–south highway from its southern terminus to the junction with US Highway 31 (US 31) just south of Holland, and as an east–west trunkline from this point to its eastern terminus at an interchange with I-96, its parent highway. There are three business routes related to the main freeway. There are two business loops and one business spur that serve South Haven, Holland and the Grand Rapids areas. Another business spur for Muskegon had been designated relative to the I-196 number.
Interstate 80 Business, called the Capital City Freeway in its entirety and also known as Business 80, is a business loop of Interstate 80 (I-80) through Sacramento, California, United States. The route is also colloquially referred to as "Cap City Freeway" and "Biz 80". The entire route is a freeway.
US Highway 27 (US 27) is a part of the US Highway System that now runs from Miami, Florida, to Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the US state of Michigan, it was a north–south state trunkline highway that entered the state south of Kinderhook and ended south of Grayling. Its route consisted of a freeway concurrency with Interstate 69 (I-69) from the state line north to the Lansing area before it followed its own freeway facility northward to St. Johns. From there north to Ithaca, US 27 was an expressway before continuing as a freeway to a terminus south of Grayling.
US Highway 24 is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from Minturn, Colorado, to Independence Township, Michigan. In Michigan, it is also known as Telegraph Road and runs for 79.828 miles (128.471 km) as a major north–south state trunkline highway from Bedford Township at the Ohio state line through Metro Detroit. The highway runs through three counties in southeastern Michigan, Monroe, Wayne and Oakland, as it parallels the Lake Erie shoreline and bypasses Metro Detroit on the west. Telegraph Road connects several suburbs together and passes through the western edge of Detroit before it terminates northwest of Clarkston at an interchange with Interstate 75 (I-75).
Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas has the largest state highway system, followed closely by North Carolina's state highway system. In addition to the nationally numbered Interstate Highways and U.S. Highways, the highway system consists of a main network of state highways, loops, spurs, and beltways that provide local access to the other highways. The system also includes a large network of farm to market roads that connect rural areas of the state with urban areas and the rest of the state highway system. The state also owns and maintains some park and recreational roads located near and within state and national parks, as well as recreational areas. All state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads. The Old San Antonio Road, also known as the El Camino Real, is the oldest highway in the United States, first being blazed in 1691. The length of the highways varies from US 83's 893.4 miles (1,437.8 km) inside the state borders to Spur 200 at just 0.05 miles long.
The New Hampshire Highway System is the public roads system of the U.S. state of New Hampshire containing approximately 17,029 miles (27,406 km) maintained by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT). All public roads in the state are called "highways", thus there is no technical distinction between a "road" or a "highway" in New Hampshire.
Business US Highway 41 was a state trunkline highway that served as a business loop off US 41 and M-28 in Marquette, Michigan, along Washington and Front streets. The streets serve the downtown area of Marquette and are bordered by several commercial properties and businesses. Those two streets originate with the early founding of the city in the middle of the 19th century. Jurisdiction over them was transferred to the city as part of a highway swap that resulted in the decommissioning of the trunkline in 2005. It was also previously co-designated Bus. M-28, mirroring the Bus. US 41/Bus. M-28 designation previously used along Bus. M-28 in Ishpeming and Negaunee. Washington and Front streets had been a part of the state highway system since the 1910s, and a part of the United States Numbered Highway System since 1926. The business loop designation dates back to the 1960s and was removed in 2005.
In the US state of Texas, Interstate 40 (I-40) runs west–east through the panhandle in the northwest part of the state. The only large city it passes through is Amarillo, where it meets the north end of I-27. The entire section of I-40 in Texas is designated as a Purple Heart Trail route.
In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the Interstate Highway System, U.S. highway system, and several state highway systems. Each type of special route possesses generally defined characteristics and has a defined relationship with its parent route. Typically, special routes share a route number with a dominant route, often referred as the "parent" or "mainline", and are given either a descriptor which may be used either before or after the route name, such as Alternate or Business, or a letter suffix that is attached to the route number. For example, an alternate route of U.S. Route 1 may be called "Alternate U.S. Route 1", "U.S. Route 1 Alternate", or "U.S. Route 1A". Occasionally, a special route will have both a descriptor and a suffix, such as U.S. Route 1A Business.
U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) in the U.S. state of Texas is named the Lloyd Bentsen Highway, after Lloyd Bentsen, former U.S. senator from Texas. In northern Houston, US 59, co-signed with Interstate 69 (I-69), is the Eastex Freeway. To the south, which is also co-signed with I-69, it is the Southwest Freeway. The stretch of the Southwest Freeway just west of The Loop was formerly one of the busiest freeways in North America, with a peak AADT of 371,000 in 1998.
U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major highway that is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville to Sioux City, Iowa. In Texas, the road runs south-north for 471.3 miles (758.5 km) from the International border with Mexico to the Oklahoma state line north of Gainesville. The highway is being upgraded to a freeway near Corpus Christi to connect to the freeway part of the highway in Raymondville as part of future I-69. A freeway in Robstown is already signed as part of I-69. From Waco to the Oklahoma state line, US 77 overlaps or runs parallel to I-35/I-35E.
There have been nine business routes for Interstate 75 in the US state of Michigan. Numbered either Business Loop Interstate 75 or Business Spur Interstate 75 depending if they are a full business loop or a business spur, these highways are former routings of I-75's predecessor highways in the state. They were designated as I-75 was completed through the various areas of Michigan. The business loop in Pontiac runs through that city's downtown along a section of Woodward Avenue and a segment of roadway formerly used by M-24. The former Saginaw business loop was once a part of US Highway 23 (US 23), as was most of the original Bay City business loop. The roadways that make up the business loops in West Branch and Roscommon were previously part of M-76, I-75's predecessor through that part of the state. In Northern Michigan, the Grayling and Gaylord BL I-75s were part of US 27, and the two business routes in St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were part of US 2. A tenth business route, a loop through Indian River has been proposed. Each of the business loops connects to I-75 on both ends and runs through their respective cities' downtown areas. The two business spurs only connect to I-75 on one end and run into the appropriate downtown.
Interstate business routes are roads connecting a central or commercial district of a city or town with an Interstate bypass. These roads typically follow along local streets often along a former U.S. Route or state highway that had been replaced by an Interstate. Interstate business route reassurance markers are signed as either loops or spurs using a green shield shaped sign and numbered like the shield of the parent Interstate highway.
All of the business loops within Texas are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Interstate 20 (I-20) has 15 business loops in the state, all located in western Texas. Along I-20, TxDOT identifies each business route as Business Interstate 20 followed by an alphabetic suffix. Along Texas Interstates, the alphabetic suffixes on business route names ascend eastward and northward. There are gaps in the alphabetic values to allow for future system expansion. The alphabetic naming suffixes are included as small letters on the bottom of route shields.
There have been 10 business routes of US Highway 127 in the state of Michigan. The business routes are all sections of state trunkline highway that run through the central business districts of their respective towns connecting them to the mainline highway outside of those downtown areas. These various business routes were formerly part of the routing of US Highway 127 (US 127) or its predecessor in Central Michigan, US 27, before the construction of highway bypasses. The southern two, in Jackson and Mason were previously parts of US 127, while seven of the northern eight were originally part of US 27, a highway which was replaced on its northern end by US 127 in 2002. The business loop through Alma was once numbered US 27A.
Interstate 2 (I-2) is a partially completed Interstate Highway running through the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It begins at the intersection of US Highway 83 (US 83) and Business US 83 in Peñitas and heads eastward before terminating at I-69E/US 77/US 83 in Harlingen. A westward extension around La Joya has been partially completed, but not yet part of I-2. For almost its entire length, I-2 runs concurrently with US 83. I-2 also parallels Mexican Federal Highway 2 (Fed. 2), another major east–west route that traces the Mexico–US border along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. When completed, the western terminus will be the city of Laredo. The route is one of the more recently designated Interstate Highways; it was signed as an Interstate in 2013. Its construction is part of an expansion of the Interstate System into southern Texas that includes the three branches of I-69. It currently intersects I-69E and I-69C and will, when completed to Laredo, terminate I-69W as well. This complex of Interstate Highways does not yet connect to the rest of the system.
Interstate business routes are roads connecting a central or commercial district of a city or town with an Interstate bypass. These roads typically follow along local streets often along a former U.S. Route or state highway that had been replaced by an Interstate. Interstate business route reassurance markers are signed as either loops or spurs using a green shield shaped and numbered like the shield of the parent Interstate highway.
Interstate business routes are roads connecting a central or commercial district of a city or town with an Interstate bypass. These roads typically follow along local streets often along a former U.S. Route or state highway that had been replaced by an Interstate. Interstate business route reassurance markers are signed as either loops or spurs using a green shield shaped sign and numbered like the shield of the parent Interstate highway.
In such cases, the business route intentionally provides greater access and less mobility than the parallel highway.
