County highway

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Intersection of CR-442 and CR-1057 in Douglas County, Kansas, between Lawrence and Eudora Douglas County highways 442 & 1057 intersection.jpg
Intersection of CR-442 and CR-1057 in Douglas County, Kansas, between Lawrence and Eudora

A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can be determined by each county alone, by mutual agreement among counties, or by a statewide pattern.

Contents

Any county-maintained road, whether or not it is given a signed number, can be called a county road. [lower-alpha 1] Depending on the state or province and county, these roads can be named after geographic features, communities, or people. Or they may be assigned a name determined by a standardized grid reference: "East 2000" would be a north–south road running 20 blocks/miles/km east of the designated zero point. Many other variations are also used. Many locales have somewhat arbitrarily assigned numbers for all county roads, but with no number-signage at all or only on standard street name blades.

County roads and highways vary greatly in design standards, funding, and regularity of maintenance. Some county highways in urban areas are freeways or expressways. County roads that link communities or serve residential areas are often indistinguishable from state highways or residential streets. In rural areas, many county roads carry very little traffic and are maintained infrequently. They may be in poor condition (if paved) or not paved at all. In remote areas, county roads may be sand, gravel, or graded earth, only occasionally seeing foot, equestrian, and four wheel drive traffic. Some states, such as Wisconsin, use county highways in great numbers, linking major highways and cities or towns to each other. Wisconsin also maintains a Rustic Road system where local routes are purposefully maintained as dirt or gravel roads in order to not interfere with natural scenery and preserve them in their past state.

United States

Baldwin County Route 64 AL.svg
Current county highway marker in many states
WIS County WW.svg
Example of a Wisconsin county trunk highway marker
Inter County Route G MN.svg
Example of a Minnesota inter-county highway marker

County highway markers are usually a yellow-on-blue pentagon (the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices standard pattern) or a black-on-white square (largely older signs). Some states, like Virginia and North Carolina, have no county highways in most of their counties: the state government maintains all roads in unincorporated areas. In West Virginia, the state maintains secondary roads though they may be designated as county routes. [3] Other states, like Connecticut, have no county routes because there is no government at the county level. Alaska's county-equivalent boroughs maintain roads in unincorporated areas but none are numbered. Louisiana's county equivalent of parishes have parish routes.

Another standard style of county highway marker from Schoolcraft County, Michigan, used in some U.S. states DSCN4821 schoolcraftcountyroad e.jpg
Another standard style of county highway marker from Schoolcraft County, Michigan, used in some U.S. states

In the United States, county highways are denoted or signed in various ways, differing by state. In Wisconsin, county highways are marked with letters—with one- to three-letter combinations (i.e.: C, CC, or CCC). Wisconsin's county highways are frequently and clearly marked at most intersections. Because county road names are not exclusive, a state may have many county roads with similar or identical names. In states like Illinois, county highways are marked either with a number (usually one or two digits), a single letter followed by a one- or two-digit number (i.e.: V-34, A-29), or in Rock Island County, with letters like Wisconsin but on a blue pentagon marker. These highways are usually marked at the beginning of the highway and occasionally throughout the route; they cannot be relied on as geographic directions the way more major highways are (state or interstate). In New Jersey, there are two sets of county routes: the 500-series (500–599), part of a statewide system which usually run through multiple counties, but are county-maintained; and the non-500 routes which are usually contained within a single county and are repeated in different counties. The latter generally use numbers in the 600-series; some counties have routes in the 700s and 800s. Two counties, Bergen and Monmouth, along with some routes in Ocean County, have routes outside this range with one- or two-digit numbers along with some numbers in the 100s. New Jersey's county routes are usually signed just as well as state routes (with mile- and half-mileposts), and will appear on freeway exit signage.

Typical signage used on a county highway in Iowa, as seen along CR W66 in Louisa County, Iowa, south of Cotter Louisa County Highway W66 in Iowa.jpg
Typical signage used on a county highway in Iowa, as seen along CR W66 in Louisa County, Iowa, south of Cotter

In Iowa, secondary roads are defined simply by the Iowa Code as "those roads under county jurisdiction." [4] The 99 counties in Iowa divide the secondary road system into farm-to-market roads and area service roads. Farm-to-market roads are maintained by the county and, paid for from a special fund: the Farm-to-Market Road Fund consists of federal secondary-road aid and 8% of Iowa's road use taxes.[ citation needed ] The farm-to-market road system is limited to 35,000 miles (56,000 km). [4] Unlike most states, Iowa's signed secondary roads are not numbered on a county-by-county basis. With exception to County Road 105, secondary roads use a uniform numbering grid using one letter and two or three numbers, e.g., E41. County roads running primarily east and west are assigned letters (from north to south) A through J. County roads running primarily north and south are assigned letters (from west to east) K through Z. The letters I, O, Q, and U are not used. [5]

In Minnesota, some county roads are known as county state aid highways. These roads are constructed and maintained by counties, but they are eligible for funding from the County State Aid Highway Fund. Differences in signage between CSAH routes and other county roads depends on the county. Some counties, such as Stearns County, delineate between the two by using the standard blue pentagon marker for CSAH routes and a normal white square marker for other county roads. [6] Most county roads in Minnesota are designated with numbers, although a few non-CSAHs in Dodge County utilize letters. A few roads that cross county borders are also signed with an inter-county designation and a letter.[ citation needed ]

Many counties in Ohio use markers to designate county roads. Ohio's county roads vary widely in construction, signage, and naming from county to county. Seneca County uses the default blue pentagon marker and limited signage (generally only at intersections); Logan County uses a square white marker with a black border (similar to the St. Louis County design in Missouri) and signage is nearly comparable to state route signage, with advance signage of intersections with county roads and termini; and Scioto County uses a marker with a county outline.

Canada

In Canada, numbered county roads are only found in Ontario, where they are similar to American county highways. Ontario county or regional roads are marked with trapezoid-shaped signs, usually (but not necessarily) with a white, black, green, or blue background, and normally identifying the county or region responsible for the road's maintenance, sometimes with the jurisdiction's coat of arms or corporate logo. The county road network has been present for many years, but has only been signed with the flowerpot logos since the 1970s and early 1980s (depending on the area). Previously, the roads simply had road names, such as "Essex Road 42" or "Kent County Road 14", and so on, but had no markers to designate them. Many Ontario county roads are built to provincial highway standards, as thousands of kilometres of highways were downloaded from the province to counties and regional municipalities in 1997 and 1998, and most of the downloaded highways were rolled into the county road systems. In some situations, these in turn were downloaded from the region/county to the local municipalities.

Not all jurisdictions in Ontario which maintain a numbered road system use the name "County Road" to designate them, however — depending on the official name of the jurisdiction which maintains them, they may instead be designated as a Regional Road, Municipal Road, Regional Highway, County Highway, District Road, Township Road, or City Road. In the unincorporated districts of Northern Ontario, as there is no county level of government the province maintains a secondary highway system to serve the same function.

In addition to county roads, many civil townships also have concession roads and (civil) township roads, such as Colchester South Road 3, and Concession 8. These usually do not have markers (only names on signs and maps). One exception is former Highway 620, which had a change in supervision.

This is to be contrasted with survey township roads which exist in Alberta after the 1981 Alberta rural addressing system was introduced. Range roads will run north to south, while (survey) township roads run east to west.

Highway 620 in Ontario, was downloaded to the Peterborough and Hastings county governments, and in one section, the highway was downloaded further to the township of Wollaston, and is now signed Wollaston Township 620, with a municipal sign similar to an Ontario tertiary highway. [7] A number of townships in Wellington County sign their township road system in a similar manner.

Elsewhere

In England and Wales, county road, as alluded to in section 29 et seq. of the Local Government Act 1929, was the term used to refer to any road for which a county council was the responsible highway authority. [8]

See also

Notes

  1. For example, in the state of Michigan, all roads that are not under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Transportation or a city or village are under the jurisdiction of a county road commission. [1] Under state law, these county-maintained roadways are then classified as primary county roads or local county roads, [2] regardless if those roads then carry a signed designation number or not as signage and numbering practices vary in the state's 83 counties.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exit number</span> Number assigned to a road junction

An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit. In some countries, such as the United States, it is also marked on a sign in the gore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm-to-market road</span> Type of road in some U.S. states

In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better-quality roads, usually a highway, that farmers and ranchers use to transport products to market towns or distribution centers. Historically used throughout the country, today the term is primarily associated with a large state-maintained highway system in Texas.

A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concurrency (road)</span> Road bearing more than one route number

A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurrency includes overlap, coincidence, duplex, triplex, multiplex, dual routing or triple routing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business route</span> Special route connecting a major highway to a business district

A business 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway shield</span> Sign denoting the route number of a highway

A highway shield or route marker is a sign denoting the route number of a highway, usually in the form of a symbolic shape with the route number enclosed. As the focus of the sign, the route number is usually the sign's largest element, with other items on the sign rendered in smaller sizes or contrasting colors. Highway shields are used by travellers, commuters, and all levels of government for identifying, navigating, and organising routes within a given jurisdiction. Simplified highway shields often appear on maps.

In the U.S. state of New York, county routes exist in all 62 counties except those in the five boroughs of New York City. Most are maintained locally by county highway departments. County route designations are assigned at the county level; as a result, routes often change numbers as they cross from one county to the next due to the lack of a statewide numbering system and lack of coordination between counties. Some exceptions exist, such as County Route 36 (CR 36) in Ontario County and CR 36A in Livingston County. The assignment of routes by individual counties also results in varying system density and numbering and signage practices between the state's counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Highway System</span> Network of state-managed highways and roads

The North Carolina Highway System consists of a vast network of Interstate, United States, and state highways, managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. North Carolina has the second largest state maintained highway network in the United States because all roads in North Carolina are maintained by either municipalities or the state. Since counties do not maintain roads, there is no such thing as a "county road" within the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Highway 537</span> Ontario provincial highway

Secondary Highway 537, commonly referred to as Highway 537, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway is 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) in length, connecting Highway 69 near Wanup with Finni Road. It once continued 3.6 km (2.2 mi) further to intersect Highway 17 in Wahnapitae, but was truncated in 1998; this portion of the route is now designated as Greater Sudbury Municipal Road 537. Highway 537 is now the only secondary highway in the province located within a jurisdiction that also maintains its own county/regional road network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unsigned highway</span> Highways that do not identify the route number

An unsigned highway is a highway that has been assigned a route number, but does not bear road markings that would conventionally be used to identify the route with that number. Highways are left unsigned for a variety of reasons, and examples are found throughout the world. Depending on the policy of the agency that maintains the highway, and the reason for not signing the route, the route may instead be signed a different designation from its actual number, with small inventory markers for internal use, or with nothing at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State Route System</span> Highway system of Pennsylvania in the United States

In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, state highways are generally maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Each is assigned a four-digit State Route (SR) number in the present Location Referencing System. Traffic Routes are signed as Interstate Highways, U.S. Routes and Pennsylvania Routes, and are prefixed with one to three zeroes to give a four-digit number. PA Routes are also called Pennsylvania Traffic Routes, and formerly State Highway Routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa Primary Highway System</span>

The primary highway system makes up over 9,000 miles (14,000 km), approximately 8 percent of the U.S. state of Iowa's public road system. The Iowa Department of Transportation is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the primary highway system, which consists of Interstate Highways, United States Highways, and Iowa state highways. Currently, the longest primary highway is U.S. Highway 30 at 332 miles (534 km). The shortest highway is Interstate 129 at 0.27 miles (430 m).

Highways are split into at least four different types of systems in the United States: Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, state highways, and county highways. Highways are generally organized by a route number or letter. These designations are generally displayed along the route by means of a highway shield. Each system has its own unique shield design that will allow quick identification to which system the route belongs.

County roads in Minnesota are roads locally maintained by county highway departments in Minnesota. County roads span a wide variety of road types, varying from A-minor arterials that carry large volumes of traffic to gravel roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Highway 513</span> Former Ontario provincial highway

Secondary Highway 513, commonly referred to as Highway 513, was a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located within Renfrew County, the highway travelled northward from Highway 132 at Dacre along Scotch Bush Road, turning eastward on what is now Renfrew County Road 22, and ending a short distance to the east before reaching Douglas.

References

  1. Hamilton, William E. (February 2007). Act 51 Primer: A Guide to 1951 Public Act 51 and Michigan Transportation Funding (PDF) (Report). Lansing: Michigan House Fiscal Agency. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  2. BTP Intermodal Policy Division (August 2000). Summary: Act 51 of the Public Acts of 1951, as Amended; 'Act 51 Made Simple' (PDF) (Report). State of Michigan. p. 4. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. "West Virginia Division of Highways Factbook" (PDF). 2002.
  4. 1 2 "§306.3". Iowa Code. 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  5. Hancock, Jason. "The Iowa Highways Page" . Retrieved October 31, 2009.[ self-published source ]
  6. Froehlig, Adam. "Twin Cities Highways: Definitions and Acronyms" . Retrieved March 28, 2006.
  7. "620_jct_504.JPG (640x480 pixels)". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. "Local Government Act 1929" (PDF). Retrieved December 3, 2011.