State Route Designations

State Route Designations

Route number assignments in general are made in a manner to guide the unfamiliar traveler to desired destinations. These assignments have developed into a network of routes that connect major centers of population, industry, and government. The basic criteria used to determine the need and location of routes are traffic demand, directness of the highway connections, highway conditions, length, and safety factors.

Traffic Demand

Compare traffic on proposed route to traffic on existing routes in the same area.

Highway Conditions

Compare pavement widths and shoulder widths on proposed route to conditions on existing routes in the same area.

Directness

Compare mileage and speed on proposed route to produce an estimate travel time. Compare travel time on proposed route to travel time on existing route in the same area.

Safety

Request and review accident summaries. Field review to look for hazards.

Other Items

Look at density of routes already present in the area. Look at present configuration of signs in the area.