Highway designations are based on direction, latitude, and longitude. Mostly, anyway. Nowadays, it’s easy to get from place to place in the United States. Using a GPS device or smartphone, you can enter an address and a computer-generated voice will guide you. Before satellite tracking, road maps and a compass kept travelers on track. Most US highway designations also include a simple numerical code that can guide travelers, albeit on a very basic level.
Younger adventurers may not know this, but the Numbered Highway System established a framework for naming highways. Numbers aren’t random – east-west roads are even, while north-south roads are odd. Thus, if you’re seriously lost and find yourself on Interstate 70, you can take comfort in knowing you’re either on your way to the East Coast, or the West Coast. If you’re on Interstate 75, cool northern states or warm southern states are heading your way.
Knowing More:
The numbering system addresses both direction and location, however. East-west highways have even numbers, but as you move south, the numbers decrease. Interstate 10 skirts the southern states, while Interstate 90 connects Seattle with the Northern Plains. Likewise, the west has a low number of north-south roads. From Canada to Mexico, Interstate 5 follows the West Coast, and from Canada to Miami, Interstate 95 brushes the Atlantic Ocean.
CGP Grey’s video at the top of the article gives us a humorous look at the naming structure, with some exceptions to the rule. There are many similarities among major interstate highways established under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, as well as state and even county roads. There is no road in the continental United States further west than California Route 1. Highway 5 runs east-west in North Dakota, but it is practically in Canada. Yes, the system isn’t perfect. However, it’s a nice way to see some patterns in the chaos.
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