Interstate Highway
US Highway
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Interstate Highway |
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The highway marker shields for State Highways are completely different in each US state.
A highway marker shield consists of:
At road junctions, one or more highway marker shields with arrows indicating which way to turn often serve as the sole means of signposting. Sometimes town names are also indicated. An arrow pointing left or right without a vertical tail indicates that you should turn at the intersection where the sign is located:
An arrow pointing left or right with a vertical tail indicates that the turn is not here, but a short distance ahead, usually at the next intersection:
A double-headed arrow indicates that the relevant highway goes in both directions.
Diagonal arrows are often used as appropriate when roads meet at an angle other than 90 degrees.
Highway marker shields are also seen on the signposts located ahead of each Interstate exit, usually together with a town name (or occasionally the name of a National Park or other feature where relevant).
Each type of highway (Interstate, US Highway, State Highway, etc) has a different design of highway marker shield.
In the USA it is vital to be able to recognise the different designs of the highway marker shields for Interstate Highways, US Highways and State Highways.
The highway marker shields for Interstate Highways and US Highways are identical in all US states, except that in some states the state name appears on Interstate highway marker shields and occasionally also on US Highway marker shields.
The above image is computer generated and therefore only an approximation of the real sign.
The highway marker shield for Interstate Highways has a relatively simple shape. It is coloured blue, except for a horizontal red strip at the top. The red strip bears the word "INTERSTATE" in white letters. The road number appears as large white numerals in the blue part of the sign. Sometimes the name of the state appears in small white letters in the blue part of the sign above the road number. Photograph (26KB). The corresponding Business Route highway marker shield has the same shape but is coloured light green and has the wording "BUSINESS", "BUSINESS ROUTE", "BUSINESS LOOP", "BUS ROUTE", "BUS LOOP", "BR" or "B.R." in the top strip.
On maps, Interstate Highways are usually indicated by their number inside a representation of the Interstate Highway marker shield.
The above image is computer generated and therefore only an approximation of the real sign.
The highway marker shield for US Highways is square and has a thin black border, with a more complex shaped white shield inside. Occasionally the border may be reduced in size and have the same shape as the shield inside. The road number appears as large black numerals in the white part of the sign.
On maps, Interstate Highways are usually indicated by their number inside a representation of the US Highway marker shield.
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California |
Colorado |
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Florida |
North Carolina |
The highway marker shields for State Highways are completely different in each US state.
Designs include a silhouette of the state's map, a symbol related to the state, or a simple geometrical shape such as a rectangle or a circle. On this web site details of the state highway marker shields are included on the "Introduction" page for each state, most easily reached via the State/Province Index.
On maps, State Highways are usually indicated by a number in a circle, an oval, an ellipse, a square or a rectangle.
Many states use a pentagonal shaped shield for their county road highway marker shields. This has a blue background, yellow wording and a yellow border. The pentagon is oriented so that its base is horizontal. The road number appears in the middle of the shield with the county name above it and the word "County" below it (these being in a smaller font than the road number). Some states and possibly some individual counties use different designs.
County roads are usually only shown on detailed local maps.
There are also special highway marker shields for Indian Roads (through some Indian Reservations) and National Forest Service Roads. These are the same in all relevant states. The average visitor to the USA is unlikely to use these roads and only detailed local maps show them.
The highway marker shields for other highways are different in each Canadian province.
US Highways - same as on road signs (or perhaps a slightly simplified version, especially on images of maps on computers).
State Highways - an outline circle, ellipse, oval, rectangle or simplified version of the state highway marker shield, containing the road number. Since symbols vary, check the map's legend.
County roads - not usually shown on anything other than detailed local maps; if shown then usually an outline rectangle or pentagon containing the road number. Since symbols vary, check the map's legend.
Driving - Essential Information
Driving - Road Signs, Signposts And Highway Marker Shields
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Most recently modified 17-Jun-04