Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Lengths

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This page is for determining the precise length of a numbered route. The majority of information is to at least two decimal places, so that should probably be a good standard.

ArcExplorer is a good free GIS viewer for the states that use GIS data.

"Show your work" on the talk page of the article if it is complicated - for instance Talk:U.S. Route 30. Always cite the source with a footnote in the article.

Contents

[edit] All highways

The National Highway Planning Network GIS data contains many major highways in the US. Be sure when you open the table, the routes (SIGN1 column) are put in order so that the route you want repeats itself at least twice in the table. Scroll right, and then you will see a MILES column. Add up every instance of the route in this column, and then you will get the total length. It is usually more complicated because of overlaps, and there can be errors (like a repeated length on US 50 east of Bedford, IN).

[edit] Interstates

The FHWA Route Log and Finder List includes mileages by state. Be careful on routes with concurrencies - the numbers after taking into account the concurrency may not be precise. If possible use the information from one of the states.

[edit] California

The Caltrans bridge log includes milepost information. Watch for milepost equations - points where the mileposts jump due to realignments.

[edit] Colorado

Use the Highways Data; the TCORIS Coding Records Reference File shows city limits.

[edit] Florida

Florida has GIS data. The Federal Aid Road Mileage Report provides mileage for all state and county roads.

[edit] Idaho

The milepost log includes milepost information. Watch for milepost equations - points where the mileposts jump due to realignments.

[edit] Illinois

Illinois has GIS data, including begin and end milepost fields for each segment. If desired, use the unique values option to show the route as a specific color and a wider line. Be careful at concurrencies and other places where the sequence might change. They have a PDF listing Interstates only - it probably agrees with the FHWA data but I haven't checked.

See Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Lengths/Illinois for a working list of counties and U.S. and state route names and distances.

[edit] Iowa

Iowa has GIS data, but it is a bit screwy. Download ROAD_INFO, DIRECT_LANE and COUNTY_BORDERS_SO. If desired, use the unique values option to show the route as a specific color and a wider line. Find the last segment in each county and find the BEGINLRD value in ROAD_INFO and the LANELENG value in DIRECT_LANE, and add them. Be careful at concurrencies - if the route you are following is not the one given, you'll have to do more calculations.

[edit] Massachusetts

Quoted from SPUI's comments on my talk page:

It's a bit complicated. (This is assuming you have Microsoft Access; it may work slightly differently in other programs.) Download the Road Inventory Geodatabase and open it. Make a new query with the following fields:

  • ROUTENUMBER ascending, criteria >="1" (to eliminate unnumbered roads)
  • ROUTEDIRECTION
  • ROUTEFROM ascending
  • ROUTETO
  • Other possibly useful fields are ROUTESYSTEM, CITY, STREETNAME, FROMSTREETNAME and TOSTREETNAME. Note that the from and to streets are not for the section that is numbered, but for the whole street, so make sure to check against mileage if you have issues with finding the exact end.

Once the query loads, scroll down to the route you want, and find the last entry in the northbound or eastbound (increasing) direction. That will give you the mileage. (Unless the route ends concurrent with another - I'm not sure if any do that, though some do begin concurrent, which isn't a problem.)

Tckma 20:03, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maryland

The highway location reference includes milepost information.

[edit] Nevada

Nevada includes the total length of their routes at State Maintained Highways, Descriptions, Index & Maps and NHS, as well as lengths by county (and Carson City).

[edit] New Jersey

New Jersey is by far the easiest I've found - simply open their straight line diagrams and go to the appropriate route, making sure to take into account concurrencies at the end of the route.

[edit] New York

New York provides mileages for every state route, touring and reference, in their annual Traffic Volume Report. The 2005 edition can be found here. The traffic volume appendix PDFs at the bottom contains the mileage.

[edit] Ohio

Ohio has straight line diagrams cut by county. Watch for milepost equations - points where the mileposts jump due to realignments.

[edit] Oregon

Oregon is the most complicated I've found. Open their TransGIS application and use the rectangle selector (once zoomed) to get the to and from mileages at transition points. Make sure to get the right highway numbers using the routes to highway cross reference. Also be careful of milepost equations - points where the mileposts jump due to realignments.

[edit] Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has GIS data for state-maintained roads and local roads. Be sure to put the current SR numbers in order (so 1 would be US 1, 3 would be PA 3, 70 would be I-70, etc.), and look for the mileage in one of the other columns.

[edit] Texas

The TxDOT Highway Designation Files are probably your best source for Texas road-length information. At the top of the page for a given road is its' certified mileage, and an as-of date.

[edit] Wyoming

The reference marker book includes milepost information. Be sure to use the right column.