Talk:United States Numbered Highway System
 | This article or section appears to contradict itself. |
The intro says the federal government coordinates the highways, but later in the article it says that all coordination is done by state transportation officials. Which is it? -- Beland 23:45, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- The federal government (specifically, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) coordinates numbering. I'm not sure of the exact organization or history, but AASHTO (originally AASHO, the American Association of State Highway Officials) worked with the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Public Roads (later part of the Federal Highway Administration) to number the routes. So it really isn't the feds, but an association of state highway officials (and DC and Puerto Rico), with a non-voting seat for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Everything other than numbering is and always has been done by the states, except for funding. I'm not familiar with the specifics of which federal department funds them. I think at the beginning the feds may have given the U.S. Highways a higher priority, but now they are treated like other state highways, some of which are minor roads and some of which are on the National Highway System (a system of major roads that includes the Interstates, and has no numbering of its own). --SPUI 00:29, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Um...that sounds a lot like the contradictory answer the article gives. "It's the federal government...wait, no, it's AASHTO." Is there a reliable source we can turn to for a definitive answer? -- Beland 03:12, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- As far as I can tell, there currently isn't any Federal involvement in anything other than funding (except for their nonvoting seat on AASHTO). I know less about the early days. --SPUI 14:39, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say there "isn't any Federal involvement", but that it is complex. Federal dollars have a considerable influence over decisions about which projects get done and with what priority. A fair description comes from the FHWA site: Responsibility for administering the highway network of the United States, providing funds for its continued improvement and maintenance, and regulating its use is a complex affair involving Federal and State agencies, together with nearly 39,000 county, township, and municipal governments and, to a limited degree, the private sector. These agencies work in concert in many ways in the management of the Nation's highway plant. [1]. older≠wiser 15:02, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)
- US Highways are basically state highways with pretty shields that keep their numbers across state lines. A state doesn't go out and say "I want to build a new U.S. Highway so I can get federal funding"; a state says "I want to build a road, and why not make it a US Highway to fit it into the system". --SPUI 15:25, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say there "isn't any Federal involvement", but that it is complex. Federal dollars have a considerable influence over decisions about which projects get done and with what priority. A fair description comes from the FHWA site: Responsibility for administering the highway network of the United States, providing funds for its continued improvement and maintenance, and regulating its use is a complex affair involving Federal and State agencies, together with nearly 39,000 county, township, and municipal governments and, to a limited degree, the private sector. These agencies work in concert in many ways in the management of the Nation's highway plant. [1]. older≠wiser 15:02, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)
- I do not think a state can unilaterally decide to designate a road as a US Highway. older≠wiser 16:10, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)
- Definitely not (although there have been cases of that, where AASHTO looked the other way). AASHTO coordinates the US Highway System. AASHTO is the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The only federal involvement is a non-voting seat for USDOT on AASHTO. --SPUI 16:25, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- I do not think a state can unilaterally decide to designate a road as a US Highway. older≠wiser 16:10, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)