The United States Interstate System

From:  "Driver's ABC's - Surviving the First Year"

Why do you care about this stuff?  You care because:

• You need to find the most practical route from point A to point B

• You don't want to get lost (major drag)

• You will be held accountable for your routes...i.e., if your routes are too long, you are wasting fuel and that is expensive.

• It's much easier to "get around" and plan routes when you know the "system" .

• Most companies require that drivers keep records of all miles traveled loaded & empty, as well as all miles traveled in each state. If you forget to write the odometer reading down when you load/unload or cross a state line, you will have to go back to your atlas and manually add numbers in order to get your trip paperwork done, in order to be paid!

Major East to West Interstates in the U.S.

Notice that the largest numbered interstate is the farthest north, and as you go south, each interstate number is smaller.

All East to West Interstates END in an EVEN number.

 

Major North to South Interstates in the U.S.

Notice that the largest numbered interstate is the farthest east, and as you go west, each interstate number is smaller.

All North to South Interstates END in an ODD number.

 

Major U.S. Interstates

These are by no means ALL the United States Interstates...there are plenty more! The mileages for each of these interstates, in each state it travels through, is given in "Driver's ABC's". As a driver, you will be required to keep track of all the miles you travel in each state, as well as "deadhead" miles vs "loaded" miles. Having a "cheat sheet" is very useful and is also a very helpful trip planning (and time saving) tool.

MILE MARKERS THAT MATCH EXIT NUMBERS (ya gotta love 'em)

When mile markers and exit numbers match, it is much easier to figure mileage.

Look at Exit # 119. Look at Exit # 151. These are EXIT numbers but in this case, they are also MILE MARKERS. The red 32 means there are 32 miles between exits 119 & 151. The red 32 is the number of miles between little red pointy markers.

MILE MARKERS THAT DO NOT MATCH EXIT NUMBERS (bummer)

When mile markers and exit numbers do NOT match, it is harder to figure mileage because you have to use the red markers to do so -- using the exit numbers will throw you way off.

Do you see the pink/red "18"? That is telling you it is 18 miles from EXIT #3 to EXIT #8. Obviously, in this state the MILE MARKER does NOT MATCH the EXIT NUMBER. Also see the black 5 between EXITS 5 & 6. This means there's 5 miles between those EXITS.

Some of the states that do NOT MATCH are: California, Massachusetts and New York.

NOTE!!! Recently the states of Georgia and Ohio converted to a MATCHING mile marker & exit number system. Some literature such as truckstop guide books and atlases may or may not show these changes yet.

State mileage breakdown by state on U.S. Interstate 40