In a road network, aconcurrency is an instance of one physicalroadway bearing two or more differentroute numbers.[1] The practice is often economically and practically advantageous when multiple routes must pass between a single mountain crossing or over a bridge, or through a major city, and can be accommodated by a single right-of-way. Each route number is typically posted on highways signs where concurrencies are allowed, while some jurisdictions simplify signage by posting one priority route number on highway signs. In the latter circumstance, other route numbers disappear when the concurrency begins and reappear when it ends. In most cases, each route in a concurrency is recognized by maps and atlases.
When two roadways share the sameright-of-way, it is sometimes called acommon section orcommons.[2] Other terminology for a concurrency includesoverlap,[3]coincidence,[4]duplex (two concurrent routes),triplex (three concurrent routes),multiplex (any number of concurrent routes),[5]dual routing ortriple routing.[6][7]
Most concurrencies are simply a combination of at least two route numbers on the same physical roadway. This is often practically advantageous as well as economically advantageous; it may be better for two route numbers to be combined into one along rivers or through mountain valleys. Some countries allow for concurrencies to occur, however, others specifically do not allow it to happen. In those nations which do permit concurrencies, it can become very common. In these countries, there are a variety of concurrences which can occur.
An example of this is the concurrency ofInterstate 70 (I-70) andI-76 on thePennsylvania Turnpike betweenNew Stanton andBreezewood,Pennsylvania. I-70 merges with the Pennsylvania Turnpike so the route number can ultimately continue east into Maryland; instead of having a second physical highway built to carry the route, it is combined with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the I-76 designation.[8] The longest Interstate Highway concurrency isI-80 andI-90, which run concurrent on theIndiana Toll Road andOhio Turnpike for 278 miles (447 km) betweenLake Station, Indiana andElyria Township, Ohio.[9]
There are at least two examples of eight-way concurrencies. The first example is in Indianapolis, between exits 46 and 47 of the 53-mile (85 km)I-465beltway, where the highway is concurrent withI-69,U.S. Highway 31 (US 31),US 36,US 40,US 52,US 421, andState Road 67.[10] The second example is indowntown Athens, Georgia, between exits 4 and 8 ofSR 10 Loop, where the highway is concurrent withUS 29,US 78,US 129,US 441,SR 8,SR 15, and the unsigned SR 422.[11]
Since highways in the United States and Canada are usually signed with assignedcardinal directions based on their primary orientation, it is possible for a stretch of roadway shared between two highways to be signed with conflicting, even opposite, cardinal directions in awrong-way concurrency.[citation needed] For example, nearWytheville, Virginia, there is a concurrency betweenInterstate 77 (which runs primarily north–south, as it is signed) andInterstate 81 (which runs primarily northeast–southwest, but is also signed north–south). A vehicle might simultaneously be on I-77 northbound and I-81 southbound, while actually traveling due westbound.[12] An unusual example of a three-directional concurrency occurs southeast ofRhinelander, Wisconsin, whereUS 8 westbound (the actual compass direction) converges with southboundWisconsin Highway 17 and northboundWisconsin Highway 47, and vice-versa.[13]
Often when two routes withexit numbers overlap, one of the routes has its exit numbers dominate over the other and can sometimes result in having two exits of the same number, albeit far from each other along the same highway. An example of this is from the concurrency ofI-94 andUS 127 nearJackson, Michigan. The concurrent section of freeway has an exit withM-106, which is numbered exit 139 using I-94's mileage-based numbers. US 127 also has another exit 139 with the southern end of theUS 127 business loop inMount Pleasant, Michigan. (US 127'smile markers in Michigan reflect the cumulative distance north of the Ohio state line; the numbers resume north of the I-94 overlap and reflect the distance accumulated on that concurrency.)[14]
However, there are also instances where the dominant exit number range is far more than the secondary route's highest exit number, for example theconcurrency of I-75 and I-85 inAtlanta, Georgia—whereI-75 is dominant—the exit numbers range from 242 to 251, whileI-85's highest independentmile marker inGeorgia is 179.[15]
Some brief concurrencies in the past have been eliminated by reassigning the designations along the roadways. This can involve scaling back the terminus of one designation to the end of a concurrent section. At the same time, there could be an extension of another highway designation that is used to replace the newly shortened designation with another one.
Between states,US 27 in Michigan previously ran concurrently withI-69 from the Michigan–Indiana state line to theLansing, Michigan, area. From there it turned northwards to its terminus atGrayling. In 1999, theMichigan andIndiana departments of transportation petitioned theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for permission to truncate US 27 atFort Wayne, Indiana.[16] In 2002, Michigan removed the US 27 designation from I-69 and extended theUS 127 designation from Lansing to Grayling.[17] MDOT's stated reason for the modification was to "reduce confusion along the US 27/US 127 corridor".[18] After US 27's signage was removed, the highway north of the Lansing area was renumbered US 127, and the US 27 designation was removed from I-69.[18]
Some consolidation schemes involve the use of incorporating two single-digit numbers onto one marker, as along theUS 1/9 concurrency in northernNew Jersey.[19] In the mid-20th century,California had numerous concurrencies, but theCalifornia Legislature removed most of them in acomprehensive reform of highway numbering in 1964.[20]
Concurrencies are also found in Canada.British Columbia Highway 5 continues east for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) concurrently withHighway 1 andHighway 97, throughKamloops. This stretch of road, which carries Highway 97 south and Highway 5 north on the same roadway (and vice versa), is the only wrong-way concurrency in British Columbia. Concurrencies are also very common inQuebec. Most notably, theSamuel-de-Champlain Bridge features a concurrency with three Autoroutes:A-10,A-15, andA-20. Another example isA-55, which runs concurrently with A-10, A-20, andA-40, all of which are major highways.
InOntario, theQueen Elizabeth Way andHighway 403 run concurrently betweenBurlington andOakville, forming the province's only concurrency between two400-series highways.[21] The concurrency was not in the original plan which intended for both the QEW and Highway 403 to run parallel to each other, as the Hamilton–Brantford and Mississauga sections of Highway 403 were initially planned to be linked up along a corridor (later planned to betolled) now occupied byHighway 407. To avoid forcing drivers to pay tolls to use a section of a continuous Highway 403, the new link was designated as a western extension of the tolled Highway 407, with the Mississauga section of Highway 403 planned to be renumbered as Highway 410. The renumbering to 410 never came to pass,[22] and consequently Highway 403 was signed concurrently along the Queen Elizabeth Way in 2002, remedying the discontinuity. Nonetheless, many surface street signs referring to that section of freeway with the QEW/Highway 403 concurrency still only use the highway's original designation of QEW, although the MTO has updated route markers on the QEW to reflect the concurrency.[23]
At the national level, theTrans-Canada Highway, which does not bear a uniform number in the eastern provinces, follows various provincial highways. In theAtlantic Provinces the main designated TCH route either follows a single numbered route across each province (an exception being the switching of the designation betweenNova Scotia Highways 104 and105), or has branches that are signed exclusively as TCH routes. In Ontario and Quebec, The TCH follows a series of provincial highways, and also has branches that follow sections of others that have concurrencies with it, signed with TCH shields alongside the provincial number.
In the United States, concurrencies are simply marked by placing signs for both routes on the same or adjacent posts. The federalManual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices prescribes that when mounting these adjacent signs together that the numbers will be arranged vertically or horizontally in order of precedence. The order to be used isInterstate Highways,U.S. Highways,state highways, and finallycounty roads, and within each class by increasing numerical value.[24]
Several states do not officially have any concurrencies, instead officially ending routes on each side of one.[a] There are several circumstances where unusual concurrencies exist along state borders. One example occurs along theOklahoma–Arkansas state line. At the northern end of this borderOklahoma State Highway 20 runs concurrently withArkansas Highway 43 and the two highways run north–south along the boundary.[26]
In a majority of the countries in Europe, theEuropean routes are signed concurrently with national roads. Exceptions include Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Denmark where only European route numbers are used for those roads. Other exceptions include the United Kingdom and Albania, where European routes are not signed at all.
In Sweden and Denmark, the most important highways use only the European route numbers that have cardinal directions. In Sweden theEuropean route E6 andE20 run concurrently for 280 kilometres (170 mi). In Denmark theE47 andE55 run concurrently for 157 kilometres (98 mi). There are more shorter concurrencies. There are two stretches in Sweden and Denmark where three European routes run concurrently; these are E6, E20 andE22 in Sweden, and E20, E47, and E55 in Denmark. Along all these concurrencies, all route numbers are posted with signs.[27]
In Czechia, the European route numbers are only additional, and they are always concurrent with the state route numbering, usually highways or first-class roads. In the state numbering system, concurrences exist only in first-class and second-class roads; third class roads do not have them. The local term for such concurrences ispeáž (from the French wordpéage). In the road register, one of the roads is considered the main ("source") road and the others as thepéaging (guest) roads. The official road map enables a maximum of five concurrent routes of the intrastate numbering system.[28] Cycling routes and hiking routes are often concurrent.
In the United Kingdom, national routes do not run concurrently with others. Where this would normally occur, the roadway takes the number of only one of the routes (usually, but not always, the most important route), while the other routes are considered to have a gap and are signed in brackets (the equivalent of "to" signs in North America). An example is the meeting of theM60 and theM62 northwest ofManchester: the motorways coincide for the seven miles (11 km) between junctions 12 and 18 but the motorway between those points is only designated as the M60 (although in this case the same junction numbers would also apply to the M62).European route numbers as designated byUNECE may have concurrencies (for instanceE15 andE30 aroundGreater London), but since the E-route numbers are unsigned and unused in the UK, the existence of these concurrencies is purely theoretical.
In Israel, twofreeways, theTrans-Israel Highway (Highway 6) andHighway 1, run concurrently just east ofBen Shemen Interchange. The concurrency is officially designated "Daniel Interchange", providing half of the possible interchange directions. It is a one-mile (1.6 km) segment consisting of eight lanes providing high-speed access between the two highways. Access from Highway 1 west to Highway 6 south and Highway 6 north to Highway 1 east is provided viaRoute 431, while access between Highway 1 east to Highway 6 north and Highway 6 south to Highway 1 west are provided at Ben Shemen Interchange. The other movements are provided through the concurrency.[29]
common sections ... 2 freeways share a single right-of-way
Coincident with Rte 299
Media related toConcurrency at Wikimedia Commons
