My kid asked me this question and I didn’t have a good quick answer. Also, I’m not referring to the US Interstate highway system. I am referring to the state and county level.
Any insight is much appreciated!
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This is an interesting question and I had to look it up. In the US at least, the highways started being numbered in 1925. This is well before the inception of the Interstate system in the 50’s. I found the original document where the Joint Board on Interstate Highways recommended standardizing the major US highways. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Report_of_Joint_Board_on_Interstate_Highways_October_30,_1925
The basic reason is to set them apart from regular roads and to show their significance.
> “This Association hereby requests the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the several States to undertake immediately the selection and designation of a comprehensive system of through interstate routes and to devise a comprehensive and uniform scheme for designating such routes in such a manner as to give them a conspicuous place among the highways of the country as roads of interstate and national significance.”
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