Three-way wrong-way overlaps

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^ date reposted to this blog
Jan. 18, 2017: originally posted to my old blog
Oct. 15, 2024: last updated

It is common for two different US routes to overlap (meaning they are concurrent along the same highway for a certain distance before splitting apart again). It is less common for three (or even more) US routes to overlap. For example, traffic heading west from Cody, Wyoming, towards Yellowstone is on US 14, US 16, and US 20 (all at the same time).

Also, it is not uncommon for at least two concurrent routes to be signposted with different cardinal directions. For example, drivers heading east on Colfax Avenue in Denver will see signs for both "East US 40" and "South US 287".

Sometimes the two routes are signed in opposite directions. For example, heading east from Wytheville, Virginia, a short segment of interstate carries not only northbound I-81 and southbound I-77, but also northbound US 11 and southbound US 52. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as a "wrong-way overlap", or a "which-way overlap". These are a little more rare, but nothing to get too excited about.

However, there is another situation that is even less common: three concurrent US routes, each with a different cardinal direction. Here are a few examples from Texas; this first one is in Vernon:
 


Between there and Oklaunion, one stretch of highway carries three different directions of US 70-183-287.

In Early TX there is a one-mile stretch of road that carries three different directions of US 67-84-183-377:



Here is another example from Dodge City, Kansas (although this no longer exists because US 400 has since been rerouted):



Yet another instance can be found near Maysville, Kentucky:





Here is an interesting assembly in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee...



...and that one has been around for a long time, as illustrated by this 1951 photo:





A few more instances can be found in Oklahoma. This is in Seiling:



Another Oklahoma example is to the north of Enid...



...and another is between Ponca City and Tonkawa:



In Iowa, a short segment of the Cedar Rapids bypass carries three directions of US 30, US 151, and US 218:



Are you aware of another example of a three-way wrong-way US route overlap? If so, please comment and/or send in a photo.

Or how about a single road that carries all four cardinal directions? I'm not sure there is such a thing, but this photo shows a sign assembly that comes close. Not only are there three different highways with three different directions, but two of those highways are directionally-suffixed, so all four cardinal directions are referenced on this signpost:

H.B. Elkins, 2011

That's a perfect example of why AASHO tried for so many years to get the state DOTs to redesignate their directionally-suffixed split routes.

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