Road names/USA

For Road Types in the editor see Road types/USA

This page covers road names for the country listed in the page title. For other countries see this page.

Road naming

NOTE: we are in the process of revising the names as they appear in WME. In the near future we may be able to display alternate names for each segment / road, and choose which one of these is the 'common' name. This is also true for road shield generation which is partially broken so shields may or may not be displayed in your area.

If you are not sure about changing the name of a road, it is best to ask in the forum or wait until the changes described above are implemented.

IMPORTANT! Due to upgrades in the client, some naming conventions have changed. The altered conventions will be marked with a bolded *NEW*. These changes have now been finalized. Thank you for your cooperation.

All roads in our base maps came with the names as defined in the US TIGER dataset.

However, you might notice a few problems with the original road names: Some of the names are not the 'common' names (usually, waze will display the 'name' of the hwy while most people know this hwy by its number).

On other examples, the same highway will have a different name on each side (for example, US Hwy 101 going North, and Bayshore Fwy going South).

Some roads actually have two 'common' names (for example, the NJ Turnpike is also I-95 and both are relevant names), but currently we can only display one name per road.

For all these issues, we ask that you currently leave the situation as is. We are working on a few fixes, that will automate the proper naming and also allow multiple names for each segments (with a 'Primary' name as the one being displayed, but other names that bring up the same search results).

Concurrent names

Overlapping Highways - When two or more numbered highways (or interstates) run concurrently (one stretch of road has multiple route numbers), the segment should be named after the primary of the routes. The primary route will usually have one or more of the following attributes:

• The route whose mile markers are used for the concurrent segment
• The route whose exit numbers are used for the concurrent segment
• When the concurrency ends, the route whose path does not get signed as a numbered exit.

The other route number(s) can be entered as alternate names. If alternate names are entered, be sure not to introduce any alternate name discontinuities which may trigger the big detour prevention mechanism.

Highways through cities/towns - In situations where a highway passes through a town, the road in those areas is typically named something other than the numbered route. In these situations the road should be named based on the following conditions:

• If the local street signs provide guidance with the local name, that should be used as the primary name in the Waze map. The numbered route should be added as an alternate name.
• If the local signs only indicate the route number, then that should be the primary name and and the local road name should be added as an alternate name.

United States Interstate Highway System

Components of the Interstate Highway System should be denoted as shown:

I-10 E for Interstate 10, Eastbound

I-310 S for Interstate 310, Southbound

I-35E N for Interstate 35E, Northbound (Only I-35E & I-35W in Minnesota and Texas)

Nearly all interstates are divided highways by necessity, and they should be drawn as such in the map for navigational accuracy.

United States Numbered Highways

The naming of highways is, of course, somewhat more complex than that of normal roads. Therefore, conventions must be followed to assure consistency throughout the map.

Certain formatting guidelines must be followed to ensure that highway shields are shown in the Live Map and in the client. Note that currently shield generation is not currently operating at 100%, so some areas do not have the shields on all roads. Waze has said that there will eventually be a process allowing map editors to add shields to road segments in a way that is not connected to the name OF that segment.

US Highways

Federal highways should be denoted as follows. Note that the trailing N, S, E, W cardinal direction indicator is used for numbered highways and interstates which are split into two 1-way segments, per the guidelines.

US-61 S for U.S. Highway 61, Southbound

US-90 W for U.S. Highway 425, Westbound

US-90 BUS S for U.S. Highway 90 Business, Southbound

(note that BUS should be all uppercase for TTS to pronounce as "business". "Bus", "bus", etc. will pronounce as "Bus".)

US-90 ALT E for U.S. Highway 90 Alternate, Eastbound

US-199 SPUR for U.S. Highway 199 Spur

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

State highways

State Highways

The Live Map will parse "State Rte xx" and "State Hwy yyy" and show a sign badge. However, as different states have different naming conventions (and different shields), this is not optimal for ramps. Local naming conventions are preferred for ramps and exits; this will be discussed below. Consistency within each state is key. *NEW*

The same note for U.S. Highways above applies for state highways. LA-308 in Golden Meadow should have "E Main St" as its primary name since that is the name used in addresses of houses and businesses along the highway.

State routes may also be split if it meets the guidelines.

Each state may use a longer or shorter naming format. See the highway naming by state table for specific formatting of each state.

Long Names

State Hwy 6 for state route/highway 6

State Hwy 99W S for state route 99W, southbound

State Rte 96 for state route 96

Short Names

Use the SR-xxx (meaning State Route, but used for both routes and highways) format instead of State Rte xxx and State Hwy xxx format, but keep the same cardinal, business, etc. extensions as described above.

NOTE: In some states there are other formats used, e.g., in Louisiana, use the LA-xxx format. Refer to the highway naming by state table for specific formatting of each state.

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

County highways and county roads

Text to speech on the client reads CR as "County Road." So "CR-10" is read as "County Road Ten"

Where road names are the same as cardinal directions (N, S, E, W), place the letter designator in single quotes with a lowercase letter (CR-'n' CR-'s' CR-'e' CR-'w') so that the voice prompt will read the letter and not say it as a direction. Double or triple-letter roads with directional letters (e.g. CR-EN, CR-SAL) have not been tested but might be pronounced as if a word.

There is no other TTS abbreviation for county owned roads in any capacity. For these reasons: that county shields may someday be supported (and a named standard makes this easier to implement), and for brevity's sake in turn instructions and map displays, it is suggested (but by no means required) that individual states adopt the CR- standard.

Another standard in use (which is longer, but you may see) is 'County Hwy XX'. The shortened format of CH- is available and is encouraged to be adopted when CR- is not appropriate.

Many states have adopted the short format CR-xxx instead of the longer format. See the highway naming by state table for specific formatting of each state.

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

Exit ramps and entrance ramps (on-ramps)

This revision of a section is currently undergoing modifications. The information and guidance is currently considered accurate enough to be followed now. Content is being prepared by one or more users. Do not make any changes before you post a message in this forum.

Exit ramps and Entrance ramps are to be set as  Ramp  road type. The name of the ramp should match the exit or entrance signage as closely as possible. Minimal disparity between sign and instruction is our goal. If done properly, the driver will not have to struggle to compare Waze's on-screen or verbal instructions with what he or she sees in real life on the road.

• If an exit is signed and numbered, name the exit ramp as such: "Exit 24: US-103 / Schwarzenegger Rd". In other words, start with the word "Exit" followed by the exit number, follow the exit number with a colon (": "), and separate all elements (shields and names) after the colon with slashes (" / ").
• If an exit is signed and unnumbered, name the exit ramp as such: "to SR-33 / Kindergarten Ct". In other words, start with the word "to" (lowercase) followed by all elements on the sign (shields and names), separated with slashes (" / "). (This rule has changed recently.)
  • If the exit number is assigned and designated by the local roadway agency, but does not yet appear on the sign, it is OK to include the exit number in advance of it appearing on the road sign. This prevents additional updates later when the numbered sign is added to the roadway and it helps visual guidance when other exits before that one are numbered. Drivers can better anticipate their approaching exit.
• If an exit is unsigned, include the designation and/or name of the road as if it is signed (i.e., starting with "to"). For example, if an unsigned exit serves "US-12", a signed highway which is locally known as "Michigan Ave", name the ramp segment "to US-12 / Michigan Ave". If only a local name or only a highway designation are present, use only that.
• If a single exit serves multiple roads or cities, use a slash with leading and trailing spaces: "Exit 32: Terminator Blvd / Total Recall Rd".
• If an exit number contains one or more letters, include it exactly as displayed on the sign: "Exit 33B: Running Man St", or "Exits 35C-B-A: Junior Dr / Twins Ave / Jingle Allthe Way".
  • Separate sub-exit letters with a hyphen. Do not leave spaces between the hyphen and the adjacent characters.
• Include everything that is present on the last sign prior to the exit. Do not combine all possible pre-ramp signage into the single ramp segment name.
• Remember to abbreviate common words following the abbreviations and acronyms page.
• If the exit off the main interstate or highway serves multiple exits further down the road, it may be advisable not to name the first exit ramp, but rather name only the ramps which are the first one to a distinct destination. The Waze client will give all the proper exit and keep left or right instructions to guide the driver to the correct exit, even if the first one is not named. That said, this should only be done if the signage for the first ramp is the same as that on the subsequent, named ramp.

For entrance ramps, use this format: "to [street name] [direction] / [control city]", where applicable. For example,

• "to I-10 W / Baton Rouge"
• "to Clearview Pkwy N / Mandeville"
• "to US-90 BUS W"
• "to LA-1 / Thibodaux / Lockport"
• Similar to combined exit ramps, when multiple on-ramps combine before merging into the main interstate or highway, it is advised to name the last common ramp with the conventions listed above. This will usually be the last ramp which is the one which actually joins the main interstate or highway.
• Using "Ramp to", "West", "WB", and "Westbound" should be avoided as "WB" is pronounced "double-you bee" and not 'westbound.' Further, the "to" will be automatically omitted from Text-to-Speech instructions. Do not omit the word "to", because this could cause confusion with, say, the "Select entire street" function.
• State highways: When naming ramps and exits that lead to state highways, local naming should be used. This will maximize the clarity of navigation prompts for the majority of users in a given area. For example,
  • In New Jersey, highways are generally colloquially referred to as "routes". To distinguish from other (federal) highways, a sign for State Route 45 in New Jersey should say "to State Rte 45". In this case, the abbreviation "to SR-45" may also be used.
  • In Louisiana, state highways are generally colloquially referred to as "LA" (ell-ay) followed by the highway number. A ramp to Louisiana Highway 308 should be say "to LA-308".
  • In North Carolina (NC), state routes are generally colloquially referred to as "NC" followed by the route number. A ramp to NC Highway 55 should be say "to NC-55".
  • In general, follow the chart in the road naming by state article.
• Similar to exit ramps, put multiple destination information, even from multiple signage, onto the single on-ramp name. Major destinations or highways/interstates can be included, but don't go crazy and add every possible town and city in that direction. "to US-90 BUS W / to I-10 W / Miss River Brg / Baton Rouge" is fine.

New streets

Sometimes, there is a brand new road that does not yet have a name visible to drivers. Or the person who used the pave option did not leave a note giving the name of the new road. In these cases, it is okay to leave the name of the road blank by marking the "None" checkbox next to the Name field in the Address Properties in the editor. Always make sure to choose the proper road type and confirm the other road details to ensure that the road appears on the client app.

Incomplete segments or red roads

Incomplete.jpg

Be sure to select country, state, enter the city name or check No City, and enter a street name, or check No Street. Until you do this, your road will not be routable and will not show on the client map. These incomplete segments are colored bright red in WME.

This must be done on all streets created in WME, and on all streets created with the client "Pave" function.

"Paved" streets must also be connected to their adjacent roads, and turn restrictions must be set in order to be routable.

For more detailed instructions on how to address red roads see: Confirming the road by updating details

Abbreviations and acronyms

Only abbreviations that Waze recognizes should be used within the editor. Since Waze uses TTS (Text-to-Speech) prompting, it is important that the correct abbreviations are used to produce the correct speech output.

A basic rule of thumb is, "when in doubt, spell it out".

Refer to the Abbreviations and acronyms page for a list of suffix abbreviations.

Construction zones and closed roads

This standard has recently changed as of December 2014. Please pay close attention to the changes.

This section describes the naming of roads that are closed. See the article Road closures for instructions on how to enact a closure on a road segment. The closure should be enacted before renaming the road segments.

This section also describes what actions to take when a road remains open, but there are significant changes to it while construction completes.

Brief closures

Roads can be closed using the Waze application for brief closures. Don't change the map for closures that will last less than about a month. Instead, use the Waze app Road Closed reporting function.

Long term closures

Updated as of December 2014

The requirement to add '(Closed)' to a road segment has been deprecated. Adding this phrase to a road segment can cause routing/navigation issues for Wazers.

Major construction without closure

Updated as of December 2014

It is no longer necessary to add '(Construction Zone)' to any road under construction. Adding this phrase can cause routing/navigation issues and serves no purpose in the app or for the Wazer.

If there is a significant change to traffic patterns or geometry (lane shifts), adjust the geometry, connections, and restrictions of the segments to match the current traffic pattern. You must be able to monitor the area, and readjust once the construction is complete, or when additional changes are made during construction.

Official sources of mapping information

Being in the Waze community of editors means sharing information you discover and learning from the discoveries of others! You can see some of the (old) official sources of mapping information (US only) provided in the forum or check out the (new) mapping resources wiki page (preferred).

Feel free to add new resources as you find them.