Road names

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

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.

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.
• If the local signs change back and forth between the local name and the route number multiple times between intersections, consider making the primary name a combination of the two, something like "Main St / SR-66".

Note: This third option has drawbacks on address lookups and should be avoided when possible, especially when there are houses or businesses on that stretch of road.

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

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 road 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 road 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 / County Roads

Text to speech on the client will read CR as "County Road." So "CR-10" will be 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 lower case 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. The case of double or triple-letter roads with directional letters (e.g. CR-EE, CR-SSS) has not been tested.

There is no other TTS abbreviation for county owned roads in any capacity. For this reason; 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'.

Many states have adopted the short format CR-xxx instead of the longer format. See the road 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)

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 the exit sign shows a number as well as a street or highway name, the exit ramp should be named "Exit 24: Schwarzenegger Rd".
  • A colon has been added because it adds a pause, making Text-to-Speech directions easier to understand.
• If the exit is not numbered, "Exit to Kindergarten Ct" will do.
• 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 a single exit serves multiple roads, 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". *NEW*
• 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.
• 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 Business W"
• "to LA-1 Thibodaux / Lockport" *NEW*
• 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. *NEW* 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".
• 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 Business W / to I-10 W / Miss River Brg / Baton Rouge" is fine.

New streets

In some cases, there are brand new roads that do not yet have a name visible to drivers. Or the person who used the pave option did not leave a note for the name of the new road. In these cases, it is OK to leave the name of the road blank by marking "none" for the Address Properties field in the editor, but make sure to choose the proper road type and confirm the other road details to ensure the road appears on the client app.

Incomplete segments or red roads

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.

Abbreviations & 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 & Acronyms page for a list of suffix abbreviations.

Construction Zones; naming large sections of major roads that are under construction

See the article How to handle road closures before renaming road segments for construction.

As of February 2013, roads can be closed using the Waze application. The following should only be used for long periods (months) of road closures.

Using the naming rules for your major roads, e.g., interstates typically would use "I-10 S", alter the name to show that the segments are part of a construction zone by adding the suffix "CONST ZN". In our example above, "I-10 S" becomes "I-10 S CONST ZN". In these cases with roads that are closed for extended periods it is best to physically disconnect the closed roads (segments) from the road network during the construction. If you only set the turn restrictions to red, there are conditions when the routing server may still find that route as better than some other route even when it is set to restricted (red).

When temporarily re-setting road geometry, closely monitor recent GPS points as the aerial maps will likely display an out-dated view. The GPS points layer may not be up to date either so it's best to have local knowledge of the construction before editing the map. Also, be sure to closely monitor these sections of roadway and remove the CONST ZN suffix whenever the construction is done.

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_(USA) wiki page (preferred).

Feel free to add new ones.

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