Montana/Major roads/Main

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Locking Standard

In Montana we have a set minimum standard for locking roads based on segment type. Any road of a certain segment type must be locked at least to the rank (level) in the chart below. Roads may be locked higher for protection and special situations (areas with construction, tricky design, frequent mistakes, imaging inaccuracies, and the like), but should not be locked lower.

A great time to implement these locks is while bringing the road types of an area into compliance with the current US road type standards (FC and highway systems). Lock the roads based on type after they've been set to current US road type standards.

Montana Minimum Locking Rank Standard

Segment Type	Statewide
Freeway	5
Ramp	5
Major Highway	3
Minor Highway	3
Primary Street	2
Street	1
• • • • Ferry • • • •	5
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|	2

Note: Certain roads may be locked higher than the above minimums. Please do not lower locks unless approved by the RC or SM of Montana.

State Highway Naming Standard

Montana's state highways are classified as either primary or secondary.

Primary Highways are signed with square markers containing black lettering on white background with 'MONTANA' at the top of the marker and the route number below.

Secondary Highways are also signed with a square marker but are distinctive in that the route number appears in black on a white down-pointing arrowhead. Route numbers 201 and higher are, with very few exceptions, exclusively reserved for S routes. Notable exceptions include, MT 287, and the former MT 789.

Nebraska Highway

Primary Highways are to be named MT-###

(TTS pronunciation "Montana ###")

Nebraska Link

Secondary Highways are to be named SH-###

(TTS pronunciation "State Highway ###")

U-turn Legality

Limitation on U-turns -- turning on curve or crest of grade prohibited. An operator of a vehicle may not turn the vehicle to proceed in the opposite direction:

• unless the movement can be made safely and without interfering with other traffic; or
• upon any curve or upon the approach to or near the crest of a grade where the vehicle cannot be seen by the operator of any other vehicle approaching from either direction within 500 feet.

^1 MT Code 61-8-334. Limitation on U-turns

For Waze routing, u-turns should only be enabled where they provide the potential for improved routing, which includes recovering from missed turns. A common example is a median-divided primary street that has homes/businesses with their driveways/entrances directly on it, where reaching them would otherwise require lengthy, multi-turn deviations through side roads in order to end up on the correct side of the median.

Elevation Guidelines

These are the general guidelines for elevation in Montana:

• Drivable and non-drivable segments are handled the same way with elevation.
• Set elevation to ground in most cases.
  • Segment(s) passing over other segment(s), rivers, major waterways, and all bridges shall have higher elevation, relative to ground.
  • Only elevate/lower the actual bridge/tunnel section of the road.
  • Elevation of overlapping segments should be set relative to each other, with the lowest segment as Ground (unless a tunnel).
  • Tunneled segments shall have lower elevation, relative to ground.
  • Only segments that "cannot see the sky" should have negative elevation (i.e. tunnels).
  • Only set elevation as low/high as necessary.
• If you use the Bridge tool to join segments, be aware that it raises the elevation of the joined segment. Lower the joined segment as appropriate.
• "Seagull" guidelines apply to elevation in Montana.
  • Bridges should be cut at the start/end of the bridge.
  • Tunnels should be cut at least 15m/50ft before and after the tunnel, to allow time for the GPS to regain signal.
  • Do not cut segments for elevation purposes if the bridge/tunnel starts/stops within 60m/200ft of an existing junction.

Speed Limits

Montana follows the Waze wiki Speed Limit guidelines when it comes to adding SL to segments. The only exception to this guidelines is adding SL to work zone areas, we do not add SL to these areas as the SL will change at unknown times and can not be verified in some cities or counties.

Day/Night Speed Limits

Some speed limits in Montana have day and night provisions. The speed data in Waze should only include the fastest legal speed limit. This will prevent drivers from getting the "red speedometer" when traveling during the day.

Freeway Exit Areas

Montana follows the standard for Freeway Exit Areas (FEA) along all controlled access road segments.