Introduction
Although Massachusetts follows the general road naming and road type guidelines of the USA, there are some road naming rules specific to the Commonwealth that all Massachusetts editors MUST follow.
They are included in this section.
State Highway Naming
Massachusetts uses the following naming conventions for routes:
Freeways / Other Expressways
- "I-##" for all interstate freeways. (No City Names, No Alternate Names)
- "US-##" for all US Highways that are FC'd as freeway. (No City Names, No Alternate Names)
- "MA-##" for all State Highways that are FC'd as freeway. (No City Names, No Alternate Names)
Major / Minor Highways
All numbered highways in Massachusetts are to show the actual street name (see GIS) as the Primary name, with appropriate city.
In the Alternate Name field, list the Route Number, with no city. If a segment has more than one State/US route number, add a second Alt Name with the appropriate Route Number.
If a Major/Minor classed segment is not a numbered highway, there should be no alternate names listed.
PS and Lower
List the Primary street name, and city. No Alternate names are to be listed.
Named Roadways
These are named highways in Massachusetts which also carry numbered designations. Some are simply names of streets which carry a numbered route(s). Roads named after people/organizations were generally done so ceremoniously, after the numeric designation(s) already existed. Others carry more general names, such as the Southeast Expressway and Central Artery in Boston (which both refer to the same continuous span of I-93).
Several named highways cover the entire length of a given route in Massachusetts; for example, all of Interstate 90 in Massachusetts is the Massachusetts Turnpike, and the entire length of Route 213 is the Loop Connector.(*) denotes that the named highway spans the entire length of the numbered route in the state.
Wikipedia table of Unnumbered, and Named State Routes
Functional Classification
Functional Classification Implementation has been partially completed within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In some areas, it is still ongoing.
PLEASE REFER TO THIS FORUM TOPIC ON THE MATTER Road Types (USA) – comprehensive overhaul of drivable roads
MassDOT currently maintains two completely separate Functional Classification systems. The state level system has been developed by the MassDOT Planning Division, and consists of 6 Road Types.
The Federal Functional Classification system is the Nationwide standard, and consists of 7 Road Types. The major difference between the two is that the Federal FC classifies limited access arterials (non-Interstates) separate from full-access arterials.
Resource Links
- MassDOT Highway District Boundaries
- MassDOT Interactive Functional Classification Map
- massDOT Functional Classification Maps
MA to Waze FC conversion
We are utilizing the Federal Functional Classification system, because it matches up with other states.
MassDOT GIS class and color description
The Massachusetts Classification and Color scheme come from the official Massachusetts D.O.T (MassDOT) Federal Functional Classification (FC) map that is published by MassDOT. The legend shows what classifications MassDOT uses and what color is assigned to each class.
Please refer to the GIS FC map found here, on the massDOT FC Maps webpage.
MassDOT to Waze conversion table
The numbers correspond to the Federal FC type indicated. (e.g. Federal Class 4 road is a Minor Arterial)
| Highway Systems | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | US Hwy (incl. some special routes) | State Hwy (incl. some special routes) | State Hwy BUS, SPUR[a], LOOP | Locally-maintained | ||||
| example>>>>> | I-95 N | US-2 | SR-3 | SR-400 Loop | Robertson St | |||
| F u n c t i o n a l C l a s s |
Interstate (1) | Fw | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||
| Principal Arterial OFE (2) | n/a | Fw | Fw | Fw | Fw | |||
| Principal Arterial - Other (3) | n/a | Major | Major | Major | Major | |||
| Minor Arterial (4) | n/a | Major | Minor | Minor | Minor | |||
| Major Collector (5) | n/a | Major | Minor | PS | PS | |||
| Minor Collector (6) | n/a | Major | Minor | PS | PS | |||
| Local/Not Mapped (7) | n/a | Major | Minor | PS | Street | |||