Important Note
Massachusetts Functional Classification settings are dictated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), at the request of the local jurisdictions, and in coordination with neighboring states. If you do not agree with our FC levels, please petition MassDOT to change the rating they've assigned.
Do NOT make random changes on your own.
Locking Standard
In Massachusetts 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.
| Segment Type | Statewide |
|---|---|
| Freeway | 5 |
| Ramp | Highest rank of connected segments |
| Major Highway | 4 |
| Minor Highway | 3 |
| Primary Street | 1 (Auto) |
| Street | 1 (Auto) |
| Private Road | 1 (Auto) |
| • • • • Ferry • • • • | 5 |
| |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | 2 |
Note: Do Not Mass Edit just to update locks to these standards, these can be adjusted as you find them while editing other aspects of the segments such as FC, speed limits, naming, etc.
Some segments still warrant higher locks and care should be taken when setting segment lock to these standards to look for and protect these special setups with higher locks. Some examples; segments which are part of BDP, U-turn prevention, or using micro-doglegs, or other complex intersection setups.
Roadway Naming
Massachusetts uses the following naming conventions for roads:
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)
- "SR-##" for all State Highways that are FC'd as freeway. (No City Names, No Alternate Names)
Cardinal Direction indicators are only to be used on Freeway Segments (e.g. "I-495 N")
Major / Minor Highways
The naming format for Numbered State Highways in Massachusetts is "SR-###".
The Primary Street name shall be whatever name is in common usage in that area. (Check business addresses, GIS, etc). If the Primary Name is a actual Street Name (Main St, etc), please add the "SR-##" to the Alternate Name field, with no City name.
However, if the commonly used name is "SR-##" then enter the street name, along with city, in the Alt Name.
If a segment has more than one State/US route number, add a second Alt Name with the appropriate Route Number (no city name).
If a Major/Minor classed segment is not a numbered highway, there should be no alternate names listed.
Clear as mud? Contact the State Manager if you need help figuring this out.
PS and Lower
List the Primary street name, and city. No Alternate names are to be listed.
Functional Classification and Route Naming
See Massachusetts/Major roads for procedures specific to Functional Classification and Route Naming in Massachusetts.