Functional Class
You will hear the phrase Functional Class or FC a lot when it comes to the standard for road types. According to the US Federal Highway Administration, The concept of functional classification defines the role that a particular roadway segment plays in serving the flow of traffic through the network. Waze has its own interpretation of this system, but it utilizes the state's functional class map to help determine the road type to use.
Check out our Mapping Resources for knowledge on how to use the state's map system to find Functional Classifications Standards in Minnesota. From that knowledge, use this chart to determine how the road should be classified using the Waze Standard. Minnesota follows this chart completely aside from dirt or gravel roads in rural areas. This exception will be changed as soon as an unpaved road option exists in Waze.
If you have any questions about Functional Class, please use our Community Resourses to reach out to gain further information.
Below is a list of the six major road types. If you click on the button of the road type, for instance Freeway , you will be directed to a Wiki section that discusses the road type further.
Freeway 
A Freeway is the highest functional class of road. It is designed for higher speeds and limited to entrance and exits ramps being the only way to enter or exit this type of road.
Any road with the Functional Class (FC) as Principal Arterial Interstate colored blue on the FC map will be considered a Freeway. All Interstate Roads Will be freeways aside from Business Loops and Spurs (Which instead will be a Major Highway). Also, watch for some roads that are Principal Arterial - Other or Other Freeways (colored red or orange) as they could fit the profile of a Freeway. All roads that have to be entered or exited using a ramp, where 3 or more consecutive exits occur, needs to be set as a freeway. A Freeway will end at first direct connection of a road to the highway.
Naming
- Freeways will usually only be named the Highway number of the most prominent highway of the section. For instance, If a highway is a State Highway connected with a US highway, then it will be named the US highway.
- If two of the same type connect such as a US highway and another US highway, then the road that stayed on course will be the named highway.
- All highway numbering will be as follows: Interstate: I-XXX, US Highway: US-XXX, Minnesota State Highway: MN-XXX, County Highway: CR-XXX. Notice that there are no spaces between the dashes. The only exception to using the Highway Number would be if there is clear signage that the freeway is known by another name.
Ramps 
A Ramp will connect two roads together; however, it will not be used for a simple At-grade connector or in other words a road that doesn't have a different elevation level. There are some exceptions to this rule to understand.
Naming
Even veteran editors need to pay attention here! Naming of an entrance and exit ramp correctly is crucial to the users of this app when being navigated around. If the name of the entrance ramp is incorrect it will confuse the experience and may confuse the driver to take the exit absurdly or miss it all together. Please follow these rules:
- Only time to ever type in the word "Exit" in the ramp is when the exit is a numbered exit. The only roads that have numbered exits are exits off an Interstate with the exception of US-52.
- For all Numbered exits, it will start with "Exit XX:" For example, if the Exit is number 114A then you will start the exit name as "Exit 114A:" and there will always be a colon after the exit number
- For non-numbered exits, just start the exit as such, "to" For example, if the exit was to US Highway 169 Northbound, then the exit would be "to US-169 N"
- All numbered highways need to be typed as such: Interstate: I-XXX, US Highway: US-XXX, Minnesota State Highway: MN-XXX, County Highway: CR-XXX all with no spaces between the Highway type and the number.
- Include as much information in the sign as possible. For example, If the actual sign shows it will take you to County Highway 1 Eastbound and it also takes you to Riverview Rd and Old Shakopee Rd, then the ramp needs to be labeled: "to CR-1 E / Riverview Rd / Old Shakopee Rd" using the slash "/" to separate the different roads to take. Try to match the sign as close as possible.
- If a road splits showing arrow marking under lanes to of which to stay on to continue your course, use ramps for each side. For example: in Burnsville, a person taking I-35 N will have the decision to take I-35W N or I-35E N. The I-35W side is a numbered exit, the other side is just a guided direction to head towards I-35E N. The one side is labeled: "Exit 88A: I-35W / Minneapolis" and the other side is just labeled: "to I-35E / Saint Paul". Using ramps here will guide the driver to the right side of the highway.
- For road splits that have 3 or more splits, usually paying attention to the one that splits first will guide you to how to set it up correctly, but it is often best to reach out for support to find the best solution based on the more complexity of an issue.
Major Highway
A Major Highway is a primary route for traveling throughout the country, from one city to another, over long distances.
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Any road with the Functional Class (FC) as Principal Arterial - Other (Freeways) colored red or orange on the FC map will be a major highway if these roads do not fit the standard definition of a Freeway. All US Highways (US-169) will be labeled as a Major Highway regardless of what the FC map shows unless it can be labeled as a freeway.
Naming
- Naming of a major highway typically will be in the road number standard: US Highway: US-XXX, Minnesota State Highway: MN-XXX, County Highway: CR-XXX; however, pay close attention to the way the signage really is in these areas.
- In town, these highways need to be named as the street names used for house numbering.
- Out of town, should be labeled the same as the street name for house numbering if looking at a 2 lane highway
- and the Highway number for split direction Major highways unless signage clearly indicates it is known by another name
Minor Highway
A Minor Highway will have the FC as Minor Arterial and will be colored as green on the FC map. Also, all State highways will have a minimum of this level regardless if the FC map indicates it should be a lower classification.
Primary Street 
A Primary Street will be labeled as a Major or Minor Collector on an FC map colored as purple or yellow. Also, pay attention to any paved county road as these will have a minimum of a Primary Street. Also, most frontage roads will have this category as well.
Street 
A Street will be for any road in a town or city (regardless if paved or not) that doesn't fit in the categories above. In rural areas, this will be lightly used for paved roads that cannot be considered a County Road (a rarity in the rural areas).
Lock Standards
In Minnesota 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 | 4 |
| Ramp | Highest rank of connected segments |
| Major Highway | 3 |
| Minor Highway | 3 |
| Primary Street | 2 |
| Street | 1 |
| • • • • Ferry • • • • | 5 |
| |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | 2 |
Note: Before locking these roads to these standards, you must verify that the name of the road, direction of the road, and turn functionality is correct. If this information is not correct, it should not be locked unless we are having issues with editors in the area. The only exception here is Freeways due to the routing priority. Refer to Unlock Requests if you need a section of road altered or unlocked to correct an issue.
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