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A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can be determined by each county alone, by mutual agreement among counties, or by a statewide pattern.
Any county-maintained road, whether or not it is given a signed number, can be called a county road.[a] Depending on the state or province and county, these roads can be named after geographic features, communities, or people. Or they may be assigned a name determined by a standardized grid reference: "East 2000" would be a north–south road running 20 blocks/miles/km east of the designated zero point. Many other variations are also used. Many locales have somewhat arbitrarily assigned numbers for all county roads, but with no number-signage at all or only on standard street name blades.
County roads and highways vary greatly in design standards, funding, and regularity of maintenance. Some county highways in urban areas are freeways or expressways. County roads that link communities or serve residential areas are often indistinguishable from state highways or residential streets. In rural areas, many county roads carry very little traffic and are maintained infrequently. They may be in poor condition (if paved) or not paved at all. In remote areas, county roads may be sand, gravel, or graded earth, only occasionally seeing foot, equestrian, and four wheel drive traffic. Some states, such as Wisconsin, use county highways in great numbers, linking major highways and cities or towns to each other. Wisconsin also maintains a Rustic Road system where local routes are purposefully maintained as dirt or gravel roads in order to not interfere with natural scenery and preserve them in their past state.
- ^ Hamilton, William E. (February 2007). Act 51 Primer: A Guide to 1951 Public Act 51 and Michigan Transportation Funding (PDF) (Report). Lansing: Michigan House Fiscal Agency. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- ^ BTP Intermodal Policy Division (August 2000). Summary: Act 51 of the Public Acts of 1951, as Amended; 'Act 51 Made Simple' (PDF) (Report). State of Michigan. p. 4. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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