page_title: U.S. Route shield
section_title: Variations
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route shield / Variations
context_page_description: The U.S. Route shield is the highway marker used for United States Numbered Highways. Since the first U.S. Route signs were installed in 1926, the general idea has remained the same, but many changes have been made in the details. Originally, the shield included the name of the state in which the sign was erected and the letters "U S" on a shield-shaped sign. Over time, the shield has been simplified to consist of a white shield outline on a black square background, containing only a black route number. However, because each state is responsible for the production and maintenance of U.S. Route shields, several variants of the shield have existed over the years.
context_section_description: Several states have experimented with variations on the U.S. Route shield to aid in navigation. Some have used color to denote additional information besides just the route class and number. Arizona experimented with colors indicating the signed cardinal direction of the highway (orange for north, green for south, brown for east, and blue for west). Florida, too, used colored signs for its U.S. Highways beginning in 1956, with each highway retaining a single color for its entire length in the state. No two routes using the same color crossed, though an extension of US 192 took it to US 27 (both green). In the 1980s the MUTCD was revised so that these signs were no longer eligible for federal funds.  On August 27, 1993, the decision was made to stop producing colored signs. In California, the design is more like the pre-1961 version. The design has no black background on their U.S. Highway shield. It is instead designed with a white shield with a black outline. Centered on the top are the letters "US".
  During the era of the 1948 shield, states often modified its design. Several states omitted the letters "U S", leaving only the state name and route number. Other states moved the letters "U S" into the crown of the shield, along with the state name, which was often abbreviated.
  Many U.S. Highways have loop or spur routes sharing the same number, known as special routes. These routes typically use the same shield as the mainline route with a "banner" indicating the type of route above the shield. Some states will occasionally indicate the type of the route directly on the shield itself, often in the crown of the shield. Maryland uses green shields with the word "BUSINESS" in the shield's crown for U.S. business routes, reflecting a similar practice used nationwide for business Interstate shields.
  On some Business U.S. Routes in Illinois, mostly on Business US 51 in the Bloomington–Normal area, the standard black on white US Route shield is used but the abbreviation "BUSN" is included in smaller letters at the top of the shield. This is also the case for the markers used on signs on nearby Interstates.
caption: Directional colored U.S. Route shields found in Arizona during the 1950s