Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Article templates

The following is a list of article templates which may be useful or necessary when editing USRD articles. This is not an exhaustive list of all available templates, but includes some of the more common templates used.

Infobox
Infobox road is to be used.

This is the basic syntax you need to get a complete routebox on the article page, just place this before any other text and fill in the variables. Note that this is a complete list of every variable that can be used with Infobox road and that many are unnecessary in most cases. Variables that are empty can be omitted. 

For the above parameters here's what you should fill in:
 * marker_image: shield image to be displayed
 * state: two-letter abbreviation, state that the article route is located in
 * name: road name to be displayed; only use this if the road is unnumbered. If it has a number, use alternate_name.
 * type: usually the two-letter state abbreviation for state roads; see the state WikiProject for more details
 * route: This is the number of the route the article is about
 * alternate_name: Use in situations where the entire route has another name (i.e. NY 590 is called the Sea Breeze Expressway for its entire length)
 * maint: The agency that maintains the highway
 * section The section of code that defines this route. Only CA, WA, UT and MN use this, and the appropriate subpage /CA law for example must be set up. Additionally, MN uses subsection for their legal definitions.
 * map: image name of a map for the route, width should be 290px; see the maps task force for maps
 * length_mi: This is the length of the route in miles. If you specify beyond integers (i.e. add a decimal value) you will need to set the following parameter, length_round
 * length_round: If your value for length_mi is a whole number, you can omit this. Otherwise it needs to be set to the decimal precision of the length_mi parameter.
 * length_ref: To do what a good article writer should, provide your reference for the length of the route using standard &lt;ref&gt; method.
 * length_notes: see below
 * established: This is the date the route was commissioned or assigned to its current alignment. If the route is still in existence, "– present" will be appended to the date assigned.
 * decommissioned: date the route was decommissioned. The output will be appended to the establishment date with an "–" (en dash) separating the two dated.
 * history: use this in place of established/decommissioned to provide more information, or to format the dates in another format.
 * beltway_city: for beltways. This is the city that the beltway encircles
 * direction_a: This should be either south or west to keep in accordance with the U.S. Roads parent project, which lists termini and junctions in progression travelling from West to East and South to North.
 * terminus_a: This is where the route begins and is either at the southern terminus or western terminus.
 * junction: a list of major junctions. Each WikiProject has different standards for major junctions, so consult the relevant WikiProject for more details.
 * direction_b: The opposite of direction_a
 * terminus_b: where the route ends, in accordance with the guidelines set forth with terminus_a
 * counties: a list of counties that the route enters
 * system: the highway system that the article route is part of, don't use if the state is defined except to add an additional link that's not in that state's links list.
 * previous_type: This is the type of route that precedes the current one in the system. The value for this is: Interstate, US, or (State) for Interstates, U.S. Routes and other state roads, respectively. Each state has a different parameter for state roads, so consult the WikiProject if in doubt.
 * previous_route: The number of the route preceding this one
 * next_type: Same as previous_type but for the route following this one
 * next_route: The number of the route succeeding this one
 * browse: use to add additional browse lines

If neither length_mi nor length_km exists, no length is displayed.
 * Otherwise, if only one of length_mi or length_km is defined, that one appears first. The other is calculated and rounded to length_round (default 0) places. Be sure to avoid false precision.
 * length_ref, if defined, appears after the first length. Use a citation or fact here. Be sure that the first length is the one for which you have a reference.
 * length_notes, if defined, appears as a note below the length. This can be used to show former length, or future length, etc.

By completing the infobox as follows, you'll get a routebox like the one above. 

Variants
For short article/list sections on special routes or child routes.
 * infobox road small

To be used in place of Infobox Road on articles that are solely about a notable road junction or interchange.
 * infobox road junction

Junction table
The junction table, to be located in "Major intersections", is for listing all of the intersections, both actual junctions and over/underpasses, that this route has with state routes, U.S. routes, Interstates and, optionally, county routes.

This is the basic syntax you need to get a complete junction table for routes that only has at-grade intersections. Just copy and paste the code below into the "Major intersections" section: 

...and fill in the variables! For more entries, use this: 

For the above parameters, here's what you should fill in:
 * state: the state the intersection is at, do not use if cspan or lspan is specified for the row (use the state's postal abbreviation)
 * county: name of the county without wiki markup - the county is automatically linked by the template
 * cspan: number of rows the county spans - if value=1, omit this parameter
 * location: name of the location without wiki markup - the location is automatically linked by the template
 * lspan: number of rows the location spans - if value=1, omit this parameter
 * area: (optional for use with location) used to disambiguate between town, city, village, etc.
 * ctdab: (optional for use with location) further disambiguation by county (Brighton in New York is an example where this tag would be used)
 * location_special: (replaces location) location where the junction is located - use for custom entries only. Wiki markup is required.
 * type: used to specific the type of intersection, complete with background colors in the table. Acceptable values are: incomplete (for junctions with missing movements), concur or mplex (for concurrency), unbuilt (for confirmed unbuilt intersections), closed (for previously open, but now closed)
 * mile: milepost of the junction. If unknown, leave blank.
 * road: road that the article route intersects at this junction. To generate the proper coding, use:
 * State: State num.svg SR num (refer to naming conventions)
 * US: US num.svg US num
 * Interstate: I-num.svg I-num.
 * jct can be used to simplify coding.
 * notes: any notes regarding that junction.

Any parameter which is empty can be omitted.

For exit lists, there is the exit parameter for jctint to specify the exit number.

To close a table that's using the type parameter to specify background colors, use the keys parameter in jctbtm to add the color keys. This template uses a parameter, col to specify how many columns. The default value is 6.

Sourcing
These templates automate inserting links to common webpages used to source USRD articles. If you used these webpages as a source please use these sourcing templates and not a manual URL. The point is should the URL change, we have one place to update the URL instead of hundreds:
 * Template:NBI - National Bridge Inventory
 * Template:FHWA NHS map
 * Template:HAER - Historic American Engineering Record
 * Template:AASHTO minutes - AASHTO Minutes
 * Template:NRHP url - National Record of Historic Places database

Many state projects will have similar templates for frequently used state DOT webpages

Browse numbered routes
There are two methods of implementation, depending on how many states the highway in question enters.

One state
Type the following code in the browse parameter of the infobox, if the infobox supports this. 

where XX is the two-letter abbreviation of the state in lowercase (California is ca, New York is ny, etc.).

For the above parameters here's what you should fill in:
 * previous_type: previous route (by number) in that state. Interstate, US (for U.S. routes), and (state's 2-letter abbreviation) (for state highways).
 * previous_route: route number.
 * route: a link to the list page for that state's highway system (optional if the infobox already has said link)
 * next_type: the same as previous_type, but for the next route.
 * next_route: same as previous_route, but for the next route.

Some state infoboxes, particularly Infobox road and those derived from it, also have a browse "built-in", in which case it is not necessary to manually add a browse.

Multiple states
Type the following code at the bottom of the article after all article content (including links, footer templates like Interstates, etc.) but before category links.



In between the start and end templates, the state browse templates should be added. These templates exist in the form 

where XX is the two-letter abbreviation of the state in lowercase (California is ca, New York is ny, etc.).

For the above parameters here's what you should fill in:
 * previous_type: previous route (by number) in that state. Interstate, US (for U.S. routes), and (state's 2-letter abbreviation) (for state highways).
 * previous_route: route number.
 * route: a link to the list page for that state's highway system.
 * next_type: the same as previous_type, but for the next route.
 * next_route: same as previous_route, but for the next route.

State-detail page browse
For in-state articles of Interstate or US highways traversing multiple states, a browse box can be added to allow the reader to browse the state-detail pages in order (from south to north or west to east, as appropriate for the route).



For the parameters, here's what you should fill in:
 * type: The route type on the subject article (IR, US).
 * route: The highway number of the subject article.
 * state: The full name of the state of the subject state-detail page.
 * statebefore: The full name of the previous state the route traversed. (If the route begins in the subject state, leave this parameter blank to display "Terminus".)
 * stateafter: The full name of the next state the route travels through. (If the route ends in the subject state, leave this parameter blank to display "Terminus".)

For example,  produces:

Navigation
Goes on each primary Interstate highway (except 76, 84, 86, and 88) that has three-digit Interstate highways, and also goes on each three-digit highway article. Example: For Interstate 5, use  to obtain the template below.
 * 3di

Use an additional parameter for Interstates 76, 84, 86, and 88 (east and west for all). Example: Use  for the I-76 in the east. The format for Template:3di xx (xxxx) is the same as the format for Template:3di xx.

Goes on every article about a primary Interstate highway.
 * Interstates

Goes on every article about a U.S. Route listed in the template.
 * U.S. Routes

Goes on articles or lists about the various numbered highway systems in the United States.
 * US numbered highways

Goes on articles about different route classifications and designations
 * US route types

Cleanup

 * USRD-wrongdir
 * Goes on articles written in the wrong direction. (East to west instead of west to east, for example.)


 * mileposts
 * Goes above a junction list that is missing milepost data.


 * Exit list
 * Goes on an article that lacks a junction or exit list.


 * RJL
 * Goes on an article that has a bulleted list of junctions that should instead be formatted as a table.