Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Standards/Route lists

The U.S. Roads WikiProject has developed these standards for route lists to specify the formatting and structure of lists of state and interstate routes in the United States. Please note that the Wikipedia Manual of Style applies to USRD articles, and its provisions should be followed in any cases that conflict with these standards (you should probably also bring the conflict to the project's attention so this document can be amended to comply with MOS.) These standards are not set in stone, however, and can be ignored if warranted for a particular highway article.

List structure
Each state shall have one or more summary articles that describe its highway system in prose form. Each state shall also have lists for each categorization of highway present in that state's highway system, titled List of Interstate Highways in [state] (listing Interstate highways), List of U.S. Routes in [state] (listing U.S. routes), and List of [state highway term] in [state] (listing state highways, inserting the appropriate term from WP:USSH). In the event that one class of routes in a particular state has fewer than ten items in its list, the three lists may be merged together into one large list, titled List of numbered highways in [state]. This title shall redirect to the summary article when separate lists are used.

If a state uses county routes, each county that maintains a numbered county route system shall have a list of routes, titled List of county routes in [county name], [state]. Other lists may be created to provide coverage of types of routes particular to an individual state at the discretion of that state's task force. Such lists shall follow the standards laid out on this page.

Format
Each list shall consist of a sortable table containing the following columns:

Number
The number column shall include a 25 pixel tall shield and a link to the highway that row contains data about. The link text shall display the accepted abbreviated form of the designation (see WikiProject U.S. Roads/Standards).

This column shall be sortable. A sortkey should be provided, where appropriate, to ensure that numbers sort in a logical order. If one is not provided, routelist row will automatically generate one of the form &lt;type&gt;&lt;route number (zero-padded to four digits)&gt;.

Length
There shall be two columns for length, one containing miles, and the other containing the equivalent in kilometers. Use the highest available precision for a given route; it does not matter if some routes have more precise data than others. These columns shall be sortable.

Termini
There shall be two columns for the route's termini, one entitled Southern or western terminus and the other Northern or eastern terminus. Each terminus should include the road at which the highway terminates, as well as geographic context to allow the reader to locate the terminus (e.g. SH 25 in Hardy, K-100 toward Drexel, Kan., etc.) Cities in adjoining states shall include traditional abbreviations (not two-letter postal codes) identifying the city. Use wikilinks as appropriate. Interstates and U.S. routes shall be treated as though they terminate at the point at which they exit the state the list applies to.

The termini columns shall not include any type of shield or graphic. These columns shall not be sortable.

For highways with no termini (i.e. beltways and other loops), one cell should span both rows and provide a general description of the route (e.g. Beltway around Oelrichs).

Local names
Local names, i.e. the name(s) of the street(s) or freeway(s) that the route follows through a given area. This column is optional, and may be omitted if not relevant. If used, this column shall not be sortable.

Formed
The year that the designation was initially created. This column shall be sortable. If a more precise creation date is known, a sortkey should be provided using this date; however, only the year shall actually be displayed.

If a highway is proposed and has not yet been officially designated, this column shall contain the word "proposed".

Removed
The year that the designation was removed, if any. This column shall be sortable. If a more precise removal date is known, a sortkey should be provided using this date; however, only the year shall actually be displayed.

If a designation is still active, this column shall contain the word "current". If the highway is proposed, this column shall contain an en dash (–).

Colors
Rows may be given a background color to denote that the route is proposed or has been decommissioned. If colors are to be used, decommissioned routes shall have a gray background (#D3D3D3). Proposed routes shall have an orange background (#FFDEAD). When colors are used, a color key shall be provided at the bottom of the table to describe the colors.

Special cases
TBD: how to handle multiple segment routes, routes that exist in multiple places with the same number, routes with 3 or more termini, etc.

Templates
The following templates exist to assist in creating a standard route list:
 * routelist top, to create the heading row
 * routelist row, to create each entry in the table
 * routelist bottom, to create the legend and end the table

Use of these templates is not mandatory, but is encouraged, in order to ensure that articles will be updated to follow any changes made to this standard in the future.