State Highway

State highway, state road or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road or provincial route) can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states (including the Australia, India, Mexico, and the United States) or provinces (including Canada and China):

1. A road numbered by the state or province, falling below numbered national highways in the hierarchy. Route numbers are used to aid navigation, and may or may not indicate ownership or maintenance.
2. A road maintained by the state or province, including nationally-numbered highways and un-numbered state highways

Depending on the state, state highway may be used for one meaning and state road or state route for the other. A third meaning, used in some countries such as New Zealand, uses the word "state" in its sense of a nation. By this meaning a state highway is a road maintained and numbered by the national government rather than local authorities.