United States Numbered Bicycle Routes - History

History

The U.S. Bicycle Route System was established in 1982 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for the purpose of "facilitat travel between the states over routes which have been identified as being more suitable than others for cycling."

Two routes were defined in 1982, and they remained the only routes in the system until 2011. In the interim, only minor routing changes had been made in Virginia.

• U.S. Bicycle Route 1 runs from the state of North Carolina to Virginia.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 76 runs from Illinois through Kentucky to Virginia.

AASHTO established a new task force in 2003 to study expansion of the system. The task force included state and federal highway officials and representatives from bicycling organizations. In October 2008, AASHTO approved a national-level corridor and route designation plan. Other organizations involved in the effort include state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Adventure Cycling Association.

In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed moving the U.S. Bicycle Route System under the authority of the Federal Highway Administration as part of a new Office of Livability.

In early May 2011, the first major expansion of the system was made. Five new parent routes, two child routes, and one alternate route were created, along with modifications to the existing routes in Virginia and the establishment of Bicycle Route 1 in New England.

• U.S. Bicycle Route 1 now has an additional run from the state of Maine to New Hampshire.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 1A is a sea-side alternate route for Bike Route 1 in Maine.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 8 runs from Fairbanks, Alaska, along the Alaska Highway, to the Canadian border.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 20 runs from the Saint Clair River through the state of Michigan to Lake Michigan.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 87 follows the Klondike Highway from the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Skagway to the Canadian border.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 95 follows the Richardson Highway from Delta Junction, Alaska to the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Valdez.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 97 is entirely within Alaska, and it runs from Fairbanks, through Anchorage, to Seward.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 108 runs from its parent route in Tok, Alaska to Anchorage.
• U.S. Bicycle Route 208 follows the Haines Highway from the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Haines to the Canadian border.