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Pinwurm t1_j8ryj09 wrote

No “the”. It outs you as a West Coaster.

If it’s a route, say “route + number”.
“I’m on Route 1”. Or “We need to take Route 9 home”

If it’s a highway, just the number.
“I fucking hate taking 93”. Or “Damn, 95 sucks today”.

If its I-90, you say “the Pike” or “the Mass Pike”. Short for Massachusetts Turnpike, which is never said in full. “Look, I’m on the pike right now. Lotta Staties out today, so maybe an extra 10 minutes”. It’s the only highway with a special name and has a “the”.

Once you leave Massachusetts, the Pike is back to “I-90” or just “90” in Upstate NY. Still no “the”. And a lot of folks on the Berkshires will say that version too if they travel back and forth to NYS frequently.

Commonwealth Avenue always “Comm Ave”.
Massachusetts Avenue is always “Mass Ave”.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts is often shortened to “Comm of Mass” or “The State” if you’re ever dealing with taxes or whatnot.

You get it.

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Electrical_Media_367 t1_j8sfnyh wrote

Technically, I-90 in NY is "the Thruway" all the way from the Mass line to Buffalo. this side of Albany it's the "New England extension of the NYS Thruway." I-87 is also the Thruway down to NYC, and The Northway north of Albany. The L made by I-87 and I-90 and from NYC to Buffalo is all the Thruway and it's one continuous toll road. New Yorkers typically call it The Thruway instead of calling it I-90/I-87. No one calls it "The 90" or "The 87", though.

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Pinwurm t1_j8snckz wrote

I grew up in Albany. It's at the intersection of 87 and 90, so having two roads called 'The Thruway' would've been confusing.

Northway as 87 was super common, but I feel like I heard it on morning traffic reports more often than I did when talking to people.
Thruway as 90 was way less common for me. Probably different if you live significantly outside of Albany.

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