US highway system or superhighway system?

There's the National Highway System. (That all the roads and highways.) And there is the Interstate Highway System. (That's all the major highways that were funded in great part by the Federal Government, not by just the individual States.

There's superhighways in the Interstate system, but not all the highways are superhighways. To be honest, I haven't a clue where the dividing line is between what is a highway and what is a superhighway.

More Information on the US Interstate Highway System

Now, what do people say when they are about to head out on the highways?

They use the word "highway".

Only people discussing the funding or politics would use "highway system" in a conversation.

Joe(Americans like to shorten any term they come across)Nation

"super highway" when used in relation to roads and transportation is usually used to refer to fairly short sections of roadway.

If someone is discussing the entire system "highway system" or "the interstate highway system" is more likely to be used.

Use will depend on who is having the discussion and it can be significant since there are what are considered "state level" and "federal level" highways. The Interstate highway system is the federal level system.

Not exactly--the interstate highway system is a Federal highway system. There are also the old "U.S. Routes," which were built in the 1920s and -30s, and which remained an important part of the national communications infrastructure until at least the late 1960s, when the interstate highways system began to near completion.

Get your kicks on Route 66!

Good point!

Some of them are important thoroughfares even today, such as Route 1 which runs from Maine to Florida, or Route 51 which runs from Chicago to New Orleans.

*nods* Around here it's hard to remember that Rt. 1 is actually a U.S. Highway. The stretch between Boston and D.C. has traffic lights every 60 feet. Not a road to take if you want to get sonewhere fast!

Poor old Route 66 . . . it was once very important because it ran from St. Louis to Los Angeles. But now it has been rendered insignificant because of the Interstate system, and many of the towns along Route 66 have become ghost towns.

Up in Maine, some stretches of Route 1 constitutes the only good, long stretch of highway available. The same is true of Route 51, which, as you describe with Route 1, has stop signs and stop lights as it runs through some towns. Route 51 may be about the busiest U.S. Route in the country--where it runs through Memphis, it's called Elvis Presley Boulevard, and it runs right past Graceland.

Heh, when I lived up in Maine that's what I gave family/friends for directions when they were coming up to visit. "Take I-95 north until it ends. Then take Rt. 1 north for another 70 miles...". There wasn't any other real road to take to get there.

cept the "Airline" I always love to drive Maine Rt 9

Nobody drives Rt 1 anymore unless they feel that they must visit every traffic light on the EAst Coast.

I'm reminded of Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there any more--it's too crowded."