Functional Classifications
Rural Urban
01 Principal Arterial - Interstate 11 Principal Arterial - Interstate
02 Principal Arterial - Other 12 Principal Arterial - Other Freeways and Expressways
06 Minor Arterial 14 Principal Arterial - Other (no control of access)
07 Major Collector 16 Minor Arterial
08 Minor Collector 17 Collector
09 Local Road 19 Local Street
Descriptions:
FC 01 / Rural Principal Arterial - Interstate:
Routes designated as Interstate Highways.
FC 02 / Principal Arterial - Other:
Non - Interstate principal arterials. The Rural Principal Arterial Systems consists of a
Connected rural network of continuous routes having the following characteristics:
1. Serve corridor movement having trip length and travel density characteristics
indicative of substantial statewide or interstate travel.
2. Provide an integrated network without stub connections except where unusual
geographic or traffic flow conditions dictate otherwise (e.g. international
boundary connections and connections to coastal cities.)
FC 06 / Rural Minor Arterial:
The Rural Minor Arterial Road System, in conjunction with the Principal Arterial
System, should form a rural network having the following characteristics:
1. Link cities and larger towns (and other traffic generators, such as major resort
areas, that are capable of attracting travel over similarly long distances) and form
an integrated network providing interstate and intercounty service.
2. Be spaced at such intervals so that all developed areas of the State are within a
reasonable distance of an arterial highway.
3. Designs that provide for relatively high overall travel speeds, with minimum
interference to through movement.
FC 07 / Rural Major Collector:
Collectors generally serve travel of primarily intracounty rather than statewide
importance and constitute those routes on which predominant travel distances are shorter
than on arterial routes. On the average, more moderate speeds may be typical. The Rural
Major Collector should have the following characteristics:
1. Provide service to any county seat not on an arterial route, to the larger towns not
directly served by the higher systems, and to other traffic generators such as
consolidated schools, shipping points, county parks, etc.
2. Link the places mentioned above with nearby larger towns or cities, or with routes of
higher classification.
3. Serve the more important intracounty travel corridors.
FC 08 / Rural Minor Collector:
The Rural Minor Collector should have the following characteristics:
1. Be spaced at intervals to collect traffic from local roads and bring all developed
areas within a reasonable distance of a collector road.
2. Provide service to the remaining smaller communities.
3. Link the locally important traffic generators with their rural areas.
FC 09 / Rural Local Road:
The Rural Local Road should serve primarily to provide access to adjacent land and
service to travel over relatively short distances as compared to collectors or other
highway systems.
Functional System For Urban Areas:
FC 11/ Urban Principal Arterial - Interstate:
Routes designated as Interstate Highways. Refer to FC 14 description.
FC 12/ Urban Principal Arterial - Other Freeways and Expressways:
Non - Interstate principal arterials. Refer to FC 14 description.
FC 14/ Urban Principal Arterial - Other (no control of access):
Serve the major centers of activity of a metropolitan area, the highest traffic volume
corridors; carry a high proportion of the total urban area travel on a minimum mileage.
The principal arterial system should carry the major portion of trips entering and leaving
the urban area, as well as the majority of through movements desiring to bypass the
central city. Almost all fully and partially controlled access facilities will be part of this
functional system.
FC 16/ Urban Minor Arterial:
Interconnects with and augments the urban principal arterial system and provides service
to trips of moderate length at somewhat lower of travel mobility than principal arterials.
Ideally, they should not penetrate identifiable neighborhoods. The spacing of minor
arterial streets should normally be not more than 1 mile in fully developed areas.
FC 17/ Urban Collector:
Provides both land access service and traffic circulation within residential
neighborhoods, commercial and industrial areas. An urban collector may penetrate
residential neighborhoods, distributing trips from the arterials through the area to the
ultimate destination. The collector street also collects traffic from local streets in
residential neighborhoods and channels it into the arterial system. In the central
business district, and in other areas of like development and traffic density, the collector
system may include the street grid which forms a logical entity for traffic circulation.
FC 19/ Urban Local Street:
These comprise all facilities not on any of the higher systems. They serve primarily to
provide direct access to abutting land and access to the higher order systems. It offers
the lowest level of mobility.