Despite the logical benefits and uniformity of inner/outer labeling, many find the concept confusing, especially those in nations where compass directions (e.g.,
east and
west) are by far more commonly used to sign routes (e.g. the
United States). More confusion can occur in places where more than one route encircles an area (such as
Houston, which is encircled by
Interstate 610 and the
Sam Houston Tollway); the outermost route may be called an Outer Loop and the innermost route may be called an
Inner Loop (like in
Rochester, New York), causing confusion with the labels. The labeling system is also rarely used, so travelers are largely unfamiliar with the terms. As a result, most applications of
inner and
outer are secondary to compass directions, which change as one travels along the loop. Most beltways in the United States do not use inner–outer directions, since compass directions are the predominant way to designate direction on numbered routes. Beltways with a single number for the entire route, such as
Interstate 285 in the
Atlanta area, are generally given compass directions that change as one travels along the route (what would be the inner loop is instead posted as north, then east, then south, then west, and vice versa for the outer loop). A special case is the beltway for
Twin Cities which was numbered before it was common to use a single number for an entire beltway. That road is split into northern and southern halves for numbering purposes, with
Interstate 694 assigned to the northern and eastern half and
Interstate 494 assigned to the southern and western half. Both halves are posted with east and west directions on their entire lengths. However, the milemarkers for those Interstates treat them as a single highway, beginning at the Minnesota River bridge on I-494, increasing going clockwise and including I-694, returning to the Minnesota River bridge on I-494. The
Meijō Line in
Nagoya, Japan uses the terms
clockwise and
counterclockwise.
Hong Kong's
Transport Department employs yet another method of orbital road signing: clockwise traffic on
Route 9 is denoted by the letter "A", while counterclockwise traffic is denoted by the letter "B". ==Examples==