An official
alternate route is a
special route in the
United States that provides an alternate alignment for a
highway. They are
loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the
U.S. Highway system and various
state and
county route systems. Alternate routes were created as a means of connecting a town (or towns) desired to be on a route which had been routed differently so as to put another important town or city on the route.