Editing U.S. Route shield (section)

{{Short description|Highway shield}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}}
[[Image:US shield evolution.svg|thumb|right|Major revisions of the U.S. Route shield from 1926 to 1971 (last revision)]]

The '''U.S. Route shield''' is the [[highway shield|highway marker]] used for [[United States Numbered Highways]]. Since the first U.S. Route signs were installed in 1926, the general idea has remained the same, but many changes have been made in the details. Originally, the shield included the name of the state in which the sign was erected and the letters "U&nbsp;S" on a [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|shield]]-shaped sign. Over time, the shield has been simplified to consist of a white shield outline on a black square background, containing only a black route number. However, because each state is responsible for the production and maintenance of U.S. Route shields, several variants of the shield have existed over the years.