The United States is often ridiculed for clinging to seemingly unintuitive units of measurement such as inches, miles, Fahrenheit, and pounds instead of adopting the metric system used by most of the world. Yet it may come as a surprise that the U.S. was among the original seventeen signatory nations to the Metre Convention, the agreement that led to the creation of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, which establishes global measurement standards. The United States was also the first country to adopt a decimal currency system.
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Despite this early endorsement of metric principles, the nation ultimately retained its customary units. Over the years, however, several efforts were made to bring American measurements into alignment with the rest of the world. The most significant of these was the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, which established the United States Metric Board to promote public understanding of the metric system and encourage its voluntary adoption.
As part of this initiative, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) undertook a pilot project by installing metric road signs along a 102-kilometer (63-mile) stretch of highway between Tucson and Nogales, near the Mexican border. Designated Interstate 19, it remains the only highway in the United States where distances are posted in meters and kilometers rather than miles. Several of these metric signs still stand today and have become minor tourist attractions and popular photo opportunities.
But the days of the I-19’s distinctive signage may be numbered.
As early as 2010, the Arizona Department of Transportation had announced that they would be removing the aging signs and replace them with new signs that would show distances in miles like the rest of the U.S. highway system.
Credit: Arizona Department of Transportation
This triggered a heated local debate. Some Arizonans and motorists argued that kilometer signs were confusing or incongruous with national standards, while others treasured the highway’s uniqueness, viewing the metric signage as part of the region’s identity. Changing the signs would also mean renumbering exits, potentially disrupting directions to local businesses.
“You’d think it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it is,” said Jim Green, an inn owner, who wants the metric signs to stay put. “Think about how much money my company has spent directing people to Exit 56. Think about the literature, the brochures, the tour books.”
Because of public backlash from business owners like Green plans for replacing the signs were shelved.
More recently, the issue has resurfaced under a broader effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation to “restore American standards” on federal highways. “When you’re driving in the United States, it should be unmistakably American—not modeled after foreign systems,” said Nate Sizemore, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
But not everybody agrees with the Trump administration.
“What's wrong with being unique?” asked Bill Berkley, a Green Valley resident. “We've got the shortest interstate in the country, and it’s in kilometers, not miles. That’s a winner. There’s not many places in the U.S. where you get a little math problem while you’re driving.”
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