A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off of a parent numbered highway at its beginning, then continues through the central business district of a nearby city or town, and finally reconnects with the same parent numbered highway at the business route's end. Naming Business routes always have the same number as the major (parent) routes they parallel. For example, U.S. 1 Business splits off of and parallels U.S. Route 1, and Interstate 40 Business splits from and parallels Interstate 40. Typically, all business routes off of the same parent route have the same name. For example, St. Augustine business loop and Fredericksburg business loop are two of many business routes stemming off of US Route 1, all of which are marked as "U.S. 1 Business". Business routes are usually marked with the word “BUSINESS” placed above the major route’s number or route shield. Alternatively, in some states, business routes are designated by adding the letter "B" after the parent route's number. For example, Arkansas business routes off of US 71 are marked as "US 71B". On some route shields and road signs, the word "business" is shortened to just "BUS". This abbreviation is rare and usually avoided to prevent confusion with bus routes. Marking Business route signage varies depending on the type of the major route the business route branches off. Business routes paralleling U.S. and state highways usually have exactly the same shield shapes and nearly the same overall appearance as the routes they parallel, with a rectangular plate reading "BUSINESS" placed above the shield (either supplementing or replacing the directional plate, depending on the preference of the road agency). To better identify and differentiate alternate routes from the parent routes they parallel, some states, such as Maryland, opt to use green shields for business routes off of U.S. highways. In addition, Maryland uses a green shield for business routes off of state highways, replacing the state name, "MARYLAND", with the word "BUSINESS". Interstate highway business routes use the same four-pointed shield design as regular Interstate highways, but substitute the normal red and blue layout with an all-green color scheme. Also, the word "BUSINESS" appears within the shield, at its top above the highway number, instead of "INTERSTATE", and either "LOOP" or "SPUR" may appear below the word "BUSINESS" and above the Interstate