road planning, construction and maintenance is vested in the federal states of Germany. Most federal states use the term (marked with 'L'), while for historical reasons Saxony and Bavaria use the term (marked with 'S'). The appearance of the shields differs from state to state. The term should not be confused with , which describes every road outside built-up areas and is not a road class. Italy In Italy, "state" refers to the Italian State, (ie, the national government) similar to New Zealand below. Italy's Strade Statali extend for some 18,000 km, overseen by the Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade (ANAS) founded in 1946, replacing the A.A.S.S. (Azienda Autonoma delle Strade Statali) of 1928. The next level of roads below Strada Statali is Strada Regionale ("regional roads"). India State highways in India are numbered highways that are laid and maintained by state governments. Mexico Mexico's State Highway System is a system of urban and state routes constructed and maintained by each Mexican state. The main purpose of the state networks is to serve as a feeder system to the federal highway system. All states except the Federal District operate a road network. Each state marks these routes with a white shield containing the abbreviated name of the state plus the route number. New Zealand New Zealand state highways are national highways – the word "state" in this sense means "government" or "public" (as in state housing and state schools), not a division of a country. New Zealand's state highway system is a nationwide network of roads covering the North Island and the South Island. As of 2006, just under 100 roads have a "State Highway" designation. The NZ Transport Agency administers them. The speed limit for most state highways is 100 km/h, with reductions when one passes through a densely populated area. The highways in New Zealand are all state highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2–5 and 10–58 in the North Island, and SH 6–8 and 60–99 in the South Island. National and provincial highways are numbered approximately north to south. State Highway 1 runs the length of both islands. South Korea Local highways () are the next important roads under the National highways. The number has two, three, or four digits. Highways with two-digit numbers routes are called State-funded local highways. United States State highways are generally a