Capitalizing "exit"
"Take Route 1 South to Exit 34."

Does the word "exit" have to be capitalized here? If that's right, why?

Question

Capitalizing "exit"
"Take Route 1 South to Exit 34."

Does the word "exit" have to be capitalized here? If that's right, why?

Answer

Yes, it does need to be capitalized. The reason is because you are talking about a specific, unique exit not just exits in general. As such it is a proper noun in need of capitalization.

It is exactly the same reason why, "man" doesn't need a capital but, "James" or, "Tom" does. The word man refers to a whole class of people whereas, "James" refers to a specific one.