Unnecessarily-numbered roads

[sparker]

I'm surprised no one else has cited the uncrowned king of the unnecessary numbers:  MSR 110, the infamous CKC Expressway.  Not only does it not contain any portions not already otherwise signed, but it simply isn't the most efficient (or cost-effective!) corridor between the two named end points.  It's simply a publicity stunt by a few folks from Western Illinois who are miffed due to the historic dismissal or avoidance of their neck of the woods.  It's basically an attempt to do the impossible -- get commercial traffic (and the presumed $$ it will potentially generate) to schlep around a bunch of right angles from I-80 to I-72/US 36 rather than do the intuitive thing and head straight down from Chicago to Springfield and then turn right.  They didn't even do the previously successful Illinois ploy and make the damn thing an Interstate from Quincy up to Galesburg (I-172 extension or even I-53!!!); they just posted a bunch of "110" signs along the expressway alongside the existing routes.   At this point regarding this corridor, it's hard to tell where hubris leaves off and plain stupidity begins!

[dvferyance]

VA, at least near Fredericksburg, has even dead-one roads marked w/CR numbers (600-700 series).

CR 694



One has to ask, why?

Virginia marks nearly all SR routes from its primary highways with advance warning circle shields and has for 50+ years.  Some districts only mark the intersections themselves with the smaller rectangles.  Prior to the 1950s I believe only tiny rectangles at the intersections were used.

SR intersections with other SR intersections almost always use just the rectangles (guessing 98% of the time).

North Carolina and South Carolina also nearly universally post all secondary routes, even the unpaved, dead-end ones, though not with specific shields or with advance markers.  An obscure fact about NC is that when they started marking their secondary roads about 1959, they posted ALL routes like they do with the 10xx numbers today - a larger rectangle sign with the number and an arrow.  By the mid-1970s they went to the tiny numerals on posts as is everywhere now.

West Virginia also posts all their maintained roads regardless of how primitive they are, including advance signs.

I am with you on that one. Many roads in Virginia are just as minor as my residential street which is maintained by the city. If it had a number and a name everyone would just call it by it's name anyways. Most of the 4 digit roads in Virginia don't need numbers they are just fine with the name only. North Carolina is the same as Virginia and they don't number every road.

[Roadgeekteen]

The hidden roads in fl and ga.

[jwolfer]

The hidden roads in fl and ga.

The SR under the US higways are generally not signed in Florida

LGMS428

[Roadgeekteen]

The hidden roads in fl and ga.

The SR under the US higways are generally not signed in Florida

LGMS428

Not signed, but they are numbered.

[jwolfer]

The hidden roads in fl and ga.

The SR under the US higways are generally not signed in Florida

LGMS428

Not signed, but they are numbered.

In Florida they fit in the grid so i think they are ok.. And they are not signed.. Only people who know are roadgeeks, law enforcement and highway contractors...


Georgia and Alabama no grid so they can go

LGMS428

[Roadgeekteen]

The hidden roads in fl and ga.

The SR under the US higways are generally not signed in Florida

LGMS428

Not signed, but they are numbered.

In Florida they fit in the grid so i think they are ok.. And they are not signed.. Only people who know are roadgeeks, law enforcement and highway contractors...


Georgia and Alabama no grid so they can go

LGMS428

And people randomly looking at wikipedia pages would also know.

[ilpt4u]

I'm surprised no one else has cited the uncrowned king of the unnecessary numbers:  MSR 110, the infamous CKC Expressway.  ...They didn't even do the previously successful Illinois ploy and make the damn thing an Interstate from Quincy up to Galesburg (I-172 extension or even I-53!!!); they just posted a bunch of "110" signs along the expressway alongside the existing routes.   At this point regarding this corridor, it's hard to tell where hubris leaves off and plain stupidity begins!

The IL 110 project did add some bypasses that were not there previously, and the Macomb bypass is still being built...so its not all existing routes...there were some upgrades involved

Now, if IL had any money for roads...Solve the no direct Chicago-Peoria route AND the Western IL no connectivity problem all at once, and built a diagonal Interstate from about I-80/I-39, or even use the short I-180 route, run it down to Peoria, and then SW of Peoria to meet up with I-172/I-72 near Quincy, IL/Hannibal, MO. Call it the IL River Expressway, and a REAL CKC

But even that fictional route, not sure it would be much of a route advantage over I-55 to I-72/US 36

[sparker]

I'm surprised no one else has cited the uncrowned king of the unnecessary numbers:  MSR 110, the infamous CKC Expressway.  ...They didn't even do the previously successful Illinois ploy and make the damn thing an Interstate from Quincy up to Galesburg (I-172 extension or even I-53!!!); they just posted a bunch of "110" signs along the expressway alongside the existing routes.   At this point regarding this corridor, it's hard to tell where hubris leaves off and plain stupidity begins!

The IL 110 project did add some bypasses that were not there previously, and the Macomb bypass is still being built...so its not all existing routes...there were some upgrades involved

Now, if IL had any money for roads...Solve the no direct Chicago-Peoria route AND the Western IL no connectivity problem all at once, and built a diagonal Interstate from about I-80/I-39, or even use the short I-180 route, run it down to Peoria, and then SW of Peoria to meet up with I-172/I-72 near Quincy, IL/Hannibal, MO. Call it the IL River Expressway, and a REAL CKC

But even that fictional route, not sure it would be much of a route advantage over I-55 to I-72/US 36

IIRC, an IL 336 extension from Macomb east to Peoria is still on the books as a future expressway corridor; more or less a way to put Peoria into the CKC mix.  Probably not a particularly viable project given IL's fiscal issues -- but at least the number wasn't pulled out of someone's ass! 

[dvferyance]

WV-55 comes to mind. Other than a short 7 mile segment it is duplexed with another highway for it's entire length.

[epzik8]

Certain three-digit state highways in Maryland, those being stub roads that don't really lead anywhere. Example, Maryland Route 591 in Cecil County is actually two disconnected dead-end streets off U.S. Route 1. I do understand that there are a few of these stubs that actually lead to facilities such as State Highway Administration buildings.

[Mapmikey]

I am with you on that one. Many roads in Virginia are just as minor as my residential street which is maintained by the city. If it had a number and a name everyone would just call it by it's name anyways. Most of the 4 digit roads in Virginia don't need numbers they are just fine with the name only. North Carolina is the same as Virginia and they don't number every road.

North Carolina numbers all the roads it maintains.  Some counties are into the 5000s.  They do not prominently post their SR routes the way Virginia does, though they used to when the system was first introduced about 1959.  NC decided that tiny number squares on sign posts was good enough.

South Carolina also numbers all the roads it maintains, and for the most part posts them in the field.

[20160805]

I-180 in WY is not necessary.

Well, it would make a good state route, just not an Interstate. If it were WY 180 it would be fine.

Exactly.  It's a slap in the face to the entire Interstate system.

In my opinion, I-41.  US 41 is just fine; no need to put a fancy red-white-and-blue shield on everything.

Also on the list is any county or state highway that is very lightly used and not paved.

Any designation that is either just a ramp, unsigned or concurrent with another route for its entire length is unnecessary for me.

Agreed.

Not sure if this would count, but there are a lot of concurrencies I've seen around Maine that exist for the sole purpose of both routes ending at a larger/more important highway. ME 125/136 north of US 1 in Freeport, ME 127/197 south of ME 27 in Dresden, ME 6/15 east of Jackman to name a few.

ME 6 is actually another crazy one; only about 61 of its 207-mile-long length (the eastmost segment, Lincoln to Vanceboro/Canadian border) isn't concurrent with another numbered route. The state wanted a continuous numbered road connecting Quebec and New Brunswick, and thus ME 6 was born. While it only spends a smaller percentage by itself, it at least makes more sense than some of the other very long "concurrency" routes around the state. ME 9, I'm looking at you...

WI 47 and 182 constitute another example, and yeah, these entirely-concurrent routes are stupid.

[codyg1985]

AL 62 northeast of Guntersville. It is a short (four lane!) road connecting AL 227 to what was a Monsanto plant.

As others have said, eliminate the secret state routes. Then renumber some of the more major state routes with these freed-up numbers.

[KEVIN_224]

I would like to say Vermont Route 119 at first. It's no more than 1/3 mile long. I think it only exists so that the much-longer New Hampshire Route 119 can make its connection with US Route 5 in Brattleboro, VT.

The road with the traffic lights is US Route 5. The old green bridge in the background carries VT/NH Route 119 into Hinsdale, NH.

[hotdogPi]

I would like to say Vermont Route 119 at first. It's no more than 1/3 mile long. I think it only exists so that the much-longer New Hampshire Route 119 can make its connection with US Route 5 in Brattleboro, VT.

The road with the traffic lights is US Route 5. The old green bridge in the background carries VT/NH Route 119 into Hinsdale, NH.

I would keep VT 119. It's better for a route to continue at a state border with the same number than just ending at the border for no other reason than the border being there.

[sparker]

I would like to say Vermont Route 119 at first. It's no more than 1/3 mile long. I think it only exists so that the much-longer New Hampshire Route 119 can make its connection with US Route 5 in Brattleboro, VT.

The road with the traffic lights is US Route 5. The old green bridge in the background carries VT/NH Route 119 into Hinsdale, NH.

I would keep VT 119. It's better for a route to continue at a state border with the same number than just ending at the border for no other reason than the border being there.

Besides, New England has a long history of MSR's; this one is simply much shorter in one state than another.  I wouldn't think that VT has a pressing need to use #119 elsewhere!

[Perfxion]

Every FM and RM road in Texas, if it warrants being a state highway, name it such. Having multi numbered systems is really dumb.

[jp the roadgeek]

I would like to say Vermont Route 119 at first. It's no more than 1/3 mile long. I think it only exists so that the much-longer New Hampshire Route 119 can make its connection with US Route 5 in Brattleboro, VT.

The road with the traffic lights is US Route 5. The old green bridge in the background carries VT/NH Route 119 into Hinsdale, NH.

See also: VT 26

I would keep VT 119. It's better for a route to continue at a state border with the same number than just ending at the border for no other reason than the border being there.

Besides, New England has a long history of MSR's; this one is simply much shorter in one state than another.  I wouldn't think that VT has a pressing need to use #119 elsewhere!

[apeman33]

Every FM and RM road in Texas, if it warrants being a state highway, name it such. Having multi numbered systems is really dumb.

Wouldn't that bring up the possibility of having four- and five-digit state highways in a state as big as Texas? The FMs and RMs and Loops and such are a good supplement to the system.

[bing101]

CA-123 San Pablo Ave its completely a street in the Bay Area.

[Roadgeekteen]

Every FM and RM road in Texas, if it warrants being a state highway, name it such. Having multi numbered systems is really dumb.

Wouldn't that bring up the possibility of having four- and five-digit state highways in a state as big as Texas? The FMs and RMs and Loops and such are a good supplement to the system.

It also makes paulthemapguys game eisier.

[Quillz]

When CA-37 was rerouted in 1964, I never quite understood why the east-west portion wasn't just an extension of the then CA-48, and what is today CA-121 remained CA-37. CA-48 would have worked perfectly: east-west in nature, and would have been a single number for what today has become a pretty congested (and dangerous) route. It would have streamlined things a bit, too. Instead of adding a completely new number to the system and completely removing another, it also would have kept CA-37 more or less in place instead of rerouting it and turning it into an east-west highway.

[sparker]

CA-123 San Pablo Ave its completely a street in the Bay Area.

It's the old pre-Eastshore route of US 40; neither Emeryville, Berkeley, or Albany is in any hurry to take over maintenance of this route, so it remains on the state highway system.  The usual dynamic -- the city is itching to assume responsibility for a street so it can install traffic calming, islands, and generally convert it into a more pedestrian-friendly environment doesn't apply here; San Pablo Ave's far from the main Berkeley shopping area hard by the UC campus, and it tends to handle overflow from I-80 to the west.

When CA-37 was rerouted in 1964, I never quite understood why the east-west portion wasn't just an extension of the then CA-48, and what is today CA-121 remained CA-37. CA-48 would have worked perfectly: east-west in nature, and would have been a single number for what today has become a pretty congested (and dangerous) route. It would have streamlined things a bit, too. Instead of adding a completely new number to the system and completely removing another, it also would have kept CA-37 more or less in place instead of rerouting it and turning it into an east-west highway.

I often wondered the same thing -- a large part of the '64 renumbering seems to be the result of a primitive number generator -- or some Division of Highways planning committee, half in the bag after a multi-martini lunch, simply pulling numbers out of their collective asses!  There was no need to delete 48 and bring in another number; 37 would have been just fine where 121 is today.  IMO, they could have used the renumbering effort to tighten up their somewhat loose but still evident extant numbering scheme, but no -- they squandered an opportunity to (re)create a cohesive  signed network!

[formulanone]

Every FM and RM road in Texas, if it warrants being a state highway, name it such. Having multi numbered systems is really dumb.

There is no overlap between FM and RM numbers (although there are separate Farm-to-Market 1 and Ranch Road 1 routes).

If anything, the Loops and Spurs are the semi-confusing duplicates, but they're typically some distance away from the similarly-numbered State Highways, unless it's rather obvious it's a former routing of the same number. Since there's very few SH's over number 365, I'm not sure why they didn't start the Highway Loops at 500 or Highway Spurs at 1000, but then many the FM/RMs would need renumbering.

It seems to me by my unofficial estimation, that the Spur system is less widely-described by their numbers compared to the RM/FM model, with Loops being a little more so, unless it's part of a city's larger bypass system.