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Crossroads of your state

Started by ParrDa, July 17, 2017, 03:46:26 PM

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webny99

1 What do you think is the crossroads of your state?
2 Must a crossroads also be a regional center?
3 Does being a crossroads impact the "feel" of an area, as in, how big or small it feels?


epzik8


  • Maryland's is probably Baltimore.
  • A crossroads doesn't have to be a regional center, but just someplace with connections to many major roadways.
  • Crossroads status can change the feel of a city by making it seem more populated if it brings in more traffic.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

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fillup420

North Carolina: Both intersections of I-40 and I-85, and too a lesser extent, the 30 mile concurrency in between.

pianocello

1. Des Moines (no-brainer)
2. I'd say no, I'd consider Breezewood to be a marginally important crossroads (interchange geometry notwithstanding), but it's by no means a regional center.
3. Greatly. Iowa City and Cedar Rapids have the "feel" of two equally populous cities. In reality, CR has twice the population of Iowa City, but Iowa City has the crossroads and I-80.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

cjk374

Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

02 Park Ave

New Jersey:  Where the Turnpike crosses the Parkway, viz. Exits 11 and 129, respectively.
C-o-H

Max Rockatansky

Probably either CA 58 at CA 99 or I-5 at I-80 for California. 

bassoon1986

Absolutely Alexandria in Louisiana. It literally looks like a wagon wheel with spikes in every direction on the map. And every other major city in Louisiana is represented on a guide sign or BGS with in the city: Shreveport, Monroe, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans (plus a few others)

Quote from: cjk374 on July 17, 2017, 08:52:54 PM
Louisiana:  Alexandria



iPhone

sparker

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 17, 2017, 09:39:58 PM
Probably either CA 58 at CA 99 or I-5 at I-80 for California. 

Max beat me to the punch with that one -- but if & when CA 58 is expanded to a full freeway (and especially if it becomes a I-40 extension), I might add Barstow to that grouping. 

Another SoCal crossroads possibility:  the I-10/15 interchange in Ontario; channels traffic from both L.A. and S.D and funnels it NE from that point (as well as a bit of peel-off east on I-10).  But OTOH, it may be a bit close to L.A. (as well as its ports) to really qualify!

ilpt4u

#9
IL, the obvious answers are Chicago and the Saint Louis/East Saint Louis Mississippi River Bridges, just due to the convergence of major highways around Chicago, and the River crossings at STL

Bloomington/Normal is a more state-centric Crossroads, with US 66/I-55 going Southwest/Northeast St Louis to Chicago, US 150/I-74 going Southeast/Northwest from Indiana to Iowa, and then US 51/I-39 going due South/North, Cairo and Carbondale and Ohio and Mississippi River crossings to Rockford and Wisconsin

Eth

Though Atlanta would seem like the obvious choice, many of the major destinations from there are in other states.

So my choice is Macon, much nearer to the center of the state. From there, you have I-75 to Atlanta and Valdosta, I-16 to Savannah, US 80 to Columbus, and US 129 to Athens. A higher-quality connection to Augusta is in progress (the Fall Line "Freeway"). US 23 to US 341 is a pretty direct route to Brunswick, as is I-75 to GA 300 for Albany.

fillup420

Quote from: ParrDa on July 18, 2017, 12:09:10 AM
Quote from: fillup420 on July 17, 2017, 08:46:10 PM
North Carolina: Both intersections of I-40 and I-85, and too a lesser extent, the 30 mile concurrency in between.

*cough*
Quote from: ParrDa on July 17, 2017, 03:46:26 PM
(not necessarily the specific intersection, but which city in general)

The western JCT is in Greensboro, which is also where US 421 and I-73 meet I-40/85. The eastern JCT is just outside Durham; I-40 and I-85 split just before their separate intersections with US 15-501.

hbelkins

Kentucky: Elizabethtown. Reasonably close to the geographic center of the state, and the physical crossroads of major N-S (I-65) and E-W (BG and WK parkways) freeways.

West Virginia: Charleston. Not very centrally located, but it's a major freeway junction, and there are really no other logical options.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

jp the roadgeek

Connecticut: I-84 and I-91 in Hartford
Rhode Island: I-95/I-195/US 6 in Providence
Massachusetts: Auburn/Worcester area (I-90/I-290/I-395/MA 146, with I-495 and I-84 nearby)
Vermont: White River Jct (I-89 and I-91)
New Hampshire: Concord (I-89/I-93/I-393)
Maine: Bangor area (I-95/I-395/US 2/ME 9/ME 11)
New York: Albany (I-87/I-90)
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg area (I-76/I-78/I-81/I-83)
Delaware: Christiana (I-95 and DE 1)
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

jeffandnicole

Quote from: ParrDa on July 18, 2017, 12:09:10 AM
Quote from: fillup420 on July 17, 2017, 08:46:10 PM
North Carolina: Both intersections of I-40 and I-85, and too a lesser extent, the 30 mile concurrency in between.
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on July 17, 2017, 08:56:30 PM
New Jersey:  Where the Turnpike crosses the Parkway, viz. Exits 11 and 129, respectively.

*cough*
Quote from: ParrDa on July 17, 2017, 03:46:26 PM
(not necessarily the specific intersection, but which city in general)

By your statement, it didn't have to be a specific intersection, but wasn't excluded.  So what you mean is "What town/city is the crossroads of your state".

froggie

QuoteVermont: White River Jct (I-89 and I-91)

I think an as-strong, if not stronger, argument could be made for Rutland.  Sure, WRJ is the junction of the Interstates, but just about everything that makes that area feel like a regional center is on the New Hampshire side of the river.

02 Park Ave

Travellingwise, New Jersey is more exit oriented than municipality oriented.  But to provide a compliant response, the cross-roads of New Jersey would be in Woodbridge Township.
C-o-H

dvferyance

Wisconsin is a tough one probably the closest we have is I-39 and WI-29 in Wausau the most major junction in the central part of the state.

Max Rockatansky

Arizona is pretty straight forward with I-10 meeting I-17 at the junction west of downtown Phoenix.  Nevada is a little tricky given most of the center of the state has almost no population so I'll say probably I-15 at US 95.  Utah is probably I-15 at I-80 given it is the major cross roads for traffic.  New Mexico would be where I-40 meets I-25.  Florida I'd have to with probably I-75 at Floridas Turnpike.

rte66man

#19
Oklahoma City for Oklahoma.  It even claims to be the "the Crossroads of America".
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

jwolfer


Florida i would say Orlando. That gets some of the east coast into the mix.

Florida, Texas and California are a more difficult call than a lot states because there isnt "one" major city like Georgia or Arizona or a midpoint like NJ

LGMS428

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: jwolfer on July 18, 2017, 02:19:52 PM

Florida i would say Orlando. That gets some of the east coast into the mix.

Florida, Texas and California are a more difficult call than a lot states because there isnt "one" major city like Georgia or Arizona or a midpoint like NJ

LGMS428

With Florida that's why I picked I-75 with the Turnpike.  That junction is still in the middle of state and will fork you off to; Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. 

Brandon

Michigan:

Lansing for the Mitten, Marquette for the UP, and a choke point instead of a crossroads for the entire state: Mackinac Bridge.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

HazMatt

1. More or less stated above, but Greensboro.  Maybe less specifically the Triad.
2. Used to be but not really any more.
3. One thing I've noticed since moving to the Triangle is that almost everyone knows of Statesville (I-40/I-77 crossroads).  I always have to explain where Hickory is.  Hickory has over 40k people, Statesville has around 25k.

cpzilliacus

#24
I will make a suggestion for Virginia - Richmond, the state capital. 

Junction of I-95 and I-64 plus U.S. 1, U.S. 33, U.S. 60, U.S. 250, U.S. 301 and U.S. 360 and relatively equidistant to the largest metropolitan areas of the Commonwealth in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. 

Lee County, Virginia (county seat Jonesville, the far southwest corner of Virginia) is just out of luck at 380 miles (or more, depending on route) to downtown Richmond.
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