Cities/towns that have more routes than normal

Started by hotdogPi, August 11, 2017, 09:56:51 AM

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hotdogPi

County routes and secondary state routes should be excluded unless you have a good reason to include them (e.g. New Jersey's 500 series). This thread is not limited to the United States.

Methuen, MA has 7 routes: I-93, I-495, MA 213 (freeway), MA 28, MA 110, MA 113, and MA 97 (clips a corner). Population is about 50k. For comparison, Lawrence has 75k people and 4 routes, and Haverhill has 60k people and 6 routes. Both Lawrence and Haverhill are adjacent to Methuen.

Chelmsford, MA has 8 routes: I-495, US 3 (freeway), MA 3A, MA 4, MA 27, MA 40, MA 110, and MA 129. Population is about 35k. For comparison, Lowell has 110k people and 7 routes, and Nashua NH has 85k people and 5 routes. Lowell is adjacent; Nashua NH is close but not quite adjacent.

I thought about including Exeter NH (15k people, 8 routes), but it's comparable to adjacent Hampton (15k people, 7 routes) and nearby Portsmouth (20k people, 8 routes).
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.


TravelingBethelite

Quote from: 1 on August 11, 2017, 09:56:51 AM
County routes and secondary state routes should be excluded unless you have a good reason to include them (e.g. New Jersey's 500 series). This thread is not limited to the United States.

Methuen, MA has 7 routes: I-93, I-495, MA 213 (freeway), MA 28, MA 110, MA 113, and MA 97 (clips a corner). Population is about 50k. For comparison, Lawrence has 75k people and 4 routes, and Haverhill has 60k people and 6 routes. Both Lawrence and Haverhill are adjacent to Methuen.

Chelmsford, MA has 8 routes: I-495, US 3 (freeway), MA 3A, MA 4, MA 27, MA 40, MA 110, and MA 129. Population is about 35k. For comparison, Lowell has 110k people and 7 routes, and Nashua NH has 85k people and 5 routes. Lowell is adjacent; Nashua NH is close but not quite adjacent.

I thought about including Exeter NH (15k people, 8 routes), but it's comparable to adjacent Hampton (15k people, 7 routes) and nearby Portsmouth (20k people, 8 routes).

How do you define normal? In such a situation, it seems subjective.
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hotdogPi

Quote from: TravelingBethelite on August 11, 2017, 10:13:39 AM
Quote from: 1 on August 11, 2017, 09:56:51 AM
County routes and secondary state routes should be excluded unless you have a good reason to include them (e.g. New Jersey's 500 series). This thread is not limited to the United States.

Methuen, MA has 7 routes: I-93, I-495, MA 213 (freeway), MA 28, MA 110, MA 113, and MA 97 (clips a corner). Population is about 50k. For comparison, Lawrence has 75k people and 4 routes, and Haverhill has 60k people and 6 routes. Both Lawrence and Haverhill are adjacent to Methuen.

Chelmsford, MA has 8 routes: I-495, US 3 (freeway), MA 3A, MA 4, MA 27, MA 40, MA 110, and MA 129. Population is about 35k. For comparison, Lowell has 110k people and 7 routes, and Nashua NH has 85k people and 5 routes. Lowell is adjacent; Nashua NH is close but not quite adjacent.

I thought about including Exeter NH (15k people, 8 routes), but it's comparable to adjacent Hampton (15k people, 7 routes) and nearby Portsmouth (20k people, 8 routes).

How do you define normal? In such a situation, it seems subjective.

You would normally expect cities and towns with a larger population to have more routes, at least when comparing to nearby cities and towns. There are no strict criteria; some examples might be valid for some people but not others.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

TheHighwayMan3561

Fergus Falls, MN (13K): 4 current routes, one former: I-94, US 52/59, MN 210, decommissioned MN 297
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

dvferyance

Slinger WI population 5,000 has I-41, WI-60, WI-144, WI-164 and WI-175. Very unusual for a town in Wisconsin that size to have that many routes. And no I don't count  I-41 and US 41 as 2 different routes. I know someone was going to bring that up.

formulanone

#5
Sometimes, it's just the way things worked out when the trails and route were first blazed. A town of 5,000 was seen as a "major city" 100-200 years ago, so as long as it wasn't right alongside a large metropolis of its day. It also depends on how far apart it is from the next largest town/city/village/hamlet. Or a small town just happened to be geographically located at the confluence of a few routes due to terrain (mountains, rivers, swamps, et al).

And then there's things like McRae, Georgia which just happens to have multiple concurrencies stride though town: US 23, US 280, US 319, US 341, US 441, along with nearby GA 149, GA 132 on the outskirts.

50,000 people is a lot of people in some rural areas, so for something like Florence (39K) or Gadsden (36K), Alabama having 6-8 numbered routes isn't all that odd, even in a state with roughly 330 numbered primary routes.

michravera

Quote from: 1 on August 11, 2017, 09:56:51 AM
County routes and secondary state routes should be excluded unless you have a good reason to include them (e.g. New Jersey's 500 series). This thread is not limited to the United States.

Methuen, MA has 7 routes: I-93, I-495, MA 213 (freeway), MA 28, MA 110, MA 113, and MA 97 (clips a corner). Population is about 50k. For comparison, Lawrence has 75k people and 4 routes, and Haverhill has 60k people and 6 routes. Both Lawrence and Haverhill are adjacent to Methuen.

Chelmsford, MA has 8 routes: I-495, US 3 (freeway), MA 3A, MA 4, MA 27, MA 40, MA 110, and MA 129. Population is about 35k. For comparison, Lowell has 110k people and 7 routes, and Nashua NH has 85k people and 5 routes. Lowell is adjacent; Nashua NH is close but not quite adjacent.

I thought about including Exeter NH (15k people, 8 routes), but it's comparable to adjacent Hampton (15k people, 7 routes) and nearby Portsmouth (20k people, 8 routes).

What today is known as "the unsigned I-305" in Sacramento and which for years was referred to in traffic reports as "the W-X freeway" had signs for as many as 10 routes just by itself:
CASR-160
US-40
US-50
CASR-16
US/CASR-99
CASR-70
I-80
I-305
CASR-275
CASR-84


jp the roadgeek

#7
Union, CT, a town of about 950, has 4 numbered routes (I-84, CT 171, CT 190, CT 197).  It's the same number of numbered routes as Bristol, CT, a city of 60,000 (US 6, CT 69, CT 72, CT 229). 

Sharon, CT, a town of 3000, has 6 numbered routes (US 7, CT 4, CT 41, CT 128 (all 250 feet), CT 343, and CT 361.  It's one less than the city of Bridgeport (population over 145k) has (I-95, US 1, CT 8, CT 25, CT 59, CT 127, CT 130)
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)

Rothman

The fact that Binghamton has three 2dis is silly.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

jp the roadgeek

Quote from: Rothman on August 11, 2017, 10:46:59 PM
The fact that Binghamton has three 2dis is silly.

The city of Lake Station, IN (population 12,572) has 3, and a 4th that skirts the city line.
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)

US 89


fillup420

#11
Asheville, NC seems to have a lot of primary routes for its size (80k)

I-26, I-40, I-240
US 19, US 23, US 25, US 70, US 74
NC 63, NC 81, NC 191, NC 251, NC 694
Also, the Blue Ridge Parkway

DandyDan

Clear Lake, IA, population 7,777, has I-35, US 18, IA 122 and 27, Business Loop I-35 and Business US 18. All of them converge at Exit 194 of I-35.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

CYoder

Bristol TN-VA has 17 routes between them (pop. 44k).

  • In both states: I-81, US 11E, US 11W, US 19, and US 421 (5 routes).
  • Unique to TN side (pop. 27k): TN 1 (unsigned), TN 126, TN 390, TN 394, and TN 435. (6 routes, 11 total, not counting state route designations that are "tagalongs". A lone stretch of TN 34 is now signed as US 421. There is a stretch of MLK Blvd between State and Anderson that was a signed state route for a few months but I believe it has been decommissioned.)
  • Unique to VA side (pop. 17k): I-381, US 11, US 58, Truck US 11/19, VA 113 (unsigned), and VA 381 (unsigned). (6 routes, 11 total. Truck US 11/19 is counted as one route for this purpose. VA 381 is simply an extension of I-381.)
This is definitely a case of many routes getting funneled through a few valleys.

Max Rockatansky

Placerville in California strikes me as somewhat of an oddity given it has US 50, CA 49, and CA 193 serving it with a population of about 10,000.  Generally rural areas get pretty stingy in terms of state highway in California so three in the Sierras seems like a lot. 

Globe in Arizona is similar in that it is another mining town served by a lot of Routes; US 60, US 70, AZ 188, and AZ 77. 

MN34

Albert Lea, MN (pop. 18,000) has I-90, I-35, U.S. 65, U.S. 69, and MN 13

Charles2

Oneonta, AL has three: U.S. 231, AL-75 and AL-132.  Population: 6500.



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