News:

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on what errors you encountered from the forum database changes made in Fall 2023. Let us know if you discover anymore.

Main Menu

US routes ending at seemingly random locations

Started by bugo, July 31, 2017, 06:07:53 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

bugo

How many instances are there of a US route ending at a seemingly arbitrary location? This map is of the Stuttgart, AR vicinity. Look carefully at the road that is marked as US 79 BUS and AR 130 on each side of the town. There is a point 2.1 miles east of US 79 that it shows two roads ending. This is the intersection of Main Street. US 79B (technically US 79C) and AR 130 used to head north on Main but Main has been decommissioned and now AR 130 and US 79B end at each other at a non-highway junction. Arkansas has examples of state highways ending at non-highway junctions. One example is that AR 190 "turns into" 291 at a seemingly random junction (291 used to turn west but that section was decommissioned.) Why AHTD doesn't just renumber one highway is beyond me (and par for the course with AHTD.) Back to Stuttgart: AR 130 just "turns into" US 79B with no fanfare. The whole stretch should be AR 130, or US 79B should be extended east on 130 and north on US 165 to give this corridor a single number.



hotdogPi

US 20 ends at MA 2 in Boston, not at any other US route or Interstate. (And not at the ocean; there are still a few miles of land.)

US 3 turns into MA 3 at MA 2A in Cambridge. While it is one continuous route, it is a bit strange that the US designation ends there.

For some reason, US 44 has a mile-long overlap with MA 3 and then continues to the ocean for another mile instead of just ending when it reaches MA 3. (The last one mile segment of US 44 is not a freeway; US 44 immediately west of MA 3 and the relevant segment of MA 3 are both freeways.)
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.

noelbotevera

US 202 near Newport, DE. It randomly ends at US 13/US 40 while multiplexed with DE 141 (which is also the end of the DE 141 freeway). This change was extremely arbitrary, considering it used to use DE 202 to go into Downtown Wilmington, and end at US 13 (now Business US 13), which would make sense as an end.

If I had my way, I'd just make DE 202 into US 202 again, remove US 202 from I-95 and DE 141, and put US 13 back on US 13 Business through Wilmington.

SFalcon71

In Sandusky, Ohio, US-250 ends at US-6 about a mile and a half from Lake Erie, but what I never understood was that the continuing road is always very busy. Always wondered why the designation could not continue on to encompass that stretch of road.


formulanone

US 319 is concurrent with US 98 for a stretch, but just "quits" and decides not to cross the bridge over the Apalacicola River.

US 167's southern terminus just seems to be arbitrary with LA 14, LA 82, and others in Abbeville continuing on.

bugo

Quote from: formulanone on July 31, 2017, 07:34:34 AM
US 319 is concurrent with US 98 for a stretch, but just "quits" and decides not to cross the bridge over the Apalacicola River.

US 167's southern terminus just seems to be arbitrary with LA 14, LA 82, and others in Abbeville continuing on.

The southern end of US 319 is an excellent example. I've never understood why it ends where it does.

US 167 ends where it does because there's really nowhere else to go. There are no major towns to the south of Abbeville. It is odd but not unprecedented for it to end at a state highway.

bugo

Another good example is US 69. It ends at MN 13 which is a silly place for it to end. It should extend to at least I-90 exit 154. The reason it ends where it does is because Main Street was once US 16.

jp the roadgeek

US 5 in New Haven, CT.  Yeah, I get it that it ends at I-91, but it used to (and still should) continue the remaining length of State St., where it would still end at a US route (1).  Just feels like it randomly dies when you're driving it
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)

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: formulanone on July 31, 2017, 07:34:34 AM
US 319 is concurrent with US 98 for a stretch, but just "quits" and decides not to cross the bridge over the Apalacicola River.

US 167's southern terminus just seems to be arbitrary with LA 14, LA 82, and others in Abbeville continuing on.

US 319 approaches Apalachicola Bay from the east has a terminus where the ferry location to Apalachicola used to be located at and was routed to the current southern terminus by 1933:

http://www.usends.com/319.html

US 98 on the other hand approached Apalachicola Bay from the west and ended at the opposite end of the ferry location where that would have taken you to the terminus of US 319:

http://www.usends.com/98.html

The strange multiplex of US 98/319 has been in existence since 1952, kind of amazing how long it really has hung on.

1 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

US 89 has a strange terminus in Flagstaff where it dead ends at Country Club Drive.  It isn't much that the routing doesn't make sense but rather how poorly it is actually signed:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2224429,-111.5862165,3a,75y,254.2h,92.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLmPjKS2qVAkhIUXa427I4w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Which is made worse by the fact that AZ 89A actually runs into the city to Milton Road before ending at the I-40BL.  Wouldn't it make more sense (at least from a routing perspective) to have US 89 run on Milton Road south through Flagstaff to I-17?   89A would be connected to the implied parent route minimum....


US 1 in Key West, granted I know the location of the southern terminus is at the Monroe County Courthouse but what purpose does it really serve having it end suddenly at Fleming and Whitehead when it could be pushed back to the junction of Roosevelt Blvd entering Key West itself.


US 14 has a long multiplex with US 20 west from Greybull, WY to Yellowstone where it ends.  I've never been a huge fan of routings that multiplex to a location where one ends but the other continues.  US 180 is similar to this with AZ 64 at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  US 180 ends at the National Park entrance but AZ 64 emerges on the other side to approach US 89. Stuff like US 212 ending at Yellowstone and US 385 at Big Bend National Park make more sense since they are singular routes that aren't multiplexed. 

dgolub

My understanding is that when they complete the new US 301 toll highway in Delaware, US 301 is going to just end at DE 1.

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: bugo on July 31, 2017, 07:42:40 AM
Another good example is US 69. It ends at MN 13 which is a silly place for it to end. It should extend to at least I-90 exit 154. The reason it ends where it does is because Main Street was once US 16.

I've thought more than once that it should replace MN-13 to New Prague and then MN-21 north to Jordan, where it can end properly at US-169.

froggie

^ One could argue that it wouldn't be a "proper end", as you'd have the parent ending at the child.

I'd agree with extending it to I-90 Exit 154, or lob off the Main St leg of MN 13 and end it at US 65 (it's original terminus was at US 65 way back in the day anyway).

epzik8

Quote from: dgolub on July 31, 2017, 08:41:07 AM
My understanding is that when they complete the new US 301 toll highway in Delaware, US 301 is going to just end at DE 1.
Ridiculous
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

My clinched highways: http://tm.teresco.org/user/?u=epzik8
My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

bzakharin

US 40/322 ends at Atlantic Ave (or at Ventnor Ave depending on who you believe). Although this road is supposed to be part of "Ocean Drive" which has its own trailblazer, especially further south, it is not signed here, nor do these roads have any sort of number, even a county one. It could end at CR 629 (Atlantic City border) or the boardwalk.

fillup420

#14
US 70 ends in the middle of a residential area on the NC coast, about 1/2 mile before the road dead-ends at an inlet. The endpoint is well-signed too.

US 264 meets US 64 in Zebulon, NC and follows it into Raleigh. 264 ends at the I-440 JCT, and 64 continues on along 440. It wasnt always like this, as US 64 Business is solo, while the freeway bypass is US 64/264.

This one may not be specifically "random", but the ends of US 74 and 76 in Wrightsville Beach are very unclear. There is a sign that reads "END US 76, NEXT 1.5 MILES"; No clue what that means. US 74 just has a shield mounted at an intersection with no directional arrows or banners at all.

wanderer2575

US-41 ends in a cul-de-sac a mile or so east of Copper Harbor MI.  https://goo.gl/maps/kDKmW393rhq

There's a plaque in the middle of the cul-de-sac.


US-45 ends with no warning on the south side of Ontonagon MI, although River Street continues for a bit.  Last time I was up there, there was no END signage; instead, a series of TO SOUTH US-45 assemblies were posted in a loop around a square block.

Great Lakes Roads

Here is a good one: U.S. 35 in Northern Indiana... where does it end? We don't know, but what we know is that U.S. 35 used to end at U.S. 12 until the city of Michigan City took over and redid Michigan Blvd... It looks very nice now!!

TheHighwayMan3561

I saw photos of US 45 ENDS signs when it ended at the end-to-end with M-64, but then 64 was relocated and 45 was extended slightly.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

cjk374

US 80 ends at a cul-du-sac at Tybee Island, GA.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

plain

US 360 ends at SR 644 in Reedville, VA, a road that ends itself a short distance later.

The nearly cross country US 60 ends at a very short cross street in Virginia Beach. The road continues as unnumbered General Booth Blvd.
Newark born, Richmond bred

Jim

I guess others have a different idea about what would be "seemingly random".  A highway ending at or close to an ocean or at the end of the developed part of a peninsula make perfect sense to me.
Photos I post are my own unless otherwise noted.
Signs: https://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/
Travel Mapping: https://travelmapping.net/user/?u=terescoj
Counties: http://www.mob-rule.com/user/terescoj
Twitter @JimTeresco (roads, travel, skiing, weather, sports)

Takumi

US 360's west end is sort of like US 319, where it ends while concurrent with another route (US 58, in this case); however, it ends at its old routing.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

froggie

Quote from: plainThe nearly cross country US 60 ends at a very short cross street in Virginia Beach. The road continues as unnumbered General Booth Blvd.

The "signed" end is not the actual end.  US 60 ends at the loop on Atlantic Ave at Rudee Inlet.

bulldog1979

Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 31, 2017, 03:20:22 PM
US-45 ends with no warning on the south side of Ontonagon MI, although River Street continues for a bit.  Last time I was up there, there was no END signage; instead, a series of TO SOUTH US-45 assemblies were posted in a loop around a square block.


US 45 ends at the corner of River and Ontonagon streets in downtown Ontonagon, about two blocks from the end of River Street closest to the mouth of the Ontonagon River at Lake Superior. While that seems random, Ontonagon Street was the route of M-64 across the river before the new bridge was built south of town. US 45 is well signed north of the current intersection with M-64 and M-38 and the old route of M-38 into downtown.

DandyDan

Quote from: bugo on July 31, 2017, 07:42:40 AM
Another good example is US 69. It ends at MN 13 which is a silly place for it to end. It should extend to at least I-90 exit 154. The reason it ends where it does is because Main Street was once US 16.
One could argue that both of the US highways in Albert Lea end in the wrong location. I personally don't see the point of extending US 65 north of its south exit with I-35. 

Going further north, there's the north end of US 218 in Owatonna. It should either end at US 14 at the SE corner of town or at I-35, but not at the exit which was US 65 way back when.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.