Hierarchy of US Highways in your State

[DandyDan]

My stab at Nebraska
1. US 81
2. US 275
3. US 77
4. US 20
5. US 30
6. US 6
7. US 281
8. US 34
9. US 83
10. US 385
11. US 136
12. US 26
13. US 183
14. US 283
15. US 73
16. US 159
17. US 138

[corco]

Washington:  101, 12, 2, 395, 97, 195, 730
Alaska:
Hawaii: 

Interesting- I would have done the same order generally, but put US 101 after US 395. My reasoning for that is that 101 doesn't have the same draw in Washington as it does  in Oregon and California- folks generally don't drive up and down the length of the coast because the views just aren't there- they drive east/west from I-5 to their destination without spending much time on 101.

The exception to that is obviously the Olympic Peninsula, and 101 certainly is important there since it's the only highway, so I agree it's definitely an important route, but the very most important route? I have a hard time with that one. 395 beats for me because the Tri-Cities to Spokane connector is sooo visibly important. 97 goes just below 101 for me because while 97 north of I-90 serves more population than US 101 on the Olympic Peninsula, there are other roads- if US 97 was eliminated from the map, it would suck, but there would still be other ways to access those areas.

I'd also be tempted to move 2 lower. It does traverse the width of the state, but without ever being truly important. I-90 is generally close enough to serve much of the same purpose (90 to 97 being the fastest route to Wenatchee for everybody south of about Shoreline), and then SR 28 goes through the areas in the east-central part of the state that actually have population. There aren't too many reasons to drive US 2 across the state unless you're just trying to drive US 2 across the state.

I think I'd rank as follows, now that I think about it:
1. 12
2. 395
3. 101
4. 97
5. 2
6. 195
7. 730

[NE2]

KEK is a Twilight fan. Point and laugh.

[KEK Inc.]

US-101 is important for logging.  US-2 gets a lot of traffic in snohomish county and Stevens pass is popular in the winter. 


iPhone

[corco]

US-101 is important for logging.  US-2 gets a lot of traffic in snohomish county and Stevens pass is popular in the winter. 


iPhone

The logging argument could just as easily be made for 97 and 395- those areas are logging central, especially since those areas aren't as hampered by pesky National Parks.

Agreed for sure that the important part of 2 is from Everett to the top of Stevens Pass, but...I dunno- that's not very much distance over the course of the whole route. Whereas the others have more statewide relevance, 2's relevance is pretty localized, which for me knocks it down. There's very few point A to point B routings within the state that result in driving on US 2 (basically north of Shoreline to Stevens Pass, Leavenworth, or Wenatchee and south of Shoreline to Stevens Pass) for any significant distance. While Stevens Pass is certainly important, there's many other popular ski areas in Washington so I don't know that "access to a ski area" is something that would render a route significantly more important.

Even a route like US-730, which I wouldn't argue is more important than 2 and agree with your placement at the bottom of the list, has a good chunk of statewide relevance- traffic headed from Pullman/Clarkston/Walla Walla would use it to get to Portland and Vancouver WA, which makes it an important regional connector- moreso than 2 is. 730 serves a lot fewer people and is quite short, which knocks it down and 2 up the list for me, but that's kind of where I'm coming from.

[Pink Jazz]

Not sure how I would rank Arizona's U.S. routes, although the top two are probably US 60 and US 93.

[KEK Inc.]

Leavenworth is also a popular tourist destination, and I've used 2 instead of I-90 from the Gorge Amphitheater to get home in Seattle due to traffic.

US-101 has tourist destinations such as the coast, Long Beach, and of course the Olympics.

[kkt]

I live in Seattle near NE 75th St. and if the drive might involve weekday traffic between 7 AM and 7 PM I'd usually be better off taking SR 522 up to US 2 rather than through downtown Seattle.

[bing101]

Us-101
US-50

Us-395
US-6

Important US Routes in California

But there are defunct US routes in California such as 99, 66, 91, 40, 80.

[kkt]

Us-101
US-50

Us-395
US-6

Important US Routes in California

But there are defunct US routes in California such as 99, 66, 91, 40, 80.

199?  97?

[national highway 1]

Us-101
US-50

Us-395
US-6

Important US Routes in California

But there are defunct US routes in California such as 99, 66, 91, 40, 80.

199?  97?

And 95

[robbones]

I'm going to take a shot for Arkansas:
US 65
US 67
US 71
US 62
US 63
US 64
US 70
US 82
US 61
US 79
US 167
US 270
US 412
US 165
US 49
US 278
US 425
US 371
US 271
US 59 the "leach" since it runs concurrent with another US highway for the entire length

[hotdogPi]

I'm going to do all of New England, combined (no alternates):

US 1
US 6
US 2
US 44
US 3
US 7
US 4
US 20
US 202
US 302
US 5
US 201

(I did not include US 9 because destinations starting and ending in New England but passing through New York will often use either NY 22 or I-87, but rarely US 9.)

[SD Mapman]

South Dakota: For residents
US 14
US 12
US 212
US 18
US 83
US 281
US 81 (would be higher, but I-29 happened)
US 385
US 16 (same here, but I-90 happened)
US 14A
US 16A
US 85

For tourists:
Tie: US 385/16/16A
US 14A and the Exit 17 to Deadwood portion of US 85






Everything else

[odditude]

Hmm... this is going to be a tricky one...

New Jersey:

1. US 1
This was a hard one, but the fact that US 1 runs with the Turnpike and I-95 near the George Washington Bridge makes it a no-brainer. It serves large amounts of areas directly, connecting Trenton all the way to New York, while still hitting Newark and New Brunswick in between.
2. US 202
I'm going to give 202 the benefit of the number two spot. As a principal route throughout the state, it connects many of the smaller towns to some of the more populated areas (such as Morristown), and also serves as a corridor connecting eastern Pennsylvania to New York State.
3. US 9
This is so high because of the shore traffic. Whenever people are going down the Jersey Shore, US 9 and the Garden State Parkway both explode in traffic volumes. Plus, US 9 runs concurrent with some of the Parkway as well, so I'm going to give US 9 the number three spot.
4. US 206
I hate this route, honestly, but it's extremely important. Thanks to the botched Somerset Freeway, 206 is the main corridor through "central" Jersey (apparently Central Jersey is a made-up thing; I don't think it is), connecting lots of small and large communities. It allows people from the Burlington / Atlantic County area to reach Trenton and the more rural-y parts of New Jersey (Sussex, Hunterdon, Warren Counties). Just look at the traffic volumes and you'll see how important this route is. You'll also see why a 2-lane bypass in Hillsborough is just a waste of money.
5. US 22
22 is a major corridor throughout central and northeastern New Jersey - connecting a lot of small towns to some of the big areas (such as Newark and Jersey City). It also provides access to Newark Liberty International Airport, so just by that alone, it's decently important.
6. US 46
In the western parts of the state, US 46 isn't too important. As you head east into the more urban parts of New Jersey, it changes dramatically.
7. US 30
Good connector route between Camden and Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
8. US 130
US 130 serves a lot of smaller towns in both Central and South Jersey, but it's importance is higher near the Deptford area, where it joins I-295 and continues south towards the Delaware border.
9. US 40
While it does provide a connection between Wilmington, Delaware and Atlantic City, there's not many large communities it serves in New Jersey.
10. US 322

I'd put US 322 above US 40 - it serves two colleges (Rowan University and Atlantic Cape Community College), is a major commuter bridge in the Philly area (and unlike 40, isn't multiplexed with an interstate for said bridge), and is a major route for ACE shunpiking (NJ 73 to 322 for AC and south). US 40... well, it goes through Millmay (which is a joke even to its own residents).

US 130 is very significant north of where it diverges from I-295.

i'm going to say both of us are suffering from familiarity bias; you have all the south jersey routes at the bottom of the list, whereas I'd throw 22 and 46 much closer to the bottom (22 follows I-78 for its entire length, moving through traffic off of it, while 46 parallels I-80 in its eastern half).

US 40 should stay dead last, though. it's a 2-lane rural highway through "pretty much Alabama".

[PHLBOS]

I'm going to do all of New England, combined (no alternates):

US 1
US 6
US 2
US 44
US 3
US 7
US 4
US 20
US 202
US 302
US 5
US 201

(I did not include US 9 because destinations starting and ending in New England but passing through New York will often use either NY 22 or I-87, but rarely US 9.)

I thought you didn't include US 9 because it doesn't run through any of the 6 New England states.

[1995hoo]

Idahoooo is easy

1. 95 (Idaho's only road, likely the most important road in Idaho as it is the ONLY road, paved or unpaved, that connects northern and southern Idaho)
....

It's an honorary part of Canada?

....

For Virginia, I'd keep Thing's tier idea, but would change some up:

Tier 1:  13, 15, 23, 29, 58, 460. Cross-state routes that are mostly independent from Interstates.
Tier 2:  1, 11, 17, 50, 60, 301. Cross-state routes that, while still important, have been diminished in importance somewhat by interstates.
Tier 3:  19, 48, 52, 211,219, 220, 360, 421. Routes that are regionally important, but either only serve a portion of the state or are only important in certain portions.
Tier 4:  21, 33, 250, 258, 340, 501, 522. Serve as "backdoor routes", connecting areas served by other, more major highways.
Tier 5: 11EW, 48, 219, 311. Mostly unimportant stubs necessary for connectivity.

The reason I bump most of these up is because they are not just cross-state, but are important for Virginia's connections to adjacent states.

I think I agree with all this except I might bump 48 down to "Tier 4" because the Virginia portion is in no way comparable to West Virginia's portion and a surprising number of people have no idea it's an option. I'm always surprised at how many people I know continue to use US-50, or even I-70 and I-68 to Cumberland, to go from the DC area to West Virginia's Canaan Valley (US-48 is much faster). I think they just don't know about Route 48 because there's nothing in Virginia to clue you in to it being a good option. If more people knew about the option, I'd certainly agree it is a road that should be higher in the pecking order.

[hbelkins]

I'd probably bump US 19 up in Virginia. With the exception of the US 11 concurrency, which is parallel to I-81, US 19 is entirely four lanes and pretty much built to the same standards as the four-lane US 23, 58, Alt. 58 and 460 in that region of the state. It's certainly deserving of a higher ranking than US 52, which is paralleled entirely by I-77.

[Lyon Wonder]

US highway ranking in Illinois outside of the Chicago area in downstate Illinois.

US 67, which isn’t paralleled by any interstates through most it’s 213 mile length in IL from Alton to Rock Island.

US 20, especially west of Rockford

US 50, which isn’t paralleled by any interstates west of the St Louis area

US 24, which isn't paralleled by any interstates

US 34, especially west of Galesburg

US 51 south of Bloomington

US 30

US 45

US 52

US 54

I’d say these are the least important US highways in Illinois since these, with the exception of US 60 and 62, are entirely paralleled by interstates

US 6, paralleled by I-80

US 40, paralleled by I-70

US 150, paralleled by I-74

US 60, which is in Illinois for less than a mile and concurrent with US 62

US 62, which is in Illinois for less than a mile and concurrent with US 60

Importance of US highways in the Chicago area

US 20
US 12
US 14
US 41
US 45
US 34
US 30
US 52
US 6

[roadfro]

Nevada (leaving out the alternate routes):


US 95 - longest highway in the state, major freeway in Las Vegas, and main north/south route in state (including main connection between biggest population centers in the state)

US 395 - main route connecting population centers in western part of state

US 93 - second longest highway in the state, major freeways in Las Vegas (although overlapped), but comprises the Vegas/Phoenix connection, only other statewide north-south corridor

US 50 - main east-west corridor in central Nevada, main connection to Lake Tahoe, tourism via "The Loneliest Road"

US 6 - most sparsely traveled US route in the state (except on the overlaps)

[jrouse]

California...

1st - US 101
2nd - US 50
3rd - US 395
T-4th - US 97, 95, 199, 6

I would flip US-50 and US-395. 

[NWI_Irish96]

Indiana:

1) US 31 - the northern half is the primary route between Indy and SB with no companion interstate (yet)
2) US 30 - connects NWI with Fort Wayne and serves many secondary cities (Plymouth, Warsaw, etc.) in between
3) US 41 - connects NWI with Terre Haute and Evansville
4) US 50 - primary E/W route in mid-southern part of the state
5) US 20 - very heavily traveled but also closely paralleled by I-80/90
6) US 231 - primary N/S route in SW part of state
7) US 24 - Fort Wayne to Logansport section very important
8) US 421 - primary route from Madison to I-74@Greensburg
9) US 150 - lots of vacation traffic between Louisville area and French Lick area
10) US 36 - Doesn't hit many big cities but crosses the entire state and not paralleled closely by an interstate
11) US 6 - Crosses entire state but closely paralleled by more heavily traveled US 20 and US 30
12) US 35 - Mostly relevant between Kokomo and Michigan City
13) US 33 - Elkhart-Fort Wayne connection
14) US 27 - Fort Wayne-Richmond connection
15) US 52 - paralleled mostly by I-65 and I-74
16) US 40 - very historic, but paralleled by I-70
17) US 136 - paralleled by I-74
18) US 12 - not very long and paralleled by I-94
19) US 224 - not very long and doesn't serve any significant cities
20) US 131 - don't blink or you'll miss it

[Laura]

Maryland:

50
301
29
1
15
340
40
13
113
219
220
522
222
11


iPhone

[Zzonkmiles]

I'm not as familiar with US routes, but I'd imagine the top three in South Carolina would be US 17, US 1 and US 176.

[froggie]

Over half of US 1's mileage in South Carolina has been usurped by I-20 (and US 176 to a lesser extent by I-26), so I wouldn't put it in the top three there.  I agree with US 17.  I'd add US 52, US 25, US 278, and US 76 to round out a "top five".