Best interstate ever

[agentsteel53]

I have no quarrel with I-505.

[texaskdog]

I haven't completed many.  I do love the mountain interstates such as 15, 25, 70, 90 but haven't explored the whole route of any of them. 

[NE2]

I have no quarrel with I-505.

I do. The old two-lane was cut in several places north of SR 16, forcing local and slow traffic onto the freeway.

[hotdogPi]

I also have not seen much of the country on roads. However,

I-93 in New Hampshire looks wonderful going north at about exit 30. There are beautiful mountains. I saw this when going to Franconia Notch State Park.

I-88 in New York also looks beautiful.

The Mass Pike has "Home of Friendly Ice Cream" in Wilbraham between exits 7 and 8. I love it, but it's only a very small part of the Mass Pike.

[xonhulu]

I-238 gets my approval.  The sheer number of elaborate proposals re-signing most of California's interstates just to eliminate it in Fictional Highways makes it golden.

[agentsteel53]

I do. The old two-lane was cut in several places north of SR 16, forcing local and slow traffic onto the freeway.

I don't think I've ever encountered traffic on 505.  might just have been driving it at fortuitous times.

but yes, you are right that old CA-28/128 is in little pieces.

[1995hoo]

I have not travelled enough of the ones out west to be able to comment, but of the ones on the East Coast, I like I-87 from Albany to the Canadian border for its scenic value (especially during the winter); while I find the strange sequential exit numbering to be extremely annoying, the scenic value trumps that.

Unsigned I-595 in Maryland is high on my list because I remember what the road was like before it was rebuilt to Interstate standards. Maryland did an excellent job on that project.

[NE2]

but yes, you are right that old CA-28/128 is in little pieces.

28/128 actually went east from Winters to Davis on what was never state-maintained.

[agentsteel53]

and here I thought I once saw a map that has 28 routed up along what is now the road paralleling 505.

[NE2]

Not seeing it on Caltrans maps (1956, 1961, 1966), but it could have. Definitely went to Davis in 1934: "Jct. Rte. 1 near Albion to Jct. U. S. 40 near Davis, via Sage Canyon."

[Takumi]

I-664 or Virginia's I-195.

[roadman65]

If Arkansas ever signs AR 549 as I-49, that will be the best interstate ever as it is brand new.  You cannot argue that all new roads are the best until nature and trucks ruin the pavement.

The Pa Turnpike (I-76) is great west of Carlisle and along its concurrency with I-70 through the mountains.  I like driving through the twin tunnels in Franklin County the best!

[Kacie Jane]

You cannot argue that all new roads are the best until nature and trucks ruin the pavement.

Heh. How about no. Best by one (out of many) criteria, perhaps, but I'd say that unless the road is absolute shite, quality of pavement is among the least important criteria you could rank an interstate on.

[Molandfreak]

If I had to choose one in it's entirety, it'd be I-90. It isn't totally fair as I haven't clinched it, but even in Indiana, I kept my eyes peeled for a chance to look into Michigan; it's a flat route across Indiana, but not boring. In Illinois, you get that awesome bridge on the skyway that lights up at night, and the Des Plaines and Belvidere oases. In Wisconsin, you get into the bluff country and the Madison lakes area. In Minnesota, there's a neat area where the roadway splits and private property exists in the median. Even if you don't get off the road in South Dakota, the scenery of the plains is still worth the drive. Same goes for Wyoming.

I haven't been on I-90 west of Gillette, WY or east of Cleveland, OH, but in New York it appears to be similar in terrain to I-80 across Pennsylvania, which I also really enjoyed. West of Wyoming, it appears to go through a mountainous area that I would enjoy; I can't wait to totally clinch I-90!

[DSS5]

I'm not well-traveled enough to give a good answer, but I-40 is the one that most interests me and I'd love to clinch it one day. You get basically every landscape type in the contiguous U.S.

[Thing 342]

I-295 (VA) is near the top of my list. Never any traffic, and has the Varina-Enon Bridge which is really scenic.

As for scenery, I-17 is arguably the most scenic one, at least per mile.

[agentsteel53]

As for scenery, I-17 is arguably the most scenic one, at least per mile.

I'd argue H-3, but I don't remember what it's like east of, say, 83.  it may be boring.

[NE2]

The east end of H-3 is a military base, so yeah.

[Alps]

I-480, CA.

[cpzilliacus]

Much too large of a network to have one winner.

West: I-8 in San Diego and Imperial Counties in California or I-70 in Colorado and Utah.

Honorable mention to I-5 across the Grapevine.

East: I-664 across Hampton Roads, Virginia or the I-95 section of the New Jersey Turnpike mainline (proof positive that you can build it and improve it, no matter what the obstructionists say).

Honorable mention to I-68 in Maryland and West Virginia.

[Avalanchez71]

I-24 is pretty cool with the East and West roadbeds aligned pretty far apart.  The fireworks stand is pretty cool in the median of the interstate.  The interstate dips into Georgia for a brief moment as well. 

[Scott5114]

I-35 between Emporia and Kansas City is a joy to drive. The curves are banked perfectly, the signs are laid out wonderfully, and the scenery is pretty nice for Kansas (better than the flat pancake land that I-70 traverses). Traffic isn't that bad either. Also, no Clearview.

[deathtopumpkins]

I'm surprised to see multiple mentions of 664 on here. Maybe it's because I grew up near it, and sat in traffic on it regularly for most of my childhood, but I never thought it was anything at all special. From a 6-lane suburban freeway, to a tangle of disused ramps in a dead downtown, across an endless trestle broken up by one ugly tunnel, then down ten miles of congested suburban freeway. Apart from the bridge-tunnel, I can't think of much exciting about it.



I think if I had to pick one BEST interstate, of what I've driven, I'd have to pick 95, simply because of the huge diversity it passes through from Florida to Maine, the sheer number of people who live along it and use it, directly or indirectly, every day, and all the cool things you can find along and around it.

[briantroutman]

If we're looking at this as if we had to pick only one Interstate we could drive for the rest of our lives, I would easily pick I-80. On a personal level, it connects my current home and my childhood home and is the genesis of my interest in highways. But in a much greater sense, it spans the content, connects two of the country's greatest cities, and covers perhaps the widest range of landscapes of any Interstate. I've driven the entire length a few times and never tire of it–except maybe the OH-IN-IL section.

If we're trying to pick a more specific segment or judge based on the qualities of the roadway itself, I'd probably pick I-280 (California). It's incredibly scenic and runs on an alignment well concealed from the cities along its route. And yet it serves an important metropolitan traffic corridor. Comparing it with the parallel Bayshore Freeway is startling.

[pianocello]

I'm going to have to agree with whoever said I-24. It's very scenic, especially with the sun rising over the Tennessee River west of Chattanooga.

Unsigned I-595 in Maryland is high on my list because I remember what the road was like before it was rebuilt to Interstate standards. Maryland did an excellent job on that project.

On that note, I'll give an honorable mention to the Borman Expressway and I-74 in Peoria. I'll admit I'm not old enough to actually remember what the old roads were like, but by hearing stories and looking at maps, I can tell the DOTs did a great job.