AARoads Forum

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?

• 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.

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

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.

Louisiana:  Alexandria

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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)

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oklahoma City for Oklahoma.  It even claims to be the "the Crossroads of America".

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

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. 

Michigan:

Lansing for the Mitten, Marquette for the UP, and a choke point instead of a crossroads for the entire state: Mackinac Bridge.

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.

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.

Minnesota:
I'm thinking St. Cloud. It is fairly central, and has MN 15, MN 23, US 10, and I-94. But I'm not too sure.

This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

Quote from: tman on July 18, 2017, 07:12:36 PM
Minnesota:
I'm thinking St. Cloud. It is fairly central, and has MN 15, MN 23, US 10, and I-94. But I'm not too sure.

I think it's MSP, just because of how well-established the "spokes on the wheel" routes are in radiating outward to the rest of the state.

Quote from: ParrDa on July 18, 2017, 11:54:34 PM

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis.

That's a dictionary-worthy example of sarcasm...
I hope that's how you meant it  :confused:

Yes. I was being funny.

I suppose the most important crossroads in Mississippi would probably be the I-55 interchanges with I-20. The town with roads that look more like spokes on a wheel would have to be Hattiesburg, with I-59, US 49 and US 98 all combining to give it that appearance.

For this state, we could add an "other-wordly" catagory. Clarksdale would go there, and the intersection of US 49 and old US 61, the infamous "Crossroads" where Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his mastery of the guitar.

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.

Or I-5@CASR-152 or I-80@I-505 or US-101@I-280/I-680. But, I would think that the MacArthur maze I-80/I-880/I-580/I-980 tops it all.

I-15@CASR-58, I-15@I-10, and CASR-41@CASR-99.

In Nevada, I-80@I-580 and I-15@US-95.

Quote from: berberry on July 19, 2017, 04:45:26 AM
For this state, we could add an "other-wordly" catagory. Clarksdale would go there, and the intersection of US 49 and old US 61, the infamous "Crossroads" where Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his mastery of the guitar.

Which interestingly as Dale Sanderson pointed out, the location of the Crossroads monument is not where 61/49 intersected when Johnson was alive; it was a few blocks away at today's modern intersection of DeSoto and MLK (4th St).

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 19, 2017, 09:35:29 AM
Which interestingly as Dale Sanderson pointed out, the location of the Crossroads monument is not where 61/49 intersected when Johnson was alive; it was a few blocks away at today's modern intersection of DeSoto and MLK (4th St).

Yes, that's true. I guess somebody thought making it easy to find was more important than accuracy.

Probably Harrisburg for Pennsylvania, as it's fairly center in the state, and is served by several major roads, directly or indirectly providing access to...

• Pittsburgh and Philly via the Turnpike
• Lots of places via I-81 south
• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre via I-81 north
• State College via 22/322
• York and Baltimore via I-83
• Frederick and D.C. via US 15 south
• Williamsport and ultimately Rochester via US 11/15 north
• Lancaster via PA 283
• New York City via I-78 (indirect)

No answer from me since I don't have a state.

Probably where US 50, 54 and 63 meet in Jefferson City.

In Kansas, the most populous metro area, most populous county, and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 9th largest cities proper all comprise metro KC, but most of the major roads cross on the wrong side of the state line. That basically leaves 4 viable options for Kansas.

1) Topeka - where 70 and the Turnpike split and US 75 is a major N-S US Highway. The problem is that it's basically a Y intersection and 75 doesn't really go anywhere important.

2) Emporia, where the Turnpike (335) and 35 meet, and 50 continues west to Hutchinson. Problem - northbound thru traffic choosing between 35 and 335 will all end up in KC within ~90 minutes.

3) Wichita. 35/Turnpike and 135, with 54 going west toward Dodge City and environs. Pretty good, but it's a crossroads that doesn't involve I 70, easily the most important road in the state.

4) Salina. 70 and 135/81. I suppose this would be it. 70 east for Topeka/Lawrence/KC/eventually Chicago/New York/Washington. 70 west for Hays/Denver/eventually Seattle/Vegas/LA. 135 south for Hutchinson/Wichita/OKC/eventually Dallas/San Antonio/Mexico. 81 north for, ahem, Concordia. Eventually Winnipeg.

The obvious crossroads of Utah is Salt Lake City, since it's the junction of I-15 and I-80.

However, I believe a case could be made for Provo/Spanish Fork, since that's the split of I-15, US 6, US 89, and US 189.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 18, 2017, 02:27:51 PM

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.

I understand your reasoning.. I like to get i4 in the mix and a bit closer to i95.

Orlando has the mix of deep South, transplants from northeast and midwest and Latin America.. I find Orlando interesting in that respect

LGMS428

Quote from: ParrDa on July 19, 2017, 12:01:39 AM
For New York, I have to say Syracuse.

NYC definitely is a crossroads, but more so for the region (including Jersey and Connecticut) than the state as a whole. In other words, most people in the state would not need go through NYC on their way to other areas of the state. Syracuse, on the other hand, has I-90 and I-81 providing direct access to every metro in the state. 

A case could also be made for Albany, which has 2-dis in five directions to Syracuse's four. But it lacks the central location.

Completely agree; there's no doubt that it's Syracuse. And it doesn't have to be a regional center–Syracuse is, but before the Interstate era I might have said Lafayette because of its location on the Great Western/Cherry Valley Turnpike route. (And it's no coincidence that Syracuse is where the state fair is held.)

Albany is definitely a crossroads, but not the crossroads. If anything, it's more like the crossroads of western New England. And I was also prepared to be talked into Binghamton, but I feel it's really more of a confluence than a crossroads. Or at least, like Albany, it's the crossroads of a region that spans beyond the state boundary.

The "feel" thing is harder to answer. It certainly can have an effect, but it's hard to tell in this case since Syracuse already feels commensurately large to its size. I think both Albany and Binghamton have a more "inflated" feel to them than Syracuse: Albany because it's both the capital and one of a cluster of good-sized cities; and Binghamton because of its relatively strategic location.


iPhone

Portland and Bend.

I'd say Columbus is a pretty obvious choice for Ohio

I'll take a stab at Texas. My vote goes to San Antonio.

-2 of the major cross country routes: I-10 and I-35. These are also arguably the 2 busiest ones in Texas
-Most of its highways connect to the other major cities in Texas: 35 hits DFW, Waco, Austin, and Laredo, 37 gets to Corpus, 10 gets Houston and El Paso, 281 makes it to the Valley, and 87 gets San Angelo, Lubbock and Amarillo
-It's not totally central to the center of Texas, but more like south-central which isn't bad



iPhone

Colorado: Denver. All three Interstates meet within a few miles. Most significant population centers are along those routes, mostly along I-70 and 25, or not very far off them.
New Mexico: Albuquerque. Two of three Interstates (40/25) meet, and there are few significant population centers that aren't along either of those routes.

Hmm...for WNY, one could say Batavia. In theory it could be East Aurora as well, for the Buffalo area.

For the (up)state itself, it's either Newburgh or Albany. I-84 meets I-87, two crucial corridors. But with Albany, I-90 meets I-87. I don't know if this satisfies the question.

Syracuse makes a lot of sense as well, but is there really that much NB traffic past the city?

Quote from: Buffaboy on July 23, 2017, 02:36:27 AM
Hmm...for WNY, one could say Batavia. In theory it could be East Aurora as well, for the Buffalo area.

For the (up)state itself, it's either Newburgh or Albany. I-84 meets I-87, two crucial corridors. But with Albany, I-90 meets I-87. I don't know if this satisfies the question.

Syracuse makes a lot of sense as well, but is there really that much NB traffic past the city?

Depends what you mean by "that much". How much do you require in order to consider some place to be a crossroads? I don't have any particular traffic amount in my criteria, so yes, for me there is "that much". :-)

Quote from: Buffaboy on July 23, 2017, 02:36:27 AM
Hmm...for WNY, one could say Batavia. In theory it could be East Aurora as well, for the Buffalo area.

For the (up)state itself, it's either Newburgh or Albany. I-84 meets I-87, two crucial corridors. But with Albany, I-90 meets I-87. I don't know if this satisfies the question.

Syracuse makes a lot of sense as well, but is there really that much NB traffic past the city?

Is I-84 really that important of a corridor to NY specifically?  Sure, it has traffic, but it strikes me as being a mix of local traffic and out of state traffic.  The corridor is really more important on a regional level than a NY level.

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

It's not much of an exaggeration to say that Indianapolis is the crossroads of the US. You could make a case for Denver and St. Louis, also.

Quote from: michravera on July 23, 2017, 07:24:11 PM

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

It's not much of an exaggeration to say that Indianapolis is the crossroads of the US. You could make a case for Denver and St. Louis, also.

We had an entire thread on that. This thread was based on that one.

Quote from: ParrDa on July 23, 2017, 09:37:21 PM

Quote from: vdeane on July 23, 2017, 05:23:41 PM

Quote from: Buffaboy on July 23, 2017, 02:36:27 AM
Hmm...for WNY, one could say Batavia. In theory it could be East Aurora as well, for the Buffalo area.

For the (up)state itself, it's either Newburgh or Albany. I-84 meets I-87, two crucial corridors. But with Albany, I-90 meets I-87. I don't know if this satisfies the question.

Syracuse makes a lot of sense as well, but is there really that much NB traffic past the city?

Is I-84 really that important of a corridor to NY specifically?  Sure, it has traffic, but it strikes me as being a mix of local traffic and out of state traffic.  The corridor is really more important on a regional level than a NY level.

I agree completely. I-84 only goes through a relatively narrow section of the state and essentially serves to connect PA and Connecticut. And with regards to traffic north of Syracuse, I-81 has 6 lanes all the way up to Central Square. That's around 20 miles, and a lot more than can be said for south of the city where it drops to 4 lanes just outside downtown.

With that said, anyone heading to Watertown/US-11 corridor/Thousand Islands/Northern Ontario, from anywhere south, east or west of Syracuse, is going to pass through the thruway/I-81 junction. Which actually says quite a bit. I'd say Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, and the Adirondacks, all contribute to Syracuse's crossroads status as it's difficult to cut off any corners, making Syracuse a more likely waypoint.

Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

Quote from: Buck87 on July 22, 2017, 07:09:54 PM
I'd say Columbus is a pretty obvious choice for Ohio

My argument would be for Dayton being the intersection of two major trans-continental interstates (I-75/70) as well as US 35 and US 40.

I know it says "your state", but since nobody here lives in New Hampshire, I'll do it.

Places that both Concord and Manchester can reach: Boston MA (I-93), Lawrence MA (I-93), Nashua (Everett Turnpike), Lowell MA (Everett Turnpike), White Mountains (I-93), I-89 corridor (I-89 doesn't quite go through Manchester, but it doesn't involve going out of the way), Keene (NH 9 for Concord, NH 101 for Manchester). Leominster MA and Worcester MA (NH 101 to NH/MA 13, then to I-190 if going to Worcester) are direct for Manchester, but not far out of the way for Concord.

More easily accessed from Concord: Rochester, Dover, Portsmouth (US 4 for most of the way for all three), Henniker, Hillsborough (NH 9 for both).

More easily accessed from Manchester: Hampton, Exeter (for both: NH 101; freeway).

Haverhill MA, Newburyport MA, and Conway NH are not direct from either.

Manchester has more population.

The center of population in New Hampshire is in Pembroke, one town southeast of Concord.

I will say that Concord is the crossroads of New Hampshire, but just barely.

Quote from: JMoses24 on July 24, 2017, 09:14:01 AM

Quote from: Buck87 on July 22, 2017, 07:09:54 PM
I'd say Columbus is a pretty obvious choice for Ohio

My argument would be for Dayton being the intersection of two major trans-continental interstates (I-75/70) as well as US 35 and US 40.

You could argue Strongsville as it's nickname is the "Crossroads of the Nation".

Idaho gets tricky, but I'd say the crossroads is probably I-84 and Idaho 55 in Eagle. It's the busiest interchange in the state and connects Idaho's main east-west corridor with its main north-south corridor.

In South Carolina, it would have to be Columbia. In the middle of the state, and there are highways connecting to all corners of the state and major cities in NC and GA.

You have I-26 connecting to Spartanburg and also Greenville via I-385, also to Charleston, I-20 connecting to Aiken/Augusta to the west and Florence to the east, I-77 connecting to Rock Hill and Charlotte to the north, US 378 connecting to Sumter, and I-95 is only about 55-60 miles out from downtown Columbia.

Pretty much any point in SC is within 3 hours of downtown Columbia. The only parts more than 2 1/2 hours out is the Grand Strand, because there is no direct highway between Columbia and Myrtle Beach.

Quote from: ParrDa on July 24, 2017, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: empirestate on July 24, 2017, 09:05:03 AM
Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

That's a good way of putting it. And explains why Syracuse has an advantage over, say Binghamton or Albany.

I still have to go with Albany over Syracuse.  You have I-87 coming from NYC and the North Country/Montreal, then I-90 coming from Central and Western New York, as well as from MA.  Then you have I-88 in the general area coming from Binghamton and the Southern Tier. 

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 24, 2017, 02:43:09 PM

Quote from: ParrDa on July 24, 2017, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: empirestate on July 24, 2017, 09:05:03 AM
Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

That's a good way of putting it. And explains why Syracuse has an advantage over, say Binghamton or Albany.

I still have to go with Albany over Syracuse.  You have I-87 coming from NYC and the North Country/Montreal, then I-90 coming from Central and Western New York, as well as from MA.  Then you have I-88 in the general area coming from Binghamton and the Southern Tier. 

Montréal and Massachusetts are not in New York!  They don't count towards Albany's benefit (for this thread) any more than Scranton and Hartford come to Newburgh's.

Plus Watertown is bigger than Plattsburg.

Quote from: The High Plains Traveler on July 22, 2017, 11:49:49 PM
Colorado: Denver. All three Interstates meet within a few miles. Most significant population centers are along those routes, mostly along I-70 and 25, or not very far off them

If I had to pick a specific intersection in Denver, it would actually be where I-25/I-76/I-270/US-36 all meet and not the I-25/I-70 Mousetrap.

Quote from: vdeane on July 24, 2017, 09:40:12 PM

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 24, 2017, 02:43:09 PM

Quote from: ParrDa on July 24, 2017, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: empirestate on July 24, 2017, 09:05:03 AM
Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

That's a good way of putting it. And explains why Syracuse has an advantage over, say Binghamton or Albany.

I still have to go with Albany over Syracuse.  You have I-87 coming from NYC and the North Country/Montreal, then I-90 coming from Central and Western New York, as well as from MA.  Then you have I-88 in the general area coming from Binghamton and the Southern Tier. 

Montréal and Massachusetts are not in New York!  They don't count towards Albany's benefit (for this thread) any more than Scranton and Hartford come to Newburgh's.

Plus Watertown is bigger than Plattsburg.

Yeah, that's why I say that Albany is indeed a crossroads, but not of New York per se–it's the crossroads of a region that doesn't perfectly overlap with the boundaries of the state.

At the very least, Albany is equally as much a crossroads as Syracuse, as they both reach all the same parts of the state, with Syracuse being appreciably better connected to Western NY, in particular. Plus, if we do give weight to out-of-state connections as well, Syracuse has a bit of an edge anyhow: not only does it include New England (via I-90 and US 20), but also Pennsylvania (via both I-81/US 11 and I-90/US 20), and Canada via either end of Lake Ontario.

For East CT, it's gotta be I-395 and I-95 for the south, and I-395 and US 6 for the north

Quote from: JJBers on July 25, 2017, 01:00:15 AM
For East CT, it's gotta be I-395 and I-95 for the south, and I-395 and US 6 for the north

East Connecticut? When did they secede? (And why are they now experiencing a further, Civil War-style division?) ;-)

Quote from: empirestate on July 25, 2017, 10:03:33 AM

Quote from: JJBers on July 25, 2017, 01:00:15 AM
For East CT, it's gotta be I-395 and I-95 for the south, and I-395 and US 6 for the north

East Connecticut? When did they secede? (And why are they now experiencing a further, Civil War-style division?) ;-)

In 1865
:bigass:

Quote from: empirestate on July 25, 2017, 12:29:34 AM

Quote from: vdeane on July 24, 2017, 09:40:12 PM

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 24, 2017, 02:43:09 PM

Quote from: ParrDa on July 24, 2017, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: empirestate on July 24, 2017, 09:05:03 AM
Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

That's a good way of putting it. And explains why Syracuse has an advantage over, say Binghamton or Albany.

I still have to go with Albany over Syracuse.  You have I-87 coming from NYC and the North Country/Montreal, then I-90 coming from Central and Western New York, as well as from MA.  Then you have I-88 in the general area coming from Binghamton and the Southern Tier. 

Montréal and Massachusetts are not in New York!  They don't count towards Albany's benefit (for this thread) any more than Scranton and Hartford come to Newburgh's.

Plus Watertown is bigger than Plattsburg.

Yeah, that's why I say that Albany is indeed a crossroads, but not of New York per se–it's the crossroads of a region that doesn't perfectly overlap with the boundaries of the state.

At the very least, Albany is equally as much a crossroads as Syracuse, as they both reach all the same parts of the state, with Syracuse being appreciably better connected to Western NY, in particular. Plus, if we do give weight to out-of-state connections as well, Syracuse has a bit of an edge anyhow: not only does it include New England (via I-90 and US 20), but also Pennsylvania (via both I-81/US 11 and I-90/US 20), and Canada via either end of Lake Ontario.

I'm going to side with JP on this one. Both cities are quite well connected to the rest of the state, but Syracuse is better connected to the North Country, while Albany is better connected to NYC and downstate. In my mind, NYC should be given more weight, therefore giving Albany the edge. Not to mention, I feel like I-87 is more important than I-81 for NY, since it connects downstate and upstate.

Quote from: JJBers on July 25, 2017, 10:30:42 AM

Quote from: empirestate on July 25, 2017, 10:03:33 AM

Quote from: JJBers on July 25, 2017, 01:00:15 AM
For East CT, it's gotta be I-395 and I-95 for the south, and I-395 and US 6 for the north

East Connecticut? When did they secede? (And why are they now experiencing a further, Civil War-style division?) ;-)

In 1865
:bigass:

Then I declare Waterbury the crossroads of West Connecticut (and considering the political atmosphere in the state, I wouldn't be surprised to see certain parts of CT want to secede from the powers that control it)

Quote from: ParrDa on July 25, 2017, 07:06:01 PM

Quote from: 7/8 on July 25, 2017, 11:18:16 AM
I'm going to side with JP on this one. Both cities are quite well connected to the rest of the state, but Syracuse is better connected to the North Country, while Albany is better connected to NYC and downstate. In my mind, NYC should be given more weight, therefore giving Albany the edge. Not to mention, I feel like I-87 is more important than I-81 for NY, since it connects downstate and upstate.

It's not the strength of the connection. It's the amount of unique situations in which the connection needs to be utilized.

And with that said, more people would travel through Syracuse on their way to NYC, than Albany.

Yes, don't forget that Syracuse is well connected to NYC and downstate via I-81, and most trips between there and Western NY will use that route rather than I-87.

And yeah, I'd actually weight NYC less because it's a choke point, and thus accounts for fewer possible unique trips.

Quote from: dvferyance on July 18, 2017, 01:40:38 PM
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.

I would think Madison would be a better candidate than Wausau with I-39, I-90, I-94, US 151 as an expressway on both sides of town, US 12, US 14, US 18, and US 51.

While some have mentioned Baltimore as being the crossroads for MD for obvious reasons - I've been particularly fond of using I-95/MD 32 as a crossroads.  Direct connections to the three main pop centers of MD (DC suburbs, Balt, Annapolis) and more or less equidistant to all three locations as well.

Quote from: 7/8 on July 25, 2017, 11:18:16 AM

Quote from: empirestate on July 25, 2017, 12:29:34 AM

Quote from: vdeane on July 24, 2017, 09:40:12 PM

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 24, 2017, 02:43:09 PM

Quote from: ParrDa on July 24, 2017, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: empirestate on July 24, 2017, 09:05:03 AM
Right. Being a crossroads isn't just a matter of being the intersection of two busy routes. It isn't the sheer number of trips that passes through the point, but rather the number of different unique trips that would pass through it. Of every possible trip between two points in the state, where do most of them converge?

That's a good way of putting it. And explains why Syracuse has an advantage over, say Binghamton or Albany.

I still have to go with Albany over Syracuse.  You have I-87 coming from NYC and the North Country/Montreal, then I-90 coming from Central and Western New York, as well as from MA.  Then you have I-88 in the general area coming from Binghamton and the Southern Tier. 

Montréal and Massachusetts are not in New York!  They don't count towards Albany's benefit (for this thread) any more than Scranton and Hartford come to Newburgh's.

Plus Watertown is bigger than Plattsburg.

Yeah, that's why I say that Albany is indeed a crossroads, but not of New York per se–it's the crossroads of a region that doesn't perfectly overlap with the boundaries of the state.

At the very least, Albany is equally as much a crossroads as Syracuse, as they both reach all the same parts of the state, with Syracuse being appreciably better connected to Western NY, in particular. Plus, if we do give weight to out-of-state connections as well, Syracuse has a bit of an edge anyhow: not only does it include New England (via I-90 and US 20), but also Pennsylvania (via both I-81/US 11 and I-90/US 20), and Canada via either end of Lake Ontario.

I'm going to side with JP on this one. Both cities are quite well connected to the rest of the state, but Syracuse is better connected to the North Country, while Albany is better connected to NYC and downstate. In my mind, NYC should be given more weight, therefore giving Albany the edge. Not to mention, I feel like I-87 is more important than I-81 for NY, since it connects downstate and upstate.

With the Northway, Albany has pretty good access to the North Country. Via I-87, Albany is directed connected to Plattsburgh, which I've always thought of as the quintessential North Country city.

I guess it must be La Fayette, NY. It says it right on the sign.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.8902677,-76.096372,3a,41.2y,24.23h,83.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFep3xY1tVoSmpiW_DdtwVw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656  (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.8902677,-76.096372,3a,41.2y,24.23h,83.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFep3xY1tVoSmpiW_DdtwVw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)

Quote from: Sam on August 28, 2017, 04:46:26 PM
I guess it must be La Fayette, NY. It says it right on the sign.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.8902677,-76.096372,3a,41.2y,24.23h,83.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFep3xY1tVoSmpiW_DdtwVw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656  (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.8902677,-76.096372,3a,41.2y,24.23h,83.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFep3xY1tVoSmpiW_DdtwVw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)

Huh. Called it! :cool:

Since this was referenced to in a recent thread and no one done Missouri yet...

Missouri is one of the more difficult states to do as there isn't a N-S interstate through the center of the state, and the two largest cities (KC and StL) are on the edges. With KC, you have I-29 to the NW, I-35 to the NE, I-70 to the East and I-49/US 71 to the South. StL have I-55 to the South, US 67 to the South, I-44 to the SW, I-70 to the West and US 61 to the NW. Both cities lack a continuous 4 lane connection to the state capital (Jefferson City) under a single route number, but I-70/US 63 and I-70/US 54 works well. As for the largest cities, Kansas City lacks a direct freeway connection to Springfield (I-49/MO 7/MO 13 is the current 4 lane routing) and the southeastern portion of the state, and St Louis lacks a freeway connection to the northern portion of the state, as US 61 is only an expressway.

I'll give the win to St Louis for this one, as the missing KC-Springfield freeway is placed against them.

My personal pick for Texas would likely be Dallas, since so many routes from the north and east converge there. San Antonio would be 2nd pick, and I'd say Victoria for 3rd (heck, that region is actually called the Crossroads!).

No one did Wyoming either, but I'd say it has to be Casper.  Relatively straight forward access to all the other population centers and the second most populous city.

Chris

Wisconsin is weird because of how most of the major metro areas are bunched in the corners, and how the only major long-distance movement through the state (I-90/94) is far away from a lot of the major areas. But my choice is Madison, with I-39/90, I-94, US-12, US-14, US-18, and US-151.

These days -- in reference to CA -- a case could be made for the "Tracy Triangle"* and its CA 120 extension east to CA 99.  West to the Bay Area, north to Stockton/Sacramento and Oregon or then east on I-80 to NV and beyond, and south via two major commercial arteries (I-5, CA 99) toward the Valley agricultural center, L.A. of course, and even CA 58 east to I-40 & I-15.  I'd say the establishment of major distributors there (Amazon being one) speaks volumes to the centrality of the location. 

*I-5, I-580, I-205 for those who've never been in the area!

Quote from: corco on July 24, 2017, 11:22:37 AM
Idaho gets tricky, but I'd say the crossroads is probably I-84 and Idaho 55 in Eagle. It's the busiest interchange in the state and connects Idaho's main east-west corridor with its main north-south corridor.

It really surprises me that that interchange is busier than I-84 and I-184.

Quote from: thspfc on May 13, 2021, 05:42:12 PM

Quote from: corco on July 24, 2017, 11:22:37 AM
Idaho gets tricky, but I'd say the crossroads is probably I-84 and Idaho 55 in Eagle. It's the busiest interchange in the state and connects Idaho's main east-west corridor with its main north-south corridor.

It really surprises me that that interchange is busier than I-84 and I-184.

Eh, I'm not too surprised. I-184 is just a spur from I-84 into Boise and doesn't really serve any long distance traffic. Plus I'd bet a good amount of the traffic heading into Boise from the western suburbs is probably already on surface streets anyway. SH 55 has the distinction of being both a major local traffic route and a long-distance highway.

Quote from: ilpt4u on July 17, 2017, 10:38:05 PM
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

I would go with Bloomington/Normal. I-55 gets you to Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis; I-74 gets you to Champaign/Urbana, Peoria, Quad Cities, and I-39 gets you to Rockford.

Columbia is almost certainly the crossroads of South Carolina, not surprising since it is the state capital.

I-20, I-26, I-77 all intersect there, all going to the most populous parts of the state, with almost every major city connected except for Myrtle Beach (and I-20 connects you to US 76 and US 501 which get you there).

Also I-126, SC 277, and with US highways, US 1, 176, 321, 378 all go through Columbia. Basically any point in SC is within 3 hours of downtown Columbia. That's why basically all the big state events are held there including HS sports state championships.

Worcester?

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2021, 10:57:59 PM
Worcester?

Pfft.  Springfield. :)

Quote from: Rothman on May 14, 2021, 07:57:07 AM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2021, 10:57:59 PM
Worcester?

Pfft.  Springfield. :)

I just thought that Springfield was a little too far from the states population center.

Crossroads aren't necessarily near the population center.

I mean, if Indiana is the crossroads of America, then why is it so far away from New York and Los Angeles?

Quote from: kphoger on May 14, 2021, 01:29:53 PM
Crossroads aren't necessarily near the population center.

I mean, if Indiana is the crossroads of America, then why is it so far away from New York and Los Angeles?

Now that I'm thinking about it Springfield does seem to be a better choice.

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 13, 2021, 02:02:05 PM
Since this was referenced to in a recent thread and no one done Missouri yet...

Missouri is one of the more difficult states to do as there isn't a N-S interstate through the center of the state, and the two largest cities (KC and StL) are on the edges. With KC, you have I-29 to the NW, I-35 to the NE, I-70 to the East and I-49/US 71 to the South. StL have I-55 to the South, US 67 to the South, I-44 to the SW, I-70 to the West and US 61 to the NW. Both cities lack a continuous 4 lane connection to the state capital (Jefferson City) under a single route number, but I-70/US 63 and I-70/US 54 works well. As for the largest cities, Kansas City lacks a direct freeway connection to Springfield (I-49/MO 7/MO 13 is the current 4 lane routing) and the southeastern portion of the state, and St Louis lacks a freeway connection to the northern portion of the state, as US 61 is only an expressway.

I'll give the win to St Louis for this one, as the missing KC-Springfield freeway is placed against them.

I think Missouri is an interesting case study actually. While in the thread we are looking at just within Missouri itself, I think including neighboring states can provide another angle to these discussions. In my long-haul trip experiences (obviously colored by location and my choice of road trip destinations), I find KC has been much harder to avoid than St. Louis.

For Louisiana I'm kind of between Lafayette and Alexandria. Louisiana is also an odd state in terms of its shape. Lafayette has one route designation to each of the 3 largest cities (Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans). But Alexandria just about catches a route to every major city. Aesthetically on a map it has routes in all directions: N, S, E, W and the diagonals. And there's either a BGS or a mileage sign to every large city other than maybe Houma or Slidell.


iPhone

Quote from: bassoon1986 on July 22, 2017, 11:40:33 PM
I'll take a stab at Texas. My vote goes to San Antonio.

-2 of the major cross country routes: I-10 and I-35. These are also arguably the 2 busiest ones in Texas
-Most of its highways connect to the other major cities in Texas: 35 hits DFW, Waco, Austin, and Laredo, 37 gets to Corpus, 10 gets Houston and El Paso, 281 makes it to the Valley, and 87 gets San Angelo, Lubbock and Amarillo
-It's not totally central to the center of Texas, but more like south-central which isn't bad



iPhone

I was trying to think of the right one for Texas and, even though Austin is in the center of the state and the capital and "heart," I think you are right about it being San Antonio.  Even though its down in the south-central region, it is truly a major crossroads: Interstates 10, 35, and 37; US 90, US 87, US 181, and US 281; plus SH 130 and SH 16.  And it connects directly to almost every other major city: Houston and El Paso on IH 10, Laredo, DFW, Waco, Austin on IH 35, Corpus Christi on IH 37, the valley on both IH 37 and US 281, and Wichita Falls and Amarillo on US 287, and even Lubbock on US 87. 

Because of Florida is a peninsula. It's hard to say what crossroads meet at a common place.

If you arrive by I-75 you split at I-10 for Jacksonville and the First Coast. Then at the Turnpike for Eastern Florida and Orlando.  Then remain on I-75 for Tampa Bay and SW Florida. 

For the Panhandle you would exit I-75 in GA at various places and for Pensacola, you would exit in TN at I-24 for I-59 to I-65 and not enter Florida at all.


I-95 serves all East Coast Cities, but it has Jacksonville for west to the Panhandle and Tampa Bay as well as SW Florida via cut off at US 301 for the latter two. Orlando is only 40 miles from I-95 so I consider it straight through I-95.  So you might say sort of Jacksonville is a crossroads only for it.

Quote from: achilles765 on May 16, 2021, 09:48:50 AM
Wichita Falls and Amarillo on US 287

US 287 doesn't go to San Antonio, but you can still connect directly to Wichita Falls on US 281 and Amarillo on US 87.

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 14, 2021, 02:27:10 PM

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 13, 2021, 02:02:05 PM
Since this was referenced to in a recent thread and no one done Missouri yet...

Missouri is one of the more difficult states to do as there isn't a N-S interstate through the center of the state, and the two largest cities (KC and StL) are on the edges. With KC, you have I-29 to the NW, I-35 to the NE, I-70 to the East and I-49/US 71 to the South. StL have I-55 to the South, US 67 to the South, I-44 to the SW, I-70 to the West and US 61 to the NW. Both cities lack a continuous 4 lane connection to the state capital (Jefferson City) under a single route number, but I-70/US 63 and I-70/US 54 works well. As for the largest cities, Kansas City lacks a direct freeway connection to Springfield (I-49/MO 7/MO 13 is the current 4 lane routing) and the southeastern portion of the state, and St Louis lacks a freeway connection to the northern portion of the state, as US 61 is only an expressway.

I'll give the win to St Louis for this one, as the missing KC-Springfield freeway is placed against them.

I think Missouri is an interesting case study actually. While in the thread we are looking at just within Missouri itself, I think including neighboring states can provide another angle to these discussions. In my long-haul trip experiences (obviously colored by location and my choice of road trip destinations), I find KC has been much harder to avoid than St. Louis.

Since you're in MN, makes sense that you'll pass through KC more than StL, as that's the one freeway connection that St Louis is missing (to Iowa and MN), and I-35 goes through both KC and the twin cities. If a hypothetical interstate between Chattanooga and St Paul, passing through Nashville, St Louis, Cedar Rapids and Rochester, using current I-24 and AotS, existed, you probably could see yourself pass through St Louis on trips to the southeast more.

Quote from: CoreySamson on May 13, 2021, 02:33:59 PM
My personal pick for Texas would likely be Dallas, since so many routes from the north and east converge there. San Antonio would be 2nd pick, and I'd say Victoria for 3rd (heck, that region is actually called the Crossroads!).

OK, I thought San Antonio and agreed with the poster who suggested it, but this one kinda makes sense too.  DFW does have a lot of major crossroads: Interstates 20, 30, 35, 45; US 67, US 75, US 77, US 80, US 287, SH 114, SH 121

I'd say for the whole state it'd probably be US-10 and US-127 in Clare. There is even a Michigan Welcome Center in the median there.

Quote from: roadman65 on May 16, 2021, 09:58:28 AM
Because of Florida is a peninsula. It's hard to say what crossroads meet at a common place.

If you arrive by I-75 you split at I-10 for Jacksonville and the First Coast. Then at the Turnpike for Eastern Florida and Orlando.  Then remain on I-75 for Tampa Bay and SW Florida. 

For the Panhandle you would exit I-75 in GA at various places and for Pensacola, you would exit in TN at I-24 for I-59 to I-65 and not enter Florida at all.


I-95 serves all East Coast Cities, but it has Jacksonville for west to the Panhandle and Tampa Bay as well as SW Florida via cut off at US 301 for the latter two. Orlando is only 40 miles from I-95 so I consider it straight through I-95.  So you might say sort of Jacksonville is a crossroads only for it.

I would go with Orlando for Florida.

Quote from: dvferyance on July 18, 2017, 01:40:38 PM
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.

I don't think Wisconsin is all that difficult. Madison is it in my mind. Major highways going in all 8 directions. East - 94, Northeast/Southwest - 151, North/South - 51, West - 18, Northwest/Southeast - 39/90.  And considering that 3 of the busiest interchanges in the state are consecutive on I-39/90, that's a huge reason.
Wausau is more secondary.

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 16, 2021, 05:39:55 PM

Quote from: dvferyance on July 18, 2017, 01:40:38 PM
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.

I don't think Wisconsin is all that difficult. Madison is it in my mind. Major highways going in all 8 directions. East - 94, Northeast/Southwest - 151, North/South - 51, West - 18, Northwest/Southeast - 39/90.  And considering that 3 of the busiest interchanges in the state are consecutive on I-39/90, that's a huge reason.
Wausau is more secondary.

I would argue that Fond du Lac is more of a crossroads than Wausau.

Quote from: thspfc on May 16, 2021, 07:00:35 PM

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 16, 2021, 05:39:55 PM

Quote from: dvferyance on July 18, 2017, 01:40:38 PM
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.

I don't think Wisconsin is all that difficult. Madison is it in my mind. Major highways going in all 8 directions. East - 94, Northeast/Southwest - 151, North/South - 51, West - 18, Northwest/Southeast - 39/90.  And considering that 3 of the busiest interchanges in the state are consecutive on I-39/90, that's a huge reason.
Wausau is more secondary.

I would argue that Fond du Lac is more of a crossroads than Wausau.

Fond Du Lac isn't much of a crossroads, just US 151 and I-41.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 16, 2021, 07:14:16 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 16, 2021, 07:00:35 PM

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 16, 2021, 05:39:55 PM

Quote from: dvferyance on July 18, 2017, 01:40:38 PM
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.

I don't think Wisconsin is all that difficult. Madison is it in my mind. Major highways going in all 8 directions. East - 94, Northeast/Southwest - 151, North/South - 51, West - 18, Northwest/Southeast - 39/90.  And considering that 3 of the busiest interchanges in the state are consecutive on I-39/90, that's a huge reason.
Wausau is more secondary.

I would argue that Fond du Lac is more of a crossroads than Wausau.

Fond Du Lac isn't much of a crossroads, just US 151 and I-41.

And WI-23. WI-23 is the most important E/W route in the eastern half of the state north I-94 and south of US-10. US-45 also runs through Fond du Lac, though it's more of a local route than 41, 151, and 23.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 16, 2021, 12:14:13 PM

Quote from: roadman65 on May 16, 2021, 09:58:28 AM
Because of Florida is a peninsula. It's hard to say what crossroads meet at a common place.

If you arrive by I-75 you split at I-10 for Jacksonville and the First Coast. Then at the Turnpike for Eastern Florida and Orlando.  Then remain on I-75 for Tampa Bay and SW Florida. 

For the Panhandle you would exit I-75 in GA at various places and for Pensacola, you would exit in TN at I-24 for I-59 to I-65 and not enter Florida at all.


I-95 serves all East Coast Cities, but it has Jacksonville for west to the Panhandle and Tampa Bay as well as SW Florida via cut off at US 301 for the latter two. Orlando is only 40 miles from I-95 so I consider it straight through I-95.  So you might say sort of Jacksonville is a crossroads only for it.

I would go with Orlando for Florida.

Probably. On one hand, Orlando doesn't fall between any two Panhandle-only points, nor on any points along or near the Gulf coast (which is a lot of possibilities). But on the other, it will fall on a great many possible trips between the east and west sides of the peninsula.

Gainesville might be another choice, as there are probably a lot of trips originating in Jacksonville that won't go through Orlando but might pass Gainesville.

Quote from: US 89 on May 16, 2021, 09:58:58 AM

Quote from: achilles765 on May 16, 2021, 09:48:50 AM
Wichita Falls and Amarillo on US 287

US 287 doesn't go to San Antonio, but you can still connect directly to Wichita Falls on US 281 and Amarillo on US 87.
[/quote

my mistake.  I meant that but did not type it in properly.  thank you

I would think Dallas, particularly Downtown Dallas. I am sure some people would be equally vehement  that it is Houston. Some MIGHT argue San Antonio. It is academic that AUSTIN is not the center of anything except for governmental bureaucracy.  Arlington would like to claim it for their own as being the center of DFW.

It's DFW. Austin's location makes sense but there is only one Interstate there (as of now, anyways). DFW has four Interstates and a lot of major US highways as well.

Quote from: thspfc on May 19, 2021, 12:53:50 PM
It's DFW. Austin's location makes sense but there is only one Interstate there (as of now, anyways). DFW has four Interstates and a lot of major US highways as well.

I also agree with DFW, but San Antonio is a close second for me.

For Washington, it's probably I-5 and I-90 if going for major connections.

I wonder what Ontario's crossroads would be.

If one travels from Western Ontario to Eastern Ontario, they wouldn't even touch Toronto.

However, most of the population is in Southern Ontario, in which case, Toronto would probably the crossroad. But then, if you're travelling from Niagara to Windsor, you don't touch Toronto either. I have no idea.

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.

True and notable because of Agriculture traffic in the state.

Does the East LA Interchange count as Crossroads given that US-101, I-5, CA-60 and I-10. It's a major crossroads for Southern California.

Quote from: bwana39 on May 19, 2021, 11:38:25 AM
I would think Dallas, particularly Downtown Dallas. I am sure some people would be equally vehement  that it is Houston. Some MIGHT argue San Antonio. It is academic that AUSTIN is not the center of anything except for governmental bureaucracy.  Arlington would like to claim it for their own as being the center of DFW.

As much as I love Houston I would have to admit that we are not the crossroads of the state. We're way too far to the southeast.

Tennessee is pretty obvious.

Nashville is the crossroads.  I-24, I-40, and I-65 all have a confluence in Nashville.  The rail traffic with the exception of Amtrak also comes together in Nashville.  The geographic center is not far from Nashville as well. 

I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

South Dakota - One of the tougher ones to pick.  Two largest cities are on opposite sides of the state and there's not too much in the middle.  I might go something out of the box like Mitchell.  Direct connections to most of the state's largest cities.  Probably the closest biggish city to the center of population.   

Chris

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

South Dakota - One of the tougher ones to pick.  Two largest cities are on opposite sides of the state and there's not too much in the middle.  I might go something out of the box like Mitchell.  Direct connections to most of the state's largest cities.  Probably the closest biggish city to the center of population.   

Chris

What north-south route goes through Bismarck?

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 20, 2021, 12:48:47 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

South Dakota - One of the tougher ones to pick.  Two largest cities are on opposite sides of the state and there's not too much in the middle.  I might go something out of the box like Mitchell.  Direct connections to most of the state's largest cities.  Probably the closest biggish city to the center of population.   

Chris

What north-south route goes through Bismarck?

US 83? It's actually 4 laned feom Bismarck to Minot, which is impressive for a very sparsely populated state for ND.

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 20, 2021, 12:52:57 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 20, 2021, 12:48:47 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

South Dakota - One of the tougher ones to pick.  Two largest cities are on opposite sides of the state and there's not too much in the middle.  I might go something out of the box like Mitchell.  Direct connections to most of the state's largest cities.  Probably the closest biggish city to the center of population.   

Chris

What north-south route goes through Bismarck?

US 83? It's actually 4 laned feom Bismarck to Minot, which is actually impressive for a very sparsely populated state for ND.

Oh ok. Fargo does have the 2 interstates, but it's next to Minnesota.

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Quote from: webny99 on May 20, 2021, 01:01:21 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

I think it comes down to what our definition of crossroads is.  For me, it's when you're in the state, what is the area most likely traveled through from one place to another?  I think Fargo works if you're not concerned as much with non-North Dakota traffic, since heading east gets you to Minnesota and going north gets you to Winnipeg.  But within the state itself, I gotta go Bismarck.  It's the reason why San Antonio is a reasonable answer for Texas while Houston isn't even though Houston's metro area has almost 3x as many people as San Antonio's.

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Similar to above.  Is someone traveling from one place to another within Montana more likely to travel through Billings or through Bozeman?  I'd argue Bozeman because it is between the other population centers (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Butte, etc.).  If you're coming from the West and travelling through Billings, where in Montana are you going to? Miles City? Glendive?

Just my two cents of course.

Chris

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:38:41 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 20, 2021, 01:01:21 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

I think it comes down to what our definition of crossroads is.  For me, it's when you're in the state, what is the area most likely traveled through from one place to another?  I think Fargo works if you're not concerned as much with non-North Dakota traffic, since heading east gets you to Minnesota and going north gets you to Winnipeg.  But within the state itself, I gotta go Bismarck.  It's the reason why San Antonio is a reasonable answer for Texas while Houston isn't even though Houston's metro area has almost 3x as many people as San Antonio's.

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Similar to above.  Is someone traveling from one place to another within Montana more likely to travel through Billings or through Bozeman?  I'd argue Bozeman because it is between the other population centers (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Butte, etc.).  If you're coming from the West and travelling through Billings, where in Montana are you going to? Miles City? Glendive?

Just my two cents of course.

Chris

I'd go with Butte. Bozeman only has one interstate.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 20, 2021, 03:44:12 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:38:41 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 20, 2021, 01:01:21 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

I think it comes down to what our definition of crossroads is.  For me, it's when you're in the state, what is the area most likely traveled through from one place to another?  I think Fargo works if you're not concerned as much with non-North Dakota traffic, since heading east gets you to Minnesota and going north gets you to Winnipeg.  But within the state itself, I gotta go Bismarck.  It's the reason why San Antonio is a reasonable answer for Texas while Houston isn't even though Houston's metro area has almost 3x as many people as San Antonio's.

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Similar to above.  Is someone traveling from one place to another within Montana more likely to travel through Billings or through Bozeman?  I'd argue Bozeman because it is between the other population centers (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Butte, etc.).  If you're coming from the West and travelling through Billings, where in Montana are you going to? Miles City? Glendive?

Just my two cents of course.

Chris

I'd go with Butte. Bozeman only has one interstate.

I don't know that amount interstates are the only qualifying criteria.

Chris

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:38:41 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 20, 2021, 01:01:21 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

I think it comes down to what our definition of crossroads is.  For me, it's when you're in the state, what is the area most likely traveled through from one place to another?  I think Fargo works if you're not concerned as much with non-North Dakota traffic, since heading east gets you to Minnesota and going north gets you to Winnipeg.  But within the state itself, I gotta go Bismarck.  It's the reason why San Antonio is a reasonable answer for Texas while Houston isn't even though Houston's metro area has almost 3x as many people as San Antonio's.

Point taken, but I see Bismarck as fairly one-dimensional and I think there's a pretty decent case for Fargo even using your definition. There's not a whole lot of N/S traffic thru traffic passing through Bismarck. Other than Minot, from most other origins you're going to be using I-29 or some other N/S corridor and then entering Bismarck on I-94.

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:46:32 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 20, 2021, 03:44:12 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:38:41 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 20, 2021, 01:01:21 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
North Dakota - I think this is pretty clearly Bismarck.  Closer to the population center than Fargo is.

I will have to disagree. Fargo is more populous, and it's where more people crossing the state will pass through because it has the N/S interstate as well as the E/W one.

I think it comes down to what our definition of crossroads is.  For me, it's when you're in the state, what is the area most likely traveled through from one place to another?  I think Fargo works if you're not concerned as much with non-North Dakota traffic, since heading east gets you to Minnesota and going north gets you to Winnipeg.  But within the state itself, I gotta go Bismarck.  It's the reason why San Antonio is a reasonable answer for Texas while Houston isn't even though Houston's metro area has almost 3x as many people as San Antonio's.

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Similar to above.  Is someone traveling from one place to another within Montana more likely to travel through Billings or through Bozeman?  I'd argue Bozeman because it is between the other population centers (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Butte, etc.).  If you're coming from the West and travelling through Billings, where in Montana are you going to? Miles City? Glendive?

Just my two cents of course.

Chris

I'd go with Butte. Bozeman only has one interstate.

I don't know that amount interstates are the only qualifying criteria.

Chris

Well crossroads indicates that it's some sort of junction.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 20, 2021, 05:04:49 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:46:32 PM
I don't know that amount interstates are the only qualifying criteria.

Chris

Well crossroads indicates that it's some sort of junction.

The criteria I was using seemed to make sense to several people. Is there another prevailing "theory" as to what a crossroads should be?

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 03:38:41 PM

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

Similar to above.  Is someone traveling from one place to another within Montana more likely to travel through Billings or through Bozeman?  I'd argue Bozeman because it is between the other population centers (Billings, Missoula, Helena, Butte, etc.).  If you're coming from the West and travelling through Billings, where in Montana are you going to? Miles City? Glendive?

Just my two cents of course.

Chris

One thing to recognize for travel within Montana: the Interstates aren't that important for travel between locations within the state. I don't know the stats, but my experience is that most travel on Montana interstates is for people passing through the state, traveling from out of state to a location within the state, or traveling from a location within Montana to another state. For travel within Montana, Bozeman is usually out of the way when more direct routes exist along sufficient 2-lane highways. Billings, however, is the largest city and metropolitan area within the state, and so is a destination of its own. It also includes major corridors not only along the interstates towards southwestern and southeastern Montana, but also central, eastern, and northern Montana.

TLDR: my experience is that Billings is far more important as a crossroads than Bozeman. An argument can easily be made that Butte is a crossroads for Montana west of the Rockies, but Billings is very much the crossroads east of the Rockies.

No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Missouri: Jefferson City

Any city without an interstate highway should be automatically disqualified from being considered a crossroads imo. I mentioned KC or StL above, but if it have to be in the center of the state, go with Columbia.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Illinois: Chicago

I prefer Bloomington, but Chicago is an ok choice despite being in a corner of the state.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

I prefer Manchester for New Hampshire because of NH 101.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

I would say Metropolitan Louisville/Jefferson County would be the crossroads of Kentucky.

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on May 21, 2021, 07:35:57 AM

I would say Metropolitan Louisville/Jefferson County would be the crossroads of Kentucky.

I would agree. I think having a third 2di gives it the edge over Lexington.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
New York: Albany
...

Objections?

There was some debate about this earlier in the thread. Some say Syracuse, some say Albany. You could maybe even make a case for Binghamton.

I'm in the Syracuse camp on the basis that it's more central than Albany and it's a crossroads for a greater number of in-state trips. Albany isn't a ridiculous answer by any means, but most trips between Western/Central NY and Downstate/NYC don't go through Albany.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 08:17:14 AM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
New York: Albany
...

Objections?

There was some debate about this earlier in the thread. Some say Syracuse, some say Albany. You could maybe even make a case for Binghamton.

I'm in the Syracuse camp on the basis that it's more central than Albany and it's a crossroads for a greater number of in-state trips. Albany isn't a ridiculous answer by any means, but most trips between Western/Central NY and Downstate/NYC don't go through Albany.

Is the Thruway not the fastest route between much of Western New York and NYC?

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 08:49:01 AM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 08:17:14 AM
I'm in the Syracuse camp on the basis that it's more central than Albany and it's a crossroads for a greater number of in-state trips. Albany isn't a ridiculous answer by any means, but most trips between Western/Central NY and Downstate/NYC don't go through Albany.

Is the Thruway not the fastest route between much of Western New York and NYC?

Not east of Syracuse, no.

It's either I-86 to Binghamton or I-90 to Syracuse, and then I-81 to I-380 to I-80.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 09:18:05 AM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 08:49:01 AM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 08:17:14 AM
I'm in the Syracuse camp on the basis that it's more central than Albany and it's a crossroads for a greater number of in-state trips. Albany isn't a ridiculous answer by any means, but most trips between Western/Central NY and Downstate/NYC don't go through Albany.

Is the Thruway not the fastest route between much of Western New York and NYC?

Not east of Syracuse, no.

It's either I-86 to Binghamton or I-90 to Syracuse, and then I-81 to I-380 to I-80.

Oh ok. Interesting because that route goes through 2 other states.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 09:24:20 AM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 09:18:05 AM
Not east of Syracuse, no.

It's either I-86 to Binghamton or I-90 to Syracuse, and then I-81 to I-380 to I-80.

Oh ok. Interesting because that route goes through 2 other states.

Yes, it does indeed (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=26265.msg2471534#msg2471534). This has been discussed quite a bit on this forum.

Quote from: cabiness42 on May 21, 2021, 07:39:53 AM

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on May 21, 2021, 07:35:57 AM

I would say Metropolitan Louisville/Jefferson County would be the crossroads of Kentucky.

I would agree. I think having a third 2di gives it the edge over Lexington.

Yeah, KY is a toss up between those two.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Alabama: Montgomery

I feel like Birmingham would be a better choice, just from my own personal experiences of driving in Alabama.

Quote from: US 89 on May 21, 2021, 11:25:23 AM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Alabama: Montgomery

I feel like Birmingham would be a better choice, just from my own personal experiences of driving in Alabama.

I agree. Montgomery doesn't have an interstate from the west.

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks

Objections?

I would say Alaska has to be Anchorage.  Most of the population is in the southern part of the state.  The only other I could possibly think of would be, generically, the Mat-Su Valley, since AK1 and AK3 meet in between Wasilla and Palmer.

Chris

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 08:17:14 AM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
New York: Albany
...

Objections?

There was some debate about this earlier in the thread. Some say Syracuse, some say Albany. You could maybe even make a case for Binghamton.

I'm in the Syracuse camp on the basis that it's more central than Albany and it's a crossroads for a greater number of in-state trips. Albany isn't a ridiculous answer by any means, but most trips between Western/Central NY and Downstate/NYC don't go through Albany.

There's an argument to be made that Syracuse is the crossroads of upstate and Albany is the crossroads of the state as a whole.  I guess two questions would be, does it count as a crossroads to somewhere if traffic has to change routes once or twice (and maybe even pass through two more states) to get there, and how much Rochester/Buffalo traffic to NYC is going through Syracuse?  I know my parents always favored I-390/NY 17 to Binghamton and points south, even though Google says Thruway/I-690/I-81 is marginally faster.

Quote from: vdeane on May 21, 2021, 12:54:20 PM
There's an argument to be made that Syracuse is the crossroads of upstate and Albany is the crossroads of the state as a whole.

Interesting thought, although if you were weighting towards downstate, wouldn't the case for Binghamton be almost as strong as Albany? Or maybe that's just Western NY bias and I'm underrating the North Country.   

Quote from: vdeane on May 21, 2021, 12:54:20 PM
I guess two questions would be, does it count as a crossroads to somewhere if traffic has to change routes once or twice (and maybe even pass through two more states) to get there, and how much Rochester/Buffalo traffic to NYC is going through Syracuse?

(1) I'm open to suggestions on this one, but I think so. After all, a crossroads (at least in the context of Indiana being the crossroads of America, which was the original inspiration for this thread) is all about long-distance traffic.

(2) My estimates would be 85% for Rochester and 45% for Buffalo. At the time of this post, Google thinks the Southern Tier route to the I-81/I-86 split is about 15 minutes longer from Rochester and basically a toss-up from Buffalo. I personally prefer I-390/I-86 because it has less traffic and better scenery, but it adds more mileage than you might think because of I-390 bending westward and the less straightforward routing of I-86.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 01:21:33 PM

Quote from: vdeane on May 21, 2021, 12:54:20 PM
There's an argument to be made that Syracuse is the crossroads of upstate and Albany is the crossroads of the state as a whole.

Interesting thought, although if you were weighting towards downstate, wouldn't the case for Binghamton be almost as strong as Albany? Or maybe that's just Western NY bias and I'm underrating the North Country.   

Quote from: vdeane on May 21, 2021, 12:54:20 PM
I guess two questions would be, does it count as a crossroads to somewhere if traffic has to change routes once or twice (and maybe even pass through two more states) to get there, and how much Rochester/Buffalo traffic to NYC is going through Syracuse?

(1) I'm open to suggestions on this one, but I think so. After all, a crossroads (at least in the context of Indiana being the crossroads of America, which was the original inspiration for this thread) is all about long-distance traffic.

(2) My estimates would be 85% for Rochester and 45% for Buffalo. At the time of this post, Google thinks the Southern Tier route to the I-81/I-86 split is about 15 minutes longer from Rochester and basically a toss-up from Buffalo. I personally prefer I-390/I-86 because it has less traffic and better scenery, but it adds more mileage than you might think because of I-390 bending westward and the less straightforward routing of I-86.

It probably depends on where you have the starting point.  If starting east enough that getting to I-390 requires backtracking, yes it's 15 minutes, but it's only half that if starting from the southern/western parts of the metro area.

Albany is very accessible to the other parts of the state.  If we're allowed to count the short hop from I-88 down to NY 17, Binghamton doesn't really add anything over Albany except Watertown and the towns along US 11.  And if we don't, Binghamton doesn't have a direct route to NYC anyways, because the Quickway ends at the Thruway.  There's a reason why one of the attractions of Albany is that everywhere is just a couple hours drive away (and why the Northway gets so congested in tourist season).

Quote from: vdeane on May 21, 2021, 01:40:11 PM
It probably depends on where you have the starting point.  If starting east enough that getting to I-390 requires backtracking, yes it's 15 minutes, but it's only half that if starting from the southern/western parts of the metro area.

I went generic and used Google's definition of Rochester (St. Paul & E Main). It's similar from where I'm at because I also have to backtrack to get to I-390/I-590, which is a good point: the difference would be a lot less if there was a faster way to get from downtown to I-390 southbound.

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 20, 2021, 10:20:42 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Illinois: Chicago

I prefer Bloomington, but Chicago is an ok choice despite being in a corner of the state.

Bloomington/Normal has direct interstate routes to Chicago, St Louis, Rockford, Springfield, Quad Cities, Champaign, and Peoria. Chicago is not only less central but lacks the direct connection to Peoria.

I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.  Although I live in central NY, have to say Albany may edge Syracuse out.

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

Quote from: bwana39 on May 19, 2021, 11:38:25 AM
I would think Dallas, particularly Downtown Dallas. I am sure some people would be equally vehement  that it is Houston. Some MIGHT argue San Antonio. It is academic that AUSTIN is not the center of anything except for governmental bureaucracy.  Arlington would like to claim it for their own as being the center of DFW.

San Antonio is easily more of a crossroads than Houston.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 07:54:13 PM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

All pale in size to Montreal plus the Adirondacks.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 08:26:58 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 07:54:13 PM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

All pale in size to Montreal plus the Adirondacks.

However, they are decidedly not "nowhere". Ottawa's metro population is close to 1.5 million.

Also, I-81 is used by some traffic heading to the Adirondacks, too. From western NY, I-81 is the fastest route to anywhere on the US 11 and NY 3 corridors west of Lake Placid.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 09:08:57 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 08:26:58 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 07:54:13 PM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

All pale in size to Montreal plus the Adirondacks.

However, they are decidedly not "nowhere". Ottawa's metro population is close to 1.5 million.

Also, I-81 is used by some traffic heading to the Adirondacks, too. From western NY, I-81 is the fastest route to anywhere on the US 11 and NY 3 corridors west of Lake Placid.

I would still go with Albany, as I-87 south of Albany is more important than I-81 south of Syracuse.

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 07:54:13 PM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

Pfft.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 10:26:20 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 09:08:57 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 08:26:58 PM

Quote from: webny99 on May 21, 2021, 07:54:13 PM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I'd bet there's more traffic headed north from Albany to Montreal than north from Syracuse -- to nowhere.

Watertown? Thousand Islands? Kingston? Ottawa?

All pale in size to Montreal plus the Adirondacks.

However, they are decidedly not "nowhere". Ottawa's metro population is close to 1.5 million.

Also, I-81 is used by some traffic heading to the Adirondacks, too. From western NY, I-81 is the fastest route to anywhere on the US 11 and NY 3 corridors west of Lake Placid.

I would still go with Albany, as I-87 south of Albany is more important than I-81 south of Syracuse.

Yeah.  This is compelling.

Here's another related topic, how about crossroads of a region of this nation? For the Midwest, Chicago is an obvious choice, with I-94 to Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Grand Rapids and Detroit, I-90 to Toledo and Cleveland, I-80 to Omaha, Des Moines, Quad Cities, Toledo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, I-65 to Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Columbus, I-55 to St Louis and Kansas City, either serving it directly or via another interstate in the region. Some regions would be more difficult, like I can see a case for either Denver or SLC as the crossroads for the Mountain states.

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 21, 2021, 07:57:53 PM

Quote from: bwana39 on May 19, 2021, 11:38:25 AM
I would think Dallas, particularly Downtown Dallas. I am sure some people would be equally vehement  that it is Houston. Some MIGHT argue San Antonio. It is academic that AUSTIN is not the center of anything except for governmental bureaucracy.  Arlington would like to claim it for their own as being the center of DFW.

San Antonio is easily more of a crossroads than Houston.

If I had to rank the top 10 Texas cities in crossroads worthiness, this would be it:

1. Dallas/Fort Worth
2. San Antonio
3. Abilene
4. Houston
5. Victoria
6. Lubbock
7. Austin
8. San Angelo
9. Waco
10. Tyler

How exactly does Abilene rank above Houston?

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 21, 2021, 11:43:54 PM
How exactly does Abilene rank above Houston?

More central in the state?

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 21, 2021, 11:05:12 PM
Here's another related topic, how about crossroads of a region of this nation? ... Some regions would be more difficult, like I can see a case for either Denver or SLC as the crossroads for the Mountain states.

Salt Lake is the crossroads of the west - it's more or less in the middle of the western US and there's a good, reasonably direct route to almost every significant population center.

Quote from: US 89 on May 22, 2021, 12:30:07 AM

Quote from: SkyPesos on May 21, 2021, 11:05:12 PM
Here's another related topic, how about crossroads of a region of this nation? ... Some regions would be more difficult, like I can see a case for either Denver or SLC as the crossroads for the Mountain states.

Salt Lake is the crossroads of the west - it's more or less in the middle of the western US and there's a good, reasonably direct route to almost every significant population center.

It also makes a good airline hub.

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 21, 2021, 11:43:54 PM
How exactly does Abilene rank above Houston?

More centralized location, and lots of US highways intersect near there.

Quote from: CoreySamson on May 22, 2021, 11:05:19 AM

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 21, 2021, 11:43:54 PM
How exactly does Abilene rank above Houston?

More centralized location, and lots of US highways intersect near there.

Houston still has I-10, I-45, and US 59/I-69.

Quote from: Flint1979 on May 16, 2021, 11:23:16 AM
I'd say for the whole state it'd probably be US-10 and US-127 in Clare. There is even a Michigan Welcome Center in the median there.

It's a crossroads for the region, but not the entire state. Lansing wins this contest hands down, with freeways connecting all the largest population areas in the state, connections to all four international border crossings in the state, and direct access to the U.P..

There are no east-west freeway corridors north of Lansing, so many trips "Up North" involve driving through Lansing. It's one of only two ways north with direct 4-lane access to the Mackinac Bridge. Clare's crossroad status relies on its connection to Lansing.

Lansing is on one of only two direct Interstate highway connections south out of the entire state, and one of only three north-south freeway corridors. (I-94 is an east-west route nudged southward by Lake Michigan).

When I-69 is completed, Lansing will be on one of only two direct Mexico to Canada Interstate routes (I-5 being the only other one, with I-35 unlikely to ever extend north of Duluth).

SM-G991U

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

LA: Being Alexandria? I suppose. But you could make a case for Lafayette too.
ID: I would say Pocatello is more than Boise.
MO: You could make a case for KC, St Louis and Columbia as well.
AL: Birmingham is more of a true crossroads.
NC: Greensboro??? I think Charlotte is a more obvious one.

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 22, 2021, 09:56:18 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

LA: Being Alexandria? I suppose. But you could make a case for Lafayette too.
ID: I would say Pocatello is more than Boise.
MO: You could make a case for KC, St Louis and Columbia as well.
AL: Birmingham is more of a true crossroads.
NC: Greensboro??? I think Charlotte is a more obvious one.

Charlotte borders South Carolina.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 22, 2021, 10:53:42 PM

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 22, 2021, 09:56:18 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

LA: Being Alexandria? I suppose. But you could make a case for Lafayette too.
ID: I would say Pocatello is more than Boise.
MO: You could make a case for KC, St Louis and Columbia as well.
AL: Birmingham is more of a true crossroads.
NC: Greensboro??? I think Charlotte is a more obvious one.

Charlotte borders South Carolina.

So? A crossroads of a state doesn't need to be center. It needs to go to the other major cities in the state. You can get to everywhere easily from Charlotte as well as Greensboro. Not saying that Greensboro is a bad choice. It wouldn't be my choice.

Charlotte lacks full freeway access to the east to Wilmington, and partially to the west until the Shelby Bypass is complete. Greensboro has I-40 for both movements.

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 23, 2021, 12:42:05 AM
Charlotte lacks full freeway access to the east to Wilmington, and partially to the west until the Shelby Bypass is complete. Greensboro has I-40 for both movements.

Greensboro is just connected to more parts of the state by freeway than Charlotte.

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 10:27:59 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 10:26:20 PM

I would still go with Albany, as I-87 south of Albany is more important than I-81 south of Syracuse.

Yeah.  This is compelling.
[/quote]

More important to the concept of a "crossroads"? Or just a more important road? I'm not aware that the two ideas are connected. A crossroads is, literally, a meeting point of roads and, idiomatically, a point of decision, where one can approach from any direction and then choose any direction to proceed. There's nothing about it that suggests to me the relative importance of the different options–the meeting and the choice are the inherent characteristics.

I'm sure there's a way to actually measure this, if you're a little handy with computer scripting. You could calculate the route between each pair of points in the state (perhaps within a certain threshold, such as a minimum population, or the center of each town or city), and then find the area where a plurality of them meet. If you could translate this script into a map, the result would probably be visually quite apparent.

Quote from: empirestate on May 23, 2021, 08:20:05 AM
I'm sure there's a way to actually measure this, if you're a little handy with computer scripting. You could calculate the route between each pair of points in the state (perhaps within a certain threshold, such as a minimum population, or the center of each town or city), and then find the area where a plurality of them meet. If you could translate this script into a map, the result would probably be visually quite apparent.

That would cause issues for North Dakota, where Fargo is on the edge of the state but connects to out-of-state cities.

Quote from: 1 on May 23, 2021, 08:31:20 AM

Quote from: empirestate on May 23, 2021, 08:20:05 AM
I'm sure there's a way to actually measure this, if you're a little handy with computer scripting. You could calculate the route between each pair of points in the state (perhaps within a certain threshold, such as a minimum population, or the center of each town or city), and then find the area where a plurality of them meet. If you could translate this script into a map, the result would probably be visually quite apparent.

That would cause issues for North Dakota, where Fargo is on the edge of the state but connects to out-of-state cities.

What kind of issues do you think it would cause? (And why would they be unique to Fargo?)

I went with Fargo (Sioux Falls is a similar situation) because they just have by far the most significant junctions. Centrally located is more of a tiebreaker between qualified cities. Like Greensboro vs Charlotte. They're both good options, but I went with Greensboro because of its location relative to Charlotte's.

Quote from: hobsini2 on May 22, 2021, 09:56:18 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks
Hawaii: Honolulu
Washington: Seattle
Oregon: Portland
California: Tracy
Arizona: Phoenix (duh)
New Mexico: Albuquerque (duh)
Colorado: Denver (duh)
Utah: SLC
Nevada: Vegas
Idaho: Boise
Montana: Billings
North Dakota: Fargo
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Nebraska: Omaha
Kansas: Wichita
Oklahoma: OKC (duh)
Texas: DFW
Louisiana: Alexandria
Arkansas: Little Rock (duh)
Missouri: Jefferson City
Iowa: Des Moines (duh)
Minnesota: MSP
Wisconsin: Madison
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis (big duh, as it's the crossroads of the entire country)
Michigan: Lansing
Ohio: Columbus (no, it's not Dayton, please don't overthink it)
Kentucky: Lexington
Tennessee: Nashville (duh)
Mississippi: Jackson
Alabama: Montgomery
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta (again, please don't overthink it)
South Carolina: Columbia
North Carolina: Greensboro
Virginia: Richmond
West Virginia: Charleston
Maryland: Baltimore
Delaware: Wilmington
Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
New Jersey: Newark
New York: Albany
Connecticut: Hartford
Rhode Island: Providence
Massachusetts: Springfield
Vermont: Montpelier
New Hampshire: Concord
Maine: Augusta

Objections?

Salina for KS. I 70 is unquestionably the Main Street of the state, you can't have a crossroads that doesn't involve 70.

Agree on the anti Jefferson City sentiment others have posted. I grew up in KS and I've driven to, through, and across MO countless times and on various routes, and I've never been to Jefferson City.

Yeah, now that I think about it KS's crossroads must be on I-70. However I would go with Topeka rather than Salina. Salina is enticing because of its location, but Topeka has more major highways.

Quote from: thspfc on May 23, 2021, 01:10:43 PM
I went with Fargo (Sioux Falls is a similar situation) because they just have by far the most significant junctions. Centrally located is more of a tiebreaker between qualified cities. Like Greensboro vs Charlotte. They're both good options, but I went with Greensboro because of its location relative to Charlotte's.

I don't think the system would mind that you guessed Fargo–it just may disagree with you, is all! :D

Quote from: tman on July 18, 2017, 07:12:36 PM
Minnesota:
I'm thinking St. Cloud. It is fairly central, and has MN 15, MN 23, US 10, and I-94. But I'm not too sure.

35W & 94 in Minneapolis

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Florida: Orlando

Wildwood would disagree with you on that.

Quote from: FrCorySticha on May 20, 2021, 01:06:40 PM

Quote from: jayhawkco on May 20, 2021, 12:32:51 PM
I'll do another couple of states no one has mentioned.

Montana - It's a toss up between Butte and Bozeman, but I'll go with Bozeman.  They're both pretty close to the center of population of the state (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt), but Bozeman has a better chance of getting passed through on the way to Yellowstone.  Not to mention it has a more popular airport.

I'd agree with Butte because of the two Interstates, but I'd argue Billings is more important as a crossroads for the eastern part of the state. Bozeman is only important mostly for I-90.

I would agree with Billings as well. It has I-90 and I-94, US 87 which serves Great Falls, US 212 which serves Yellowstone. Bozeman is a great town, but I've never thought of it as a crossroads. Butte is in the same boat.

Quote from: D-Dey65 on May 23, 2021, 11:03:58 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Florida: Orlando

Wildwood would disagree with you on that.

No connection to the eastern coast.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 23, 2021, 11:44:06 PM

Quote from: D-Dey65 on May 23, 2021, 11:03:58 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Florida: Orlando

Wildwood would disagree with you on that.

No connection to the eastern coast.

See US-192, FL-528, and FL-50. Seems like pretty good connections to me.

Quote from: texaskdog on May 23, 2021, 10:12:26 PM

Quote from: tman on July 18, 2017, 07:12:36 PM
Minnesota:
I'm thinking St. Cloud. It is fairly central, and has MN 15, MN 23, US 10, and I-94. But I'm not too sure.

35W & 94 in Minneapolis

If you wanted to pinpoint an exact location, that's a good choice. Maybe even more so if MN 55 and 65 still followed their original alignments through downtown.  Choice #2 might be the 94/694/100/252 meetup in Brooklyn Center.

Quote from: CoreySamson on May 24, 2021, 01:10:39 AM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 23, 2021, 11:44:06 PM

Quote from: D-Dey65 on May 23, 2021, 11:03:58 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
Florida: Orlando

Wildwood would disagree with you on that.

No connection to the eastern coast.

See US-192, FL-528, and FL-50. Seems like pretty good connections to me.

Actually, FL 44 is the better connection to the east coast.

Quote from: Roadsguy on July 19, 2017, 10:23:41 AM
Probably Harrisburg for Pennsylvania, as it's fairly center in the state, and is served by several major roads, directly or indirectly providing access to...

• Pittsburgh and Philly via the Turnpike
• Lots of places via I-81 south
• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre via I-81 north
• State College via 22/322
• York and Baltimore via I-83
• Frederick and D.C. via US 15 south
• Williamsport and ultimately Rochester via US 11/15 north
• Lancaster via PA 283
• New York City via I-78 (indirect)

I'm agreeing with you and JP on Harrisburg.  Biased bc I live here.  But the number of warehouses continues to climb, which tells me it's Harrisburg.

Quote from: empirestate on May 23, 2021, 08:20:05 AM

Quote from: Rothman on May 21, 2021, 10:27:59 PM

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 21, 2021, 10:26:20 PM
I would still go with Albany, as I-87 south of Albany is more important than I-81 south of Syracuse.

Yeah.  This is compelling.

More important to the concept of a "crossroads"? Or just a more important road? I'm not aware that the two ideas are connected. A crossroads is, literally, a meeting point of roads and, idiomatically, a point of decision, where one can approach from any direction and then choose any direction to proceed. There's nothing about it that suggests to me the relative importance of the different options–the meeting and the choice are the inherent characteristics.

I'm sure there's a way to actually measure this, if you're a little handy with computer scripting. You could calculate the route between each pair of points in the state (perhaps within a certain threshold, such as a minimum population, or the center of each town or city), and then find the area where a plurality of them meet. If you could translate this script into a map, the result would probably be visually quite apparent.

Sorry for being a bit necro with this thread, but I had a thought about what empirestate mentioned. What if we consider trips between metro areas? Far from exhaustive, but I think this could capture a decent number of trips, and we can try to remove some unintended biases. Caveats: I used Google Maps to remove my own biases on routes, on a map that seems to show no traffic bottlenecks outside of NYC/lower Westchester Co. Routes were plotted only between the first principal city of an MSA (which in my experience is the main anchor city of the MSA).

I tried two things. First, looking at all MSAs in New York State, and then seeing the number of routes that go through an MSA, as well as the routes that are "direct" (i.e., you do not need to go through another New York MSA to get there). Interestingly enough, Syracuse and Albany tie (25 each, direct + through), with Binghamton coming in third (22). Syracuse has the edge with direct connections (5 vs. 4 for Albany), but Binghamton has the most direct connections in the state with 8.

(https://i.imgur.com/VQRgPmQ.png)

Second, I repeated the MSA study, but left out the MSAs that are part of a larger consolidated area (CSA), instead using the principal CSA city. This roughly corresponds to primary statistical areas (PSAs) excluding the smaller uSAs. Here, Syracuse is a clear winner (19), followed by Binghamton (14) and Rochester (12, mostly because all Buffalo trips go through the Rochester MSA). Albany's significant drop is because it fell on the route of a lot of smaller MSA cities inside CSAs (Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Glens Falls). Again, Binghamton has the most direct connections.

(https://i.imgur.com/Kb68pkN.png)

Provided the individual direct and through columns in case you want to see those broken out. My method does put weight on a direct connection, so if you disagree with that, you can use the "Thru" column, which gives Albany the slight edge for MSAs and Syracuse for the PSAs.

If I continue to be bored, I might do this again, including uSAs. Curious to see what this could look like for other states.

There are more than one.  I would say, from most to least major:

Chattanooga (where I-75 and I-24 merge / diverge, depending on direction of traffic, as Tampa - Detroit and Miami - Chicago are indubitably two of the main, if not THE MAIN two truck arteries in the nation)

Nashville (as in the entire metropolitan area, if not the city proper, Murfreesboro and / or Franklin)

Knoxville (I-75 and I-40)

Memphis

Jackson (ironically, despite US 45 and US 412 not being Interstates)

Tri-Cities

Cookeville

Quote from: Daniel Fiddler on January 15, 2022, 01:24:54 PM
There are more than one.  I would say, from most to least major:

Chattanooga (where I-75 and I-24 merge / diverge, depending on direction of traffic, as Tampa - Detroit and Miami - Chicago are indubitably two of the main, if not THE MAIN two truck arteries in the nation)

Nashville (as in the entire metropolitan area, if not the city proper, Murfreesboro and / or Franklin)

I've never lived in Tennessee, but I'd think Nashville is above 'Nooga. I-65 and I-24 fill the Chicago and St. Louis quotients, plus I-40's transcontinental truck traffic.

In Colorado, it has to be Denver, as every interstate in the state passes through the city limits.

Quote from: Daniel Fiddler on January 15, 2022, 01:24:54 PM
There are more than one.  I would say, from most to least major:

Chattanooga (where I-75 and I-24 merge / diverge, depending on direction of traffic, as Tampa - Detroit and Miami - Chicago are indubitably two of the main, if not THE MAIN two truck arteries in the nation)

Nashville (as in the entire metropolitan area, if not the city proper, Murfreesboro and / or Franklin)

Tampa, Detroit, Miami and Chicago aren't cities in Tennessee, so they're irrelevant for this thread. Nashville is the obvious crossroads for Tennessee, with direct interstate connections to the other 4 of the 5 largest cities in the state.

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

I counted 65 that connect (66 if you include Marion itself).


These 22 that don't:

Adams, Blackford, Cass, DuBois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Jennings, Kosciusko, Lagrange
Martin, Noble, Ohio, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Union, Wabash
Warren, Whitley


Plus these 4 that don't now but will when I-69 is finished:

Daviess, Gibson, Pike, Warrick

Quote from: cabiness42 on January 15, 2022, 02:34:58 PM

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

I counted 65 that connect (66 if you include Marion itself).


These 22 that don't:

Adams, Blackford, Cass, DuBois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Jennings, Kosciusko, Lagrange
Martin, Noble, Ohio, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Union, Wabash
Warren, Whitley


Plus these 4 that don't now but will when I-69 is finished:

Daviess, Gibson, Pike, Warrick

Some of those counties have routes that connect to the Indy metro area though just not to Marion County itself. Like just one example would be SR-13 which starts in Elkhart County and could actually be an extension of US-131 but it's not but anyway it ends up in Hancock County just east of Marion so it's at least still the Indy metro area.

Quote from: cabiness42 on January 15, 2022, 02:34:58 PM

Quote from: tdindy88 on July 18, 2017, 09:57:35 PM
This may come to a complete surprise to people but the Crossroads of Indiana is Indianapolis. Mapping it out one day I saw that 65 of Indiana's 92 counties have direct highway access (via interstate, U.S. or state highway) to Marion County. Also it's the state capital, largest city and largest metro area, so there's that too.

I counted 65 that connect (66 if you include Marion itself).


These 22 that don't:

Adams, Blackford, Cass, DuBois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Jennings, Kosciusko, Lagrange
Martin, Noble, Ohio, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Switzerland, Union, Wabash
Warren, Whitley


Plus these 4 that don't now but will when I-69 is finished:

Daviess, Gibson, Pike, Warrick

What about Vanderburgh County?

Interestingly, when I-69 is completed the number of counties connected will actually go up by just one. To just 66 counties. Since SR 37 is being eliminated between Bloomington and Indianapolis, Lawrence, Orange, Crawford and Perry Counties will all go off the list since they will no longer be connected by a single route to Marion County.

Quote from: JayhawkCO on May 21, 2021, 12:49:17 PM

Quote from: thspfc on May 20, 2021, 10:09:22 PM
No one has attempted a full list yet, so based on my opinions and the opinions of others in this thread, here's mine:

Alaska: Fairbanks

Objections?

I would say Alaska has to be Anchorage.  Most of the population is in the southern part of the state.  The only other I could possibly think of would be, generically, the Mat-Su Valley, since AK1 and AK3 meet in between Wasilla and Palmer.

Also, Anchorage's international airport is the main hub for air travel within Alaska. That is particularly important for "crossroads" purposes, in a huge state with a sparse road network, and no or poor road connections to important outlying communities, most notably the state capital Juneau.

Same goes double for Hawaii and Honolulu. Honolulu is not only the focus of the highway network on Oahu island (home to about two-thirds of the state's population) even though it's in the SE corner of the island, but its international airport is the hub for travel to/from/among the state's other islands.

Quote from: jlam on January 15, 2022, 01:28:40 PM
In Colorado, it has to be Denver, as every interstate in the state passes through the city limits.

It almost certainly is Denver, though not necessarily for this reason. (If all of the US and state highways converged elsewhere, there might be another strong candidate. And in some states, the majority of Interstates pass through cities we'd all agree are not the crossroads.)

Québec's crossroads could either be Montréal or the eponymous Québec City.

- Montréal is the biggest city in the province, and many major Autoroutes and regular routes go either through or near the city.
- Québec City is more of a central point than Montréal, and it is the capital city. It's also the site of the easternmost bridges on the Saint Lawrence River.

Minnesota's map of counties directly reachable from MSP

(https://scontent.ffcm1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/271899731_2101439490020089_8009100488675822592_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=_LGWi1b60ZsAX9Yw9W_&tn=PNM3TtXAIXaKZzrh&_nc_ht=scontent.ffcm1-2.fna&oh=00_AT884W7llAs3My8yD042LSYROCegkY9GtlDWQgkwxDm6fQ&oe=61E80122)

Blue = 7-county metro area
Pee yellow Light green = if you consider US 169 and MN 169 to be the same route, it adds Lake County (I don't, but it's the only US/MN duplicate with any argument)

68/88 Ohio counties are reachable from the Columbus MSA with a single route number:
(https://i.imgur.com/v7QNObx.png)

Missouri, I believe, is a unique case, in that it has not one but two focal points, on opposite sides of the state, linked together by I-70: St. Louis and Kansas City (the latter being where I live). In terms of the main links with the rest of the country, KC "faces"  west and St. Louis east - St. Louis is Missouri's main connection to the East Coast (via I-70 and I-64), Great Lakes region (vis I-55), and the South (via I-64 and I-55). KC, on the other hand, is the main link with the West Coast (via I-70), the northern plains states and the northwest (via I-29 and, to a lesser extent, I-35), and the Southwest (via I-35, although it's also connected to St. Louis via I-44).

If one had to pick what the one most important statewide segment of interstate, regarding its role in the transportation network of the entire country, I believe I-70 in Missouri would be an excellent choice. Knowing that, it's no wonder that I've seen so many trucks along that road throughout the numerous journeys I've taken across the "Show-Me State."

Quote from: KCRoadFan on January 15, 2022, 11:40:22 PM
Missouri, I believe, is a unique case, in that it has not one but two focal points, on opposite sides of the state, linked together by I-70: St. Louis and Kansas City (the latter being where I live). In terms of the main links with the rest of the country, KC "faces"  west and St. Louis east - St. Louis is Missouri's main connection to the East Coast (via I-70 and I-64), Great Lakes region (vis I-55), and the South (via I-64 and I-55). KC, on the other hand, is the main link with the West Coast (via I-70), the northern plains states and the northwest (via I-29 and, to a lesser extent, I-35), and the Southwest (via I-35, although it's also connected to St. Louis via I-44).

If one had to pick what the one most important statewide segment of interstate, regarding its role in the transportation network of the entire country, I believe I-70 in Missouri would be an excellent choice. Knowing that, it's no wonder that I've seen so many trucks along that road throughout the numerous journeys I've taken across the "Show-Me State."

Not so different from, say, Pennsylvania, where the crossroads is probably someplace like Carlisle. In Missouri, it's sure looking like Jefferson City to me!

Quote from: empirestate on January 16, 2022, 01:06:42 AM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on January 15, 2022, 11:40:22 PM
Missouri, I believe, is a unique case, in that it has not one but two focal points, on opposite sides of the state, linked together by I-70: St. Louis and Kansas City (the latter being where I live). In terms of the main links with the rest of the country, KC "faces"  west and St. Louis east - St. Louis is Missouri's main connection to the East Coast (via I-70 and I-64), Great Lakes region (vis I-55), and the South (via I-64 and I-55). KC, on the other hand, is the main link with the West Coast (via I-70), the northern plains states and the northwest (via I-29 and, to a lesser extent, I-35), and the Southwest (via I-35, although it's also connected to St. Louis via I-44).

If one had to pick what the one most important statewide segment of interstate, regarding its role in the transportation network of the entire country, I believe I-70 in Missouri would be an excellent choice. Knowing that, it's no wonder that I've seen so many trucks along that road throughout the numerous journeys I've taken across the "Show-Me State."

Not so different from, say, Pennsylvania, where the crossroads is probably someplace like Carlisle. In Missouri, it's sure looking like Jefferson City to me!

Not having a 2di automatically disqualifies a city from being a crossroads of a state imo.

Also, Carlisle is a Harrisburg suburb, and it's already agreed on in this thread that PA's crossroads is Harrisburg.

Quote from: SkyPesos on January 16, 2022, 01:22:46 AM

Quote from: empirestate on January 16, 2022, 01:06:42 AM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on January 15, 2022, 11:40:22 PM
Missouri, I believe, is a unique case, in that it has not one but two focal points, on opposite sides of the state, linked together by I-70: St. Louis and Kansas City (the latter being where I live). In terms of the main links with the rest of the country, KC "faces"  west and St. Louis east - St. Louis is Missouri's main connection to the East Coast (via I-70 and I-64), Great Lakes region (vis I-55), and the South (via I-64 and I-55). KC, on the other hand, is the main link with the West Coast (via I-70), the northern plains states and the northwest (via I-29 and, to a lesser extent, I-35), and the Southwest (via I-35, although it's also connected to St. Louis via I-44).

If one had to pick what the one most important statewide segment of interstate, regarding its role in the transportation network of the entire country, I believe I-70 in Missouri would be an excellent choice. Knowing that, it's no wonder that I've seen so many trucks along that road throughout the numerous journeys I've taken across the "Show-Me State."

Not so different from, say, Pennsylvania, where the crossroads is probably someplace like Carlisle. In Missouri, it's sure looking like Jefferson City to me!

Not having a 2di automatically disqualifies a city from being a crossroads of a state imo.

Also, Carlisle is a Harrisburg suburb, and it's already agreed on in this thread that PA's crossroads is Harrisburg.

*reopens the issue*

Carlisle's a good one.

Massachusetts - I-90, I-84 in Sturbridge. You could also make a case for I-90/290/395 in Worcester.

In Massachusetts, cases could also be made for I-90/I-495 (NH/ME and Cape Cod) or I-90/I-95 (North shore/South Shore to west and Boston).

Quote from: SkyPesos on January 16, 2022, 01:22:46 AM
Not having a 2di automatically disqualifies a city from being a crossroads of a state imo.

But not to me. That's a good summary of this thread overall: more disagreement on the question than on the answer.

QuoteAlso, Carlisle is a Harrisburg suburb, and it's already agreed on in this thread that PA's crossroads is Harrisburg.

Carlisle is a city in its own right, not merely a suburb. I actually lived there for a while, and it really functions as a distinct entity. This is characteristic of that area Pennsylvania–lots of inter-connected small towns and cities, and a fair few larger ones. More like a web than a hub-and-spoke.

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on January 16, 2022, 09:32:02 AM
Massachusetts - I-90, I-84 in Sturbridge. You could also make a case for I-90/290/395 in Worcester.

Surely it's Boston right?

Quote from: empirestate on January 16, 2022, 01:06:42 AM

Quote from: KCRoadFan on January 15, 2022, 11:40:22 PM
Missouri, I believe, is a unique case, in that it has not one but two focal points, on opposite sides of the state, linked together by I-70: St. Louis and Kansas City (the latter being where I live). In terms of the main links with the rest of the country, KC "faces"  west and St. Louis east - St. Louis is Missouri's main connection to the East Coast (via I-70 and I-64), Great Lakes region (vis I-55), and the South (via I-64 and I-55). KC, on the other hand, is the main link with the West Coast (via I-70), the northern plains states and the northwest (via I-29 and, to a lesser extent, I-35), and the Southwest (via I-35, although it's also connected to St. Louis via I-44).

If one had to pick what the one most important statewide segment of interstate, regarding its role in the transportation network of the entire country, I believe I-70 in Missouri would be an excellent choice. Knowing that, it's no wonder that I've seen so many trucks along that road throughout the numerous journeys I've taken across the "Show-Me State."

Not so different from, say, Pennsylvania, where the crossroads is probably someplace like Carlisle. In Missouri, it's sure looking like Jefferson City to me!

As someone who lived in Missouri for 30 years, there's no way it's Jeff City. It's the Crossroads for people driving to Lake of the Ozarks but that's about it. No interstates even reach Jeff City. KC and STL are the two transportation foci for Missouri. I'd even take Columbia over Jeff City as the main E-W (I-70) and N-S (US 63) corridors meet on the east side of Columbia (one of the most screwed up interchanges this side of Breezewood). But if it can't be on the edge, I agree it is the I-70 corridor. No reason a corridor can't be the crossroads.

For North Carolina: Greensboro. (NOT Charlotte or Statesville.)

It is the city where I-40, I-85, I-73, US 29, 70, 220 and 421 all meet. You can go basically everywhere from Greensboro.

I-40 West to Winston-Salem (meets future I-74 corridor), Statesville (meets I-77), Asheville (meets I-26), Knoxville (meets I-75), and points west. I-40 East to Durham (where I-40//I-85 split near it), Raleigh (meets future I-87 and I-42), Benson (meets I-95) Wilmington (meets U.S. 17).

I-85 South to Charlotte (meets I-77), Spartanburg (meets I-26), Atlanta (meets I-75 and I-20) and points south. I-85 North to Petersburg (meets and ends at I-95 to head to Richmond, Washington D.C., and points north)

I-73/US 220 South to Asheboro (meets I-74 near it), Rockingham (eventually split off with I-74) and eventually the I-95 corridor and Myrtle Beach. US 220 (future I-73) north to Roanoke and I-81 corridor

US 29 (I-785) northeast to Danville, Charlottesville (meets I-64) and eventually Washington DC metro (meets I-66). US 29 south provides alternative route to I-85 and points south.

US 70 East following I-40 and I-85 as an alternative route and then becomes a part of future I-42 corridor southeast to Morehead City.

US 421 (future I-685) southeast to Sanford (meets US 1), I-95 and eventually Wilmington. US 421 North (going west) to Boone, Bristol TN/VA, and points northwest.

Quote from: Strider on January 16, 2022, 06:16:04 PM
For North Carolina: Greensboro. (NOT Charlotte or Statesville.)

It is the city where I-40, I-85, I-73, US 29, 70, 220 and 421 all meet. You can go basically everywhere from Greensboro.

I-40 West to Winston-Salem (meets future I-74 corridor), Statesville (meets I-77), Asheville (meets I-26), Knoxville (meets I-75), and points west. I-40 East to Durham (where I-40//I-85 split near it), Raleigh (meets future I-87 and I-42), Benson (meets I-95) Wilmington (meets U.S. 17).

I-85 South to Charlotte (meets I-77), Spartanburg (meets I-26), Atlanta (meets I-75 and I-20) and points south. I-85 North to Petersburg (meets and ends at I-95 to head to Richmond, Washington D.C., and points north)

I-73/US 220 South to Asheboro (meets I-74 near it), Rockingham (eventually split off with I-74) and eventually the I-95 corridor and Myrtle Beach. US 220 (future I-73) north to Roanoke and I-81 corridor

US 29 (I-785) northeast to Danville, Charlottesville (meets I-64) and eventually Washington DC metro (meets I-66). US 29 south provides alternative route to I-85 and points south.

US 70 East following I-40 and I-85 as an alternative route and then becomes a part of future I-42 corridor southeast to Morehead City.

US 421 (future I-685) southeast to Sanford (meets US 1), I-95 and eventually Wilmington. US 421 North (going west) to Boone, Bristol TN/VA, and points northwest.

Agreed.  The thought that popped in my mind when I originally viewed this thread was that "Death Valley" was the crossroads of North Carolina.  But someone had already mentioned both ends of the Spine (I-85/I-40) already.  Of course, Greensboro was much more of a crossroads when I-85 went through Death Valley instead of bypassing the city.

Quote from: thspfc on January 16, 2022, 05:20:42 PM

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on January 16, 2022, 09:32:02 AM
Massachusetts - I-90, I-84 in Sturbridge. You could also make a case for I-90/290/395 in Worcester.

Surely it's Boston right?

Probably not; most point-to-point intrastate routes won't go through Boston. (Well, most point-to-point intrastate routes won't go through any single point–but even less so for Boston.)

Quote from: skluth on January 16, 2022, 05:53:20 PM
As someone who lived in Missouri for 30 years, there's no way it's Jeff City. It's the Crossroads for people driving to Lake of the Ozarks but that's about it. No interstates even reach Jeff City. KC and STL are the two transportation foci for Missouri. I'd even take Columbia over Jeff City as the main E-W (I-70) and N-S (US 63) corridors meet on the east side of Columbia (one of the most screwed up interchanges this side of Breezewood). But if it can't be on the edge, I agree it is the I-70 corridor. No reason a corridor can't be the crossroads.

There's a very good reason: a crossroads is a point. A point of confluence, a point of decision. It's likely to be comparatively central; neither Kansas City nor St. Louis is such. On the other hand, both of those cities are certainly crossroads of some region, just not of Missouri proper. (As before, we probably have different answers because we're asking different questions.)