America's Most Beautiful City Highways and Interstates?

[rickmastfan67]

I-279 at night coming out of the tunnel and seeing downtown Pittsburgh all lit up....spectacular

I'll second that.  But it's now I-376. lol.

[kharvey10]

I-40 near the TN-NC border got some nice scenery

someone posted a youtube video of I-184 in Boise

I-80 through the Sierra Nevada on a clear day

I-64 through southern Illinois during the fall months got some amazing fall colors

[wandering drive]

I loved I-75 north of Knoxville, TN when I was in 1st grade, when all I was accustomed to was the flat lands of southern MN.
Since then, my favorite US routes and Interstates I've been on are:

US-14, from Madison, WI west to Yellowstone, and not just because I've spent much of my adult life near it, though that does give me a good bias.
US-50 from Carson City to and around Lake Tahoe.
Former US-61 (now MN-61) along the north shore of Lake Superior.  I-35 coming down the hill and through Duluth is fantastic as well.
US-101, any and all.  Enough said.
US-191, ditto.
US-212 through the Beartooth Mountains is on my bucket list.

I-35W northbound at exit 2, the scenery opens up overlooking the Minnesota River Valley and in good weather you can see the Minneapolis skyline 15 miles away.  I've always admired the freeway system in the area in general; very few areas where urban blight and heavy industry are visible.
I-90 west of La Crosse, WI to about the Nodine exit a few miles away, if only because there's nothing going west but farmland until the Black Hills, and nothing east for 100 miles except slowly rolling hills and woodlands.  Within that context, the 500 foot bluffs feel like the Cascades, a more appropriate choice of stretch of I-90.

[ToledoRoadgeek]

I-71/75 northbound into Cincinnati from the Kentucky side.  Great view of the skyline coming down that hill.  The view of the Chicago skyline from the inbound Kennedy Expressway is also spectacular.  Any of the freeway approaches to Pittsburgh.  Somebody else already mentioned this, but I-35W around Burnsville heading into the Minnesota River Valley is also pretty cool.

[berberry]

I-71/75 northbound into Cincinnati from the Kentucky side.  Great view of the skyline coming down that hill.  The view of the Chicago skyline from the inbound Kennedy Expressway is also spectacular.  

I've seen these, and the approach to Nashville someone else mentioned.  I agree in all cases.

Someone also mentioned Atlanta, which I would agree is a beautiful city.  But the view of downtown from the freeway is typical for a large city, so I would probably give it honorable mention.  By contrast, Birmingham is not as beautiful overall as Atlanta, imho, but the view of downtown from the freeway is unusually spectacular.

AbE:  On the subject of Atlanta, does anyone else prefer - speaking purely about form, not function - the old Downtown Connector before it was upgraded in the 80s?  For all its many, many faults, that was one hell of a pretty road!

[PAHighways]

I-279/Truck US 19 southbound in the East Street Valley

[triplemultiplex]

I-279 at night coming out of the tunnel and seeing downtown Pittsburgh all lit up....spectacular

I-376 now.

[rickmastfan67]

I-279 at night coming out of the tunnel and seeing downtown Pittsburgh all lit up....spectacular

I-376 now.

I already mentioned that at the top of Page #2.

[CL]

I'll throw in another vote for the southeastern quadrant of I-215 in Salt Lake. Not only is the view of the skyline and adjacent (aka right next to the freeway in places) mountains beautiful, but the sunken freeway and then the one-direction-at-a-lower-elevation-than-another make it a true beauty in and of itself.

I've also been partial to I-15 between Cedar City and St. George, but I now remember that this is not urban. Oh well.

[hm insulators]

US 101 between Calabasas and Camarillo (through Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks and so forth). As recently as the mid-1970s, this was actually a rural route. A family friend of ours moved out to Newbury Park in the late 1960s, so we used to drive out there about once a month when I was a kid. It's amazing how it's grown!

I-5 between the El Toro "Y" and Oceanside, California. Part of it runs through Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Station, so it traverses through a piece of the southern California coastline that's still relatively unscathed, at least compared to San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.

[jwolfer]

I like the view of downtown Jacksonville from I-95 going over the St Johns River.. especially at night

Another nice view is I-280 in West Orange NJ

[rickmastfan67]

I like the view of downtown Jacksonville from I-95 going over the St Johns River.. especially at night

The view from 9A when crossing the St. John's River is also spectacular at night.

[iwishiwascanadian]

The Henry Hudson Parkway on the West Side of Manhattan is quite nice...it would be nicer without the traffic or the smell coming of the Hudson...but nice nonetheless...

[Beeper1]

I-26 from Ashville into Tennessee is a great mountain drive, for an interstate.

[Duke87]

The Henry Hudson Parkway on the West Side of Manhattan is quite nice...it would be nicer without the traffic or the smell coming of the Hudson...but nice nonetheless...

Smell, huh? Wouldn't happen to be particularly intense at about 145th Street or so, would it?
That's not the Hudson, that's the North River wastewater treatment plant. Cleverly hidden under a park built over it.

[dislocatedkid]

Well I immediately thought of I-35 through Duluth from the top of Thompson Hill all the way to MN-61...yet i havnt been down there since they started the MEGA project last year...but i assume (hope) they are only making it better

[njroadhorse]

I'm actually gonna nominate the Sure-kill for this because there's something about the riverside views with the hill on the other side and then the view of Philly that gets me every time.

[iwishiwascanadian]

The Henry Hudson Parkway on the West Side of Manhattan is quite nice...it would be nicer without the traffic or the smell coming of the Hudson...but nice nonetheless...

Smell, huh? Wouldn't happen to be particularly intense at about 145th Street or so, would it?
That's not the Hudson, that's the North River wastewater treatment plant. Cleverly hidden under a park built over it.

That would make sense...I never knew it was there...I just figured it was the Hudson.  The West Side Highway is quite nice too...not as wooded as the H Hudson Parkway...but it's nice to see the Piers and the Greenway right up against the high rises of the West Side. 

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I'm actually gonna nominate the Sure-kill for this because there's something about the riverside views with the hill on the other side and then the view of Philly that gets me every time.

I was thinking about that. I do like the view along there from Conshohocken and City Line in particular.

[mightyace]

I-71/75 northbound into Cincinnati from the Kentucky side.  Great view of the skyline coming down that hill.  The view of the Chicago skyline from the inbound Kennedy Expressway is also spectacular.  Any of the freeway approaches to Pittsburgh.  Somebody else already mentioned this, but I-35W around Burnsville heading into the Minnesota River Valley is also pretty cool.

Agreed.  The Parkway West (former I-279 now I-376 coming out of the tunnel is nice but you don't have enough time to enjoy it, IMHO.


20101223I7175NB@MP190KY-C by mightyace, on Flickr

[njroadhorse]

Agreed.  The Parkway West (former I-279 now I-376 coming out of the tunnel is nice but you don't have enough time to enjoy it, IMHO.

But 279 South into Pittsburgh is pretty good. 8)

[architect77]

Raleigh's I-440 Beltline purposely tried to be aesthetically pleasing with shrubs planted with parts of the center divider and use of brick for sound walls. And of course, no billboards are allowed.

[D-Dey65]

I agree on both the Taconic State Parkway and I-87 through the Adirondacks.

Well, I've never been on I-87 in the Adirondacks, but I have been on the Taconic, and I agree with that. And when you see the pic of the Parkway, you will too:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/49037287

And despite this, I still think it could use more overpasses and an extension past the Berkshire Spur Thruway as originally planned.

[Kacie Jane]

I'll nominate Interstate 5 at various points in the Puget Sound area.

• Going over the Snohomish River north of Everett, both north and southbound.  On a clear day, this is approximately both the furthest south you can see Mount Baker and the furthest north you can see Mount Rainier.
• Southbound at around Exit 152, there's a curve that offers a particularly exquisite view of Rainier
• Northbound coming into Seattle, particularly early evening (i.e. the sun is starting to go down, and the city lights are starting to come on).  You're coming down a hill, and the view from above gives it a little something extra.

[Brandon]

Surprised no one's mentioned I-55 around Stickney, Illinois yet.  You get a beautiful view of the MWRD sewage treatment plant.

Oh, wait, you meant beautiful views, not aromatic ones.