News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

US 50/Secret Interstate 305

Started by Max Rockatansky, January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Max Rockatansky

US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html


jdbx

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html

The signing of a freeway as Business 80 was always kind of weird to me. This brings to mind an interesting question, perhaps it's already been answered elsewhere.  Are there any other freeways in the US which are signed as Business Loop or Route?  I'm aware that there are some expressways with at-grade intersections that are signed that way back east, but any actual freeways?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: jdbx on January 08, 2021, 02:23:34 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html

The signing of a freeway as Business 80 was always kind of weird to me. This brings to mind an interesting question, perhaps it's already been answered elsewhere.  Are there any other freeways in the US which are signed as Business Loop or Route?  I'm aware that there are some expressways with at-grade intersections that are signed that way back east, but any actual freeways?

The Lodge Freeway for a time was signed as I-696 Business.  I want to say there is another example in North Carolina but it eludes me at the moment.

jdbx

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 02:27:42 PM
Quote from: jdbx on January 08, 2021, 02:23:34 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html

The signing of a freeway as Business 80 was always kind of weird to me. This brings to mind an interesting question, perhaps it's already been answered elsewhere.  Are there any other freeways in the US which are signed as Business Loop or Route?  I'm aware that there are some expressways with at-grade intersections that are signed that way back east, but any actual freeways?

The Lodge Freeway for a time was signed as I-696 Business.  I want to say there is another example in North Carolina but it eludes me at the moment.

I think that I may have answered my own question, looking at another forums thread.  Spartanburg, SC has a Business Loop 85 freeway.

GaryA

I still think of BL-80 as "old 80" and the current I-80 as "new 80" (or "old 880").

I had wondered whether there might be people who thought of it as "old 40", but from Max's article I gather that only a small piece was built early enough to be signed only as US-40 (more may have been signed both US-40 and I-80).

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: GaryA on January 08, 2021, 02:45:16 PM
I still think of BL-80 as "old 80" and the current I-80 as "new 80" (or "old 880").

I had wondered whether there might be people who thought of it as "old 40", but from Max's article I gather that only a small piece was built early enough to be signed only as US-40 (more may have been signed both US-40 and I-80).

Yes, some of what is now CA 51 and US 50 was part of US 40 but definitely not all of it.  US 40 used the North Sacramento Freeway (CA 160) to get into downtown. 

sparker

^^^^^^^^^
The "secret" designation of I-305 was intended solely to classify and catalogue that section of original I-80 that was chargeable to the Interstate funding pool; its definition included not only that part of now US 50 from I-80 in West Sacramento to the Oak Park (US 50/CA 51/CA 99) interchange but also the CA 51 freeway from that interchange north to the "C" street overpass.  North of there to I-80 CA 51 was originally "grandfathered" into the system as I-80 although with substandard RIRO-type ramps, underheight overpasses, and poor lines of sight at the Marconi Curve; as it predated the '56 Interstate act, it was not chargeable and thus didn't get included in the FHWA definition of I-305. 

Curiously, the presence of a chargeable (signage notwithstanding) Interstate at the Oak Park interchange makes a Sacramento terminus for any Interstate re-designation of CA 99 less problematic since it would terminate at a federally recognized Interstate -- which could (and likely would) be signed as "TO I-x" from either or both I-5 and I-80 (and vice-versa toward the existing interstates).   

Evan_Th

North Carolina loves signing freeways as business routes.  US 421 in Winston-Salem used to be Business 40.  There's now a Business 85 in Greensboro, and there used to be a Business 40 too (with mainline 40 routed onto the bypass.  Business 85 in High Point and Lexington is also more than half freeway.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Evan_Th on January 08, 2021, 03:54:38 PM
North Carolina loves signing freeways as business routes.  US 421 in Winston-Salem used to be Business 40.  There's now a Business 85 in Greensboro, and there used to be a Business 40 too (with mainline 40 routed onto the bypass.  Business 85 in High Point and Lexington is also more than half freeway.

That's the one I was thinking of above (Business I-85).   From what I recall it was co-signed with US 29/70/220?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on January 08, 2021, 03:43:29 PM
^^^^^^^^^
The "secret" designation of I-305 was intended solely to classify and catalogue that section of original I-80 that was chargeable to the Interstate funding pool; its definition included not only that part of now US 50 from I-80 in West Sacramento to the Oak Park (US 50/CA 51/CA 99) interchange but also the CA 51 freeway from that interchange north to the "C" street overpass.  North of there to I-80 CA 51 was originally "grandfathered" into the system as I-80 although with substandard RIRO-type ramps, underheight overpasses, and poor lines of sight at the Marconi Curve; as it predated the '56 Interstate act, it was not chargeable and thus didn't get included in the FHWA definition of I-305. 

Curiously, the presence of a chargeable (signage notwithstanding) Interstate at the Oak Park interchange makes a Sacramento terminus for any Interstate re-designation of CA 99 less problematic since it would terminate at a federally recognized Interstate -- which could (and likely would) be signed as "TO I-x" from either or both I-5 and I-80 (and vice-versa toward the existing interstates).

The interesting thing is that I could find anything regarding CA 51 north to the C Street overpass in the AASHTO database.  All the documents from 1980/81 show I-305 ending at the 99/50 interchange. 

sparker

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 03:59:58 PM
Quote from: sparker on January 08, 2021, 03:43:29 PM
^^^^^^^^^
The "secret" designation of I-305 was intended solely to classify and catalogue that section of original I-80 that was chargeable to the Interstate funding pool; its definition included not only that part of now US 50 from I-80 in West Sacramento to the Oak Park (US 50/CA 51/CA 99) interchange but also the CA 51 freeway from that interchange north to the "C" street overpass.  North of there to I-80 CA 51 was originally "grandfathered" into the system as I-80 although with substandard RIRO-type ramps, underheight overpasses, and poor lines of sight at the Marconi Curve; as it predated the '56 Interstate act, it was not chargeable and thus didn't get included in the FHWA definition of I-305. 

Curiously, the presence of a chargeable (signage notwithstanding) Interstate at the Oak Park interchange makes a Sacramento terminus for any Interstate re-designation of CA 99 less problematic since it would terminate at a federally recognized Interstate -- which could (and likely would) be signed as "TO I-x" from either or both I-5 and I-80 (and vice-versa toward the existing interstates).

The interesting thing is that I could find anything regarding CA 51 north to the C Street overpass in the AASHTO database.  All the documents from 1980/81 show I-305 ending at the 99/50 interchange. 

The total mileage allotted to I-305 in FHWA logs corresponds with that portion of US 50 between its western terminus and Oak Park plus the portion of CA 51 I cited earlier.  It's also not like FHWA to have missed even one foot of chargeable Interstate back in 1981 since those miles delineated the specific facilities eligible for maintenance/upgrade funds at the time, although the program has since been discontinued.  One thing I've noticed over the years is that AASHTO and FHWA specifications often don't line up perfectly; the former tends to "round off" in regards to such issues, while the latter is more exacting due to fund disbursement differentials.   

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on January 08, 2021, 05:55:39 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 03:59:58 PM
Quote from: sparker on January 08, 2021, 03:43:29 PM
^^^^^^^^^
The "secret" designation of I-305 was intended solely to classify and catalogue that section of original I-80 that was chargeable to the Interstate funding pool; its definition included not only that part of now US 50 from I-80 in West Sacramento to the Oak Park (US 50/CA 51/CA 99) interchange but also the CA 51 freeway from that interchange north to the "C" street overpass.  North of there to I-80 CA 51 was originally "grandfathered" into the system as I-80 although with substandard RIRO-type ramps, underheight overpasses, and poor lines of sight at the Marconi Curve; as it predated the '56 Interstate act, it was not chargeable and thus didn't get included in the FHWA definition of I-305. 

Curiously, the presence of a chargeable (signage notwithstanding) Interstate at the Oak Park interchange makes a Sacramento terminus for any Interstate re-designation of CA 99 less problematic since it would terminate at a federally recognized Interstate -- which could (and likely would) be signed as "TO I-x" from either or both I-5 and I-80 (and vice-versa toward the existing interstates).

The interesting thing is that I could find anything regarding CA 51 north to the C Street overpass in the AASHTO database.  All the documents from 1980/81 show I-305 ending at the 99/50 interchange. 

The total mileage allotted to I-305 in FHWA logs corresponds with that portion of US 50 between its western terminus and Oak Park plus the portion of CA 51 I cited earlier.  It's also not like FHWA to have missed even one foot of chargeable Interstate back in 1981 since those miles delineated the specific facilities eligible for maintenance/upgrade funds at the time, although the program has since been discontinued.  One thing I've noticed over the years is that AASHTO and FHWA specifications often don't line up perfectly; the former tends to "round off" in regards to such issues, while the latter is more exacting due to fund disbursement differentials.   

Any idea where I might find said FHWA mileage log by chance?

Jim

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 03:58:05 PM
Quote from: Evan_Th on January 08, 2021, 03:54:38 PM
North Carolina loves signing freeways as business routes.  US 421 in Winston-Salem used to be Business 40.  There's now a Business 85 in Greensboro, and there used to be a Business 40 too (with mainline 40 routed onto the bypass.  Business 85 in High Point and Lexington is also more than half freeway.

That's the one I was thinking of above (Business I-85).   From what I recall it was co-signed with US 29/70/220?

Here's a shot from May 21, 2005.

Photos I post are my own unless otherwise noted.
Signs: https://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/
Travel Mapping: https://travelmapping.net/user/?u=terescoj
Counties: http://www.mob-rule.com/user/terescoj
Twitter @JimTeresco (roads, travel, skiing, weather, sports)

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Jim on January 08, 2021, 05:59:02 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 03:58:05 PM
Quote from: Evan_Th on January 08, 2021, 03:54:38 PM
North Carolina loves signing freeways as business routes.  US 421 in Winston-Salem used to be Business 40.  There's now a Business 85 in Greensboro, and there used to be a Business 40 too (with mainline 40 routed onto the bypass.  Business 85 in High Point and Lexington is also more than half freeway.

That's the one I was thinking of above (Business I-85).   From what I recall it was co-signed with US 29/70/220?

Here's a shot from May 21, 2005.



Didn't snag photo of that Salad but I got one of the overhead gantries in 2014 it seems:

https://flic.kr/p/T6QCKf

sparker

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 05:57:34 PM
Any idea where I might find said FHWA mileage log by chance?

Interstate Route Log/FHWA will get you to the listing; look for the sub-section "auxiliary routes".  6 miles is allotted to I-305; since mile zero on US 50 is exit #1, Oak Park is 6A (a hair under 5 miles in), and there's just about one mile north to Avenue C; combined, that accounts for the overall mileage. 

Mapmikey

Quote from: jdbx on January 08, 2021, 02:23:34 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html

The signing of a freeway as Business 80 was always kind of weird to me. This brings to mind an interesting question, perhaps it's already been answered elsewhere.  Are there any other freeways in the US which are signed as Business Loop or Route?  I'm aware that there are some expressways with at-grade intersections that are signed that way back east, but any actual freeways?

Also I-85 Business in Spartanburg SC (former I-85 routing through the city)

plain

The one that has always had me stumped is US 90 BUS in the New Orleans metro. It's mostly freeway while mainline US 90 is almost 100% surface street. You'd think it would be the other way around.
Newark born, Richmond bred

kendancy66

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2021, 03:58:05 PM
Quote from: Evan_Th on January 08, 2021, 03:54:38 PM
North Carolina loves signing freeways as business routes.  US 421 in Winston-Salem used to be Business 40.  There's now a Business 85 in Greensboro, and there used to be a Business 40 too (with mainline 40 routed onto the bypass.  Business 85 in High Point and Lexington is also more than half freeway.

That's the one I was thinking of above (Business I-85).   From what I recall it was co-signed with US 29/70/220?

Not US-220, but US-64 and US-52 were signed on a part of Business I-85 (Temp I-85) in Lexington, NC

mrsman

Quote from: jdbx on January 08, 2021, 02:23:34 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 07, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
US Route 50 in West Sacramento from Interstate 80 east to the California State Route 51/California State Route 99 in Sacramento carries a secret FHWA designation of Interstate 305.  What is presently the West Sacramento-Sacramento segment of US 50 was once the original alignment of Interstate 80.  The State of California petitioned the AASHTO to shift Interstate 80 onto the original Interstate 880 in 1980.  Part of this request by the State of California was to extend US Route 50 to West Sacramento and designate it administratively as Interstate 305.  The AASHTO approved the relocation of Interstate 80, creation of Interstate 305, and extension of US Route 50 in December 1980.  The AASHTO's decision Interstate 80, Interstate 305, and US Route 50 was subsequently affirmed by the FHWA in a memo from early 1981.  These changes also led to the creation of the Interstate 80 Business Loop and current California State Route 51.  As of 2016 the Interstate 80 Business Loop has been deemphasized on US Route 50/Interstate 305.  Note; Interstate 305 never has been recognized by the California State Legislature as an official Route designation.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/us-route-50-in-west-sacramento-and.html

The signing of a freeway as Business 80 was always kind of weird to me. This brings to mind an interesting question, perhaps it's already been answered elsewhere.  Are there any other freeways in the US which are signed as Business Loop or Route?  I'm aware that there are some expressways with at-grade intersections that are signed that way back east, but any actual freeways?

It definitely is weird.  From a CA perspective, the business routes were routes that you would follow to actually reach businesses: gas stations, hotels, markets, etc.  In most instances it followed an old routing of the highway - the new routing is along a bypass that is either expressway or freeway with few or no businesses.

In CA, there are many signed business routes of 101 and 99 through many towns in CA.  There is also a good signed business route for I-5 through towns north of Sacramento, following the old US 99W.

Sacramento's Biz-80 was different and that was a problem.  It was a full freeway, albeit with certain old designs that made it less useful than the bypass I-80 that followed modern interstate standards.  Following Biz-80 would lead you through central Sacramento, but you still need to exit if you need to reach a gas station.

Biz-80 also amounted to a lot of confusion in giving directions.  Imagine if you are west of Sacramento (like in Davis) and need to give directions to the Arden Fair Mall.  You'd say take I-80 east and then at the 80 split interchange don't take the blue 80 to Reno, instead follow green 80/US-50 to Sacramento through town and then at the Oak Park interchange take green 80 to Reno and get off at Arden Way.  These were confusing directions that I heard when I lived in the area.

In the 1964 renumbering, CA was very big that only one number should be used for one road to ease travel confusion.  It seems odd that with such a mindset, it would be appropriate to have two separate roads in the same city both using the same number <80>, with one using the red/blue and other using green.  Nowhere else does this exist in CA, where the highway numbering is very strict that once a number is used, it cannot be used elsewhere in the state.*  Its confusing and IMO, it would be better to get rid of this second 80 freeway and renumber it as US 50 along the EW portion and CA 51 as the NS portion.

Now, in NC, having an I-40 and a green-40 freeway is/was normal.  But that's not normal for CA.

* This is not true in every state.  One example in Maryland, there is both I-68 and MD-68 and both have interchanges with I-70.  But in CA this is not an issue as one number for each highway within US, Interstate, and state systems.

bing101


Here is an interesting one according to this video I-70 was supposed to have its west end where I-305 US-50 is located today according to this video at 8:00.


sparker

Quote from: bing101 on January 10, 2021, 10:55:01 PM

Here is an interesting one according to this video I-70 was supposed to have its west end where I-305 US-50 is located today according to this video at 8:00.



There have been any number of "pipedream" western extensions of I-70 over the years; most of them ended up near Fernley, NV where they would empty out onto I-80, or simply continue to follow US 50 to its western terminus in West Sacramento.  Even the abortive Interstate addition cluster in 1970 contained a corridor crossing NV (curiously, UT wanted nothing to do with that corridor, but the concept never gained traction and the proposed additions literally became "history").  Of course, the reality of lack of need plus the outsized expense of a corridor crossing the basin & range territory that characterizes central NV -- not to mention an additional Sierra crossing in CA -- has relegated that and other extension proposals essentially DOA.   Nevertheless, proposals for such a corridor will likely continue to pop up from time to time -- and will just as quickly dissipate! 

US 89

Quote from: sparker on January 11, 2021, 05:30:59 AM
There have been any number of "pipedream" western extensions of I-70 over the years; most of them ended up near Fernley, NV where they would empty out onto I-80, or simply continue to follow US 50 to its western terminus in West Sacramento.  Even the abortive Interstate addition cluster in 1970 contained a corridor crossing NV (curiously, UT wanted nothing to do with that corridor, but the concept never gained traction and the proposed additions literally became "history").  Of course, the reality of lack of need plus the outsized expense of a corridor crossing the basin & range territory that characterizes central NV -- not to mention an additional Sierra crossing in CA -- has relegated that and other extension proposals essentially DOA.   Nevertheless, proposals for such a corridor will likely continue to pop up from time to time -- and will just as quickly dissipate!

Utah has opposed highway corridors in this area almost from the beginning with the US Highway system - the original Lincoln Highway ran directly from Salt Lake City to Ely but never became a US highway. Their primary motivation was that by limiting possible routes to the Victory Highway (eventual US 40/I-80) and Arrowhead Trail (US 91/I-15), it would force northern and southern California-bound traffic to split at Salt Lake City. Both the Arrowhead and Victory highways (especially Arrowhead) ran through far more towns in Utah than the Lincoln.

It seems quite likely that something similar was at play with a potential extension of I-70. Utah was already a little salty about the decision to route I-70 to Cove Fort, taking SoCal traffic out of the Wasatch Front ... but traffic heading to NorCal still goes through Salt Lake via US 6, I-15, and I-80. Building I-70 across western Utah and Nevada removes the Wasatch Front from the equation and also routes traffic through far fewer towns in Utah.

kkt

Quote from: mrsman on January 10, 2021, 09:25:03 PM
Biz-80 also amounted to a lot of confusion in giving directions.  Imagine if you are west of Sacramento (like in Davis) and need to give directions to the Arden Fair Mall.  You'd say take I-80 east and then at the 80 split interchange don't take the blue 80 to Reno, instead follow green 80/US-50 to Sacramento through town and then at the Oak Park interchange take green 80 to Reno and get off at Arden Way.  These were confusing directions that I heard when I lived in the area.

In the 1964 renumbering, CA was very big that only one number should be used for one road to ease travel confusion.  It seems odd that with such a mindset, it would be appropriate to have two separate roads in the same city both using the same number <80>, with one using the red/blue and other using green.  Nowhere else does this exist in CA, where the highway numbering is very strict that once a number is used, it cannot be used elsewhere in the state.*  Its confusing and IMO, it would be better to get rid of this second 80 freeway and renumber it as US 50 along the EW portion and CA 51 as the NS portion.

Now, in NC, having an I-40 and a green-40 freeway is/was normal.  But that's not normal for CA.

I agree with you, it is confusing to have two I-80s in the same city and I agree with your suggestion.  The only thing I'd add is that the 1964 renumbering was all about reducing duplexes and confusing multiple routes, but making old I-80 into I-80 Business was a 1980 decision so it was a new generation of engineers.

kkt

Quote from: bing101 on January 10, 2021, 10:55:01 PM
Here is an interesting one according to this video I-70 was supposed to have its west end where I-305 US-50 is located today according to this video at 8:00.

That video notwithstanding I-70, was never expected to go any farther west than I-15 outside the fever dreams of Nevada boosters and proto-Fritzowls.  I-70 goes as far west as I-15 in order to provide a short interstate route from Denver and the northeastern US to Los Angeles and southern California.  If you were headed for Reno and San Francisco, you'd take I-80 across the Rockies instead.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: kkt on January 12, 2021, 12:03:11 AM
Quote from: bing101 on January 10, 2021, 10:55:01 PM
Here is an interesting one according to this video I-70 was supposed to have its west end where I-305 US-50 is located today according to this video at 8:00.

That video notwithstanding I-70, was never expected to go any farther west than I-15 outside the fever dreams of Nevada boosters and proto-Fritzowls.  I-70 goes as far west as I-15 in order to provide a short interstate route from Denver and the northeastern US to Los Angeles and southern California.  If you were headed for Reno and San Francisco, you'd take I-80 across the Rockies instead.

Never mind the fact that US 50 is plenty adequate west of I-15 through all of Nevada.  The worst bottleneck point from there is South Lake Tahoe but as you stated the freight corridor is up on I-80.



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