Counties with NO Direct Routes to Other States

[webny99]

I believe some of the remaining counties have zero connections to any other state... which gets me thinking...

... in figuring out which counties in New York are directly connected by numbered route to Pennsylvania, I discovered something interesting. Several of our counties actually have ZERO direct numbered highway connections to any other state.

48 of New York's 62 counties have direct connections to Pennsylvania.
Of the 14 that don't, 9 have direct routes to other bordering states, and a 10th (Hamilton County) has NY 30, a direct route to Quebec.

That leaves just 4 counties, Suffolk, Nassau, Lewis and Orleans*, with no direct routes to anywhere out of state.
How many such counties are there in your state?

[webny99]

*Orleans County is up for debate as to whether NY 104, which ends at the Rainbow International Bridge to Canada, constitutes a direct connection to Ontario. The bridge itself is unnumbered, but you can proceed straight from NY 104 onto the bridge, no turns involved.

[Roadgeekteen]

Two in Massachusetts. Not surprisingly, they are Dukes county and Nantucket county.

[NWI_Irish96]

Indiana has only one: Ohio County

[webny99]

Indiana has only one: Ohio County

Obviously there are no Ohio River crossings within the county, but even so, bonus points for being a border county!

[Crown Victoria]

Pennsylvania has just one:  Cameron County

[jeffandnicole]

Looks like Cumberland County, NJ, qualifies...barely.  It comes within 1/3 of a mile of US 40.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I thought Minnesota would have none, but Isanti County proved me wrong. It comes within a hair of not qualifying where MN 95 meets US 8 right at the river in Taylors Falls.

[hbelkins]

I'm in a pretty good cluster of Kentucky counties with no US or Interstate routes, or state routes that cross a border.

[cu2010]

I believe some of the remaining counties have zero connections to any other state... which gets me thinking...

... in figuring out which counties in New York are directly connected by numbered route to Pennsylvania, I discovered something interesting. Several of our counties actually have ZERO direct numbered highway connections to any other state.

48 of New York's 62 counties have direct connections to Pennsylvania.
Of the 14 that don't, 9 have direct routes to other bordering states, and a 10th (Hamilton County) has NY 30, a direct route to Quebec.

That leaves just 4 counties, Suffolk, Nassau, Lewis and Orleans*, with no direct routes to anywhere out of state.
How many such counties are there in your state?

*Orleans County is up for debate as to whether NY 104, which ends at the Rainbow International Bridge to Canada, constitutes a direct connection to Ontario. The bridge itself is unnumbered, but you can proceed straight from NY 104 onto the bridge, no turns involved.

NY812 ends at the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, so Lewis County has a direct route to Canada.

[oscar]

You wouldn't think it, but Alaska has several counties/equivalents with a direct link to Washington state, via one of the Alaska Marine Highway auto ferries (when they're running -- right now the two vessels able to make that run are scheduled to return to service next month). These include Kenai Peninsula, Yakutat, Skagway, Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan Gateway boroughs, maybe also Petersburg and Wrangell boroughs (depending on whether the tides are high enough for safe passage through the Wrangell Narrows), and the new Chugach census area in Prince William Sound.

The other 21 Alaska county equivalents have no road connections at all, or travelers have to pass through Canada on multiple highways. Technically, the above-mentioned ferries run through Canadian waters, but no stops or customs inspections in Canada, so it's as if you never leave the United States.

[Thing 342]

Virginia:

City of Hopewell
City of Manassas
City of Manassas Park
City of Poquoson

Charles City County
King and Queen County
King William County
Mathews County
Northumberland County
Richmond County
Westmoreland County

[gonealookin]

Since all of Nevada's 16 counties plus the independent city of Carson City are served by either a US highway or an interstate that crosses into another state, there aren't any here.

Incidentally neither US 50 nor US 6 is needed on these lists for Nevada.  I-80 hits 9 of the 16 counties, US 93 adds 3 more, US 95 3 more beyond that and finally US 395 passes through Carson City and Douglas County.

[Flint1979]

Michigan has some. I know in my area that Gladwin, Midland, Tuscola, Sanillac and Huron don't have any routes that connect to another state. That's just a start for Michigan. My county has I-75 and US-23 that connect to Ohio and I-75 to Ontario, Canada.

[Scott5114]

There are only four counties in Oklahoma with no routes shared in common in Texas: Alfalfa, Haskell, Latimer, and Pawnee. Of these, Alfalfa and Pawnee both contain US-64 (shared with New Mexico and Arkansas) and Latimer contains US-270 (shared with Kansas and Arkansas).

That leaves just Haskell County, the only county in Oklahoma with no Interstate or US routes. It contains SH-9, which ends at the Texas and Arkansas state lines on either side. Neither side connects to a state route 9, however (TX-203 on the TX side and I-540 in AR).

So the answer for Oklahoma would be "Haskell" if you don't count SH-9 as being a direct route to another state and "none" if you do.

[webny99]

NY812 ends at the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, so Lewis County has a direct route to Canada.

Good point! Figured there was going to be something I forgot or overlooked.

So we're left with just Nassau and Suffolk if we count connections to Canada, and add Lewis, Orleans, and Hamilton if we don't.

[bassoon1986]

Louisiana has fewer than I would have thought. Only 2 and they are the most southeast in the state, with numbered routes mostly terminating in New Orleans and no further. Because LA 1 reaches so far south and US 90 dips to catch most of the coastal parishes, all but St Bernard and Plaquemines parishes are connected.


iPhone

[TheStranger]

In California, Trinity County used to be this, but when State Route 299 (supplanting the former US 299) was extended to connect to a dirt road in Nevada, it no longer counts.

Lake County however does (Route 29, 175, 20, 53 all do not lead to a state border).

Butte County looks like it does now (state route 99, 70, 149, 191, 32, 162); prior to 1964 however 99 was US 99E and 70 at the time was Alternate US 40, the latter of which did cross into Nevada and the former of which was part of the multi-state US 99.

Because of the 1964 decommissioning of US 99E and Alternate US 40, Yuba County now also fits this category (99, 65, 70, 49, 20).

Tulare County fits this category specifically because the two segments of Route 190 have never been joined together.  Madera County fits due to US 99 becoming Route 99.

Mariposa County and Tuolumne County qualify as Route 120 ends at US 6 just a few miles from the Nevada state line.

Calaveras County also seems to be in this category.

[webny99]

In California, Trinity County used to be this, but when State Route 299 (supplanting the former US 299) was extended to connect to a dirt road in Nevada, it no longer counts.

Well, as long as the dirt road is at least a numbered state highway. If it's less than that, I would say the county still counts.

[Konza]

The only county in Arizona that is not served by a highway that crosses a state line without changing its number is Santa Cruz County, the county seat of which is Nogales.

Obviously Nogales is the south endpoint of Interstate 19, and was the south endpoint of US 89 (and MSR 789) before it was (they were) truncated.  But I-19 becomes Mexico Federal Highway 15 at the International Border...

[US 89]

Every county in Utah with an Interstate or US highway has a direct connection to another state, which accounts for 28 of the 29 counties. That leaves Wayne County, which only has four state-level numbered routes: SR 12, 24, 72, and 95. None of those reach a state line, so Wayne is the only Utah county to qualify for this thread.

[GaryV]

Michigan has some. I know in my area that Gladwin, Midland, Tuscola, Sanillac and Huron don't have any routes that connect to another state. That's just a start for Michigan. My county has I-75 and US-23 that connect to Ohio and I-75 to Ontario, Canada.

You aren't counting the Badger as part of US-10?  That would eliminate Midland.

In the UP, I see only Luce County not having a single State/US/Interstate highway connection to another state.  Although if I recall correctly, at one time M-28 was concurrent with US-2 into Wisconsin, so historically it would not have qualified.

In the Lower Peninsula I add Montmorency and Oscoda to your list.  And Lake County's only connection is via the Badger as noted above for Midland.

[Flint1979]

Michigan has some. I know in my area that Gladwin, Midland, Tuscola, Sanillac and Huron don't have any routes that connect to another state. That's just a start for Michigan. My county has I-75 and US-23 that connect to Ohio and I-75 to Ontario, Canada.

You aren't counting the Badger as part of US-10?  That would eliminate Midland.

In the UP, I see only Luce County not having a single State/US/Interstate highway connection to another state.  Although if I recall correctly, at one time M-28 was concurrent with US-2 into Wisconsin, so historically it would not have qualified.

In the Lower Peninsula I add Montmorency and Oscoda to your list.  And Lake County's only connection is via the Badger as noted above for Midland.

You are correct however I have a hard time considering Lake Michigan as being a part of the route but it is. There is probably a few more. Leelanau and Alger seem like they could make the list as well. I'm thinking off the top of my head and not looking at a map. The way I'm thinking is the counties that  I-75, US-24, US-23, US-127, I-69, US-131, US-31, US-12, I-94, US-41, US-141, US-2, US-8 or US-45 don't go through. I can't think of another highway that leaves the state.

Another thing are we counting state highways that obviously end at the state line? Like Ionia County could count but M-66 goes to the Indiana State line.

[NWI_Irish96]

Michigan has some. I know in my area that Gladwin, Midland, Tuscola, Sanillac and Huron don't have any routes that connect to another state. That's just a start for Michigan. My county has I-75 and US-23 that connect to Ohio and I-75 to Ontario, Canada.

You aren't counting the Badger as part of US-10?  That would eliminate Midland.

In the UP, I see only Luce County not having a single State/US/Interstate highway connection to another state.  Although if I recall correctly, at one time M-28 was concurrent with US-2 into Wisconsin, so historically it would not have qualified.

In the Lower Peninsula I add Montmorency and Oscoda to your list.  And Lake County's only connection is via the Badger as noted above for Midland.

You are correct however I have a hard time considering Lake Michigan as being a part of the route but it is. There is probably a few more. Leelanau and Alger seem like they could make the list as well. I'm thinking off the top of my head and not looking at a map. The way I'm thinking is the counties that  I-75, US-24, US-23, US-127, I-69, US-131, US-31, US-12, I-94, US-41, US-141, US-2, US-8 or US-45 don't go through. I can't think of another highway that leaves the state.

Another thing are we counting state highways that obviously end at the state line? Like Ionia County could count but M-66 goes to the Indiana State line.

Although the distinction is really arbitrary, the consensus seems to be that if a state route maintains the same route number in a neighboring state, it qualifies as a continuous route.

[Flint1979]

Michigan has some. I know in my area that Gladwin, Midland, Tuscola, Sanillac and Huron don't have any routes that connect to another state. That's just a start for Michigan. My county has I-75 and US-23 that connect to Ohio and I-75 to Ontario, Canada.

You aren't counting the Badger as part of US-10?  That would eliminate Midland.

In the UP, I see only Luce County not having a single State/US/Interstate highway connection to another state.  Although if I recall correctly, at one time M-28 was concurrent with US-2 into Wisconsin, so historically it would not have qualified.

In the Lower Peninsula I add Montmorency and Oscoda to your list.  And Lake County's only connection is via the Badger as noted above for Midland.

You are correct however I have a hard time considering Lake Michigan as being a part of the route but it is. There is probably a few more. Leelanau and Alger seem like they could make the list as well. I'm thinking off the top of my head and not looking at a map. The way I'm thinking is the counties that  I-75, US-24, US-23, US-127, I-69, US-131, US-31, US-12, I-94, US-41, US-141, US-2, US-8 or US-45 don't go through. I can't think of another highway that leaves the state.

Another thing are we counting state highways that obviously end at the state line? Like Ionia County could count but M-66 goes to the Indiana State line.

Although the distinction is really arbitrary, the consensus seems to be that if a state route maintains the same route number in a neighboring state, it qualifies as a continuous route.

So M-66 wouldn't count in this example since it becomes Indiana SR-9 at the state line. Indiana wouldn't have SR-66 in that location though since their state highways follow the same grid the US highway system uses.