Where do US highways still go through downtown, even after a bypass was built?

[KCRoadFan]

One thing I've always been fascinated by, regarding highway routings, is that in Lexington, KY, the US highways that serve the city - namely, US 25, US 27, US 60, and US 68 - are all routed through the center of town, even though a beltway around the city center - that is, New Circle Road - exists. As it turns out, the only highway designated along New Circle Road itself is a state highway, KY 4.

Where else throughout the country have you seen such an alignment pattern occur with US highways through cities? And does it appear to be more common in some states than others? (My personal observation is that if Lexington, KY, were in another state - especially if that state were Alabama, Indiana, or Texas - then chances are pretty good that the US highways would be routed along New Circle Road. But that's just speculation on my part.)

[SkyPesos]

Columbus, with US 23, 33, 40 and 62 going through downtown instead of using I-270, unlike neighboring Indianapolis with every US route and their mother on the bypass.

[Max Rockatansky]

Orlando with US 17/92/441 on OBT.

[Evan_Th]

Raleigh, NC, splits the difference.  US 1 and US 64 are on the bypass; US 70, US 401, and NC 50 go through the center of town.  NC 54 goes into the center of town and ends there, while US 264 ends at the bypass.

Neighboring Durham routes everything on the bypass except for NC 55 and NC 751, which wind their way up from the south to end at the north end of town.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

US 101 along Lombard/Van Ness Streets through San Francisco
US 41 along Lakeshore Dr through Chicago
US 12 along Michigan Ave into Detroit (terminates there)
US 11 along various streets through Birmingham
All the US routes through Texarkana except US 59
Various US routes intersect and/or terminate at Public Square in Cleveland

Just a few examples...

[Bruce]

US 2 in Spokane, as it will remain on its current route even after US 395 is shifted to the freeway bypass

[Flint1979]

US 101 along Lombard/Van Ness Streets through San Francisco
US 41 along Lakeshore Dr through Chicago
US 12 along Michigan Ave into Detroit (terminates there)
US 11 along various streets through Birmingham
All the US routes through Texarkana except US 59
Various US routes intersect and/or terminate at Public Square in Cleveland

Just a few examples...

What would the bypass of US-12 in Detroit be?

[hbelkins]

The original section of New Circle was originally built as a US 25 bypass and was identified as such on maps. It was also identified as a bypass of US 421 and US 60, but never for 27 or 68 (since the southern section of New Circle was the last to be completed; I remember it being big news on the Lexington TV stations and one station driving all the way around the beltway and speeding up the film to where the video lasted exactly one minute.

It may have been signed as a bypass for those routes, too, but I have no memory of such.

Kentucky still signs some of its mainline US routes through downtown (see US 127 in Danville, Harrodsburg, and Lawrenceburg, where the bypass is signed as such and unbannered 127 goes through town).

Louisville now signs US 60 through town. In my younger days, the Watterson Expressway was co-signed I-264 and US 60, with both a business and alternate route running into town. At some point US 60 came off the freeway.

US 31's splits and US 150 could easily be signed on interstates, but aren't.

[US 89]

US 89 still runs through the Wasatch Front along its pre-interstate alignment and has not been moved to I-15 except where the interstate was literally built on top of the old road.

US 91 still runs through downtown Logan despite the fairly recent opening of SR 252 as a western bypass.

On the other side of the country, almost all the US highways in Atlanta (and most of Georgia, for that matter) are still on surface streets. The Atlanta exceptions are US 19, which follows SR 400 outside of I-285 instead of the older GA 9, and US 78, which followed GA 10 before the Stone Mountain Freeway was built.

[ilpt4u]

US 40 (Highway Farty!) still goes thru St Louis (but as a Freeway - I-64 is cosigned)

[3467]

US 61 in southeast Wisconsin around Lancaster. The bypass is a more direct state numbered route.

[SkyPesos]

US 40 (Highway Farty!) still goes thru St Louis (but as a Freeway - I-64 is cosigned)

Interesting that US 40 is the only US route that goes through downtown St Louis as of today. I think US 67 used to go through downtown using current MO 267 and 367 before the first St Louis bypass (Lindbergh Blvd) was completed. US 66 used what is now MO 366 through downtown, and I forgot if US 50 was concurrent with US 66 or used Manchester Rd on its routing to downtown.

[ilpt4u]

US 40 (Highway Farty!) still goes thru St Louis (but as a Freeway - I-64 is cosigned)

Interesting that US 40 is the only US route that goes through downtown St Louis as of today. I think US 67 used to go through downtown using current MO 267 and 367 before the first St Louis bypass (Lindbergh Blvd) was completed. US 66 used what is now MO 366 through downtown, and I forgot if US 50 was concurrent with US 66 or used Manchester Rd on its routing to downtown.

There are signs for Historic US 66 markers on Skinker Blvd on the west side of Forest Park in St Louis, at Clayton Rd/near the giant Amoco sign: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6334468,-90.3041535,3a,28y,1.13h,94.6t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTjepG_Nl0OH2JrWUg97v_A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I'll go out on a limb and say that is where US 40 and US 66 crossed, at some point in history

I have never looked up US 66's actual historical routing(s) thru St Louis. I'm pretty sure I read that it used pretty much all of the MS River bridges at different times (Chain of Rocks, Eads, MacArthur, maybe PSB?)

[Avalanchez71]

All the US routes in Nashville come through town.  They all wind their way via downtown one way or another.  They do take a slight veer onto 8th Avenue (Rosa Parks) and then to James Robertson Pkwy.  However, US 70 goes right through town without veering off.  US 70 does follow the frontage roads of I-40 briefly but that is because they changed the US 70/US 70S split at this point.

They could have routed the US routes around on the downtown circulator (I-65/I-24/I-40).

[zzcarp]

US 40 is and US 287 still go through downtown Denver. All the other routes have oved to the freeways or out of downtown.

[US 89]

US 40 is and US 287 still go through downtown Denver. All the other routes have oved to the freeways or out of downtown.

US 85 also sort of counts? I know it doesn't go through the core downtown area anymore, but they could have easily moved it off Santa Fe and onto I-25 through all the southern suburbs like they did US 87.

[TheStranger]

Funny enough, when US 101 was moved in the late 1940s from Sunset Boulevard to the Hollywood and Santa Ana Freeways...the current route is actually more adjacent to downtown Los Angeles than the original! 

US 50 in Sacramento is an interesting case:  The pre-1960s route had it backtrack a bit towards Capitol Park, but by the late 1960s the freeway routing at the time (today's Business 80 south of N Street, and Route 99) took it away from downtown entirely, and from 1967-1982 the west terminus was at the Oak Park interchange with 99/80.

When Business 80 was established in 1982 and I-80 moved to the Natomas beltline route, 50 was then extended west along old I-80 to West Sacramento - thus bringing 50 back into downtown again!

[mgk920]

- US 51 from Stoughton, WI through Portage, WI
- US 151 through Madison, WI.

Mike

[zzcarp]

US 40 is and US 287 still go through downtown Denver. All the other routes have oved to the freeways or out of downtown.

US 85 also sort of counts? I know it doesn't go through the core downtown area anymore, but they could have easily moved it off Santa Fe and onto I-25 through all the southern suburbs like they did US 87.

I disagree that US 85 counts. Both US 6 and US 85 have sections northeast and southwest of downtown, and they are on the freeways between them (as of now completely unsigned at that). There's also unsigned US 87. The only nonfreeway highway in downtown that still has its US route designations and is signed is Colfax Avenue - US 40 and 287 and BL I-70.

Also, US 85 south of downtown on Santa Fe is a heavily traveled expressway, and it's on its historic alignment between Denver and Castle Rock. It was US 87 that followed the I-25 corridor between south Denver and Castle Rock.

[kphoger]

US-50 goes through downtown Emporia (KS) instead of piggy-backing on I-35.

[roadman65]

US 206 in Trenton, NJ. It should really be moved onto I-295 since NJDOT doesn't maintain it within Trenton and the city won't sign it.

Then US 301 in Starke, FL and Baldwin, FL and Statesboro, GA.

[bassoon1986]

All the US routes in Nashville come through town.  They all wind their way via downtown one way or another.  They do take a slight veer onto 8th Avenue (Rosa Parks) and then to James Robertson Pkwy.  However, US 70 goes right through town without veering off.  US 70 does follow the frontage roads of I-40 briefly but that is because they changed the US 70/US 70S split at this point.

They could have routed the US routes around on the downtown circulator (I-65/I-24/I-40).

Memphis does as well. None hopping on freeways or bypasses.


iPhone

[NWI_Irish96]

US 31/31E/31W, US 60 and US 150 all still go through downtown Louisville.

[Road Hog]

US 70 used to pass through Little Rock and cross the Broadway Bridge, joining I-30 South down University Avenue. I suppose it still might if for no other reason than ARDOT doesn't want to sign a concurrency on I-30. Par for the course.

[DandyDan]

US 6 in downtown Omaha still follows Dodge and Douglas Streets, even though it could follow I-480 around the north edge of downtown Omaha to the 30th Street exit.