Best, coolest, or most impressive stretches of highways

[achilles765]

I have been wondering what others think are some of the most impressive or most interesting stretches of highways they have seen or experienced?

I was thinking this should be two categories:
1. Most impressive urban highway/freeway, meaning a stretch of highway or freeway in an urban area that is particularly impressive or interesting/cool to see or drive though.  Things like interesting interchanges, lane configurations, stacks, skyline views, scenery up against urban landscapes--that kind of thing
and
2. Most beautiful and impressive scenic landscapes...like I-70 in Colorado, I-15 in the Virgin River Gorge

Out of the places I have driven, I will always like the stretch of IH 45 here in Houston within the 610 loop, including the Pierce Elevated, which I really don't want them to tear down...I like IH 10 and US 90 in New Orleans, the double decked portions of I 10 in San Antonio, the BQE/I-278 in NYC, IH 35W/820 and 35E/635 areas in DFW, and I 93 in Boston.
The only scenic routes I have been able to enjoy were I-81 in the mountains of PA and the videos I have seen of Texas Loop 375 in EL Paso

[Bruce]

I-90 from its SODO terminus to Ellensburg qualifies as both (and cost an arm and a leg to build).

Impressive skyline views from a variety of ramps, a complex interchange with I-5, a blend of historic and modern tunnels through Mount Baker Ridge, two of the world's longest floating bridges, some modern park lids, and a light rail line being built right down the middle to boot.

And beyond the suburbs, there's a lot of beauty to be found on the way up to Snoqualmie Pass, with plenty of hiking trails that pass right under the high viaduct on Denny Creek.

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 18 from San Bernardino to Crestline always impresses me every time I drive it.  It's amazing how a four lane expressway gains so much elevation so fast which caps off at an interchange hanging on the side of a mountain.  Sure lives up to the name "Rim of the World Highway."

The switchbacks on Horseshoe Meadows Road had a similar feel climbing out of the Alabama Hills.  That was really something to see that large of an excavated cut climb the side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains first hand.  Shame it wasn't kept as part of CA 190. 

[SkyPesos]

For an urban freeway that have interesting skyline views, the approaches to downtown Cincinnati on both sides of I-71. The NB/Kentucky approach have the downward slope, in which before that, you can see the whole skyline. The SB/Ohio approach is on a bridge for this part, and it seem like you're going to drive into the P&G building, then you make a turn into the tunnel.

[SEWIGuy]

I-84 through the Cascades along the Columbia River is my favorite.

Crossing the Golden Gate heading into San Francisco is nice too.

[1995hoo]

While I don't like Pittsburgh, I've always found the sight of the city when coming out of the tunnel on the way in from the airport to be a very impressive view.

[jp the roadgeek]

When traffic isn't a nightmare, the stretch of the Mass Pike through Newton is pretty cool when you get to drive under Star Market and a hotel built right over the highway. 

[SSR_317]

I would nominate the following roadways (both just happen to be Interstates):

In Category 1: The drive north on Chicago's I-90/I-94 Dan Ryan Freeway (sic, sorry Chicagoans, but I REFUSE to call Interstate highways by the incorrect suffix "Expressway"). You have all the classic urban elements right  there outside your windshield: a "double freeway" with "Express Lanes" inside of Collector/Distributor Lanes ("Local Lanes"), a Rapid Transit rail line in the median (The L's Red Line), and a spectacular view of the Willis (neé the Sears) Tower and the rest of the Loop's skyscrapers (if you are a passenger, or if as a driver you are stuck in traffic so you have time to safely appreciate the view). And unlike many other Chicago area Interstates, it's not Tolled (not even the Express Lanes)! It can be a pain to drive at rush hour (and many other times as well), but it most certainly is "impressive".

In Category 2: The entire length of "Intrastate" (sic) 17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Northbound, you start out next to a major international airport in the midst of a sprawling and booming urban area, then after skirting the downtown area to the south and west, you slowly transition to a suburban, then exurban area. Before you know it, you find yourself in a desolate rural region, traveling through beautiful mountain vistas, traversing deep river canyons, and eventually ending up in a high desert pine forest. During the last third of this journey north, you (on a clear day) have the spectacular vista of a snow-covered (until the Climate Crisis melts it) volcanic mountain (Humphrys Peak, the tallest in Arizona) dead ahead as your companion. You also climb from just over 1000 feet above sea level elevation at PHX, to just over 8000 feet as you approach Flag (as the locals call Flagstaff), all in the span of less than 150 miles and about 2 hours of (normal) driving time. If you have the time and traffic conditions to appreciate it, this can be one of the most memorable drives in the entire USA. It it certainly one of, it not the most, diverse stretches of freeway in the entire Eisenhower Interstate System.

[hbelkins]

This is again a very subjective list, but I really like Corridor H (US 48) from the Bismarck/Mt. Storm Lake area (WV 42) to the end of the four-lane near Wardensville.

[Flint1979]

When traffic isn't a nightmare, the stretch of the Mass Pike through Newton is pretty cool when you get to drive under Star Market and a hotel built right over the highway.

That hotel over the MassPike is one of the first things I remember about the Boston area.

[skluth]

Urban: Coming into St Louis on I-55 and watching the Arch look larger as you approach the Mississippi River was one of my favorite things about living in St Louis.

Rural: I recently drove the old US 66 in Arizona through Peach Springs. The scenery is right out of Cars and there are a number of old/new Burma Shave signs along the route.

Neither will be #1 on anybody's list, but both are noteworthy and worth checking out if you're in the area.

[skluth]

When traffic isn't a nightmare, the stretch of the Mass Pike through Newton is pretty cool when you get to drive under Star Market and a hotel built right over the highway.

That hotel over the MassPike is one of the first things I remember about the Boston area.

I always loved going under the old post office on the Congress/Eisenhower in Chicago

[jmd41280]

While I don't like Pittsburgh, I've always found the sight of the city when coming out of the tunnel on the way in from the airport to be a very impressive view.

I've always been partial to I-279 south approaching downtown Pittsburgh.

[Max Rockatansky]

Urban: Coming into St Louis on I-55 and watching the Arch look larger as you approach the Mississippi River was one of my favorite things about living in St Louis.

Rural: I recently drove the old US 66 in Arizona through Peach Springs. The scenery is right out of Cars and there are a number of old/new Burma Shave signs along the route.

Neither will be #1 on anybody's list, but both are noteworthy and worth checking out if you're in the area.

As much as people in the Roadgeek community shit on US 66 for having an over saturated fandom nowadays the 1926-52 alignment over Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman is an all time classic.  The stretch though Kingman to Seligman is pretty damn chock full of Americana with stuff like the Hackberry General Store.

[CoreySamson]

My favorite has to be I-610 southbound in Houston on the NW side of town between 290 and I-10:



All the different lanes and ramps coming together along with the view of tall buildings just does it for me. Driving it for the first time on a Saturday morning was pretty magical.

I'm also impartial to TX-130 between Lockhart and Seguin.

[achilles765]

CA 18 from San Bernardino to Crestline always impresses me every time I drive it.  It's amazing how a four lane expressway gains so much elevation so fast which caps off at an interchange hanging on the side of a mountain.  Sure lives up to the name "Rim of the World Highway."

The switchbacks on Horseshoe Meadows Road had a similar feel climbing out of the Alabama Hills.  That was really something to see that large of an excavated cut climb the side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains first hand.  Shame it wasn't kept as part of CA 190. 

I watched some YouTube videos of these two...wow...I have to drive those some day

[Flint1979]

When traffic isn't a nightmare, the stretch of the Mass Pike through Newton is pretty cool when you get to drive under Star Market and a hotel built right over the highway.

That hotel over the MassPike is one of the first things I remember about the Boston area.

I always loved going under the old post office on the Congress/Eisenhower in Chicago

Yeah that one is pretty cool too.

[1995hoo]

While I don't like Pittsburgh, I've always found the sight of the city when coming out of the tunnel on the way in from the airport to be a very impressive view.

I've always been partial to I-279 south approaching downtown Pittsburgh.

I've never been on that road north of downtown. Thanks for the link.

[MATraveler128]

Some of the best stretches of highway I've been on include I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge, US 550 in Colorado, I-93 Franconia Notch Parkway, and MA 2 at the hairpin curve near North Adams.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota doesn't have much, but it's probably MN 61. Some of the 1960s-era rock cuts (particularly just NE of the MN 1 junction and the section from Grand Portage to the border) are pretty neat. After Grand Marais it spends a lot of time at lake level which gives a different perspective, before climbing back high above the lake to cross the border.

[Max Rockatansky]

Minnesota doesn't have much, but it's probably MN 61. Some of the 1960s-era rock cuts (particularly just NE of the MN 1 junction and the section from Grand Portage to the border) are pretty neat. After Grand Marais it spends a lot of time at lake level which gives a different perspective, before climbing back high above the lake to cross the border.

MN 61 is one of the best roads in the Great Lakes Region.  M-26 and WI 13 come to mind as other scenic Lake Superior stretches.  I would take M-26 for overall scenery over M-22.

Florida has a couple really impressive stretches.  The most cliche but nonetheless impressive is US 1 in the Florida Keys.  The sheer amount of bridges chaining those islands is something not replicated anywhere else in the United States.  Main Park Road, Tamiami Trail and Loop Road in the Everglades are all pretty impressive given how they just cut through sheer wetlands.

With Arizona AZ 88 on the Apache Trail was really something unique before it washed out.  I contend US 191 on the Coronado Trail is the most daunting and possibly fun to drive US Route segments.  The amount of engineering that it took to get US 60/AZ 77 in Salt River Canyon to facilitate freight traffic is really impressive.  AZ 87 between Fountain Hills and Payson is about as good as a divided expressway gets (aside from CA 18 as stated in my original post).

[Max Rockatansky]

With Hawaii and O'ahu there three standouts, all the Ko'olau Range:

-  Interstate H-3 given how it is a masterpiece of engineering with all the tunnels and viaduct structures.
-  HI 61/Pali Highway was my personal favorite given it is the oldest of the trans-Ko'olau corridors.  The Pali Overlook at the Old Pali Highway really illustrates how daunting it was to get any road over the Ko'olau Range.
-  HI 63/Likelike is kind of the middle ground of HI 61 and Interstate H-3.  Not as impressive as either corridor but would still blow the doors off of the engineering features and scenery of most state highways. 

[thspfc]

I-376
US-75 in DFW
I-10 in the Houston area
Zoo Freeway in Milwaukee
I-90/94 through Chicago
I-71 in Cincinnati
US-26 in Portland
I-70 from Denver westward

[frankenroad]

This does not really fit either category, but I always liked the view on I-75 about 30 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge when you get a brief glimpse of the top of the bridge.

[Flint1979]

Minnesota doesn't have much, but it's probably MN 61. Some of the 1960s-era rock cuts (particularly just NE of the MN 1 junction and the section from Grand Portage to the border) are pretty neat. After Grand Marais it spends a lot of time at lake level which gives a different perspective, before climbing back high above the lake to cross the border.

MN 61 is one of the best roads in the Great Lakes Region.  M-26 and WI 13 come to mind as other scenic Lake Superior stretches.  I would take M-26 for overall scenery over M-22.

Florida has a couple really impressive stretches.  The most cliche but nonetheless impressive is US 1 in the Florida Keys.  The sheer amount of bridges chaining those islands is something not replicated anywhere else in the United States.  Main Park Road, Tamiami Trail and Loop Road in the Everglades are all pretty impressive given how they just cut through sheer wetlands.

With Arizona AZ 88 on the Apache Trail was really something unique before it washed out.  I contend US 191 on the Coronado Trail is the most daunting and possibly fun to drive US Route segments.  The amount of engineering that it took to get US 60/AZ 77 in Salt River Canyon to facilitate freight traffic is really impressive.  AZ 87 between Fountain Hills and Payson is about as good as a divided expressway gets (aside from CA 18 as stated in my original post).

M-26 indeed takes the cake over M-22. I've been on M-26 between Copper Harbor and Phoenix and it took a lot longer than taking US-41 which I had taken on the way north but going south I decided to take M-26, lots of scenic areas, Brockway Mountain is pretty cool, so are Eagle Harbor and Eagle River. I haven't been on the part between Hancock and Calumet but I imagine that is nice as well near Lake Linden.

M-22 is nice too but I like M-26 better.