Questionable routings that take added time

[texaskdog]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

[SkyPesos]

Let's start off with the easiest one to mention:

I-70 using a surface road in Breezewood instead of direct ramps because of chain restaurants, gas stations and hotels crying over losing business at one of their hundreds or thousands of locations.

[texaskdog]

I-70 in Kansas City is another one. 

And that jog in WI 77 from Clam Lake to Mellen.  77 goes way out of the way.

[JayhawkCO]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

Before I come up with my examples, you came up with a lot of examples that are very relevant to me.  My dad was born in Lake City.  I lived off of MN316 in Hastings.  I just took CO17 for its entire length the other day to connect from US285 to US285.

Anyway, I-75 in Macon should follow what I-475 currently is.  I-15 and I-215 should be swapped in the Inland Empire.

Chris

[pianocello]

US 101 in Holman, WA

US 61 in Lancaster, WI

I imagine both of these were localities not wanting the routing to be changed by the corner-cut bypass.

Another is US 24 east of Fort Wayne, IN. This was just an example of INDOT being INDOT and taking the path of least resistance while dumping their mileage within a city.

[GaryV]

If I recall correctly, M-35 along the lake wasn't as good a road at the time.  Of course if US-41 had been routed that way, it might have been improved sooner.

You are correct, US-41 was intended to go straight north instead of jogging to Escanaba, but terrain and mines made that plan fall by the wayside.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 6 near Deer River passes the "Deer River Shortcut", Itasca County 11. County 11 doesn't even go to Deer River...it takes you back to MN 6 on the east edge of town where 6 is duplexed with US 2 heading westbound into Deer River.

[Flint1979]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

Well US-63 ends at US-61 so probably just because of it ending at another US highway in a random location like any other US highway ending.

US-285 should have followed CO-17 north of Alamosa.

US-41 travels through Marquette but it takes a westerly turn for about 50 miles and then turns north to go to Houghton/Hancock and on up to Copper Harbor. I think US-41 should have followed US-141's routing and then went north at the northern end of US-141 and had US-141 go to Marquette. That overlap on M-28 makes no sense for anyone following a normal routing like for example if you were trying to clinch US-41 you'd have to take that stretch to clinch it when US-141 is the shorter routing. Having US-141 go to Marquette instead would have eliminated that useless concurrency.

[JayhawkCO]

A good local example is CO30 here which follows no normal path.

Chris

[1995hoo]

To the average member of the public who is not a member of this forum, I-95 through Wilmington and Philadelphia. While it probably looks less odd now than it did before when it ran up past Trenton, I'm sure the average member of the public likely finds it odd that I-95 goes the way it does instead of via the Delaware Memorial Bridge and New Jersey Turnpike (and, of course, there are plenty of people who think it does do just that).

A more localized one that may or may not still exist is US-250 Business through Charlottesville. The eastbound and westbound routes were long shown on maps–Google Maps, for one, no longer shows this–as using different routes between the Rotunda and downtown, even though all the streets in question were two-way. Eastbound used University Avenue and Main Street, then left on Ridge/McIntire Road past the Omni. Westbound went up Preston Avenue, left on Grady Avenue, and left again on Rugby Road. Google Street View shows a Business 250 sign at the corner of Grady and Rugby in the middle of the fraternity district: https://goo.gl/maps/sYJnoRJaVTbfdPtS7 The odd thing about routing the business route down University Avenue is that it passes under Score Bridge at the east end of the Corner. The bridge has a 10'0" clearance that causes plenty of problems. A better routing might use Emmet Street  (US-29 Business) north to a right on Barracks Road.

[KCRoadFan]

As a Kansas City resident, I've always thought it would make a lot more sense if I-70 and I-670 swapped places on the downtown freeway loop.

[ran4sh]

US 1 in NC and SC, between Cheraw SC and Southern Pines/Aberdeen NC, is longer than necessary because someone decided it should go through Rockingham instead of Hamlet. It is shorter to go through Hamlet on SC/NC 177 (with a short segment of SC 9 to connect SC 177 to US 1).

[Bruce]

US 101 in Holman, WA

I imagine both of these were localities not wanting the routing to be changed by the corner-cut bypass.

Long Beach is a rather major destination for the region, so the routing makes sense.

[US 89]

I suppose US 93 between Crystal Springs and Ely, Nevada would work here. It's a fine road, and it serves the vast majority of Lincoln County's population...but in terms of getting between the two endpoints, it is over 30 minutes faster to use SR 318.

[sprjus4]

Kind of, but not really?... I-64 swings around a 3/4 beltway in South Hampton Roads to reach Bowers Hill, instead of taking the direct path via what is now I-664. Of course, this was intentionally done to provide an interstate highway connecting and going through Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth (by way of either I-64, I-264, or VA-44 (now I-264)). The area I-664 passes through today was largely undeveloped in the 1960s and 1970s, though construction of what would become I-664 was identified as a need in the 1960s.

Another one could be I-40 in North Carolina from border to coast... it's quicker to take US-74 across the southern part of the state or even dip into South Carolina via I-26, I-20, and I-95 than to take I-40 all the way through. Of course, I-40 originally ended in Greensboro, and wasn't extended until the 1980s and 1990s all the way to Wilmington through Raleigh-Durham.

I-65 takes an indirect path between Birmingham and Mobile, though this is intentionally done to serve Montgomery, the state capital, and to collect traffic to/from I-85.

I-75 takes an indirect path between Knoxville and Atlanta, again, intentionally done to avoid mountainous regions and to provide a corridor connecting through Chattanooga. This allows part of I-75 to serve the "northeast" corridor consisting of traffic between I-81 and I-59, and from traffic to/from the I-24 corridor to the west to connect to/from I-75 to the south towards Atlanta.

[DandyDan]

For US 61 south of Hastings, the route it follows is Minnesota Constitutional Route 3. There's also the matter of Constitutional Route 20, which has to meet Constitutional Route 3 in Douglas Township. That would be the US 61/MN 20/MN 50 complex today. As for MN 316, that's a much later route.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I may find some more if I looked through the whole list of historical French national routes, but I'm pretty sure the worldwide champion is N566 (now D2566 save for a short section prefixed M) between Sospel and L'Escarène (Northeast of Nice). I'm pretty sure N204 (now D2204) is far shorter in time, as it is so in distance.

[texaskdog]

MN 6 near Deer River passes the "Deer River Shortcut", Itasca County 11. County 11 doesn't even go to Deer River...it takes you back to MN 6 on the east edge of town where 6 is duplexed with US 2 heading westbound into Deer River.

That is weird.  We used to take 65 to Togo and then 1 across and cut through a park but those were different roads.  We never went to Effie on 6

[texaskdog]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

Well US-63 ends at US-61 so probably just because of it ending at another US highway in a random location like any other US highway ending.

US 63 goes on into Wisconsin at Red Wing.  Now it would make more sense to go up MN 58 through Zumbrota with the jog at Rochester.  At least at one time it made sense though.

[Flint1979]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

Well US-63 ends at US-61 so probably just because of it ending at another US highway in a random location like any other US highway ending.

US 63 goes on into Wisconsin at Red Wing.  Now it would make more sense to go up MN 58 through Zumbrota with the jog at Rochester.  At least at one time it made sense though.

Hmm I must of missed where it picks up on the north end there but I see it now. So now that I see that it kind of does look a little strange but possibly the concurrency with US-61 was done on purpose.

[texaskdog]

Thinking of map routings that are not just our preferences (e.g. US 63 going through Lake City MN which looks odd now but made sense at one time and never changed).  And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

US 285 in Colorado makes a longer jog westward that makes no sense.

US 61 south of Hastings not following the much shorter MN 316 route.

US 41 in Michigan (in that case I believe the plan was to connect 41 directly to Marquette and it never happened) not going along lake Michigan instead of M-35.

Last weekend we were in Cuero, TX.  North US 87 heads southbound with 183 and alt 77 passing TX 72 then after it leaves 183/alt 77 crosses 72 again.  no one would not just take 72!!!

Well US-63 ends at US-61 so probably just because of it ending at another US highway in a random location like any other US highway ending.

US 63 goes on into Wisconsin at Red Wing.  Now it would make more sense to go up MN 58 through Zumbrota with the jog at Rochester.  At least at one time it made sense though.

Hmm I must of missed where it picks up on the north end there but I see it now. So now that I see that it kind of does look a little strange but possibly the concurrency with US-61 was done on purpose.

It was originally US 59 then 63.  it was later extended into Wisconsin.  Lake City I think was more of a destination then and MN 58 was a smaller road.  With the 63 routing out of downtown Rochester I don't think anyone travelling through on 63 would go through Lake City instead of Zumbrota

[gonealookin]

US 95 in Nevada between Tonopah and Winnemucca makes quite a westward detour to jog around mountain ranges.  A route that uses primarily NV 376 and NV 305, with a short bit on US 50 through Austin and I-80 from Battle Mountain to Winnemucca cuts 45 miles off the US 95 route and is on high-speed highway all the way (except for the short mountain pass crossing on US 50 just east of Austin).

And bonus points for anyone who can explain them. 

When US 95 was designated in Nevada around 1940 it was entirely on then-paved roads.  In fact for about 20 years it took even more of a westward detour, turning west at Fallon on the Lincoln Highway to connect with US 40 at Fernley.  The direct northerly route from Fallon to US 40 was paved in the late 1950s and that part of US 95 was moved over at that time.  NV 376 and NV 305, or NV 8A as that route was known prior to the 1970s renumbering, was unpaved in 1940 and they probably weren't sure when the paving would take place (old state maps do show it fully paved by 1953).

In California, US 395 takes extra mileage to approach (but not quite get to) Susanville.  Most travelers heading to Alturas from the south will take Lassen County Road A3, the Standish-Buntingville Road, to cut off those 10 or so extra miles.  Caltrans used to have a sign at the south junction of 395 and A3 pointing out that Alturas could be reached either way, but noting the extra mileage required by staying on US 395 (that sign is no longer there though).  I don't know the historical reason for that US 395 routing.

One more in California:  the bend that takes I-5 through Yreka rather than the straight-line route through the valley to the east that would more or less go through Montague.  That one is due to powerful Yreka politician Randolph Collier.

https://mailtribune.com/lifestyle/politics-put-i-5-through-yreka

the California Highway Commission had the final say in where the freeway would go, and in the early 1960s, no one in California had more to say about that than state Sen. Randolph Collier.

Colleagues said Collier, who was chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee for 22 years, ruled with an iron hand.
...
In 1963, when the government proposed to bypass Yreka by routing I-5 directly from Grenada to Hornbrook, Collier went to work.

By the end of the year, the planned length of the freeway had increased nearly two miles, with the route swerving to the west and passing through Collier's hometown of Yreka before turning back east, adding an additional $7 million to the $28 million project.

[wanderer2575]

In Ohio:  US-23 between OH-15 in Carey and I-75 in Perrysburg, which includes a short wrong-way concurrency with I-75.  Nobody travelling between those two points uses US-23; they use OH-15.

[TheStranger]

Not necessarily questionable (due to the cloverleaf in Riverside and the still-expressway segment east of Moreno Valley), but between the East Los Angeles Interchange and Redlands, Route 60 is the more direct path than I-10's route (via I-5 and then the San Bernardino Freeway).  This primarily exists because of the San Bernardino Freeway being complete before the late 1950s, as opposed to the Pomona Freeway being built from scratch in the 1960s.

RE: I-15 routing (which was mentioned earlier) through the Inland Empire - like I-5/Route 99 in the Central Valley, this was somewhat motivated by "move the mainline route to a new-terrain path to get Interstate funding for the newer corridor."  Originally 15 did use modern 215 from Devore to Colton (pre-1969), then from 1969-1974 was planned along all of old 395 between Colton and Miramar NAS (now MCAS) in San Diego.  1974-present the Devore-Temecula segment took over part of pre-existing Route 71 and the entirety of the Route 31 corridor.

1974-1982 the old 395 route through San Bernardino and Riverside was I-15E or Temp I-15E, then afterwards has been I-215 (with expressway portions as Route 215 until upgraded).  The Riverside cloverleaf with Route 91 and Route 60 did not get flyover ramps until about a decade ago.

[Dirt Roads]

Double whammy (and probably the winner):  US-119 between Charleston and Morgantown, West Virginia.  This route is questionable on so many levels.  First off, it made sense to connect Charleston and Morgantown with a class act U.S. route.  The old original WV-4 wasn't straight by any means, but the only hard jog was to follow the Elk River a little bit farther to connect to Sutton (county seat for Braxton County).  But since Sutton, Weston, Clarksburg, Fairmont and Morgantown were all slated to get US-19, local politics needed to connect  a few more dots (literally).  Ironically, US-119 did get routed over both the northern 9 miles of original WV-4 (Morgantown to Pennsylvania line) and its southern 22 miles (Clendenin to Charleston).

You could even make the argument that US-119 was never the best route from Charleston to Spencer.  My grandmother lived in Spencer, and my folks always took US-21 from Charleston to Ripley, and then US-33 from Ripley to Spencer.  Even today using Interstate routings, that concept only takes 8 minutes longer than using US-119 from the Clendenin exit off I-79.

Also, its was always a better run from Buckhannon to Morgantown by staying on WV-20 to Stonewood and pickup up US-19 from there.  Today, Ducky recommends backtracking to Weston, then recommends the WV-20 route, and a crazy route through Elkins to US-250 and staying on WV-92 (Morgantown Pike) north of Belington.  Ducky completely avoids US-119 at all costs.

It's about 50 miles along US-119 from Charleston to Spencer, then another 66 miles along US-33/US-119 multiplex to Weston.  Compare that to about 101 miles using I-79.  Not as bad as it looks on a map.  Continuing along US-33/US-119 multiplex, its only 15 miles to Buckhannon, then another 36 to Grafton on US-119.  From Grafton to Morgantown, its another 25 miles.  Total 79 miles.  Compare that to about 58 miles using I-79 and a bit of I-68.  That's not as bad as it looks on a map either.