I don't think I have seen this question asked before and can't find anything about it anywhere and I was just thinking Indianapolis will have 8 Interstate's approaching it once I-69 is complete and for some reason I don't know why but it got me thinking I wonder what the least traveled 2-di Interstate highway is because I was thinking they are all major highways for the most part and connect various places so there is going to be one that has the least amount of traffic on it. Some are regional highways though and don't have a long distance compared to the likes of I-90 and I-95 vs. I-89 and I-97 so it might be one of those. Perhaps break it down between regional and long distance Interstate's.
Regional: Western I-86
Long Distance: I-49
No idea on traffic counts, and I could be way off, but I would assume, regarding IL, and even larger picture, that the I-72 route from Hannibal, MO to Champaign-Urbana, IL via Springfield and Decatur, cannot be that highly traveled (minus the multiplex around Springfield with I-55)
Most of I-8 east of San Diego would be a strong contender I would imagine.
One pretender that we should immediately put the kibosh on is 70 through Utah, despite its infamously lonely natire. Major route from the Midwest to the Southwest.
Travel Mapping has 232 users. The 5 least traveled are:
2: 17 users
14: 18 users
86W: 39 users
19: 43 users
27: 46 users
It's much harder to find the exact number for Interstates that are in more than 1 state. Fortunately, the top 5 were all intrastate Interstates, even with the uncertainty. 22 and 82 would likely top the "non-intrastate Interstate" list, based on the numbers I saw.
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 01:50:31 PM
Travel Mapping has 232 users. The 5 least traveled are:
2: 17 users
14: 18 users
86W: 39 users
19: 43 users
27: 46 users
It's much harder to find the exact number for Interstates that are in more than 1 state. Fortunately, the top 5 were all intrastate Interstates, even with the uncertainty. 22 and 82 would likely top the "non-intrastate Interstate" list, based on the numbers I saw.
I-27 has some pretty decently sized population centers on it. Probably a lot of users haven't used it due to the fact that it really doesn't go anywhere of note. Ditto for I-19 with the Mexican Border, that said it is far busier than a lot of mostly rural 2d Interstates that I've regularly traveled on.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 13, 2019, 02:05:45 PM
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 01:50:31 PM
Travel Mapping has 232 users. The 5 least traveled are:
2: 17 users
14: 18 users
86W: 39 users
19: 43 users
27: 46 users
It's much harder to find the exact number for Interstates that are in more than 1 state. Fortunately, the top 5 were all intrastate Interstates, even with the uncertainty. 22 and 82 would likely top the "non-intrastate Interstate" list, based on the numbers I saw.
I-27 has some pretty decently sized population centers on it. Probably a lot of users haven't used it due to the fact that it really doesn't go anywhere of note. Ditto for I-19 with the Mexican Border, that said it is far busier than a lot of mostly rural 2d Interstates that I've regularly traveled on.
Travel Mapping only provides a tiny "n" in statistical terms; drawing general conclusions from that "sample" is inappropriate. But addressing those Interstates cited there, I'd guess that both the existing sections of I-2 and I-14, being within population centers in the case of the former and a major regional adjacent "destination" (Ft. Hood) for the latter would mean that what traffic flow there is is dominated by local users. And I'd venture that any traffic flow along the others features an outsize percentage of commercial traffic, particularly I-19, since except for Nogales (on the Mexican side) most destinations are well into Mexico. And I-27 would have considerable
local commercial traffic between the two regional "service centers" of Lubbock and Amarillo. Now, the west I-86
is devoid of major traffic; it may qualify as the "loneliest" Interstate as far as fully completed routes are concerned -- at least anecdotally from my own experience with it.
While I am ignorant of traffic counts on this, and I have never been on it myself, I wonder if the eastern I-88 (NY) would be a contender.
Another thing to note about I-14 is that it's a redesignation of an existing highway and there's a reasonable chance some people travelled what is now I-14 prior to that designation. I fall into that category: I lived in Copperas Cove and travelled the road then, but I have not been there in over 40 years.
Quote from: sparker on January 13, 2019, 03:09:56 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 13, 2019, 02:05:45 PM
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 01:50:31 PM
Travel Mapping has 232 users. The 5 least traveled are:
2: 17 users
14: 18 users
86W: 39 users
19: 43 users
27: 46 users
It's much harder to find the exact number for Interstates that are in more than 1 state. Fortunately, the top 5 were all intrastate Interstates, even with the uncertainty. 22 and 82 would likely top the "non-intrastate Interstate" list, based on the numbers I saw.
I-27 has some pretty decently sized population centers on it. Probably a lot of users haven't used it due to the fact that it really doesn't go anywhere of note. Ditto for I-19 with the Mexican Border, that said it is far busier than a lot of mostly rural 2d Interstates that I've regularly traveled on.
Travel Mapping only provides a tiny "n" in statistical terms; drawing general conclusions from that "sample" is inappropriate. But addressing those Interstates cited there, I'd guess that both the existing sections of I-2 and I-14, being within population centers in the case of the former and a major regional adjacent "destination" (Ft. Hood) for the latter would mean that what traffic flow there is is dominated by local users. And I'd venture that any traffic flow along the others features an outsize percentage of commercial traffic, particularly I-19, since except for Nogales (on the Mexican side) most destinations are well into Mexico. And I-27 would have considerable local commercial traffic between the two regional "service centers" of Lubbock and Amarillo. Now, the west I-86 is devoid of major traffic; it may qualify as the "loneliest" Interstate as far as fully completed routes are concerned -- at least anecdotally from my own experience with it.
Forgot about 86W, that's one lonely drive for an Interstate. I'd say that probably is the least traveled 2d I've been on as a "overall" route.
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:32:15 PM
Another thing to note about I-14 is that it's a redesignation of an existing highway and there's a reasonable chance some people travelled what is now I-14 prior to that designation. I fall into that category: I lived in Copperas Cove and travelled the road then, but I have not been there in over 40 years.
But your list file includes part of the US 190 segment between Copperas Cove and I-35 concurrent with I-14 (not the Killeen bypass, which I guess was built after you were last there). So TM auto-credits you with part of I-14.
My own list file doesn't include an entry for I-14, but it does for the concurrent segment of US 190, so I'm counted too.
Quote from: oscar on January 13, 2019, 03:48:03 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:32:15 PM
Another thing to note about I-14 is that it's a redesignation of an existing highway and there's a reasonable chance some people travelled what is now I-14 prior to that designation. I fall into that category: I lived in Copperas Cove and travelled the road then, but I have not been there in over 40 years.
But your list file includes part of the US 190 segment between Copperas Cove and I-35 concurrent with I-14 (not the Killeen bypass, which I guess was built after you were last there). So TM auto-credits you with part of I-14.
My own list file doesn't include an entry for I-14, but it does for the concurrent segment of US 190, so I'm counted too.
Right, I understand that and I know that's why it credited me. I guess what I was trying to say, and didn't say very well, is that the Travel Mapping stats may be misleading in terms of who's actually been on I-14 because of this issue–people who had been there in the past prior to the Interstate.
The bypass indeed did not exist in my time. Heck, there were still unpaved streets in Copperas Cove back then. My parents' families from Brooklyn thought we lived at the end of the world or something.
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 13, 2019, 01:53:59 AM
I don't think I have seen this question asked before and can't find anything about it anywhere and I was just thinking Indianapolis will have 8 Interstate's approaching it once I-69 is complete and for some reason I don't know why but it got me thinking I wonder what the least traveled 2-di Interstate highway is because I was thinking they are all major highways for the most part and connect various places so there is going to be one that has the least amount of traffic on it.
Now
that's a lengthy sentence if I've ever seen one!
There are really three ways to answer this:
(1) Lowest Total Vehicle Miles Traveled over the entire route - obviously the shortest (and newest) interstates are the best candidates, like I-14.
(2) Lowest AADT on a Single Segment - I-95 near the Canadian border or I-90 in Montana might qualify even though those routes
as a whole are heavily traveled.
(3) Least-Traveled by Roadgeeks - the remote, obscure or otherwise inconvenient for a majority of us to clinch - see list posted by
1 above.
Obviously looking at it by those three different measures all lead to very different answers. I'm not sure which one of those you had in mind, or maybe all three.
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:56:56 PM
Quote from: oscar on January 13, 2019, 03:48:03 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:32:15 PM
Another thing to note about I-14 is that it’s a redesignation of an existing highway and there’s a reasonable chance some people travelled what is now I-14 prior to that designation. I fall into that category: I lived in Copperas Cove and travelled the road then, but I have not been there in over 40 years.
But your list file includes part of the US 190 segment between Copperas Cove and I-35 concurrent with I-14 (not the Killeen bypass, which I guess was built after you were last there). So TM auto-credits you with part of I-14.
My own list file doesn't include an entry for I-14, but it does for the concurrent segment of US 190, so I'm counted too.
Right, I understand that and I know that’s why it credited me. I guess what I was trying to say, and didn’t say very well, is that the Travel Mapping stats may be misleading in terms of who’s actually been on I-14 because of this issue—people who had been there in the past prior to the Interstate.
I've never seen an I-14 marker either, but I did drive the concurrent segment of US 190 while all of it was a freeway. So I'm counting the Interstate as "clinched in advance".
===
As for "least traveled" 2di, one candidate would be I-15 between Idaho Falls and Butte. I think at some point froggie posted a map showing traffic volume on that and other Interstate segments, but haven't found it yet.
If you include Alaska's paper 2dis, part of Interstate A-1 between Tetlin Junction (AK 5) and the Canadian border reported an AADT of only 611 in 2015. That is, like most of Alaska's Interstates, only two-lane. One time I drove it (but not the most recent), part of the highway was posted for only 25mph due to severe road damage.
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 13, 2019, 03:29:46 PM
While I am ignorant of traffic counts on this, and I have never been on it myself, I wonder if the eastern I-88 (NY) would be a contender.
I-88 is certainly lightly traveled when compared to major travel and freight corridors such as the Thruway and I-81. However, AADT volumes are at least 7K for the entire length, and most segments are over 10K.
It is also, combined with I-86, part of a very scenic (and toll-free!) alternate route to the Thruway between Erie, PA, and Albany. So I imagine there is at least some long-distance traffic and shunpiking trucks using it, as well as regional traffic between the Southern Tier and the Capital Region.
I guess my verdict is that it qualifies by East Coast standards, but not so much when compared to the true Wild West! :-D
I-64 between the West Virginia state line and I-81 in Virginia would have to be on anyone's short list.
For MA, I-91 north of Northampton is probably the least traveled.
I'd probably have to say the new part of I-11 would be on the list, but with it being Vegas, I doubt it would be top 3.
Quote from: Ben114 on January 13, 2019, 04:53:07 PM
I'd probably have to say the new part of I-11 would be on the list, but with it being Vegas, I doubt it would be top 3.
Probably not even close.
Quote from: Ben114 on January 13, 2019, 04:53:07 PM
I'd probably have to say the new part of I-11 would be on the list, but with it being Vegas, I doubt it would be top 3.
The part between SR 592 and US 95? No way. That scored an AADT of 52,000 in 2017 per the NDOT report. Once past Boulder City, the US 93 AADT appears to drop off to 18,800 -- which is still higher than a lot of existing rural interstates.
Put it this way. There's a reason US 93 was four lanes through Nevada before I-11 was ever planned.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 13, 2019, 04:48:56 PM
For MA, I-91 north of Northampton is probably the least traveled.
I nominate I-395 north of Norwich (specifically CT 2) for CT. For RI, I'd say I-295 between US 6 and RI 146.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on January 13, 2019, 06:27:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 13, 2019, 04:48:56 PM
For MA, I-91 north of Northampton is probably the least traveled.
I nominate I-395 north of Norwich (specifically CT 2) for CT. For RI, I'd say I-295 between US 6 and RI 146.
Did you miss the part about 2di? ;-)
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2019, 04:44:13 PM
I-64 between the West Virginia state line and I-81 in Virginia would have to be on anyone's short list.
About 20,000 AADT in the Covington - Clifton Forge area. The segment over North Mountain (west of Lexington) drops to about 9,600.
Didn't someone post in the past that I-95 in northern Maine is in the 3,000 to 4,000 range?
Quote from: Beltway on January 13, 2019, 06:55:12 PM
Didn't someone post in the past that I-95 in northern Maine is in the 3,000 to 4,000 range?
Other parts of I-95 make it not anywhere close to being a contender. I-95 might even qualify for
most traveled.
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 07:54:00 PM
Quote from: Beltway on January 13, 2019, 06:55:12 PM
Didn't someone post in the past that I-95 in northern Maine is in the 3,000 to 4,000 range?
Other parts of I-95 make it not anywhere close to being a contender. I-95 might even qualify for most traveled.
Yeah it's not going to be I-95 that's indeed one of the most traveled, especially with the Cross Bronx stretch.
Quote from: oscar on January 13, 2019, 04:19:00 PM
As for "least traveled" 2di, one candidate would be I-15 between Idaho Falls and Butte. I think at some point froggie posted a map showing traffic volume on that and other Interstate segments, but haven't found it yet.
The 2012 data version (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18890.msg2177013#msg2177013)...
From my own travels, I'd nominate I-74 between Champaign and Indianapolis, I-86 from Erie to Corning, and I-69 from Evansville to Bloomington. Honorable mention goes to I-39 north of Portage...there's a decent amount of vehicles but almost no trucks.
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:56:56 PM
Quote from: oscar on January 13, 2019, 03:48:03 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 13, 2019, 03:32:15 PM
Another thing to note about I-14 is that it's a redesignation of an existing highway and there's a reasonable chance some people travelled what is now I-14 prior to that designation. I fall into that category: I lived in Copperas Cove and travelled the road then, but I have not been there in over 40 years.
But your list file includes part of the US 190 segment between Copperas Cove and I-35 concurrent with I-14 (not the Killeen bypass, which I guess was built after you were last there). So TM auto-credits you with part of I-14.
My own list file doesn't include an entry for I-14, but it does for the concurrent segment of US 190, so I'm counted too.
Right, I understand that and I know that's why it credited me. I guess what I was trying to say, and didn't say very well, is that the Travel Mapping stats may be misleading in terms of who's actually been on I-14 because of this issue–people who had been there in the past prior to the Interstate.
I dunno, I'd say you have traveled on I-14. The fact that there were no I-14 signs at the time you were there does not change this - you traveled on the same physical road that is there now.
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 13, 2019, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 07:54:00 PM
Quote from: Beltway on January 13, 2019, 06:55:12 PM
Didn't someone post in the past that I-95 in northern Maine is in the 3,000 to 4,000 range?
Other parts of I-95 make it not anywhere close to being a contender. I-95 might even qualify for most traveled.
Yeah it's not going to be I-95 that's indeed one of the most traveled, especially with the Cross Bronx stretch.
Unless we are talking about specific segments instead of the route as a whole.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on January 13, 2019, 09:12:38 AM
Regional: Western I-86
Long Distance: I-49
Currently I-49 is 5 segments (if you count the practically complete stretch of AR-549 between AR-22 and US-71) with varying amounts of gaps, some of which are a rather large one connected by roads that are still very curvy and treacherous (US-71 south of Ft. Smith), smaller ones that just take detours out of the final alignment(Shreveport, Alma/Barling), or run right through an at-grade urban area (Bella Vista) with 9 traffic lights. The last one finally has funding to address in the next 3 years, but there isn't any imminent hope of any of the rest of it within the next 10 years. This is one road that, due to location and congestion around 2 of the other E-W interstates that it connects to, just screams "if you build it, they will come."
Quote from: webny99Unless we are talking about specific segments instead of the route as a whole.
Given that was the OP you replied to, I'd wager he isn't talking about specific short segments.
In fact, in the OP, he mentions both "long distance" (i.e. entire length) and "regional" (full length of state or perhaps multiple states, like "New England" or "Mid-Atlantic", etc etc).
Quote from: froggie on January 14, 2019, 08:21:15 AM
Quote from: webny99Unless we are talking about specific segments instead of the route as a whole.
Given that was the OP you replied to, I'd wager he isn't talking about specific short segments.
In fact, in the OP, he mentions both "long distance" (i.e. entire length) and "regional" (full length of state or perhaps multiple states, like "New England" or "Mid-Atlantic", etc etc).
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured.
But, if you look for the
actual least traveled single portion of interstate, it probably
isn't going to be I-97 or I-14, which are relatively heavily traveled despite being shorter in total mileage. I-15 in northern Montana or I-95 in northern Maine would be better candidates.
I read a while back that the lowest AADT on a 2DI was on I-15 at the Idaho-Montana state line.
Closer to home, what's the AADT on I-88 west of Rochelle, IL?
Mike
Quote from: webny99 on January 13, 2019, 04:14:14 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 13, 2019, 01:53:59 AM
I don't think I have seen this question asked before and can't find anything about it anywhere and I was just thinking Indianapolis will have 8 Interstate's approaching it once I-69 is complete and for some reason I don't know why but it got me thinking I wonder what the least traveled 2-di Interstate highway is because I was thinking they are all major highways for the most part and connect various places so there is going to be one that has the least amount of traffic on it.
Now that's a lengthy sentence if I've ever seen one!
There are really three ways to answer this:
(1) Lowest Total Vehicle Miles Traveled over the entire route - obviously the shortest (and newest) interstates are the best candidates, like I-14.
(2) Lowest AADT on a Single Segment - I-95 near the Canadian border or I-90 in Montana might qualify even though those routes as a whole are heavily traveled.
(3) Least-Traveled by Roadgeeks - the remote, obscure or otherwise inconvenient for a majority of us to clinch - see list posted by 1 above.
Obviously looking at it by those three different measures all lead to very different answers. I'm not sure which one of those you had in mind, or maybe all three.
Actually, I would measure it by the highest AADT of any segment of the highway. That is to say, what is the AADT of the busiest segment of a particular Interstate? The lowest answer wins.
For example, the stretch of I-19 with the highest AADT is between Exit 98 and Exit 99 in Tucson, at 89,842. That would be the "score" for I-19.
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 01:47:34 PM
Actually, I would measure it by the highest AADT of any segment of the highway. That is to say, what is the AADT of the busiest segment of a particular Interstate? The lowest answer wins.
For example, the stretch of I-19 with the highest AADT is between Exit 98 and Exit 99 in Tucson, at 89,842. That would be the "score" for I-19.
Hmmm.
Lowest high. I think I like it. It would definitely eliminate all the I-X0's and I-X5's, and anything that passes through a large metro area, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The western I-86, which was one of the ones that jumped out right away as a candidate, has a high of 27,000 (near the eastern terminus in Pocatello). I think we can get lower than that.
88 west of Rochelle is about 15000. That is the high point if 72 between Jacksonville and Springfield. It goes down to about 6000 near Hannibal. 15000 is 74 in Western Illinois and Indiana. It is about that on parts of 35 in Iowa and I think 88 and 86 in NY are even lower.Lots of low volume 2di out there.
Quote from: webny99 on January 14, 2019, 03:23:18 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 01:47:34 PM
Actually, I would measure it by the highest AADT of any segment of the highway. That is to say, what is the AADT of the busiest segment of a particular Interstate? The lowest answer wins.
For example, the stretch of I-19 with the highest AADT is between Exit 98 and Exit 99 in Tucson, at 89,842. That would be the "score" for I-19.
Hmmm.
Lowest high. I think I like it. It would definitely eliminate all the I-X0's and I-X5's, and anything that passes through a large metro area, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The western I-86, which was one of the ones that jumped out right away as a candidate, has a high of 27,000 (near the eastern terminus in Pocatello). I think we can get lower than that.
Eastern I-88 tops out at 26k between where NY 7 splits off for Binghamton and NY 12A.
Quote from: webny99 on January 14, 2019, 03:23:18 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 01:47:34 PM
Actually, I would measure it by the highest AADT of any segment of the highway. That is to say, what is the AADT of the busiest segment of a particular Interstate? The lowest answer wins.
For example, the stretch of I-19 with the highest AADT is between Exit 98 and Exit 99 in Tucson, at 89,842. That would be the "score" for I-19.
Hmmm.
Lowest high. I think I like it. It would definitely eliminate all the I-X0's and I-X5's, and anything that passes through a large metro area, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The western I-86, which was one of the ones that jumped out right away as a candidate, has a high of 27,000 (near the eastern terminus in Pocatello). I think we can get lower than that.
That might give the answer I'm looking for. The one with the lowest high will most likely be the least traveled IMO.
Technically, I-11 doesn't go up as far as SR 592 (Flamingo Rd). If you meant SR 582 (Boulder Hwy, the south end), then that makes sense.
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 13, 2019, 01:53:59 AM
... and I was just thinking Indianapolis will have 8 Interstate's approaching it once I-69 is complete ...
Well, we ARE the "Crossroads of America"! And we might someday have 9 Interstate segments approaching... if US 31 from South Bend & Michigan beyond is ever fully upgraded and designated as I-67 (as I feel it SHOULD be).