Assign each state a number from 1 to 50

[hotdogPi]

Assign each state a number from 1 to 50 that is an important state route in that state. Each number is used only once. The goal is for everyone (or most people) to agree on a list.

Arizona must have 24 or 30; no other low numbers exist.
Similar for Nevada (must take 28)
Hawaii probably gets 11 or 19.
Alaska has to get a low number (1-11).
California probably gets CA 1, which is one of the few state routes known by the general public nationwide.

My idea for a partial list:
CA 1
DE 2
OK 3
AK 4
AL 5
TX 6
OH 7
CT 8
MA 9
RI 10
ME 11
VT 12
GA 13
M-14
MS 15
NC 16
NY 17
HI 19
WA 20
MO 21
TN 22
FL 23
AZ 24
NH 25
NV 28
SC 31
MD 32
PA 33
WI 35
IN 37
VA 40
SD 42
WV 43
ID 44
NM 45

[froggie]

I'd give Florida 50 and use 23 for Minnesota.

[thspfc]

I vote 27 for Iowa.

[Max Rockatansky]

This might be counterintuitive to a lot of posters but California probably could drop down to 49 given CA 49 is also a well known State Highway.  That would leave highways like; M-1, FL A1A and MN 1 up for consideration.

[ilpt4u]

As an Illinoisan, IL really needs 1. The Prairie State really does not have a trans-state State Route other than Rt 1, from the Cave in Rock Ferry across the Ohio to the City of Chicago/Halstead St. Add in its historical significance as the Northern segment of the route from Chicago to Danville was mostly part of the old Dixie Highway...

I don't even know where I would go next after IL 1...IL 47 goes from the Cheddar Curtain to just west of Champaign and touches the outer fringes of Chicagoland; IL 4 goes from Springfield down to just north of Murphysboro in Jackson County and touches the outer fringes of the STL Metro East...but each of those account for roughly half the state

[Big John]

WI 35 is the longest state highway, but WI 29 is more important  being an expressway/freeway from I-94 to I-41.

[oscar]

For Alaska, I'd try to give it 2 (Alaska Highway) or 3 (Parks Highway, connecting the two largest cities with Denali National Park), instead of 4 which is not unimportant but not really special either. Delaware can get 4 as a substitute for 2. I'm OK with giving 11 to Maine rather than Alaska, and 1 (longest AK route) to another state that needs it more.

I agree with Max that 49 is an excellent alternative to 1 for California.

Also, NC is much more famous for 12 than for 16.

ND isn't on the list yet. 18, an unused number, works for that state, running from the SD to MB borders. 5 would be better, as the only low-numbered state route from the MT to MN borders. The Missouri River breaks up more west-east routes in ND than in SD.

[debragga]

LA can take 49 (I-49) or 1 (LA-1) if CA is switching

[Revive 755]

I think I would go with 19 over 21 for Missouri.  I think MO 19 is better know as a scenic byway than 21 (not that 21 doesn't have the section near Ironton going for it).  Plus 19 covers a little more of the state.

[US 89]

I'd try to give Utah 12 or 24, but preferably 12. Of all the state routes there with numbers less than 50, those are easily the most recognizable, and Utah 12 seems to be fairly well known even among the general public.

[Max Rockatansky]

Regarding the comments made on FL 50 over FL 23 I agree the former is a more important route  and way better known locally.  FL 50 is one of the main East/West arterial highways in the state and if it was coupled with CA 49 would get California and Florida at the end of the list which should make the lower numbers easier to fill. 

Also, M-26 is one of the main scenic highways in the Upper Peninsula and could fill the 26 slot which would leave 14 open. 

[Max Rockatansky]

I'd try to give Utah 12 or 24, but preferably 12. Of all the state routes there with numbers less than 50, those are easily the most recognizable, and Utah 12 seems to be fairly well known even among the general public.

Even UT 9 is pretty up there thanks to Zion National Park. 

[US 89]

I'd try to give Utah 12 or 24, but preferably 12. Of all the state routes there with numbers less than 50, those are easily the most recognizable, and Utah 12 seems to be fairly well known even among the general public.

Even UT 9 is pretty up there thanks to Zion National Park.

Heh, I completely forgot about 9. SR 18, 31, or 39 would all be decent choices as well but those three don't really have as much general recognition.

[hbelkins]

Where does Kentucky go on a list of 1 to 50?

Possible options: 4, 9, 11, 15, and 30 are the ones that come most readily to mind. None of the other routes are important from end to end; only in segments.

West Virginia: I'm thinking 2, 9, or 10.

[ozarkman417]

I think I would go with 19 over 21 for Missouri.  I think MO 19 is better know as a scenic byway than 21 (not that 21 doesn't have the section near Ironton going for it).  Plus 19 covers a little more of the state.

I would go for 13 for MO due to it's role as an important connector between KC & Springfield. It misses the Iowa state line by only 23 miles and ends at the AR state line.

[paulthemapguy]

This is literally the premise of my state route collection.  The goal is to get a different type of route for all numbers 1-54, to make an 11x5 collage of squares.  I had to pull some strings, because the plan was devised before AZ-24 ever existed, and because TN and SC don't use square markers (so they each take up 1.5 squares).  I did this three times so I'd have a plan B and plan C in case something went wrong.  All three collages involve NV-28 and AZ-51 since they had to at the time.  The 54 route types are those of the 50 states, an Interstate, a US Route, a county route, and a national forest or Indian route. My plans for the collages are here.

[thspfc]

WI 35 is the longest state highway, but WI 29 is more important  being an expressway/freeway from I-94 to I-41.

29 is no doubt the most important state highway, but 35 is more iconic. It's the Midwestern version of CA-1.

[bulldog1979]

WI 35 is the longest state highway, but WI 29 is more important  being an expressway/freeway from I-94 to I-41.

29 is no doubt the most important state highway, but 35 is more iconic. It's the Midwestern version of CA-1.

I don't know, M-22 has been called the Midwest's PCH.

[oscar]

WI 35 is the longest state highway, but WI 29 is more important  being an expressway/freeway from I-94 to I-41.

29 is no doubt the most important state highway, but 35 is more iconic. It's the Midwestern version of CA-1.

I don't know, M-22 has been called the Midwest's PCH.

At least M-22 follows a scenic large-lake coast. Wisconsin 35, not so much.

[froggie]

No...but WI 35 does follow *THE* river...

[Max Rockatansky]

WI 35 is the longest state highway, but WI 29 is more important  being an expressway/freeway from I-94 to I-41.

29 is no doubt the most important state highway, but 35 is more iconic. It's the Midwestern version of CA-1.

I don't know, M-22 has been called the Midwest's PCH.

Its a nice scenic highway and one of the best in the Midwest, but PCH it ain't...not even close  Personally my take is that M-26 has a just as scenic segment on Lake Superior and offers a ton of history with the Copper Country mining/ghost towns. 

[kphoger]

K-7 is pretty significant in Kansas, if Ohio could get a different number.

[Ben114]

9 is an excellent choice for MA.

[FrCorySticha]

I would argue the most significant state highway in Montana is MT 200, but that doesn't fit the 1-50 range.

IMO, about the only highway that fits the criteria is MT 3. Although it is mostly duplexed with US 12, US 191 and US 87, it serves to mark the preferred route between Billings and Great Falls.

[formulanone]

Considering the longest of each first, the ones that have to be forced in (Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona), you then have to bargain with others' numbers. Then next-longest routes are the same numbers as those in other states. Few states have many prominent routes in the 40s, and some just have to wait their turn; Louisiana's longest is "1", but I found that every other state had sort of reserved those numbers when I got to it (Here, take 29 because nobody really claimed it yet...even though it's your 20th-longest route.)

I spent more time on this than I should, and it's still incomplete.

1 CA - Though there's others, it's one of the few nationally well-known state routes (along with A1A, M-22, or NC 12)
2 MD - Longest in the state. Anything else under 50 isn't that important. Perhaps Massachusetts, because other important numbers are taken?
3 OK - Longest in state; denied Iowa (picked 2nd longest in its state)
4 KS - Longest in Kansas, kind of thought more would battle for this number.
5 MO - Longest in Missouri, very heated number for a "second-place route".
6 AK - Lowest number that is not a state's longest route...Most pointless stat of the day.
7 OH - Longest in Ohio
8 ND - 8th longest, seemed a perfect fit. (Trying to keep out anything below than 10th in distance unless good reason.)

Then there's "9". Everyone wants this if they can't have "1", for some reason.

9 UT - Longest in the state, but an important enough for SC and several other states. If we give UT #9, that frees up 24, and SC gets 41, which isn't claimed much.

10 KY - Not many choices under 50 in this state but for 9 and a few others. Not many states actually vied for #10.
11 ME - Longest in Maine
12 NC, NE - 4th longest in Nebraska (either 2 or 92 in mix)
13 MT - 6th longest, not a popular number. Might work for TN, but MT doesn't have many primary numbers to give up.

Seemed easy enough. Then...

14 CO, RI, VT - Longest in CO, but Rhode Island has a lot of really short routes. Vermont's longest are all surprisingly high or already in use. Same problem in Colorado - 71 is perfect fit but right out.

15 CT - Merritt Parkway, et al is most recognizable route in CT. Tennessee could take 50 without much shame.

16 TX, NH ? - Longest in a big state, though 6 would also good for Texas but Alaska needs something. But what do we give New Hampshire? 28 would work but Nevada needs it.

17 NY - Longest in state
18 PA - Longest in state
19 HI - few other low numbers

And then it gets either really heated...

20 WV, WA - Hard to figure SD's longest (a 4dsr won't work here), and WV has few long SRs but many tiny ones. WA could also take 21, SD gets 34

21 AL, WA - 21 is an important-ish route in AL, but so is 9, and too many are vying for that (5 doesn't really go anywhere). What does WA get for losing 20?

22 MI - well-known, not many want this number

23 MN - second-longest in state, not many battling for this number. Everyone wants number 1, see Louisiana's problem (which would also work for 23).

24 ? - longest in UT. I know you want "9", but so does everyone else. Several states have a prominent "24".

25 MS - 2nd longest in Mississippi, but goes from the state Capital to border with Tennessee, traverses much of the state. Few states squabbled for this number.

26 FL - Because Gainesville...this could be up for grabs, so if there's a better candidate for #26, put down FL for 44.

27 IA - 3rd longest

28 NV - MA? - This should go to MA or NH, but this the only 2dsr for state. A lot of states have an fairly-important SR 28, go figure.

29 IL - 8th longest; I feel this is a consolation prize because too many wanted to claim "1", and 110 won't work in this game.

30 AZ - not many states wanted 30 anyhow.

Now it gets a bit patchy.

31 OR - Ninth-longest in state, but many are >#50, and nobody wants this number much

32 WI - seems special enough, (there's even special shields!) though 35 is longer

33 ID - 3rd longest, and then it's a bit sparse.

34 SD - another decent consolation prize, though an unwanted number

35 AR - Arkansas needed something, so Wisconsin can take its 2nd best.

36 ?

37 IN - Indiana's longest, kind of claims this all for itself

38 ? - Wanted to give this to RI as a consolation prize for not getting 138, but it doesn't exist.

39 NM - 7th longest, only 9 was longer <#50. Not many need this number.

40 VA - Virginia's longest. Not many want it, probably due to I-40 and US 40's lengths.

41 SC - Consolation prize, over 100 miles. Too many wanted #9.

42 GA - Might work for a "Heart of Georgia" situation, because it's one of the few which Georgia hasn't multiplexed or hidden with a US route for any significant length.

43 ? - I can't think of a serious #43 other than Illinois

44 ? - plucky 44 works for FL; only SR that doesn't end in 0 which spans both coasts. But 20, 40, or 50 are better-known. Nobody else wants this number.

45 ?

46 ?

47 NJ - New Jersey's longest, and barely on any other state's radar.

48 ?

49 ?  - As Max said, we can give California this number and it makes total sense, but shakes up battle for Number 1. Should go to Louisiana, as other usable numbers are fairly minor.

50 WY, TN - 8th longest, 34 is 10th. Wyoming is another on the short-shrift for low state numbers.