Longest isolated stretch of freeway?

[TheStranger]

Thought of this when I saw the thread on New Circle Road in Lexington and how it was supposed to be I-464 at one point (according to an unsourced Wikipedia edit):
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=8107.msg2428478;topicseen#msg2428478

Obviously there are many freeway bypasses and loops that are self-contained within a town or area, with no linkages to the freeway network at large.  Are there any extended (i.e. 40+ mile) freeway segments that are not at all connected to other freeways?

To add to that thought - are there any freeways that do link up to other freeways, but of which all of them together do not link to the overall freeway network in the state (i.e. a bypass that links to another bypass, but both not connected to any Interstates or any long-distance freeway routes)?

[hotdogPi]

The longest isolated freeway I can find is part of US 90 in Louisiana. Other long segments are US 4 and US 7 in Vermont, two different segments of US 70 in North Carolina, and TX 6 in College Station.

To add to that thought - are there any freeways that do link up to other freeways, but of which all of them together do not link to the overall freeway network in the state (i.e. a bypass that links to another bypass, but both not connected to any Interstates or any long-distance freeway routes)?

SC 22 and SC 31.

EDIT: Forgot US 101.

[TheStranger]

Trying to think of California-specific examples:

For the first question (completely isolated freeway)
- Route 198 in Lemoore/Hanford, about 15 miles with no other freeways linking up to it
- Route 70/149 between Oroville and Shippee Road, 10.5 miles
- US 101 Ukiah bypass (10 miles)
- US 101 from Paso Robles to Santa Margarita (23 miles)
- US 101 from San Luis Obispo to Arroyo Grande (19 miles)
- US 101 from Nipomo to south of Santa Maria (19 miles)
- US 101 south of Eureka, from milepost 633 (Benbow Drive just north of Richardson Grove) to 703 (north of the Herrick Avenue exit) (70 miles)

For the second...

Route 70 and Route 65 in Marysville might qualify though for how long is a good question, given that most of the 70/99 El Centro Road corridor is now expressway with only a few intersections left.
US 101 and Route 299 in Arcata
US 101 and Route 217 and Route 154 in Santa Barbara

[Max Rockatansky]

Trying to think of California-specific examples:

For the first question (completely isolated freeway)
- Route 198 in Lemoore/Hanford, about 15 miles with no other freeways linking up to it
- Route 70/149 between Oroville and Shippee Road, 10.5 miles
- US 101 Ukiah bypass (10 miles)
- US 101 from Paso Robles to Santa Margarita (23 miles)
- US 101 from San Luis Obispo to Arroyo Grande (19 miles)
- US 101 from Nipomo to south of Santa Maria (19 miles)
- US 101 south of Eureka, from milepost 633 (Benbow Drive just north of Richardson Grove) to 703 (north of the Herrick Avenue exit) (70 miles)

For the second...

Route 70 and Route 65 in Marysville might qualify though for how long is a good question, given that most of the 70/99 El Centro Road corridor is now expressway with only a few intersections left.
US 101 and Route 299 in Arcata
US 101 and Route 217 and Route 154 in Santa Barbara

CA 65 also has a freeway stretch in Porterville out in the middle of nowhere but it is fairly short.  The big one probably is CA 178 in Lake Isabella which isn't anywhere close to another freeway segment and kind of lengthy.  I would think CA 58 east of CA 223 (an at grade junction) to CA 14 would probably be the longest isolated freeway segment. 

[ilpt4u]

TN (currently) has TN 22 -> US 45E -> TN 43 Freeway from Union City to Martin, at about 19 miles. It will connect to Future I-69, but as it stands now, roughly 20 miles of Freeway

Illinois's isolated Freeway segments are pretty short...US 41 in Park City, IL 137 in Waukegan, US 20 in Elgin. The new IL 110/336 Macomb Bypass is a Freeway, but it is presently a Super 2 Freeway

The Elgin-O'Hare Expressway/now IL 390 Tollway recently moved off this list, as it now is Freeway connected to I-290 and soon will be to Future I-490. And should its extension west to meet the US 20 Elgin Freeway ever happen, then US 20 would also come off the list

Probably the longest in IL would be the Northern part of the LSD Freeway/US 41 in Chicago, and that is all of 6.5 miles or so

[TheStranger]

The big one probably is CA 178 in Lake Isabella which isn't anywhere close to another freeway segment and kind of lengthy.  I would think CA 58 east of CA 223 (an at grade junction) to CA 14 would probably be the longest isolated freeway segment. 

178 around Lake Isabella is only 5 miles between at-grade intersections surprisingly.

Route 58 between Route 223 and 25th Street in Mojave is about 41 miles

[GaryV]

In Michigan it would be M-53, the "Van Dyke Freeway" at about 8 miles.  Plus several miles more of expressway north of the end of the true freeway, where some of the Mile Roads have intersections rather than interchanges.

[skluth]

The most obvious example is the small freeway network in South Texas near McAllen/ Brownsville. I-2 and the I-69 complex are currently isolated from the rest of the mainland interstate network. The plan is to connect them someday, but it won't be in the next few years.

Alberta's freeways also are isolated. AB 2 connects Calgary and Edmonton. There are a few other freeways that link up to form a small network. But connecting to other freeways requires many miles (or kilometers because it's Canada) of regular roads, though many connections are four lanes.

[sprjus4]

To add to that thought - are there any freeways that do link up to other freeways, but of which all of them together do not link to the overall freeway network in the state (i.e. a bypass that links to another bypass, but both not connected to any Interstates or any long-distance freeway routes)?

US-17 and US-70 in New Bern, NC

The US-17 freeway is being extended 7 miles south when the Pollocksville Bypass opens at the end of the year, and there's plans to build a northern freeway in the future (the interchange at US-70 has ghost-ramps to accommodate the extension) though that is unfunded.

None of the US-17 freeway extensions would connect to the rest of the freeway network though.

The US-70 freeway should be extended south by 2024-25 with the completion of the James City upgrades and the Havelock Bypass - extended by an additional 20 miles.

This example will be obsolete by 2028 when the Kinston Bypass is complete, as the US-70 freeway would be linked to I-795, and likely to I-40 by then - and become I-42 itself.

If the James City upgrades and Havelock Bypass are completed before the Kinston Bypass is done, the New Bern area would have 64 miles of isolated freeways.

[3467]

Downstate beside Macomb the Freeport and US 50 bypasses are all around 6 to 8 miles. All the rest are connected to another freeway or even an Interstate.
And 50 was supposed to be the Interstate . The others two are connected to expressways. As ilp  says very few at all in Illinois.

Iowa has a bunch of short isolated bypasses like Mt. Pleasant. Iowa used to have huge hunks of 20 but no longer.

[ilpt4u]

Not sure why I forgot US 50, as I've driven on 50 between Vincennes and St Louis...probably because I consider that one more in IN, but part of the Freeway is in IL

I have never driven US 20 west of Rockford, so I didn't even know the Freeport Bypass is a Freeway

[tdindy88]

Speaking of Indiana, the US 31 bypass around Kokomo probably count's as the state's longest isolated stretch of freeway. The freeway part of the Lloyd Expressway in Evansville may be the next longest, but it is a few miles long now that the US 41 interchange has been reconfigured.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Mankato, MN has the US 14/169/MN 60 freeway network that does not link to any other freeway systems in the state. They don't meet as freeways within Mankato as 169 isn't a freeway until a couple blocks south of 14.

[lepidopteran]

In PA, how about the freeway section of US-219 between Meyersdale and Ebensburg?  While it does cross the PA Turnpike, connections between the two highways are even longer than those at Breezewood.  Granted, the road is supposed to eventually connect to I-68 (part of which is under construction as we speak), but even that will involve a roundabout.

[Beltway]

In PA, how about the freeway section of US-219 between Meyersdale and Ebensburg?  While it does cross the PA Turnpike, connections between the two highways are even longer than those at Breezewood.  Granted, the road is supposed to eventually connect to I-68 (part of which is under construction as we speak), but even that will involve a roundabout.

You could say the same thing about I-99 between Bedford and 1/2 mile of I-80. 

No actual connections to the rest of the Interstate highway system.

[Evan_Th]

If we're including Canada, the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia also has no connections to the rest of the freeway system - it doesn't quite meet I-5/BC-99, and none of the other border crossings are controlled-access.  That's ~233 miles of isolated freeway from Kamloops to the ferry landing at Horseshoe Bay.

[Max Rockatansky]

Anyone have an idea how long the freeway segment of Fain Road/AZ 89A is?  That certainly wouldn't be close to the longest isolated freeway listed but it would be for Arizona. 

[sprjus4]

In PA, how about the freeway section of US-219 between Meyersdale and Ebensburg?  While it does cross the PA Turnpike, connections between the two highways are even longer than those at Breezewood.  Granted, the road is supposed to eventually connect to I-68 (part of which is under construction as we speak), but even that will involve a roundabout.

You could say the same thing about I-99 between Bedford and 1/2 mile of I-80. 

No actual connections to the rest of the Interstate highway system.

That would qualify then for the OP.

It does not connect to the rest of the interstate highway system. It's not the only instance of an interstate highway not connecting to any other interstate highways.

[oscar]

If we're including Canada, the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia also has no connections to the rest of the freeway system - it doesn't quite meet I-5/BC-99, and none of the other border crossings are controlled-access.  That's ~233 miles of isolated freeway from Kamloops to the ferry landing at Horseshoe Bay.

Between Hope and Kamloops, most of TCH 1 is non-freeway. The freeway between Hope and Kamloops is the Coquihalla Hwy., part of route 5 rather than route 1. It has Canada's highest posted speed limit, 120km/h.

In neighboring Alberta, most or all of route 2 between Calgary and Edmonton is freeway, though I'm unsure whether there are at-grade intersections along the way. There are connecting freeways at both ends, including AB 201 and AB 216.

[Beltway]

You could say the same thing about I-99 between Bedford and 1/2 mile of I-80. 
No actual connections to the rest of the Interstate highway system.

That would qualify then for the OP.
It does not connect to the rest of the interstate highway system. It's not the only instance of an interstate highway not connecting to any other interstate highways.

Nor does it connect to any other freeway system.

[Evan_Th]

If we're including Canada, the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia also has no connections to the rest of the freeway system - it doesn't quite meet I-5/BC-99, and none of the other border crossings are controlled-access.  That's ~233 miles of isolated freeway from Kamloops to the ferry landing at Horseshoe Bay.

Between Hope and Kamloops, most of TCH 1 is non-freeway. The freeway between Hope and Kamloops is the Coquihalla Hwy., part of route 5 rather than route 1. It has Canada's highest posted speed limit, 120km/h.

Yes, I've been there; I was counting Route 5 (also technically part of the TCH) between those points.

It does not connect to the rest of the interstate highway system. It's not the only instance of an interstate highway not connecting to any other interstate highways.

What are those instances?  Offhand, I can think of I-2 and I-99, but (unless you count Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska) that's it unless some discontinuous part of I-42 has been signed by now.  AFAIK, all the I-73, I-74, I-49, and I-87 fragments connect to some other Interstate.

[sprjus4]

What are those instances?  Offhand, I can think of I-2 and I-99, but (unless you count Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska) that's it unless some discontinuous part of I-42 has been signed by now.  AFAIK, all the I-73, I-74, I-49, and I-87 fragments connect to some other Interstate.

I-2, I-69E, I-69C, and I-99.

I-73, I-74, I-49, and I-87 all connect to another interstate highway.

I-42 is not signed yet, though is planned to be posted on the Goldsboro Bypass, which is bisected by I-795, in the near future.

[Evan_Th]

I-2, I-69E, I-69C, and I-99.

Ah, the whole Far South Texas network mentioned earlier, which all connects to each other but not to the larger network.

(Which displays a huge travesty; lettered suffixes were rightly eliminated from the system - except for the 35E/35W - till now.)

[Road Hog]

In North Texas they've upgraded a short segment of US 380 to freeway from SH 289 to the Denton County line – about 3 miles, if that. It intersects the Dallas North Tollway but it's not a full interchange, just a frontage road connection.

Come to think of it, US 82 in Sherman does the same thing at US 75, so if that counts, the US 82 stretch is longer.

[Occidental Tourist]

The Golden Center and Golden Chain Highways between Grass Valley, California and Nevada City, California have a five-mile freeway segment bookended only by two lane highway versions of State Routes 20 and 49.

Sadly, none of it includes a Super 2.

There's also a couple of stretches of Highway 1 that are unconnected freeway, including the Pacific Coast Freeway segment near Point Mugu and the 17-mile freeway segment between Carmel and Castroville (although arguably the short freeway stretch of 156 on the northern end might disqualify this).

State Route 68 near Toro Park south of Salinas has a freeway stretch bookended by highway portions.

There are numerous freeway segments of US 101 between Goleta and Salinas that are unconnected to other freeways.  US 101 near Ukiah is also freeway bookended by highway.  As is a segment near Garberville, another south of Eureka, a short one north of Arcata, and another short one north of Crescent City.

State Route 154 potentially counts.  It has a freeway segment for several miles on its southern end that ends at several stoplights before allowing you onto a freeway segment of US 101.

A short stretch of State Route 152 in Pacheco Pass is freeway bookended by highway and expressway.

Portions of the Alfred Harrell highway east of Bakersfield from Bakersfield College to Hart Park is freeway bookended by city streets and a highway.  And the Westside Parkway is a freeway unconnected (yet) to another freeway.

A brief section of 99 between State Route 149 and the northern city limits of Chico also potentially counts, depending on whether you classify the long transition to 149 and Shippee Road as freeway or highway.

A portion of State Route 135 near Santa Maria, the Orcutt Expressway, is actually freeway.

State Route 18 has a short freeway segment from north of San Bernardino up to the Crestline turnoff.

State Route 79 has a very short freeway segment near Gilman Springs Road north of Hemet.

Then there's the abandoned stuff that got built up to freeway and then turned over to cities without being completed: The Richard Nixon Freeway section of former State Route 90 in Yoruba Linda is one that comes to mind.