Business Interstate Routes Are They Useful for You?

[SEWIGuy]

It was probably stated earlier, but my opinion is that the green interstate shield should be redesignated for toll routes and that business I-XX signage should change color or go away altogether.  There was a point in time where it made sense for smaller towns that were being bypassed to indicate commercial areas that could be accessed from the interstate, but that time has long since passed and most traveler businesses have been relocated nearer to interchanges at any rate.

If you were going to redesign the interstate shield for toll routes, I would just reverse the blue and red on the current shield. Green is a bad color for signage because it generally means a guide sign.

[kphoger]

Green is a bad color for signage because it generally means a guide sign.

Or just reverse the existing colors.

[Big John]

Green is a bad color for signage because it generally means a guide sign.

Or a California state highway.

[bing101]

With some exceptions, such as I-80BL in Sacramento (which could be replaced by signing CA 51) and other freeway-level BLs, they aren't particularly useful for me.

It used to be, especially in California, that communities bypassed by a new Interstate begged for a business route for the old alignment. That seems to have gone away, with route signage disappearing on existing routes. Logo signs, and smartphones, are better ways to find traveler services.

From looking at a map, NC probably has the most useful business routes for me: Business I-40 in Winston Salem and Business I-85 in High Point and Greensboro.

BL 40 in Winston-Salem is toast. Most or all of its signage has been removed.

Business 80 used to share the west end of US-50 and I-305 in Sacramento prior to 2016.  That was until Caltrans renovated US-50 that they removed Business 80 references as being co-signed with US-50. I don't think Business Routes are useful to current Sacramento area residents. Also there's been rumors of an I-7 and I-9 being cosigned with CA-99 from Sacramento to ridge route for some time. CA-51 to be renamed as CA-X09 or CA-x07 gets mentioned.

[StogieGuy7]

The entire concept is a holdover from a time when the interstate system was just coming on line and businesses all over the US were finding themselves bypassed to through traffic. There was pushback about it and this was the best the FHA could do. The BR/BL badging never really did much, and I'd call the concept an overall swing and a miss and something that is not needed today. But it still exists and here we are.

[PColumbus73]

Depends by location, but I think a combination of AADT, population, and navigational ease could be used to determine if a business route is warranted.

For instance, Business 95 in Fayetteville, NC and Business 20 in Florence, SC make sense because they provide a straight shot into the city, and they are pretty easy to follow.

Business 40 in Amarillo and Business 70 in Denver could probably be deleted. In both cases, you're better off staying on the main Interstate. In Amarillo, Business 40 takes you more out of the way versus staying on I-40.

And there are some business routes that are close enough to the parent Interstate where you could find your way back to the Interstate without the business route. Groom, TX is an example of this.

I think a business route would be warranted when:

1.) The parent interstate does not enter the city limits

2.) The business route provides a direct and convenient route between the parent interstate and the city limits or city center

3.) For small towns, business routes should, at a minimum, direct Interstate travelers to food, fuel, and lodging

[kphoger]

Business 40 in Amarillo and Business 70 in Denver could probably be deleted. In both cases, you're better off staying on the main Interstate. In Amarillo, Business 40 takes you more out of the way versus staying on I-40.

But both of them go through the city's downtown, which is exactly what BLs are for.  You aren't "better off" staying on the main Interstate if your goal is the central business district.

[SEWIGuy]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

[kphoger]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

We used to do that all the time when I was growing up in western Kansas.  We'd make a couple of trips into Denver each year, to shop for things we couldn't find in the smaller towns.  We'd get off I-70 at Colfax, hit some retail places in Aurora, and then keep going into Denver.

[JayhawkCO]

With the advent of mobile phones with data, they are useless.

At least in Illinois (whose state laws I'm most familiar with), that would only be legal if the driver (a) has the vehicle in Park or Neutral, or (b) is parked on the shoulder.  As I read things, under Illinois state law, there is no way to legally use your smartphone for alternate directions while crawling through a traffic jam at 5 mph.

"Hey Google. Give me directions to the closest gas station," is legal.

[kphoger]

"Hey Google. Give me directions to the closest gas station," is legal.

Is Google Assistant a stock app?  I don't think my wife or I have ever had it.  Maybe it's there and we've just never used it?  Well, whatever, point taken.

[SEWIGuy]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

We used to do that all the time when I was growing up in western Kansas.  We'd make a couple of trips into Denver each year, to shop for things we couldn't find in the smaller towns.  We'd get off I-70 at Colfax, hit some retail places in Aurora, and then keep going into Denver.

I should have said, I doubt anyone does that now.

[kphoger]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

We used to do that all the time when I was growing up in western Kansas.  We'd make a couple of trips into Denver each year, to shop for things we couldn't find in the smaller towns.  We'd get off I-70 at Colfax, hit some retail places in Aurora, and then keep going into Denver.

I should have said, I doubt anyone does that now.

It was only 25 years ago.  What's changed?

[PColumbus73]

Business 40 in Amarillo and Business 70 in Denver could probably be deleted. In both cases, you're better off staying on the main Interstate. In Amarillo, Business 40 takes you more out of the way versus staying on I-40.

But both of them go through the city's downtown, which is exactly what BLs are for.  You aren't "better off" staying on the main Interstate if your goal is the central business district.

Regarding Amarillo, if you're going to downtown (the central business district) it's faster to stay on I-40 to I-27. And since I-27 ends in downtown Amarillo, it's a better route into the central business district than Business 40.

[SEWIGuy]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

We used to do that all the time when I was growing up in western Kansas.  We'd make a couple of trips into Denver each year, to shop for things we couldn't find in the smaller towns.  We'd get off I-70 at Colfax, hit some retail places in Aurora, and then keep going into Denver.

I should have said, I doubt anyone does that now.

It was only 25 years ago.  What's changed?

People have phones, etc that give them directions.

[Scott5114]

The purpose of business interstates is to have an easy route through town that you're likely to find restaurants, gas stations, and hotels along. If a town is big enough that it has more than three exits from the Interstate that have that kind of business, there's probably not a whole lot of point in having a business interstate there.

Business interstates are more pointful in towns like Holbrook AZ, where the "main route" through town may not be otherwise obvious, and the town is small enough that there's not likely to be useful businesses on any random street you select.

People have phones, etc that give them directions.

Why have any road signs or route numbers at all then? People have phones to tell them where to turn.

[epzik8]

For instance, Business 95 in Fayetteville, NC and Business 20 in Florence, SC make sense because they provide a straight shot into the city, and they are pretty easy to follow.

I came back into this thread just to say this. Business 20 is like a couple extra miles of I-20 with traffic lights.

[kphoger]

I just don't understand the reason to use a BL to go to the central business district of a city like Denver. I doubt anyone actually does that.

We used to do that all the time when I was growing up in western Kansas.  We'd make a couple of trips into Denver each year, to shop for things we couldn't find in the smaller towns.  We'd get off I-70 at Colfax, hit some retail places in Aurora, and then keep going into Denver.

I should have said, I doubt anyone does that now.

It was only 25 years ago.  What's changed?

People have phones, etc that give them directions.

We had maps back then, and personal experience, and figured out our own directions.  The places we went in the Denver area were best reached by taking I-70-BL.  Same now as it was then, smartphones or no smartphones.

[CtrlAltDel]

It was probably stated earlier, but my opinion is that the green interstate shield should be redesignated for toll routes and that business I-XX signage should change color or go away altogether.  There was a point in time where it made sense for smaller towns that were being bypassed to indicate commercial areas that could be accessed from the interstate, but that time has long since passed and most traveler businesses have been relocated nearer to interchanges at any rate.

I think this about sums up the business interstate situation.

If you were going to redesign the interstate shield for toll routes, I would just reverse the blue and red on the current shield. Green is a bad color for signage because it generally means a guide sign.

I don't know if swapping the colors is different enough to be clearly distinguishing:

[ran4sh]

There needs to be *some* way to deal with what happens when an Interstate standard route is built that bypasses an older route that is no longer compliant with standards, such as Business I-85 in Spartanburg SC. That is, in my opinion, the best use case for Business Interstate designations in the East or at least the Southeast.

[PColumbus73]

In North Carolina, some of them were removed in favor the concurrent US routes.

I think business routes have their usefulness for small to midsize towns, but for cities like Denver, a business Interstate route leading into downtown is not quite as important.

[Scott5114]

There needs to be *some* way to deal with what happens when an Interstate standard route is built that bypasses an older route that is no longer compliant with standards, such as Business I-85 in Spartanburg SC. That is, in my opinion, the best use case for Business Interstate designations in the East or at least the Southeast.

The proper way to handle that is to make it a state route, perhaps using an x85 number if one is available. An additional benefit of this is if it ever gets upgraded back to Interstate status, it can keep the same number.

Using a business Interstate for a freeway is wholly inappropriate, as it falsely advertises that a traveler can expect to access travel-related businesses by taking that exit, when that is not the case.

[PColumbus73]

There needs to be *some* way to deal with what happens when an Interstate standard route is built that bypasses an older route that is no longer compliant with standards, such as Business I-85 in Spartanburg SC. That is, in my opinion, the best use case for Business Interstate designations in the East or at least the Southeast.

The proper way to handle that is to make it a state route, perhaps using an x85 number if one is available. An additional benefit of this is if it ever gets upgraded back to Interstate status, it can keep the same number.

Using a business Interstate for a freeway is wholly inappropriate, as it falsely advertises that a traveler can expect to access travel-related businesses by taking that exit, when that is not the case.

I think Business 85 is fine through Spartanburg, there is food, fuel and lodging located along it so it would meet the criteria for travel-related businesses.

I don't see Business 85 becoming an actual Interstate again, there's too many businesses along the frontage that ROW acquisition would be expensive. I think converting it into an expressway or boulevard would be a good idea.

[Henry]

There needs to be *some* way to deal with what happens when an Interstate standard route is built that bypasses an older route that is no longer compliant with standards, such as Business I-85 in Spartanburg SC. That is, in my opinion, the best use case for Business Interstate designations in the East or at least the Southeast.

The proper way to handle that is to make it a state route, perhaps using an x85 number if one is available. An additional benefit of this is if it ever gets upgraded back to Interstate status, it can keep the same number.

Using a business Interstate for a freeway is wholly inappropriate, as it falsely advertises that a traveler can expect to access travel-related businesses by taking that exit, when that is not the case.

I think Business 85 is fine through Spartanburg, there is food, fuel and lodging located along it so it would meet the criteria for travel-related businesses.

I don't see Business 85 becoming an actual Interstate again, there's too many businesses along the frontage that ROW acquisition would be expensive. I think converting it into an expressway or boulevard would be a good idea.

Besides, when you approach either endpoint on I-85, you get the words "FREEWAY LOOP" added to the right of the BL 85 shield on BGS's to let you know that it still has interchanges, even though it really makes no sense to be done that way. Both iterations of BL 40 in NC were also the same way, but thankfully they've been removed for both a US route and mainline I-40.

[hobsini2]

It was probably stated earlier, but my opinion is that the green interstate shield should be redesignated for toll routes and that business I-XX signage should change color or go away altogether.  There was a point in time where it made sense for smaller towns that were being bypassed to indicate commercial areas that could be accessed from the interstate, but that time has long since passed and most traveler businesses have been relocated nearer to interchanges at any rate.

If you were going to redesign the interstate shield for toll routes, I would just reverse the blue and red on the current shield. Green is a bad color for signage because it generally means a guide sign.

Actually, since the Feds recognize Purple as the color to designate an electronic tollway, why not just use that? White on Purple would stand out.