Are any US routes in danger of being decommissioned?

[hotdogPi]

I'm thinking that 46, 91, 159, 181, 211, 223, 266, and/or 311 might be at risk. (I don't see the purpose of 159 myself). Also a truncation of 85.

[Ben114]

202 has a risk of truncation because of all the multiplexes.

[Eth]

Not a full decommissioning, but I could plausibly see Florida deciding they no longer have a use for US 23, especially with the recent opening of the nearby FL 23 toll road that could be a potential source of confusion.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

138 was one I thought about because of its redundancy to I-76 and short length, along with a slew of sign errors by both states (especially Nebraska, given its short mileage in that state) marking it as NE and CO 138. I was informed that there are no plans to do so, though.

[US 89]

Put it this way: if Oregon were California, US 30 would probably end at McCammon, Idaho.

I definitely don't see US 91 going away, at least between Brigham City and the I-15 junction at Virginia. Idaho might someday decide the Pocatello-Idaho Falls portion is redundant and demote it to SH 91, but I just don't see that happening.

138 was one I thought about because of its redundancy to I-76 and short length, along with a slew of sign errors by both states (especially Nebraska, given its short mileage in that state) marking it as NE and CO 138. I was informed that there are no plans to do so, though.

I'd imagine 138 is just like US 11 in that the old highway still sees regular use and crosses state lines.

[dvferyance]

The only one I think at risk would be 266.

[Takumi]

I could see 211 being at risk since its current existence seems to be to keep the entirety of the legislative Lee Highway name on the US highway system (with increasing sentiment against its namesake), but since 311 was recently extended into another state I think it’s safe, unless VA and NC decide to absorb it into an extended US 360.

[usends]

I'm thinking that 46, 91, 159, 181, 211, 223, 266, and/or 311 might be at risk. (I don't see the purpose of 159 myself). Also a truncation of 85.

My first question is: at risk from whom?  Certainly not AASHTO. They're not proactive; all they do is respond to requests that the state DOTs submit. 

So then, at risk from the state DOTs?  I doubt it.  These routes have been in their current status for years, if not decades.  If the state DOTs wanted to get rid of them, they would have done so a long time ago.

* NC and VA just requested US 311's extension to Danville a couple years ago, so they're certainly not going to turn around and decommission it... unless they get smart and extend 360 along 311 to Winston-Salem.
* If TX wanted to get rid of 181, they would have requested it back in the '90s, when they truncated all their other US routes that parallel interstates.  I imagine they kept 181 because in some places I-37 deviates pretty far from it.
* US 159 has been pointless as a through route since the '70s, yet it's still here, four or five decades later.
* US 266 has been pointless ever since I-40 was built through that area.

[hbelkins]

* NC and VA just requested US 311's extension to Danville a couple years ago, so they're certainly not going to turn around and decommission it... unless they get smart and extend 360 along 311 to Winston-Salem.

If one route is to eat the other, I'd axe 360 and extend 311. The route's more north-south, anyway; at least from Danville to Richmond.

[renegade]

The only part of US-223 that I think should be decommissioned is the stretch co-signed with US-23 from the OH/MI border north to Exit 5. 

[SectorZ]

Thankfully you did not post this in the fictional forum.

[kphoger]

My plan calls for US-159 to become I-446¼.  It will extend from El Mezquital, Tamaulipas, in the south to Lake Athabasca in the north, where there will be a bridge connecting it to Uranium City and the six-lane trans-taiga superhighway (I-717).  I think this is necessary because existing roads in the area are dangerously narrow and/or seasonal, and this will provide a safe, year-round highway instead.

[roadman65]

I could see 211 being at risk since its current existence seems to be to keep the entirety of the legislative Lee Highway name on the US highway system (with increasing sentiment against its namesake), but since 311 was recently extended into another state I think it's safe, unless VA and NC decide to absorb it into an extended US 360.

US 211 lost its status when the final leg of I-66 opened.  It used to be the link from US 11 (now served by I-81) to our Nation's Capital now also replaced by I-66.  Considering its VA 211 west of I-81 I do not see why VDOT has not applied to have what little left of it (the US 29 overlap is gone for decades now)for removal and and commissioning of VA 211 in its place.

Also when the I-73/74 freeway is completed to Rockingham, I wish they would truncate US 220 there and whenever PennDOT completes I-99 to I-80 they truncate US 15 to Williamsport.  Heck, get rid of all of US 220 from Cumberland to Sayre.  Make US 220 from Williamsport to its north end PA 220, copying US 230 and US 611 to change in designations.

[Max Rockatansky]

Sometimes I question how viable US 92 is when it essentially is next door to I-4/I-275 and is totally intrastate.  FL 600 probably would be adequate enough of a designation. 

[Revive 755]

I don't think any US route is currently at risk of being completely decommissioned, but I could see a few more truncations, particularly in southern Texas when parts of I-69 are completed.

[Beltway]

I could see 211 being at risk since its current existence seems to be to keep the entirety of the legislative Lee Highway name on the US highway system (with increasing sentiment against its namesake), but since 311 was recently extended into another state I think it’s safe, unless VA and NC decide to absorb it into an extended US 360.

US 211 lost its status when the final leg of I-66 opened.  It used to be the link from US 11 (now served by I-81) to our Nation's Capital now also replaced by I-66.  Considering its VA 211 west of I-81 I do not see why VDOT has not applied to have what little left of it (the US 29 overlap is gone for decades now)for removal and and commissioning of VA 211 in its place.

I-66 was completed in 1982.  After I-66 was completed between US-29 at Gainesville and I-495 in 1964, the preferred route from Gainesville to I-81 was via VA-55, not US-211.

[roadman65]

No originally US 211 was the route to DC from the US 11 corridor.  I-66 was finished in stages with a big gap for a long time in the middle and of course inside the beltway.  The latter US 50 handled that traffic good for the short time until that was done.

[corco]

I'd be shocked to see any U.S. routes completely decommissioned before the entire system is eliminated in the next 100 years. Nobody cares enough about highway designations anymore.

[Beltway]

No originally US 211 was the route to DC from the US 11 corridor.  I-66 was finished in stages with a big gap for a long time in the middle and of course inside the beltway.  The latter US 50 handled that traffic good for the short time until that was done.

We moved to Alexandria in 1969, and VA-55 was clearly the better route to reach I-81 South.  It was considerably shorter than US-211 and didn't have the mountainous terrain that is in Thornton Gap and Massanutten Mountain.

[DandyDan]

I could see 211 being at risk since its current existence seems to be to keep the entirety of the legislative Lee Highway name on the US highway system (with increasing sentiment against its namesake), but since 311 was recently extended into another state I think it's safe, unless VA and NC decide to absorb it into an extended US 360.

US 211 probably stays because it connects to Shenandoah National Park

[Beltway]

I could see 211 being at risk since its current existence seems to be to keep the entirety of the legislative Lee Highway name on the US highway system (with increasing sentiment against its namesake), but since 311 was recently extended into another state I think it’s safe, unless VA and NC decide to absorb it into an extended US 360.

US 211 probably stays because it connects to Shenandoah National Park

US-211 probably stays because VDOT sees no reason to interfere with it.

[hbelkins]

US routes should be important interstate (small "i") highways that link areas and corridors not served by Interstate (capital "I") highways. There probably should be concurrencies and renumberings to keep highways above the 300-mile length guideline.

If I was in charge, I'd decommission or truncate a whole bunch of routes. There's no need for US 11 to exist, since it's paralleled by a interstate for most of its length. (If they can do away with US 25 in Ohio and Michigan, or US 21 in West Virginia and Ohio, why keep US 11.) And what major corridor does US 522 serve between Culpeper and its southern terminus?

As for US 211, its short length and intrastate nature make it a prime candidate for decommissioning, but the physical characteristics of the road (mostly four-lane) would warrant some sort of US highway designation. The issue would be either finding some other number to extend along US 211, or finding another route to extend US 211 along. Now that US 311 is an interstate route, its logical extension is along US 360.

And I really think the useless concurrency of US 17 with US 50 needs to be eliminated.

[froggie]

* NC and VA just requested US 311's extension to Danville a couple years ago, so they're certainly not going to turn around and decommission it... unless they get smart and extend 360 along 311 to Winston-Salem.

If one route is to eat the other, I'd axe 360 and extend 311. The route's more north-south, anyway; at least from Danville to Richmond.

If that's your justification for calling such a route 311 instead of 360, you would actually be in error.  From the 58/360 junction in South Boston to the 14th St/Main St intersection (the western 60/360 junction) in Richmond is approximately 58 miles north-south but 80 miles east-west.  Would be even more skewed east-west if going from Danville.

And I really think the useless concurrency of US 17 with US 50 needs to be eliminated.

Or extended north replacing US 522 from Winchester.  That would be another option.

[Roadgeekteen]

400 should be. 90% of the route is useless.

[pdx-wanderer]

US 93's Arizona portion could be gone upon the eventual completion of I-11 there. In that case, its new southern end could be at the northern I-15 (Apex?) junction.