Most "persistent" route in your state

[webny99]

I suddenly got to thinking this could make for a good thread of its own, from the thread about how many turns it takes to follow each route in your state:

It's interesting that four different routes terminate at NY 21 at an intersection where staying on NY 21 requires a turn (NY 64, NY 53, NY 371, and NY 63), and two more routes terminate while concurrent with NY 21 (NY 332 and NY 15).

So, you could definitely say that NY 21 is NY's most persistent state route given the way it interacts with those 6 different routes at locations where it could logically terminate, but it always ends up continuing while the other routes are terminated.

What route in your state continues through the greatest number of logical terminus locations? Can any route beat NY 21, which has 6?

This is somewhat subjective, but generally a logical location for a route to terminate would be where it turns and another route continues straight. But it isn't just the number of turns, as sometimes turns aren't logical places for a route to end (like this) and vice versa.

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 1 has a crap ton of other state routes which logically terminate at it. 

[SkyPesos]

OH 37. Have so many turns at terminating routes that it looks like what should be 4 or 5 separate state routes stitched together under a single route.

[JayhawkCO]

I don't think I really see any that have more than 2 in Colorado, CO30 for example. There are some out in the plains (CO59) that turn plenty to get around property lines, but its a gentle curve and not an intersection.

[SEWIGuy]

WI-32 duplexes with 10 other routes (and WI-57 and I-43 TWICE) to complete its legislatively mandated border to border routing.  It is duplexed for more than a third of its entire routing, and most of the time when it flies solo is a relatively minor route.

[thspfc]

WI-22 as well, maybe not as much so as WI-32.

[formulanone]

Alabama SR 69 is a bit of a Frankenstrasse. There's four junctions with US 43, it could have conceivably ended about 5 times at different places, and the fact that Smith Lake cut the route in two (the overlaps with I-65 and I-359 came later, because 69 was there first). And yet goes on a grand tour of the state for 280 miles, which makes it the longest one in the state which isn't primarily multiplexed, though it hooks up with many US Routes around the state.

[kphoger]

K-9 is ridiculous.  It's the second-longest state route in Kansas, but it really doesn't deserve to be.

https://goo.gl/maps/rYx8ZCRjYkL5DkBp8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-9_(Kansas_highway)

[Scott5114]

OK-3 has a practically infinite number of "logical terminus points", since the first 316 miles of it are concurrent with other routes, so any given point along that concurrency would be more sensible than the route continuing.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 9, which was steadily assembled from three different route numbers into its current configuration, with an E-W leg (including stretches where it goes backwards from its signed directions) a SE-NW leg, and a more N-NE leg.

MN 1 has a bunch of sensible termini it plows through (Ely, MN 65, US 53, MN 6, MN 89, Thief River Falls)

[74/171FAN]

I guess it would be PA 18.  The longest route in PA with a lot of turns all over.

[Bruce]

WA 20, the longest highway in the state and extended several times to replace other highways. I count 9 logical termini:

1. Port Townsend ferry terminal
2. SR 525 just southeast of Coupeville
3. SR 20 Spur near Anacortes
4. SR 536 near Mount Vernon
5. SR 9 near Sedro-Woolley (where there's a concurrency)
6. US 97 near Okanogan (where a long concurrency starts)
7. SR 21 near Republic (short concurrency)
8. US 395 near Kettle Falls (concurrency)
9. SR 31 at Tiger

[epzik8]

Not counting the plethora of Maryland state routes with multiple discontinuous segments, it would probably be MD 2, starting with two turns in the Solomons area, running concurrent with MD 4 through much of Calvert County, bearing right into southern Anne Arundel County, changing trajectory at a roundabout, then entering and exiting US 50 through the Annapolis area at interchanges. Then a straight shot along Ritchie Highway to a wide curve through Glen Burnie, turning due north, then entering Baltimore and splitting into a one-way pair, Potee and Hanover streets. After crossing the Middle Branch solely as Hanover Street, it gets fun in Federal Hill, turning right on Montgomery/Hughes and then north on Light Street, which then splits into St. Paul/Calvert streets. Going through downtown and Mount Vernon, MD 2 finally ends along that one-way pair at US 1, North Avenue.

[gonealookin]

In Nevada, probably US 95.

1.  Coming south out of Oregon it could terminate in Winnemucca.

2.  Going north from Fallon it could terminate at I-80.

1. and 2.  So the long I-80/US 95 concurrency could be eliminated.

3.  Coming north from Needles CA it could terminate at I-11 on the west side of Boulder City.

I wouldn't terminate the US 95 through route at US 6 at Coaldale Junction or Tonopah but I suppose that could be argued.  Likewise with the US 95 jog/concurrency with US 50 in Fallon.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Not sure how impressive this is... either US 36 through Denver (isn't it 270, officially?)

US 87 comes to mind.

Not sure this is what you're looking for.

[7/8]

Some candidates for Ontario:

Highway 6

• Before 1980, the Manitoulin Island to Highway 17 portion was a separate highway (#68), and arguably that makes sense since the ferry across Lake Huron closes for the winter, leaving a gap in the current Highway 6
• The portion north of Chatsworth (where the Highway 10 concurrency starts) could be renumbered as Highway 10 since the route to Tobermory follows the slightly northwest-southeast direction of Highway 10
• There's plenty of concurrencies where Highway 6 be ended, included Highway 21/26 in Owen Sound, Highway 7 in Guelph, Highway 401 near Guelph, and Highway 403 in Hamilton
• The fastest route from Port Dover to the north end of Guelph isn't on Highway 6 (though it's not too much slower)

Highway 7

• Currently there's a large gap through the GTA
• The long Highway 8 concurrency is arguably unnecessary. Highway 85 could be extended south to Highway 8 in Kitchener instead
• The Highway 6 concurrency in Guelph could be removed (though it's not too long)
• The Highway 12 concurrency is long and makes the Highway 7 route very indirect. Also Highway 7 west of Highway 12 seems unnecessary in the provincial highway network with the adjacent 407

Highway 11

• This goes from a north-south route between Barrie and Cochrane/Matheson to an east-west route to Minnesota.
• The fastest route between Barrie and Nipigon isn't even on Highway 11 despite that highway going between both points (though it's a flatter route better for a trucks)
• The long concurrency with Highway 17 around Thunder Bay could be eliminated to split the highway in two

[jlam]

Probably US 6 for Colorado. It has loads of concurrencies with I-70 where it could logically have a terminus. Termini would stretch from Grand Junction to Sterling, so around 10-20 for these points. Not sure if this is what OP is looking for

[elsmere241]

Delaware 15 takes some crazy turns through Kent County.  I don't know why they routed it the way they did close to Dover.

[Flint1979]

For Michigan I would have to say US-31, off the top of my head I count 14 routes that terminate at it. I can't think of another Michigan highway like that.

[JayhawkCO]

Probably US 6 for Colorado. It has loads of concurrencies with I-70 where it could logically have a terminus. Termini would stretch from Grand Junction to Sterling, so around 10-20 for these points. Not sure if this is what OP is looking for

The only reason I didn't pick this is because it continues through other states on either side. As I posted above, I think CO30 is the best example and it only has two intersections. We just don't have many of these kinds of things in Colorado. Actually, CO348 over by Olathe turns 6 times. That's probably a pretty good example. It doesn't intersect any other state routes and such at the intersections, but it's the best we got.

[SGwithADD]

In New York, NY 96 has NY 21 beat:

• NY 434 in Owego
• NY 38 in Owego
• NY 96B in Candor
• NY 89 in Ithaca has a slight overlap with NY 96 before terminating
• NY 64 and NY 252 in Pittsford, a double whammy
• NY 31F in Rochester

[kphoger]

CO348 over by Olathe turns 6 times. That's probably a pretty good example. It doesn't intersect any other state routes and such at the intersections, but it's the best we got.

With no intersecting state routes, I don't really consider it to have any other "logical place" for it to end.  To me, it's more of a "should be a bunch of county highways instead" situation.

CO-71 has quite a few turns, and it could be broken up into multiple routes, but I think its existence as a single route makes sense.  If anything, I might even send it down 109 from La Junta to Kim instead of its current southernmost routing.

[GaryV]

I think some people are misunderstanding the OP's post. It's not how many other routes terminate at any given route. Rather, why does a given route continue when it could logically terminate? And how many times does that happen?

An example in MI would be I-275. It could terminate at the southern I-96 interchange. But it persists up to I-696.

[Life in Paradise]

In Southern Indiana, I'd like to offer up IN 56.  There are several places where the highway could just terminate at the intersection of another highway, but it turns and continues on.  Example-at Petersburg, IN it ends at IN 57, but then joins it for a mile to IN 61 when it then takes for 4 miles before splitting off to Jasper.  Then in Jasper it ends at US 231 but jags north 7 miles to split off again to French Lick.  At French Lick/West Baden Springs it ends into US 150 and rides along until Paoli when it becomes its own highway eastbound.  It does another switching at Vevay jutting north when the direct path from it would have been east on what is now IN 156.

[kphoger]

The question to answer with these is this:

Does the "persistent" routing make sense, given that the route forms a single corridor?

Or is the "persistent" routing unnecessary, because it comprises multiple corridors that have been artificially strung together?

Another way of wording it is this:  Would there be any good reason for normal people to drive the entire route (or, say, half of it)?