The LEAST important/consequential interstate in your state

[nexus73]

Oregon: I-82. Still important though.

Funny to think that one can access I-82 best without starting at I-82.  US 730 and US 395 make more sense for a shorter drive going from I-84 to I-82, which makes the section of I-82 south of Umatilla rather redundant.  Maybe there should have been an I-282 loop built instead!

I do agree, despite I-82 being the least important freeway in Oregon that is truly is an important piece in the PNW transportation network.

Rick

[kkt]

For Washington, also I-82.

For California, I agree, I-8.

For Arizona, I'd propose I-11.  They've done without it this long.

[bzakharin]

I-76 in NJ, not because it's an unimportant route, but because its interstate status is trivial. The only other contender is if you consider the free portion of I-95 separate from the Turnpike portion.

Huh? It's an important route, it leaves the state, it is built to interstate standards. In what way is it trivial? Or are you saying that its existence in NJ is disputed in favor of 42? I suppose that is indeed a problem, though not a major one. I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

[TXtoNJ]

I-76 in NJ, not because it's an unimportant route, but because its interstate status is trivial. The only other contender is if you consider the free portion of I-95 separate from the Turnpike portion.

Huh? It's an important route, it leaves the state, it is built to interstate standards. In what way is it trivial? Or are you saying that its existence in NJ is disputed in favor of 42? I suppose that is indeed a problem, though not a major one. I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

It's trivial because if 76 ended at 95 in Philly, and the route were simply called the Walt Whitman Bridge (and 42 or 676 south of the merge), it would have essentially no effect on mobility or traffic patterns. Besides, hardly anyone calls it 76.

[Zzonkmiles]

In North Carolina, I-73, beating out I-74 by a nose.

Despite traversing the crucial Greensboro to Rockingham corridor? 

That gave me a belly laugh. The workers in the next cubicle heard me.

Loving the responses so far. Anyone want to take a stab at Florida? That's a tough one. I'd probably say I-10, but it feels so wrong for me to say that. But 4, 75 and 95 serve too many travelers for me to choose those routes instead.

[hotdogPi]

MA: I-84
NH: I-89
ME: I-95
VT: I-93
CT: I-91
RI: I-95

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota would be I-535 by a country mile. I-90 would claim this honor for 2dis, as in-state traffic has comparatively little use for the route.

[Pink Jazz]

Virginia would probably either be I-77 or I-85.  I would probably say I-77, because I-85 leads to one of the busiest urban corridors in the nation in terms of traffic density from North Carolina to Georgia.

[bzakharin]

I-76 in NJ, not because it's an unimportant route, but because its interstate status is trivial. The only other contender is if you consider the free portion of I-95 separate from the Turnpike portion.

Huh? It's an important route, it leaves the state, it is built to interstate standards. In what way is it trivial? Or are you saying that its existence in NJ is disputed in favor of 42? I suppose that is indeed a problem, though not a major one. I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

It's trivial because if 76 ended at 95 in Philly, and the route were simply called the Walt Whitman Bridge (and 42 or 676 south of the merge), it would have essentially no effect on mobility or traffic patterns. Besides, hardly anyone calls it 76.

You can say that about any road. Does the fact that I-95 goes through PA change the fact that New York bound traffic uses the non-Interstate NJ Turnpike? Would traffic patterns change if I-95 was instead along the Turnpike? Does that mean I-95 in PA is trivial (forget the discontinuity for a second)?

[ekt8750]

I-76 in NJ, not because it's an unimportant route, but because its interstate status is trivial. The only other contender is if you consider the free portion of I-95 separate from the Turnpike portion.

Huh? It's an important route, it leaves the state, it is built to interstate standards. In what way is it trivial? Or are you saying that its existence in NJ is disputed in favor of 42? I suppose that is indeed a problem, though not a major one. I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

It's trivial because if 76 ended at 95 in Philly, and the route were simply called the Walt Whitman Bridge (and 42 or 676 south of the merge), it would have essentially no effect on mobility or traffic patterns. Besides, hardly anyone calls it 76.

It is important as it is the final leg of a pretty major corridor (North-South Freeway/ACE is a pretty big deal), but trivial since it's only 3 miles long. I think if SJTA had any interest in upgrading the ACE to interstate standards, 76 would begin in Atlantic City and not in Bellmawr.

[TXtoNJ]

I-76 in NJ, not because it's an unimportant route, but because its interstate status is trivial. The only other contender is if you consider the free portion of I-95 separate from the Turnpike portion.

Huh? It's an important route, it leaves the state, it is built to interstate standards. In what way is it trivial? Or are you saying that its existence in NJ is disputed in favor of 42? I suppose that is indeed a problem, though not a major one. I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

It's trivial because if 76 ended at 95 in Philly, and the route were simply called the Walt Whitman Bridge (and 42 or 676 south of the merge), it would have essentially no effect on mobility or traffic patterns. Besides, hardly anyone calls it 76.

You can say that about any road. Does the fact that I-95 goes through PA change the fact that New York bound traffic uses the non-Interstate NJ Turnpike? Would traffic patterns change if I-95 was instead along the Turnpike? Does that mean I-95 in PA is trivial (forget the discontinuity for a second)?

Not at all - it's connected to heavily-used intrastate and interstate destinations. Philadelphia is in and of itself a major destination for travelers on I-95, thus the reason PA lobbied and paid for the route to go through Philly in the first place (rather than being routed on the NJ Turnpike the whole way). In the pre-GPS era, routing 95 along the entire length of the turnpike did divert NYC bound traffic - thus the unique signage in DE.

Bellmawr, on the other hand, is for the most part a point on the way to somewhere else (don't get me wrong, it's a lovely town), and I-76 being routed across the Walt Whitman Bridge to end there is largely an accident of history.

If 76 were routed on the N-S Freeway as it was originally intended, it would be non-trivial as the primary path between Camden and Philadelphia. As it stands now, it's essentially an exit ramp for the Schuylkill Expressway.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Some are going to hate me for this but I-41.  just as bad as... I-74 or... I-894, the Interstate it supplanted.

Can't you two be US-41 and US-74? PLEASE???

^BUT I DON'T CARE!!!

Well it would be nice for I-74 southeast of Cincinnati to just be like it is now but with US-74, I-74 will never be connected from Cincinnati to NC. I-41 is a dumb idea. Alot of the grid numbers are taken. There needs to be room for longer and more important Interstates

I-39 and I-43 are a bit sketchy for me because they just end at their last city and don't go to the border as they should. Just something I don't like.

[Brandon]

I-39 and I-43 are a bit sketchy for me because they just end at their last city and don't go to the border as they should. Just something I don't like.

Where would I-39 and I-43 meet the border?  The middle of Lake Superior?  Due to traffic counts, there's not much point to extending them any further north at this time.

[signalman]

I-80 is probably less important per mile of roadway than any other 2 digit interstate, so could be in contention too.

As someone who lives along the I-80 corridor, I can say with absolute certainty that I-80 is not the least important interstate.  Locally it connects NYC (via I-95) to northern NJ and the Poconos.  On a larger stage NYC and northern NJ with the rest of the country.  One can encounter a decent amount of traffic at any hour of the day in either direction.  Many sections have over 100K daily traffic counts. 

I'm going to agree with jeffandnicole and say that for NJ, it's I-95 near Trenton.  All of our other 2dis are of great importance.

[hotdogPi]

Definitely unarguable:

DE: I-95 (no other option)
ME: I-95 (no other option)
NE: I-76
RI: I-95 (no other option)
VT: I-93

[mvak36]

Illinois: I-180.  Lightly traveled interstate to the small village of Hennepin (population 757).  Everything else, and I mean everything else, even I-72, carries far more traffic.

Oh, 2di only.  (Somehow I missed that.)

For Illinois 2dis, I'd have to say I-72 west of Springfield, but my comments on I-180 still stand.

I think 72 is pretty nice for those of us going from Kansas City (or points west) to Chicago (no St. Louis and the I-70 cluster****).

[Pink Jazz]

New Mexico only has three Interstates, and probably I-10 is the least important of the three since it is the shortest in mileage within the state and the only fairly large city it serves is Las Cruces, while I-25 and I-40 serve New Mexico's largest city (Albuquerque), with I-25 also serving Santa Fe.

[StogieGuy7]

MA: I-84
NH: I-89
ME: I-95
VT: I-93
CT: I-91
RI: I-95

Huh? The only one of these I'd agree with is I-93 in VT.  I-84 in MA may be short, but it gets a ton of traffic from Massachusetts and is one of the main routes between the Boston area and points southwest.  So, it's short but important.  I-95 in Maine?  If that's the least consequential, then what's the most?  The Atlantic Ocean?   

Same goes for I-95 in Rhode Island.  Tell it to someone from Providence who needs to get to Warwick.  And I-91 in Connecticut? You mean the heavily used interstate that links New Haven with Hartford (two of the state's biggest cities)?  Perhaps I-384 is a better pick.  Or I-684.     For NH, what about I-393?

Frankly, New England doesn't have many interstates that would qualify in the spirit intended.  But those that do are going to be the small 3di's like I-391 in MA.

[hotdogPi]

MA: I-84
NH: I-89
ME: I-95
VT: I-93
CT: I-91
RI: I-95

Huh? The only one of these I'd agree with is I-93 in VT.  I-84 in MA may be short, but it gets a ton of traffic from Massachusetts and is one of the main routes between the Boston area and points southwest.  So, it's short but important.  I-95 in Maine?  If that's the least consequential, then what's the most?  The Atlantic Ocean?   

Same goes for I-95 in Rhode Island.  Tell it to someone from Providence who needs to get to Warwick.  And I-91 in Connecticut? You mean the heavily used interstate that links New Haven with Hartford (two of the state's biggest cities)?  Perhaps I-384 is a better pick.  Or I-684.     For NH, what about I-393?

Frankly, New England doesn't have many interstates that would qualify in the spirit intended.  But those that do are going to be the small 3di's like I-391 in MA.

Only 2-digit Interstates are being considered in this thread.

[kj3400]

I'm sure everyone else will agree with me when I say I-97 for MD. It is the shortest, but it doesn't mean I hate it. It's just that the other three (70, 83, 95) are a bit more important.

[StogieGuy7]

MA: I-84
NH: I-89
ME: I-95
VT: I-93
CT: I-91
RI: I-95

Huh? The only one of these I'd agree with is I-93 in VT.  I-84 in MA may be short, but it gets a ton of traffic from Massachusetts and is one of the main routes between the Boston area and points southwest.  So, it's short but important.  I-95 in Maine?  If that's the least consequential, then what's the most?  The Atlantic Ocean?   

Same goes for I-95 in Rhode Island.  Tell it to someone from Providence who needs to get to Warwick.  And I-91 in Connecticut? You mean the heavily used interstate that links New Haven with Hartford (two of the state's biggest cities)?  Perhaps I-384 is a better pick.  Or I-684.     For NH, what about I-393?

Frankly, New England doesn't have many interstates that would qualify in the spirit intended.  But those that do are going to be the small 3di's like I-391 in MA.

Only 2-digit Interstates are being considered in this thread.

OK, but if you're ME or RI or NE, then your most important interstate is also your least consequential/important one too - even if it's truly vital.  And, there's a big difference between Illinois' stretch of I-24 and the 8 or so miles of I-84 in Massachusetts.  Also, to nominate I-91 for CT would seem absurd to anyone who lives in the central or northern parts of the state; given these parameters, they'd probably say I-95.

[cpzilliacus]

D.C. is I-66, since it's the only one available (no, I do not include the section of I-95 crossing the Wilson Bridge that "touches" D.C. territory).

For Maryland it is either I-97 or I-68.

I-97 is very short and should (and could be a 3di (I-995?)), but has high volumes of traffic.

I-68 carries lower volumes of traffic than I-97 but provides the only highway connection between the far western part of the state (and I-79 in West Virginia) and the generally more suburban and urban areas east of Hagerstown.

[kj3400]

D.C. is I-66, since it's the only one available (no, I do not include the section of I-95 crossing the Wilson Bridge that "touches" D.C. territory).

For Maryland it is either I-97 or I-68.

I-97 is very short and should (and could be a 3di (I-995?)), but has high volumes of traffic.

I-68 carries lower volumes of traffic than I-97 but provides the only highway connection between the far western part of the state (and I-79 in West Virginia) and the generally more suburban and urban areas east of Hagerstown.

I swear I forgot about I-68. But it definitely could be either one.

[tidecat]

For Alabama I'd go with I-10, simply because it serves only one of the state's population centers.  I-20 and I-85 both carry significant traffic to and from Atlanta.  I could have gone with the solo part of I-59, but even it has a spur route on it, and is a huge upgrade over US 11.

[Zzonkmiles]

I'm sure everyone else will agree with me when I say I-97 for MD. It is the shortest, but it doesn't mean I hate it. It's just that the other three (70, 83, 95) are a bit more important.

What about I-81 in MD? That goes through the less populated western part of the state for only about 20 miles or so, right?