Weird Routes

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm to understand the preferred method of clinching is to driver the perimeter of said State Route parking lot.

What about parking in every spot? 

Apparently this isn't part of the equation, it seems perimeter length is where the consensus opinion the clinch apparently lies.  I do find it intriguing how one would get to the drivers education course State Highway clinch though, there are many ways I could think of that would be plausible.  Corco had to use a 4WD high clearance Jeep to get the nuke road State Highways.

[bing101]

CA-65 and CA-168 are weird routes because they are in two segments but was at one point supposed to be connected together until studies showed that connecting these two segments were not viable at the time.




https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE065.html
https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE168.html

[Max Rockatansky]

CA-65 and CA-168 are weird routes because they are in two segments but was at one point supposed to be connected together until studies showed that connecting these two segments were not viable at the time.




https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE065.html
https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE168.html

More so, the lane needed to build a highway over Piute Pass for 168 was transferred from the Forest Service to the NPS circa 1940 to create Kings Canyon National Park.  The northern Kings Canyon park boundary is essentially an overlay of the Piute Pass Highway.  The same thing same to planned 180 over Kearsarge Pass.

[tsmatt13]

I have a few from NJ: 

1. NJ-59 in Cranford, NJ is a 0.15-mile railroad underpass.
2. NJ-17 makes a 180 degree turn in Rutherford, NJ, before ending for no apparent reason.
3. NJ-NY-NJ-440. This guy goes to Staten Island, then turns north, then becomes concurrent with I-278, then turns north again into NJ, then turns west parallel to I-78, then makes a weird turn and goes north again, and then it ends as a surface street.
4. Exits 9-11 of the GSP (NJ-444) used to have traffic lights until around the mid-2010s.
5. Exit 15X on the NJ Turnpike.

[Bickendan]

Oregon's Highways.

[tsmatt13]

OH-835 near Dayton: Going from west to east, it starts at US-35, goes south, does a 90 degree turn left to go east, ANOTHER 90 degree turn left to go north, curves east again, then it twists its way around US-35 before ending at US-35 again. It also does not meet any other state highways.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7280586,-84.1009506,5783m/data=!3m1!1e3

[kirbykart]

I can't understand the purpose of NY 421 being a state road. It has a purpose, but not enough to require state maintenance IMHO. It goes from NY 30 to the Veterans Mountain Camp on Tupper Lake, then west to... literally nowhere. It dead ends on a dirt trail near Horseshoe Lake. This is a waste of a route number.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_421

[kirbykart]

The Niagara Scenic Parkway. It starts branching off the LaSalle Expressway (which itself is a weird and pointless route), then basically continues as one of those roads that has a scenic viewpoint/overlook every 1000 feet. When it hits the Niagara Falls city limits it basically disappears. Reforms in the northern part of the city and heads north to...Lewiston? Youngstown? Really nowhere worth having whatever this is meant to be. It's so sparsely used and it's probably better to just use NY 18F to reach these places. It really baffles me when it has a massive 3-way interchange...to the North Access of Old Fort Niagara. Really? Continuing north, or really east because of that 3-way, it goes to Four Mile Creek State Park, before stopping, at a standard, at-grade intersection no less, at (what do you know?) the aforementioned NY 18F. All this nonsense, and I didn't even mention the condition of the road. The little disconnected southern part is alright, but the main portion (you know, the one that goes to nothing) is in an absolute trainwreck of a condition. This road is more commonly known by its former name, the Robert Moses Parkway. Such a baffling addition to the road network that I just had to mention it here.

[vdeane]

^ It's worth mentioning that they were once connected, through a freeway through Niagara Falls State Park.  From NY 18, it was intended to connect to the Lake Ontario State Parkway.

https://nysroads.com/rmpkwy.php

[kirbykart]

^ It's worth mentioning that they were once connected, through a freeway through Niagara Falls State Park.  From NY 18, it was intended to connect to the Lake Ontario State Parkway.

https://nysroads.com/rmpkwy.php

All of that is extremely interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[andrepoiy]

Yea, they removed the viaduct and the city portion because of low usage. They also mothballed the second carriageway before that. Over the Niagara Power Vista, originally there were 8 lanes of traffic over it (4 lanes of Robert Moses and 4 lanes of NY 104), and now there are 6, but still waay over capacity.

[geek11111]

US-73.
It wastes the name that US-59 really should have.
Sorry, I mean U-S -59.

[74/171FAN]

I am oddened by NC 231 going from Zebulon to NC 98 at its eastern terminus north of US 64.

Maybe NC 231 west of NC 222 should just be an extended NC 222.

[Scott5114]

US-73.
It wastes the name that I-59 really should have.

I-59 is way too far east to be anywhere near US-73.

Unless you're saying I-59 should be I-73, but that has nothing to do with US-73.

[CoreySamson]

US-73.
It wastes the name that I-59 really should have.

I-59 is way too far east to be anywhere near US-73.

Unless you're saying I-59 should be I-73, but that has nothing to do with US-73.

I think he meant that US 59 should be US 73. That seems to fit the context better.

[Scott5114]

US-73.
It wastes the name that I-59 really should have.

I-59 is way too far east to be anywhere near US-73.

Unless you're saying I-59 should be I-73, but that has nothing to do with US-73.

I think he meant that US 59 should be US 73. That seems to fit the context better.

If anything, US-69 should be US-73. That was its original designation, before it was truncated and US-69 extended over it for no real reason that I know of. The 73 number also fits the grid better than either 59 or 69.

[CovalenceSTU]

I-180 in Wyoming - which isn't an freeway at all, despite the name. Apparently an actual freeway was rejected due to its cost, but even then, giving a one mile spur its own number seems rather pointless.

I-180 in Illinois - a 13 mile freeway spur that connects to Hennepin (population 769). It exists solely to connect a then-new steel mill, which is now demolished following a turbulent history. From its Wikipedia page:

Federal auditors criticized its construction and called it a political favor that was put ahead of requests from Tucson, Arizona, and Tacoma, Washington.

I-180 is one of the least traveled Interstates in the nation, serving 1,950—3,600 vehicles per day as of 2013.

Interestingly, the majority of it was supposed to become Interstate 53/Peoria to Chicago Highway but it was never built, so the southbound part of the interchange goes from a 6 lane freeway to a 2 lane road in the span of a mile.

[kphoger]

I-180 in Wyoming - which isn't an freeway at all, despite the name. Apparently an actual freeway was rejected due to its cost, but even then, giving a one mile spur its own number seems rather pointless.

See below for a succinct explanation.

This is because 180 was already approved to be an Interstate before it was decided to no longer be a freeway.  See below.

It was given Interstate status because it was designated as part of the system and Interstate Construction funding was used in its construction.  Don't forget that, until about 10 years ago, the Interstates were just as much a funding category as they were a system category.

Nov. 1967 – Wyoming requested Interstate status for the corridor
Feb. 1968 – FHWA received Wyoming's request
Jun. 1970 – AASHO added I-180 to the Interstate system
Dec. 1970 – FHWA rejected Wyoming's concept proposal due to cost
Feb. 1971 – Wyoming submitted a new concept proposal, no longer a freeway
Mar. 1971 – FHWA approved Wyoming's new concept proposal

As you can see, I-180 was already on the books when its plans changed from its being grade-separated to an at-grade facility.

Also–and this is important–Interstate 80 east of that point wasn't even completed yet at the time, and wouldn't be until 1977.

[pderocco]

CA-65 and CA-168 are weird routes because they are in two segments but was at one point supposed to be connected together until studies showed that connecting these two segments were not viable at the time.

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE065.html
https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE168.html

California has ten such split roads that I'm aware of. The gap lengths are in air miles:

CA-65: 204 miles from CA-198 north of Exeter to I-80 in Roseville

CA-84: 32.3 miles from I-580 in Livermore to CA-12 in Rio Vista

CA-90: 27.1 miles from Slauson Ave in Culver City to CA-39 in La Habra

CA-146: 2.2 miles through a canyon in Pinnacles National Monument

CA-162: 28.7 miles from Indian Dick Road in Sherburns to Rd 307 NW in Elk Creek

CA-168: 30.6 miles from Lakeshore to Lake Sabrina

CA-169: 12.5 miles from Klamath Glen to Johnsons

CA-178: 53 miles from Trona Pinnacles Road to SE entrance to Death Valley

CA-190: 32 miles from Cedar Slope to US-395 in Olancha

CA-193: 6 miles from CA-49 in Cool to I-80 in Newcastle

[roadman65]

US 4 as it goes north, then east, and then Southeast. NY 7, and MSR 9 are more direct between its endpoints. US 4 really is local use and I think those heading east from the Capital Region do not make it beyond Rutland, VT. Those east of Rutland are North Central Vermont traffic to the NH SeaCoast and local or regional in between.

[Flint1979]

I'm sure that US-321 has been mentioned but I don't feel like going through pages to find out. Ok US-321 goes between Lenior City, TN near Knoxville to Hardeeville, SC. It's 517 miles long but to get from Hardeeville to Lenior City is about 425 miles taking I-75, I-40, I-26 and I-95.

[roadman65]

US 321 and US 101 both are N- S oddities that have two southern terminuses.

[GaryV]

M-123 also has 2 south termini - one near Newberry, the other near Rogers Park north of St Ignace. The most direct route via M-28 is about 60 miles. To take 123 the entire way, through Paradise, is nearly 100 miles.

[Max Rockatansky]

CA-65 and CA-168 are weird routes because they are in two segments but was at one point supposed to be connected together until studies showed that connecting these two segments were not viable at the time.

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE065.html
https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE168.html

California has ten such split roads that I'm aware of. The gap lengths are in air miles:

CA-65: 204 miles from CA-198 north of Exeter to I-80 in Roseville

CA-84: 32.3 miles from I-580 in Livermore to CA-12 in Rio Vista

CA-90: 27.1 miles from Slauson Ave in Culver City to CA-39 in La Habra

CA-146: 2.2 miles through a canyon in Pinnacles National Monument

CA-162: 28.7 miles from Indian Dick Road in Sherburns to Rd 307 NW in Elk Creek

CA-168: 30.6 miles from Lakeshore to Lake Sabrina

CA-169: 12.5 miles from Klamath Glen to Johnsons

CA-178: 53 miles from Trona Pinnacles Road to SE entrance to Death Valley

CA-190: 32 miles from Cedar Slope to US-395 in Olancha

CA-193: 6 miles from CA-49 in Cool to I-80 in Newcastle

CA 39 comes to mind also.  CA 39 possibly could have been signed on local roads between the state owned segments.

Some state routes which have a gap in state maintenance like CA 120 and CA 180 are still signed by the Park Service.  CA 89 used to have signed in Lassen Volcanic National Park but no longer does.

[Flint1979]

US 321 and US 101 both are N- S oddities that have two southern terminuses.

Well in that case I guess US-24 has two northern terminuses.`