US 412 was intended to be a branch of US 12 (April fools)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

A while ago I stumbled across some documents which contained an incredible revelation about the seemingly misnumbered US 412 and which I cannot find anymore. Upon the creation of US 412 in 1982, it was stated they intended it to be a diagonal route running from Belle Fourche SD (Where US 412 would have junctioned US 212) to Dyesburg TN and perhaps beyond (it appears so, because it was extended to Columbia TN by 1985). However this plan was never realized beyond Walnut Ridge AR, since US 412 was instead extended due West to Woodford OK by 1988 and then to Springer NM by 1993. IIRC the intended route for US 412 between Walnut Ridge and Belle Fourche was the following:

• As it is presently to Mountain Home AR
• AR/MO 5 to near Gainesville MO
• Concurrent with US 160 to Springfield MO
• MO 71 to Harrisonville MO
• Concurrent with US 71 to Kansas City
• US 73 to Nebraska City NE (This would have resulted in the complete decomissioning of US 73 in 1984)
• NE 2 (including I-80 concurrency) to Alliance NE
• Concurrent with US 385 to near Hot Springs SD
• SD 79 (including I-90 concurrency) to Sturgis SD
• SD 34 to Belle Fourche, ending with a redundant US 85 concurrency so it can connect to US 212

I have two questions. First, why they would want to create such a route when the Interstates were already mostly built? And second, its number. It is a pretty long route, so a 2dus could have been used: They could have extended US 73 instead. Or if it had to be a branch of US 12, US 112 had been free for 20 years by that time. I understand they didn't want to use US 312 as it had been deleted the previous year, but had this plan been known then they could have extended it from Broadus MT via a concurrency with US 212.

Any thoughts on all of this (or on the date this was posted)?

[US71]

A while ago I stumbled across some documents which contained an incredible revelation about the seemingly misnumbered US 412 and which I cannot find anymore. Upon the creation of US 412 in 1982, it was stated they intended it to be a diagonal route running from Belle Fourche SD (Where US 412 would have junctioned US 212) to Dyesburg TN and perhaps beyond (it appears so, because it was extended to Columbia TN by 1985). However this plan was never realized beyond Walnut Ridge AR, since US 412 was instead extended due West to Woodford OK by 1988 and then to Springer NM by 1993. IIRC the intended route for US 412 between Walnut Ridge and Belle Fourche was the following:

• As it is presently to Mountain Home AR
• AR/MO 5 to near Gainesville MO
• Concurrent with US 160 to Springfield MO
• MO 71 to Harrisonville MO
• Concurrent with US 71 to Kansas City
• US 73 to Nebraska City NE (This would have resulted in the complete decomissioning of US 73 in 1984)
• NE 2 (including I-80 concurrency) to Alliance NE
• Concurrent with US 385 to near Hot Springs SD
• SD 79 (including I-90 concurrency) to Sturgis SD
• SD 34 to Belle Fourche, ending with a redundant US 85 concurrency so it can connect to US 212

I have two questions. First, why they would want to create such a route when the Interstates were already mostly built? And second, its number. It is a pretty long route, so a 2dus could have been used: They could have extended US 73 instead. Or if it had to be a branch of US 12, US 112 had been free for 20 years by that time. I understand they didn't want to use US 312 as it had been deleted the previous year, but had this plan been known then they could have extended it from Broadus MT via a concurrency with US 212.

Any thoughts on all of this (or on the date this was posted)?

Almost had me believing for a moment.

[paulthemapguy]

All of the anomaly US highway numbers start with 4 because all were brought before AASHTO on the first day of the 4th month of the year.  AASHTO, not knowing what day it was, actually approved US400, US412, and US425, not knowing that they were just proposed as April Fool's jokes.  They still exist to this day.

[hotdogPi]

All of the anomaly US highway numbers start with 4 because all were brought before AASHTO on the first day of the 4th month of the year.  AASHTO, not knowing what day it was, actually approved US400, US412, and US425, not knowing that they were just proposed as April Fool's jokes.  They still exist to this day.

Except 163. 164 (the logical number for the route) is 4 times 41, with 41 representing April 1.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Next year I should come up with an explanation for either US 400 or US 425 . I had planned this for the BigRigTravels stream, but figured I had to post it here instead. I also stated I was using Hawaii/Aleutian time for my "Forum time", a nod to Steve's truck icon being placed in Honolulu when he is near a customer. What is not an April fools thing, is that I've set one of my clocks to the local time of where he is currently coinciding with the start of DST in Europe.