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User Content => Road Trips => Topic started by: hbelkins on September 18, 2017, 11:01:58 AM

Title: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: hbelkins on September 18, 2017, 11:01:58 AM
I brought this up years ago on MTR but have recently started thinking about this again.

What would be the best, most scenic route to drive straight across the Appalachian Mountains? Start somewhere in the midwest and drive straight across to either the flatlands or the coast?

The route should be as perfectly east-west as possible. This would eliminate routes like I-64, which has significant north-south sections in its concurrencies with I-77 or I-81, or I-40, which has that north-south jog between I-81 and US 276 crossing from Tennessee to North Carolina.

Bonus points if you can stay on one route for the entire length.

To me, the most logical choice is US 50. Start at I-65 and go all the way to Annapolis. (To make better time, take OH 32 east out of Cincinnati.)

Other thoughts:

US 50/OH 32/OH 124/WV 62/US 33 from I-65 in Indiana to Richmond, Va.

US 70A/US 70 (possibly using US 70N)/US 321/US 421 from Atwood, Tenn. to Winston-Salem, N.C.

US 224/I-76/I-80 from Findlay, Ohio to Fort Lee, N.J.

I-70/I-76/I-276 from Dayton, Ohio to the New Jersey Turnpike.

US 64 from Memphis, Tenn. to Siler City, N.C.

Anyone else have any thoughts?



Title: Re: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: froggie on September 18, 2017, 11:44:45 AM
For all its faults (truck traffic, sudden snow squalls, etc), I-80 isn't horribly crooked.

A route comprising I-88/NY 7/VT 9/NH 9 from Binghamton to Concord is also reasonably "straight" when looking big-picture.
Title: Re: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: hbelkins on September 18, 2017, 01:43:44 PM
Quote from: froggie on September 18, 2017, 11:44:45 AM
For all its faults (truck traffic, sudden snow squalls, etc), I-80 isn't horribly crooked.

A route comprising I-88/NY 7/VT 9/NH 9 from Binghamton to Concord is also reasonably "straight" when looking big-picture.

One would probably need to start at Erie on I-86 to get to Binghamton, since Binghamton is pretty much in the middle of the mountains.

Believe it or not, I've driven most of that route, although not all in one chunk.

Other possibilities, after looking at a map:

US 6N/US 6 from the Erie area to Providence

US 20 or the NY Thruway/I-90/MassPike from Buffalo to Boston

US 278/MS 9/I-22/I-20 from Batesville, Miss. to Florence, S.C.

I also might adjust the US 64 possibility above, having forgotten about the northward jog toward I-40, to substitute US 64/US 74 from Memphis to Charlotte or Rockingham.




I might seriously do this as a roadtrip next year -- head east on one route, then back west on another.
Title: Re: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: Jardine on September 18, 2017, 02:53:31 PM
Nothing to compare to, but some years ago I drove I-80 E to W.  There was a dusting of snow in the mountain areas and I thought it was all spectacular.
Title: Re: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: amroad17 on September 18, 2017, 11:08:45 PM
How about US 22 from Cincinnati to at least Phillipsburg, NJ?
Title: Re: Straight across the Appalachians
Post by: hbelkins on September 19, 2017, 03:29:16 PM
Quote from: amroad17 on September 18, 2017, 11:08:45 PM
How about US 22 from Cincinnati to at least Phillipsburg, NJ?

That's also one I thought of, and I have driven a decent portion of it as well. One huge drawback is that it goes through downtown Pittsburgh, with the accompanying traffic. Ditto for Harrisburg.