Business Interstate Routes Are They Useful for You?

[Avalanchez71]

How would you rate the usefulness of Business Interstate routes?  Are they useful for you other then clinching a route?  What purpose do you believe they have to the average motoring public?  Do you see any new proposals on the horizon?

Wasn't there a BUS LOOP I-65 at one time?

[ahj2000]

Business 85 in Greensboro, NC. It's a bit faster than using the loop side of 85  if and only if there's no traffic. Also helpful to do from Danville (or using 29 as a scenic route to Northern VA)

[Max Rockatansky]

Not really but I hit a lot of them so I can finish old US Route segments in specific cities.

[SkyPesos]

From looking at a map, NC probably has the most useful business routes for me: Business I-40 in Winston Salem and Business I-85 in High Point and Greensboro. Business I-80 in Sacramento also seems like a route that I would use outside of clinching.

[oscar]

With some exceptions, such as I-80BL in Sacramento (which could be replaced by signing CA 51) and other freeway-level BLs, they aren't particularly useful for me.

It used to be, especially in California, that communities bypassed by a new Interstate begged for a business route for the old alignment. That seems to have gone away, with route signage disappearing on existing routes. Logo signs, and smartphones, are better ways to find traveler services.

From looking at a map, NC probably has the most useful business routes for me: Business I-40 in Winston Salem and Business I-85 in High Point and Greensboro.

BL 40 in Winston-Salem is toast. Most or all of its signage has been removed.

[Avalanchez71]

With some exceptions, such as I-80BL in Sacramento (which could be replaced by signing CA 51) and other freeway-level BLs, they aren't particularly useful for me.

It used to be, especially in California, that communities bypassed by a new Interstate begged for a business route for the old alignment. That seems to have gone away, with route signage disappearing on existing routes. Logo signs, and smartphones, are better ways to find traveler services.

From looking at a map, NC probably has the most useful business routes for me: Business I-40 in Winston Salem and Business I-85 in High Point and Greensboro.

BL 40 in Winston-Salem is toast. Most or all of its signage has been removed.

Why did they remove BL 40 in Winston-Salem?  Just because it wasn't a surface BL doesn't mean it wasn't useful.  Having one consistently signed route going through the heart of WL wasn't a bad idea.

[Evan_Th]

With some exceptions, such as I-80BL in Sacramento (which could be replaced by signing CA 51) and other freeway-level BLs, they aren't particularly useful for me.

It used to be, especially in California, that communities bypassed by a new Interstate begged for a business route for the old alignment. That seems to have gone away, with route signage disappearing on existing routes. Logo signs, and smartphones, are better ways to find traveler services.

From looking at a map, NC probably has the most useful business routes for me: Business I-40 in Winston Salem and Business I-85 in High Point and Greensboro.

BL 40 in Winston-Salem is toast. Most or all of its signage has been removed.

Why did they remove BL 40 in Winston-Salem?  Just because it wasn't a surface BL doesn't mean it wasn't useful.  Having one consistently signed route going through the heart of WL wasn't a bad idea.

Probably because it's also US 421.

[kphoger]

Nope.  I generally know in advance where I'll be stopping along the way during a trip, so I have little use for a route that promises to lead me to a business district.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I think they're kind of fun, but they can be annoying for clinching purposes if I won't be coming back to the parent route later in the trip to do the section between the business loop exits, since I probably won't be in the mood to do two laps around town. It nearly presented an amusing scenario last summer where the last section of I-90 I may have ended up needing nationally was the section between the BL exits in Wallace, ID, but I made sure to get back on 90 at the east side BL interchange where I got off.

[74/171FAN]

I would prefer that they not exist.  I have never liked the idea of following an interstate shield on surface routes (which most BLs basically are).

They can easily be state routes if they have to.

[3467]

Illinois just has 3 on 55 and they are all old route 66 or inn the case of Springfield business 66. . I fact Bloomington at least is numbered historic 66
The only other is on 72 in Jacksonville and part of it is the US 67 freeway bypass. Part of that is Illinois confess to have the shield on all freeways.

[sparker]

It seems like the most common rationale for business Interstates is to serve as some level (usually minimal) of compensation to a bypassed town to direct traffic to businesses somewhat dependent upon a steady traffic stream.  Almost invariably the loops are along the former signed highway, regardless of whether much of the town was served by that highway or not.  If that were less of a common configuration, and the business-loop concept expanded to serve actual extant business areas either on or off the former through highway, there might be a real reason to post such things.  As an example, Sioux Falls, SD has business routes decidedly not on former US 16 and US 77 -- and the times I've been through the town I've managed to find decent dining along those routes, particularly "Spur 29" on 41st Street.  Creative thinking regarding these things might be the key to successful biz-loop/spur deployment.

[CtrlAltDel]

I think they're kind of fun, but they can be annoying for clinching purposes if I won't be coming back to the parent route later in the trip to do the section between the business loop exits, since I probably won't be in the mood to do two laps around town.

One thing that I've done from time to time is to take the main interstate to the end of the business loop, and then travel the loop in the reverse direction to return to the main interstate. You do end up with some doubled up mileage, but it seems reasonable to me.

[US 89]

I think they're kind of fun, but they can be annoying for clinching purposes if I won't be coming back to the parent route later in the trip to do the section between the business loop exits, since I probably won't be in the mood to do two laps around town.

One thing that I've done from time to time is to take the main interstate to the end of the business loop, and then travel the loop in the reverse direction to return to the main interstate. You do end up with some doubled up mileage, but it seems reasonable to me.

I've done that as well on occasion, but it does get rather tedious if the loop is longer than a couple miles.

[Avalanchez71]

If I can see the Interstate and the BL is really more or less a frontage road then I just consider it a double clinch.  Now if the roadway is far from the interstate then I may double back or just cut my losses at that point.

[D-Dey65]

I would prefer that they not exist.  I have never liked the idea of following an interstate shield on surface routes (which most BLs basically are).

They can easily be state routes if they have to.

Most of them tend to overlap state or US routes (and sometimes even county roads) anyhow. In fact, I still say if the Long Island Expressway Extension were revived, you could have Suffolk CR 58 converted into part of BL 495 east of Exit 73, then a short section of NY 25, and then Suffolk CR 105 until that hypothetical interchange with the expressway.

I just wish NCDOT would've added more interchanges to BL 95 in Fayetteville, instead of adding more openings to the median.

[US 89]

I would prefer that they not exist.  I have never liked the idea of following an interstate shield on surface routes (which most BLs basically are).

It isn't an interstate shield, though. It's green.

From a western perspective, I tend to like business routes because they 1) tell me a town is fairly substantial and is likely to have anything I might need, and 2) provide a signed surface through route if I do find myself off the freeway in such a town.

Freeway grade BLs like I-80 Sacramento and I-85 Spartanburg and Greensboro are just dumb, though. That's not the point of a business route.

[1995hoo]

We don't have them in Virginia and thus I've never really had much reaction to them either way.

[SkyPesos]

Freeway grade BLs like I-80 Sacramento and I-85 Spartanburg and Greensboro are just dumb, though. That's not the point of a business route.

Idm renumbering I-180 to Business I-80, just call it a business route serving Hennepin, a town of 750 people

[Takumi]

We don't have them in Virginia and thus I've never really had much reaction to them either way.

Pretty much my opinion. I find them to be curiosities when I travel out of state.

[74/171FAN]

I would prefer that they not exist.  I have never liked the idea of following an interstate shield on surface routes (which most BLs basically are).

It isn't an interstate shield, though. It's green.

From a western perspective, I tend to like business routes because they 1) tell me a town is fairly substantial and is likely to have anything I might need, and 2) provide a signed surface through route if I do find myself off the freeway in such a town.

Freeway grade BLs like I-80 Sacramento and I-85 Spartanburg and Greensboro are just dumb, though. That's not the point of a business route.

Officially you are correct, but it still looks like an interstate shield.  I understand the reasoning based on US business routes, and state business routes.  However, US Routes and State Routes are not expected to be freeways usually.

I would be fine if you took the I-40 BLs in AZ making them AZ 40A, AZ 40B, etc.

[kphoger]

I would be fine if you took the I-40 BLs in AZ making them AZ 40A, AZ 40B, etc.

That's a great idea!

Instead of what's here now, for example, would be this:





On a related note, I just learned that this sign is erroneous.  It's not Business I-35W(V), but rather Business I-35(V)–as confirmed by both the TxDOT highway designation file and Ground-mounted signage.

[hotdogPi]

This works well for everything except 35E. I'm fine with 2B, 3D, 3M, 5G, 9N, 24K, 90S, 100C, 212F, 270Y, 401K, 454G, 984J, 1909S, etc., but 35E belongs in Dallas.

(edited to add more)

[74/171FAN]

This works well for everything except 35E. I'm fine with 2B, 9N, 24K, 90S, 100C, 212F, 401K, 1909S, etc., but 35E belongs in Dallas.

I like the hilarity I created without thinking about 35E and 35W.

Yeah, I am sure Texas and Minnesota would not use 35E and 35W for specifically those reasons.  However, an adjustment of NY's suffixed system for the BLs was exactly what I was practically going for.

Situations like I-95BL in Fayetteville would not apply to this since the existing route is already 99% US 301.

[SkyPesos]

Sometimes, I wish that Ohio uses NY's suffix system in certain cases. There's a lot of state routes in the state that could easily be a suffixed version of another route. For example, OH 747 can be OH 4A, which would go well with nearby OH 4 Bypass as OH 4B.