Large cities not served by US routes at the time of creation

[hotdogPi]

Lawrence MA's population was about 90,000 in 1926, and no US route goes through it, with US 3 hitting Lowell instead. It did have a major route (MA 28, originally part of the New England route system), but it wasn't a US route. Lowell-Lawrence-Haverhill was served by MA 110.

For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_United_States_census (Lawrence misses the top 100 cities by less than 1,000 people and probably would have made it if 1926 had a census)

[Bruce]

For the West Coast, it seems that Long Beach (CA) qualifies. 142K at the time and didn't have US 6 extended there until 1936.

[ilpt4u]

Don't know what Bloomington, IN's population was at time of US Route creation, but to this day it has no US Route, but it now has I-69

The historic Dixie Highway goes thru Bloomington, but the leg going south from Indianapolis to Paoli, IN ended up designated IN 37, not a USR designation

[dgolub]

Brooklyn, NY.  There are no US routes on Long Island, period, and there never were.

[SEWIGuy]

Racine, WI was about 50,000 at the time, but US-41 has always been routed well west of the city.

[US 89]

Brooklyn, NY.  There are no US routes on Long Island, period, and there never were.

I have to think if NY hadn’t been so conservative with what they wanted out of the US highway system, they could have easily had a couple. US 46 and US 22 seem like they’d be in prime position to take over NY 25 and NY 27.

[Max Rockatansky]

For the West Coast, it seems that Long Beach (CA) qualifies. 142K at the time and didn't have US 6 extended there until 1936.

Beaten there slightly by US 101A.  Riverside had a population of about 30k (large by California standards of the time) and didn't get US 60 until early 1931.

[Dirt Roads]

Brooklyn, NY.  There are no US routes on Long Island, period, and there never were.

I have to think if NY hadn't been so conservative with what they wanted out of the US highway system, they could have easily had a couple. US 46 and US 22 seem like they'd be in prime position to take over NY 25 and NY 27.

Geesh.  There were even other large cities in New York that didn't get served by the original United States Highway system:  Buffalo and Rochester.

[Dirt Roads]

Many of the big cities along the East Coast have grown up around the original United States Highway system (excepting the New York State issue mentioned above).  Here's a handful to consider:

• Lakeland, Florida
• Patterson, New Jersey (which, like Buffalo and Rochester, was identified by AAA as not served back in the original numbering)
• Brockton, Massachusetts (which may be too close to US-1 to consider)
• Charlottesville, Virginia (possibly not big enough, unless you consider the size of the metro area along with its university)

[Rothman]

Brooklyn, NY.  There are no US routes on Long Island, period, and there never were.

I have to think if NY hadn't been so conservative with what they wanted out of the US highway system, they could have easily had a couple. US 46 and US 22 seem like they'd be in prime position to take over NY 25 and NY 27.

Geesh.  There were even other large cities in New York that didn't get served by the original United States Highway system:  Buffalo and Rochester.

When did US 62 come to Buffalo/Niagara Falls?  US 20 gets close enough.

[US 89]

Brooklyn, NY.  There are no US routes on Long Island, period, and there never were.

I have to think if NY hadn’t been so conservative with what they wanted out of the US highway system, they could have easily had a couple. US 46 and US 22 seem like they’d be in prime position to take over NY 25 and NY 27.

Geesh.  There were even other large cities in New York that didn't get served by the original United States Highway system:  Buffalo and Rochester.

When did US 62 come to Buffalo/Niagara Falls?  US 20 gets close enough.

Apparently 1932 per usends. Also can't forget US 219, which made it to Hamburg (close enough to count in my opinion) in 1934.

Rochester also got US 104 in 1934 and US 15 in 1939, both of which it has since lost.