Inefficient numbered routings

[texaskdog]

and in Wisconsin, move US 10 to the WI-35/65 River Falls routing, much faster overall and the part that is not duplexed does not need to be a US highway. WI-35 is a story in itself, send it straight from Hudson to Prescott

[andy3175]

Why the turn on US 285 in Colorado?  In addition it takes it FARTHER from the National Park entrance.  US 61 south of Hastings.  WI 77 from Mellen to Clam Lake.  US 20 in central Wyoming.

Agree with US 20 between Thermopolis and Cody in Wyoming.  Hwy 120 is shorter and faster.

Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

[The High Plains Traveler]

Just follow U.S. 69 through the Kansas City KS/MO metro area and then try to figure out why it's a continuous route. No one would follow that routing in its entirety.

[TheStranger]

US 20 making yet another appearance in this thread!  I was trying to look at the WY 120/US 20 example mentioned earlier and it hit me how between Idaho Falls, ID and Shoshoni, WY, US 26 makes a much shorter trajectory, with 26 using a 269-mile routing while US 20 meanders north for a 396 mile path!

This seems to be primarily so that US 20 can serve Yellowstone, but really doesn't seem like a routing that one would take from start to finish (especially where 120 serves as a cutoff between Cody and Thermopolis). 

Using US 20 and then the WY 120 bypass before continuing to Shoshoni...saves 40 miles from the all-US 20 routing, but is still a full 87 miles longer than the US 26 routing.

[US 89]

Conversely, US 20 is much better than US 26 if you're going between Idaho Falls and Mountain Home, ID. If you're taking the 2-lane route through Arco there is no reason to detour on 26 all the way down to Blackfoot. And over on the west side, if you're going to use I-84 between Mountain Home and Bliss, you might as well just use the all-interstate route.

Times and distances from Google:
-Interstates (84/86/15): 238 miles, 3:34.
-US 20: 212 miles, 3:29.
-US 26: 239 miles, 3:54.

[sparker]

Conversely, US 20 is much better than US 26 if you're going between Idaho Falls and Mountain Home, ID. If you're taking the 2-lane route through Arco there is no reason to detour on 26 all the way down to Blackfoot. And over on the west side, if you're going to use I-84 between Mountain Home and Bliss, you might as well just use the all-interstate route.

Times and distances from Google:
-Interstates (84/86/15): 238 miles, 3:34.
-US 20: 212 miles, 3:29.
-US 26: 239 miles, 3:54.

Coming in from or going to Yellowstone from anywhere westward on I-84, cutting over ID 33 west of Rexburg has always been, at least to me, the most efficient way to make that trip.  Between Carey and Mountain Home, the more direct US 20 is 10 miles shorter than the US 26/I-84 route through Shoshone -- but having taken both routes, the time difference is negligible due to the 46 miles of Interstate west of Bliss.  And if you're driving after dark, 26/84 is the safer of the two corridors. 

[roadfro]

US-93 between NV-318 and Ely. Direct route is NV-318 and US-6, 136 miles, 2h 8m. Following US-93 is 176 miles, 2h 43m. This one is very poorly signed from US-93 (you have to know to turn on 318), unlike the other example.

There is this sign on 93 southbound in Ely, which shows a 44 mile advantage to SR 318: 

The NHS N-S corridor up the east side of NV uses NV 318 rather than US 93 north of their southern junction; obviously recognizing reality.  Thus, if for some reason a generally direct Vegas-Idaho Interstate (yeah, right!) corridor that's not I-11 ever comes to pass, it'll shoot right up 318. 

[/quote]

The routing of US 93 in Nevada is a vestige of when US 93 was extended south from Wells, NV down to Glendale, NV, approved by AASHO in 1931. At that time, the various state routes that US 93 was laid over were at least passable; SR 38 (which later became SR 318 in the 1976 renumbering) didn't even appear on state maps until 1935, and was not paved until much later. US 93 also went through more established towns along the way. Still today, there is not much of any civilization along the SR 318/US 6 routing, whereas US 93 has some semblance of civilization with Caliente and Pioche.

[roadfro]

A local one is NV 208 from the south end of the Mason Valley to Yerington.  It's not so much the mileage, rather the type of road.  NV 208 is a major highway extending east from US 395 but once it gets to Mason Valley it turns into a local farm road and then serves as the main street in Yerington, at the end of which it reaches US 95 Alt.  NV 339 is a modern high-speed two-lane road along the west side of Mason Valley; it meets US 95 Alt. just west of Yerington.  This is part of the most direct route from Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas, and NDOT does have a green sign at the 339/208 split directing those bound for Las Vegas onto NV 339.

In that vein...

Between Tonopah and Winnemucca US 95 is not the shortest routing between the two, but a combo of NV 376 & NV 305.  But I always understood this as having US 95 make the bit of a westward jog in order to better serve the Vegas-Reno corridor.

I wonder which route gets more of the Reno-bound traffic: US 95 to Alternate US 50 to I-80, or Alternate US 95 to US 50 to NV 439 to I-80.

At this point, since the NV 439 cutoff is relatively recent, most LV-Reno traffic likely still goes through Fallon, using US 95 right to US 50 and then Alternate 50 to I-80.  Have no idea what the various GPS devices suggest (don't have one, never needed one, etc.) -- but it's probably the routing described above.  It's also likely that the pending I-11 pathway will also utilize that route, but making a diagonal southwestern bypass of Fallon to (a) cut off some mileage and (b) avoid taking developed property; its probable I-80 junction is just northeast of Fernley, close to the "elbow" of I-80 at that location.   

Yeah, the routing of US 95 was a direct result of the improved/paved roads at the time of US 95's southern extension through Nevada, as gonealookin pointed out. US 95 Alt exists due to the original mainline's jog through Fernley–the Schurz-to-Fernley part being the original "true" alternate route, while the remainder of the alt route along I-80 being is the old US 95 mainline.


Prior to the advent of SR 439, most Vegas-to-Reno traffic used US 95 via Fallon instead of US 95 Alt via Yerington. I would hazard to guess that most people will still default to the Fallon route simply out of habit and greatest availability of services.

The distance between the Reno Spaghetti Bowl and the Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl is:
*Via Fallon and Fernley: 445 miles (without deviation from US routes) or 446 miles (using SR 117 to bypass most of Fallon)
*Via Yerington and Fernley: 448 miles (without deviation from US routes) or 445 miles (with slight shortcut through back roads north of Yerington) route is 448 miles.
*Via Yerington and SR 439: 441 miles (without deviation from US routes) or 435 miles (with above-mentioned Yerington deviation and a shortcut using the Ramsey-Weeks Cutoff)

So SR 439 provides the shorter route. However, for a law-abiding driver that follows the speed limit, they'd probably find that via Fallon & Fernley (with SR 117 shortcut) would be the fastest. SR 439 has an abysmally low speed limit (55mph) for a new four-lane divided highway, which somewhat negates any time savings with the shorter distance.

[texaskdog]

US 20 making yet another appearance in this thread!  I was trying to look at the WY 120/US 20 example mentioned earlier and it hit me how between Idaho Falls, ID and Shoshoni, WY, US 26 makes a much shorter trajectory, with 26 using a 269-mile routing while US 20 meanders north for a 396 mile path!

This seems to be primarily so that US 20 can serve Yellowstone, but really doesn't seem like a routing that one would take from start to finish (especially where 120 serves as a cutoff between Cody and Thermopolis). 

Using US 20 and then the WY 120 bypass before continuing to Shoshoni...saves 40 miles from the all-US 20 routing, but is still a full 87 miles longer than the US 26 routing.

Yes why not extend US 91 up to Yellowstone and then over the rest of US 191

[ilpt4u]

Part of me wants to say I-55 vs I-57 between Sikeston and Chicago...

On the Fictional "Change routing of existing Interstate"  thread I laid out an idea for the renumbering of those 2 (and a few others to make it work), but it will never happen

[tolbs17]

NC Highway 12 between Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills. It requires a ferry.

[ilpt4u]

NC Highway 12 between Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills. It requires a ferry.

Requiring a ferry does not automatically make a route inefficient

[GaryV]

Ontario Hwy 11.  It takes a truly long meander a long way to the north.  Anyone driving from Barrie to Nipigon would take 400, 69 and 17, not 11.  And if you were going to the end of 11 near Beaudette, MN, you'd go through the US (via Soo and Duluth).

[paulthemapguy]

NC Highway 12 between Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills. It requires a ferry.

Requiring a ferry does not automatically make a route inefficient

Sometimes a bridge just isn't feasible, so the inclusion of a ferry along a route doesn't necessarily add an unwarranted drop in efficiency.  But, perhaps you could say that the roundabout path of the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry is oddly inefficient? https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2127479,-75.814788,12.01z

[Ga293]

Georgia State Route 165 has a bizarrely inefficient routing. Instead of going straight from Milan to Chauncey, a distance of 6.6 miles, it takes a 20 mile detour to Rhine. Additionally, it connects these three communities to...pretty much nowhere.

[Kulerage]

Just follow U.S. 69 through the Kansas City KS/MO metro area and then try to figure out why it's a continuous route. No one would follow that routing in its entirety.

Easily my favorite answer to this thread. The amount of freeway exits and detours it takes makes it horribly inefficient to completely follow. US 169 does a similar thing as well.

[amroad17]

NC Highway 12 between Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills. It requires a ferry.

Requiring a ferry does not automatically make a route inefficient

Sometimes a bridge just isn't feasible, so the inclusion of a ferry along a route doesn't necessarily add an unwarranted drop in efficiency.  But, perhaps you could say that the roundabout path of the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry is oddly inefficient? https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2127479,-75.814788,12.01z

Apparently, the ferry has to go around the Hatteras Inlet Crab Spawning Sanctuary.  According to Google satellite, the ferry route seems to be dredged to go the way it does.

[byoungblood]

NC Highway 12 between Ocracoke and Kill Devil Hills. It requires a ferry.

Requiring a ferry does not automatically make a route inefficient

Sometimes a bridge just isn't feasible, so the inclusion of a ferry along a route doesn't necessarily add an unwarranted drop in efficiency.  But, perhaps you could say that the roundabout path of the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry is oddly inefficient? https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2127479,-75.814788,12.01z

Apparently, the ferry has to go around the Hatteras Inlet Crab Spawning Sanctuary.  According to Google satellite, the ferry route seems to be dredged to go the way it does.

It hasn't always been like that either. Back in the late 80s, early 90s, the Outer Banks was my family's go to vacation spot, I've been over that ferry many a times. It used to be more direct, the currents through Hatteras Inlet and hurricanes probably force frequent reroutes for the ferry. Wikipedia says the ferry takes about an hour right now, used to it was maybe 40-45 minutes at longest.

[sprjus4]

Here's some -

I-295 around Richmond and Petersburg is more efficient than taking I-95 through Richmond and Petersburg.

I-10 to I-410 to I-35 back to I-10 in San Antonio is more efficient than taking I-10 to the overlap with I-35.

Also in San Antonio, heading north from Corpus Christi / Rio Grande Valley on I-37 to I-10 West, it's more efficient to take I-37 up to I-35 then over to I-10 as opposed to following I-10 through the overlap.

[roadman65]

US 4?  Even without the Mass Pike, anyone going between the Capital District of NY to the NH Seacoast would use NY 7, VT 9, and NH 9. Heck east of Concord, NH  the NH Route 9 overlaps with US 4 so between the capitals of NY and NH Routes 7 and 9 are the better routes over the one US 4.

I know it was created from abandoned parts of US 9 and US 109, but still no one is going to drive the whole length of it except one of us here to clinch.

US 6 across the PA- OH border always bothered me as it is not the most direct but that other road ( I do not have my map handy) that crosses the reservoir connects the two parts of US 6 in both states better.

US 13 in NC north of US 64 should follow that other road continuation and join itself in Ahoskie especially with I-87 going to overlap it sometime soon.

[Rothman]

Here's some -

I-295 around Richmond and Petersburg is more efficient than taking I-95 through Richmond and Petersburg.

How so?

[roadman65]

Maybe he is talking about rush hour? 

[sprjus4]

Here's some -

I-295 around Richmond and Petersburg is more efficient than taking I-95 through Richmond and Petersburg.

How so?

Only adds 4 miles, mostly 6 or more lanes, no urban traffic, no closely spaced interchanges, 70 mph speed limit thruout, a lot less traffic in general with the exception being between I-64 east and I-95 north, though that part is 8-lanes and designed well, no real traffic issues to speak of, designed specifically for thru traffic, more reliable than I-95, etc.

[sprjus4]

Maybe he is talking about rush hour?

It's especially more reliable at rush hour, though I'd prefer it any time of the day over I-95 unless I specifically wanted to see Petersburg and Richmond.

I've driven on I-95 from the southern junction of I-295 heading north (haven't driven I-95 yet between I-295 and US-58 - have no real reason too though I'm considering clinching that soon) and it's all 55-60 mph urban interstate highway with a lot of closely spaced interchanges, heavy traffic, only 6-lanes, urban commuter traffic, etc.

I-295 is a breeze compared to that, especially south of I-64.

[paulthemapguy]

Has anyone brought up US62 between Paducah, KY, and Cairo, IL?  US62 dives down south and comes back north, whereas KY-286 joins the two bookending segments far more efficiently.