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[GaryV]

For Michigan I'll say probably US-20 or I-80/90.

Ontario 401 or 402.

[gonealookin]

Northern Nevada:  I-5.  The majority of traffic from the west passes through Sacramento.  A lot of it comes straight up I-80 from the Bay Area, but much of the rest would be on I-5 at some point.

Southern Nevada:  I-70.  Quite a bit of that traffic is ultimately bound for Las Vegas.  An argument could be made for I-40 as well.

[CoreySamson]

I agree with the I-12 sentiment for Texas. Although I do feel like I-25 is important for connecting Texas to the Pacific Northwest.

[US 89]

I agree with the I-12 sentiment for Texas. Although I do feel like I-25 is important for connecting Texas to the Pacific Northwest.

Not really. I would imagine most people going from Texas to the PacNW would only use I-25 for a short distance in the Albuquerque area between I-40 and US 550.

[ethanhopkin14]

For Texas, oddly enough, I'd say I-81. It's the only route that connects to all parts of the Triangle equally, far away as it is.

I-59 is more important for the southern parts of the Triangle, but Metroplex traffic has almost no reason to use it.

On second thought, I suppose I-12 is important for all parts of Texas going to the Florida Panhandle beaches, depending on whether Metroplex traffic uses I-49 to cut down, or cuts through Hattiesburg instead.

Maybe a lesser would be I-25, with it having a defacto south control city of El Paso.

I-12's mirror to the west, without joining back to I-10 is I-8, keeping the San Diego to Dallas/Ft. Worth/San Antonio corridor open. 

[SkyPesos]

For Texas, oddly enough, I'd say I-81. It's the only route that connects to all parts of the Triangle equally, far away as it is.

I-59 is more important for the southern parts of the Triangle, but Metroplex traffic has almost no reason to use it.

On second thought, I suppose I-12 is important for all parts of Texas going to the Florida Panhandle beaches, depending on whether Metroplex traffic uses I-49 to cut down, or cuts through Hattiesburg instead.

Maybe a lesser would be I-25, with it having a defacto south control city of El Paso.

I-12's mirror to the west, without joining back to I-10 is I-8, keeping the San Diego to Dallas/Ft. Worth/San Antonio corridor open. 

I agree with the I-12 sentiment for Texas. Although I do feel like I-25 is important for connecting Texas to the Pacific Northwest.

I had I-65 as my example for Ohio to Texas. The inverse can work too, as I-65, combined with I-71 provides access from Texas to Ohio, Western PA and Western NY. It's also one of the options to NYC (via I-70/78) and Boston (via I-90) along with the I-81 routing.

I'll go with I-65 for Ohio. Until I-69 is finished in KY and TN, which then the WK Parkway/I-71 can serve as a spur of I-69 into Ohio, I-65 is part of the fastest route from at least Cincy, Columbus and Cleveland via I-71 to cities in the south like Houston (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30/US 59), Dallas (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30), Austin/San Antonio (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30/I-35) and New Orleans (I-71/I-65/I-59) and points beyond like Mexico or closer points like Memphis or Nashville.

I-57 is another honorable mention for Texas. The following cities has I-57 as part of its fastest route from the Texas Triangle: Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto. This is even more evident when I-57 gets extended south to Little Rock.

[ethanhopkin14]

For Texas, oddly enough, I'd say I-81. It's the only route that connects to all parts of the Triangle equally, far away as it is.

I-59 is more important for the southern parts of the Triangle, but Metroplex traffic has almost no reason to use it.

On second thought, I suppose I-12 is important for all parts of Texas going to the Florida Panhandle beaches, depending on whether Metroplex traffic uses I-49 to cut down, or cuts through Hattiesburg instead.

Maybe a lesser would be I-25, with it having a defacto south control city of El Paso.

I-12's mirror to the west, without joining back to I-10 is I-8, keeping the San Diego to Dallas/Ft. Worth/San Antonio corridor open. 

I agree with the I-12 sentiment for Texas. Although I do feel like I-25 is important for connecting Texas to the Pacific Northwest.

I had I-65 as my example for Ohio to Texas. The inverse can work too, as I-65, combined with I-71 provides access from Texas to Ohio, Western PA and Western NY. It's also one of the options to NYC (via I-70/78) and Boston (via I-90) along with the I-81 routing.

I'll go with I-65 for Ohio. Until I-69 is finished in KY and TN, which then the WK Parkway/I-71 can serve as a spur of I-69 into Ohio, I-65 is part of the fastest route from at least Cincy, Columbus and Cleveland via I-71 to cities in the south like Houston (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30/US 59), Dallas (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30), Austin/San Antonio (I-71/I-65/I-40/I-30/I-35) and New Orleans (I-71/I-65/I-59) and points beyond like Mexico or closer points like Memphis or Nashville.

I-57 is another honorable mention for Texas. The following cities has I-57 as part of its fastest route from the Texas Triangle: Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto. This is even more evident when I-57 gets extended south to Little Rock.

It is funny that I want to say I-40, as in taking traffic from Raleigh-Durham, Winston Salem, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Little Rock to I-30 then heading to Dallas/Ft. Worth.  I want to say it, then remember I-40 runs through the panhandle.  From Little Rock running east, its true, and hard to keep in mind that westbound I-40 from Little Rock still has a lot of Arkansas to go through, then the width of Oklahoma before it sniffs Texas.  The Texas it enters isn't the same world as the Texas the I-30 corridor serves. 

[odditude]

for NJ, it would likely be either I-476 or I-87.

[pianocello]

For Iowa: I-88. Drops you right into downtown Chicago, plus almost any other regionally significant roads that Iowans use would just go through the state.

For Florida: Honestly, I got nothing. This is a tough exercise for a state in the corner of the country with a bunch of road connections to many different places.

[SkyPesos]

For Iowa: I-88. Drops you right into downtown Chicago, plus almost any other regionally significant roads that Iowans use would just go through the state.

For Florida: Honestly, I got nothing. This is a tough exercise for a state in the corner of the country with a bunch of road connections to many different places.

Here's my options for FL:
I-24: Part of fastest route from FL to most points northwest of the state, notably cities in the Midwest west of Ohio like Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and even a far flung city like Seattle
I-77: Part of fastest route from FL to cities like Charlotte, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Toronto

[oscar]

For Alaska, has to be Yukon 1 (part of the Alaska Highway). Key link between most of Alaska to its southeastern panhandle (via YT 2 to Skagway, and YT 3 to Haines), as well as to the lower 48.

[ethanhopkin14]

I-37 and I-45 for Oklahoma.

[Brandon]

This is a weird question, but for Indiana I'd have to say I-294.

And on the flip side, I'd say I-65 for Illinois.

[I-55]

MS: Not many options, but comes down to either I-40 or I-459. (For Desoto County/Northern MS and for bypassing Birmingham on I-20 or I-59).

[KCRoadFan]

As for Missouri, I think it would be I-24. By connecting to I-57 in southern Illinois near Carbondale (in turn leading to I-64 at Mt. Vernon), it serves as an important route from the South into St. Louis - which, in turn, has connections to many points throughout the state.

(I would also have included I-57 itself for southern Missouri, but because it actually does enter the state, it doesn’t count. I-57 would work for Arkansas, though.)

Also, here’s another example: I-29 for Nebraska, because it connects to Omaha via I-80 at Council Bluffs - not to mention all of the other bridges into Nebraska from Iowa, thanks to its running parallel to the Missouri River along the western edge of the latter state. (In a similar vein, because it runs along the eastern edge of both the Dakotas, I-29 also serves as a connector for various points in western Minnesota.)

[skluth]

Interesting topic. I'm doing all the states where I lived.

Wisconsin: I-294/Tri-State Tollway. The most popular route for Badger State residents to get to Chicago and points south and east, despite the universal hatred of Illinois Tollways throughout the state. It's also the primary route for FIBs to get to Door County.

Missouri: It used to be I-64 which terminated in East St Louis. It now runs through St Louis to Wentzville, so I can't say that. I agree with the others that it's now I-24, although KS 10 is probably more important for Kansas City.

Virginia: I'd say NC 168 which takes drivers out of Tidewater to the Outer Banks. But I agree with the poster who stated it's difficult to come up with one for VA.

California: I've only lived here a couple years now, so I'm sure others have better ideas. I can only think of the highway that runs to the San Ysidro border crossing because it's the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere.

I never lived in Arkansas, but I'm going to say it's I-69 because they're obsessed with it coming to their state.

[epzik8]

For that reason, I'm inclined to say I-70. It passes within about 13 miles of Virginia (via US-340 and US-15) in the Frederick area—probably a bit less as the crow flies, but I don't have a good way to measure that—and it's the major route west for a lot of traffic because of people's bias against using non-Interstate routes.

Specifically for the DC/NoVA area, I-70 is pretty much the one choice. It's the main route going west of the area, even over I-66. Even for cities on I-64, like Louisville, to DC, the fastest route (I-64/I-79/I-68/I-70/I-270/I-495) uses I-70 into the area instead of I-66. I-70 also connects that area to cities on I-80/90 in the midwest like Chicago and Cleveland via I-76. It's not until cities on the I-40 corridor where I-66 becomes the clear winner over I-70 for route west of DC.

Could also mention I-270 for the US 15 connection in addition to I-70, which connects DC/NoVA to Upstate NY and Ontario.

Similarly, for Maryland I would nominate I-66, since people coming from Montgomery County or from Baltimore can follow I-495 into Northern Virginia and pick up I-66 to go west toward the mountains. Coming from Prince George's County, Annapolis or the Eastern Shore you could go either way on 495, but I would choose to take the inner loop of I-495 from US 50, cross the Wilson Bridge into Virginia and make my way up to 66 that way. Alternatively, you could sit through endless traffic lights in DC.

[ilpt4u]

This is a weird question, but for Indiana I'd have to say I-294.

And on the flip side, I'd say I-65 for Illinois.

I was going to say I-44 for Illinois, but I-65 probably tops it

[jp the roadgeek]

MS: Not many options, but comes down to either I-40 or I-459. (For Desoto County/Northern MS and for bypassing Birmingham on I-20 or I-59).

For the southern part, I would say I-12, since it's an important long-distance bypass of New Orleans that can be used for MS bound traffic that will use either I-10 or I-59. 

[ran4sh]

For Georgia it's hard to pick one because most routes going toward Georgia enter it. I-10 is an Interstate that barely misses entering Georgia but it's just not important for most of the state. I'll say I-40 because a lot of traffic to Georgia uses part of that Interstate even if only because of an overlap. I-40 overlaps with I-85 in NC, and with both I-75 and I-65 in TN, and is directly used by traffic coming from along the route west of Memphis.

[KCRoadFan]

Another example I just thought of: for both Nevada and California, one could arguably say I-70. That road has a southwest trajectory as it meets its western end at I-15 in the Utah desert; thus, I-70 traffic segues nicely onto I-15 south toward Las Vegas and, eventually, the “Inland Empire” area of California (and from there, either continuing south on I-15 to San Diego or west on I-10 to Los Angeles).

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

For North Carolina, I would imagine the answer would either be I-81 or US-58

EDIT: I-20 also comes to mind, with its eastern terminus at I-95. I-79 is another good candidate

[sparker]

For CA, the most important Interstate would be I-70, since it funnels substantial traffic to/from I-15 which, of course, feeds much of SoCal.  At this time I can't think of a current US highway that performs a similar function without actually entering the state.

[jakeroot]

For CA, the most important Interstate would be I-70, since it funnels substantial traffic to/from I-15 which, of course, feeds much of SoCal.  At this time I can't think of a current US highway that performs a similar function without actually entering the state.

I was thinking I-70 as well. Max suggested I-19 but I think I-70 is, overall, responsible for more traffic in California.

For WA, I'd say I-84, since that's a major part of a Salt Lake-Seattle route.

100% concur. I-84 is hugely important for WA, whether you use I-5 or I-82 to reach it. US-95 might be a close second.

[RoadWarrior56]

As a Georgia resident, I would normally have to say I-24.  However, since 4 miles of that road is actually inside of Georgia, I-24 does not qualify as a roadway that doesn't enter the state. 

In my opinion, the most important route that does not enter the state would be I-22.  Since its completion, Atlanta now has a direct interstate connection to the I-40/Old US 66 transcontinental corridor via I-20 to Birmingham and I-22 to Memphis.  As I-40 was mentioned already, I would have to agree that it is important as well.  I put I-22 ahead of it because it is located closer to the state and probably handles a lot of Georgia-related traffic.