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National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM

Title: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Like 1's easy to clinch thread, list roads that have things like seasonal or governmental restrictions, or just even poor to nonexistent signage, that make it difficult to clinch a road.

I'll start with WA 20 - seasonal closure over the Cascades

Nexus 6P

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: froggie on May 14, 2017, 11:27:32 AM
Until it's turned back (future turnback candidate), part of MN 289 is inside a prison complex.

NJ 68 begins inside the gate at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

VT 108 has a winter closure over Smuggler's Notch.

Several cities across the country that have poor signage.  In particular are cities in Tennessee and Virginia.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2017, 11:33:37 AM
Any cross-country highway.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:36:37 AM
Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2017, 11:27:32 AM
Until it's turned back (future turnback candidate), part of MN 289 is inside a prison complex.

NJ 68 begins inside the gate at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

VT 108 has a winter closure over Smuggler's Notch.

Several cities across the country that have poor signage.  In particular are cities in Tennessee and Virginia.
NJ 68 was the one I was thinking of when I started this thread but I couldn't remember which road it was

Nexus 6P

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jp the roadgeek on May 14, 2017, 12:02:20 PM
CT 148 & CT 160 (seasonal ferries)

US 10 (seasonal ferry)

NY 114 (2 ferries)
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: davewiecking on May 14, 2017, 12:05:07 PM
Note that https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=12746.0 lists several roads that require special access to clinch.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Rothman on May 14, 2017, 12:09:16 PM
I-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jp the roadgeek on May 14, 2017, 01:53:02 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 14, 2017, 12:09:16 PM
I-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

Similar fate for I-781 and Fort Drum, I'd imagine
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: michravera on May 14, 2017, 01:57:04 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Like 1's easy to clinch thread, list roads that have things like seasonal or governmental restrictions, or just even poor to nonexistent signage, that make it difficult to clinch a road.

I'll start with WA 20 - seasonal closure over the Cascades

Nexus 6P

I started to write this as a contrary example in the "by accident" thread.

I will confine my comments to routes of 500 km or less. In California, for instance, clinching CASR-1 or US-101 requires a lot of effort both due to their length and the illogic of traversing the entire route.

There are a lot of routes in California whose individual segments make sense and the adjoining ones all make perfect sense, but which traversing the entire length is either illogical or difficult due to discontinuities.
The prime offender is CASR-65. It was intended to be a 500 km long route to parallel CASR-99. What exists today is 2 100 km long segments separated by a 300 km route that is currently undefined and unconstructed.
I believe that it is CASR-178 that poses similar problems (but the unconstructed portion is short and really inconvenient to get from one part to the other).
CASR-41's segments make plenty of individual sense, but no one really goes from Morro Bay to Yosemite. Fresno to Morro Bay? Abosolutely! Fresno to Yosemite? Of course.
CASR-16 is discontinuous and illogical as an end-to-end route. You'd have to make a concerted effort to clinch it.
CASR-4, CASR-84, and CASR-160 are perfectly logical in segments, but don't make as much sense as end-to-end routes.
I could say the same thing about CASR-12 and CASR-33.

A lot of California's East-West state highways (like CASR-41) tend to have a logical center point and logical end points but no obvious reason to go between the two end points. CASR-180, -198, -152, -156, -299, -20, -46 all fit the bill.

... and all of that without introducing any technicallities such as the easternmost 3 meters of the route's being blocked off by a gate or a bridge that has been out for 15 years or that the westernmost 100 meters requiring a ferry that only operates two months of the year or the like.



Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: sparker on May 14, 2017, 04:53:52 PM
Quote from: michravera on May 14, 2017, 01:57:04 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Like 1's easy to clinch thread, list roads that have things like seasonal or governmental restrictions, or just even poor to nonexistent signage, that make it difficult to clinch a road.

I'll start with WA 20 - seasonal closure over the Cascades

Nexus 6P

I started to write this as a contrary example in the "by accident" thread.

I will confine my comments to routes of 500 km or less. In California, for instance, clinching CASR-1 or US-101 requires a lot of effort both due to their length and the illogic of traversing the entire route.

There are a lot of routes in California whose individual segments make sense and the adjoining ones all make perfect sense, but which traversing the entire length is either illogical or difficult due to discontinuities.
The prime offender is CASR-65. It was intended to be a 500 km long route to parallel CASR-99. What exists today is 2 100 km long segments separated by a 300 km route that is currently undefined and unconstructed.
I believe that it is CASR-178 that poses similar problems (but the unconstructed portion is short and really inconvenient to get from one part to the other).
CASR-41's segments make plenty of individual sense, but no one really goes from Morro Bay to Yosemite. Fresno to Morro Bay? Abosolutely! Fresno to Yosemite? Of course.
CASR-16 is discontinuous and illogical as an end-to-end route. You'd have to make a concerted effort to clinch it.
CASR-4, CASR-84, and CASR-160 are perfectly logical in segments, but don't make as much sense as end-to-end routes.
I could say the same thing about CASR-12 and CASR-33.

A lot of California's East-West state highways (like CASR-41) tend to have a logical center point and logical end points but no obvious reason to go between the two end points. CASR-180, -198, -152, -156, -299, -20, -46 all fit the bill.

... and all of that without introducing any technicallities such as the easternmost 3 meters of the route's being blocked off by a gate or a bridge that has been out for 15 years or that the westernmost 100 meters requiring a ferry that only operates two months of the year or the like.





Agree on most of these points regarding CA's disconnected segments; the shorter or secondary segments need to be renumbered:  the north CA 65, CA 84 from Rio Vista to W. Sacramento, the North Sac stub-end of CA 160, and the east portion of CA 16.  There's a lot of previously deleted designations between 1 and 200 that could be applied to these segments; it would simply take a legislative act (and some signage cost) to do so.

Regarding the longer routes such as CA 41 and CA 33 -- they've got real historical significance, so leaving them alone would likely be the best option -- just consider the sections as SIU's.  BTW, I've done CA 46 fully east to west in order to get from the high desert to the Big Sur area without dealing with L.A. and environs (and I'll wager I'm not alone here). 
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: bassoon1986 on May 14, 2017, 05:13:18 PM
Texas State Highway 87 because it's missing a chunk in the middle. It requires some backtracking to snag it from the Port Arthur side.

To me, busy parallel highways to interstates are hard to clinch. US 190 in Louisiana is 2 laned for much of it's trek next to I-12 and is so clogged and built up through Mandeville, Covington and Hammond I feel like I can never get it all. It's rare that I just use the parallel highway over the interstate because it takes so much longer. I usually snag a 2-exit piece at a time and resume my trip on the interstate


iPhone
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Beltway on May 14, 2017, 05:20:11 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Like 1's easy to clinch thread, list roads that have things like seasonal or governmental restrictions, or just even poor to nonexistent signage, that make it difficult to clinch a road.

I'll start with WA 20 - seasonal closure over the Cascades
Nexus 6P

I've lived in Virginia for 34 years and I believe that there is still one section of mainline Interstate that I have not driven -- I-81 between I-77 at Fort Chiswell, and Pulaski.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: vdeane on May 14, 2017, 05:28:14 PM
Any route that ends at a border, depending on how strict one is.  Special mention to US 11, which has the customs post a mile from the actual border.  Another special mention to NY 189, which is de facto one-way at the northern end since Canada closed their customs post there.

NY 431 and Prospect Veterans Memorial Highway both have seasonal closures.  Better bring a vehicle that can be deliberately downshifted; NY 431 has steep grades along its entire length, even the part that isn't climbing a mountain; Prospect can only be clinched by walking, with a motorcycle, riding their bus, or in an official NY state vehicle - other vehicles are not allowed past the parking area.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
Virginia has several unposted state routes so those require some insider knowledge but posted ones that are difficult:

VA 337:  From the Jordan Bridge until Brambleton Ave there are 7 turns required with only 2 posted EB and none posted WB
VA 125: missing bridge in the middle and it is not convenient to go get both sides
US 1: does not have a 55 mph speed limit the northernmost 45 miles or so and is a slog for half its length

Ones that are harder to drive for mountain/alignment reasons:
VA 16, VA 56, US 250, VA 80, VA 63, VA 40, VA 70, US 58


Ones from N Carolina that come to mind:
NC 615, NC 12, NC 150, NC 903, NC 80, US 19W, NC 143, NC 194.

South Carolina doesn't have many I would call difficult - maybe SC 9 and SC 28 because of their lengths.  SC 125 used to be hard when Savannah River Site had guard posts at each end.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2017, 07:40:43 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
US 1: does not have a 55 mph speed limit the northernmost 45 miles or so and is a slog for half its length

US 1 is difficult to clinch because it's over 2,000 miles long; not because it's a slow route for several miles in Virginia.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on May 14, 2017, 08:22:30 PM
A lot of the US Routes on the east coast since many travel through urban cores.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 09:00:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2017, 07:40:43 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
US 1: does not have a 55 mph speed limit the northernmost 45 miles or so and is a slog for half its length

US 1 is difficult to clinch because it's over 2,000 miles long; not because it's a slow route for several miles in Virginia.

I was speaking to clinching within Virginia but you are correct.  I have driven all of it except for right in Portland ME and from Ellesworth ME northward.

I drove New Brunswick NJ to Providence RI in one sitting and it took 7 hours...Connecticut's portion of US 1 is the absolute pits to drive...
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Darkchylde on May 14, 2017, 09:06:26 PM
MS 607. Stennis is in the way.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: roadman65 on May 14, 2017, 10:12:21 PM
I-94 in Port Huron, MI as you must possess a passport to drive it to its endpoint past the last US exit.  Ditto for I-75 as I had to take the last US exit when I drove it cause I had a rental car and no passport, so unless you have that or a Nexus and your own vehicle its 99.9 percent of these routes.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: froggie on May 14, 2017, 10:23:05 PM
Quote from: RothmanI-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

I was under the impression that I-185 ended at the US 27 interchange, and south of there was an Army-maintained freeway.  GDOT maps and FHWA sources seem to confirm this.

Quote from: DarkchyldeMS 607. Stennis is in the way.

It may seem that way, but per MDOT, there's a gap in MS 607 from I-10 to Texas Flat Rd (the east-west road north of Stennis).  Both segments of MS 607 are easily accessible.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: plain on May 15, 2017, 01:16:44 AM
Given bad weather and ferries and such I would have to say NC 12
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: formulanone on May 15, 2017, 09:25:29 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2017, 07:40:43 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
US 1: does not have a 55 mph speed limit the northernmost 45 miles or so and is a slog for half its length

US 1 is difficult to clinch because it's over 2,000 miles long; not because it's a slow route for several miles in Virginia.

Not to mention, it's probably very easy to miss a turn here or there in some town, and wind up off by a block or two in some direction thanks to:
- construction
- similar bannered route
- missing sign
- fatigue

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: roadman65 on May 15, 2017, 09:43:11 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2017, 07:40:43 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 14, 2017, 06:31:50 PM
US 1: does not have a 55 mph speed limit the northernmost 45 miles or so and is a slog for half its length

US 1 is difficult to clinch because it's over 2,000 miles long; not because it's a slow route for several miles in Virginia.
I have clinched US 1 through Virginia. Though very long north of Stafford and extremely urban pretty much most of the way to Gundpowder Falls in MD, I can assure you it can be done.  Timing is important as in 1996 the first year I done it, I left Titusville, FL at around 2 PM, stayed the night at Waycross, GA.  Left the next day and made it to Hendersonville, NC to lodge there, and left and made it through the Richmond, Washignton, Baltimore, and Philadelphia areas to rest at Red Roof Inn in Lawrenceville, NJ.

I tried to copy it verbatim years after, but failed as I would reach Baltimore by dark as the first try it was at Philly the sun set.  Either I left Hendersonville at 8AM that first trip or from 1996 to 1998 traffic volumes increased or both, as I tried to make sure I left at 9 AM but never got past Baltimore in the daylight.

Overall it took three days to go from Florida to NJ opposed to only 24 hours straight driving on I-95 to make the same trip.  Of course the latter I spend a few hours in two rest areas, but just to show the variance overall.  Even one year driving in 1997, I took I-195 to I-295 to I-95 from the Jersey Shore in the evening, spent a few most of the night at the NC Welcome Center, got driving at dawn and even clinched all of US 301 from Santee, SC to US 1 in Folkston to end up clinching western I-295 in Jacksonville and made it to a Long John Silvers in St. Augustine at nightfall.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hbelkins on May 15, 2017, 10:15:29 AM
Kentucky has several discontinuous state routes that require some backtracking to clinch, KY 70, KY 72 and KY 92 come to mind.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: roadman65 on May 15, 2017, 10:29:17 AM
US 9?  Being in theory that it crosses Great Egg Harbor on a bridge that no longer exists you could only clinch if you own a boat. :bigass:
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: PHLBOS on May 15, 2017, 11:20:10 AM
Not sure if this meets the criteria but I'll throw it out there:

MA 1A in Boston between the Sumner/Callahan Tunnels and the O'Neill Tunnel (I-93/US 1) post-Big Dig.  One can not directly access I-93/US 1 Southbound after exiting the Sumner Tunnel (MA 1A South); signs direct those heading south of Logan Airport to use the Ted Williams Tunnel (I-90 West). 

Conversely, one can not directly access the Callahan Tunnel (MA 1A North) from I-93/US 1 Northbound; signs direct those heading to Logan Airport & the coast to use the fore-mentioned Ted Williams Tunnel (I-90 East).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 11:53:03 AM


Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2017, 10:23:05 PM
Quote from: RothmanI-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

I was under the impression that I-185 ended at the US 27 interchange, and south of there was an Army-maintained freeway.  GDOT maps and FHWA sources seem to confirm this.

An Army-maintained interstate is still an interstate.  The "End I-185" shield is south of Exit 1A southbound.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 12:48:20 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 11:53:03 AM


Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2017, 10:23:05 PM
Quote from: RothmanI-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

I was under the impression that I-185 ended at the US 27 interchange, and south of there was an Army-maintained freeway.  GDOT maps and FHWA sources seem to confirm this.

An Army-maintained interstate is still an interstate.  The "End I-185" shield is south of Exit 1A southbound.

The END shield is within the interchange currently...

https://goo.gl/maps/KuEnGqVXybx

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 12:51:26 PM


Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 12:48:20 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 11:53:03 AM


Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2017, 10:23:05 PM
Quote from: RothmanI-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

I was under the impression that I-185 ended at the US 27 interchange, and south of there was an Army-maintained freeway.  GDOT maps and FHWA sources seem to confirm this.

An Army-maintained interstate is still an interstate.  The "End I-185" shield is south of Exit 1A southbound.

The END shield is within the interchange currently...

https://goo.gl/maps/KuEnGqVXybx

Yes, but you have to travel past the off-ramp for Exit 1A to pass the END sign.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: michravera on May 15, 2017, 01:14:40 PM
Quote from: sparker on May 14, 2017, 04:53:52 PM
Quote from: michravera on May 14, 2017, 01:57:04 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on May 14, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Like 1's easy to clinch thread, list roads that have things like seasonal or governmental restrictions, or just even poor to nonexistent signage, that make it difficult to clinch a road.

I'll start with WA 20 - seasonal closure over the Cascades

Nexus 6P

I started to write this as a contrary example in the "by accident" thread.

I will confine my comments to routes of 500 km or less. In California, for instance, clinching CASR-1 or US-101 requires a lot of effort both due to their length and the illogic of traversing the entire route.

There are a lot of routes in California whose individual segments make sense and the adjoining ones all make perfect sense, but which traversing the entire length is either illogical or difficult due to discontinuities.
The prime offender is CASR-65. It was intended to be a 500 km long route to parallel CASR-99. What exists today is 2 100 km long segments separated by a 300 km route that is currently undefined and unconstructed.
I believe that it is CASR-178 that poses similar problems (but the unconstructed portion is short and really inconvenient to get from one part to the other).
CASR-41's segments make plenty of individual sense, but no one really goes from Morro Bay to Yosemite. Fresno to Morro Bay? Abosolutely! Fresno to Yosemite? Of course.
CASR-16 is discontinuous and illogical as an end-to-end route. You'd have to make a concerted effort to clinch it.
CASR-4, CASR-84, and CASR-160 are perfectly logical in segments, but don't make as much sense as end-to-end routes.
I could say the same thing about CASR-12 and CASR-33.

A lot of California's East-West state highways (like CASR-41) tend to have a logical center point and logical end points but no obvious reason to go between the two end points. CASR-180, -198, -152, -156, -299, -20, -46 all fit the bill.

... and all of that without introducing any technicallities such as the easternmost 3 meters of the route's being blocked off by a gate or a bridge that has been out for 15 years or that the westernmost 100 meters requiring a ferry that only operates two months of the year or the like.





Agree on most of these points regarding CA's disconnected segments; the shorter or secondary segments need to be renumbered:  the north CA 65, CA 84 from Rio Vista to W. Sacramento, the North Sac stub-end of CA 160, and the east portion of CA 16.  There's a lot of previously deleted designations between 1 and 200 that could be applied to these segments; it would simply take a legislative act (and some signage cost) to do so.

Regarding the longer routes such as CA 41 and CA 33 -- they've got real historical significance, so leaving them alone would likely be the best option -- just consider the sections as SIU's.  BTW, I've done CA 46 fully east to west in order to get from the high desert to the Big Sur area without dealing with L.A. and environs (and I'll wager I'm not alone here).

I didn't suggest renumbering or anything of the kind. CASR-41 makes perfect sense as two routes that meet in the middle. Why would you change route numbers in the middle? My point is that you wouldn't likely have a reason to go from Yosemite to Morro Bay. Likewise, you might very well have a good reason to drive some portion (even a couple of the segments) of CASR-33, but not its whole length.

The Eastern portion of CASR-16 was the portion that I grew up knowing (since I basically lived on it). I didn't know about the WESTERN part until I got out and about (or saw some signs in downtown Sacramento).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 01:26:43 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 12:51:26 PM


Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 12:48:20 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 11:53:03 AM


Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2017, 10:23:05 PM
Quote from: RothmanI-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

I was under the impression that I-185 ended at the US 27 interchange, and south of there was an Army-maintained freeway.  GDOT maps and FHWA sources seem to confirm this.

An Army-maintained interstate is still an interstate.  The "End I-185" shield is south of Exit 1A southbound.

The END shield is within the interchange currently...

https://goo.gl/maps/KuEnGqVXybx

Yes, but you have to travel past the off-ramp for Exit 1A to pass the END sign.

The END shield and the Exit 1A sign are all of 128 ft apart.  There are innumerable END signs in the world that are this distance short of where the road runs into the crossroad.  This doesn't mean the route ends 128 ft short of the crossroad. 

You can certainly be as tight as you want about what you consider clinched but I would gather most people who enter/exit at US 27 have considered themselves clinching the south end of I-185...
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Eth on May 15, 2017, 01:46:16 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 01:26:43 PM
(several nested quotes trimmed out)

The END shield and the Exit 1A sign are all of 128 ft apart.  There are innumerable END signs in the world that are this distance short of where the road runs into the crossroad.  This doesn't mean the route ends 128 ft short of the crossroad. 

You can certainly be as tight as you want about what you consider clinched but I would gather most people who enter/exit at US 27 have considered themselves clinching the south end of I-185...

Alternatively, you can look at it from the other direction. Last time I went through this interchange, the BEGIN sign didn't appear until after merging onto the freeway from US 27/280 south/eastbound (GSV (https://www.google.com/maps/@32.4048967,-84.9241666,3a,75y,11.92h,91.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s01c7FoZoBwwxDJTcVNp4dA!2e0!7i3328!8i1664)).

Then again, I'm not sure how useful that really is, since apparently that loop ramp doesn't even exist anymore.

---

As for other hard-to-clinch routes in Georgia, it's hard to beat GA 177 and its gap through the Okefenokee sending you an hour and a half out of the way (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/30.8244446,-82.3633614/31.0616872,-82.2713636/@30.9834149,-82.6622698,10.25z) to get to the other side.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: catsynth on May 15, 2017, 01:55:58 PM
CA 84 and CA 65 have big gaps in them making them difficult to clinch.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: The Nature Boy on May 15, 2017, 01:57:22 PM
Are we counting US 2 as one highway?

If so, that one seems like a logistical nightmare to clinch.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: epzik8 on May 15, 2017, 02:27:04 PM
On the basis of gaps, Maryland routes 7 and 144.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 02:30:17 PM


Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 01:26:43 PM
but I would gather most people who enter/exit at US 27 have considered themselves clinching the south end of I-185...

Such people lack devotion.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hotdogPi on May 15, 2017, 02:51:44 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on May 15, 2017, 01:57:22 PM
Are we counting US 2 as one highway?

If so, that one seems like a logistical nightmare to clinch.

US 2 is difficult for being long, but the gap doesn't make it any harder than than the others that go from one coast to the other (or if you want to compare to another east-west route that hits a border crossing instead, US 62).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: formulanone on May 15, 2017, 04:56:25 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 02:30:17 PM


Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 01:26:43 PM
but I would gather most people who enter/exit at US 27 have considered themselves clinching the south end of I-185...

Such people lack devotion.

I stopped short of the gate at Fort Benning and turned around. I guess it happens enough; I waved that I needed to turn around, the guards smiled and gave the same wave back.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Roadgeekteen on May 15, 2017, 05:12:35 PM
Pam American highway. :bigass:
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 08:14:13 PM
Quote from: formulanone on May 15, 2017, 04:56:25 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 15, 2017, 02:30:17 PM


Quote from: Mapmikey on May 15, 2017, 01:26:43 PM
but I would gather most people who enter/exit at US 27 have considered themselves clinching the south end of I-185...

Such people lack devotion.

I stopped short of the gate at Fort Benning and turned around. I guess it happens enough; I waved that I needed to turn around, the guards smiled and gave the same wave back.

Like I said, the problem now is that they've gotten rid of the visitor center and turnaround that there was right before the gate in the median of the parkway.  You're now channeled into the gate due to a new visitor center on the right-hand side of the parkway, rather than in the middle.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on May 15, 2017, 08:16:17 PM
CA 4 is surprisingly difficult because of the sheer vastness of different terrain the route covers from being an urban freeway to a single-lane 24% highway up in the Sierras on Ebbetts Pass prone to winter closures.  Most drivers just plain don't possess the skill in Navigation to find Ebbetts Pass much less get down from it safely.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: formulanone on May 15, 2017, 09:27:13 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 15, 2017, 05:12:35 PM
Pam American highway. :bigass:

Non-stick surfaces make this one a truly difficult clinch.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on May 15, 2017, 09:36:10 PM
MN 289 was mentioned for being partly inside a correctional facility.

I'll add MN 11 because its eastern terminus is a dead end 7 miles east of Ranier with no other thru roads back to International Falls connecting to it along that 7-mile stretch so to clinch it is a notably out-of-the-way process.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: paulthemapguy on May 16, 2017, 12:07:05 PM
Any of the highways that take you through a National Park in mountainous areas.  In the winter, it's impassable due to snow; in the summer, it's a pain to navigate through the crowds piling into the park.  Possible examples include CA-120, UT-9, US2 in Montana, and anything passing through Yellowstone.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Roadgeekteen on May 16, 2017, 02:21:00 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on May 16, 2017, 12:07:05 PM
Any of the highways that take you through a National Park in mountainous areas.  In the winter, it's impassable due to snow; in the summer, it's a pain to navigate through the crowds piling into the park.  Possible examples include CA-120, UT-9, US2 in Montana, and anything passing through Yellowstone.
Would it be easier to clinch them if they did not exist? :bigass:
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: MNHighwayMan on May 16, 2017, 06:10:38 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 15, 2017, 09:36:10 PM
MN 289 was mentioned for being partly inside a correctional facility.

I'll add MN 11 because its eastern terminus is a dead end 7 miles east of Ranier with no other thru roads back to International Falls connecting to it along that 7-mile stretch so to clinch it is a notably out-of-the-way process.

The thing about MN-289 is that, from aerials and the limited amount of GSV available, this doesn't seem like that difficult a one to clinch. There's definitely no getting eastern terminus photos (there's a sign at the end of the available GSV (https://www.google.com/maps/@46.4406374,-92.7639308,3a,16.4y,59.05h,85.98t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRqdcT5lRZnDfcrsZDe3DSQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DRqdcT5lRZnDfcrsZDe3DSQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D41.78996%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656) that says no cameras/picture taking) unless you're willing to risk getting caught, but there isn't any gate or anything that you have to pass through so it's definitely possible, if only maybe a little suspicious to just drive in and then turn around at the point where it ends. I guess, all things considered, that still makes it a little difficult to clinch, but I did it with MN-298 a few years ago, which does something slightly similar.

MN-333 would've probably been more difficult, back when it existed.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jp the roadgeek on May 16, 2017, 06:23:39 PM
Believe it or not, I-684 is a tough one to clinch.  At the southern end, only traffic going to I-287 is actually on I-684; those that use the Hutch Parkway approach are on RR 984J.  At the northern end, about 90% (if not more) of traffic exits onto I-84 or US 6/US 202/NY 22 South; only those continuing thru on NY 22 North officially reach the northern end.

Now, as far as clinching I-684's CT portion, it's impossible not to unless you have 4WD and avoid getting arrested for trespassing :)
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: dgolub on May 16, 2017, 06:42:46 PM
The Storm King Highway (NY 218) has a section that tends to get closed due to winter weather or other inclement weather.

I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned either the Dalton Highway (AK 11) or the Dempster Highway (YT 5/NT 8), considering that my understanding is that you need tires that can handle 400+ miles of unpaved road, a couple of spare tires, and a radio or satellite phone if you want to be able to count on making it back in one piece.  Also, the Dempster has the ferry/ice bridge crossings that are not passable in the spring and fall when the rivers are partially frozen.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: nexus73 on May 16, 2017, 06:48:40 PM
I-84.  East or West, pick your poison...LOL!  Short of being a 48 state trucker, I cannot see too many folks getting the chance to do both and thus claim the I-84 King Of The Road award.

Rick
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: MNHighwayMan on May 16, 2017, 07:08:50 PM
Quote from: dgolub on May 16, 2017, 06:42:46 PM
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned either the Dalton Highway (AK 11) or the Dempster Highway (YT 5/NT 8), considering that my understanding is that you need tires that can handle 400+ miles of unpaved road, a couple of spare tires, and a radio or satellite phone if you want to be able to count on making it back in one piece.  Also, the Dempster has the ferry/ice bridge crossings that are not passable in the spring and fall when the rivers are partially frozen.

You do have a good point. Maybe because they're kind-of obvious choices, as far as Canadian and American highways go? IDK. I think the general thrust of the thread was that of highways in the developed parts of the world that still remain difficult to clinch for reasons other than passing through hundreds of miles of wilderness. I mean, one could list any number of roads in [insert South American or African country here], for example, and probably be right.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: tribar on May 17, 2017, 12:02:37 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on May 16, 2017, 07:08:50 PM
Quote from: dgolub on May 16, 2017, 06:42:46 PM
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned either the Dalton Highway (AK 11) or the Dempster Highway (YT 5/NT 8), considering that my understanding is that you need tires that can handle 400+ miles of unpaved road, a couple of spare tires, and a radio or satellite phone if you want to be able to count on making it back in one piece.  Also, the Dempster has the ferry/ice bridge crossings that are not passable in the spring and fall when the rivers are partially frozen.

You do have a good point. Maybe because they're kind-of obvious choices, as far as Canadian and American highways go? IDK. I think the general thrust of the thread was that of highways in the developed parts of the world that still remain difficult to clinch for reasons other than passing through hundreds of miles of wilderness. I mean, one could list any number of roads in [insert South American or African country here], for example, and probably be right.

Don't forget Siberia.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

LGMS428

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: oscar on May 20, 2017, 08:48:24 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on May 14, 2017, 01:53:02 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 14, 2017, 12:09:16 PM
I-185.  They have removed the turnaround at the old in-the-median visitor center and therefore you end up at the gate for Fort Benning...

...as I found out last year.

Similar fate for I-781 and Fort Drum, I'd imagine

Nah. There's a turnaround right before the gate, similar to the one at the east end of Interstate H-3 in Hawaii which ends just short of the gate for MCAS Kaneohe. If you must enter the base to snag I-781 (I doubt it), there are facilities and events open to the general public, unless the base is on a heightened alert status. Search for the thread on the completion of I-781 for more on the turnaround, and ways to get on the base.

HI 92 technically ends at the entrance to the Pearl Harbor naval base. However, there is a right turn just before the gate, that you can take if you're not trapped in the left lanes by heavy traffic on the right, and most people consider that "close enough". I was turned around inside the gate, pleading the "lost tourist" excuse. But that was before 9/11, and confusing signage on Interstate H-1 was changed to steer tourists away from the base, so YMMV.

Quote from: dgolub on May 16, 2017, 06:42:46 PM
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned either the Dalton Highway (AK 11) or the Dempster Highway (YT 5/NT 8), considering that my understanding is that you need tires that can handle 400+ miles of unpaved road, a couple of spare tires, and a radio or satellite phone if you want to be able to count on making it back in one piece.  Also, the Dempster has the ferry/ice bridge crossings that are not passable in the spring and fall when the rivers are partially frozen.

Good points. Don't forget that there is no cellphone service on either highway, and very long gaps between gas/diesel stations (240 miles on the Dalton, almost as long on the Dempster) or other traveler services.

But it can be worse up there. Yukon's Canol Road (YT 6) is even worse, a summer-only road that has very little traffic and nobody lives there except perhaps the owners of a summer home (so you need a satphone, else nobody will hear your calls for help). For the ~300-mile round trip on the segment north of Ross River, aside from a free ferry that is open only eight hours a day, you have to deal with continuous potholes, with little "maintenance" other than orange flags marking the potholes most likely to destroy your wheels or suspension. No fuel at all north of Ross River, and the mountain grades and lack of pavement will do a number on your fuel consumption, so bringing a lot of extra fuel (I brought two 25-liter canisters, though not completely filled) would be a good idea.

YT 10, the Nahanni Range Road poses similar challenges, except the nearest fuel pumps are 75 miles south of the beginning of the highway, so you need to bring enough extra fuel for a 410-mile round trip. There's a tungsten mine inside the NWT border that sometimes is open, where you might be able to get refueled, but even if that's possible (call ahead!) it might have only diesel. YT 10 is the only primary Yukon highway I haven't clinched, turning back at Dolly Varden Creek about a quarter of the way in, knowing I didn't have enough fuel to attempt a round trip to the Northwest Territories border.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: formulanone on May 21, 2017, 09:45:02 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

I think it's doable, but it would take two days to complete, and at least two days to get out of the state, if you need the portion along Key West. Probably best enjoyed if you broke it up over a week...

One's patience would be worn down somewhere around Melbourne (about half of it is 35 miles an hour or below once you get to Stuart). Perhaps if you'd never seen a beach or semi-tropic climate before?
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: dgolub on May 21, 2017, 10:04:23 AM
Quote from: oscar on May 20, 2017, 08:48:24 PM
Quote from: dgolub on May 16, 2017, 06:42:46 PM
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned either the Dalton Highway (AK 11) or the Dempster Highway (YT 5/NT 8), considering that my understanding is that you need tires that can handle 400+ miles of unpaved road, a couple of spare tires, and a radio or satellite phone if you want to be able to count on making it back in one piece.  Also, the Dempster has the ferry/ice bridge crossings that are not passable in the spring and fall when the rivers are partially frozen.

Good points. Don't forget that there is no cellphone service on either highway, and very long gaps between gas/diesel stations (240 miles on the Dalton, almost as long on the Dempster) or other traveler services.

But it can be worse up there. Yukon's Canol Road (YT 6) is even worse, a summer-only road that has very little traffic and nobody lives there except perhaps the owners of a summer home (so you need a satphone, else nobody will hear your calls for help). For the ~300-mile round trip on the segment north of Ross River, aside from a free ferry that is open only eight hours a day, you have to deal with continuous potholes, with little "maintenance" other than orange flags marking the potholes most likely to destroy your wheels or suspension. No fuel at all north of Ross River, and the mountain grades and lack of pavement will do a number on your fuel consumption, so bringing a lot of extra fuel (I brought two 25-liter canisters, though not completely filled) would be a good idea.

YT 10, the Nahanni Range Road poses similar challenges, except the nearest fuel plumps are 75 miles south of the beginning of the highway, so you need to bring enough extra fuel for a 410-mile round trip. There's a tungsten mine inside the NWT border that sometimes is open, where you might be able to get refueled, but even if that's possible (call ahead!) it might have only diesel. YT 10 is the only primary Yukon highway I haven't clinched, turning back at Dolly Varden Creek about a quarter of the way in, knowing I didn't have enough fuel to attempt a round trip to the Northwest Territories border.

That's just so awesome how you're clinched so many routes in the Arctic.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: dgolub on May 21, 2017, 10:05:15 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

LGMS428

On a similar note, RI 1A has a number of sections that are not all that easy to connect between.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hotdogPi on May 21, 2017, 10:37:16 AM
Quote from: dgolub on May 21, 2017, 10:05:15 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

LGMS428

On a similar note, RI 1A has a number of sections that are not all that easy to connect between.

That doesn't make it any harder than any other 50-mile minor numbered road.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: sbeaver44 on November 06, 2018, 03:41:59 PM
I'm necro-ing this to say I one-shot clinched US 13 in PA on Sunday, and that was not easy.  A few times (once near University City and once in Chester) I missed a turn because of poor signage.  US 13 in PA is a perfect example of what I started this thread for.  Lots of TOTSOs and poor signage.

49 miles, and it took 2+ hours.  Did love the surviving button copy between US 1 and US 30, though.

Nexus 6P

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheStranger on November 06, 2018, 06:14:20 PM
Hopping in this thread for a couple of the previously mentioned California examples:

- The 44 mile gap between the north and south portions of Route 84 is actually mostly covered by existing highways (I-580, Route 4, Route 160 and a brief portion of Route 12) except for 17.6 miles of the county-maintained Vasco Road.  So not too difficult to clinch, but really the two 84s should be different routes.

- The Woodland-Sacramento gap in Route 16 has only existed since 1984; prior to that, the 1964-1984 gap was simply via I-5 and US 50 in town from J Street to Howe Avenue, with the western 16 segment continuing from Woodland eastward along River Road, Sunset Avenue, Sacramento Avenue, and C Street through West Sacramento.  Only since 1984 have the two portions of 16 been so far apart that they really should not be one numbered route.

Other california examples - maybe the most obvious ones - include the roads that have unbuilt portions through the Sierras: Route 168 and Route 190.  Route 169 up in the northwest part of the state has a center segment that got washed out in a 1960s flood and was never rebuilt.  Route 162 does have a road connecting the two segments, but it is the dirt Forest Highway 7 (interestingly enough, the west segment of Route 162 was a separately numbered highway, Route 261, from 1964-1972). And Route 146 has no road access between its two segments (as that is the heart of the Pinnacles National Park).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: swhuck on November 06, 2018, 06:25:06 PM
CA 169. Two distinct parts, ending in the middle of nowhere. At least the western part can be reached by the well-travelled US-101, but the eastern part can only be reached from CA 96, which doesn't actually go anywhere that humans do. (I have clinched the eastern portion; it's basically a one lane road from nowhere to nowhere, although thankfully it is quite pretty. Never touched the western part.)

I-69W. Ends at the Mexican border on a bridge which accepts commercial traffic only. So, you essentially need both a passport and an 18-wheeler to do it.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: swhuck on November 06, 2018, 06:32:38 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on November 06, 2018, 06:14:20 PM

Other california examples - maybe the most obvious ones - include the roads that have unbuilt portions through the Sierras: Route 168 and Route 190.  Route 169 up in the northwest part of the state has a center segment that got washed out in a 1960s flood and was never rebuilt.  Route 162 does have a road connecting the two segments, but it is the dirt Forest Highway 7 (interestingly enough, the west segment of Route 162 was a separately numbered highway, Route 261, from 1964-1972). And Route 146 has no road access between its two segments (as that is the heart of the Pinnacles National Park).

Good call on all of those, and you got 169 in before I did, although I don't think it ever got past the proposed stage. 168 and especially 162 are probably every bit as tough to clinch.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: oscar on November 06, 2018, 06:44:14 PM
Quote from: swhuck on November 06, 2018, 06:25:06 PM
I-69W. Ends at the Mexican border on a bridge which accepts commercial traffic only. So, you essentially need both a passport and an 18-wheeler to do it.

Actually, I-69W ends at a turnaround before the U.S. side of the bridge, that also is the last exit before crossing into Mexico or the commercial traffic-only zone.

The bridge is sometimes closed in off-peak hours. For example, the bridge was closed at the turnaround mentioned above, at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, when I went out to clinch I-69W.

Quote from: swhuck on November 06, 2018, 06:32:38 PM
168 and especially 162 are probably every bit as tough to clinch.

The forest road connecting CA 162's segments is not particularly tough. Signs on the eastern segment show distances to at least one destination on the western segment, so it's officially considered to be a manageable trip.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on November 06, 2018, 06:47:23 PM
Quote from: swhuck on November 06, 2018, 06:32:38 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on November 06, 2018, 06:14:20 PM

Other california examples - maybe the most obvious ones - include the roads that have unbuilt portions through the Sierras: Route 168 and Route 190.  Route 169 up in the northwest part of the state has a center segment that got washed out in a 1960s flood and was never rebuilt.  Route 162 does have a road connecting the two segments, but it is the dirt Forest Highway 7 (interestingly enough, the west segment of Route 162 was a separately numbered highway, Route 261, from 1964-1972). And Route 146 has no road access between its two segments (as that is the heart of the Pinnacles National Park).

Good call on all of those, and you got 169 in before I did, although I don't think it ever got past the proposed stage. 168 and especially 162 are probably every bit as tough to clinch.

168 probably is the toughest considering the extremely rural desert alignment east of the Sierras.  190 was a bastard to complete but I did it gradually over the years by accident. 178 is kind of tough considering how it enters the state from the Nevada State Line.  173 essentially is impossible unless you want to walk the closed section.  39 can be walked on foot, just not legally.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hbelkins on November 06, 2018, 08:40:56 PM
In the past year, I finished clinching all Kentucky state routes 1-100. A handful of them were pains due to segmentation.

KY 72 has two discontinuous segments that dead-end, so I had to do out-and-backs on both of them.

KY 87 has two segments that end at the Tennessee state line, requiring either an out-and-back or the use of county roads to connect two segments.

KY 39 has no Kentucky River crossing, KY 92 has no Lake Cumberland crossing, and KY 70 and KY 93 have no Cumberland River crossings.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: OCGuy81 on November 26, 2018, 02:30:46 PM
How about WA 501? Isn't the gap due to a section being washed out by the Columbia?
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: compdude787 on November 29, 2018, 02:55:34 AM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on November 26, 2018, 02:30:46 PM
How about WA 501? Isn't the gap due to a section being washed out by the Columbia?

Partly that, but more so because it never got built in the first place.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: formulanone on November 29, 2018, 07:08:16 AM
Quote from: formulanone on May 21, 2017, 09:45:02 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

I think it's doable, but it would take two days to complete, and at least two days to get out of the state, if you need the portion along Key West. Probably best enjoyed if you broke it up over a week...

One's patience would be worn down somewhere around Melbourne (about half of it is 35 miles an hour or below once you get to Stuart). Perhaps if you'd never seen a beach or semi-tropic climate before?

I weaved a few dozen points on Google Maps - at 6am in the morning - and found that it takes approximately 15 hours 50 minutes to go from the "start" of A1A in Callahan, Florida to the section in Key West. I used the fastest route between the sections in some places, US 1 for most of it, but used CR A1A from Stuart to Hobe Sound because it's vaguely more direct. I did not include the CR A1A portion south of SR 44 because that would involve a dead end and backing out from the same route. Add about 90 minutes if you want to include it.

There's construction between FL 810 and FL 844, so I added 10 minutes to the US 1 routing; I've driven that parts dozens of times; only one stop light but a lower overall speed limit. There's also the chances you'll have to deal with drawbridges for inlets and each time you cross the Intracoastal Waterway for some of the older and smaller spans. So add on 5-10 minutes each time that happens, although some narrower passes such as the Hillsboro Inlet can back up for 15-20 minutes on a two-lane road.

Again, this is from plotting it at 6 in the morning. You'll get different results depending on when you start...or if you choose a weekend or during the sunnier times of year. But any driving taking that long means hitting traffic somewhere. Realistically, give yourself 19 hours. It depends on meal breaks, bathroom breaks, and sightseeing.  There's not enough sunlight in a Florida day, not even at the Summer Solstice, to make it all the way to Key West via A1A. You probably don't want to drive on Overseas Highway at night (you'd miss out on a lot), so best to break that trip up to two days.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on November 29, 2018, 10:58:27 AM
Quote from: formulanone on November 29, 2018, 07:08:16 AM
Quote from: formulanone on May 21, 2017, 09:45:02 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on May 20, 2017, 07:51:21 PM
I would say Florida SRA1A.. Its lots of sections and some of the routing is not clear or signed well

I think it's doable, but it would take two days to complete, and at least two days to get out of the state, if you need the portion along Key West. Probably best enjoyed if you broke it up over a week...

One's patience would be worn down somewhere around Melbourne (about half of it is 35 miles an hour or below once you get to Stuart). Perhaps if you'd never seen a beach or semi-tropic climate before?

I weaved a few dozen points on Google Maps - at 6am in the morning - and found that it takes approximately 15 hours 50 minutes to go from the "start" of A1A in Callahan, Florida to the section in Key West. I used the fastest route between the sections in some places, US 1 for most of it, but used CR A1A from Stuart to Hobe Sound because it's vaguely more direct. I did not include the CR A1A portion south of SR 44 because that would involve a dead end and backing out from the same route. Add about 90 minutes if you want to include it.

There's construction between FL 810 and FL 844, so I added 10 minutes to the US 1 routing; I've driven that parts dozens of times; only one stop light but a lower overall speed limit. There's also the chances you'll have to deal with drawbridges for inlets and each time you cross the Intracoastal Waterway for some of the older and smaller spans. So add on 5-10 minutes each time that happens, although some narrower passes such as the Hillsboro Inlet can back up for 15-20 minutes on a two-lane road.

Again, this is from plotting it at 6 in the morning. You'll get different results depending on when you start...or if you choose a weekend or during the sunnier times of year. But any driving taking that long means hitting traffic somewhere. Realistically, give yourself 19 hours. It depends on meal breaks, bathroom breaks, and sightseeing.  There's not enough sunlight in a Florida day, not even at the Summer Solstice, to make it all the way to Key West via A1A. You probably don't want to drive on Overseas Highway at night (you'd miss out on a lot), so best to break that trip up to two days.

A night time drive on US 1 on the Overseas Highway at night can be amazing if the sky is clear which it tends to be.  I used leave my house at 3 AM so I would miss the traffic on US 1 and Florida's Turnpike, it's actually incredibly scenic and surprisingly fun with no tourists. 

I'll second A1A being obtainable, especially for a Florida resident.  I just took a section at a time and managed to finish it back in 2013. 
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: jwolfer on November 29, 2018, 11:34:15 AM
Agreed on a clear night.  Amazing with a full moon

Moto Z2 Play

Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: djsekani on December 03, 2018, 07:01:18 PM
Add CA-39 and CA-90 to the list. CA-39 has the gap between Whitter and Azusa as well as the closed off north end. CA-90 also has two segments, but there's no clear path connecting them.

Seconding FL-A1A being kind of a pain, since it's mostly just a neighborhood street that just happens to run along a body of water.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Sykotyk on December 13, 2018, 01:18:26 AM
Quote from: jwolfer on November 29, 2018, 11:34:15 AM
Agreed on a clear night.  Amazing with a full moon

Moto Z2 Play



Did a lot of highway clinching one weekend. Got to the Keys by nightfall. Drove all the way to Key West. Stopped to eat. Sat and I actually pulled off the road just northeast of Key West where there was a pull off. Slept in the car. Listened to the sound of the ocean. Woke up, the key I was on was so small at that point that I could see the Atlantic and Gulf from the car when I woke up. Greatest morning wakeup ever.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: paulthemapguy on December 13, 2018, 10:19:52 AM
In Illinois, a difficult state route to clinch is IL-108, because you have to cross the Kampsville Ferry over the Illinois River.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Finrod on December 15, 2018, 07:12:17 PM
Georgia 20 is one route that no one would be likely to clinch unless done purposefully; it makes a giant mirror-image C around the Atlanta metro area, and it's a slog the entire way.

I would think US 6 would be a difficult one to clinch, since not only is it a transcontinental highway modulo the decommissioned part in California, the terrain varies widely and it doesn't really go anywhere that many people would want to go.  From the wikipedia article about US 6:

US 6 does not serve a major transcontinental corridor, unlike other highways. George R. Stewart, author of U.S. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America, initially considered US 6, but realized that "Route 6 runs uncertainly from nowhere to nowhere, scarcely to be followed from one end to the other, except by some devoted eccentric". In the famous "beat" novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac, protagonist Sal Paradise actually considers hitchhiking on US 6 to Nevada, but is told by a driver that "there's no traffic passes through 6" and that he'd be better off going via Pittsburgh (the Pennsylvania Turnpike).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: oscar on December 15, 2018, 07:27:34 PM
Quote from: Finrod on December 15, 2018, 07:12:17 PM
I would think US 6 would be a difficult one to clinch, since not only is it a transcontinental highway modulo the decommissioned part in California, the terrain varies widely and it doesn't really go anywhere that many people would want to go.  From the wikipedia article about US 6:

US 6 does not serve a major transcontinental corridor, unlike other highways. George R. Stewart, author of U.S. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America, initially considered US 6, but realized that "Route 6 runs uncertainly from nowhere to nowhere, scarcely to be followed from one end to the other, except by some devoted eccentric". In the famous "beat" novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac, protagonist Sal Paradise actually considers hitchhiking on US 6 to Nevada, but is told by a driver that "there's no traffic passes through 6" and that he'd be better off going via Pittsburgh (the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

Your guess is a good one. Only one Travel Mapping user has clinched US 6 from end to end.

In Nevada, US 6 is an even lonelier road than the "loneliest highway" US 50.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on December 15, 2018, 08:20:33 PM
Is there a way to see stats for an overall US route rather than just by its individual state mileages?
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: froggie on December 16, 2018, 08:44:22 AM
^ For an individual user (http://travelmapping.net/user/system.php?u=froggie&sys=usaus&rg=null&units=miles), yes.  But not for all users at once.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on December 16, 2018, 10:46:14 AM
CA 84 since it is in two inconveniently places segments; one which slogs trough the Bay Area and the other over a ferry route. 
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hbelkins on December 16, 2018, 06:32:22 PM
Quote from: Finrod on December 15, 2018, 07:12:17 PM...US 6 ... doesn't really go anywhere that many people would want to go.

Cape Cod, Providence, Hartford, Bear Mountain, "the Grand Canyon of the East," Chicagoland (Joliet), Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, Glenwood Canyon. Hardly obscure places.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: oscar on December 16, 2018, 06:49:43 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 16, 2018, 06:32:22 PM
Quote from: Finrod on December 15, 2018, 07:12:17 PM...US 6 ... doesn't really go anywhere that many people would want to go.

Cape Cod, Providence, Hartford, Bear Mountain, "the Grand Canyon of the East," Chicagoland (Joliet), Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, Glenwood Canyon. Hardly obscure places.

OTOH, you have to be pretty compulsive to clinch the whole route, or even major portions of it except for specific destinations, rather than stay on the Interstates that parallel most of the route.

Cameron Kaiser did it all in summer 2006 (https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/6/).
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hbelkins on December 16, 2018, 10:15:45 PM
Quote from: oscar on December 16, 2018, 06:49:43 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 16, 2018, 06:32:22 PM
Quote from: Finrod on December 15, 2018, 07:12:17 PM...US 6 ... doesn't really go anywhere that many people would want to go.

Cape Cod, Providence, Hartford, Bear Mountain, "the Grand Canyon of the East," Chicagoland (Joliet), Des Moines, Omaha, Denver, Glenwood Canyon. Hardly obscure places.

OTOH, you have to be pretty compulsive to clinch the whole route, or even major portions of it except for specific destinations, rather than stay on the Interstates that parallel most of the route.

Cameron Kaiser did it all in summer 2006 (https://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/6/).

I remember that, and I wish his site fully covered the trip and didn't stop after Utah.

In all honesty, US 6 is one of the routes that I really would like to drive from end to end. I think it would be interesting because it covers such varied terrain.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: cpzilliacus on December 16, 2018, 10:15:55 PM
I have not seen any mention of VA-42 upthread, which is chopped up into three segments.

Not so far away, the Blue Ridge Parkway can be closed during the winter season for the usual reasons in both Virginia and North Carolina.  Otherwise, it's just long

Then there's the matter of Quebec Route 138 (I have been on a few parts of this long ago).

From the U.S. border to Kegashka is long but possible, then there are several isolated segments that are not connected to other roads (one at La Romaine, maybe another at Chevery, another at Tête-à-la-Baleine, and maybe at La Tabatière). These appear to be reachable by coastal ferry.

The section from Old Fort (Vieux Fort), Quebec and east connects to the North American road network across Labrador.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Beltway on December 16, 2018, 11:27:27 PM
Clinch NC-12.  Several sections, a short ferry, a long ferry, and the long deadend to Corolla.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: hbelkins on December 17, 2018, 12:09:24 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 16, 2018, 10:15:55 PM
I have not seen any mention of VA-42 upthread, which is chopped up into three segments.

I actually have that route clinched, although not in one sitting. It's possible to drive between the disjointed segments via secondary routes, if I'm not mistaken, although I never attempted to do that.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Mapmikey on December 17, 2018, 02:39:22 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 17, 2018, 12:09:24 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 16, 2018, 10:15:55 PM
I have not seen any mention of VA-42 upthread, which is chopped up into three segments.

I actually have that route clinched, although not in one sitting. It's possible to drive between the disjointed segments via secondary routes, if I'm not mistaken, although I never attempted to do that.

Yes this is readily done...

Between the southern and central segment you use SR 730 which is a non-stop carnival of 25 mph curves, despite little change in elevation. 

Between the central and northern segment you use SR 615 to Eagle Rock to pick up US 220 north.  SR 615 is fairly decent and can be driven at near 55 mph in many places with the occasional 35-40 mph curve.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Gnutella on February 27, 2019, 12:41:46 PM
U.S. 64 in North Carolina. It's more than 600 miles long, changes direction several times, has many different segments built to vastly different standards, and doesn't pass through any major city other than Raleigh.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: oscar on February 27, 2019, 01:24:58 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on May 16, 2017, 12:07:05 PM
Any of the highways that take you through a National Park in mountainous areas.  In the winter, it's impassable due to snow; in the summer, it's a pain to navigate through the crowds piling into the park.  Possible examples include CA-120, UT-9, US2 in Montana, and anything passing through Yellowstone.

CA 120 officially ends at the national park's west boundary, and resumes at the east boundary. You still have to contend with the crowds, especially at the west boundary, but you can turn around before paying the stiff park entry fee. Of course, the detour needed to get to the rest of CA 120 is no cakewalk either, unless you can do the two segments on separate trips.

Similar situations for the US routes that officially end at the Yellowstone boundary, some of which restart on the other side (US 212, US 14, and US 16 simply end at the boundary, no need to go through or around the park to clinch).

US 2 in Montana runs south of Glacier National Park.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Max Rockatansky on February 27, 2019, 01:41:23 PM
Quote from: oscar on February 27, 2019, 01:24:58 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on May 16, 2017, 12:07:05 PM
Any of the highways that take you through a National Park in mountainous areas.  In the winter, it's impassable due to snow; in the summer, it's a pain to navigate through the crowds piling into the park.  Possible examples include CA-120, UT-9, US2 in Montana, and anything passing through Yellowstone.

CA 120 officially ends at the national park's west boundary, and resumes at the east boundary. You still have to contend with the crowds, especially at the west boundary, but you can turn around before paying the stiff park entry fee. Of course, the detour needed to get to the rest of CA 120 is no cakewalk either, unless you can do the two segments on separate trips.

Similar situations for the US routes that officially end at the Yellowstone boundary, some of which restart on the other side (US 212, US 14, and US 16 simply end at the boundary, no need to go through or around the park to clinch).

US 2 in Montana runs south of Glacier National Park.

And to make matters even more difficult CA 120 between US 395 and US 6 closes in the winter.  That said the route is quite doable if you hit it from the start either east from I-5 or west from US 6.  I'd personally rank routes like CA 4 given the massive length and incredibly difficult grade in the Sierras. 
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: paulthemapguy on February 27, 2019, 02:05:34 PM
Quote from: oscar on February 27, 2019, 01:24:58 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on May 16, 2017, 12:07:05 PM
Any of the highways that take you through a National Park in mountainous areas.  In the winter, it's impassable due to snow; in the summer, it's a pain to navigate through the crowds piling into the park.  Possible examples include CA-120, UT-9, US2 in Montana, and anything passing through Yellowstone.

CA 120 officially ends at the national park's west boundary, and resumes at the east boundary. You still have to contend with the crowds, especially at the west boundary, but you can turn around before paying the stiff park entry fee. Of course, the detour needed to get to the rest of CA 120 is no cakewalk either, unless you can do the two segments on separate trips.

Similar situations for the US routes that officially end at the Yellowstone boundary, some of which restart on the other side (US 212, US 14, and US 16 simply end at the boundary, no need to go through or around the park to clinch).

US 2 in Montana runs south of Glacier National Park.

I should have specified that I was talking about the crowds of traffic on the ROADS TO AND FROM the national parks.  Those can royally screw you over in the summer months.  For example, I spent two hours waiting in traffic on CA-120 in July 2016, to finally reach our parking space inside Yosemite National Park (a 2-hr drive turned into a 4-hr drive).  The roads leading into and out of the park can be really difficult to cover because of the traffic heading in and out, regardless if you're technically within the park boundaries or not.  And good luck getting from one segment of a highway to the other if there's a national park between them without going through the park directly; the nearest detour route could take many hours to traverse.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheGrassGuy on January 14, 2020, 02:32:44 PM
I'll bet that there are hundreds of these in China. Just go to Google Maps (or Baidu Maps), zoom in to some mountain or rural area, and look for any route with a number that's twisty. China's numbered roads are not legislated, let alone signed, inside urban areas, so maintenance gaps are rife. It's also extremely difficult to legally drive in China; you need a Chinese license, and a decent vehicle (hopefully 4wd). And the drivers in China are hell. Thankfully, Google Maps is the only Google service not blocked in China... but only for the Chinese edition. So good luck getting anywhere if you don't know Chinese. Even so, it is very inaccurate for mapping China: routes haphazardly routed through urban cores where no signage exists, routes splitting in half, highways under construction that just terminate in the middle of nowhere with no interchange, you name it.

My favorites:
* Fujian S201: several disjoined segments along the coast, like FL-A1A on steroids
* Inner Mongolia S213: It starts out near Bayan Nur, which is already a great deal away from everyone else, at a junction with a national highway, at two places according to Google Maps. Good luck figuring out which one is real. You're then going to have to pray that you don't screw up at the next such split, because that one dead ends. And if you do take the right way this time, you'll have to follow the route through poorly signed turns and mountain ranges... only for it to end in god-knows-where several dozen kilos later.
* G219: remote, runs through no major cities, unpaved in many places, runs through Xinjiang, Tibet, and the disputed region of Aksai Chin (see below for evidence as to why this is so difficult), 2,086 km long, and up to 5,050 km high. Why on earth would anyone even dare to try clinch this one?
* G318: the longest national road in China at 5,476 km, from Shanghai to the Nepal border. A lot of high altitude sections, many twists and turns, and good luck even getting permission to enter Tibet, a region officially closed to road travel to foreigners due to political unrest. Even if you manage to do all of the above, it might all be for nothing, as the final stretch to the border is intermittently open due to hazardous rockfall (landslides have also turned the border towns to ghost towns). I'm not even sure if there's any place to make a U-turn there! As such, I believe that G318 wins the golden crown for "hardest road in the world to clinch".
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: vdeane on January 14, 2020, 08:07:59 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on January 14, 2020, 02:32:44 PM
I'll bet that there are hundreds of these in China. Just go to Google Maps (or Baidu Maps), zoom in to some mountain or rural area, and look for any route with a number that's twisty. China's numbered roads are not legislated, let alone signed, inside urban areas, so maintenance gaps are rife. It's also extremely difficult to legally drive in China; you need a Chinese license, and a decent vehicle (hopefully 4wd). And the drivers in China are hell. Thankfully, Google Maps is the only Google service not blocked in China... but only for the Chinese edition. So good luck getting anywhere if you don't know Chinese. Even so, it is very inaccurate for mapping China: routes haphazardly routed through urban cores where no signage exists, routes splitting in half, highways under construction that just terminate in the middle of nowhere with no interchange, you name it.

My favorites:
* Fujian S201: several disjoined segments along the coast, like FL-A1A on steroids
* Inner Mongolia S213: It starts out near Bayan Nur, which is already a great deal away from everyone else, at a junction with a national highway, at two places according to Google Maps. Good luck figuring out which one is real. You're then going to have to pray that you don't screw up at the next such split, because that one dead ends. And if you do take the right way this time, you'll have to follow the route through poorly signed turns and mountain ranges... only for it to end in god-knows-where several dozen kilos later.
* G219: remote, runs through no major cities, unpaved in many places, runs through Xinjiang, Tibet, and the disputed region of Aksai Chin (see below for evidence as to why this is so difficult), 2,086 km long, and up to 5,050 km high. Why on earth would anyone even dare to try clinch this one?
* G318: the longest national road in China at 5,476 km, from Shanghai to the Nepal border. A lot of high altitude sections, many twists and turns, and good luck even getting permission to enter Tibet, a region officially closed to road travel to foreigners due to political unrest. Even if you manage to do all of the above, it might all be for nothing, as the final stretch to the border is intermittently open due to hazardous rockfall (landslides have also turned the border towns to ghost towns). I'm not even sure if there's any place to make a U-turn there! As such, I believe that G318 wins the golden crown for "hardest road in the world to clinch".
I presume, however, that a Chinese citizen wouldn't have many of these issues, seeing as they would have a Chinese licence, would be able to read Chinese, use Baidu maps instead of Google, etc.  Those landslides could certainly put G318 on the list, however.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on January 15, 2020, 07:57:38 AM
G219 is being extended to become the longest National Highway in China, as it is planned to run from the tiny section of Russian border between Kazakhstan and Mongolia near Kanas lake, Xinjiang all the way to where the Vietnamese border meets the sea near Dongxing, Guangxi Zhuangzu. It is one of three highways planned to go around the contour of China along with G228 (the coastal highway) and G331.

About Inner Mongolia S213, of the two routes Mr. Google has through Shanba (often labelled Hanggin Front banner), the bypass is the correct one, and is the only marked one in Baidu Maps (Which has messed up the numbering and has the first few km as S312, which is the road the Middle of Nowhere expressway, or G7 Beijing-Xinjiang expressway, parallels). As a rule of thumb, if Mr. Google shows two routes for a highway, the newer is the correct one.

The routes not being defined in urban areas thing also happens in Spain. So good luck clinching any National Highway going through several provincial capitals, especially if bypassed by a freeway. But my favorite route to throw onto this thread is not a National Highway (it's a 2nd order regional road) and is not that long (just 30 miles), but what a poorly maintained road it is. That coupled with the fact it is narrow and twisty, one just wants to turn around and never get again into that road. A-1604 in Huesca province.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheGrassGuy on January 15, 2020, 06:52:44 PM
A particularly egregious example of Google Maps being outdated in China: in Zhejiang province (and a few others, I'm sure), literally every provincial at-grade road is wrong. They're marked with what I believe is an old numbering system for the province's routes, having two digits and using the same route markers as the provincial expressways. However, Zhejiang actually uses dark yellow three-digit routes, just like the other provinces. And yes, the correct route numbers do appear on the roads, but they are not immediately visible except at very close distances, making the determination of a Zhejiang provincial router's current number a real pain. It's been like that on Google Maps for a while now, but not on Chinese mapping websites.

See, that's the thing about China's road system. Unlike the US, where it can take years, if not decades, to get any meaningful construction done, China updates its road and expressway network on a consistent yearly, or even monthly basis. They construct new expressways, bridges, and tunnels (often breaking world records in the process, thereby attracting global news outlets); shuffle around the existing roadways; and assign new numbers to old roads, often involving an upgrade from provincial to national maintenance. I'm not exaggerating a single bit when I say that China's road network is far superior to ours. In fact, if I were in charge of it all, the first thing that I'd do would be to hereby nominate good old Fritz for the noble post of my loyal assistant.

(Not to say, of course, that what China's doing here is better than what we're doing. It's pretty obvious that we take factors such as NIMBYs, urban sprawl issues, and environmental concerns into much more consideration when proposing updates to the roads than China does.)
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: Bruce on January 15, 2020, 07:16:37 PM
Technically WA 339, since it is a passenger ferry (water taxi) that generally runs only during rush hours. During the winter sailing season, it only runs six times a day (with an hour between departures).

The ferry was originally state-run (hence why it was designated in the first place), but was transferred to the county government.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: TheGrassGuy on January 16, 2020, 07:02:10 AM
Quote from: Beltway on December 16, 2018, 11:27:27 PM
Clinch NC-12.  Several sections, a short ferry, a long ferry, and the long deadend to Corolla.
That's actually quite a popular road trip route (well, maybe except for the dead end to Corolla :-D). In any case though, it's boring but easy, far from the hardest on this list.
Title: Re: Routes that are difficult to clinch
Post by: texaskdog on January 16, 2020, 07:04:39 AM
I was driving up MN 210 in Jay Cooke State Park one year.  The road was so slippery (and it wasn't even very snowy out) that I couldn't get up the hill, and had to maneuver back around to go back to the east side, it was just too steep!