The Great Interstate Bracket Challenge

[Henry]

This one is inspired by the NCAA tournament. Since lots of people are making brackets comparing various other things, I've come up with a bracket filled with 2di's. Here's how it works: You simply select the winner of each individual matchup, and then I'll compile a list of the votes, and whichever one gets more will advance to the next round. I've arranged each matchup by length, and according to the top seeds' length, in the Final Four, it would be East vs. Midwest, and South vs. West. For now, I've decided to leave off the H-series and future additions, such as I-87 in NC and I-69 south of Indy. This is the setup for my bracket:

EAST
95 (1,908 mi) vs. Play-in winner
81 (855 mi) vs. 83 (85 mi)
76E (435 mi) vs. 99 (99 mi)
79 (343 mi) vs. 68 (113 mi)
87 (334 mi) vs. 88E (117 mi)
91 (290 mi) vs. 78 (144 mi)
84E (232 mi) vs. 93 (190 mi)
86E (222 mi) vs. 89 (191 mi)

SOUTH
10 (2,460 mi) vs. Play-in winner
75 (1,786 mi) vs. 73 (101 mi)
55 (1,552 mi) vs. 4 (132 mi)
20 (1,539 mi) vs. 16 (167 mi)
65 (887 mi) vs. 22 (203 mi)
85 (666 mi) vs. 26 (306 mi)
49 (528 mi) vs. 24 (316 mi)
59 (445 mi) vs. 30 (367 mi)

MIDWEST
90 (3,020 mi) vs. Play-in winner
70 (2,151 mi) vs. 72 (179 mi)
94 (1,585 mi) vs. 43 (192 mi)
35 (1,569 mi) vs. 96 (192 mi)
64 (954 mi) vs. 39 (306 mi)
44 (634 mi) vs. 71 (344 mi)
77 (613 mi) vs. 69 (355 mi)
74 (429 mi) vs. 57 (386 mi)

WEST
80 (2,900 mi) vs. Play-in winner
40 (2,559 mi) vs. 86W (63 mi)
15 (1,434 mi) vs. 27 (124 mi)
5 (1,381 mi) vs. 37 (143 mi)
25 (1,063 mi) vs. 82 (144 mi)
84W (770 mi) vs. 17 (146 mi)
29 (751 mi) vs. 76W (187 mi)
8 (350 mi) vs. 45 (285 mi)

First up is the play-in game. You now get to vote between these eight contenders:

EAST
66 (76 mi) vs. 97 (18 mi)
It's Front Royal-Washington against Annapolis-Baltimore.

SOUTH
12 (87 mi) vs. 14 (25 mi)
Two intrastate interstates square off against each other.

MIDWEST
41 (176 mi) vs. 88W (141 mi)
US 41's freeway replacement faces off against the highway formerly known as IL 5.

WEST
19 (63 mi/102 km) vs. 11 (23 mi)
The only interstate to be signed in metric goes up against one with Phoenix-Vegas aspirations.

I'll be back next week with the results and first-round matchups next week.

[ilpt4u]

66 dumps the wanna-be 97 to face #1 95

12 beats 14 at the buzzer, and advances to meet its sibling-parent, 10

88W dunks on the cheesy 41 and meets another (partially) tolled route, 90

Up-and-comer 11 scores the upset over 19, making those at the sportsbook window excited! 11 advances to face the well-established 80, a route it hopes to meet someday in real life

[CtrlAltDel]

EAST
66 vs. 97
the one I've been on

SOUTH
12 vs. 14
the one that should exist, in my opinion, although not necessarily with that number

MIDWEST
41 vs. 88W
the home team wins this one

WEST
19 vs. 11
the one I've clinched

On a completely irrelevant side note, I've always disliked these play-in games in the NCAA tournament. Keep the field to a power of 2.

[Roadgeekteen]

I-66 (I-97 is too damn short)

I-14 (because it's new and I-12 is just a glorified 3di)

I-88W (it's older)

I-19 (I like the unique metric signature)

[NWI_Irish96]

First up is the play-in game. You now get to vote between these eight contenders:

EAST
66 (76 mi) vs. 97 (18 mi)
It's Front Royal-Washington against Annapolis-Baltimore.

SOUTH
12 (87 mi) vs. 14 (25 mi)
Two intrastate interstates square off against each other.

MIDWEST
41 (176 mi) vs. 88W (141 mi)
US 41's freeway replacement faces off against the highway formerly known as IL 5.

WEST
19 (63 mi/102 km) vs. 11 (23 mi)
The only interstate to be signed in metric goes up against one with Phoenix-Vegas aspirations.

[chays]

66
14
41
11

[Konza]

EAST
66 (76 mi) vs. 97 (18 mi)
It's Front Royal-Washington against Annapolis-Baltimore.

I-66 ties the Nation's Capital into most of the nation southwest of it.  Might be different if I-97 were extended to Norfolk and south.

SOUTH
12 (87 mi) vs. 14 (25 mi)
Two intrastate interstates square off against each other.

I-12 is part of a major transcontinental route.  I-14 will most likely never get much longer than it is, and the number should be used on a Houston to Austin route.

MIDWEST
41 (176 mi) vs. 88W (141 mi)
US 41's freeway replacement faces off against the highway formerly known as IL 5.

I-88 used to be part of my daily commute, so it gets the nod. 

WEST
19 (63 mi/102 km) vs. 11 (23 mi)
The only interstate to be signed in metric goes up against one with Phoenix-Vegas aspirations.

I might change my mind once I-11 is signed in Arizona, but, at Nogales,  I-19 connects with Mexico Federal Highway 15, which connects the USA to Hermosillo, Guadalajara, and Mexico City.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

66
12
41
19

[bassoon1986]

66
12
41
19


iPhone

[TheGrassGuy]

66
14
41
11

[wanderer2575]

66
12
88W
West is a tough one.  I was leaning toward 11, but Konza's comment sold me on 19.

[jmd41280]

East: 66

South: 12

Midwest: 88W

West: 19

[Great Lakes Roads]

66
12
41
11

[CoreySamson]

Ooh I like this idea!

East: I-97 (unique because of its length. Besides, 66 seems that it has nothing special about it)

South: Gotta go with my boy 12 here, my only 2di clinch.

Midwest: I-41 here (what makes 88 special?)

West: Hard choice but 11. (I don't really think metric fits on American freeways)

I think I'll keep coming back to this thread over and over in the coming weeks. Great idea!

[thspfc]

East play-in: 66 becuase it sucks less
South play-in: They're both too short so by default I'll take the completed 12 over the infant 14
Midwest play-in: 41 because half of it is brand new and it has like five stack interchanges
West play-in: Similar situation to the South but I will actually take 11 here

[I-55]

This is the first time I've had to pick a winner for a play-in game...

East: I-97 (been on it)

South: 12 (straight and completed routing)

Midwest: I-88 (I-41/43 should be I-55/65 imo)

West: I-19 (because it will eventually reach King Angelo's standards)

[zzcarp]

EAST
66

SOUTH
12

MIDWEST
41

WEST
11

[dlsterner]

I-97
I-12
I-88
I-11

[Big John]

I-66
I-12
I-41
I-19

[frankenroad]

66
12
41
19

[DTComposer]

I-66
I-12
I-41
I-11

[hbelkins]

66, 12, 88, 19.

[formulanone]

I-66 scenically beats I-97 handily, the junior college representative.

I-12 connects purposefully on both sides of the court against the upstart I-14, who was hobbled with delays in funding.

I-41 graduates from NCSA and wins over the NAIA I-88.

I-19 wins after I-11 had to seat two players for being US Routes, though a protest was lodged since the score was approximately 1.609 times higher than expected.

[webny99]

Ooh, this would give me a headache if I had to compile the scores, but I like it!

EAST
66 (76 mi) vs. 97 (18 mi)
It's Front Royal-Washington against Annapolis-Baltimore.

SOUTH
12 (87 mi) vs. 14 (25 mi)
Two intrastate interstates square off against each other.

MIDWEST
41 (176 mi) vs. 88W (141 mi)
US 41's freeway replacement faces off against the highway formerly known as IL 5.

WEST
19 (63 mi/102 km) vs. 11 (23 mi)
The only interstate to be signed in metric goes up against one with Phoenix-Vegas aspirations.

I'm picking I-66, I-14, I-41, and I-11, mostly based on which route I find more interesting. West was definitely the toughest to pick. And not that anyone should be surprised, but I-88 and I-97 are going to need a big comeback at this point.

[ModernDayWarrior]

EAST: I-66. Always thought 97 should have been a 3di.

SOUTH: I-12. 14 would take this one sometime in the future if/when it's ever extended, but not now.

MIDWEST: I-88W, I guess. Could have gone either way.

WEST: I-19. Same logic as the South matchup above, plus 19 gets a couple bonus points for the metric signage.