Unpopular Route Opinions

[kenarmy]

- US 65 should go to New Orleans, not 61
- US 87 should follow 287.
- US 50 is an XL US 40S.
- US 40 should be decommissioned
- US 34 and 44 should be branch routes of 6.
- US 62 and 82 should be swapped west of brownfield.
- US 93 should go to Phoenix, but it should also replace SR 87, 77, and 79 to go to Tucson.
- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.
- US 73 should've been the one replacing US 69 south of Kansas city. But honestly 75, 77, 59, 69, (71 and 81 at some point) and their branch routes are wayyy too close together.
- US 26 and 136 should be one route. Also, west of Douglas 26 is just a glorified 20 ALT.
- US 49 should've never been extended further northwest of Brinkley. It should've instead replaced 167 north of Bald Knob or something else becauses its route north of there is very indirect and it changes direction of the highway. 
-US 41 should've been truncated going up north instead of 61.
- US 6 should've replaced 24 from Napoleon till it's present terminus, US 38 should've taken over the rest.


Interstates and any other routes are included.

[Max Rockatansky]

US 191 and US 91 should swap designations.  Grid perfection seems to be why that one gets rebuked so often in the road community.

[SkyPesos]

- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.

For me, in addition to that, US 66 west of Springfield should've stayed as US 60, makes more sense as a corridor than the US 60 what we have now, which seems like to take a more convoluted routing between Springfield and LA, because US 66 took the preferred routing. Not sure what the obsession of keeping LA to Chicago on a single number is. Why not route US 30 east of Pittsburgh on the US 22 corridor instead to have Chicago to NYC on a single number, if this is what they're going with?

[Roadgeekteen]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

[Avalanchez71]

Idk if this is already a thread buttt:

- US 65 should go to New Orleans, not 61
- US 87 should follow 287.
- US 50 is an XL US 40S.
- US 40 should be decommissioned
- US 34 and 44 should be branch routes of 6.
- US 62 and 82 should be swapped west of brownfield.
- US 93 should go to Phoenix, but it should also replace SR 87, 77, and 79 to go to Tucson.
- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.
- US 73 should've been the one replacing US 69 south of Kansas city. But honestly 75, 77, 59, 69, (71 and 81 at some point) and their branch routes are wayyy too close together.
- US 26 and 136 should be one route. Also, west of Douglas 26 is just a glorified 20 ALT.
- US 49 should've never been extended further northwest of Brinkley. It should've instead replaced 167 north of Bald Knob or something else becauses its route north of there is very indirect and it changes direction of the highway. 
-US 41 should've been truncated going up north instead of 61.
- US 6 should've replaced 24 from Napoleon till it's present terminus, US 38 should've taken over the rest.

US 61 is a x1 US Highway so that is why that one goes to New Orleans.

[hotdogPi]

No mention of combining 72 and 76?

[Takumi]

No mention of combining 72 and 76?

Combine them into 76, then change 74 to 72.

[Max Rockatansky]

- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.

For me, in addition to that, US 66 west of Springfield should've stayed as US 60, makes more sense as a corridor than the US 60 what we have now, which seems like to take a more convoluted routing between Springfield and LA, because US 66 took the preferred routing. Not sure what the obsession of keeping LA to Chicago on a single number is. Why not route US 30 east of Pittsburgh on the US 22 corridor instead to have Chicago to NYC on a single number, if this is what they're going with?

Why US 70?  One could argue it had no business going west of Globe to begin with given it was always multiplexed with another US Route into Los Angeles (mostly US 60).  I could see an argument if US 60 moved to; AZ 260, AZ 87, and AZ 202 given that corridor is the arguably the more modern route of travel from Phoenix-Show Low once it gets to the mountains.

[Flint1979]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

[Max Rockatansky]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

And I would refer to the west coast where that duplication often does not exist.  One trip on I-5 over the Grapevine Grade or I-10 out in the Sonoran Desert where traffic stops for some reason really makes you wish a US Route was still around.

[Flint1979]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

And I would refer to the west coast where that duplication often does not exist.  One trip on I-5 over the Grapevine Grade or I-10 out in the Sonoran Desert where traffic stops for some reason really makes you wish a US Route was still around.

Yeah seriously even an example in Michigan of a US highway getting replaced with a freeway and still being a US highway is US-23 between Flint and Ann Arbor where Old US-23 runs right next to the freeway and serves as a good alternate in case the freeway is backed up with traffic which often happens on 23 between Flint and Ann Arbor.

But I like how US-41 is still a highway in Georgia and Florida with I-75 following it. One thing I don't understand is if an old US highway is replaced with an Interstate but the old US highway is downgraded to a state highway why is it needed to be downgraded to a state highway? Like OH-25 in Ohio, M-125, M-85, M-3, M-29 and M-25 in Michigan with US-25. could have run concurrent with I-75, replaced US-68 and ran concurrent with US-42. Just one example.

[kenarmy]

- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.

For me, in addition to that, US 66 west of Springfield should've stayed as US 60, makes more sense as a corridor than the US 60 what we have now, which seems like to take a more convoluted routing between Springfield and LA, because US 66 took the preferred routing. Not sure what the obsession of keeping LA to Chicago on a single number is. Why not route US 30 east of Pittsburgh on the US 22 corridor instead to have Chicago to NYC on a single number, if this is what they're going with?

Why US 70?  One could argue it had no business going west of Globe to begin with given it was always multiplexed with another US Route into Los Angeles (mostly US 60).  I could see an argument if US 60 moved to; AZ 260, AZ 87, and AZ 202 given that corridor is the arguably the more modern route of travel from Phoenix-Show Low once it gets to the mountains.

But, 70 is supposed to be further south than 60, and it would be right above US 80. Like sky said, 66 was the route being used from Springfield to LA and that made 60 way more indirect. And also, yes, I meant to put 72 and 76 as one route on there.

[Avalanchez71]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

US 11 is an important corridor to route traffic from New Orleans to Canada.  It serves as a good signed alternative to the interstate highway.  It also serves as a business route of sorts for I-75 & I-81 in Tennessee.  It veers well away from I-81 in the form of US 11E & US 11W.

[Roadgeekteen]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

Make it a state highway. US highways are supposed to be a tier above state highways.

[froggie]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

I would argue that much of US 11 is not a "major highway".  The vast bulk of that function has been taken over by the Interstates (specifically 59, 75, and 81) and much of US 11 sees a pittance of traffic as a result.

"Alternatives to the Interstate highway" are valid in general, but those alternatives do not necessarily need to be a U.S. route.

[SkyPesos]

Keep in mind that the US highways that either parallel an interstate or decommissioned because of an interstate used to be the most important in the country. After all, there is a reason why those highways are chosen for interstate corridors at the start. Of course almost all of them lost their importance as a route after the interstate took over.

[kenarmy]

Keep in mind that the US highways that either parallel an interstate or decommissioned because of an interstate used to be the most important in the country. After all, there is a reason why those highways are chosen for interstate corridors at the start. Of course almost all of them lost their importance as a route after the interstate took over.

Exactly! If a highway is really unimportant, they wouldn't have an interstate built on the corridor. So while it functionally may not be a major highway for traffic, it still is a major route.

[Flint1979]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

Make it a state highway. US highways are supposed to be a tier above state highways.

Doesn't make any sense at all to switch signage on a highway just so it becomes a state highway over a US highway especially when the state DOT maintains both at the same level. If it is more than 300 miles long and connects between two or more states than the US highway should be retained not downgraded to a state highway. It's a waste of time and money to do that.

[Flint1979]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

I would argue that much of US 11 is not a "major highway".  The vast bulk of that function has been taken over by the Interstates (specifically 59, 75, and 81) and much of US 11 sees a pittance of traffic as a result.

"Alternatives to the Interstate highway" are valid in general, but those alternatives do not necessarily need to be a U.S. route.

Well if US-11 isn't a major highway then why was it's corridor chosen for multiple Interstate highways to follow it?

[Roadgeekteen]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

I would argue that much of US 11 is not a "major highway".  The vast bulk of that function has been taken over by the Interstates (specifically 59, 75, and 81) and much of US 11 sees a pittance of traffic as a result.

"Alternatives to the Interstate highway" are valid in general, but those alternatives do not necessarily need to be a U.S. route.

Well if US-11 isn't a major highway then why was it's corridor chosen for multiple Interstate highways to follow it?

It was a major highway. It's not anymore now that it's main purpose is now used by I-81, 75, and 59.

[kenarmy]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

I would argue that much of US 11 is not a "major highway".  The vast bulk of that function has been taken over by the Interstates (specifically 59, 75, and 81) and much of US 11 sees a pittance of traffic as a result.

"Alternatives to the Interstate highway" are valid in general, but those alternatives do not necessarily need to be a U.S. route.

Well if US-11 isn't a major highway then why was it's corridor chosen for multiple Interstate highways to follow it?

It was a major highway. It's not anymore now that it's main purpose is now used by I-81, 75, and 59.

You're proving our point... Because several interstates have been established to use it's corridor and the fact it's still around means that it's a major highway. US 72 for example didn't have an interstate built to parallel it because it isn't a major highway.

[JKRhodes]

- US 70 should go west of globe, not 60.

For me, in addition to that, US 66 west of Springfield should've stayed as US 60, makes more sense as a corridor than the US 60 what we have now, which seems like to take a more convoluted routing between Springfield and LA, because US 66 took the preferred routing. Not sure what the obsession of keeping LA to Chicago on a single number is. Why not route US 30 east of Pittsburgh on the US 22 corridor instead to have Chicago to NYC on a single number, if this is what they're going with?

Why US 70?  One could argue it had no business going west of Globe to begin with given it was always multiplexed with another US Route into Los Angeles (mostly US 60).  I could see an argument if US 60 moved to; AZ 260, AZ 87, and AZ 202 given that corridor is the arguably the more modern route of travel from Phoenix-Show Low once it gets to the mountains.

But, 70 is supposed to be further south than 60, and it would be right above US 80. Like sky said, 66 was the route being used from Springfield to LA and that made 60 way more indirect. And also, yes, I meant to put 72 and 76 as one route on there.

US 60 can be re-tooled to serve primarily Northern AZ without dipping into Phoenix. It could potentially replace several routes: AZ 260, AZ 169, part of AZ 69, AZ 89, and AZ 71. If slow curve and rough terrain are a consideration, the route would lose Salt River Canyon and gain Yarnell Hill.

US 70 would become the sole route for the corridor between Tempe and Lordsburg.

AZ 77 would become the sole route number (a few short jogs aside) between Tucson and Holbrook.

Yes I think it's a great idea!

[hbelkins]

US Highways should be deleted if they don't serve an important corridor (delete US 5 and most of US 11)

Why? They serve as good alternate routes for the Interstate system. How is US-11 not an important corridor? It's a major highway.

I would argue that much of US 11 is not a "major highway".  The vast bulk of that function has been taken over by the Interstates (specifically 59, 75, and 81) and much of US 11 sees a pittance of traffic as a result.

"Alternatives to the Interstate highway" are valid in general, but those alternatives do not necessarily need to be a U.S. route.

Well if US-11 isn't a major highway then why was it's corridor chosen for multiple Interstate highways to follow it?

It was a major highway. It no longer is, because of the existence of parallel interstates. If routes such as US 11 are to be retained, they should be put on the interstates (such as US 40 along I-70 through much of Kansas) and have the old route turned over to state or local maintenance. If those routes are to be used as detours, they can still be used even if US 11 becomes VA 11 or WV 11 or MD 11 or PA 11.

I would decommission all the redundant US routes that have been supplanted by interstates, or move the US designation to the freeway.

And here's an unpopular opinion: US 66 is overrated.

[kenarmy]

Here's some more:
- US 52 gets more hate than it deserves, its an important route
- US 59 should use 259 and it shouldn't go north of its junction with 69 south of Kansas city. Honestly this could get the 191 treatment and become a branch route of one of the many routes it parallels.
- US 49 should've been extended to replace US 63 via US 61 and Memphis. Neither 63 nor 49 would have ugly curves if this was the case. Obviously im biased so I would name the route 49. And on top of that, it ends just west of 51 at the northern end. Didn't Arkansas propose this?
- US 17 and US 1 should be swapped north of Jacksonville. I wonder why 1 wasn't sought out to use the coastal route anyway..
- I love 51, but it should be truncated to Memphis.
- 17 and 301 should be swapped south of jacksonville.
- 45 should follow 43 through Alabama, and then connect with its present route somewhere in TN. Its current routing in MS isn't worthy of a US Route.
- US 8 should subsume US 212. Wasn't this a proposal?
- I think US 53 should use 12's current corridor through Chicago from Eau Claire, and I think 10 should've been completely decommissioned with 12 using its former route from Eau Claire to Michigan. When 12 gets past Chicago, it parallels not only several interstates, but also several US routes.
Ill think of some more later.
- US 14 should be truncated to Madison. Its route east of there is pretty unnecessary.
- US 16 should've been completely decommissioned and 14 should use its present routing instead of the long overlap with 20

[SkyPesos]

- US 17 and US 1 should be swapped north of Jacksonville. I wonder why 1 wasn't sought out to use the coastal route anyway..

Not like Wikipedia is the most accurate source, but this is quoted directly from the US 1 article:

While US 1 is generally the easternmost of the main north–south U.S. Highways, parts of several others occupy corridors closer to the ocean. When the road system was laid out in the 1920s, US 1 was mostly assigned to the existing Atlantic Highway, which followed the Fall Line between the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain north of Augusta, Georgia. At the time, the highways farther east were of lower quality and did not serve the major population centers.

US routes were generally built along auto trails of that time. For example, there's US 25 and 41 on the Dixie Hwy, US 40 on the Victory Hwy, US 30 on the Lincoln Hwy, etc. Of course most of those got further replaced by interstates, but you can still roughly trace back I-75 to the Dixie Hwy, I-70 to the Victory Hwy and I-80 to the Lincoln Hwy.