State Route Oddities

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Part of Texas 87 was wiped out in the hurricane and has not been fixed.  That was the 1980 hurricane.  So the eastern part and western parts dont connect, yet if youre heading eastbound on the western segment, it turns north and changes numbers.

Hurricane Jerry in 1989, not 1980. TX 87 was closed in 1990 after Jerry did that job.

But doesn't Texas roadmaps continue to show Tx 87 as a through route?

[bulldog1979]

As noted before, M-185 is car-free, but it has had an auto accident on May 13, 2005. Until then, it was the only state highway that never had a car crash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-185_(Michigan_highway)

Other oddities in Michigan include:
* The former M-155 that's still a state highway (MDOT just pulled the signage but has yet to get it turned back to local control)
* An unsigned Interstate (I-296)
* Until it was decommissioned, M-209 had a top speed limit of 25 mph along it's half-mile length
* I-375 in Detroit is the shortest signed Interstate in the country, and it has an unsigned business spur.
* Various car company founders have been honored with highways named for them (Chevrolet, Buick, Olds, Chrysler, the Fisher Brothers), but Henry Ford is not one of them. Ford Road (M-153) is named for his father, and the two Ford Freeways are named for Edsel and Gerald. Maybe that's because Henry helped stop M-35's extension through the Huron Mountains?
* The popular name for I-194 in Battle Creek is "the Penetrator". (The state highway department called all of the downtown spurs and loops of the Interstate System "penetrators" during planning of the system.)
* There's never been an M-2, but all of the other numbers up to M-126 have been used at some point.
* Only about 2/3 of a mile of either US 131 or US 223 are outside of Michigan.
* Only one state trunkline uses a matching number with a state highway in another state. M-49 connects to SR 49 in Ohio.
* Several state trunklines connect to county roads or local streets (M-64, M-94, M-217, M-125) on the other side of the state line. The reverse is also true as WIS 17 becomes FFH 16, Indiana's SR 19 becomes Old M-205, the two SR 120s are no longer connected by M-120, and Ohio's SR 576 connects to Hillsdale Road.
* The Capitol Loop in Lansing is the only signed state trunkline in the state signed without a number. It's Connector 496 or Capitol Loop I-496 internally, but those numbers are not used publicly.

[bulldog1979]

M 185 is the only motorless highway in the usa also M-147 is know as "it's ... the second shortest highway on Michigan's state highway system, but for those who travel it one way, M-147 is the longest road in the world" as it terminates in the Jackson State correctional facility

M-147 was decommissioned 20 years ago in 1991.

[nyratk1]

M 185 is the only motorless highway in the usa also M-147 is know as "it's ... the second shortest highway on Michigan's state highway system, but for those who travel it one way, M-147 is the longest road in the world" as it terminates in the Jackson State correctional facility

M-147 was decommissioned 20 years ago in 1947.

Holy crap, it's 1967?!?

[Mapmikey]

Some Virginia oddities:

A number of state highways do not connect to a state highway on either end (all but 4 of these are posted):
318, 320, 322, 324, 325, 326, 328, 330, 335, 336, 341, 342, 345, 353, 355, 370, 371, 379, 382, 392, 394, 398

VA 393 can only be driven one way.

VA 318 is closed to traffic (serves governor's estate); half of VA 346 is also permanently closed to vehicular traffic.

VA 212 has been used 6 separate times over the years.

There is a state route that is defined only as the ROW and not the road itself - VA 48 which is for the Blue Ridge Pkwy and Skyline Dr.

There are 3 state route designations that are really high (all unposted): 90003 Colonial Pkwy, 90004 Dulles Access Rd, 90005 G Washington Mem Pkwy

VA 75 was renumbered in 1940 to match TN 75 which never happened and it was extended north of US 11 by 1 block to accomodate US 11 being rerouted, which also never happened.

Mapmikey
Virginia Hwys Project
www.vahighways.com

[Roadgeek Adam]

M 185 is the only motorless highway in the usa also M-147 is know as "it's ... the second shortest highway on Michigan's state highway system, but for those who travel it one way, M-147 is the longest road in the world" as it terminates in the Jackson State correctional facility

M-147 was decommissioned 20 years ago in 1947.

Holy crap, it's 1967?!?

Nice job there. M-147 was decommissioned in 1991, which is what I am sure he meant.

[bassoon1986]

Louisiana has hyphenated highway numbers like 1201-1, 1201-2, and 1201-3  in Alexandria. I know down around New Orleans there were at one times numbers that had up to 17 parts! 

The only highway I know that isn't connected is LA 120 in Provencal and Robeline.

LA 66 is our "longest road"....ends in Angola, the state penitentiary

[drummer_evans_aki]

OR-27: Southern portion is a dirt road

WA-501: Two sections. One in Vancouver, WA and one in Ridgefield, WA

OR-224: Ends in Mount Hood National Forest and becomes a Forest Service Road (nice drive though)

[xonhulu]

OR-27: Southern portion is a dirt road

One of only two non-paved Oregon state highways, the other being the northernmost 5 miles of the unsigned OR 413 into Cornucopia.

WA-501: Two sections. One in Vancouver, WA and one in Ridgefield, WA

California has a bunch of these: routes missing their middles.

OR-224: Ends in Mount Hood National Forest and becomes a Forest Service Road (nice drive though)

Oregon's other "dead-end" signed routes include OR 46, OR 70, OR 82 (although it does jct with two unsigned routes at its endpoint), OR 104, OR 131, OR 205, OR 227, OR 380 and OR 501, and I suppose you might include OR 86 since it doesn't junction with an ID state route at the border.  There are several of the unsigned routes that also dead-end, including OR 413 mentioned above.

Oregon's entire state route system is something of an oddity: the distinction between Highways and Routes, and multiple different overlapping schemes for the route numbering.

[Landshark]

SR-20, the longest road in the state of Washington, has a spur to and through Anacortes to the San Juan Islands ferry terminal.  The spur has no distinguishing label as it shares the SR-20 name.

[ftballfan]

I am guessing some of the mountain states have some dirt state roads.

[roadfro]

I am guessing some of the mountain states have some dirt state roads.

Nevada, surprisingly, has no unpaved state highways. At least, not anymore.

SR 774, a spur from SR 266 leading to the townsite of Gold Point, was the last state highway to show up on official state maps as an unpaved road. It was finally shown as paved in the 2002-2003 edition of the map.

[texaskdog]

I am guessing some of the mountain states have some dirt state roads.

I remember SD-71 in far SW SD was, and MN-243 near Caledonia & MN-65 in Nett Lake.  They may have been paved since then though.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I am guessing some of the mountain states have some dirt state roads.

I remember SD-71 in far SW SD was, and MN-243 near Caledonia & MN-65 in Nett Lake.  They may have been paved since then though.

I think from what I've read, MN 74 is the last MN route to not be fully paved.

[apeman33]

MN-61 north of Duluth was being reconstructed around 2002 or 2003, IIRC. There was no detour and the parts under construction were dirt between removal of the old asphalt and the laying of the new. I figured that routing a detour was either not possible or would have taken one so far away as to be ridiculous. My friend was complaining about what the surface was going to end up doing to his car. Didn't help that it was raining that day. I figured this was going to be both my first and last experience on an unpaved state highway.

[txstateends]

Several TX Farm-to-Market/Ranch-to-Market roads (the state's secondary highways) have ends that are not at another numbered road, they just stop somewhere in near-BFE, but usually it's at an intersection with a county road.  A few of those have both ends not at another numbered road but somewhere along the way intersect a numbered road in-between at least once.  There's not really any 'numbering convention' about FMs/RMs (except most--not all--FMs are found in the eastern half of the state, while most RMs--not all--are found in the western half of the state), although usually TxDOT doesn't have one near a similarly-numbered road nearby or in the same county to avoid confusion.  One exception is FM 121 in Grayson County, which is in somewhat close proximity to TX 121 in Collin and Fannin Counties.  Apparently a problem with some travelers, especially on US 75, some turn onto FM 121 looking for towns and/or DFW Airport specific to TX 121.  TxDOT has gone to the trouble of removing the shields from the BGSs that face southbound US 75 traffic for the FM 121 exit and is using just text to label the BGSs instead.  The BGSs also contain caveats at the bottom about not exiting there if you want to go to DFW Airport.  Why no renumbering to something completely different?   You'd think they'd get a clue by now, it's not like TxDOT has been averse to renumbering in the past.  Here's the advance BGS: http://maps.google.com/?ll=33.445542,-96.602397&spn=0,0.008401&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=33.445364,-96.602302&panoid=MqoLzcbM7cesYq5bIVNFgQ&cbp=12,113.32,,1,1.32

Another one connected to FMs/RMs are state spurs that do not have an official "Spur" designation.  They are signed the same as a Spur would be in TX, plain white square, black letters.  But, these are spurs from FMs/RMs, which serve certain areas (communities off the main FM/RM, farm or ranch related facilities, even one that goes a few feet to a rural cemetery.  When you look up the designation on TxDOT's site as a "Spur", you won't find it, but if you look under the same number in the FM/RM list, it's mentioned within the text of the FM/RM designation--just not separately designated, AND it doesn't use SPUR banners above an FM/RM shield, which probably would be a better presentation of the signage/shields in this case, but, they didn't ask my opinion first.

Usually, a primary state highway in TX doesn't intersect a similarly-numbered road of another kind, one glaring exception is in Matador, at the intersection of US 62-70 and TX 70 (http://maps.google.com/?ll=34.012204,-100.828249&spn=0,0.016801&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=34.012198,-100.828133&panoid=C84VMzrWMr4bN6djQF5rEw&cbp=12,324.69,,1,2.59).  I'm not sure why the highway numberers let this happen, but I guess the few people out in Matador are stuck with it.  The only other example (that I know of), when it is built, will be when I-69 crosses US 69 in the vicinity of Lufkin.

One primary state highway, TX 25, has it's northern terminus at a county road near the Red River north of Electra (http://maps.google.com/?ll=34.176128,-98.93064&spn=0,0.016801&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=34.176214,-98.930567&panoid=UtS8UrVIeYifl9Ac7vmwjw&cbp=12,231.23,,1,5.4)(the pic is of the first SB TX 25 sign, turn the orange man around to see the terminus).  This is a very rare occurrence among primary state highways in TX, usually the terminus is an intersection with another numbered road.  I've never heard why TX 25 was allowed to get to it's terminus point without stopping earlier at another numbered road, or a connection by bridge made to a nearby road in Oklahoma across the Red River.  Some other primary highways end similarly but those are usually at state (like TX 217 at the entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park) or national parks (like TX 118 at the west entrance to Big Bend national park) or, like TX 207 in the panhandle, end at a state line (TX 207 ends at the OK panhandle state line and continues, not as an OK state highway but as a local county road).

Another primary state highway, TX 165, is designated but not signed, and doesn't intersect any numbered road.  It serves the immediate vicinity of the TX State Cemetery east of downtown Austin.

TX 211 is probably the only primary highway to occur in 2 parts, both are west and NW of San Antonio.  IINM, NIMBYness is keeping the 2 sections from being connected.

TX 190 is another discontinuous road but it's layout is different.  It currently acts as the service road for the part of the Bush Turnpike between I-35E in Carrollton and TX 78 in Garland.  There are 3 parts: I-35E to Kelly Blvd. in Carrollton, Coit Rd. to Alma Rd. along the Dallas-Plano and Richardson-Plano borders, and US 75 at the Richardson-Plano border to Brand Rd. in Garland.  The Bush Turnpike only has partial service roads, and state law allows a state numbered road to only be represented along a toll road's service road, not on the main lanes.  TX 161, along the part of the Bush Turnpike between I-635 in Irving and north of I-30 in Grand Prairie, has a gap now (due to no service roads in that section) for a few miles south of its interchange with TX 183 in Irving.

[texaskdog]

MN-61 north of Duluth was being reconstructed around 2002 or 2003, IIRC. My friend was complaining about what the surface was going to end up doing to his car.

What is "IIRC"?

Too bad your friend is not one of us...who would see a car as a method of transportation, meaning to be driven hard.

[InterstateNG]

If I Recall Correctly

[ftballfan]

Are any of the state highways in Kentucky or Virginia dirt? I was just wondering because both states (especially Kentucky) have a boatload of state highways.

[texaskdog]

Here's one:  TX 1825 exits I-35 at the Pflugerville exit.  It heads NE and then East on Pecan street into Pflugerville. It then dead-ends on TX-685 which begins there and heads North (right angle from 1825).  Why they are not one road is beyond me, and I don't believe either road ever extended further.  I would actually extend 685 south to Braker, and then head it west to I-35, and move 1825 over to Wells Branch Pkwy, which is 50 MPH and less populated.

[Mapmikey]

Are any of the state highways in Kentucky or Virginia dirt? I was just wondering because both states (especially Kentucky) have a boatload of state highways.

Virginia has one remaining normal primary route with a gravel segment - VA 91.  Photo gallery available http://www.vahighways.com/va91/va91tazewell.htm.  A couple of others are paved but so narrow in spots there is no center line (VA 91, VA 80)

I believe there are a couple state facility routes that may have gravel pieces - 314 and 331 southern segment come to mind.

Virginia has many state-maintained -secondary- roads that are unpaved...they can be pretty primitive in some locations.

Mapmikey

[hbelkins]

Are any of the state highways in Kentucky or Virginia dirt? I was just wondering because both states (especially Kentucky) have a boatload of state highways.

Kentucky does have some gravel state routes. As for true dirt roads, I don't know. It's possible down in the western part of the state near the Ohio or Mississippi rivers.

[vtk]

OH 293 dead-ends in Wharton, OH.  It was originally only 2 miles long, essentially a spur of US 30.  In the 90s, it was extended eastward along US 30 so that it could absorb OH 699.  Had they not done that, 293 would have become an isolated segment of the state highway system when US 30 was realigned in the 00s.  (The Straight Line Diagram for 293 still does not reflect 30's relocation.)  Interestingly, OH 293 now crosses US 30 on an overpass with no ramps, making it function more like a 6-mile spur connecting Wharton and Kirby to OH 53.

[thenetwork]

* There's never been an M-2, but all of the other numbers up to M-126 have been used at some point.

I seem to remember that for a very brief time in the mid-70's, Schoolcraft Road in the Detroit area had been given an M-2 designation on what were the service drives (frontage roads) for the yet-to-be-completed section of the Jeffries Freeway (I-96).  I remember seeing signs for it near the modern-day I-96/US-24 (Telegraph Road) interchange. 

Given that Schoolcraft Road heading west towards Livonia never crossed another state or US highway past Telegraph Road, I am not sure how far the M-2 designation was used, or if the alignment turned on one of the North-South roads (Middlebelt Road??) and ended at Plymouth Road (then M-14).

It definitely was signed, though I can't find anything on it in my internet searches.

[NE2]

It definitely was signed, though I can't find anything on it in my internet searches.

http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys90-99.html#I-096 mentions it.