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10 most well-known state routes in the US

Started by hotdogPi, August 06, 2014, 01:26:47 PM

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Which state routes have you heard ordinary people talk about?

CA 1
54 (76.1%)
NC 12
16 (22.5%)
FL A1A
41 (57.7%)
MA 128
31 (43.7%)
MA 2
5 (7%)
AK 2
2 (2.8%)
M-102
6 (8.5%)
NY 17
17 (23.9%)
GA 400
13 (18.3%)
NY 27
5 (7%)
FL 60
3 (4.2%)
M-1
6 (8.5%)
NV 375
12 (16.9%)

Total Members Voted: 71

hotdogPi

I have added a poll. The options listed are those mentioned in this thread at least twice.

If the title doesn't seem accurate, you can ask me to change it.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.


Zeffy

I voted for CA 1 (probably the winner here), FL A1A (2nd behind CA 1), MA 128 (heard some people talk about 128 in MA), NY 17, NY 27, and NV 375 thanks to all the "UFO sightings" and such.
Life would be boring if we didn't take an offramp every once in a while

A weird combination of a weather geek, roadgeek, car enthusiast and furry mixed with many anxiety related disorders

GaryV

Quote from: bugo on August 07, 2014, 12:20:07 PM
Former US routes don't count because they're still US routes as far as a lot of us are concerned.  That strikes out my Route Z example.
So we have to stop talking about M-1?

hotdogPi

Quote from: DesertDog on August 09, 2014, 09:38:56 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on August 09, 2014, 11:51:49 AM
I voted for CA 1 (probably the winner here), FL A1A (2nd behind CA 1), MA 128 (heard some people talk about 128 in MA), NY 17, NY 27, and NV 375 thanks to all the "UFO sightings" and such.

I'm shocked A1A is so closed to CA 1.  Both are coastal...but man the Pacific coast is so much prettier and varied than the Atlantic.  I prefer the Tamiami Trail, The Overseas Highway or ever US 98 to A1A (and I'm not counting that tiny stub in Key West).  I'm not saying A1A isn't pretty...it's no Pacific Coast Highway.

BTW, I like to nominate AZ 88 which I neglected to do in my previous post.  Love me some curves and off-roading along the Salt River on the Apache Trail.

A1A is a strange letter-number combination.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

wriddle082

FL 30A is well known to folks from the SE who vacation in NW FL since it's the coastal route through Walton County leading to popular destinations like Seaside and Seagrove Beach, where I spent a few happy vacations in my childhood.

TN 111 is an important Appalachian corridor that connects Cookeville to greater Chattanooga and could be considered well known from a regional standpoint, and is scenic in places, especially north of Dunlap.

I would not consider TN 155 a well known designation because everyone has traditionally called it Briley Pkwy, though it is an important Nashville area freeway with modern 8-lane sections on the NE quadrant.

Rover_0

I think CA-1 tops the list, but there's no reason why one out of these:

UT-12,
UT-9, or
UT-128

shouldn't be on this list somewhere. </homerism>
Fixing erroneous shields, one at a time...

corco

#56
I don't know- I've lived in most of the states that surround Utah. Nobody knows those roads by number, but yeah, folks know of 9 as the road to Zion and the 12 as the road through Grand Staircase and Capital Reef.

I don't know that those highways are well-known so much as the scenery they serve, which is really well known, but if you asked people to name the highway I bet you'd not get too many people that know the actual number. People definitely know of those roads, but not so much for the road's sake as they might, say, CA-1.

mrsman

CA-1
FL-A1A
CA-99
WA-520
NY-25 (Queens Blvd)
MA-128
PA-611 (Broad Street)
GA-141 (Peachtree)
M-1 (Woodward Ave, Detroit)
DE-1

On my list, many people may know the street better than the highway number but it still counts.

Back when I was a kid, I know that the Las Vegas Strip was also a state highway, but it seems to be decommissioned now.

formulanone

Quote from: HurrMark on August 08, 2014, 11:30:40 AM
Even though most of it is signed as US 441....what about FL 7?

I don't think it's well-known outside of South Florida. It's the area anomaly because it doesn't really have any other name (most of Miami-Dade calls it 7th Street), as a nod to its pre-US Route heritage. Outside of the area, few would speak of the 826, 836, Shula Expressway, et al.

A1A is probably the only one in Florida that's really-well known outside of its own state by its SR designation. Otherwise most are just known by their name (Florida's Turnpike, International Drive, or Calle Ocho would otherwise be up there in popularity).

hbelkins

Can't talk about Utah without including the Moki Dugway.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

hotdogPi

Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2014, 11:45:09 AM
Can't talk about Utah without including the Moki Dugway.

The state of Utah itself is often forgotten. (Iowa and West Virginia are the other two.)
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

SSOWorld

Judging from many of the replies, I see talk of the routes by road-fan.  The poll is about ordinary non-roadfan POV.  Seems to be a conflict here. 
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

bing101

#62
What About CA-49 in Placerville in Gold Country, CA does this count.
or CA-29 since its a major route for wine tourism in Napa County do they count?
CA-17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz do these count?

CA-118 President Reagan Freeway aka Simi Valley Freeway in San Fernando Valley due to Reagan role as Governor in the 1960's and 1970s.  CA 170 Hollywood Freeway due to close proximity to major California studios and the CA 134 for similar reasons.

Roadrunner75

Realistically, the 10 most well known state routes known by the typical non road-fan are going to be 10 state routes in their own state, maybe including a couple in a neighboring state.  The only one I've heard here that I think might be somewhat known throughout the US is probably CA-1, assuming you are going by route number only and not road name.

cl94

Quote from: SSOWorld on August 10, 2014, 12:54:37 PM
Judging from many of the replies, I see talk of the routes by road-fan.  The poll is about ordinary non-roadfan POV.  Seems to be a conflict here.

I was thinking the same thing. You really can't do a nationwide list of this because people in the northeast don't know/care about anything in the southwest and vice versa. Such a thread would really work best on a regional basis because this country is so big. Having lived in the northeast and midwest, I can tell you that each place I've lived has quite a few routes that are known only by number. In Ohio, you'd have to put down SRs 2, 3, 8, 16, 32, 104, 161, and 315, and that's only from living in Columbus and having family in Akron. In New York, you've got 3, 5, 7, 8, 17, 22, 28, 33, 63, 149, and most of the LI 3-digits, all pretty major roads known almost exclusively by their number outside of an inner city street. Depending on the part of the state, some of us are pretty familiar with VT 2 and 100, MA 2, 9, and 128, and NJ 17.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

roadman65

It depends on which part of the country you are from.  In the Mid Atlantic and North-East you have people calling all route designations "Route" so no matter if it is interstate, US, state route, or county roads the number is always called route.  So indeed there the major state numbers that offer a long linear corridor are important.

The rest of the country you will find most state routes are secondary to US and interstates so not too many state routes that are considered major you will find.

Burt Reynold's character Bandit Darvill in Smokey And The Bandit once said this "It depends on which part of the country you stand in depends on how dumb you really are."  I think that is true with almost everything.  Come on down south and you ask what is grits, you will be ridiculed, but ask that same question up north or out in California people will not even know what it even is, so you won't get a dirty look or a name calling.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

wphiii

Quote from: bing101 on August 10, 2014, 05:46:58 PM
What About CA-49 in Placerville in Gold Country, CA does this count.
or CA-29 since its a major route for wine tourism in Napa County do they count?

Came in here to mention those, as well as UT 12 (maybe this isn't as famous as I thought, but I was under the impression that it's pretty near the top of any list of "most scenic drives" in the country).

NM 14 (Turquoise Trail) is another one that probably isn't quite nationally renowned, but is certainly well known.

OH 7 and WV 2 are probably not known at all nationally by non-roadfans, but they definitely have great regional import as the Ohio River roads in their respective states.

bzakharin

Quote from: roadman65 on August 10, 2014, 09:09:22 PM
It depends on which part of the country you are from.  In the Mid Atlantic and North-East you have people calling all route designations "Route" so no matter if it is interstate, US, state route, or county roads the number is always called route.  So indeed there the major state numbers that offer a long linear corridor are important.

The rest of the country you will find most state routes are secondary to US and interstates so not too many state routes that are considered major you will find.

Burt Reynold's character Bandit Darvill in Smokey And The Bandit once said this "It depends on which part of the country you stand in depends on how dumb you really are."  I think that is true with almost everything.  Come on down south and you ask what is grits, you will be ridiculed, but ask that same question up north or out in California people will not even know what it even is, so you won't get a dirty look or a name calling.

Isn't there a trend to de-emphasize US routes and let state routes take over as more primary? Here in NJ, I can think of as many state freeways as US ones, and even when discounting those, there are plenty of state routes that are as important as nearby US ones.

roadman65

Yeah I know about NJ, like NJ 10 and US 46.  Route 10 is more primary than US 46 now being in I-80's shadow.  I do not know if its a trend, but it appears to be heading that way trend or no trend.

In New York State, there dislike for US route designations has many state routes more primary than some of their US routes.  Look at US 44 verses NY 299 west of the Hudson River.  NY 299 is more primary than US 44 as it connects with the Thruway (as US 44 has no interchange with it) and it is more on a linear line serving the region than the US route as that one zigs quite a bit and is more of a local corridor given its non linear alignment.

Then my original post on here with NY 5 being more of a corridor than US 20.  NY 5 seems to have more regional importance than US 20 in the center portion of NYS.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

vdeane

NY 5 actually goes places that have people.  US 20 pretty much stays out in podunk much of its length in NY.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Pete from Boston

#70
Quote from: 1 on August 10, 2014, 11:48:22 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2014, 11:45:09 AM
Can't talk about Utah without including the Moki Dugway.

The state of Utah itself is often forgotten. (Iowa and West Virginia are the other two.)

There's another one, too.  You know... starts with an M, or an N, or a P... has lots of, um, something...


Quote from: SSOWorld on August 10, 2014, 12:54:37 PM
Judging from many of the replies, I see talk of the routes by road-fan.  The poll is about ordinary non-roadfan POV.  Seems to be a conflict here.

There are almost no numbered state highways that approach everyday recognition nationally.  A1A probably is the closest.  All these Mass. 2s and N.Y. 5s are tremendous reaches.   

Named road recognition travels a little further.  "Garden State Parkway" sticks in the mind a little easier than "Georgia 400."

bugo


bing101

Wait the band Train had an album called CA 37 one time and that got national attention.

But the real ca 37 is used as another wine tour route, San Pablo bay, Six Flags Vallejo, and a Nascar Route to Sonoma raceway.

What about Hawaii 36 and Hawaii 360 in Maui its a coastal route for Tourists but the public cannot remember the route number.

CA 22 Garden Grove Freeway near Disneyland and Little Saigon in Garden Grove and Anaheim area. Im shocked that these routes do not get legendary status like CA 1 does. Ca 84 location of Facebook,  CA 85, CA 237 and CA 87 Silicon Valley companies are close to these freeways.

DTComposer

Quote from: bing101 on August 12, 2014, 01:14:09 PM
Wait the band Train had an album called CA 37 one time and that got national attention.

But the real ca 37 is used as another wine tour route, San Pablo bay, Six Flags Vallejo, and a Nascar Route to Sonoma raceway.

What about Hawaii 36 and Hawaii 360 in Maui its a coastal route for Tourists but the public cannot remember the route number.

CA 22 Garden Grove Freeway near Disneyland and Little Saigon in Garden Grove and Anaheim area. Im shocked that these routes do not get legendary status like CA 1 does. Ca 84 location of Facebook,  CA 85, CA 237 and CA 87 Silicon Valley companies are close to these freeways.

The difference is the highways you mention are simply routes to get to well-known destinations. CA-1 is the destination.

bing101

Quote from: SSOWorld on August 10, 2014, 12:54:37 PM
Judging from many of the replies, I see talk of the routes by road-fan.  The poll is about ordinary non-roadfan POV.  Seems to be a conflict here.

Well I did mentioned that the public would draw US interstates and US Routes but not know the difference in another thread. Also interstates on business maps  are sometimes drawn in South Korean expressway shield in some cases



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