Least Amount of Lanes Connecting Two States

[hotdogPi]

There are only two highways connecting Mississippi and Arkansas: US 49 between Lula, MS, and Helena-West Helena, AR; and US 82 betwwen Greenville and Lake Village, AR. I believe both are two lanes.

There are a few places where the state border doesn't follow the river.

[SteveG1988]

I can tell you who doesn't win least amount - NJ and PA crossings:

US 206 - 2 lanes
I-80 - 6 lanes
I-78 - 6 lanes
NJ 12 - 2 lanes
US 202 - 6 lanes (?)
NJ 179 / Bridge St, Lambertville - 2 lanes
NJ 29 bridge, Titusville - 2 lanes
I-95 (north of Trenton)  - 6 lanes
Calhoun St Bridge, Trenton - 2 lanes
Trenton Makes / Lower Trenton Bridge - 2 lanes
US 1 in Trenton - 6 lanes
I-276 / PA Tpk Extension - 6 lanes
NJ 413 bridge, Burlington - 2 lanes
NJ 73 / Tacony Bridge - 3 lanes (2 for NJ -> PA, 1 for PA -> NJ)
NJ 90 / Betsy Ross Bridge - 6 lanes
I-676 / US 30 (Ben Franklin Bridge) in Camden - 6 lanes
I-76 / Walt Whitman Bridge in Camden - 6 lanes
US 322 / Commodore Barry Bridge - 4 lanes

In total, NJ and PA have a whopping 75 lanes between each border. Now that's a lot of crossings.

Some of your lane counts are off and you left out one span

Dingman's Ferry: 2
Delaware Water Gap: 4
US 202: 4
I-276 / PA Tpk Extension: 4
Ben Franklin: 7
Walt Whitman: 7
Commodore Barry: 5 lanes


How about when one part of a state is seperate from the rest, such as the DelMarVa penisula, the VA part is only connected to the rest of the state via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, 4 lanes on the above water and 2 through the tunnels
Edit: Decided to add a new section for something i discovered

[jeffandnicole]

I can tell you who doesn't win least amount - NJ and PA crossings:

US 206 - 2 lanes
I-80 - 6 lanes
I-78 - 6 lanes
NJ 12 - 2 lanes
US 202 - 6 lanes (?)
NJ 179 / Bridge St, Lambertville - 2 lanes
NJ 29 bridge, Titusville - 2 lanes
I-95 (north of Trenton)  - 6 lanes
Calhoun St Bridge, Trenton - 2 lanes
Trenton Makes / Lower Trenton Bridge - 2 lanes
US 1 in Trenton - 6 lanes
I-276 / PA Tpk Extension - 6 lanes
NJ 413 bridge, Burlington - 2 lanes
NJ 73 / Tacony Bridge - 3 lanes (2 for NJ -> PA, 1 for PA -> NJ)
NJ 90 / Betsy Ross Bridge - 6 lanes
I-676 / US 30 (Ben Franklin Bridge) in Camden - 6 lanes
I-76 / Walt Whitman Bridge in Camden - 6 lanes
US 322 / Commodore Barry Bridge - 4 lanes

In total, NJ and PA have a whopping 75 lanes between each border. Now that's a lot of crossings.

Some of your lane counts are off and you left out one span

Dingman's Ferry: 2
Delaware Water Gap: 4
US 202: 4
I-276 / PA Tpk Extension: 4
Ben Franklin: 7
Walt Whitman: 7
Commodore Barry: 5 lanes

I-95 is only 4 lanes as well.

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland and Virginia, from west to east:

[crossing Potomac River]
U.S. 340 - 2 lanes
Md. 17/Va. 287 -  2 lanes
U.S. 15 - 2 lanes
White's Ferry [2 lanes on each side of the river]
I-495 (American Legion Bridge) - 10 lanes on the bridge itself, 8 lanes approaching both sides
I-95/I-495 (Woodrow Wilson Bridge) - 10 lanes approaching and crossing, 2 unused.
U.S. 301 (Gov. Harry Nice Memorial Bridge) - 2 lanes on the bridge, 4 lanes approaching

[Chesapeake Bay - passenger traffic only]
Crisfield, Md. to Tangier, Va.

[Delmarva Peninsula]
U.S. 13 - 4 lanes
Md. 12/Va. 679 - 2 lanes

[New to Seattle]

So who does own the bottom of the Great Lakes?  The states or the feds?  If the states, then MI and IL do touch, as do MI and MN.

With a couple of minutes' searching last night, I was able to find multiple sources about how those states got their borders. Apparently the Northwest Ordinance had the IL and IN territories starting at the southernmost point of Lake Michigan. Well, those folks weren't too happy about not having any coastline, and so each of those negotiated for a better deal when they became states. And indeed, those borders do extend out into the middle of Lake Michigan.

[GaryV]

Back on track, there are 12 lanes connecting MI and ON - that's probably one of the fewest lanes per mile ratio of a border.

Sorry to nitpick, but I count 14 lanes: 4 on the Ambassador Bridge, 2 in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, 3 on the new (eastbound) Blue Water Bridge, 3 on the old (westbound) Blue Water Bridge, and 2 on the International Bridge. There's also a truck ferry between Detroit and Windsor, a car ferry between Algonac and Walpole Island and a car ferry between Marine City and Sombra.

Are there 3 working lanes on each span of the Blue Water Bridge?  I didn't know that.  Then you are correct.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Colorado and Arizona have 0 lanes.

Utah and New Mexico have 0 lanes.

Well, Colorado and Arizona have de facto the two lanes of US 160 connecting them, as the only intersecting road in New Mexico is... the one that leads to Four Corners.

[DandyDan]

A curiosity about Abbott Drive across Carter Lake, Iowa, is that since there are no intersections with any other Iowa roads or streets there, legally, cabs driving on it are not engaged in interstate commerce.

That concludes this episode of 'Oddities in the Law'.

I thought there was a hotel on the Carter Lake portion of Abbott Dr., so if the cab driver is going there, then yes, he is engaged in interstate commerce (presuming he takes his customer into Omaha).

[mhh]

Back on track, there are 12 lanes connecting MI and ON - that's probably one of the fewest lanes per mile ratio of a border.

Sorry to nitpick, but I count 14 lanes: 4 on the Ambassador Bridge, 2 in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, 3 on the new (eastbound) Blue Water Bridge, 3 on the old (westbound) Blue Water Bridge, and 2 on the International Bridge. There's also a truck ferry between Detroit and Windsor, a car ferry between Algonac and Walpole Island and a car ferry between Marine City and Sombra.

Are there 3 working lanes on each span of the Blue Water Bridge?  I didn't know that.  Then you are correct.

The old bridge used to have two lanes plus a sidewalk but the sidewalk was removed (in the 1980s according to Wikipedia) to make room for three rather narrow lanes; I estimate the lanes to be about 11 feet wide each. The new bridge has three 12-foot lanes plus a sidewalk but the sidewalk has never been opened because of security concerns.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blue+Water+Bridge/@42.9986849,-82.4233787,60m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x88259c82ff885b65:0xa87d0c88ba859935

[lordsutch]

There are only two highways connecting Mississippi and Arkansas: US 49 between Lula, MS, and Helena-West Helena, AR; and US 82 betwwen Greenville and Lake Village, AR. I believe both are two lanes.

The new US 82 Greenville bridge has 4 lanes, not 2. And as noted above there are quite a few dirt roads that cross the land border, although I don't think any are paved.

Incidentally I've always wondered why nobody ever tried to build a casino in Mississippi on the west bank of the river.

[SP Cook]

So who does own the bottom of the Great Lakes?  The states or the feds?  If the states, then MI and IL do touch, as do MI and MN.

No place in the USA (save for DC and the territories, etc) is not a part of one state or another.  The Constitution of Michigan specifically state that its border is "the middle of Lake Michigan". 

[woodpusher]

No place in the USA (save for DC and the territories, etc) is not a part of one state or another.  The Constitution of Michigan specifically state that its border is "the middle of Lake Michigan".
[/quote]

Not quite....state boundaries extend 3 miles out (see TIGER)....Federal waters are 3-12 miles out, and then the Exclusive Economic Zone is 12 miles up to half the distance to the next country, whichever comes first.

-------------------------------
Colorado and Arizona have 0 lanes.

Utah and New Mexico have 0 lanes.
-------------------------------

I guess "4 Corners" doesn't count?  Is it possible to drive through the 4 corners or do you have to take the circle around the monument? 

[lordsutch]

Not quite....state boundaries extend 3 miles out (see TIGER)....Federal waters are 3-12 miles out, and then the Exclusive Economic Zone is 12 miles up to half the distance to the next country, whichever comes first.

The US actually claims an EEZ out to 200 nautical miles (with exceptions for neighboring countries, of course). Everything you'd ever want to know about US nautical claims, including those of the states: http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_maritime.html

[agentsteel53]

Colorado and Arizona have 0 lanes.

Utah and New Mexico have 0 lanes.

now divide that by the length of their shared borders...

[woodpusher]

Right, my bad.  I had typed 200 miles or half the distance to the next country whichever comes first but somehow I lost the 200 miles. 

[Pete from Boston]

Also not a winner, but fairly low: New Jersey and Delaware share eight bridge lanes, but zero on their two land borders.

[New to Seattle]

Not quite....state boundaries extend 3 miles out (see TIGER)....Federal waters are 3-12 miles out, and then the Exclusive Economic Zone is 12 miles up to half the distance to the next country, whichever comes first.

The US actually claims an EEZ out to 200 nautical miles (with exceptions for neighboring countries, of course). Everything you'd ever want to know about US nautical claims, including those of the states: http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gcil_maritime.html

Just so I'm clear, is this discussion only about the ocean, or is it also encompassing the Great Lakes?

It seems to me that the NOAA page is very careful to specify that the info about territorial sea refers to "coastal States." I take that to mean that it doesn't refer to the Great Lakes states (except, I suppose, New York).

But this discussion could all be in rebuttal to the assertion that "No place in the USA (save for DC and the territories, etc) is not a part of one state or another," and not be specifically referring to the Great Lakes.

[DandyDan]

Nebraska and Missouri only have 4 paved lanes, 2 each for the Brownville Bridge (US 136) and the Rulo Bridge (US 159).  There seem to be several gravel roads which connect to McKissick Island, the part of Nebraska east of the Missouri River, which is not really an island, although I assume it was once.

[SP Cook]

Not quite....state boundaries extend 3 miles out (see TIGER)....Federal waters are 3-12 miles out, and then the Exclusive Economic Zone is 12 miles up to half the distance to the next country, whichever comes first.

Quite.


Michigan Constitution

ARTICLE I


BOUNDARIES

Territorial jurisdiction.

The State of Michigan consists of and has jurisdiction over the territory embraced within the following boundaries, to wit: Commencing at a point on the eastern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Maumee Bay shall intersect the same--said point being the north-west corner of the State of Ohio, as established by act of congress, entitled "An act to establish the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio, and to provide for the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union upon the conditions therein expressed," approved June fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six; thence with the said boundary line of the State of Ohio till it intersects the boundary line between the United States and Canada in Lake Erie; thence with said boundary line between the United States and Canada through the Detroit river, Lake Huron and Lake Superior to a point where the said line last touches Lake Superior; thence in a direct line through Lake Superior to the mouth of the Montreal river; thence through the middle of the main channel of the said river Montreal to the head waters thereof; thence in a direct line to the centre of the channel between Middle and South Islands in the Lake of the Desert; thence in a direct line to the southern shore of Lake Brule; thence along said southern shore and down the river Brule to the main channel of the Menominie river; thence down the centre of the main channel of the same to the centre of the most usual ship channel of the said bay to the middle of Lake Michigan; thence through the middle of Lake Michigan to the northern boundary of the State of Indiana, as that line was established by the act of Congress of the nineteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixteen; thence due east with the north boundary line of the said State of Indiana to the north-east corner thereof; and thence south with the eastern boundary line of Indiana to the place of beginning.

[woodpusher]

Just so I'm clear, is this discussion only about the ocean, or is it also encompassing the Great Lakes?

It seems to me that the NOAA page is very careful to specify that the info about territorial sea refers to "coastal States." I take that to mean that it doesn't refer to the Great Lakes states (except, I suppose, New York).

But this discussion could all be in rebuttal to the assertion that "No place in the USA (save for DC and the territories, etc) is not a part of one state or another," and not be specifically referring to the Great Lakes.

Good questions, yes.  I was under the impression that TIGER was official, and apparently for some purposes it is.  But my impression there was a ring of Federal water around the state waters may not be true, according to that NOAA page.
It says that President Reagan extended the territorial sea claim to 12 nm in 1988 - not that he invited states to do so (with TX FL and PR going to 9 miles); also that President Clinton extended the contiguous zone to 24 nm; and then the EEZ to 200 nm in 1983. 

So do any U.S. Navy/U.S. Coast Guard ships patrol waters, say 9-12 nm off the coast of FL, TX, or PR? 

[hotdogPi]

Also not a winner, but fairly low: New Jersey and Delaware share eight bridge lanes, but zero on their two land borders.

That was the example given in the first post.

[SteveG1988]

For international purposes, Prince Edward island is only connected to the rest of Canada via two lanes

Nokia Lumia 810

[froggie]

[Delmarva Peninsula]
U.S. 13 - 4 lanes
Md. 12/Va. 679 - 2 lanes

There are at least 11 public road crossings (plus several other private crossings) of the MD/VA line on the Delmarva besides US 13 and MD 12/SR 679.  I've been on 3 of them.

[Pete from Boston]

Also not a winner, but fairly low: New Jersey and Delaware share eight bridge lanes, but zero on their two land borders.

That was the example given in the first post.

Oh, sure, everything's clear if you read.

[Road Hog]

There are only two highways connecting Mississippi and Arkansas: US 49 between Lula, MS, and Helena-West Helena, AR; and US 82 betwwen Greenville and Lake Village, AR. I believe both are two lanes.

The new US 82 Greenville bridge has 4 lanes, not 2. And as noted above there are quite a few dirt roads that cross the land border, although I don't think any are paved.

Incidentally I've always wondered why nobody ever tried to build a casino in Mississippi on the west bank of the river.

This came up more than 20 years ago. Two reasons: The existing casinos on the east side of the river didn't want the competition, and Arkansas said at the time it would refuse to provide services to the west side.