Routes with random ends

[ftballfan]

The north end of US 41 is at the entrance of Fort Wilkins State Park near Copper Harbor, MI.

Actually the north end is about 1/2 mile east of the park entrance, making it even more random.

Another one is the north end of M-93 outside Grayling.  It runs northwest from I-75 to Hartwick Pines State Park.  Several years ago the reconfigured roadways inside the park, and moved the park entrance closer to I-75.  But the highway still extends to where the previous entrance was.

M-93 doesn't really make much sense at all

[ftballfan]

Someone mentioned US 12 near the beginning of the thread. In fact, very few termini in downtown Detroit make any sense. Note that everything in grey has been decommissioned since 2000. M-1 made a bit more sense when it stubbed at Grand River (former US 16), but its current terminus of Adams is meaningless.

Others:

• M-150 used to end at Rochester city limits, but since 1935 its northern terminus (which has changed repeatedly) has been an arbitrary intersection.
• M-152 ends at a county line, 2 miles short of reaching M-140.
• M-154's southern terminus is at the intersection of a minor side street in the middle of a curve.
• M-188's southern terminus is a (former) railroad crossing.
• M-221 ends at a random point just before it reaches Brimley State Park (and its short east-west portion is unsigned, meaning it appears to end even further from the park).

There was also an M-125 (unrelated to today's route) from 1938 to 1957 that ran 3 miles from then-US 23 to a random rural intersection.

In the M-152 case, US-31 is only six miles beyond M-140, so if the US-31 link between Napier Ave and I-94 ever gets completed (no longer marked on some maps but still marked as "under construction" on the official MDOT map), M-152 could go all the way to I-94 or even to M-139.

Another random ending is M-42 ending at the west village limits of Manton, about a half mile west of Business US-131.

Also, M-44 has a pointless concurrency along M-37 from I-96 to M-11/28th St and M-46 ends at the former route of Business US-31 through Muskegon.

[roadman65]

I would say US 1's southern terminus is random.  Considering that you have the marker for the southernmost point in the contiguous 48 states, that should have been the point of end.

However, being that the Monroe County Courthouse lies at the intersection of Whitehead and Fleming Streets (US 1's southern terminus) that is why its there as many considered a courthouse to be a prominent place considering that state capitals are.  That is why US 1 goes inland from Jacksonville to New York being west of US 9, US 13, US 15, and US 17 so it could transit the capitals of the states minus Maryland and of course Delaware where it does not even enter.

[OracleUsr]

Don't forget Pennsylvania.

[odditude]

I would say US 1's southern terminus is random.  Considering that you have the marker for the southernmost point in the contiguous 48 states, that should have been the point of end.

why does that have any bearing on the matter?

Don't forget Pennsylvania.

what about Pennsylvania?

[vdeane]

I would say US 1's southern terminus is random.  Considering that you have the marker for the southernmost point in the contiguous 48 states, that should have been the point of end.

why does that have any bearing on the matter?

The marker is wrong anyways.  The park goes further south and the base goes further south still.  It's just the furthest south accessible by car, and the second furthest south accessible by the public.

[roadman65]

It ends randomly as it is just ends at an intersection with no bearing whatsoever.  If it ended at the Southernmost Marker than it would not be as random.

What about PA?   If you are referring to Harrisburg, then you need to read up on why US 1 was routed so far inland in the Carolina's.   PA, NY, CT, even RI and MA where US 1 does serve their capitals did not ask for stray routing for US 1 like NC and SC did.

[NE2]

It ends at the courthouse. Hardly random.

[NJRoadfan]

These routes don't end at other routes, state lines, bodies of water, or other even quasi-logical points like stubby freeway/expressway ends. It's pretty random.
NJ: Not counting tiny state takeovers like 13 and 64, only substantive routes.
NJ 7 — Ignoring the fact that it has a discontinuity in the middle, the north end is at the Passaic County line so close to NJ 3. It even crosses the county line before that without a problem — and has county maintenance there!

According to Passaic County DPW, Cathedral Ave/Passaic Ave in Clifton is indeed county maintained as NJ-7 up to NJ-3. NJDOT acknowledges this on the signs for the exit on NJ-3, and Passaic County DPW has placed NJ-7 markers on that section of roadway.

Source: http://www.passaiccountynj.org/DocumentCenter/View/111
County placed Marker: https://goo.gl/maps/aNXGZjgEHkn
Since replaced with a "north" marker! Might actually be a NJDOT install: https://goo.gl/maps/zbyeFEt8kmm

[roadman65]

FL A1A randomly ends in Key West at its southern terminus.  You think that they would reconnect it to US 1, but they did not.

[bulldog1979]

Someone mentioned US 12 near the beginning of the thread. In fact, very few termini in downtown Detroit make any sense. Note that everything in grey has been decommissioned since 2000. M-1 made a bit more sense when it stubbed at Grand River (former US 16), but its current terminus of Adams is meaningless.

Others:

• M-150 used to end at Rochester city limits, but since 1935 its northern terminus (which has changed repeatedly) has been an arbitrary intersection.
• M-152 ends at a county line, 2 miles short of reaching M-140.
• M-154's southern terminus is at the intersection of a minor side street in the middle of a curve.
• M-188's southern terminus is a (former) railroad crossing.
• M-221 ends at a random point just before it reaches Brimley State Park (and its short east-west portion is unsigned, meaning it appears to end even further from the park).

There was also an M-125 (unrelated to today's route) from 1938 to 1957 that ran 3 miles from then-US 23 to a random rural intersection.

In the M-152 case, US-31 is only six miles beyond M-140, so if the US-31 link between Napier Ave and I-94 ever gets completed (no longer marked on some maps but still marked as "under construction" on the official MDOT map), M-152 could go all the way to I-94 or even to M-139.

Another random ending is M-42 ending at the west village limits of Manton, about a half mile west of Business US-131.

Also, M-44 has a pointless concurrency along M-37 from I-96 to M-11/28th St and M-46 ends at the former route of Business US-31 through Muskegon.

M-42 ends in Manton in the middle of its concurrency with Bus. US 131 at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 7th St. M-42 ends instead of turning north with the business loop onto the old route of US 131 through town. The stub west of the business loop in the village is an unsigned trunkline, and not signed as part of M-42.

As for M-152, I assume that if MDOT ever gets the rest of the US 31 freeway north of Napier Avenue built that they'll transfer Napier back to local control. (Barring a successful transfer, they'd remove the signage and make it an unsigned trunkline line, like the part of M-42 in the village of Manton they still possess.)

Supposedly, MDOT was truncating M-44 several years ago, but the signage never changed. Maybe someday it will happen, but not yet it seems.

[CapeCodder]

IL 155 and IL 156 just end in the middle of nowhere, deep in Southern Illinois. Both serve rural communities west of IL-3, although 156 is a bit longer. What is strange is that they literally just end, pavement continues as as unnumbered roads, neither of which I don't believe is controlled by the state, further still, if they were state maintained, IL-155 could easily be absorbed by a much longer 156.

I've been to both ends. You're right they just stop. One is near Fults and the other near Kidd. 155 serves Prairie Du Rocher also. When I used to chase storms, I dreaded going down there because it floods pretty quick and the roads are like a maze.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

In Willmar, MN the easternmost mile of MN 40 was lopped off several years ago because the city felt that the road was interfering with the expansion of their industrial sector. The road now ends at 30th Avenue West, and apparently has never been rerouted north over 30th to reach US 12; that route was MN 40's former terminus.