What state has the worst/most boring interstates?

[Roadgeekteen]

I actually disagree with Connecticut. The western part of I-84 is quite attractive, and the I-95 bridges in New Haven and New London, as well as the part in East Haven, are rather interesting.

Yeah, one nice steel truss bridge makes up for a LOT of boring highway miles!

I-84 in western Connecticut is miserable.  Done it tens of times over my lifetime and it never gets any better.

With six lanes all the way to the MA line, surely it's not traffic that's the issue. Is it really that boring?

It is traffic that's the issue. I-84 is horribly congested during rush hour, and Connecticut also has later PM rush hour than most states due to NYC commuters.

Oh, sorry, I misread. He's talking about western CT, I was thinking of eastern CT, which is the part that's entirely that's six laned. It looks like a very nice road from Manchester to I-90.

I-84 in eastern CT is alright, not the worst but nothing special.

[Rothman]

I actually disagree with Connecticut. The western part of I-84 is quite attractive, and the I-95 bridges in New Haven and New London, as well as the part in East Haven, are rather interesting.

Yeah, one nice steel truss bridge makes up for a LOT of boring highway miles!

I-84 in western Connecticut is miserable.  Done it tens of times over my lifetime and it never gets any better.

Well, at least it's concentrated with exits.

You should travel I-80 in the West someday.

I've done that more than once.  At least there is scenery.  And, last time coming from Nevada into Utah -- tumbleweeds all over the highway.

[roadman65]

Texas has some boring roads.  I have not yet driven the most notable one from San Antonio to El Paso, but drove I-35, I-30, I-20 (east of Dallas from Shreveport), and I-10 from SA to SH 99 plus I-37.

[Bickendan]

What gives with all the "worst" threads?  What about the best/most exciting?  My nomination for that would be I-70 west of Denver.  The scenery of the front range and the high country are absolutely breathtaking.

Talk about an unpopular opinion (not) 

For real though, I've heard people say that I-70 through the San Rafael is better but I can't imagine that's possible. I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction is on a completely different level compared to the rest of the Interstate system IMO.

I'd venture I-5 between Redding and Eugene and I-84 through the Gorge are some of the few that have the chance of competing.

[ModernDayWarrior]

To me, the most boring state for Interstates has to be Mississippi. Especially I-55. Easily the most bored I've ever been on a long trip. I actually sort of enjoyed I-70 through Kansas, though I've only driven it once.

[interstate73]

NJ? I guess? Nevermind, I-80 water gap.

At least there's nice scenery while you sit in gridlock because of a series of fender benders through Stroudsburg!

The highways down in South Jersey on the pines get pretty boring, but that's pretty much the same situation as the entire Eastern Seaboard.

[achilles765]

Louisiana. I haven't been on I-10 much, but I-20/I-220, I-12, and I-49 are very boring. Not to mention the road quality, which is improving recently, but is still awful.

Yeah I'm from Louisiana originally and totally agree. I 10 isn't very fascinating either except in New Orleans and some of the bridges between Baton Rouge and new Orleans   
And there's that boring 20 mile bridge begeeen Baton Rouge and Lafayette. I've always hated the drive between my parents' house in Mississippi and my house in Houston.

[achilles765]

When I used to drive with my friends from Louisiana to Connecticut, the worst for me was probably Ih 81 through Virginia. Ugh. Boring and there was nothing for hours. Didn't find IH 84 in Connecticut very enjoyable either. Except maybe through Hartford.
IH 59 for its entire length is pretty boring too.

[Roadgeekteen]

When I used to drive with my friends from Louisiana to Connecticut, the worst for me was probably Ih 81 through Virginia. Ugh. Boring and there was nothing for hours. Didn't find IH 84 in Connecticut very enjoyable either. Except maybe through Hartford.
IH 59 for its entire length is pretty boring too.

I liked I-81 in Virginia.

[Revive 755]

My vote goes to Nebraska.

I-35 through the Flint Hills and I-70 east of Lawrence disqualify Kansas, in my opinion.

I seem to recall the section of I-70 west of Topeka close to K-99 being better than the Turnpike east of Lawrence.  Streetview

Similarly, I-57 and I-24 south of Goreville disqualify Illinois.

Between I-57 and the Goreville exit isn't that bad on I-24.  Though the scenery on I-24 kind of dies at the descent prior to the Big Bay/New Columbia interchange.

I-57 south of Goreville is better than a lot of Illinois's interstates for scenery, but it is not as good as I-24, and I would question if it's better than I-72 just west of the Illinois River.

Even I-74 has a few decent valleys between Peoria and Galesburg, and one between Peoria and Bloomington - Normal to look forward to.

I regard "worst" and "most boring" to be two totally different matters. A road can be in outstanding shape, have a high speed limit, be an easy drive, and yet still be mind-numbingly boring.

I second this - I recall I-80 in Nebraska not being that scenic between I-76 and around Seward, but at least having decent pavement.  I don't recall I-70 across Kansas having bad pavement either the last time I drove it.  On the other hand I recall scenic portions of I-70 in Utah having signs for "road damage" and rough pavement.

[sparker]

Boring-wise, KS and NE take top (or is it bottom?) prize, although I will acknowledge that I-80, once east of Lincoln, can get a bit interesting; the same for I-70 one state south east of Topeka (but maybe I'm just a sucker for more greenery).  As far as quality: pavement, configuration, and generally stupid shit, right now my home state of CA might be a finalist -- but my most recent experiences in NM and TX would put them well up on the list.   

[dkblake]

I-10 in Louisiana isn't exciting, but building a functional and kinda boring interstate over hundreds of miles of waterlogged mud is pretty remarkable IMO. I also think PA's highways are underrated given its central position in a number of long haul routes and needing to maneuver fairly challenging terrain engineering-wise.

Michigan, for pavement "quality" and general feeling of terror when driving them, is pretty bad. Kentucky's highways (I've driven I-71 and I-65) haven't really impressed me much either.

[mgk920]

Wisconsin's probably rank somehwere in the middle. I-39, I-41, and I-43 are pretty bland their entire lengths, unless we're factoring in the presence of stack interchanges, in which case the latter two would be quite interesting. But I-90 and I-94 are fairly scenic, especially between Madison and La Crosse/Black River Falls.

I-41 through the Niagara Escarpment and Kettle Moraine area (between Slinger and Fond du Lac) is pretty interesting, I-43's transit of the Alpine Valley just NE of US 12 is a Wisconsin classic.   I also consider I-39 between Portage and Coloma to be a 'must drive'.

I agree, too, with your I-90 assessment and I also enjoy my drives on I-94 west of Tomah.

---------------

OTOH, IMHO, the most boring and worst I-routes overall in a state?

- Delaware.



Mike

[democratic nole]

I-80 from WY/NE state line to Lincoln is pretty boring. I'd also argue that I-80 in WY isn't great, but there's some more elevation and terrain at parts that make it better.
I-35 from south of Kansas City to Oklahoma City is pretty boring. Did most of that leg at night, so I might feel differently in the day.
I-10 from Jacksonville to Pensacola is, outside of a quick jaunt through Tallahassee, nothing but endless pine trees.

[kphoger]

I-35 from south of Kansas City to Oklahoma City is pretty boring. Did most of that leg at night, so I might feel differently in the day.

I enjoy I-35 through the Flint Hills at night, but that might just be because I'm usually on my way back from a long Minneapolis—Wichita drive, and the hills and curves keep me awake.  But yeah, it's a LOT more scenic during the daylight, especially during certain times of the year.

South of the KS/OK state line, though, you can keep it!

[Road Hog]

I struggle with emptiness, so even just the 150 miles between Abilene and Fort Worth is a bit much at night. At least during the day there's Ranger Hill, the funny knobby mountains east of there, and the opportunity to pull off and get a chicken-fried steak.

[kphoger]

I struggle with emptiness

There are 1-800 hotlines that can help with that.

[SkyPesos]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

[ilpt4u]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

What, didn't want to brave US 50 across IN & IL, for some variety to get away from I-70/74 and I-64/71?

[SkyPesos]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

What, didn't want to brave US 50 across IN & IL, for some variety to get away from I-70/74 and I-64/71?

xd
I'll do I-74-IN 46-I-69-US 50 next time. Really want to try out a portion of I-69 south of Indianapolis anyways, so this would be great

[Flint1979]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

What, didn't want to brave US 50 across IN & IL, for some variety to get away from I-70/74 and I-64/71?

xd
I'll do I-74-IN 46-I-69-US 50 next time. Really want to try out a portion of I-69 south of Indianapolis anyways, so this would be great

I clinched IN-46 last time I was in Indiana. I went to Terre Haute and then proceeded to head east. I wanted to enter Brown County again (I had already clinched that earlier this year) since I love the scenery there. It's the best county in Indiana IMO. I loved driving that road and it's my first state highway clinch in Indiana of a highway more than 100 miles long.

[Flint1979]

I also rode on the newer I-69 south of Indy. I felt a different vibe driving it maybe because I knew I was south of Indy and was heading into some new territory. I had to do a jog to go clinch a couple Indiana counties so I got off at US-231 and headed north for a little while bypassed Linton and took IN-54 back to US-41 south. Then took a combo of IN-550, IN-67, IN-358, IN-57 and IN-56/61 back to I-69. So I'm missing a 41 mile stretch between exits 46 and 87.

[Rothman]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

What, didn't want to brave US 50 across IN & IL, for some variety to get away from I-70/74 and I-64/71?

xd
I'll do I-74-IN 46-I-69-US 50 next time. Really want to try out a portion of I-69 south of Indianapolis anyways, so this would be great

I clinched IN-46 last time I was in Indiana. I went to Terre Haute and then proceeded to head east. I wanted to enter Brown County again (I had already clinched that earlier this year) since I love the scenery there. It's the best county in Indiana IMO. I loved driving that road and it's my first state highway clinch in Indiana of a highway more than 100 miles long.

Brown County State Park is worth a visit.  My father took me for my first camping trip there.

[Flint1979]

I'll go with Illinois. Went through the state as both a driver and passenger between Cincinnati and St. Louis way too many times, and I get bored on both I-70 and I-64 so quickly that I have the last exit number on each memorized (154 and 130 respectively), as well as the exit number when each one have have their concurrency with I-57 (92 and 73 EB, 98 and 78 WB) just to give myself something to look ahead to.

What, didn't want to brave US 50 across IN & IL, for some variety to get away from I-70/74 and I-64/71?

xd
I'll do I-74-IN 46-I-69-US 50 next time. Really want to try out a portion of I-69 south of Indianapolis anyways, so this would be great

I clinched IN-46 last time I was in Indiana. I went to Terre Haute and then proceeded to head east. I wanted to enter Brown County again (I had already clinched that earlier this year) since I love the scenery there. It's the best county in Indiana IMO. I loved driving that road and it's my first state highway clinch in Indiana of a highway more than 100 miles long.

Brown County State Park is worth a visit.  My father took me for my first camping trip there.

Right Brown County State Park I think is the most popular state park in Indiana and by far the largest state park (about 24 square miles). For the longest time I had a picture I took at Brown County State Park as my background on my laptop but I have another background on there now.

I clinched Brown County in June of this year. When it came time to hit Brown County I was on I-69 heading toward Bloomington and had already clinched Monroe County so I skipped that and put in Brown County. As soon as I started getting into the county I thought this is a really scenic area that I like. So I came upon signs for Yellowwood State Forest and took a left onto Yellowwood Road I remember a bridge at the end of the road took a left and came upon Yellowwood Lake there were some people fishing but they didn't bother me and I didn't bother them. I was on that road and headed north not knowing for sure where I was headed and came back upon IN-45 and headed toward Lake Lemon on the Brown County side. I was at a wildlife viewing area where no one else was even around.

As far as Brown County State Park I also spent some time there and loved it. It's almost as big as a medium sized city. IMO though Brown County and the surrounding counties are really nice. I like the areas of Indiana south of Indy, north of Indy it just doesn't have the same vibe for me.

[epzik8]

I'm going to go with Connecticut.

Connecticut isn't even the most boring state on the I-95 corridor. The Carolinas are a flat, pine ridden bore.

I beg to differ. Between Lumberton and Kenly it's very exciting.