Loneliest Highway In Your State.

Started by thenetwork, April 29, 2018, 06:42:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

thenetwork

US 50 through Nevada is billed as The Loneliest Highway in the US...What highway in your state would you nominate as your loneliest?

I say this after driving CO-141 in Colorado from Whitewater (Grand Junction) to Dove Creek, and especially between Naturita and Dove Creek.  on a recent Friday afternoon, I would say that if I passed 15 cars in an 80-mile stretch that would be pushing it.   

Not to mention that CO-141 winds its way through Disappointment Valley, a name that fits the route well.


pdx-wanderer

There's absolutely nothing on OR78. No towns and not even phone service for much of it. Having never driven it myself, I imagine OR205 would be a good candidate here as well.

As a side note I think US-6 is more deserving of that title than US 50 in NV! (Not to mention NV140...)

Takumi

Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

US 89

The loneliest roads in Utah are the four non-Interstate routes that cross the West Desert: US-6/50 and UT 30, 21, and 56. I’d say the loneliest is UT-21, since it has an AADT of less than 100. You could make a case for the others, but those all have AADTs in the 300-400 range.

Mapmikey

Quote from: Takumi on April 29, 2018, 07:13:58 PM
VA 14.

Another Virginia nominee would be the southern and middle segments of VA 42.

For North Carolina I will nominate NC 94

sparker

In CA, it would almost certainly be one of the short state routes at or near the NV state line.  I'd nominate, in no specific order, CA 266 -- the only CA route with both ends going into the adjoining state -- and out in a remote valley; the section of CA 299 east of US 395 -- it crosses into NV and becomes a unpaved route, and CA 182, simply because it isn't the most direct route anywhere except Yerington, NV.  CA 167 might have been in a similar situation, but it's gotten some press as part of a more or less direct L.A. - Boise composite route, so it's apparently getting a bit more truck traffic than in previous years -- at least in fair-weather months. 

Life in Paradise

Although I am sure that there are some highways in Southeast Indiana that might go down tho this level, I nominate IN-166 in Perry County (dead ends at the Ohio River serving a very small burg) and IN-154 in Sullivan County, which serves Graysville, IN (dead ends at the Wabash River and serves a burg that barely exists).

djlynch

#7
For Texas primary routes, I'd guess SH 54 between US 62/180 south of Pine Springs and Van Horn. Roughly 50 miles and I don't even remember anything coming off of it that was identifiable as a road that led to human habitation. There is absolutely nothing out there.

oscar

Quote from: pdx-wanderer on April 29, 2018, 06:54:09 PM
As a side note I think US-6 is more deserving of that title than US 50 in NV! (Not to mention NV140...)

I agree.

For Alaska's numbered routes (leaving aside other state-maintained highways), probably AK 8 between AK 3 and AK 4. It used to be the only road access to Denali National Park, but now there are better alternatives that at least are paved unlike most of AK 8. There's almost nothing along AK 8, and very little traffic.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Bickendan

Quote from: pdx-wanderer on April 29, 2018, 06:54:09 PM
There's absolutely nothing on OR78. No towns and not even phone service for much of it. Having never driven it myself, I imagine OR205 would be a good candidate here as well.

As a side note I think US-6 is more deserving of that title than US 50 in NV! (Not to mention NV140...)
OR 380 gets an honorable mention.

Ian

Maine has quite a few highways that one might consider lonely, but here's a list of what I consider to be the "loneliest."

  • Most of ME 6
  • ME 11 between Patten and Fort Kent
  • ME 9 between Brewer and Calais
  • US 201 north of Moscow
  • All of the Macwahoc-Houlton segment of US 2A. Maine native Dick Curless even had a song about this stretch called "A Tombstone Every Mile."
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

jp the roadgeek

CT
Interstate: I-395 (Norwich - MA Border)
US Route: US 44 east of Mansfield (except through Putnam), US 7 between New Milford and the village of Canaan
State: CT 14, CT 45, CT 63 north of CT 4, CT 183 between US 44 and MA border

RI:
Interstate: I-95 from CT border to RI 4
US: US 6 west of RI 116 or US 44 west of RI 102
State: RI 3, RI 14, and RI 117 west/south of RI 116.  There's even a diner I ate at once on RI 3 called the Middle of Nowhere Diner.

MA:
Interstate: I-190 outside of Worcester city limits, I-395
US: US 7 except through Great Barrington and Pittsfield, US 20 west of Westfield (except Pittsfield), US 202 north of MA 33.
State: MA 43, MA 112, MA 183 (including MA 57 duplex) between CT border and MA 23
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

Max Rockatansky

I'd put a vote in for CA 229.  Apparently it gets less than 10 cars a day south of Creston according to a Caltrans crew I encounter out there in 2016. 

webny99

#13
To me, a "lonely" atmosphere is largely generated by the presence of open space. As such, there aren't going to be a lot of good examples east of the Mississippi.

However, up in Canada, ON 402 strikes me as lonely. Absolutely nothing between Sarnia and London, almost to the point of being eerie (no pun intended), especially in the winter. Not even services or buildings or anything, just vast swaths of undeveloped nothingness. Low traffic volumes, too.




Of all the US states, Montana is the state I perceive as "lonely" more than any other state. It's nicknamed Big Sky Country, which is quite fitting, as I think there's a correlation: the more sky you can see, the lonelier the atmosphere.
I can also see parts of Appalachia, particularly central PA and West Virginia, being described as lonely. I've been unsuccessful in trying to find better words to describe some of the rural roads in these areas. Mystical, maybe. Quiet. Jumbled. Sparsely populated. But I really hesitate to use lonely.
To bring it closer to home, I think the North Country is the best place to look in New York state. I-81 north of Syracuse and NY 28 north of Utica both strike me as somewhat lonely. The thruway doesn't, on the other hand. It will be interesting to see if there are any legitimate contenders agreed upon for New York.

Rothman

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on April 29, 2018, 09:31:09 PM
CT
Interstate: I-395 (Norwich - MA Border)
US Route: US 44 east of Mansfield (except through Putnam), US 7 between New Milford and the village of Canaan
State: CT 14, CT 45, CT 63 north of CT 4, CT 183 between US 44 and MA border

RI:
Interstate: I-95 from CT border to RI 4
US: US 6 west of RI 116 or US 44 west of RI 102
State: RI 3, RI 14, and RI 117 west/south of RI 116.  There's even a diner I ate at once on RI 3 called the Middle of Nowhere Diner.

MA:
Interstate: I-190 outside of Worcester city limits, I-395
US: US 7 except through Great Barrington and Pittsfield, US 20 west of Westfield (except Pittsfield), US 202 north of MA 33.
State: MA 43, MA 112, MA 183 (including MA 57 duplex) between CT border and MA 23
Pfft.  MA 8A. :)
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

shadyjay

CT 11... hands down.

VT.... hmmm.... any route north/east of St Johnsbury

cl94

NY would be NY 421. Hands down. If you want a through road, NY 3 between Carthage and Tupper Lake.

NY 22 north of Millerton is another contender. Outside of Plattsburgh, there's little development.
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)

Max Rockatansky

AZ 288 probably is the most lightly traveled route in Arizona.  Much of the road is dirt and it goes to a really remote mountain village called Young.  AZ 88 gets way more traffic due to the close proximity to Phoenix and it doesn't hurt pavement goes all the way to Tortilla Flat.  AZ 83 also is very lightly traveled in some very remote territory. 

Flint1979

For Michigan I'd say M-69 between west of Escanaba and M-95 or H-13 between M-28/94 and US-2.

TheHighwayMan3561

MN 1 between Thief River Falls and the northern junction with MN 89.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

freebrickproductions

AL 146, AL 62, and AL 140 appear to be all potential contenders here in Alabama.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 30, 2018, 02:33:10 AM
MN 1 between Thief River Falls and the northern junction with MN 89.

That, or MN-65 between MN-1 and Littlefork. Hard to say which is lonelier.

For Iowa, I imagine it's some section of either IA-3 or IA-9 in northwest Iowa. That area's pretty damn boring and repetitive.

Scott5114

uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

tdindy88

Quote from: Life in Paradise on April 29, 2018, 08:38:59 PM
Although I am sure that there are some highways in Southeast Indiana that might go down tho this level, I nominate IN-166 in Perry County (dead ends at the Ohio River serving a very small burg) and IN-154 in Sullivan County, which serves Graysville, IN (dead ends at the Wabash River and serves a burg that barely exists).


SR 154 actually crosses the Wabash River and serves as the only crossing over the river between Terre Haute and Vincennes. And using local roads you can connect to Illinois Route 1 pretty easily.

Considering SR 166 it was interesting looking at the traffic counts on INDOT's website. Interestingly SR 66 east of SR 166 has even less traffic on it despite being the "thru" route. That whole stretch of 66 from Tell City to I-64 is quite winding and low in traffic. Great for motorcyclists I suppose.

Another contender for loneliest highway, SR 71 in far western Indiana, especially the norther segment from SR 26 north to US 24 in Benton County. That road looks dead quiet and the traffic counts never peak 300 vehicles a day on that stretch. The windmills might be the only thing interesting along that highway and you could travel on US 41 to get that view.

Max Rockatansky

My speculative guess for Florida is that it might be US 441 between US 192 at Holopaw and FL 60 at Yeehaw Junction.  I've driven that stretch several times where I've encountered less than five vehicles.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.