Routes with random ends

[roadman65]

Yes, if you watch sitcoms that take place in Miami, many show writers even get that misconception.  They think Disney is within a day's drive ( which it is, but over 3 hours each way)and make it out like its in the area.

[oscar]

NM 9's east end is at the Doña Ana County line. Not that random, though, even though it might look that way -- maybe NMDOT tried to fob off onto the counties all of NM 9 east of NM 11, but only Doña Ana County agreed. Other NM state routes also end at county lines.

AK 10 (Copper River Highway segment out of Cordova) peters out 0.538 mile past the Million Dollar Bridge over the Copper River, apparently at the point where the Bureau of Land Management takes over what passes for "maintenance" of that unpaved road. No signage indicates the route end -- Alaska seems to follow the apparent Arctic custom of using "end" signs only where they are totally pointless -- or change of maintenance.

[OracleUsr]

Yes, if you watch sitcoms that take place in Miami, many show writers even get that misconception.  They think Disney is within a day's drive ( which it is, but over 3 hours each way)and make it out like its in the area.

Reminds me of Beverly Hills, 90210, when they all went to college at Cal...and commuted from home.  A distance of roughly 400-500 miles one way, IIRC.

As for Calumet, I thought I had remembered the GPS on my phone saying the Copper Harbor Lighthouse could be viewed from Calumet, but nonetheless it was quite unsettling to know I had to drive 603 miles to Wayne Airport for a flight leaving the next day...at 4pm.  Thankfully the flight was an evening flight, and I actually returned with enough time to go to Ann Arbor and Toledo before returning my rental car.  Fun trip, admittedly.

Question for those who might know...is the Copper Harbor Lighthouse the northernmost one in the lower 48?

[kkt]

As for Calumet, I thought I had remembered the GPS on my phone saying the Copper Harbor Lighthouse could be viewed from Calumet, but nonetheless it was quite unsettling to know I had to drive 603 miles to Wayne Airport for a flight leaving the next day...at 4pm.  Thankfully the flight was an evening flight, and I actually returned with enough time to go to Ann Arbor and Toledo before returning my rental car.  Fun trip, admittedly.

Question for those who might know...is the Copper Harbor Lighthouse the northernmost one in the lower 48?

No, there are several in Washington that are farther north.  Copper Harbor Lighthouse, according to Wikipedia, is at 47 degrees 28 minutes 28.1 seconds north.  Patos Island Light is at 48.789 degrees north.  There are others too, listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lighthouses_in_Washington_(state)

[formulanone]

Yes, if you watch sitcoms that take place in Miami, many show writers even get that misconception.  They think Disney is within a day's drive ( which it is, but over 3 hours each way)and make it out like its in the area.

My wife and I did that once...courtesy of energy drinks.

[GaryV]

Michigan is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, and the Mackinac Bridge is only about halfway between Copper Harbor and Monroe.

I think Georgia is bigger. Michigan, Florida and Maine seen to be much underestimated in their size by most people.

GA is bigger than MI by land area, about 1000 sq miles.  But if you add in the water, MI is almost as big as WY, larger than Utah.

[jwolfer]

Michigan is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, and the Mackinac Bridge is only about halfway between Copper Harbor and Monroe.

I think Georgia is bigger. Michigan, Florida and Maine seen to be much underestimated in their size by most people.

GA is bigger than MI by land area, about 1000 sq miles.  But if you add in the water, MI is almost as big as WY, larger than Utah.

That makes sense

[Duke87]

Michigan is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, and the Mackinac Bridge is only about halfway between Copper Harbor and Monroe.

I think Georgia is bigger.

Depends on if you include water. By strictly land area Georgia is ranked 21st (largest east of the Mississippi) and Michigan is ranked 22nd. By total area Georgia drops to 24th and Michigan rises all the way to 11th. Naturally, due to being surrounded by Great Lakes, Michigan claims a lot of water in its total area. (linky)

I prefer going by land area since people don't live in open water and you can't drive around in open water (bridges, tunnels, and ferries notwithstanding). But, the reason US 41 spends so many miles in Michigan is not because of the state's area, it's because of the state being one of the least geographically compact in the country.

[roadman65]

BL I-75 in Saulte Ste. Marie has sort of a random end.  Instead of ending within the Downtown Area it goes along the St. Mary's River for a spell up until a random point along the road and then terminates.  No intersections, no route junction, just a place along the road.  Even if its the city limit of Saulte Ste. Marie, it still does not make sense unless Michigan is looking to burn state highway mileage or something.

[OCGuy81]

A few come to mind.

WA 501 - Just ends abruptly

HI 270 (Big Island) ends at a parking lot just before the Waipo Valley (makes sense given the terrain ahead, still just stops there)

HI 560 (Kauai) ends at a parking lot

I understand that with Hawaii, the terrain doesn't really allow building beyond, but it's not often we see a state highway terminate in a parking lot.

[noelbotevera]

US 40 and US 322 - eastern end. They both have a useless multiplex into Atlantic City instead of ending at US 9. Once you hit Atlantic Avenue, boom, US 40/322 end.

Belt Parkway in Brooklyn uselessly continues at the 2nd time it intersects I-278. Not sure why it did that.

I-78 at the Jersey City area. It's iffy because of information overload. Does it start in New York City? Does it end in Jersey City? It's unknown.

I-678 near the Bruckner Interchange. Once you cross the Whitestone Bridge, the road is suddenly the Hutchinson River Parkway.

[GaryV]

BL I-75 in Saulte Ste. Marie has sort of a random end.  Instead of ending within the Downtown Area it goes along the St. Mary's River for a spell up until a random point along the road and then terminates.  No intersections, no route junction, just a place along the road.  Even if its the city limit of Saulte Ste. Marie, it still does not make sense unless Michigan is looking to burn state highway mileage or something.

It's the entrance to the Sugar Island Ferry dock.  Which is part of the EUPTA, a govt transportation authority (they also have buses), so it makes some sense.

[odditude]

US 40 and US 322 - eastern end. They both have a useless multiplex into Atlantic City instead of ending at US 9. Once you hit Atlantic Avenue, boom, US 40/322 end.

they directly serve Atlantic City - why have them stop outside?

Belt Parkway in Brooklyn uselessly continues at the 2nd time it intersects I-278. Not sure why it did that.

besides exit 1, it serves traffic heading to/from the Gowanus (the first interchange only serves traffic heading to/from the Verrazano).

I-78 at the Jersey City area. It's iffy because of information overload. Does it start in New York City? Does it end in Jersey City? It's unknown.

I-78 ends in NYC; there are 5 numbered exits in SoHo beyond the tunnel. its endpoint location is due to the cancellation of the Lower Manhattan Expressway, which would have carried it across to the Williamsburg Bridge.

I-678 near the Bruckner Interchange. Once you cross the Whitestone Bridge, the road is suddenly the Hutchinson River Parkway.

I-678 ends at I-95; hardly random.

[oscar]

HI 270 (Big Island) ends at a parking lot just before the Waipo Valley (makes sense given the terrain ahead, still just stops there)

HI 560 (Kauai) ends at a parking lot

I understand that with Hawaii, the terrain doesn't really allow building beyond, but it's not often we see a state highway terminate in a parking lot.

More a matter of placing a parking lot (for HI 560, serving popular Ke'e Beach) where the road would otherwise end. Those roads go about as far as the terrain allows.

HI 583 also ends at a parking lot, for a Wailua River overlook.

On Maui, HI 37 turns into CR 31 for no obvious reason in the Ulupalakua area. But that's where a now-closed private road long ago took CR 31 travelers down to the coast, and also where HI 31 may theoretically someday climb the hill to connect to HI 37. Other transitions from state to county (like HI 340 -> CR 340 -> HI 30, or HI 160 -> CR 160) were placed where the pavement once ran out, with the state keeping the segments that were or would soon be paved, fobbing off on the counties the segments the state didn't want to keep for itself.

[cl94]

Is it true that the END US 41 is taken out when it snows in Calumet?  I heard that somewhere, maybe on here.

I still can't believe it's a third of the distance from Calumet to Detroit Airport as it is for the entire length of US 41 (Copper Harbor is 603 miles from Detroit...Miami, FL, 1990 miles from Copper Harbor)

No, there is no end sign in Calumet for US-41.  The end is 45 miles up the peninsula in the unincorporated community of Copper Harbor.  The end sign in the circle is there, even in the snow.

Michigan is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, and the Mackinac Bridge is only about halfway between Copper Harbor and Monroe.

I think Georgia is bigger. Michigan, Florida and Maine seen to be much underestimated in their size by most people.

Florida is 2/3 the size of Michigan at 67,758 mi^2, with Georgia being 8K smaller. The next 2 largest states east of the Mississippi are Illinois and New York. Maine might be slightly smaller than the rest of New England combined, but it's only 35K mi^2, making it the 12th-smallest state and about the same size as Indiana and South Carolina.

[jwolfer]

Is it true that the END US 41 is taken out when it snows in Calumet?  I heard that somewhere, maybe on here.

I still can't believe it's a third of the distance from Calumet to Detroit Airport as it is for the entire length of US 41 (Copper Harbor is 603 miles from Detroit...Miami, FL, 1990 miles from Copper Harbor)

No, there is no end sign in Calumet for US-41.  The end is 45 miles up the peninsula in the unincorporated community of Copper Harbor.  The end sign in the circle is there, even in the snow.

Michigan is the biggest state east of the Mississippi River, and the Mackinac Bridge is only about halfway between Copper Harbor and Monroe.

I think Georgia is bigger. Michigan, Florida and Maine seen to be much underestimated in their size by most people.

Florida is 2/3 the size of Michigan at 67,758 mi^2, with Georgia being 8K smaller. The next 2 largest states east of the Mississippi are Illinois and New York. Maine might be slightly smaller than the rest of New England combined, but it's only 35K mi^2, making it the 12th-smallest state and about the same size as Indiana and South Carolina.

I am not saying anything about the actual size of the states in relation to each other or compared to Michigan.. People have an idea that Michigan doesn't even have the UP.. They think Miami is an hour drive from Orlando and Maine is small like all the other New England states.

[Thing 342]

VA-173 peters out into neighborhoods at both ends.

VA-172's northern end in Poquoson also seems pretty random. It doesn't end at the major intersection (VA-171), or at the end of the road (like VA-171 does), but at a fairly unimportant neighborhood road. The fact that Poquoson doesn't sign any of their routes died help either.



Nexus 6

[Roadgeek Adam]

ON 811 ends at a dying bridge of the Weaver River. There is poor END signage (an old 800 shield repainted with 811).

ON 802 ends at the fence that once was the entrance to Burchell Lake, ON.

[WillWeaverRVA]

VA 32 should probably end at US 258 near Smithfield. Instead it embarks upon a useless concurrency with it; US 17 joins this concurrency and crosses the James River into Newport News, where VA 32 disappears at US 60 (from which it isn't signed).

VA 35 doesn't end at US 301, or even at I-95; it continues for a short distance and ends at a weird intersection with some country roads.

VA 36 randomly changes into SR 602 at the intersection with SR 669 a few miles west of Petersburg.

VA 76 doesn't end at VA 288 even though it stops being a freeway. It also doesn't end at SR 950 Charter Colony Parkway (a signalized intersection just past the VA 288 interchange). Instead, it becomes SR 652 at an arbitrary point west of this intersection (Brandermill Parkway, the main entrance into a major community that's blocking VA 76's extension). Until recently this part of VA 76 was a 2-lane road; it's now 4 lanes divided and the intersection with Brandermill Pkwy is now signalized.

[cappicard]

VA 32 should probably end at US 258 near Smithfield. Instead it embarks upon a useless concurrency with it; US 17 joins this concurrency and crosses the James River into Newport News, where VA 32 disappears at US 60 (from which it isn't signed).

VA 35 doesn't end at US 301, or even at I-95; it continues for a short distance and ends at a weird intersection with some country roads.

VA 36 randomly changes into SR 602 at the intersection with SR 669 a few miles west of Petersburg.

VA 76 doesn't end at VA 288 even though it stops being a freeway. It also doesn't end at SR 950 Charter Colony Parkway (a signalized intersection just past the VA 288 interchange). Instead, it becomes SR 652 at an arbitrary point west of this intersection (Brandermill Parkway, the main entrance into a major community that's blocking VA 76's extension). Until recently this part of VA 76 was a 2-lane road; it's now 4 lanes divided and the intersection with Brandermill Pkwy is now signalized.

Talk about random for VA-35!

https://goo.gl/maps/o92YLGBdKht

[hbelkins]

Similarly for Virginia, VA 75 doesn't end at I-81, where it's joined by Alt. US 58. And it doesn't end at US 11, where it runs with Alt. 58 in a concurrency. It continues a block beyond US 11.

Virginia has a bunch of routes that end in odd locations.

[Brandon]

Yes, if you watch sitcoms that take place in Miami, many show writers even get that misconception.  They think Disney is within a day's drive ( which it is, but over 3 hours each way)and make it out like its in the area.

Well, 3 hours each way is a day trip in some parts of the country.  Such as west of the Mississippi, and especially between the Sierra Nevada and the Front Range.

[cl94]

Yes, if you watch sitcoms that take place in Miami, many show writers even get that misconception.  They think Disney is within a day's drive ( which it is, but over 3 hours each way)and make it out like its in the area.

Well, 3 hours each way is a day trip in some parts of the country.  Such as west of the Mississippi, and especially between the Sierra Nevada and the Front Range.

3 hours is suitable for a day trip. Pittsburgh and Cleveland aren't hard to do as day trips from here and they're over 3 hours away.

[Thing 342]

VA 32 should probably end at US 258 near Smithfield. Instead it embarks upon a useless concurrency with it; US 17 joins this concurrency and crosses the James River into Newport News, where VA 32 disappears at US 60 (from which it isn't signed).

IMO, VA-32 should end at US-13 south of Suffolk and exist solely as a VA extension of NC 32. That's the only part of the road that isn't concurrent with something else.

[Duke87]

US 40 and US 322 - eastern end. They both have a useless multiplex into Atlantic City instead of ending at US 9. Once you hit Atlantic Avenue, boom, US 40/322 end.

While I'm normally not a fan of dead end routes, in this case it serves a city so it makes sense. Though I will give you that the multiplex is kinda unnecessary. If I were numbering things I'd have had 322 end at 40.

Belt Parkway in Brooklyn uselessly continues at the 2nd time it intersects I-278. Not sure why it did that.

History. What's now I-278 along 3rd Ave was originally built as the Gowanus Parkway, and tied directly into what is now the Belt Parkway (then known as Shore Parkway) without another highway splitting off. When the Verrazano Bridge was built, the section of I-278 around Bay Ridge was built to tie directly into it, and the Gowanus Parkway was upgraded to allow trucks to use it so it could serve the truck traffic coming off the new bridge. The route around Bay Ridge was built rather than simply upgrading the Belt Parkway in order to allow a smoother tie into the bridge. Meanwhile the segment of the Belt west of exit 3 remains because it's necessary to allow movements to/from downtown Brooklyn, which cannot be made at exit 3.

I-78 at the Jersey City area. It's iffy because of information overload. Does it start in New York City? Does it end in Jersey City? It's unknown.

Despite requiring passing through a few traffic signals and spottage being slightly spotty, I-78 does officially continue through the Holland Tunnel and ends where you get dumped out onto city streets in Manhattan. Would have extended deeper into New York City if not for the cancellation of several expressways and yes, there were plans to eliminate the intersections in Jersey City that have never come to fruition because as things stand there wouldn't be much benefit. The tunnel itself is much more of a bottleneck than Jersey City is since the lights are well timed and the one way pair of streets has lots o lanes.

I-678 near the Bruckner Interchange. Once you cross the Whitestone Bridge, the road is suddenly the Hutchinson River Parkway.

I-678 ends AT the Bruckner Interchange, not suddenly after the Whitestone Bridge. And yes, it continues as the Hutch, because again, history. The Hutch did originally continue as a parkway to the Whitestone Bridge, and the segment of what's now I-678 from the Bridge down to exit 13 was originally built as the Whitestone Parkway. Like with I-278, these roads were later upgraded to allow trucks so they had a direct means of getting from The Bronx to Queens. The Hutch north of the Bruckner Interchange never received any similar upgrade because with I-95 as a parallel route trucks can use, it wasn't necessary.