2di Rankings Released

[Grzrd]

This Feb. 20, 2015 blog ranks the 66 2dis.  Coming in at #66 is ...........

I-95 !!!!!!

[corco]

Why is I-86 in Idaho only ranked 30/66? What the hell are these rankings? What methodology causes that interstate to have a midrange score? Who are these people?

I-90 as winner is acceptable.

[jeffandnicole]

I didn't bother reading beyond the first 3. 

I-95: They mention the tolls in Delaware & NJ, as in if you don't get lost, you won't pay tolls. Even if you track 95 as best as possible thru the gap, you're still paying tolls!

I-4: Is it still haunted, or was this an issue in 1961?

I-97: Here's the entire justification: "The shortest interstate in the country is the second busiest. On the plus side, it passes a town called Glen Burnie."  Huh?

[Takumi]

What did I just read?

[oscar]

I-4: Is it still haunted, or was this an issue in 1961?

No mention of the "hewa" (curse) on Interstate H-3, since the list is limited to lower-48 Interstates. The alleged funny stuff on H-3 all happened during construction, seems to have died down once the freeway was completed.

[DeaconG]

As far as what I read on that site and it's rankings, I think this encapsulates it quite well:

"https://www.youtube.com/embed/LQCU36pkH7c"

[SD Mapman]

I-90 as winner is acceptable.

Yes it is. It's also nice to have I-29 further down the list.

[NE2]

I'd rather read 50 Shades.

[kurumi]

46) I-84 PA/NY/MA ("Freedom From NYC Trail"): Hey, that list is missing CT. (That's OK: a list of modern, relevant mapping services won't include Mapquest.)

No comments on the ranking ("we hate I-95", then a bunch of random slop, then some worthy scenic/important routes at the end). But it's also missing H1, 2 and 3.

At least it wasn't a 66-page slide show.

[pianocello]

It's funny that they named I-88 (IL) "The Hillside Strangler" that was (a) fixed* and (b) arguably more known for its impact on I-290 than I-88.

*still not perfect, but it's better than it used to be.

[bing101]

I-5, I-10, I-80 and I-95 are my picks for top interstates 2di.

[SteveG1988]

42) I-57 ("Somebody Really Hates the Arch")

Route: 386 miles, Chicago to SE Missouri
Traffic Rating: 1.70

This gets our award for Interstate Most Likely Not to Exist in Our Doppelganger Universe. It's not busy. It connects Chicago to soy farms. And by skipping St. Louis altogether it trims only a few miles from the parallel I-55 between Memphis and Chicago.



Yeah...it does only trim a "few" miles, but it also takes you through less traffic along the way by bypassing a lot of stuff.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm pretty sure MapQuest at one point provided directions in such a way that every street that intersected the NJ Turnpike was treated as a normal intersection, allowing motorists to enter anywhere.

[Henry]

I-5, I-10, I-80 and I-95 are my picks for top interstates 2di.

And I-90 as well.

It's shocking that I-95 is not even in the Top 10!

[Brandon]

42) I-57 ("Somebody Really Hates the Arch")

Route: 386 miles, Chicago to SE Missouri
Traffic Rating: 1.70

This gets our award for Interstate Most Likely Not to Exist in Our Doppelganger Universe. It's not busy. It connects Chicago to soy farms. And by skipping St. Louis altogether it trims only a few miles from the parallel I-55 between Memphis and Chicago.



Yeah...it does only trim a "few" miles, but it also takes you through less traffic along the way by bypassing a lot of stuff.

And I'm very sure that UIUC kind of likes having the freeway connection to Chicagoland.

[ET21]

Route: 887 miles, Gary, Indiana to Mobile, Alabama
Traffic Rating: 2.64
In 2007, the Chicago Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the so-called "I-65 Super Bowl," named for this connection between the cities. It was a fairly dull game. And this is a fairly dull road.

No shit it's a dull road, that's what happens when you plant it through farmland and it's northern terminus faces a smelly industrialized area 

[PHLBOS]

I'm pretty sure MapQuest at one point provided directions in such a way that every street that intersected the NJ Turnpike was treated as a normal intersection, allowing motorists to enter anywhere.

That must've been a very early edition of MapQuest.

[Zzonkmiles]

The stated methodology is:

"To help, we turned to algebra, and created a "traffic rating" based on vehicle travel miles per mile of interstate (1.0 is least busy, 5.0 the most). We weigh that against the general joy of the ride as a whole, often rewarding longer highways–the true "interstates"–or thematic regional rides, over mere connectors to suburbs or coastal towns."

I realize that I-95 north of Richmond can be seriously unpleasant because of the traffic, but once you get to Georgia, the drive is quite pleasant. And plus, given all the travelers heading for Florida, the anticipation of crossing state lines further and further south is quite satisfying. To rank this as the worst interstate is a joke. I mean, I-97, I-12 and I-99 were all deemed better? Hell, even I-73 and I-74 were ranked significantly higher. Really?

This dude should hand over his road geeking license.

[The Nature Boy]

I-95's economic importance alone should get it into the top 10. It passes through every major northeastern metro area and provides a connection between the BosWash corridor and South Florida. Once I-495 is complete in NC, it'll connect to Raleigh/Durham via a 3di.

[vdeane]

They're being ranked based on "how congested is the road" and "how good is the scenery", NOT "does this road have any numbering oddities or break the grid" or "how economically important is the road".  I'm guessing most roadgeeks prefer the latter criteria but most everyone else prefers the former, especially since most normal people don't give a crap about the grid.

[The Nature Boy]

I-95 in Florida is pretty scenic. I assume the Maine section isn't bad either.

Other than that? Yeah, it's bad.

[NE2]

They're being ranked based on "how congested is the road" and "how good is the scenery", NOT "does this road have any numbering oddities or break the grid" or "how economically important is the road".

It's shit no matter what criteria were supposedly used. I-4 is second-worst because it's the "busiest interstate in the country" (I call bullshit, even among 2DIs if you compare apples to apples) and some paranormal idiots think it's haunted? I-26 is fourth-worst because an elephant was hanged nearby? I-69 is seventh-worst because it has numbering oddities and breaks the grid?

[cpzilliacus]

I-95 in Florida is pretty scenic. I assume the Maine section isn't bad either.

Other than that? Yeah, it's bad.

Much of I-95 in Maine (and essentially all of it between Old Town and Houlton) is through desolate, and unpopulated land. 

Curiously, similar to much of I-95 across South Carolina.

[Buck87]

I thought this one was pretty funny:

31. I-77 ("Hootie Highway")

The only way Hootie & the Blowfish get into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is by road trip. This one connects their hometown to the birthplace of "rock 'n' roll" in Cleveland.

[The Nature Boy]

I-95 in Florida is pretty scenic. I assume the Maine section isn't bad either.

Other than that? Yeah, it's bad.

Much of I-95 in Maine (and essentially all of it between Old Town and Houlton) is through desolate, and unpopulated land. 

Curiously, similar to much of I-95 across South Carolina.

I-95 through the Carolinas (both of them) is pretty boring. Fayetteville is the largest city that I-95 (barely) goes through along that whole stretch.