I have a strange fascination with original US highways, especially ones that are now decommissioned, so what's your favorite one? Mine would have to be the historic US 40 route. I'm not sure why, but I've always loved it.
I like the trip up what was the former US 611, especially the section that runs next to the Delaware River. The bridge in Easton is quite awesome.
U.S. 122 always interested me, because it never really went to any major city.
Also like U.S. 213 a lot, because I've taken Maryland 213 quite often and feel it should still be in operation.
When I lived in California, they pretty much all interested me, because there are so few of them. U.S. 80 in San Diego and Imperial Counties ties with U.S. 101 (especially through the Los Angeles area) as the ones I most am interested.
I like US-99 and wish they would bring it back. CA-99 is certainly long enough in California to abide by AASHTO rules, and it could probably be extended all the way up to Washington along I-5 where needed and along the surviving old alignments.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, I like US-48. The first one, in California from 1926-1931.
I heard about US 66. and i wish i could've visitted it. i heard it was a very nice highway with a lot of folk singers on the road. E-e
Two decommissioned US Highways that have always fascinated are the two missing Florida routes: US 94 and US 541. The east/west US 94 was routed on what is now US 41 from Naples to Miami. It fit perfectly into the national US Highway grid and like its sibling, US 92, was an intra-state highway. US 541, also an intra-state highway, was a child of US 41 and ran along the current US 41 routing from Palmetto to the north end of Tampa. In Tampa it ran on the current US BUS 41 alignment. On a side note, US 41 originally ran on the current US 301 alignment when US 541 existed. Once US 541 was decommissioned, US 41 overtook that route and US 301 was extended to Sarasota using the US 41 routing. One aspect I liked about US 541 was that for a couple of years there was an OPT US 541 route, which ran on the also current US BUS 41 alignment (southeast end of Tampa). They were decommissioned in the early part of the 1950's.
I drove by US 66 and didnt even realise that the original stretch of (now abandoned) roadway was right next to the freeway near Bloomington, IL where I was driving. Needless to say, my roadgeek senses let me down. So I'd say 66 because its the only one I have really thought about. Even though Detroit has a few, like Woodward which is cool, just not interested in any aspect of that city anymore
US-91 hasn't been decommissioned but it's now a shell of itself, and for some reason it fascinates me even though I've never been to any state it travels through. Oklahoma had the longest stretch of US 66, so I naturally enjoy it too. I've done most of it between Oklahoma City and Springfield, MO.
Hmm . . . I'd say US-99W in Oregon, which is now OR-99W. I pretty much learned to drive on it. Between Corvallis and McMinnville, it's one of the most well-built 2-lane rural highways around. ODOT needs to stop being silly and raise the speed limit to at least 60. (Currently, non-Interstates are limited to 55mph, a remaining vestige of the NMSL.)
I'd also put US-830 on the list as well. Once the highest numbered US Highway. It was decommissioned, though, because it was entirely in Washington. (It's now SR-14.)
Add US-10 to that list as well. There's an old stretch of between Ellensburg and Vantage, Washington--the Vantage Highway--which is just a blast to drive.
-Alex (Tarkus)
Although it carries another US Highway designation now, I still miss US 666.
Since there aren't many decommissioned highways around here, I'll have to say U.S. 466. It made a nice cross-California highway, and the sections over the Tehachapi Mountains and near Paso Robles are fun to travel.
I like old US 99-W too, especially travelling along all of the old segments of the highway when I go up the valley. The highway is very well preserved up there.
US-830!
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 23, 2009, 12:02:27 AM
US-91 hasn't been decommissioned but it's now a shell of itself, and for some reason it fascinates me even though I've never been to any state it travels through. Oklahoma had the longest stretch of US 66, so I naturally enjoy it too. I've done most of it between Oklahoma City and Springfield, MO.
Springfield to St Louis is a good drive, especially if you like old bridges. I've driven it 2-3 times, though I'm still tracking all the variants
in St Louis. :spin:
Not decommissioned, but severely shortened, is US 166. I've tracked nearly all of it from Missouri to Kansas. I'm also tracking old alignments of US 71.
US 48 was nice, even though it was really short lived.
US-50 from SF to Sacramento was pretty cool.
Probably for me US 80 from Dallas to Fort Worth.
Historic US Highways in Washington by Paul Henry (http://web.archive.org/web/20060718084843/phenry.org/wsh/oldus/index.html)
US-395 in San Diego (not in my lifetime)
I have tracked several decommisoned US routes in Southern Cali. I still use the old Stretch of US 66 Between Victorville and Barstow quite often as a shortcut to the Overcrowded I-15 on weekends.
I like the scenery of former US 120, now PA 120, especially east of Emporium.
Mine would also have to be US 395 through San Diego (several old pieces of US-395 run near my house). The bridge where Cara Knott was killed (sorry, tis my best reference) is less than two miles away, and used to be the mainline. Pomerado Rd. runs close-by as well. And who could forget Kearny Villa Rd., which is about three miles away.
US 666? :evilgrin:
Well, seriously, there are very few decommissioned US routes near where I live. (I think the closest would have to be the former route of US 65 that used to be concurrent with US 61 to New Orleans, but that really doesn't count in my opinion.) But I have always appreciated tracing the former aligments of US routes in Louisiana and the Gulf region.
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on February 03, 2009, 09:21:44 PM
US 666? :evilgrin:
Well, seriously, there are very few decommissioned US routes near where I live. (I think the closest would have to be the former route of US 65 that used to be concurrent with US 61 to New Orleans, but that really doesn't count in my opinion.) But I have always appreciated tracing the former aligments of US routes in Louisiana and the Gulf region.
I like tracing the old routings of U.S. 11 and 90 across the Pearl River.
I would have to say US 230; since its closest to my house; also US 111 from Harrisburg to Baltimore. oh and one more Bypass 230 even tho route 230 itself was only about 35 miles long.
Quote from: oldparoadgeek on February 04, 2009, 01:24:19 AM
I would have to say US 230; since its closest to my house; also US 111 from Harrisburg to Baltimore. oh and one more Bypass 230 even tho route 230 itself was only about 35 miles long.
I like those too, as well as U.S. 122, the truncated stretch of U.S. 222 in Cecil County, Maryland, the truncated routes of Philadelphia too: U.S. 309, 611, 422.
My fav is def US 40 in CA
It's only a short section (a little less than a mile) but it's like a little slice of (mostly) undisturbed history. I'm talking about NJ S.R.1 (as it's called now), initially Route 18 but best known as 9W.
I've written about it in the past here:
Part 1 (http://blog.signaltraffic.com/?p=112)
Part 2 (http://blog.signaltraffic.com/?p=132)
Two highways here
in Ohio, old US 25 (the Dixie Highway) which was cut off at the knees in Cincinnati....still exists alongside I-75 as OPhio 25 from Cygnet north to Toledo....south to Cincinnati, known in many spots as County Road 25A
IN Connecticut, US 44-A which was replaced by US 44 in the late 70s...(relocated from the Wilbur Cross Parkway)...alas, 44-A, we hardly knew ye....
I have a couple of them:
The decommissioned part of US 16 in Michigan : The Lansing , Gd. Rapids, and Detroit metro areas could still have use for it.
The decommissioned US 27: I understood the need to give the original routing to I-69 & US 127 , but it would have smart for Indiana & the MDOT to move the routing onto the Indiana 3/9 corridors and onto the M-37 corridor especially from Gd. Rapids to Traverse City.
For me, US-91 (what parts have been decomissioned); it's a shame that it's under 200 miles when it was nearly 1,500 miles long. I'd wish that UDOT would route it down this Legacy Highway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_Highway) (not just UT-67), if it's going to start up at Brigham City (US-91's current south end).
US-152:
From Hammond Indiana to Indianapolis. Before the I-65 this was the ideal way to travel to Indy.
Even in the early stages of planning I-65, it closely followed this route. Starting at US-41 and the Tri-State highway and proceeding on a SE trek to Indianapolis.
Stephen
US 666 was known as the Devil's highway before it was transformed into US 491, a few years ago. It had the dubious distinction of being the most dealdy roadway in New Mexico,and went right thru the Navajo Nation,(reservation). It had an unusal number of DUI accidents. We would rather not remember it here.
I don't think renumbering the highway cuts down on the quantity of morons who feel the need to drink and drive.
Agreed. And I don't remember US 666 being any different from any other highway I've been on.
US61 along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
It's gotta be US 630.
QuoteWhere was it?
It's now US-95 Spur, a tiny little route from Weiser, Idaho to junction US 30 (now Oregon 201) across the Snake River
US 21 in Ohio - I've driven most of the Ohio portion (survives in part as OH-21, and in the south as OH-821, county roads in between for the most part)...would like to drive it all the way to Wytheville sometime. Shouldn't take that long, but the wife doesn't like curvy hilly roads. And 21 in West Virginia would have a bit of that.
Not that the Turnpike is this straight flat thing...
Quote from: sandiaman on May 03, 2010, 11:21:40 PM
US 666 was known as the Devil's highway before it was transformed into US 491, a few years ago. It had the dubious distinction of being the most dealdy roadway in New Mexico,and went right thru the Navajo Nation,(reservation). It had an unusal number of DUI accidents. We would rather not remember it here.
I thought it was US 191.
QuoteUS 666 was known as the Devil's highway before it was transformed into US 491, a few years ago. It had the dubious distinction of being the most dealdy roadway in New Mexico,and went right thru the Navajo Nation,(reservation). It had an unusal number of DUI accidents. We would rather not remember it here.
I thought it was US 191.
The Arizona segment became 191, the rest became 491
Quote from: corco on May 04, 2010, 06:16:13 PM
The Arizona segment became 191, the rest became 491
correct, and it was also done over a period of several years.
US-191 has a very convoluted history, with a truncation from its original route near Salt Lake City, back to Wyoming (eliminating it from Idaho, and that portion of Utah), and then an immediate re-extension in 1982 to cover its current alignment in eastern Utah and eastern Arizona. Combined with its routing through Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, it may very well be the most scenic route in the US.
the 1982 extension brought it down to I-40, and then in 1993 it was extended to its current southern terminus, eliminating half of US-666 (in Arizona, and the long US-666/I-40 multiplex in Arizona and New Mexico). There is still one US-666 sign left: a billboard on I-40.
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/AZ/AZ19816661i1.jpg)
interestingly, it shows 191 as being co-signed with 666, implying that either the decommissioning was gradual, or it was not reflected 100% correctly in the field and St. John's wanted to make sure they lost no customers.
(in other news, this is not the shortest route to Phoenix - I-40 to AZ-87 is the shortest route that doesn't involve offroading or flying crows. Scenic-ness of 191 vs 87 is a matter of opinion.)
the other half of 666 (Gallup, NM, up to Colorado and Utah) was renumbered in 2003 to US-491.
Quote from: corco on May 04, 2010, 02:22:11 PM
It's now US-95 Spur, a tiny little route from Weiser, Idaho to junction US 30 (now Oregon 201) across the Snake River
And as short as 95 Spur is today, 630 was even shorter, ending in the old downtown Weiser before 95 was re-routed to the east side of town. 630 was the shortest ever US Highway, but it didn't last very long.
Quote from: exit322 on May 04, 2010, 02:34:25 PM
US 21 in Ohio - I've driven most of the Ohio portion (survives in part as OH-21, and in the south as OH-821, county roads in between for the most part)...would like to drive it all the way to Wytheville sometime. Shouldn't take that long, but the wife doesn't like curvy hilly roads. And 21 in West Virginia would have a bit of that.
Not that the Turnpike is this straight flat thing...
I've done all of 21 in West Virginia south of Charleston. (US 60 to WV 16 to US 19) On my way to Canton this weekend I'm planning on doing all of 21 from Charleston north to the intersection of County 21 and WV 14 near Mineral Wells. That will complete old US 21 in West Virginia for me -- well at least one configuration of it, there were some variations between Beckley and the Oak Hill/Fayetteville area.
US 99 and US 10 are my "favorites" I suppose, because they're the most interesting to me right now. I would love to see 99 return, as various sections of Aurora Avenue through Seattle remind me a lot of US 22 back home in NJ.
US-112 in southern Michigan. :coffee:
US-99
US 111, US 122, US 309, US 611. For some reason, I like those numbers. :happy:
For me, even though it still has a number, I've always had a fondness for US 102. It was the first US Highway designation to be decommissioned in 1928 when US 141 was extended over it in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As for the Lower Peninsula, I still want to call it US 27. I attended college downstate and used US 27 as part of my route home to the UP or to the Northern Lower to visit other family members.
US 99
The old U.S. 12 in Michigan, which has largely been replaced by I-94.
U.S. 112, it is now modern U.S. 12.
U.S. 16, another trans-peninsular road in lower Michigan.
U.S. 25, it still exists in Michigan as M-25 between Port Huron and Port Austin (though M-25 continues further to Bay City) and M-125 from U.S. 24 north of Monroe to the Ohio line. Other MI replacements are M-85 from the Rouge River to downtown Detroit and M-3 from downtown Detroit to Chesterfield.
US 66, from the many childhood roadtrips I took in the summer!
Also, US 99 up the West Coast.
How about US 17-1.
US 99 due to me being a West Coast resident.
Rick
I'd have to say US 66. Lots of childhood memories.
I have a number of favorite decommissioned and truncated highways based on where I've lived:
Historic US 99E between Salem and Portland, OR
Historic US 10 between West Fargo, ND and Seattle
Now, the east end of my lot is Historic US 91.
For me it's obviously US 61 north of Wyoming. I've found a lot of adventure in those pine forests that I-35 forgot north of Hinckley, and then up MN 61.
US-27 in Michigan, especially north of Grayling. When travelling up north, I'll often get off the I-75 freeway and drive some stretch of the old two-lane road.
US ALT 27 over in the Frostproof, FL area. The route is now FL 17. The route was actually scenic and had some hills.
US-16 in Wisconsin.
US 299 and US 399 were criminally underrated as scenic US Routes? BTW, more 2011 threads?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:34:32 AM
BTW, more 2011 threads?
My first 50 posts included a lot of thread bumps (it was 2013, and some of them were 2009 threads). The consensus was that adding to an existing topic is better than starting a duplicate thread.
However, the "these links don't work" bump from 2009 was a bit unnecessary.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10156
My favorite decommissioned US Highway is US 112. Dipped into Indiana for a while.
Quote from: 1 on November 09, 2020, 11:37:48 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:34:32 AM
BTW, more 2011 threads?
My first 50 posts included a lot of thread bumps (it was 2013, and some of them were 2009 threads). The consensus was that adding to an existing topic is better than starting a duplicate thread.
However, the "these links don't work" bump from 2009 was a bit unnecessary.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10156
As long as it generates (my sarcasm last night not withstanding) actual conversation that's my take on it as well. I was curious though why someone who has been on here for so long would do so many thread bumps?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:56:39 AM
Quote from: 1 on November 09, 2020, 11:37:48 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:34:32 AM
BTW, more 2011 threads?
My first 50 posts included a lot of thread bumps (it was 2013, and some of them were 2009 threads). The consensus was that adding to an existing topic is better than starting a duplicate thread.
However, the "these links don't work" bump from 2009 was a bit unnecessary.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10156
As long as it generates (my sarcasm last night not withstanding) actual conversation that's my take on it as well. I was curious though why someone who has been on here for so long would do so many thread bumps?
Who cares? A lot of people haven't responded yet and would like to. Bumping this type of thread doesn't hurt anyone.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:34:32 AM
US 299 and US 399 were criminally underrated as scenic US Routes? BTW, more 2011 threads?
299 is a gorgeous route although the highway is not the easiest to deal with! NorCal countryside is quite special.
Rick
Quote from: nexus73 on November 09, 2020, 01:41:53 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 09, 2020, 11:34:32 AM
US 299 and US 399 were criminally underrated as scenic US Routes? BTW, more 2011 threads?
299 is a gorgeous route although the highway is not the easiest to deal with! NorCal countryside is quite special.
Rick
Getting across over the Trinity Range from 101 to 5 can be beast of a drive in bad weather. Mile for mile it's incredible how many curves 299 has.
Former 399 on present 33 from 150 to 166 on the Maricopa Highway might be the best driving road in California. There is never any traffic and nothing but well engineered 1930s twisties. It's where I took this photo from be exact:
https://flic.kr/p/2h21zRm