AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: tribar on June 11, 2015, 10:51:43 PM

Title: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: tribar on June 11, 2015, 10:51:43 PM
Thread title says it all. 

For me it is the Indiana Toll Road.  There is literally nothing along the road once you get outside of Gary.  You sometimes go 20+ miles without an exit. 

What about you?
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: The Nature Boy on June 11, 2015, 10:57:40 PM
My top 2:

New York Thruway from the Pennsylvania line to Albany
I-95 from Richmond, Virginia to Savannah, Georgia

I can't decide which is worse. Maybe the NY Thruway because I paid for the privilege of being bored.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: SSOWorld on June 11, 2015, 10:59:54 PM
I-39 in Wisconsin - cause I drove it too much.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: SignGeek101 on June 11, 2015, 11:36:49 PM
Any highway in the Canadian prairies. Mostly Saskatchewan.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Zeffy on June 11, 2015, 11:51:05 PM
There was a conversation sparked recently about the road trips my family used to take. They mentioned driving down to Florida and back, and they mentioned how boring it was south of Richmond. After looking at it on street view - yeah, I actually am pretty confident that one sucks majorly, especially through rural North Carolina. But hey, I did manage to find out we stopped in Rocky Mount to relieve ourselves and whatnot, so at least I can say I was actually in North Carolina by foot! Too bad I was like 10 though... this 11 year stretch without any vacations has really killed me...
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Mdcastle on June 12, 2015, 12:13:26 AM
I-29 in the North Dakota.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Scott5114 on June 12, 2015, 02:30:02 AM
I-39 in Illinois. Once is enough.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: bulldog1979 on June 12, 2015, 04:28:05 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 12, 2015, 02:30:02 AM
I-39 in Illinois. Once is enough.
I agree, and I've done it four times now. The northern end near Rockford isn't too bad, but south of there, it just gets very tedious very quickly, and that's saying something compared to how boring the Seney Stretch segment of M-28 is for me.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 07:31:12 AM
I-95 through the Carolinas used to offer some amusement southbound in North Carolina and northbound through South Carolina due to the old billboards for South of the Border. Ever since they went all PC, though, they're no longer entertaining. There's no scenic redemption along that road in the form of distant (much less nearby) mountains and there's just the one lake in South Carolina.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: iBallasticwolf2 on June 12, 2015, 08:24:09 AM
I-75 between Macon and Valdosta. It is a very tedious drive any time I go on vacation to Florida. There is nothing interesting to see between there. Tifton is bypassed and by I-75 and it the whole corridor is mostly a boring 6 lane with a 70 mph speed limit. Although the section around Warner Robins with 10 lanes is interesting but not anything else. Come to think of it the corridor between the Tennesse state line and Atlanta is shorter but still boring. Although everything in the Atlanta Metro area before the downtown connector is still interesting. Especially the express lane construction.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Haeleus on June 12, 2015, 10:24:20 AM
I-80 in Nebraska, nothing but flat and grass for hundreds of miles (except for that one monument that's a bridge over the highway).
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 10:30:31 AM
I guess "boring" is in the eye of the beholder.  As for those who consider the prairies "boring", you aren't looking far enough off the freeway.  There's plenty of buildings and fields to see, and they're never, IMHO, "boring".
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Zeffy on June 12, 2015, 10:43:49 AM
Quote from: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 10:30:31 AM
I guess "boring" is in the eye of the beholder.  As for those who consider the prairies "boring", you aren't looking far enough off the freeway.  There's plenty of buildings and fields to see, and they're never, IMHO, "boring".

My favorite landscapes are mountainous areas and urban areas. Of course, when it comes to the west, a lot of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona looks beautiful with their rigid landforms. So different from over here...
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 10:50:28 AM
I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio  :sleep:
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: iBallasticwolf2 on June 12, 2015, 11:07:26 AM
Quote from: Zeffy on June 12, 2015, 10:43:49 AM
Quote from: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 10:30:31 AM
I guess "boring" is in the eye of the beholder.  As for those who consider the prairies "boring", you aren't looking far enough off the freeway.  There's plenty of buildings and fields to see, and they're never, IMHO, "boring".

My favorite landscapes are mountainous areas and urban areas. Of course, when it comes to the west, a lot of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona looks beautiful with their rigid landforms. So different from over here...

I love mountainous and urban areas also. The midwest doesn't have that much to see inbetween cities but in cities (Which aren't that far apart compared to in the west) there is plenty to see.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Darkchylde on June 12, 2015, 11:08:45 AM
I-10 between Pensacola and Tallahassee. Nothing but trees, and often there's only one exit per county.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Pete from Boston on June 12, 2015, 11:25:02 AM
80 in Pennsylvania, 70 between Denver and Kansas City.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: The Nature Boy on June 12, 2015, 11:29:27 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 07:31:12 AM
I-95 through the Carolinas used to offer some amusement southbound in North Carolina and northbound through South Carolina due to the old billboards for South of the Border. Ever since they went all PC, though, they're no longer entertaining. There's no scenic redemption along that road in the form of distant (much less nearby) mountains and there's just the one lake in South Carolina.

It's not so much that they've gone PC, it's that the new owner (descendant of the founder) has seemingly cut back expenses. I was there recently, it's still as un-PC as it ever has been.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: iBallasticwolf2 on June 12, 2015, 11:30:21 AM
I-74 between the Cincinnati and Indianapolis beltways. Nothing to see except the Honda plant in Greensburg. Harriston has a couple interesting overpasses but other then what I just mentioned I-74 between those two cities' beltways is just a boring 4 lane rural freeway.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: dmr37 on June 12, 2015, 11:32:18 AM
I-55 south of Joliet, all the way to St. Louis.  Except for the stretch thru Springfield
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Jim on June 12, 2015, 11:45:51 AM
Quote from: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 10:30:31 AM
I guess "boring" is in the eye of the beholder.  As for those who consider the prairies "boring", you aren't looking far enough off the freeway.  There's plenty of buildings and fields to see, and they're never, IMHO, "boring".

Almost exactly what I was going to say.  I find that pretty much any ride can be interesting if you look.  So maybe I wouldn't want to drive straight, flat, rural interstates every day, but I found pretty much every one I've been on interesting to drive.  Especially in some of the flattest areas of the Midwest, I find the vastness and flatness interesting in itself.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Jim on June 12, 2015, 11:49:10 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 07:31:12 AM
I-95 through the Carolinas used to offer some amusement southbound in North Carolina and northbound through South Carolina due to the old billboards for South of the Border. Ever since they went all PC, though, they're no longer entertaining.

If I remember right, Hurricane Hugo took a huge toll on the old ones, and they were pretty slow to replace.  But it does seem to me that the quantity and variety of SotB signs in the last few years has been rising, probably best since the "old" days.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 11:50:26 AM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on June 12, 2015, 11:29:27 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 07:31:12 AM
I-95 through the Carolinas used to offer some amusement southbound in North Carolina and northbound through South Carolina due to the old billboards for South of the Border. Ever since they went all PC, though, they're no longer entertaining. There's no scenic redemption along that road in the form of distant (much less nearby) mountains and there's just the one lake in South Carolina.

It's not so much that they've gone PC, it's that the new owner (descendant of the founder) has seemingly cut back expenses. I was there recently, it's still as un-PC as it ever has been.

I'm talking only about the billboards. I know the place itself is still un-PC, although I haven't stopped there in a long time. But the billboards based on "Spanglish" humor are mostly gone, as is the "Ah so!" billboard with the stereotypical "Chinaman" figure, and so are most of the Pedro references on the old billboards. The old billboards may have offended some people, but they were also unique (for better or worse). The new ones aren't.




Quote from: Jim on June 12, 2015, 11:49:10 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 07:31:12 AM
I-95 through the Carolinas used to offer some amusement southbound in North Carolina and northbound through South Carolina due to the old billboards for South of the Border. Ever since they went all PC, though, they're no longer entertaining.

If I remember right, Hurricane Hugo took a huge toll on the old ones, and they were pretty slow to replace.  But it does seem to me that the quantity and variety of SotB signs in the last few years has been rising, probably best since the "old" days.

I believe Hugo was in 1989. Most of the old billboards were still there through 1995, as I drove the North Carolina portion fairly frequently during my college years. I'm not really sure what led to the change, though I recall an article somewhere in which the now-deceased owner grumbled about how people these days (meaning late 1990s, as I believe he died around 2001 or 2002) have no sense of humor.

Trivia: Ben Bernanke once was a waiter at South of the Border.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 02 Park Ave on June 12, 2015, 11:52:54 AM
I find driving on highways which have four or more lanes in my direction to be the most boring.  It just seems like you are on some sort of conveyor belt.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: thefraze_1020 on June 12, 2015, 12:07:16 PM
I-90 from Vantage to Ritzville, Washington
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Ian on June 12, 2015, 12:27:11 PM
Almost all of I-95 in Maine (save for Portland may be) is pretty boring, especially north of Bangor where the speed limit is 75 and almost no cars are on the road.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: pianocello on June 12, 2015, 12:27:34 PM
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on June 12, 2015, 11:30:21 AM
I-74 between the Cincinnati and Indianapolis beltways. Nothing to see except the Honda plant in Greensburg. Harriston has a couple interesting overpasses but other then what I just mentioned I-74 between those two cities' beltways is just a boring 4 lane rural freeway.

I'm going to go ahead and say the rest of I-74 as well. Other than the urban freeway in Peoria and the half-assed "urban freeways" in the Quad Cities and Champaign-Urbana, there's not much to look at and not a lot of traffic.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: OCGuy81 on June 12, 2015, 12:41:30 PM
I-5 from the Grapevine up to Tracy. 250 miles of nothing but flat boring terrain and power lines.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2015, 12:50:15 PM
I-65 north of Indianapolis.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: doorknob60 on June 12, 2015, 12:53:18 PM
Quote from: OCGuy81 on June 12, 2015, 12:41:30 PM
I-5 from the Grapevine up to Tracy. 250 miles of nothing but flat boring terrain and power lines.
Yeah, and if you're going to Oregon, you're only halfway done, because from there to Redding is almost as bad (other than through Sacramento, which is somewhat interesting). As important as I-5 is, it can be really boring. I also learned to hate the stretch between Eugene and Portland (with the Eugene-Albany segment being the worst).
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Roadster on June 12, 2015, 03:00:18 PM
I've driven to alot of places in my time, across statelines, country, etc., and living in the Great State of Texas, probably one of the more boring and dreaded drives is the drive down to South Padre Island taking Route 77 (specifically) between Kingsville and Raymondville.  :-o It can sure can be challenging in the sense that I consider it probably one of most long-ass boring drive times anyone can take, and if you brake down well you can just forget about it!
It's over!  Your SOL! :no:
The drive is desolate!  :crazy: Nothing and I mean, there's just nothing in between! Just one state rest stop and your lucky if you make it there! But other than that, when starting that journey, specifically through that section, prepare for the worst and pray for the best.  :-(

But "over-all" once you arrive in South Padre Island, well then you think to yourself that it was all worth it!  :sombrero: (until the drive back!  :crazy:)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: theline on June 12, 2015, 03:18:43 PM
Quote from: tribar on June 11, 2015, 10:51:43 PM

For me it is the Indiana Toll Road.  There is literally nothing along the road once you get outside of Gary.  You sometimes go 20+ miles without an exit. 

What about you?

Of course, it is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't go along with the ITR as boring. I find that it's a really interesting road, because a lot of it is wooded and there are quite a few curves. It's especially beautiful in the fall.

On the other hand, most of the other roads in northern Indiana, like . . .
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2015, 12:50:15 PM
I-65 north of Indianapolis.
. . . really blow because the terrain is so flat and the roads are mostly very straight.

Being from northern Indiana, I go for anything that is a novelty to me, especially mountains, oceans, and forests.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 03:19:31 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 10:50:28 AM
I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio  :sleep:
Not even the most boring part of I-10 that can be described using "El Paso". I-10 from the Arizona/New Mexico border to El Paso is much more boring. I kind of like the mountainous parts of I-10 west of Van Horn, and the transition to hill country as you get closer to San Antonio is pretty scenic.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: CtrlAltDel on June 12, 2015, 03:37:38 PM
Unlike many others here, I don't think the long straight stretches of interstate are boring. Rather, I love the feeling of openness, of freedom, and peacefulness, they give me. I like knowing that the road goes on and on and on and that I can drive it as much as I want.

That said, I like mountains and cities, too. What I don't like are forests and other things like that where I feel I can't see anything.

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 03:54:37 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 12, 2015, 03:37:38 PM
Unlike many others here, I don't think the long straight stretches of interstate are boring. Rather, I love the feeling of openness, of freedom, and peacefulness, they give me. I like knowing that the road goes on and on and on and that I can drive it as much as I want.

That said, I like mountains and cities, too. What I don't like are forests and other things like that where I feel I can't see anything.



You'd probably hate I-85 in Virginia. It's basically twin two-lane corridors cut through the trees for 60-some miles. Pretty much nothing to see. But I never found it boring because on the way south it was always a relaxing respite after the rat race of I-95, and on the way north it was a nice smooth peaceful road compared to the segment in North Carolina from Durham to the state line (I understand that's being improved, but I haven't driven it in at least five years).
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: kkt on June 12, 2015, 03:55:01 PM
Mackenzie Highway, especially north of High Level.  Long and straight, most of the time with fairly uniform trees right up to to the highway's shoulder.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: geocachingpirate on June 12, 2015, 04:05:24 PM
I've never been on a wide open road like in the western United States but I'd LOVE to! On Google Maps I've found my favorite highway and I'm guessing some folks here would find the road boring at least after a while... Nebraska 61 (from Arthur to Merriman). I would drive this road every day if I could. I know I could never grow tired of it.  :sombrero:
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: getemngo on June 12, 2015, 04:09:17 PM
Quote from: Haeleus on June 12, 2015, 10:24:20 AM
I-80 in Nebraska, nothing but flat and grass for hundreds of miles (except for that one monument that's a bridge over the highway).

I'll second this. I-70 in Kansas is way more exciting.

Highway 402 in Ontario is pretty bad too, especially given that it's not very modern (some parts still have dirt shoulders!), the winter snow can be brutal, and unlike 401, people actually stick pretty close to the 100 km/h speed limit.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: corco on June 12, 2015, 04:15:05 PM
Quote from: geocachingpirate on June 12, 2015, 04:05:24 PM
I've never been on a wide open road like in the western United States but I'd LOVE to! On Google Maps I've found my favorite highway and I'm guessing some folks here would find the road boring at least after a while... Nebraska 61 (from Arthur to Merriman). I would drive this road every day if I could. I know I could never grow tired of it.  :sombrero:

I've driven that part of 61- it is a gorgeous highway through the Sand Hills- definitely recommend it.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/buttons/mutcd_merge.png)Post Merge: June 12, 2015, 04:40:29 PM

Quote from: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 03:19:31 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 10:50:28 AM
I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio  :sleep:
Not even the most boring part of I-10 that can be described using "El Paso". I-10 from the Arizona/New Mexico border to El Paso is much more boring. I kind of like the mountainous parts of I-10 west of Van Horn, and the transition to hill country as you get closer to San Antonio is pretty scenic.

I kind of agree westbound, but the descent eastbound from Deming to Las Cruces is really quite beautiful.

US 191 from I-80 to Hoback Junction is similar in my view- beautiful northbound but awful southbound.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 04:39:34 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 03:19:31 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 10:50:28 AM
I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio  :sleep:
Not even the most boring part of I-10 that can be described using "El Paso". I-10 from the Arizona/New Mexico border to El Paso is much more boring. I kind of like the mountainous parts of I-10 west of Van Horn, and the transition to hill country as you get closer to San Antonio is pretty scenic.
Maybe it isn't so much the scenery in certain areas as it is knowing that for the bulk of the 500+ miles ... yawn.  Comparatively speaking, the 500ish miles on I-70 from the I-15 split in Cove Fort to the decent in Denver ... close to the same distance but so much more to see on I-70 vs. I-10.  It's all in the eye of the beholder  :D
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 04:41:38 PM
Quote from: corco on June 12, 2015, 04:24:58 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 03:19:31 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 10:50:28 AM
I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio  :sleep:
Not even the most boring part of I-10 that can be described using "El Paso". I-10 from the Arizona/New Mexico border to El Paso is much more boring. I kind of like the mountainous parts of I-10 west of Van Horn, and the transition to hill country as you get closer to San Antonio is pretty scenic.

I kind of agree westbound, but the descent eastbound from Deming to Las Cruces is really quite beautiful.

US 191 from I-80 to Hoback Junction is similar in my view- beautiful northbound but awful southbound.

Agreed.  Just did the drive south from Jackson though Pinedale and on to Rock Springs.  The scenery in the rearview and side mirrors was lot better than the view through the windshield!
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: roadman65 on June 12, 2015, 04:42:08 PM
US 19 & 98 and US 27 Alternate between Cross City and Perry in Florida is boring. Yet north of Perry where US 19 & 27 concur its not that boring considering that the road is a perfect Beeline between Perry and Lamont.  South of Perry there are curves in the road which you would figure should break up the boredom.  However, no matter how hard I try, I just cannot get too comfortable driving that stretch of road.

US 301 from Jesup to Folkston is another candidate for most boring drive in the State of Georgia.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 04:46:27 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 04:39:34 PM
Maybe it isn't so much the scenery in certain areas as it is knowing that for the bulk of the 500+ miles ... yawn.  Comparatively speaking, the 500ish miles on I-70 from the I-15 split in Cove Fort to the decent in Denver ... close to the same distance but so much more to see on I-70 vs. I-10.  It's all in the eye of the beholder  :D
If we rate multiple highways forming a single corridor, how would you rate I-10+I-20 from El Paso to Fort Worth? That, to me, is even more boring than going El Paso to San Antonio.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: noelbotevera on June 12, 2015, 06:42:47 PM
I-81 between exit 300 in VA to exit 59 in PA. Nothing but farmland.
I-78 between I-81 and exit 49 in PA. Farmland!
I-78 in NJ between PA state line to MM 50. Forest.
I-76 between exit 266 to exit 312. Forest and farmland for miles.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: CentralPAGal on June 12, 2015, 07:49:18 PM
I seem to recall I-40 through most of Oklahoma (outside OKC) being pretty boring. And in almost as bad of shape as the roads in my own state (circa 2006)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: roadman65 on June 12, 2015, 07:53:40 PM
Oh yes, I-49 between Alexandria and Shreveport.   Nothing much to see.  In fact not even the interchanges have much as there are not even services for that whole region.   Makes you wonder why that is the only road in the state to have a 75 mph speed limit.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Takumi on June 12, 2015, 08:52:58 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 12, 2015, 03:54:37 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 12, 2015, 03:37:38 PM
Unlike many others here, I don't think the long straight stretches of interstate are boring. Rather, I love the feeling of openness, of freedom, and peacefulness, they give me. I like knowing that the road goes on and on and on and that I can drive it as much as I want.

That said, I like mountains and cities, too. What I don't like are forests and other things like that where I feel I can't see anything.



You'd probably hate I-85 in Virginia. It's basically twin two-lane corridors cut through the trees for 60-some miles. Pretty much nothing to see. But I never found it boring because on the way south it was always a relaxing respite after the rat race of I-95, and on the way north it was a nice smooth peaceful road compared to the segment in North Carolina from Durham to the state line (I understand that's being improved, but I haven't driven it in at least five years).
The section of I-85 between I-95 and South Hill, in particular, is the most boring for me. Whenever I head that way I always take US 1.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Charles2 on June 12, 2015, 09:00:45 PM
I-16 between Macon and Savannah: a non-narcotic cure for insomnia.  Runner-up: I-65 between Montgomery and Mobile.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: StogieGuy7 on June 12, 2015, 09:02:14 PM
Quote from: Haeleus on June 12, 2015, 10:24:20 AM
I-80 in Nebraska, nothing but flat and grass for hundreds of miles (except for that one monument that's a bridge over the highway).

It's interesting because Nebraska used to tout how I-80 hugs the Platte River and thus offers great access via a number of points.  Culturally, in a state with little water, that must have seemed like an awesome thing to the officials at the DOT, which is why old maps made great hay out of the wonders of Nebraska's stretch of 80.  Unfortunately, it also means that I-80 runs through flat lowlands with a few cottonwoods and not much else to see - giving out of staters the impression that Nebraska is flat and boring.  It's not - the sand hills (which occupy a good percentage of the state) offer very interesting and unique scenery.  But you don't see them from I-80, as it goes out of it's way to avoid them.

And before someone points this out, I'll save you the trouble: yes, I know that many of Nebraska's cities and towns were settled along the river, thus making it the most sensible routing for a cross-country highway (Lincoln Highway, later labeled US 30, then I-80). Still, it's a looooong and dull stretch of highway.

That said, I-55 through Illinois makes Nebraska's I-80 look like a tour of a national park! Gawd, what a dull highway to plow through.  From Chicago's SW suburbs to East St. Louis, it's a snoozefest.  Flat enough to use as a billiard table and utterly lacking in any scenic interest whatsoever. 
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: texaskdog on June 12, 2015, 09:07:22 PM
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 11, 2015, 10:59:54 PM
I-39 in Wisconsin - cause I drove it too much.

I-39 into Illinois is downright awful.  It's straight, there is zero scenery, they've barely developed anywhere, nothing scenic.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Revive 755 on June 12, 2015, 09:18:48 PM
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on June 12, 2015, 09:02:14 PM
That said, I-55 through Illinois makes Nebraska's I-80 look like a tour of a national park! Gawd, what a dull highway to plow through.  From Chicago's SW suburbs to East St. Louis, it's a snoozefest.  Flat enough to use as a billiard table and utterly lacking in any scenic interest whatsoever. 

I-55 between Joliet and Troy in Illinois is much better than I-80 in Nebraska between Grand Island and I-76. I-55 has Blormal, Lincoln, and Springfield to break up the drive, while I-80 only gets two cities with more than one exit, and no junctions with other interstates.  I-55 generally stays closer to the paralleling railroad line than I-80 does in Nebraska.  I-55 also has the old sections of US 66 to watch for.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: SSOWorld on June 12, 2015, 09:45:45 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on June 12, 2015, 10:43:49 AM
Quote from: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 10:30:31 AM
I guess "boring" is in the eye of the beholder.  As for those who consider the prairies "boring", you aren't looking far enough off the freeway.  There's plenty of buildings and fields to see, and they're never, IMHO, "boring".

My favorite landscapes are mountainous areas and urban areas. Of course, when it comes to the west, a lot of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona looks beautiful with their rigid landforms. So different from over here...
I'm sure many have thought I-15 south of Vegas is boring, but try this - drive it at dusk or under moonlight.  Not only do you have the vast land lit up plus the Vegas light afar, but you have the snake of headlights AND tail lights in front and behind you up the bare mountains.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: hbelkins on June 12, 2015, 09:54:02 PM
I-57 from the state line to Sikeston, then I-55 south to Memphis. Also I-40 from Memphis to North Little Rock. And while others may not think so, I drove I-40 from Nashville to Memphis once and it just about killed me.

Even a road that others might find interesting or scenic can become boring if you drive it often enough. See I-79 in West Virginia.

And how can anyone say I-80 in Pennsylvania is boring? Some gorgeous mountain scenery to be had along most of that route. If you want boring in Pennsylvania, look at the turnpike from east of the mountain below the easternmost tunnel all the way to the state line, especially from there to Harrisburg.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: xcellntbuy on June 12, 2015, 10:19:02 PM
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on June 12, 2015, 08:24:09 AM
I-75 between Macon and Valdosta. It is a very tedious drive any time I go on vacation to Florida. There is nothing interesting to see between there. Tifton is bypassed and by I-75 and it the whole corridor is mostly a boring 6 lane with a 70 mph speed limit. Although the section around Warner Robins with 10 lanes is interesting but not anything else. Come to think of it the corridor between the Tennesse state line and Atlanta is shorter but still boring. Although everything in the Atlanta Metro area before the downtown connector is still interesting. Especially the express lane construction.
Agreed.  Interstate 16 is a very close second.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: CtrlAltDel on June 12, 2015, 10:31:19 PM
Quote from: Charles2 on June 12, 2015, 09:00:45 PM
I-16 between Macon and Savannah: a non-narcotic cure for insomnia.

The rest of I-16 isn't that much better.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: CentralPAGal on June 13, 2015, 12:24:35 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 12, 2015, 09:54:02 PM
And how can anyone say I-80 in Pennsylvania is boring? Some gorgeous mountain scenery to be had along most of that route.

Seconded on I-80. I drove a portion of I-80 about 3 or 4 weeks ago (including part of the 70 mph zone) and "gorgeous" is a fine word to use to describe it. And, while it may not be I-68, there's some interesting rock cuts as well.

Quote from: hbelkins on June 12, 2015, 09:54:02 PM
If you want boring in Pennsylvania, look at the turnpike from east of the mountain below the easternmost tunnel all the way to the state line, especially from there to Harrisburg.

Being from that area (though not having actually driven most of that section of the turnpike), I'm afraid I'm going to have to concur with this statement.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Gulol on June 13, 2015, 09:26:56 AM
Quote from: dfwmapper on June 12, 2015, 04:46:27 PM
Quote from: Gulol on June 12, 2015, 04:39:34 PM
Maybe it isn't so much the scenery in certain areas as it is knowing that for the bulk of the 500+ miles ... yawn.  Comparatively speaking, the 500ish miles on I-70 from the I-15 split in Cove Fort to the decent in Denver ... close to the same distance but so much more to see on I-70 vs. I-10.  It's all in the eye of the beholder  :D
If we rate multiple highways forming a single corridor, how would you rate I-10+I-20 from El Paso to Fort Worth? That, to me, is even more boring than going El Paso to San Antonio.
Personally, it's like picking the tallest midget.  They're both equally boring.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: oscar on June 13, 2015, 10:36:28 AM
Quote from: kkt on June 12, 2015, 03:55:01 PM
Mackenzie Highway, especially north of High Level.  Long and straight, most of the time with fairly uniform trees right up to to the highway's shoulder.

Definitely up there, with the only thing relieving the boredom is if there's a train to or from Hay River running alongside the highway.

But even worse is Manitoba route 6 between Winnipeg and Thompson. It runs through the bleak "interlakes" region, where almost everything interesting is on the lakes distant from the highway. Also only a bare minimum of highway services. Not impossible to find lodging along the way, but best to overnight at one end and take a full day to overnight at the other end. (Thompson, for its isolation, is pretty good from the services and other interest standpoint, as main service center for all of northern Manitoba.)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 02 Park Ave on June 13, 2015, 11:33:40 PM
Where is th 70 mph zone on the I-80 in Pennsylvania?
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: signalman on June 14, 2015, 08:25:08 AM
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on June 13, 2015, 11:33:40 PM
Where is th 70 mph zone on the I-80 in Pennsylvania?
Between MM 101 in DuBois and MM 189 in Clinton County.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Tom958 on June 14, 2015, 10:18:24 AM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 12, 2015, 10:31:19 PM
Quote from: Charles2 on June 12, 2015, 09:00:45 PM
I-16 between Macon and Savannah: a non-narcotic cure for insomnia.

The rest of I-16 isn't that much better.

:bigass:

For whatever reason, I-20 between Covington and Augusta bores me even more than I-16 does. It was built in a shorter period than I-16 and is therefore even more uniform. The scenery, such as it is, is identical in both corridors.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: golden eagle on June 14, 2015, 11:45:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 12, 2015, 09:54:02 PM
I-57 from the state line to Sikeston, then I-55 south to Memphis. Also I-40 from Memphis to North Little Rock. And while others may not think so, I drove I-40 from Nashville to Memphis once and it just about killed me.

I agree on I-55 from Sikeston southward. Other boring drives:

U.S. 49 north of Jackson
U.S. 61 through north Mississippi
U.S. 98 from Hattiesburg eastward
I-20/59 though western Alabama

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Pete from Boston on June 14, 2015, 02:08:28 PM

Quote from: signalman on June 14, 2015, 08:25:08 AM
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on June 13, 2015, 11:33:40 PM
Where is th 70 mph zone on the I-80 in Pennsylvania?
Between MM 101 in DuBois and MM 189 in Clinton County.

The whole length of an I-80 in Pennsylvania should be posted as high as possible to get it over with.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: kendancy66 on June 14, 2015, 02:10:39 PM
I don't get this.  You people are supposed to like roads
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 1995hoo on June 14, 2015, 02:58:47 PM
Quote from: kendancy66 on June 14, 2015, 02:10:39 PM
I don't get this.  You people are supposed to like roads

I like beer, but that doesn't mean I like every beer on the market. Same principle applies to roads, right?
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 74/171FAN on June 14, 2015, 03:33:00 PM
My friends that went to Virginia Tech and Liberty always called US 460 west of Petersburg to Roanoke boring.  For me, I just got so sick of driving that way that I took other routes home my senior year.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: hbelkins on June 14, 2015, 03:50:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on June 14, 2015, 03:33:00 PM
My friends that went to Virginia Tech and Liberty always called US 460 west of Petersburg to Roanoke boring.  For me, I just got so sick of driving that way that I took other routes home my senior year.

OTOH, I love that drive, especially heading west as the mountains start to come into view.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: mrose on June 14, 2015, 05:19:59 PM
I-70: Limon, CO to Salina, KS
I-76: Brighton, CO to Big Spring, NE
I-88: Rock Island, IL to Rochelle, IL

Having done both frequently, I'd much rather do I-80 through Nebraska than I-70 through eastern CO / western KS.

I think the entire western I-76 might be worse than both, especially eastbound.

Also, western Illinois is not fun.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Road Hog on June 14, 2015, 06:31:49 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 12, 2015, 07:53:40 PM
Oh yes, I-49 between Alexandria and Shreveport.   Nothing much to see.  In fact not even the interchanges have much as there are not even services for that whole region.   Makes you wonder why that is the only road in the state to have a 75 mph speed limit.

I've never understood the lack of services on this freeway. It's been complete for 20 years and surely by now you would've thought there would be more development besides just Natchitoches. If you break down on this stretch, you're screwed.

It's pretty barren south of Alexandria as well until almost to Opelousas.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: thefro on June 15, 2015, 03:55:01 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2015, 12:50:15 PM
I-65 north of Indianapolis.

There's a large wind farm now (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_Lake_Wind_Farm) on what was the most boring portion of the route between Indy and Chicago, so that really has improved the scenery of the drive.

US 31 between Kokomo & South Bend is way worse

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:04:28 PM
I-287 between I-78 and the southern terminus. Trees and C-D roads. That's not pretty!
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Pete from Boston on June 15, 2015, 04:08:32 PM

Quote from: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:04:28 PM
I-287 between I-78 and the southern terminus. Trees and C-D roads. That's not pretty!

But relatively short.  Boring for the severely attention-deprived, but not terrible for a 20- to 30-minute stretch.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:21:32 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on June 15, 2015, 04:08:32 PM

Quote from: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:04:28 PM
I-287 between I-78 and the southern terminus. Trees and C-D roads. That's not pretty!

But relatively short.  Boring for the severely attention-deprived, but not terrible for a 20- to 30-minute stretch.
Depending on the flow for that 21 mile stretch (usually it is 70), that can be boring.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: clong on June 15, 2015, 04:25:29 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on June 14, 2015, 11:45:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 12, 2015, 09:54:02 PM
I-57 from the state line to Sikeston, then I-55 south to Memphis. Also I-40 from Memphis to North Little Rock. And while others may not think so, I drove I-40 from Nashville to Memphis once and it just about killed me.

I agree on I-55 from Sikeston southward. Other boring drives:

U.S. 49 north of Jackson
U.S. 61 through north Mississippi
U.S. 98 from Hattiesburg eastward
I-20/59 though western Alabama

I agree with your assessment of I-55 in Arkansas and I-20/59 in western AL (would also add I-59 in MS) and raise you an I-59 once you get out of Birmingham headed to Chattanooga. Lots of scenic pine trees on these routes.

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Pete from Boston on June 15, 2015, 05:23:10 PM

Quote from: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:21:32 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on June 15, 2015, 04:08:32 PM

Quote from: noelbotevera on June 15, 2015, 04:04:28 PM
I-287 between I-78 and the southern terminus. Trees and C-D roads. That's not pretty!

But relatively short.  Boring for the severely attention-deprived, but not terrible for a 20- to 30-minute stretch.
Depending on the flow for that 21 mile stretch (usually it is 70), that can be boring.

I guess I get bored slowly.  The Turnpike south of New Brunswick is far worse in my opinion.  Flat, straight, flat, straight, cruiser, flat straight...
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: wphiii on June 15, 2015, 05:46:42 PM
Quote from: thefro on June 15, 2015, 03:55:01 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2015, 12:50:15 PM
I-65 north of Indianapolis.

There's a large wind farm now (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_Lake_Wind_Farm) on what was the most boring portion of the route between Indy and Chicago, so that really has improved the scenery of the drive.

Yeah, I drove that way for the first time last Thanksgiving and the sheer number of windmills was just majestic, stretching for what seemed like forever across the landscape. Definitely eliminates that stretch from any "most boring" lists, in my book.

The Ohio Turnpike west of Toledo still drives me crazy not only for being dull but because in my head I've always instinctively thought of Toledo as "almost to Indiana" when in reality there are still 60 miles to go.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: slorydn1 on June 25, 2015, 12:48:07 PM
US-70 between SR-1005 in Dover to the Glenburnie Rd exit  in New Bern is extremely boring, unless you are into "tree tunnels".  You can't see anything on either side of the highway because of the trees, and the deer just love to hide in those trees planning their sneak attacks on your car.

Yeah its only about 20 miles, but staying awake for those 20 miles after a long trip back from more scenic areas can be problematic to say the least. I really hated it back during the 55 mph days, its at least bearable now with a 70 mph speed limit.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: texaskdog on June 25, 2015, 12:54:54 PM
Driving from Saint Paul to Austin when I moved, and a few times since, I-35 through Texas is not great.  It's actually scenic in Southern OK and southern Kansas, but the stretch through Iowa will put you right to sleep. 
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: TEG24601 on June 25, 2015, 01:13:34 PM
I-69 from Lansing to Ft. Wayne
I-94 through North Dakota to Billings
I-90 from Billings to Gillette
I-80 from Evanston, WY to Cheyenne
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: flowmotion on June 26, 2015, 01:02:14 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 12, 2015, 09:45:45 PM
I'm sure many have thought I-15 south of Vegas is boring, but try this - drive it at dusk or under moonlight.  Not only do you have the vast land lit up plus the Vegas light afar, but you have the snake of headlights AND tail lights in front and behind you up the bare mountains.

Once I drove I-15 at night during a rare rain shower where a low fog formed in the mountains -- beautiful.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: 74/171FAN on June 26, 2015, 09:53:22 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 14, 2015, 03:50:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on June 14, 2015, 03:33:00 PM
My friends that went to Virginia Tech and Liberty always called US 460 west of Petersburg to Roanoke boring.  For me, I just got so sick of driving that way that I took other routes home my senior year.

OTOH, I love that drive, especially heading west as the mountains start to come into view.

While that part is nice, I think I just drove it way too much.  The only changes I have noticed recently are a couple more traffic lights and that jughandle for Concord Turnpike in Lynchburg.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Rothman on June 26, 2015, 10:45:15 AM
Here's another vote for I-80 through Pennsylvania.  Just takes forever.

However, my gut reaction to the most boring stretches of road was to bring up a trip through Indiana I did some time ago (IN 18 was particularly unmemorable).  But, when I think about it, there was still some things to see along through the trip (e.g., the courthouses and other small-ish historic sites like Sycamore Row in Carroll County).
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Zzonkmiles on June 26, 2015, 10:21:54 PM
Several people have mentioned that I-95 between Savannah and Richmond is horrible, but I think the North Carolina section is by far the least pleasant. The road is not in great condition, there's a lot of traffic for four lanes, there are no cities of significance, and you're kind of in the middle of nowhere. I-95 in South Carolina has slightly more interesting scenery and I-95 from the state line to Richmond is at least clean.

Someone else mentioned I-20 between Augusta and eastern Atlanta. Yeah, that is just 150 miles of absolutely nothing. Just trees and turns, trees and turns.

My new candidate for most boring is I-81 between I-77 and I-66. Yeah, I know it goes through the scenic mountains and such, but you REALLY need a town there to break up the monotony. Just you, a bunch of trucks, and exits that nobody uses. Because of all the truck traffic, you can't even see or enjoy the scenery!

I-40 between I-77 and Greensboro also drags on and on.

I actually like I-85 in Virginia because of its serenity, but the road there is now in really poor condition. Some stretches have been resurfaced, but others have moon craters bordering on downright unsafe.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Rothman on July 06, 2015, 12:28:05 PM
Just did I-81 from Abingdon, VA to I-78...yet again.  There are more boring roads out there.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Thing 342 on July 06, 2015, 04:04:25 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on June 26, 2015, 09:53:22 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 14, 2015, 03:50:24 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on June 14, 2015, 03:33:00 PM
My friends that went to Virginia Tech and Liberty always called US 460 west of Petersburg to Roanoke boring.  For me, I just got so sick of driving that way that I took other routes home my senior year.

OTOH, I love that drive, especially heading west as the mountains start to come into view.

While that part is nice, I think I just drove it way too much.  The only changes I have noticed recently are a couple more traffic lights and that jughandle for Concord Turnpike in Lynchburg.

I agree. While first few times down that stretch are pretty nice, the part east of Lynchburg becomes annoyingly repetitive the more frequently one drives it. I once had to drive that section with my parents six times in a month to visit my sister at summer camp, and I now make the trip about once every two months.

Quote from: Zzonkmiles on June 26, 2015, 10:21:54 PM
Several people have mentioned that I-95 between Savannah and Richmond is horrible, but I think the North Carolina section is by far the least pleasant. The road is not in great condition, there's a lot of traffic for four lanes, there are no cities of significance, and you're kind of in the middle of nowhere. I-95 in South Carolina has slightly more interesting scenery and I-95 from the state line to Richmond is at least clean.

The worst portion of that stretch is the section from north of Fayetteville to Kenly that is frequently clogged with people doing the 65mph speed limit in the left lane. In my recent trip to FL, I went quite a bit out of my way to avoid that portion.

Quote from: Zzonkmiles on June 26, 2015, 10:21:54 PM
My new candidate for most boring is I-81 between I-77 and I-66. Yeah, I know it goes through the scenic mountains and such, but you REALLY need a town there to break up the monotony. Just you, a bunch of trucks, and exits that nobody uses. Because of all the truck traffic, you can't even see or enjoy the scenery!

There is no hell quite like being on that stretch stuck behind a truck governed at 64 mph trying to pass another governed at 63 while going uphill.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: hotdogPi on July 06, 2015, 05:18:38 PM
(https://evanandmari.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/boring-oregon.jpg)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Roadster on September 18, 2015, 01:42:53 PM
Quote from: Roadster on June 12, 2015, 03:00:18 PM
I've driven to alot of places in my time, across statelines, country, etc., and living in the Great State of Texas, probably one of the more boring and dreaded drives is the drive down to South Padre Island taking Route 77 (specifically) between Kingsville and Raymondville.  :-o It can sure can be challenging in the sense that I consider it probably one of most long-ass boring drive times anyone can take, and if you brake down well you can just forget about it!
It's over!  Your SOL! :no:
The drive is desolate!  :crazy: Nothing and I mean, there's just nothing in between! Just one state rest stop and your lucky if you make it there! But other than that, when starting that journey, specifically through that section, prepare for the worst and pray for the best.  :-(

But "over-all" once you arrive in South Padre Island, well then you think to yourself that it was all worth it!  :sombrero: (until the drive back!  :crazy:)

Hey y'all!  :wave:

Well, once again, getting ready to take that drive down to South Padre Island (heading out early (tomorrow) Saturday morning) and yes that dreadful driving-section once you pass Kingsville (the area between Kingsville to Raymondville) not looking forward to it at all-both going and coming!  :-/

Wish me luck!   :sombrero:
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Mileage Mike on October 22, 2015, 04:51:38 PM
I-40: Everything west of Memphis

I drove cross country from Raleigh to Palm Springs back in 2007 and this was probably the most boring cross country trip imaginable in terms of what can be seen from the freeway.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: MrDisco99 on October 28, 2015, 03:09:49 PM
Surprised to see the NY Thruway on mentioned here.  There are some parts west of Albany where the scenery is fantastic.

I-95 through the Carolinas is mentioned a lot.  However, that's probably the best road in the country to play the license plate game.  Pretty sure I've seen all 50 states on that road in one trip.

No, my most boring road is definitely I-65 south of Montgomery.  It's about 140 miles of literally nothing until you get to the causeway over wetlands north of Mobile which is at least interesting.

I-10 through Florida is pretty bad, too.  As is I-16.

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: vdeane on October 28, 2015, 05:34:33 PM
Quote from: MrDisco99 on October 28, 2015, 03:09:49 PM
Surprised to see the NY Thruway on mentioned here.  There are some parts west of Albany where the scenery is fantastic.
And there are parts west of Syracuse that are excruciatingly dull.  It's good in the Hudson valley and Mohawk valley, but aside from that, not much of interest.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: ModernDayWarrior on October 29, 2015, 03:01:41 AM
For me, it's I-55 in Mississippi. I've had the misfortune of taking this drive numerous times, and without question it's my absolute least favorite. So, so boring, no scenery at all, just total flatness and trees lining both sides of the highway. No redeeming characteristics at all. I-65 in central/southern Alabama and I-10 in the Florida Panhandle are pretty terrible also.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: busman_49 on October 29, 2015, 07:17:51 AM
Quote from: wphiii on June 15, 2015, 05:46:42 PM
Quote from: thefro on June 15, 2015, 03:55:01 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2015, 12:50:15 PM
I-65 north of Indianapolis.

There's a large wind farm now (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_Lake_Wind_Farm) on what was the most boring portion of the route between Indy and Chicago, so that really has improved the scenery of the drive.

Yeah, I drove that way for the first time last Thanksgiving and the sheer number of windmills was just majestic, stretching for what seemed like forever across the landscape. Definitely eliminates that stretch from any "most boring" lists, in my book.


I've been up to Illinois four times in the last year and have taken that stretch of road.  I absolutely love it!  The windmills certainly help, but it's not the only reason.

My least favorite stretch is I-70 from Englewood to the Indiana state line. 
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: wphiii on November 02, 2015, 11:47:30 AM
Quote from: Zzonkmiles on June 26, 2015, 10:21:54 PM
My new candidate for most boring is I-81 between I-77 and I-66. Yeah, I know it goes through the scenic mountains and such, but you REALLY need a town there to break up the monotony. Just you, a bunch of trucks, and exits that nobody uses. Because of all the truck traffic, you can't even see or enjoy the scenery!

:confused: There are at least a dozen legitimate towns along this stretch of I-81, not the least of which is Roanoke, with nearly 100,000 people.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: hbelkins on November 02, 2015, 03:27:50 PM
Staunton is a bit off the interstate, but the development pretty much goes on the east side of the interstate at Harrisonburg, so I'd say that qualifies as a town along the route.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: xcellntbuy on November 02, 2015, 06:44:13 PM
One of the most interesting sites you will see periodically along Interstate 81 are the small, very well tended graveyards, often a small cluster of a few headstones with a small fence around them with a big American flag.  You will find these little memorials dotted along the valleys and the folds of Blue Ridge Mountains.  Honorable men who fought for the North or the South in the Civil War.  Boring?  I think not.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Thing 342 on November 02, 2015, 07:53:44 PM
What's weird about I-81 in Virginia is that despite passing through several decently-sized towns (especially Roanoke), development never seems to come particularly close to the freeway. In Roanoke, 81 is two lanes and tree-lined despite being only being about five miles from the city center.

Nexus 6

Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: AlexandriaVA on November 02, 2015, 09:28:41 PM
Quote from: Thing 342 on November 02, 2015, 07:53:44 PM
What's weird about I-81 in Virginia is that despite passing through several decently-sized towns (especially Roanoke), development never seems to come particularly close to the freeway. In Roanoke, 81 is two lanes and tree-lined despite being only being about five miles from the city center.

Nexus 6

Easy answer...development is along the railroad and emanates from there.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: noelbotevera on November 03, 2015, 03:36:10 PM
Quote from: 1 on July 06, 2015, 05:18:38 PM
(https://evanandmari.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/boring-oregon.jpg)
yawn
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: GaryV on November 03, 2015, 05:22:54 PM
Probably great stretches of the fictional Britain to America road via the Bering Strait, being talked about in another thread.  Might also find a new longest "Next Services" sign.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: TravelingBethelite on November 03, 2015, 05:34:32 PM
US 6 across Central Pennsylvania is a snore. Trees, trees, trees, hey, it's the Allegheny National Forest!, trees, town, trees, trees, town, town, trees, trees, trees, boom, I-81, Scranton.  :sleep:
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: ftballfan on November 15, 2015, 08:07:54 PM
Ohio Turnpike
I-65 in Indiana (trucks passing trucks and the 55 mph stretch being too long through Indy)
I-75 from Macon to Wildwood
Florida's Turnpike from Kissimmee to FL-70
US-31 in Indiana (although I haven't been on it since the Kokomo and South Bend to Plymouth freeway stretches have opened)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: theline on November 16, 2015, 02:00:14 PM
Quote from: ftballfan on November 15, 2015, 08:07:54 PM
US-31 in Indiana (although I haven't been on it since the Kokomo and South Bend to Plymouth freeway stretches have opened)

For now, those sections have a little gee-whiz appeal to road geeks. Once that wears off, the drive between Indy and South Bend will be even more mind-numbing. Say what you want about Kokomo, at least the stop lights and businesses broke up the monotony.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: CapeCodder on November 21, 2015, 11:00:34 AM
Quote from: dmr37 on June 12, 2015, 11:32:18 AM
I-55 south of Joliet, all the way to St. Louis.  Except for the stretch thru Springfield

Agreed. 55 is tedious thru Illinois. You don't hit the STL metro until the 70-270 Exit. From there it's all suburbs.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: ModernDayWarrior on November 22, 2015, 09:08:17 PM
Quote from: CapeCodder on November 21, 2015, 11:00:34 AM
Quote from: dmr37 on June 12, 2015, 11:32:18 AM
I-55 south of Joliet, all the way to St. Louis.  Except for the stretch thru Springfield

Agreed. 55 is tedious thru Illinois. You don't hit the STL metro until the 70-270 Exit. From there it's all suburbs.

Agreed also... at least it's slightly more tolerable now that IL has raised the speed limit to 70. Trying to drive from STL to Chicago at 65 was torturous.

I-55 is just a pretty boring road in its entirety... I think the section through Mississippi is worse, but almost none of it is interesting.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: SteveG1988 on November 23, 2015, 10:15:01 AM
US 36 in MO, there is nothing along it until you hit i-35 going west, future i-72 will be boring.....

US 206/NJ72/NJ70 in the pinelands, due to ecological pressure there is no development, a lot of farm lands then trees on both.

I-81 between the MD state line and Carlisle, Very very flat in PA.

To me none of the PA turnpike is truly boring, the history of the road, trying to spot the original architecture of the road on spots, seeing what PA was doing right and wrong, etc.

I64 in IL is boring.

I71 in OH between Cincinatti and Columbus has some really boring stretches.

I-22...sorry, it is so new but, it goes near nothing, has very little traffic right now, and is boring. It is a needed road, and serves a grand purpose. but it is boring.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 05:32:13 PM
Hwy 401 Buffalo to Detroit, nothing but farmland and no real cities. It's like watching paint dry.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: roadman65 on November 23, 2015, 05:40:10 PM
I said it before and I will say it again for new users, US 301 between Jesup and Folkston in GA.

More GA roads:
US 1 & 23 between Folkston and Waycross.
US 441 between Fargo and Homerville.

In Florida we have the Turnpike between St. Cloud and Yeehaw Jct.  It is 47 miles now without an interchange as there is nothing to interchange with.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: TravelingBethelite on November 23, 2015, 05:55:53 PM
I-79 in West Virginia is positively snore-inducing.  :sleep: It doesn't help when you're going through in the middle of the night and you can't see anything but the signs or the billboards/ (But that's most of what I'm looking at anyway.  :sombrero:)
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: GaryV on November 23, 2015, 05:58:48 PM
Quote from: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 05:32:13 PM
Hwy 401 Buffalo to Detroit, nothing but farmland and no real cities. It's like watching paint dry.
403 is worse.  Unless you consider that it is shorter, so the boringness doesn't last as long.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: SteveG1988 on November 23, 2015, 06:55:55 PM
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on November 23, 2015, 05:55:53 PM
I-79 in West Virginia is positively snore-inducing.  :sleep: It doesn't help when you're going through in the middle of the night and you can't see anything but the signs or the billboards/ (But that's most of what I'm looking at anyway.  :sombrero:)

79 in WV between 68 and 77 is not bad.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: gilpdawg on November 23, 2015, 08:17:11 PM
The southern Indiana leg of I-69 is mind numbing boring.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: TravelingBethelite on November 23, 2015, 08:38:27 PM
Quote from: SteveG1988 on November 23, 2015, 06:55:55 PM
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on November 23, 2015, 05:55:53 PM
I-79 in West Virginia is positively snore-inducing.  :sleep: It doesn't help when you're going through in the middle of the night and you can't see anything but the signs or the billboards/ (But that's most of what I'm looking at anyway.  :sombrero:)

79 in WV between 68 and 77 is not bad.

It was likely that I was going through it in the middle of the night. I couldn't see any of the 'pretty' scenery.  :meh:
Title: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2015, 09:05:06 PM
Quote from: gilpdawg on November 23, 2015, 08:17:11 PM
The southern Indiana leg of I-69 is mind numbing boring.

I assume you mean the part north of I-64.  I drove it just after it opened.  It lacked any but the most basic signs.  No advertising, no businesses, no visible towns.  Very peaceful, but not stimulating, to be sure.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: hbelkins on November 24, 2015, 03:06:52 PM
I-79 in West Virginia was enjoyable the first few times I was on it. Now, it's just a chore that has to be done if I'm driving to the northeast.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Rothman on November 24, 2015, 04:53:52 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on November 24, 2015, 03:06:52 PM
I-79 in West Virginia was enjoyable the first few times I was on it. Now, it's just a chore that has to be done if I'm driving to the northeast.

I'm with you on this.  My first trip down it was in the very early 1980s, when it was a lot less developed along the interstate than it is now.  But, after going down it time after time after time to go between Massachusetts and my grandparents' home in eastern KY, it is a real chore. 

My cousins have expressed a similar sentiment.  One of them, when his brother was driving and slowed down for a curve, said, "What are you doing?  Keep the cruise control on and just go."
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: roadman65 on November 24, 2015, 05:47:58 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2015, 09:05:06 PM
Quote from: gilpdawg on November 23, 2015, 08:17:11 PM
The southern Indiana leg of I-69 is mind numbing boring.

I assume you mean the part north of I-64.  I drove it just after it opened.  It lacked any but the most basic signs.  No advertising, no businesses, no visible towns.  Very peaceful, but not stimulating, to be sure.
Enjoy it while you can, I-75 was that way in Florida when it opened south of Tampa. Now it just sprawled out.  Now you wonder why Eastern Long Island does not want a Cross Sound Bridge across Long Island Sound into Rhode Island.  Its for fear of becoming like the rest of Long Island as once you get a major freeway, businesses like to set up around interchanges.
Title: Re: Most boring highway to drive down
Post by: Rothman on November 24, 2015, 06:27:17 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 24, 2015, 05:47:58 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 23, 2015, 09:05:06 PM
Quote from: gilpdawg on November 23, 2015, 08:17:11 PM
The southern Indiana leg of I-69 is mind numbing boring.

I assume you mean the part north of I-64.  I drove it just after it opened.  It lacked any but the most basic signs.  No advertising, no businesses, no visible towns.  Very peaceful, but not stimulating, to be sure.
Enjoy it while you can, I-75 was that way in Florida when it opened south of Tampa. Now it just sprawled out. 

I remember those days.  My grandparents had a summer home in North Port and I-75 was just completed to somewhere around there.