Anyone ever follow one of those odd state highways that spur off into parts unknown? You know the ones; the routes that you look at on a map and just shoot off into some big blank space on the map, and then end at some arbitrary point for no real reason. And you look at it and go :hmmm: If you have, what did you find there?
Jake, please regale us with your tale of FM 2119!
Like US-400? :-D
No. Believe it or not US 400 is occasionally useful for going somewhere meaningful. :pan:
Mississippi and Maryland are full of those...
Route 213 in Los Angeles County seems to fit this description well...in the Central Valley, Route 59's northern terminus does too.
California routes 180, 190, 168, and various other unconstructed Sierra crossings end up being "routes to nowhere".
the best, though, is Texas Farm Road 2119. Rand McNally labels it as a connecting route heading north out of Pecos to US-62. Wrong! After thirty-seven miles, it is a dead end, with a gate in the middle of the road!
I did the 37 miles back to Pecos averaging 101 mph.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Ff%2Fxfer%2Fvegas%2F211949.jpg&hash=e54422b2e3d9a92873f43ad5f7937a9e9087e5e7)
Arizona 366 and Arizona 266.
Many of the state highways in Hawaii, especially on Kauai, dead-end after only partially encircling the island or penetrating a few miles inland.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 14, 2009, 02:21:45 PM
the best, though, is Texas Farm Road 2119. Rand McNally labels it as a connecting route heading north out of Pecos to US-62. Wrong! After thirty-seven miles, it is a dead end, with a gate in the middle of the road!
FAIL!
Anyway, I like to go on roads to see where they go. I always have.
One dead-end street that stands out to me is John Walsh Blvd. in Auburn, NY (map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&ie=UTF8&ll=42.952873,-76.550642&spn=0.004617,0.014656&t=h&z=17)). It was supposed to connect NY 5 to NY 34, but it's only half a mile long. Worse yet, the city doesn't even own the land to complete it! Now, it's just an alternate entrance to Wal-Mart (on the right of the map).
1) M-188: goes to a VFW Home.
2) M-221: In the U.P., supposed to go to Brimley, but it is actually to 6 Mile Rd.
3) M-93: Yeah, it goes through Grayling, but it starts at an army base ends at Hartwick Pines State Park.
4) M-37 from Traverse City to Old Mission , actually ends at Old Mission Peninsula County Park.
5) US 41 North Terminus ends at a Road Ends sign
6) M-119 : ends at Cross Village , believe me there is not much there.
7) M-149 8)M-183
9) Florida 59
10) Florida 267 from Florida 20 to Newport
11) County 565 starts at Fl. 50 in Mascotte but ends at a railroad crossing and converts to a dirt road to nowhere
12) Ohio 576 from US 20 to Michigan State Line converts to Hillsdale Rd. ; noone from the Buckeye State knows the county road goes to Hillsdale.
Washington state has a few of these: SR 102, SR 263, SR 194, to name a few.
In Oregon, there are also a few. For example, OR 501 just goes 11 miles south of the small town of Alsea and ends at a junction with 2 county roads in the middle of a small valley. However, there's an explanation: it's a remnant of a older, planned-to-be-longer highway which would've gone through to OR 36 in the town of Deadwood. A few other of these remnant state highways exist, although most are still unsigned, like OR 413 which is gravel for its last 5 miles and ends in the ghost town of Cornucopia.
UT-289--A small loop in Cedar City to put Southern Utah University on the state highway system.
ME43 ends 4 mi. ahead (http://yakra.dyn-o-saur.com/roads/me_ends/43-west/IMG_2399.jpg)
FM 2465 in Childress County, Texas... :rolleyes: Starts off as a promising-looking spur to allow easy clinching of Hardeman County, then randomly you see a "PAVEMENT ENDS" and "↑ COUNTY ROAD O" sign and are unceremoniously dumped onto a dirt county road! According to the map, it appears to meet a similar end at its western terminus as well.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2009, 09:18:44 AM
FM 2465 in Childress County, Texas... :rolleyes: Starts off as a promising-looking spur to allow easy clinching of Hardeman County, then randomly you see a "PAVEMENT ENDS" and "↑ COUNTY ROAD O" sign and are unceremoniously dumped onto a dirt county road! According to the map, it appears to meet a similar end at its western terminus as well.
don't forget FM 94, which is randomly closed at a sufficient quantity of bridges to prevent clinching of Briscoe and Floyd counties to the west. Of course, it is not signed as being closed in any semblance of a strategic manner - gotta go down 94 and discover the horrid, horrid truth for one's self.
(at least the construction zones at all the closed bridges had actual workers present and engaged in labor - which puts it above 99% of orange-hell speed traps!)
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 15, 2009, 11:28:07 AM
(at least the construction zones at all the closed bridges had actual workers present and engaged in labor - which puts it above 99% of orange-hell speed traps!)
Not the one leading to Hall County! It simply had random-ass barricades in the middle of the sticks!
Quote from: leifvanderwall on October 14, 2009, 11:12:37 PM
11) County 565 starts at Fl. 50 in Mascotte but ends at a railroad crossing and converts to a dirt road to nowhere
That railroad crossing you're referring to must be the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/eastcentral/trails/general_james.htm (http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/eastcentral/trails/general_james.htm)
Go onto Farm To Market Route 2424 in Kent, TX - continuation of TX 118 northward, ends in the mountains at other roads
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 15, 2009, 11:28:07 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2009, 09:18:44 AM
FM 2465 in Childress County, Texas... :rolleyes: Starts off as a promising-looking spur to allow easy clinching of Hardeman County, then randomly you see a "PAVEMENT ENDS" and "↑ COUNTY ROAD O" sign and are unceremoniously dumped onto a dirt county road! According to the map, it appears to meet a similar end at its western terminus as well.
don't forget FM 94, which is randomly closed at a sufficient quantity of bridges to prevent clinching of Briscoe and Floyd counties to the west. Of course, it is not signed as being closed in any semblance of a strategic manner - gotta go down 94 and discover the horrid, horrid truth for one's self.
(at least the construction zones at all the closed bridges had actual workers present and engaged in labor - which puts it above 99% of orange-hell speed traps!)
OK --- I know I am bumping this thread after SEVEN YEARS --- but I tried to take FM 94 west out of Childress County this past Tuesday to get a clinch of all of Hall, Cottle and Motley Counties.
Yep --- CLOSED just north of the FM 1440 intersection, before you reach Cottle County! No signage!
Unbelievable, nothing has changed after seven years!
Had I known about NY 421 seven years ago, I would have mentioned it. It's a random state highway in the middle of nowhere branching from NY 30 heading west. It ends four miles later when the pavement ends. Other than a couple houses off a former reference route near NY 30 and a campground, there is literally nothing on the road.
For me, a map of Northern Ontario has plenty of "mystery routes"; long isolated highways which seem to lead to nowhere. One of the more extreme one's is highway 652 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_secondary_highways_in_Cochrane_District#Highway_652). There are no communities on its 150 km route, and no services. It's only purpose is to serve a gold mine, but of course, road maps don't show the private mine, so it's look like a useless road :)
Arizona 99 dumps you right into the middle of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on the south terminus. You can follow the forest routes to AZ 260 but they are pretty much just dirt tracts, so I always wondered what the hell ADOT was thinking? Even the north terminus of AZ 99 ends a BIA route...in this case BIA 15.
There are dozens upon dozens of these dead-end state highways to nowhere in New Mexico. Many of them turn into horrendously washboarded gravel.
Occasionally there's a state park or a former community at the end, but just as often, it's a random junction with another gravel road and a sign that says "end state maintenance".
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 14, 2009, 02:21:45 PM
the best, though, is Texas Farm Road 2119. Rand McNally labels it as a connecting route heading north out of Pecos to US-62. Wrong! After thirty-seven miles, it is a dead end, with a gate in the middle of the road!
That road was established to service a sulfur mine. The place was named Rustler Springs after the Rustler Hills to the west. I know someone who worked out there recently at an oil field near the old mine site. To add to the mysteriousness of the location, there's a story about why the mine shut down. Supposedly, a large pocket of H
2S came up out of the ground and killed the miners. Afterward, the mine was shut down. It's kinda like the story of Big John, but with a lot more death. These days, the area is surrounded by sensors to detect the poison.
California has a few. Most provide access to prisons or forest routes or other county routes. SR 202 is one. It dead ends at a prison.
I think Texas is the king of these roads though. You have a lot of random FM/RM routes that just seem to dead end into space, mostly at ranches. Strangely they use the FM/RM system for those prison dead-end roads too, like FM 655 that provides access to the Rosharon Unit. Most of the route is actually inside the gate and, thus, not public. But then there's SR 168, in Galveston, that provides access to the Coast Guard station and, I believe, ends at the gate.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 30, 2016, 09:51:55 AM
Arizona 99 dumps you right into the middle of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on the south terminus. You can follow the forest routes to AZ 260 but they are pretty much just dirt tracts, so I always wondered what the hell ADOT was thinking? Even the north terminus of AZ 99 ends a BIA route...in this case BIA 15.
The northern section of 99 was supposed to be longer. It was originally supposed to connect to the eastern end of AZ 64 and provide another route to the Grand Canyon without having to go through Flagstaff and so far up in elevation. I would assume that the Dine killed this idea pretty quickly. It's still a nice way to bypass Flag and an easy way into the rez.
The southern section of 99 was built to provide access to sawmills at the edge of the national forest. Those mills have closed, and the state has tried to get Navajo County to take over that section because it's difficult to maintain with all the snow it gets. Navajo County has no reason to take it over though, it seems, because nothing has happened in 20 years.
https://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=s0099az
That link also mentions the faulty mapping that shows 99 continuing to 260, which is unfortunate because that can get you in a lot of trouble in the winter. 288 is similar. There's a clear path north of Young, after the route ends, to 260, but it ascends the Rim and is not maintained in the winter (it's actually a pretty good road otherwise). However, I've seen digital maps that show 288 going all the way up to 260.
I would dispute both CA-180 and CA-190. The former puts you in Kings Canyon Nat'l Park, as well as having a turn-off just before that leads back south to CA-198, so while it dead-ends, it does take people somewhere they would want to go. And likewise, CA-190 may end in Quaking Aspen, but the road itself continues and actually does provide access across the Sierra to reach Olancha (and Death Valley). In a perfect world, these forest routes would have been taken over by Caltrans to have a complete, unified CA-190.
However, CA-202 is a perfect example. Exists only to lead you to a state prison, and is a very short route otherwise. CA-59 is another good example, as mentioned, since it just ends at a county road.
Quote from: Quillz on July 30, 2016, 04:37:26 PM
I would dispute both CA-180 and CA-190. The former puts you in Kings Canyon Nat'l Park, as well as having a turn-off just before that leads back south to CA-198, so while it dead-ends, it does take people somewhere they would want to go. And likewise, CA-190 may end in Quaking Aspen, but the road itself continues and actually does provide access across the Sierra to reach Olancha (and Death Valley). In a perfect world, these forest routes would have been taken over by Caltrans to have a complete, unified CA-190.
However, CA-202 is a perfect example. Exists only to lead you to a state prison, and is a very short route otherwise. CA-59 is another good example, as mentioned, since it just ends at a county road.
CA 173 and CA 39 with the unmaintained gaps in the mountains truly DO lead you nowhere as opposed to most of the state route gaps.
CA-173 is probably the worst offender being a dirt road, but at least that segment is no longer part of the state highway system. (Probably the only time ever a gap in a route has been for the better). Even though CA-39 won't reach CA-2 ever again, at least even that still takes you to some of the popular camping and hiking trails in the San Gabriel, so it's not entirely mysterious.
Indiana 166, it splits off SR 66, goes south, and dies at the foot of the ohio river in some random area called tobinsport, but there's nothing there. Indiana 111, randomly dies in New Boston at the foot of the ohio.
Quote from: silverback1065 on July 31, 2016, 04:20:42 PM
Indiana 166, it splits off SR 66, goes south, and dies at the foot of the ohio river in some random area called tobinsport, but there's nothing there. Indiana 111, randomly dies in New Boston at the foot of the ohio.
Apparently it was the site of a ferry landing that connected Cloverport, KY across the river. I remember something about there being an actual town there once in the late 1800s that even had a post office. I would speculate that it was wiped out over time by the Ohio River.
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 05:08:03 PM
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
That would be Nevada 3C or what's left of it. It's actually not all that bad of a road but is probably getting progressively getting worse through the years. There was a fairly large mine town called Aurora that supposedly had about 10,000 people some time in the 1860s. Most of the buildings are gone now and generally it's just foundations on top of scrap that's left up there.
By the same token for some reason when US 299 became CA 299 it was extended to the Nevada state line. From there the road continues as a dirt tract that was once NV 8A which passes through another ghost town called Vya.
Heck, Nebraska I-180
:sombrero:
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 05:26:10 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 05:08:03 PM
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
That would be Nevada 3C or what's left of it. It's actually not all that bad of a road but is probably getting progressively getting worse through the years. There was a fairly large mine town called Aurora that supposedly had about 10,000 people some time in the 1860s. Most of the buildings are gone now and generally it's just foundations on top of scrap that's left up there.
By the same token for some reason when US 299 became CA 299 it was extended to the Nevada state line. From there the road continues as a dirt tract that was once NV 8A which passes through another ghost town called Vya.
Former 8A will still lead you to NV-140, though, and in turn Winnemuca. Not a great road (it's pretty much all dirt), but I was actually able to follow it via Google Maps, so at least it takes you somewhere. Wonder why Nevada has not considered paving it to provide better access between Modoc County and Winnemuca. (I suppose former 3C as you mentioned has the same merits).
I guess McDowell Creek Rd(County Rd 909) in Riley County, Kansas is like that.
Right after the 93 floods, it was closed due to the road being washed out just west of K-18/177.
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Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 08:34:23 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 05:26:10 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 05:08:03 PM
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
That would be Nevada 3C or what's left of it. It's actually not all that bad of a road but is probably getting progressively getting worse through the years. There was a fairly large mine town called Aurora that supposedly had about 10,000 people some time in the 1860s. Most of the buildings are gone now and generally it's just foundations on top of scrap that's left up there.
By the same token for some reason when US 299 became CA 299 it was extended to the Nevada state line. From there the road continues as a dirt tract that was once NV 8A which passes through another ghost town called Vya.
Former 8A will still lead you to NV-140, though, and in turn Winnemuca. Not a great road (it's pretty much all dirt), but I was actually able to follow it via Google Maps, so at least it takes you somewhere. Wonder why Nevada has not considered paving it to provide better access between Modoc County and Winnemuca. (I suppose former 3C as you mentioned has the same merits).
3C is too far gone to be viable and way too high in the Bodie Hills by the time you hit the state line to be a year round road. A buddy of mine took me up to Aurora over 10 years ago from Fallon and the road got pretty choppy up in the hills. I'm to understand this bridge awaits you on the approach the California state line:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.269715,-118.941695,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s116862922!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fproxy%2FxIYRekwgBglpYwI0EnEN-kUthN6KGJNrGNOx2el7FuIVr78Czz6i_PqigBKMiCqy3qli9V8HUhPxAVUGyU-CWh8blJzEV70%3Dw203-h135!7i4608!8i3072?hl=en
I'm not too sure I'd want to try to cross something like that if Nevada gave up maintenance back in the 1970s... :paranoid:
NV8A is actually very usable to this very day and relatively in good shape...or at least it was when I took it. There really isn't much to see and you are completely on your own out there with nary a person in sight. As a bonus though you get former NV 34 crossing over 8A and multiplexing it for awhile at Vya. 34 will take you past that Black Rock City (weird and cult like) crap and down to 447 at Gerlach...so there is at least that. Personally I'd think it be cool just to throw up up on CR 299 signs on the Nevada side and call it a day to NV 140...I do recall some ancient 8A signs out there.
Funny thing about Nevada is that so much of the places that were inhabited in the state's history....well aren't anymore. I think that's largely what played as a factor in deciding what routes to keep in 1976. You still have some weird ones that go to ghost towns like 265 to Silver Peak which is oddly being improved along with Silver Peak Road and 165 to Nelson...both have some stragglers to this day but not many.
GA 177 from Fargo to Steven Foster SP right in middle of Okefenokee Swamp. We went camping there and had a frantic beer run to Fargo, maybe 14 miles and gates closed at 8 pm
The alltime mystery Nebraska route is Spur 67C south of Pawnee City. First of all, it's a gravel road which spurs off of Nebraska Highway 65, which south of Pawnee City is a gravel road. It goes west for 3 miles and just ends at a random intersection.
The one that is a mystery for me to figure out (partly because I've never been there) is Spur 16F in Cherry County. It goes south from Nenzel on US 20, goes all the way to the southern boundary of the Samuel McKelvie National Forest and just ends. I'm frankly surprised they have a forest in the Sand Hills.
I'd say K-247. It goes from I-70 south to the intersection of Washington and 3rd Streets in Ellis. It's only 649 feet long!
iPhone
I have to wonder why K-4's western terminus is in the middle of nowhere at US-83.
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Golden Rd., while unnumbered, travels about 100 miles west, starting from Millinocket, ME. Along its 100 miles, it does not intersect any numbered route or even any road more important than it is. It ends about 1/2 mile after reaching the Canadian border.
(No, I have not traveled on this.)
How about Colorado Highway 67? While it's a beautiful drive from Divide to US 50 east of Canon City, it's not contiguous. Even becomes a county road in 4 places.
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Missouri lettered routes. Like part of the Forrest Gump quote: "You never know what you're gonna get." One time I turned onto MO E near Silex in Lincoln County and ended up in High Hill, on I-70 in Montgomery County.
Quote from: 1 on August 01, 2016, 10:08:16 AM
Golden Rd., while unnumbered, travels about 100 miles west, starting from Millinocket, ME. Along its 100 miles, it does not intersect any numbered route or even any road more important than it is. It ends about 1/2 mile after reaching the Canadian border.
(No, I have not traveled on this.)
You could have Googled that fucker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Road_(Maine)
Washington has a few more mystery routes not previously mentioned:
501- Ends randomly west of Vancouver. And a second portion that connects Ridgefield to I-5 (although this portion is not mysterious).
531- Once ended at a state park west of I-5 near Smokey Point, but now the state park is a county park.
263- Short road that ends at near a dam on the Snake River.
One could argue that 141 is a mystery. It travels from WA-14 on the Columbia River to the national forest boundary near Mt Adams.
Virginia's primary system is full of mysteries.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 09:13:29 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 08:34:23 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 05:26:10 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 05:08:03 PM
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
That would be Nevada 3C or what's left of it. It's actually not all that bad of a road but is probably getting progressively getting worse through the years. There was a fairly large mine town called Aurora that supposedly had about 10,000 people some time in the 1860s. Most of the buildings are gone now and generally it's just foundations on top of scrap that's left up there.
By the same token for some reason when US 299 became CA 299 it was extended to the Nevada state line. From there the road continues as a dirt tract that was once NV 8A which passes through another ghost town called Vya.
Former 8A will still lead you to NV-140, though, and in turn Winnemuca. Not a great road (it's pretty much all dirt), but I was actually able to follow it via Google Maps, so at least it takes you somewhere. Wonder why Nevada has not considered paving it to provide better access between Modoc County and Winnemuca. (I suppose former 3C as you mentioned has the same merits).
3C is too far gone to be viable and way too high in the Bodie Hills by the time you hit the state line to be a year round road. A buddy of mine took me up to Aurora over 10 years ago from Fallon and the road got pretty choppy up in the hills. I'm to understand this bridge awaits you on the approach the California state line:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.269715,-118.941695,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s116862922!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fproxy%2FxIYRekwgBglpYwI0EnEN-kUthN6KGJNrGNOx2el7FuIVr78Czz6i_PqigBKMiCqy3qli9V8HUhPxAVUGyU-CWh8blJzEV70%3Dw203-h135!7i4608!8i3072?hl=en
I'm not too sure I'd want to try to cross something like that if Nevada gave up maintenance back in the 1970s... :paranoid:
NV8A is actually very usable to this very day and relatively in good shape...or at least it was when I took it. There really isn't much to see and you are completely on your own out there with nary a person in sight. As a bonus though you get former NV 34 crossing over 8A and multiplexing it for awhile at Vya. 34 will take you past that Black Rock City (weird and cult like) crap and down to 447 at Gerlach...so there is at least that. Personally I'd think it be cool just to throw up up on CR 299 signs on the Nevada side and call it a day to NV 140...I do recall some ancient 8A signs out there.
Funny thing about Nevada is that so much of the places that were inhabited in the state's history....well aren't anymore. I think that's largely what played as a factor in deciding what routes to keep in 1976. You still have some weird ones that go to ghost towns like 265 to Silver Peak which is oddly being improved along with Silver Peak Road and 165 to Nelson...both have some stragglers to this day but not many.
Keep in mind that many of the Nevada highway route numbers pre-1976 were numbered based on legislators writing the numbers into state law. Not everything that was numbered as a state highway was actually maintained by the Nevada Department of Highways; some barely-established county roadways were given state highway status. The 1976 renumbering allowed NDOH to remove state route numbers from all roads that it did not own and maintain.
Old SR 8A in northwest Washoe County is still somewhat minimally maintained by Washoe County, hence its decent condition. The old SR 3C is not likely maintained by Mineral County...
Collier County 839 in southwestern Florida: former SSR839 is a border along the Big Cypress Preserve that connected FL 84 and Tamiami Trail. Now, it's only accessible from US 41 and dead-ends about a mile or so north of the overpass for Alligator Alley.
I'd passed by it at least a dozen times over 20 years, and finally found time to clinch what is otherwise an unimportant route. But...sometimes you've got to see it for yourself.
Janes Scenic Route (CR 837) nearby was another oddity - I don't think it's a thru route anymore since a preserve was made out much of Golden Gates Estates. Easy to get lost without signs and no GPS...it would probably get a few of the unannounced road closures incorrect, anyhow.
Quote from: CapeCodder on August 01, 2016, 10:31:51 AM
Missouri lettered routes. Like part of the Forrest Gump quote: "You never know what you're gonna get." One time I turned onto MO E near Silex in Lincoln County and ended up in High Hill, on I-70 in Montgomery County.
Ah, yeah. Being from Kansas, I've not quite understood the idea behind trunk or supplemental routes. To me, they seem a cross between county and state highways. I get a laugh when I see DD and BB highways from I-49/US-71.
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Quote from: roadfro on August 14, 2016, 09:40:16 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 09:13:29 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 08:34:23 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 31, 2016, 05:26:10 PM
Quote from: Quillz on July 31, 2016, 05:08:03 PM
CA-270 almost qualifies. Short, two-lane road in the Eastern Sierra, turns to dirt at one point, ends at a literal ghost town, the road itself continues eastward as a dirt route all the way to Nevada. I say "almost" because Bodie is a well-known state park, and that dirt road through Nevada eventually makes its way towards US-95.
That would be Nevada 3C or what's left of it. It's actually not all that bad of a road but is probably getting progressively getting worse through the years. There was a fairly large mine town called Aurora that supposedly had about 10,000 people some time in the 1860s. Most of the buildings are gone now and generally it's just foundations on top of scrap that's left up there.
By the same token for some reason when US 299 became CA 299 it was extended to the Nevada state line. From there the road continues as a dirt tract that was once NV 8A which passes through another ghost town called Vya.
Former 8A will still lead you to NV-140, though, and in turn Winnemuca. Not a great road (it's pretty much all dirt), but I was actually able to follow it via Google Maps, so at least it takes you somewhere. Wonder why Nevada has not considered paving it to provide better access between Modoc County and Winnemuca. (I suppose former 3C as you mentioned has the same merits).
3C is too far gone to be viable and way too high in the Bodie Hills by the time you hit the state line to be a year round road. A buddy of mine took me up to Aurora over 10 years ago from Fallon and the road got pretty choppy up in the hills. I'm to understand this bridge awaits you on the approach the California state line:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.269715,-118.941695,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s116862922!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fproxy%2FxIYRekwgBglpYwI0EnEN-kUthN6KGJNrGNOx2el7FuIVr78Czz6i_PqigBKMiCqy3qli9V8HUhPxAVUGyU-CWh8blJzEV70%3Dw203-h135!7i4608!8i3072?hl=en
I'm not too sure I'd want to try to cross something like that if Nevada gave up maintenance back in the 1970s... :paranoid:
NV8A is actually very usable to this very day and relatively in good shape...or at least it was when I took it. There really isn't much to see and you are completely on your own out there with nary a person in sight. As a bonus though you get former NV 34 crossing over 8A and multiplexing it for awhile at Vya. 34 will take you past that Black Rock City (weird and cult like) crap and down to 447 at Gerlach...so there is at least that. Personally I'd think it be cool just to throw up up on CR 299 signs on the Nevada side and call it a day to NV 140...I do recall some ancient 8A signs out there.
Funny thing about Nevada is that so much of the places that were inhabited in the state's history....well aren't anymore. I think that's largely what played as a factor in deciding what routes to keep in 1976. You still have some weird ones that go to ghost towns like 265 to Silver Peak which is oddly being improved along with Silver Peak Road and 165 to Nelson...both have some stragglers to this day but not many.
Keep in mind that many of the Nevada highway route numbers pre-1976 were numbered based on legislators writing the numbers into state law. Not everything that was numbered as a state highway was actually maintained by the Nevada Department of Highways; some barely-established county roadways were given state highway status. The 1976 renumbering allowed NDOH to remove state route numbers from all roads that it did not own and maintain.
Old SR 8A in northwest Washoe County is still somewhat minimally maintained by Washoe County, hence its decent condition. The old SR 3C is not likely maintained by Mineral County...
Best I can figure with 3C is that someone probably really thought that Aurora reopening was going to happen one day. Bodie was still inhabited on the California side into the early 1940s. Usually there was some sort of mine or former mining town on the far side of those crazed weirdo highways that got dropped in 1976. The fun is the mystery of figuring out what the hell used to be there and what happened to it. That's what is so interesting about Nevada in general, aside from Carson, Reno, and Vegas it's basically a post apocalyptic landscape of the late 1800s and early 20th century.
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 12, 2009, 02:33:00 PM
You know the ones; the routes that you look at on a map and just shoot off into some big blank space on the map, and then end at some arbitrary point for no real reason.
Quote from: cappicard on August 14, 2016, 10:44:55 PM
K-264 dead ends at Larned State Hospital just a mile south of K-156 a few miles west of Larned.
K-157 just dumps you into a state park west of US 77.
K-247 is just a glorified road from I-70 to Ellis. It's only 649 feet long!
How do those fit the criteria?
Quote from: CapeCodder on August 01, 2016, 10:31:51 AM
Missouri lettered routes. Like part of the Forrest Gump quote: "You never know what you're gonna get." One time I turned onto MO E near Silex in Lincoln County and ended up in High Hill, on I-70 in Montgomery County.
Sometimes, the highway will gradually deteriorate and you're not quite sure at what point state maintenance ended. I remember taking one that eventually turned to gravel, then worse gravel, all the while heading farther and farther downhill into the woods, until I wasn't sure I'd even be able to find a spot to turn around if I wound up in a Stephen King short story.
Northern California has a number of these routes that peter out more or less at random. CA 3's northern terminus is an "END CA 3" sign assembly at the east town limits of Montague, about 6 miles east of Yreka. The sole reason the highway was extended east to Montague was that the original SP Siskiyou RR line, until 1927 the only through RR line between California and Oregon, bypassed the Siskiyou County seat of Yreka and passed through Montague to avoid having to construct trackage through the narrow Shasta River canyon (now traversed by CA 263, formerly US 99). There was a passenger station in Montague, so it was deemed necessary to have an all-weather (read plowed in winter) road between the two towns so folks could get in and out of the area (this, of course, was prior to widespread vehicle ownership). Even local passenger service on that RR line was gone by the early '60's, so CA 3 east of I-5 today is nothing more than a local server -- even so, ending it at the town limits seems a bit gratuitous.
Also consider CA 281 south of Clear Lake -- its north end is, in plain terms, arbitrary; although long-range plans call for a NW extension along the lake shore to Kelseyville, the present end leaves one hanging. As I write this, there's a chance that this highway may be engulfed in flames in the immediate future -- the "Clayton" fire is encroaching on Lower Lake, a few miles east at the junction of CA 29 and 53, and is threatening areas to the north and west (shades of last year's Valley fire which decimated Middletown, a few miles to the south). Lake County is fast becoming California's premier tinderbox (lack of rainfall will do that to you!).
And then there's always CA 169, tucked into the lower reaches of the Klamath River canyon. Bifurcated into two sections, with only dirt logging roads connecting these, each 1-lane paved section just ends without fanfare; the Yurok tribe, which owns and occupies most of the land between the segments, is in no hurry to see these connected -- and it's not as if hordes of traffic are clamoring for a shortcut between US 101 and CA 96!
There are numerous other single-ended or "spur" routes in NorCal, but most of them either terminate at a point of interest (e.g., CA 151 and Shasta Dam, CA 284 and the Frenchman Reservoir fishing area, and CA 191 and the city of Paradise) or did so in the past (CA 222 and the now-defunct Talmadge state mental facility east of Ukiah). Others have gone by the wayside, such as the original CA 188 from Emerald Bay to Fallen Leaf on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, and CA 194 from Sierraville north a few miles to a hunting lodge originally reserved for state legislators and their families (I wonder who thought of that one!). Both were gone by the 1970's (194 was never signed, and it's unclear if any 188 signage existed) and the numbers re-used elsewhere.
^^ I'm surprised you didn't hit on 211 going 5 something miles south of US 101 over the Eel River Bridge where it just ends suddenly and the whole saga of it being the only part of the incomplete CA 1 through the Lost Coast.
Maryland Route 591, an old alignment of U.S. Route 1 over the Octoraro Creek in Cecil County, consists of two disconnected dead-end roads, and is only signed on the roads themselves and not along U.S. 1.
Yeah, I forgot about CA 211; late-night posts sometimes miss a few things. I would have categorized it as (at least as it is currently deployed) one of those routes that actually ends at something (the town of Ferndale), despite its status as the detritus of what originally was to be CA 1 through the "Lost Coast". I've actually seen some maps showing 211 extending down forest roads to the vicinity of Garberville (inaccurate, to say the least); it seems some folks don't want the Lost Coast to stay lost -- I, for one, would rather maintain some areas as practically inaccessible (don't need hordes of RV's clogging every inch of road in Humboldt and Mendocino counties).
The Ferndale bridge on CA 211 is an amazing structure -- one of the few old bridges to survive the 1964 flooding substantially intact (albeit with minor damage to its approaches); it, along with some local roads on the west side of the Eel River, became a temporary substitute for the washed-out US 101. Used to visit Ferndale quite a bit in the '90's; an old buddy from the audio business was manufacturing vacuum-tube amplifiers in Ferndale during that time (under the wacky name "Juicy Music"), so I stopped periodically on my many trips from the Bay Area to Portland or Seattle to touch base with him. Ferndale's a nice old town, replete with more than its share of antique shops -- always an interesting side-trip when one is in the area.
Quote from: DandyDan on August 01, 2016, 05:32:16 AM
The alltime mystery Nebraska route is Spur 67C south of Pawnee City. First of all, it's a gravel road which spurs off of Nebraska Highway 65, which south of Pawnee City is a gravel road. It goes west for 3 miles and just ends at a random intersection.
The one that is a mystery for me to figure out (partly because I've never been there) is Spur 16F in Cherry County. It goes south from Nenzel on US 20, goes all the way to the southern boundary of the Samuel McKelvie National Forest and just ends. I'm frankly surprised they have a forest in the Sand Hills.
Maybe the Children of th Corn crew jacked with the signs.
Quote from: sparker on August 15, 2016, 01:05:12 PM
Yeah, I forgot about CA 211; late-night posts sometimes miss a few things. I would have categorized it as (at least as it is currently deployed) one of those routes that actually ends at something (the town of Ferndale), despite its status as the detritus of what originally was to be CA 1 through the "Lost Coast". I've actually seen some maps showing 211 extending down forest roads to the vicinity of Garberville (inaccurate, to say the least); it seems some folks don't want the Lost Coast to stay lost -- I, for one, would rather maintain some areas as practically inaccessible (don't need hordes of RV's clogging every inch of road in Humboldt and Mendocino counties).
The Ferndale bridge on CA 211 is an amazing structure -- one of the few old bridges to survive the 1964 flooding substantially intact (albeit with minor damage to its approaches); it, along with some local roads on the west side of the Eel River, became a temporary substitute for the washed-out US 101. Used to visit Ferndale quite a bit in the '90's; an old buddy from the audio business was manufacturing vacuum-tube amplifiers in Ferndale during that time (under the wacky name "Juicy Music"), so I stopped periodically on my many trips from the Bay Area to Portland or Seattle to touch base with him. Ferndale's a nice old town, replete with more than its share of antique shops -- always an interesting side-trip when one is in the area.
Central and Southern California have a fair share as well too:
CA 178: Basically this is one of the incomplete mountain routes that has the western segment end suddenly near Trona at the Salt Mines. On the eastern segment the 178 alignment starts suddenly after taking Badwater Road south from CA 190. Basically 178 was planned to cross the Panamint Range and down into Death Valley but it never happened due to it being impractical, the expanding park land that is now Death Valley National Park, and the China Lake Gunnery Range.
CA 190: Basically the eastern segment is an intact route from CA 127 to US 395. The western segment starts at CA 99 and ends near Quaker Meadow and becomes M90/Western Divide Highway. CA 190 was planned to use Olancha Pass to reach the eastern CA 190...but it never happened. Oddly enough you can use Sherman Pass Road which is actually paved to span the gap between both CA 190 segments.
CA 173: I think that I mentioned this one before but it was the last dirt segment of State Route in California near Victorville. The dirt section became unstable which created a gap between the sections CA 173 seen today.
CA 168: The western segment ends suddenly at Huntington Lake and the eastern ends at Lake Sabrina...both are in the Sierras. Supposedly the rough alignment of Kaiser Pass Road was planned to cross the high Sierra to create a complete mountain route which of course never happened.
Sorry if these have been mentioned before:
M-152 ends right here, before any county line (https://goo.gl/maps/tkx5kkYkJmn) (although near one). Why? I don't know.
Although I sort of understand NY 335 being a connector between Delaware Ave (NY 443) and NY 32, the fact that it ends at Feura Bush Road bugs me, despite the fact that Feura Bush is a well-used arterial.
NY 344 looks like a road to nowhere. It's a spur off of NY 22 in Copake whose number ends at the MA line and takes you into an almost dead end valley in the Berkshires.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 14, 2009, 02:21:45 PM
California routes 180, 190, 168, and various other unconstructed Sierra crossings end up being "routes to nowhere".
the best, though, is Texas Farm Road 2119. Rand McNally labels it as a connecting route heading north out of Pecos to US-62. Wrong! After thirty-seven miles, it is a dead end, with a gate in the middle of the road!
I did the 37 miles back to Pecos averaging 101 mph.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Ff%2Fxfer%2Fvegas%2F211949.jpg&hash=e54422b2e3d9a92873f43ad5f7937a9e9087e5e7)
Did you even get as far as this sign on Google Street View?
https://goo.gl/maps/NTdNrNqvSfR2
Quote from: Rothman on August 19, 2016, 09:04:26 AM
M-152 ends right here, before any county line (https://goo.gl/maps/tkx5kkYkJmn) (although near one). Why? I don't know.
State jurisdiction of M-152 actually runs right to the county line. MDOT usually posts the ends signage in advance of the terminus. Before they started using the "END" tab, they used an "ENDS" tab in place of the arrow below the marker in an advance junction assembly just before any terminus of a highway. The exception would be a few of the places where a designation ends but state maintenance continues under a different number, like US 2 and BL I-75; then the ends sign would probably be closer to the transition point.
Many of Virginia's secondary routes. Some of them are so minor they are basically no more significant then my own residential street here which is maintained by the city of New Berlin. Of course I can also say IL-110 is a mystery route to me.