In Wisconsin, Wis 93 and US 53 both travel between La Crosse and Eau Claire. However, Wis 93 is shorter and on the National Highway System, while WISDOT considers US 53 a secondary highway.
In Michigan, US 41 and M-35 both travel between Escanaba and Menominee. M-35 is shorter and the preferred route over US 41. US 41 was intended to travel on a more direct route between Powers and Marquette, but that alignment was never built and instead shared a concurrency with US 2 to Escanaba. Any other examples?
Toll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road.
NV 318 (with a short stretch over US 6) between Ash Springs & Ely, NV is a much more direct route than US 93, which "detours" eastward through Caliente before turning west again along US 6/50 via Connors Pass. The overall superiority of this "shortcut" was recognized when the N-S NHS corridor in this area was routed over NV 318 rather than US 93.
SR 17 versus US 285 in Colorado.
Indiana has SR 63 and US 41 north of Terre Haute, where SR 63 is the more sensible and modern alternative for traffic headed to Chicago.
In Georgia, SR 96 + SR 49 are a better alternative to following US 80 from Columbus to Macon.
On a more local level, Tennessee SR 385 from I-240 in Memphis to Collierville functions as a bypass for parallel US 72.
Seriously, DOTs should request AASHTO to realign those US routes onto the better alternates. Particularlly those whose alternative is on the NHS.
Quote from: peterj920 on August 28, 2016, 12:44:41 AMToll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road.
Then ask O(K)DOT to remove US 412 from Cimarron and Cherokee turnpikes.
PA 272 and US 222 south of Lancaster, PA 272 stays due south past Willow Street while US 222 curves to the east before heading south
MN 316 and US 61 southeast of the Twin Cities. 316 cuts the corner while 61 heads in an L-shape to Miesville before turning east to reconnect with 316. I think MnDOT has designs on someday moving 61 onto 316, but who the hell knows when or if this will ever happen.
VA 143 and US 60 between Williamsburg and Newport News.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on August 28, 2016, 06:18:42 AM
Seriously, DOTs should request AASHTO to realign those US routes onto the better alternates. Particularlly those whose alternative is on the NHS.
Quote from: peterj920 on August 28, 2016, 12:44:41 AMToll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road.
Then ask O(K)DOT to remove US 412 from Cimarron and Cherokee turnpikes.
There's an AASHTO rule that US routes couldn't be routed onto toll roads unless there was a suitable free route. US 412 is an exception, but Alternate 412 had to be signed as a free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike. AASHTO must have felt that US 64 was a suitable free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike. US 13 wasn't rerouted onto DE 1 for the rule stated above. I just wanted to exclude those examples for the sake of this discussion because those toll roads and former toll roads were clearly constructed as a better alternative than the US highway. The routes listed on this thread were most likely not intentionally built to be a better alternative to the US highway at the time.
FL 729 is a better quality road than both US 98 & US 441 in Pahokee, FL. In fact, through trucks are advised to use the state route bypass over the main road that traverses narrow streets and a business district.
NC 11 between Bethel and Ahoskie, NC is a more direct route than US 13, which multiplexes on US 64 and US 17 for much of the distance between those points on an indirect alignment.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 28, 2016, 07:48:09 AM
PA 272 and US 222 south of Lancaster, PA 272 stays due past Willow Street while US 222 curves to the east before heading south
The ironic thing is that they were once swapped. PA 272 was once US 222 and vice versa. I have no idea why they moved, but hey.
VA-7 and US 50 between Winchester and Falls Church.
For those who shun I-95, CT 80 to CT 9 or CT 154 is usually a better option than US 1 between New Haven and Old Saybrook, especially during beach season. CT/MA 10 is more of a direct option from New Haven to Northampton (neglecting the fact it does briefly overlap with US 44 and overlaps a longer stretch with US 202), and RI 3 and RI 2 are more direct shots to Providence from the Pawcatuck/Westerly area than US 1. And NY 32 can be a better option from the Newburgh area to Albany if you take the Poughkeepsie and Kingston traffic into account on US 9 and US 9W. Last one: NJ 27 is better near Menlo Park and New Brunswick than US 1.
Just remembered another one: PA 59 vs. US 6 between Warren and Southport in NW PA. PA 59 takes the direct route between those points, while US 6 veers south to serve the towns of Sheffield and Kane -- 39 miles (direct) as opposed to 50 miles via the more convoluted US 6 to the south.
In the 1930s/1940s, what was then Route 150 between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara was clearly the more direct route between the two compared to US 101, but freeway upgrades on 101 have negated that advantage to a degree. (That segment of 150 is now Route 154)
From the late 1950s to 1965-1966, Route 24 offered the much more straightline route to Marysville/Yuba City in comparison with US 99W and US 99E; after the 1964 state route renumbering, that portion of 24 became part of a realigned (state) Route 99 and the newly designated Route 70.
When US 50 ran between the Bay Area and Sacramento along today's I-580, I-205, I-5, Route 4 and Route 99 corridors, Route 24 between Oakland and Sacramento offered a scenic but less out-of-the-way route; while the portion of 24 from Oakland to Walnut Creek still exists, the rest has become I-680 (was Route 24/I-680 until 1990 or so), Route 242, Route 4 (originally Route 4/24), and Route 160.
The former WV 73 routing between Morgantown and Fairmont is superior to US 19's route. I-79 was built close to WV 73's alignment.
PA 285/OH 85 between Conneaut Lake, PA and Andover, OH, while U.S. 6 weirdly meanders north over Pymatuning.
PA 59 also might be more direct than U.S. 6 between Warren, PA and Smethport.
OH 2 and US 6. OH 2 is freeway between Cleveland and Sandusky. It also bypasses Sandusky and Lorain while US 6 goes straight through the two towns. US 6 is two/four lanes.
US 250 and OH 4. OH 4 from the Ohio Turnpike to Sandusky is 8 miles. US 250 from the same points is 9.5 miles.
Looking at an Alabama map, I found an example. It would appear that between Opp and Enterprise, AL 134 is the shorter, straighter route, over US 84, which arcs to the north. I don't know if the condition of the road is great or not.
Quote from: bassoon1986 on August 29, 2016, 03:35:38 PM
Looking at an Alabama map, I found an example. It would appear that between Opp and Enterprise, AL 134 is the shorter, straighter route, over US 84, which arcs to the north. I don't know if the condition of the road is great or not.
From a quick Google Maps satellite view, much of the US 84 route is now dual-carriageway (four lane divided) while 134 remains two lanes throughout.
There's still a portion of 84 awaiting a realignment/upgrade in Elba, where a bypass is only half-complete:
http://www.southeastsun.com/news/article_b407742a-fbf1-11e3-b470-001a4bcf6878.html
VA-307 is a cutoff between US 360 and US 460. The GPS told me to take it.
DE 1 and US 13.
Quote from: dvferyance on August 29, 2016, 06:57:58 PM
VA-307 is a cutoff between US 360 and US 460. The GPS told me to take it.
I do not think this one counts. VA 307 is not meant as a parallel route to either road but as a connector route so traffic along both routes headed to Richmond from Lynchburg and vice versa can save time from not having to go all the way south to Burkeville. US 360 and US 460 are both major through routes here.
I'd have to drive it to be sure, but I'd reckon east of Selma, AL 14 + US 82 is a better route to most of Montgomery (except the airport) than following US 80.
Following AR 1 from Jonesboro to Helena-West Helena is substantially shorter and faster than following US 49.
A bit of a weird one: MS 8 from Cleveland MS to the Alabama state line is a far more direct option than following US 278. Similarly, following AR 35 east out of Monticello would save you a few miles over taking US 278 over toward Lake Village. The former problem will remain even when/if the I-69 bridge is built to divert US 278 along a more straightforward routing.
OH 32 is a higher grade and faster route between Cincinnati and Athens than US 50.
The former is newer than the latter, but this doesn't explain why that corridor was chosen for upgrade over US 50, or why US 50 was not rerouted onto it.
KY 286 is a better route than either US 60 or US 62 between Paducah and Wickliffe.
In Iowa, I think IA 24 would make a better route for US 18 than the current US 18 east of New Hampton, or else IA 346 would make a better route for US 18 west of US 63 to US 218.
In Minnesota, I'm still inclined to believe MN 7 would be a better route for US 212 than the current US 212, but I believe US 212 gets all the county seats. That's probably a lot of the underlying logic for the routes of US highways, now that I think of it (and it works for my Iowa example above).
Quote from: lordsutch on August 28, 2016, 03:46:20 AM
Indiana has SR 63 and US 41 north of Terre Haute, where SR 63 is the more sensible and modern alternative for traffic headed to Chicago.
Also:
IN 2 is a 4-lane route from South Bend to Rolling Prairie while US 20 is 2 lanes
WY 193 vs US 87 south of Sheridan is probably the best example of this.
Quote from: sparker on August 28, 2016, 01:44:10 AM
NV 318 (with a short stretch over US 6) between Ash Springs & Ely, NV is a much more direct route than US 93, which "detours" eastward through Caliente before turning west again along US 6/50 via Connors Pass. The overall superiority of this "shortcut" was recognized when the N-S NHS corridor in this area was routed over NV 318 rather than US 93.
In that same vein...
Between Tonopah and Winnemucca, NV 376 and NV 305 provide a more direct pathway than US 95.
---
Some examples that have since been supplanted due to interstate construction:
- In Arizona, due to US 80 taking current AZ 85 to connect with Phoenix, the more direct route to Tucson from Stanfield was AZ 84 (now mostly replaced by I-8 and I-10); between Benson and Steins, NM, AZ 86 was the quicker route (now replaced by I-10). AZ 93 (now replaced by I-10) was the more direct Phoenix-Tucson route in comparison with US 80 following US 60, AZ 79, and AZ 77 out of town.
- In Texas, SH 73 and SH 124 provided an alternate for US 90 between Houston and Beaumont; that corridor is primarily where I-10 was built.
Quote from: noelbotevera on August 29, 2016, 03:34:45 PM
US 250 and OH 4. OH 4 from the Ohio Turnpike to Sandusky is 8 miles. US 250 from the same points is 9.5 miles.
US 250 and SR 4 do not serve the same corridor. Doesn't count.
CO 17 vs US 285 from Alamosa to Villa Grove
Quote from: noelbotevera on August 28, 2016, 03:58:41 PM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on August 28, 2016, 07:48:09 AM
PA 272 and US 222 south of Lancaster, PA 272 stays due past Willow Street while US 222 curves to the east before heading south
The ironic thing is that they were once swapped. PA 272 was once US 222 and vice versa. I have no idea why they moved, but hey.
This is not true.
related thread: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9540
I was going to point that out. I personally love how AR 19 and LA 159 is more direct than both US 79 AND US 371.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 28, 2016, 04:15:35 PM
For those who shun I-95, CT 80 to CT 9 or CT 154 is usually a better option than US 1 between New Haven and Old Saybrook, especially during beach season. CT/MA 10 is more of a direct option from New Haven to Northampton (neglecting the fact it does briefly overlap with US 44 and overlaps a longer stretch with US 202), and RI 3 and RI 2 are more direct shots to Providence from the Pawcatuck/Westerly area than US 1. And NY 32 can be a better option from the Newburgh area to Albany if you take the Poughkeepsie and Kingston traffic into account on US 9 and US 9W. Last one: NJ 27 is better near Menlo Park and New Brunswick than US 1.
Plus you get the 50mph speed limit on CT 80. I think US 1 is stuck at 35-40 most of that way.
So what is the deal with IN SR 63 and US 41 anyway? Why is US 41 not marked as US 41 ALT and SR 63 not marked as US 41?
Between Billings & Great Falls, the MT 3 routing via Judith Gap (including multiplexes with both US 12 and US 191) is shorter (by about 14 miles) than by using US 87. The gradients are a shade easier as well (MT 3 essentially follows the path of the BNSF [ex-GN] branch from Great Falls down to Laurel, west of Billings). Also, when High Priority Corridor 27 was established, it used the MT 3 corridor (which does multiplex with US 87 from Moore to Great Falls) rather than the full US 87 alignment; MT 3 itself was not extended beyond its Billings-Lavina independent segment until HPC 27 was defined.
Though not quite a state route, Lassen County Route A3 (Standish-0Buntingville Road) offers a savings of 10 miles over US 395 between the road's namesake two destinations.
Through the 1950s and early 1960s, Route 30 between San Dimas and San Bernardino offered a slightly shorter connection between those two segments of US 66. Could also argue that between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles, pre-1960 route 26 (which the Santa Monica Freeway to the south supplanted) offered a less-congested route than US 66 (today's Route 2). Another example from that era of a more logical state route path as compared to the US route would be the difference between US 91 from Anaheim Hills to Long Beach as compared to Route 55 to Route 22.
Quote from: TheStranger on August 31, 2016, 12:38:44 PM
Quote from: sparker on August 28, 2016, 01:44:10 AM
NV 318 (with a short stretch over US 6) between Ash Springs & Ely, NV is a much more direct route than US 93, which "detours" eastward through Caliente before turning west again along US 6/50 via Connors Pass. The overall superiority of this "shortcut" was recognized when the N-S NHS corridor in this area was routed over NV 318 rather than US 93.
In that same vein...
Between Tonopah and Winnemucca, NV 376 and NV 305 provide a more direct pathway than US 95.
Both of these situations arise because what comprises the present-day shorter route either did not exist or was not an improved/paved roadway when the US routes were extended southward through Nevada. Also, the US routes tend to serve more populated areas than state route counterparts.
Quote from: sparker on August 28, 2016, 06:40:02 PM
Just remembered another one: PA 59 vs. US 6 between Warren and Southport in NW PA. PA 59 takes the direct route between those points, while US 6 veers south to serve the towns of Sheffield and Kane -- 39 miles (direct) as opposed to 50 miles via the more convoluted US 6 to the south.
This is probably a case of US6 being the much better road for large vehicles. There's a low bridge just west of Smethport (it's well signed heading west), that is just an old concrete railroad bridge. It really should be redone as trucks must go the long way while cars, if they know about it, can take the short way.
Though PA66-US6 to Smethport and then cutting up to Lawrenceville, PA and US15/Future I-99 is a great angle route from Pittsburgh toward Syracuse/Albany areas of New York.
Quote from: wphiii on August 29, 2016, 02:45:30 PM
PA 285/OH 85 between Conneaut Lake, PA and Andover, OH, while U.S. 6 weirdly meanders north over Pymatuning.
PA 59 also might be more direct than U.S. 6 between Warren, PA and Smethport.
Another issue with trucks. The causeway through Pymatuning Reservoir just can't handle big trucks or their weights. It's built up on piled rock and narrow. PA has a 10-ton weight limit on it, and the 'bridge' on the causeway isn't wide. Little shoulder. And you have fishing off the causeway down its entire length. Probably US6 existed in some form prior to the reservoir existing, and PA285 was just built when they realized they were going to cut off two large areas from one another in each state. Especially with Andover being the 'resort' area along the lake rather than the PA side (there's restaurants, fast food, hotels, etc in Andover). Same reason US322 makes the turn south around Jamestown and then west.
Another one would be OH 172 over US 30 from Canton to Lisbon. The US 30 freeway through Stark County ends abruptly just west of East Canton and dumps you on the old alignment. Then, in East Canton, US 30 makes an awkward jog south through town and then goes from town to town while OH 172 makes a relatively straight shot east. Google Maps gives it as the recommended route between Canton and Lisbon.
From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60. I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.
Quote from: DandyDan on August 31, 2016, 08:10:13 AM
In Iowa, I think IA 24 would make a better route for US 18 than the current US 18 east of New Hampton, or else IA 346 would make a better route for US 18 west of US 63 to US 218.
Also in Iowa, IA-51 and IA-9 between Postville and Decorah is a more direct route than US-52. If you allow county routes then CR W4B would make it even better.
When you take Wisconsin 77 from Mellen to Clam Lake, there is a stretch of county GG west of Mellen that is much shorter and faster than staying on 77. Saves 7 miles & 7 minutes.
Of course before they decommissioned US 2 between St Ignace & the Soo, M-28 was much shorter.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 05, 2016, 12:01:18 AM
From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60. I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.
Unless AZDOT puts a steroidal clone of the O'Callaghan-Tillman/I-11 bridge over the Salt River Canyon (yeah, right!), US 60/AZ 77 will never be a safer and more efficient route than 260/87. Besides -- pine forest vs. scrub brush? No contest in regards to scenery (both will burn equally well in any of the notorious Mogollon wildfires!).
Quote from: sparker on September 05, 2016, 06:04:44 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 05, 2016, 12:01:18 AM
From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60. I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.
Unless AZDOT puts a steroidal clone of the O'Callaghan-Tillman/I-11 bridge over the Salt River Canyon (yeah, right!), US 60/AZ 77 will never be a safer and more efficient route than 260/87. Besides -- pine forest vs. scrub brush? No contest in regards to scenery (both will burn equally well in any of the notorious Mogollon wildfires!).
Hey at least Salt River Canyon has one thing going for it. It's a much better route than old US 60T which used to follow AZ 73 when it went to Peridot. :rolleyes: One of my favorite fictional suggestions for AZ is have US 70 run to the I-10 stack, have AZ 77 stay the course, and have US 60 follow AZ 260, AZ 87, and AZ 202 to I-10 then Grand Ave.
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on August 31, 2016, 03:52:24 PM
So what is the deal with IN SR 63 and US 41 anyway? Why is US 41 not marked as US 41 ALT and SR 63 not marked as US 41?
They decided to just upgrade SR 63 from the northern US 41 / 63 intersection down to Clinton rather than upgrade US 41. Although up near Veedersburg, south of US 136, it looks like there may have been plans at some point to further widen US 41 to the south. In Clinton SR 63 actually crossed the river (now is SR 163) and ran concurrent with US 41 down to Terre Haute. So all of SR 63 from Clinton to TH is actually a totally new alignment. I'm also sure that the towns along US 41 fought to keep the "US" designation through their towns as well.
That's the million dollar question Hoosiers have been wondering of INDOT since this was completed. I think there may be several reasons..none of which make valid sense.
1. I am sure US 41 is correct in that the towns along US 41 fought to keep the designation. Now the realty, there are only (2) towns along this route of any size, Rockville and Attica. Neither of them are probably sniffing 5K in population. It makes absolutely no sense to cause years of confusion to motorists so (2) one-horse towns can claim to be on an US Route.
2. For whatever reason, there does appear to be some indications that INDOT or other interests wanted to make sure US 41 did not continue to be a viable route during the era of both the interstate construction and the improvements of this route. For starters, US 41 between Chicago and Nashville was left off of the interstate map, despite being the direct route, and heavily used at that time. Then, the routing of I-65 appears to be almost deliberately too far east to provide any benefit to this traffic. Anyone with a 3rd grade IQ or higher would have seen the benefits of running 65 a little farther west, and providing benefit not only to 65 traffic, but travelers using 41 from Evansville and Terre Haute. I think it's entirely possible that the powers feared that many motorists, with just a few stoplights in Terre Haute and Evansville, would opt to take the shorter and direct 41 route than travel the extra miles and fight the traffic in Indy and Louisville, if there was limited access for 41 traffic in Lake County.
Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.
INDOT wanted to build an interstate from NW Indiana down to Evansville, but it wasn't approved by the federal government. When INDOT wanted to build it, the Pennyrile in Kentucky did not exist yet. If it had existed it's very likely that it would have been approved. INDOT instead funded a 4 lane highway (US 41 / SR 63) from NW IN to Evansville.
Honestly I think INDOT just didn't want to change around a ton of signs to switch the routes. I think SR 63 probably should have been signed as Alt 41. It was SR 63 before it was 4 lanes, so they probably just figured they would stick with that. The signs on the north and south sides of the split are pretty clear that SR 63 is the through (main) route.
SS: https://goo.gl/maps/SbjucmUD6w52
NS: https://goo.gl/maps/xU3xCEbaQ2t
The freeway section of NJ 42 is better than US 30, which is not a freeway in that area
NJ 15 is preferable to US 206 between I-80 and NJ 15's northern terminus. It has a 7.5 mile freeway segment vs. US 206's 3 miles
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.
Interestingly, US 150 also could have easily been routed to use IN 63 instead of its current (and older) alignment between New Goshen and Terre Haute.
US 7 and CT 8 is a notable one. Termini aren't too far apart, but CT 8 is almost entirely freeway.
US 44 and NY 299 near New Paltz. Unless there's a traffic jam in New Paltz, NY 299 is a good 5-10 minutes faster, a couple miles shorter and a higher-quality road, even where locally-maintained.
NY 9H serves as an expressway bypass of US 9 through Valatie with grade separation for a stretch. if going between the termini, 9H is a good 10-15 minutes faster and generally avoids developed areas.
NH 101 and US 4/202. Not much explanation needed there.
Does Indiana even have any Alternate bannered routes anyway? I know that US 31W and US 31E were truncated back to Kentucky back some years ago.
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on September 06, 2016, 05:10:42 PM
Does Indiana even have any Alternate bannered routes anyway? I know that US 31W and US 31E were truncated back to Kentucky back some years ago.
Not that I am aware of. I have seen a few old maps that showed an Alternate 41 in Evansville, following Riverside Dr to downtown, then Sycamore and Virginia back to US 41, but I can't confirm if it was ever actually signed that way. I also recall seeing some showing Alternate 31 basically following the current SR 11 between Columbus and Seymour, but again, can't confirm it ever actually existed.
Quote from: TheStranger on September 06, 2016, 04:06:46 PM
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.
Interestingly, US 150 also could have easily been routed to use IN 63 instead of its current (and older) alignment between New Goshen and Terre Haute.
I'm not sure why INDOT hasn't ever built a highway connecting US 150 to SR 63. It seems like it would be a worth while project. I usually cut over using either Pennington Rd or Durkees Ferry Rd. There have been talks of INDOT building a connecting road some day. If they ever do it hopefully they built an interchange at SR 63 rather than have it come out to a stop light.
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on September 06, 2016, 05:10:42 PM
Does Indiana even have any Alternate bannered routes anyway? I know that US 31W and US 31E were truncated back to Kentucky back some years ago.
Many of the US highways have business routes, and a couple state highways have Truck routes, but there are no routes specifically bannered as "Alt" and none that have suffixes. US 31W was turned into IN 311 which eventually got eliminated entirely.
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
I think it's entirely possible that the powers feared that many motorists, with just a few stoplights in Terre Haute and Evansville, would opt to take the shorter and direct 41 route than travel the extra miles and fight the traffic in Indy and Louisville, if there was limited access for 41 traffic in Lake County.
I don't know about you guys or the general public, but the idea of driving in Lake County alone is enough to get me to take I-65 instead.
Driving through Lake County is certainly no worse than driving anywhere else off of the Interstate in a populated area. The benefits of going up US 41 outweigh the drive up I-65.
Quote from: pianocello on September 07, 2016, 03:41:22 PM
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
I think it's entirely possible that the powers feared that many motorists, with just a few stoplights in Terre Haute and Evansville, would opt to take the shorter and direct 41 route than travel the extra miles and fight the traffic in Indy and Louisville, if there was limited access for 41 traffic in Lake County.
I don't know about you guys or the general public, but the idea of driving in Lake County alone is enough to get me to take I-65 instead.
I agree. My point was that if I-65 had actually been routed a few miles west, and ran next to 41 from Kentland up through Lake County, that using 41 in its current state through Terre Haute and Evansville would be a viable option than taking I-65 out through Indy and Louisville. There is no way to describe 41 through Lake County other than it sucks. When going to Chicago from Evansville, I usually cut over at Kentland and head toward Kankakee to pick up I-57. There is really not much between Kentland and Kankakee and you can get on 57 prior to getting into Kankakee.
Quote from: TheStranger on September 06, 2016, 04:06:46 PM
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.
Interestingly, US 150 also could have easily been routed to use IN 63 instead of its current (and older) alignment between New Goshen and Terre Haute.
Looking at the map on this one I would say that the bridge over the Wabash River has something to do with US 150 remaining on the current alignment. You would have competing interests over not wanting to maintain that bridge. I can see Terre Haute stating that their corporate limits end at the foot of the bridge. Then you would have Vigo County probably not wanting to take all of the maintenance costs.
I would think that they just left it as is in lieu of naming US 150 some other route as I am sure that the state would need to retain maintenance over the bridge. If it wasn't for the bridge I would see see little reason for Indiana not to reroute it as they sure like to keep as little state maintenance as possible. I know there is some law in Indiana that limits mileage of the state system to something like 22,000 miles or so.
One I just noticed on Google Maps:
US 90 between the Huey P. Long Bridge and Broad Avenue/Tulane Avenue in New Orleans is a bit more circuitous than using the Earhart Expressway (LA 3139) and Earhart Boulevard then Broad Avenue to get in that direction.
Quote from: coatimundi on August 28, 2016, 03:29:13 AM
SR 17 versus US 285 in Colorado.
Whoops I didn't see this when I made my post. Good call though, look how much closer it goes to a national park
* US 67 versus IL 267 might qualify, even though the northern end of IL 267 no longer directly connects with US 67. US 67 goes through too many downtown areas that seem to eat time. Per Google though I'm not getting much of a distance advantage for IL 267 versus US 67.
* US 136 versus IL 336 from Tennessee to Macomb
* US 45 versus IL 145: ~13.6 mile saving via IL 145 per Google, plus avoidance of the bends in Metropolis
* US 20 versus IN 2: After the two routes bump near Rolling Prairie, IN 2 takes the more direct, four lane route to South Bend, while US 20 wanders a bit to the north before turning back south.
* One could make a case for US 61 versus MO 141 near St. Louis, with MO 141 being a slightly shorter, semi-expressway while the current alignment of US 61 has a lousy stretch with a busy railroad crossing in Kirkwood.
Swap US 20 and SR 34 between Lebanon and I-5. 34 is basically the "Central Valley Expressway" except for a couple of miles by Lebanon that ODOT once said they would upgrade but never did AFAIK.
The section of the current US 20 that would be swapped out is 2-lane highway.
Rick
There is one I like. Heading up US 84 from Coleman, TX to Sweetwater, TX it is faster to take TX 153 & TX 70 than by staying on US 84. There is not much on it though so "go" before you get on it.
Oh, and US 87 from Hartley, TX to south Amarillo, TX. You head southbound on US 385 to Boys Ranch and there is a state highway shortcut along the west end of Amarillo that comes out just south of town on I-27.
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on September 07, 2016, 08:06:12 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on September 06, 2016, 04:06:46 PM
Quote from: Captain Jack on September 06, 2016, 12:27:41 PM
Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.
Interestingly, US 150 also could have easily been routed to use IN 63 instead of its current (and older) alignment between New Goshen and Terre Haute.
Looking at the map on this one I would say that the bridge over the Wabash River has something to do with US 150 remaining on the current alignment. You would have competing interests over not wanting to maintain that bridge. I can see Terre Haute stating that their corporate limits end at the foot of the bridge. Then you would have Vigo County probably not wanting to take all of the maintenance costs.
I would think that they just left it as is in lieu of naming US 150 some other route as I am sure that the state would need to retain maintenance over the bridge. If it wasn't for the bridge I would see see little reason for Indiana not to reroute it as they sure like to keep as little state maintenance as possible. I know there is some law in Indiana that limits mileage of the state system to something like 22,000 miles or so.
My guess is that Terre Haute and Vigo County would have said no to maintaining 40 a couple of years ago if they would have had to of taken care of the bridges. (This is if 150 was routed to SR 63 a long time ago.)
Quote from: Revive 755 on September 15, 2016, 10:04:02 PM
* US 67 versus IL 267 might qualify, even though the northern end of IL 267 no longer directly connects with US 67. US 67 goes through too many downtown areas that seem to eat time. Per Google though I'm not getting much of a distance advantage for IL 267 versus US 67.
I know the two routes were switched pretty recently (sometime in the last ten years)...what was the reason for that? Was the current 67 corridor upgraded enough to be worth getting the US route nod in modern times?
One I just discovered looking through Google Maps:
US 169 between Gower, MO and King City, MO, where MO 31 takes the more direct path, while 169 deviates to the west to serve St. Joseph.
Between MO 31's two termini (27 miles apart), US 169 takes a routing that is 10 miles longer.
PA 285 over US 6 crossing the PA/OH Border.
For years VA 168, was routed better than US 60 between the HRBT to Toano in the VA Peninsula.
Some could argue about NJ 10 over US 46, as Route 10 is mostly divided and four lanes where US 46 is two lanes through Kenville, Mine Hill, Wharton, and Rockaway.
I want to say Maryland Route 97 against U.S. Route 29. MD-97's southern terminus is at Silver Spring near the DC line. This is where U.S. 29 turns onto (or away from) Georgia Avenue. MD-97 shoots northward from Silver Spring, as Georgia Avenue, through the suburban areas of Montgomery County, into central Howard County and then into Carroll County, where it passes through Westminster and then up north into Pennsylvania, where it becomes PA-97 and continues to Gettysburg.
U.S. 29, on the other hand, cuts through eastern MontCo, then hits up Howard County for a trip through Columbia, and then just stops at I-70 outside of Ellicott City. This leaves poor Carroll County with just a sliver of national-level highway: I-70/U.S. 40 in the county's southwest corner near Mount Airy. Westminster, a sizeable town, and the home of McDaniel College, has been without direct U.S. highway access since the transfer of U.S. 140 to Maryland state maintenance back in the day. A Gettysburg-DC U.S. highway corridor, though, seems like it would be really beneficial.
There was talk circa 2008 of extending U.S. 29 to Gettysburg by routing it onto I-70 from Ellicott City to West Friendship, MD-32 from there to south of Westminster and MD-97/PA-97 from there to either U.S. 15 east of Gettysburg or to U.S. 30 in downtown Gettysburg.
Quote from: TheStranger on August 29, 2016, 12:28:15 PM
In the 1930s/1940s, what was then Route 150 between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara was clearly the more direct route between the two compared to US 101, but freeway upgrades on 101 have negated that advantage to a degree. (That segment of 150 is now Route 154)
From the late 1950s to 1965-1966, Route 24 offered the much more straightline route to Marysville/Yuba City in comparison with US 99W and US 99E; after the 1964 state route renumbering, that portion of 24 became part of a realigned (state) Route 99 and the newly designated Route 70.
When US 50 ran between the Bay Area and Sacramento along today's I-580, I-205, I-5, Route 4 and Route 99 corridors, Route 24 between Oakland and Sacramento offered a scenic but less out-of-the-way route; while the portion of 24 from Oakland to Walnut Creek still exists, the rest has become I-680 (was Route 24/I-680 until 1990 or so), Route 242, Route 4 (originally Route 4/24), and Route 160.
And of course, the most direct route from Oakland to Sacramento was US 40, so the fact that SR 24 is more direct than US 50 does seem to ignore the "elephant in the room."
Quote from: epzik8 on September 24, 2016, 01:30:04 PM
I want to say Maryland Route 97 against U.S. Route 29. MD-97's southern terminus is at Silver Spring near the DC line. This is where U.S. 29 turns onto (or away from) Georgia Avenue. MD-97 shoots northward from Silver Spring, as Georgia Avenue, through the suburban areas of Montgomery County, into central Howard County and then into Carroll County, where it passes through Westminster and then up north into Pennsylvania, where it becomes PA-97 and continues to Gettysburg.
U.S. 29, on the other hand, cuts through eastern MontCo, then hits up Howard County for a trip through Columbia, and then just stops at I-70 outside of Ellicott City. This leaves poor Carroll County with just a sliver of national-level highway: I-70/U.S. 40 in the county's southwest corner near Mount Airy. Westminster, a sizeable town, and the home of McDaniel College, has been without direct U.S. highway access since the transfer of U.S. 140 to Maryland state maintenance back in the day. A Gettysburg-DC U.S. highway corridor, though, seems like it would be really beneficial.
There was talk circa 2008 of extending U.S. 29 to Gettysburg by routing it onto I-70 from Ellicott City to West Friendship, MD-32 from there to south of Westminster and MD-97/PA-97 from there to either U.S. 15 east of Gettysburg or to U.S. 30 in downtown Gettysburg.
If one is talking about DC-Gettysburg routings, there absolutely is/was a US level routing. US 140 followed Wisconsin Ave out of DC through Rockville to Frederick. From Frederick, US 15 took over to get to Gettysburg and Harrisburg. The old routing of this route is now known as MD-355, at least south of Frederick. Much of this corridor is now a freeway with I-270 seemlessly continuing its routing onto the US 15 freeway in Frederick. Even the non-freeway portions of US 15 are multi-lane fast moving road without traffic lights all the way to (almost) Harrisburg.
As someone who lives close to GA Ave about a mile north of the Beltway, I would never dream of using MD-97 all the way to Gettysburg. Its always Beltway-270-US 15 for the fastest trip.
It's debatable if CA/NV 88 via Carson Pass is a more efficient road than US 50 over Echo Summit. Granted US 50 gets you Lake Tahoe, but you have to slog through a lot of tourist areas to get over the Sierras. Carson Pass is also an all year pass and slightly higher than US 50 but will almost always get you where you are going on the western side of the Sierras faster...especially if you are heading to the Bay area.
There are quite a few state highways in Kentucky built better than their US counterparts.
I'd argue that WA-22 is routed better than US-97 around Toppenish. While the stretch of US-97 from Toppenish north to Yakima is a 4-lane divided expressway (with some signals and at-grade intersections), and WA-22 goes right through the center of Toppenish, the latter is by far a quicker route if you're trying to get up to/from I-82, and, in turn, a quicker route to/from Yakima. If they swapped the two, they'd also be in a direct line, rather than bouncing off one another at the junction.
Quote from: mrsman on October 23, 2016, 07:37:16 AM
Quote from: TheStranger on August 29, 2016, 12:28:15 PM
In the 1930s/1940s, what was then Route 150 between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara was clearly the more direct route between the two compared to US 101, but freeway upgrades on 101 have negated that advantage to a degree. (That segment of 150 is now Route 154)
From the late 1950s to 1965-1966, Route 24 offered the much more straightline route to Marysville/Yuba City in comparison with US 99W and US 99E; after the 1964 state route renumbering, that portion of 24 became part of a realigned (state) Route 99 and the newly designated Route 70.
When US 50 ran between the Bay Area and Sacramento along today's I-580, I-205, I-5, Route 4 and Route 99 corridors, Route 24 between Oakland and Sacramento offered a scenic but less out-of-the-way route; while the portion of 24 from Oakland to Walnut Creek still exists, the rest has become I-680 (was Route 24/I-680 until 1990 or so), Route 242, Route 4 (originally Route 4/24), and Route 160.
And of course, the most direct route from Oakland to Sacramento was US 40, so the fact that SR 24 is more direct than US 50 does seem to ignore the "elephant in the room."
Not really.
40 of course is the direct route but 24 to some extent was a viable (if slow) alternate, at least until US 40 started being upgraded to freeway as what is now I-80.
But that comparison was more designed to show that (former) US 50 between San Francisco and Sacramento has never been a practical route between the two locales, even when juxtaposed against a state highway routing that is mostly a scenic alternate north of Antioch.
SH 112 is shorter than US 271 between Poteau and Pocola by six miles.
US 63 in Rochester Minnesota through Lake City was longer than going up MN 58 from Zumbrota. Well, now they routed US 63 around Rochester but now it is even longer and a really stupid alignment around town. US 61 runs through Lake City anyway so there is little reason for US 63 to be on it's current alignment.