What highway will always be #1 to you, for whatever reason? For me it's US-51.
I don't closely associate with any highway for fear of getting the coronavirus.
Seriously, MA 110.
US 66 since I've traveled so many alignment variations it was on in the Western States. US 99 is rapidly climbing towards the top given how much I feature it on Gribblenation. I never really lived anywhere long enough to have a true life long association with any particular road. Some other highways that have some personal significance; US 7, US 202, US 12, US 27, I-96, US 60, AZ 101, AZ 51, FL 50, US 1, I-4, US 41, CA 41, CA 180, and CA 198.
I-80! for obvious reasons and I-280 because my childhood home is near that freeway.
I-84, since it seems I'm on it most days and I'm a complex person like the multitude of terrains it traverses. Plus, I don't need the spotlight like I-95.
Probably I-45, since I've made so many drives up and down that freeway and that's the freeway I'm most familiar with.
Though US 59 would be a close contender.
I-75. I've lived near it all my life and ride on a part of it everyday.
Also I know every curve, overpass and exit from downtown Detroit to Bay City.
It's a tossup between I-290 and I-294 in the greater Chicago area.
I-94. It seems I am on it nearly every day, but only in the eastbound direction for some odd reason.
CA 99 and US 99 before that. Trekking up and down that road from L.A. to Sacramento, starting from when my first lasting memories kicked in ca. 1955 or so cemented my interest in roads -- particularly watching it go from a 2 (and sometimes 3!)-lane street/road to the freeway that it is today. Even though my ventures over it number in the multiple hundreds, I still enjoy my time on 99 -- always find something I haven't seen before (even the adjacent and nascent HSR structures around Fresno -- just another thing to get pissed about!). And I always like crossing CA 198 -- to me, that's the effective dividing line between Southern and Northern California! -- and it just isn't the same on I-5; NB on that road, I know the odor of the Harris Ranch feedlot is coming right up!
Even though other roads are fascinating, and I love learning their history and my bucket list involves old alignments and nooks and crannies across the country, the NJ Turnpike will always be my road back home.
I mean, literally and figuratively, if you want to get technical.
But yeah, I've been up and down several times from childhood - it connected my family from PA to NY, it was the site of 16 year old me's first high speed highway merger... where I predictably almost caused my oh-shit-handle-clutching mother a coronary when I over-enthusiastically gunned the gas. I'll always have a strong affinity for the NJ Turnpike, the somewhat scoliotic spine of New Jersey.
Currently I-35 as that is the highway out of the area and also you can see where I work from there.
U.S. Route 1, or I-95.
I-78
I-87
I-95
I-287
US 202
US 206
Hmm... I don't know.
I've noticed that most people here have listed an Interstate. However, it's definitely MA 110 for me. Here's why: I live very close to MA 110. My commute to UMass Lowell by bus is mostly on MA 110, so I'm on it almost every weekday. I also like 45 mph surface roads with no traffic lights, and I think there should be more of them; MA 110 through Dracut and near the Methuen/Haverhill line are two segments like this.
I really don't know.
MA 9? Grew up along it.
I-90? Most of my life has occurred along it somewhere.
I-95? Traveled up and down it very frequently.
I-81? Traveling through the land of my ancestors... :D
It's one of those.
US 101 for the win!
Rick
US 74. That highway raised me as a little kid. Did and went to so many things along it that I have memories of now. It takes me everywhere and I also learned to drive on it.
I also have M-58 and M-84 that are close to me. Both use to be other highways. M-84 took over for part of M-47 and M-58 took over for US-10 and M-47. In fact the only stretch of M-47 original to that highway is the short stretch between M-58 and M-46.
An interesting thought...
I would say WA's SR 525, 526, and 20, as those are the roads I know best. But I also have a soft spot for IN's SR 18, 218, and 25, as well as the former SR 18/25/39/US 421 Multiplex. Additionally, MI's M-21 and M-24, given my time spent in Flint and Lake Orīon. And finally, US 24 and I-69 which were frequent travels for me between college and my Uncle's farm in Indiana.
I never really identified with any of the Oregon routes I lived near, nor the long-distance Interstates.
This might be blasphemy, but for me it's the Bud Shuster Abomination Porkbarrel Expressway I-576? I-99. I've lived in State College since I was two and 99 has been a thing ever since I was little. When I was pretty young the I-99 designation was added to the US-220 freeway, and I didn't understand how we could take 99 north, drive EAST, and get on 95. Most of what I remember of driving from when I was a kid is on I-99, and the first time I got onto a highway in the front left seat (fine, it was six months ago) was I-99. So I'd say I associate myself more with I-99 than any other highway.
I-35 and US 61
Hmmm, I wonder, which one could it be?
:hmmm: :hmmm: :hmmm:
I-95. All the areas I have lived other than my original of Chicago, are served by I-95.
Melbourne, FL
Alexandria, VA
Philadelphia, PA
Petersburg, VA
Richmond, VA
Quote from: sparker on March 14, 2020, 01:32:25 AM
CA 99 and US 99 before that. Trekking up and down that road from L.A. to Sacramento, starting from when my first lasting memories kicked in ca. 1955 or so cemented my interest in roads -- particularly watching it go from a 2 (and sometimes 3!)-lane street/road to the freeway that it is today. Even though my ventures over it number in the multiple hundreds, I still enjoy my time on 99 -- always find something I haven't seen before (even the adjacent and nascent HSR structures around Fresno -- just another thing to get pissed about!). And I always like crossing CA 198 -- to me, that's the effective dividing line between Southern and Northern California! -- and it just isn't the same on I-5; NB on that road, I know the odor of the Harris Ranch feedlot is coming right up!
The last thing I expected in this thread was to see CA 198 twice. Criminally underrated scenic highway in the Diablos and surprisingly important highway in the Central Valley.
US 41. It goes to my birth city (Oshkosh, WI), and is one of the most scenic drives in the world in Downtown Chicago.
I would have to say Indiana State Road 37 and Interstate 69, because they connect my city of birth (Fort Wayne), the city where I went to college (Bloomington, IN) and my city of residence for the past 43 years (Indianapolis). While not contiguous for their entire route, they now are in the latter two cities. Also, they are the closest numbered highways to my present domicile (about 1 mile away), and I-69 was the first freeway I ever drove on when learning how to drive way back in 1972.
CTH PP, aka Good Hope Road, in Milwaukee County. I was raised and after the Navy finished college in Green Bay. My senior year of college (1986-87) I started a long distance relationship with someone in St Louis. A year later I moved there, but continued to drive back to Green Bay frequently. I'd take I-43, take CTH PP and US 45 around Milwaukee before continuing down I-43 to Beloit to avoid both Chicago and downtown Milwaukee (and most of the *&!# Illinois tolls that were too much for my college budget). So first, CTH PP was like my first secret shortcut and I'm good at finding shortcuts even when I'm unfamiliar with an area. Second is because I'm now 63 and sometimes I just gotta go right now.
US 113 in DE. I lived within 5 miles of 113 for 20 yrs & traveled it multi-times daily.
For my answer, look no further than the username to the left of this sentence.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 14, 2020, 02:30:35 PM
I-35 and US 61
US 61 was THE highway of my childhood, as that was the highway we were always on when we had to go out of Cottage Grove for something. Can't say I was on very much of it outside the Twin Cities area, though.
Capital Beltway (both the I-95 and I-495 sections), formerly planned to be called the Circumferential Highway.
I grew up with that road, and have memories from early childhood of its construction and completion in 1964, and how much of a difference it made once all of it was open to traffic.
I have also experienced all of its major construction projects, including the Maryland widening most of it to 8 lanes in the early 1970's, VDH going from a 4 lane Beltway to 8 lanes in the mid-1970's from Springfield to the American Legion Bridge, the re-decking of the Wilson Bridge (added narrow shoulders but did not increase critical lanes from the 6 that were there when the bridge opened in 1961), the widening of the rest of the Maryland part from 6 to 8 lanes in the 1980's (in spite of much objection from Montgomery County (Maryland) NIMBYs), the redecking and widening of the American Legion Bridge in the late 1980's, the reconstruction of interchanges at U.S. 50 in Prince George's County, the Springfield Interchange (which has made things a lot better), the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the objection of NIMBYs in City of Alexandria (Virginia) and in Prince George's County (Maryland), the addition of the four new 495Express HOV/Toll lanes (between Springfield and just north of VA-267), and more things to come.
I can also remember some of the terrible crashes on the road, the biggest impact probably coming from crashes involving gasoline tank trucks (two at VA-236, one at I-270Y, one between MD-450 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and most recently, just north of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the American Legion Bridge). Fortunately the last one did not explode like the others.
Dumb luck that there was no explosion with that last one, I suppose, as the Virginia State Police determined in a post-crash inspection that the tank trailer had no braking capacity at all.
US 74 or US 70. I have lived within a mile of either route for most of my life.
US-6
Growing up on Cape Cod, how could I not? :-D
I-75 because I grew up less than a mile from the nearest exit, and where I live now, I can see I-75 from my balcony, even though it's two miles away. It was also the primary route to our family's cabin in Michigan, and to Marblehead OH where I frequently go in the summer.
I-71 is a close runner-up as I took it frequently when in college, and it's also the road that connects me to my grandkids.
US-2 also holds a special place in my heart as when we left I-75 to get on US-2 West, it meant we were almost to the cabin (and the scenery is gorgeous).
I always had an affinity for US-131, even though I've lived near I-75 for the last 2/3's of my life (so far). It was kind of a love/hate relationship. For some reason I liked the route, even though we often tried to get off of it as soon as possible when driving "up north" because the freeway extensions to Cadillac and then Manton weren't complete when I was younger.
Interstate: I-90, which, as I'm sure most of you know, has a full set of children in upstate New York. And I use it all the time! See: my frequent complaints that it should be widened (which have largely ceased at the moment thanks to winter and coronavirus).
US Route: None! US 20 is the only one close to me, and I haven't used it often enough for it to have any sort of special meaning.
State Route: Hmmm. Probably NY 286, just due to proximity and how frequently I've used different segments of it on a recurring basis at various points in life. In terms of a state route freeway, NY 590 runs away with it.
IL-43 for me... connects all of the communities I've frequented throughout my childhood. IL-68 would be a close second since I can access it very easily from my house (my street has an end at it).
If I had to pick an interstate, probably I-94, since it connects us to Chicago as well as our go-to for going up north. I-294 would make a very close second.
US-71. I've never lived more than 25 miles from it. And never more than 2 hours from my birthplace. Been all over the world, but always come back home to God's country.
NY 17 (hence the Southern Tier Expy shield for my avatar). Every road trip when I was a kid started on 17, and much of my fascination with roads stems from various quirks about the highway (e.g., how 17 exited off of itself and was signed as the STE through downtown Corning in the early 90s, the stretch in eastern Broome County that had intersections and on-expressway homes/businesses, the pavement test area near the Chemung/Tioga county border that still seems pristine 30 years later, the fact that it was the only highway for miles that had a shield with its name).
Mainly US 17 and KY 17 as I have lived within 1 mile of US 17 in both Chesapeake, VA and Portsmouth, VA and within 1/2 mile of KY 17 currently here in Covington, KY.
Also, to a lesser extent, NY 17 (I-86) as that is one of my favorite highways to drive.
It's a 3-way tie between US-117, I-795, and US-70 in NC. I grew up in Wayne County and lived there 14 years (1995-2009), some in Fremont, some in Goldsboro.
However, if I had to pick only one of the three, I'd say US-117, since I actually lived in a house in Fremont that had a North Wilson Street (US-117) address.
Right now, it's Tx-288. My second place would be I-10, cause I used to live in Baton Rouge and drove that all the time.
Unlike most people on this thread, I don't really associate with a US route; but if I had to pick one, it would be US-59
I-70
I grew up around St. Louis, and as a kid I was fascinated by the different cities on interstate signs (especially Kansas City). In my 20s, my first real road trip was largely on I-70 (STL to LA). In my 30s I moved to Denver, also on I-70 and still take trips west regularly. And I can see it from my balcony :clap:
Quote from: Couleurs on March 19, 2020, 07:31:36 PM
I-70
I grew up around St. Louis, and as a kid I was fascinated by the different cities on interstate signs (especially Kansas City). In my 20s, my first real road trip was largely on I-70 (STL to LA). In my 30s I moved to Denver, also on I-70 and still take trips west regularly. And I can see it from my balcony :clap:
No trip on I-70 east to Baltimore, Maryland? I have done all of it, including Breezewood, Pennsylvania, most of it both ways.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 20, 2020, 07:05:59 PM
Quote from: Couleurs on March 19, 2020, 07:31:36 PM
I-70
I grew up around St. Louis, and as a kid I was fascinated by the different cities on interstate signs (especially Kansas City). In my 20s, my first real road trip was largely on I-70 (STL to LA). In my 30s I moved to Denver, also on I-70 and still take trips west regularly. And I can see it from my balcony :clap:
No trip on I-70 east to Baltimore, Maryland? I have done all of it, including Breezewood, Pennsylvania, most of it both ways.
Not yet, but it's on my to-do list
Younger years: Probably I-295 (NJ) or maybe NJ Route 47
Not quite so much younger years - You guessed it - Garden State Parkway.
Probably the ones I've lived closest to, in chronological order:
I-635
US-175
FM 1389
US-165
Also I-20 going between Texas and Louisiana to visit family.
For me, it's US 95 in Las Vegas. It was the closest highway to my house growing up, and many of my earliest roadgeek memories involve the highway in some way (reading road signs at age 4, earliest exposure to major road construction projects, first freeway I ever drove on, etc.)
Easily I-95 for me. If I would've ever got any tattoos then that probably would've been one of them :-D
US 66, I-5 and I-90. Those three highways connect with all three cities I've lived in my entire life (Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle).
MA 128
US 209, PA 33, and PA 115.
US 11 or US 15. First 6 years of my life I lived in a house on US 11. I have also lived several places either immediately adjacent to US 15, or within a few miles.
Possible honorable mention to US 22, it remains my longest clinched single route at 649 miles, and many road trips to visit friends and family directly involve US 22.