169 miles, 2 hr 22 min: US-131, Portage-Manton, MI
124 miles, 1 hr 46 min: US-67, Little Rock-Walnut Ridge, AR
98.0 miles, 1 hr 34 min: US-101, Los Angeles-Goleta, CA (Ventura Fwy)
98.0 miles, 1 hr 21 min: US-127, Ithaca-Grayling, MI
93.5 miles, 1 hr 29 min: US-23, Sylvania-Flint, OH-MI
89.6 miles, 1 hr 25 min: US-101, San Francisco-Hopland, CA (Presidio Pkwy, Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Hwy)
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
84.9 miles, 1 hr 20 min: US-20, Duncombe-Waterloo, IA
84.1 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-412, Perry-Tulsa, OK (Cimarron Turnpike)
83.8 miles, 1 hr 23 min: US-75, Dallas-Colbert, TX-OK
81.1 miles, 1 hr 7 min: US-69, Fort Scott-Lenexa, KS
79.0 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-101, Gilroy-San Francisco, CA (S Valley Fwy, Bayshore Fwy)
78.1 miles, 1 hr 8 min: US-35, Xenia-Richmond Dale, OH
68.4 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-421, Wilkesboro-Colfax, NC
66.7 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-22/322, Milroy-Harrisburg, PA
66.7 miles, 55 min: US-31, Grand Haven-Ludington, MI
63.9 miles, 54 min: US-53, Eau Claire-Haugen, WI
62.9 miles, 58 min: US-219, Meyersdale-Ebensburg, PA
61.6 miles, 54 min: US-15, Williamsport-Lawrenceville, PA
59.4 miles, 50 min: US-412, Fair Oaks-Flint Creek, OK (Cherokee Turnpike)
It's split between 2 different US routes, but the US 20/31 freeway from St Joseph MI to Elkhart IN is 57.4 miles.
US 31 itself from St Joseph MI to Plymouth IN is 57.8 miles of freeway but you have to exit from one freeway segment to another.
US 41 in Wisconsin ;-)
Quote from: Big John on July 14, 2021, 01:42:40 PM
US 41 in Wisconsin ;-)
I was assuming he meant non-interstate, though he didn't say it.
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 14, 2021, 01:43:46 PM
Quote from: Big John on July 14, 2021, 01:42:40 PM
US 41 in Wisconsin ;-)
I was assuming he meant non-interstate, though he didn't say it.
Otherwise US 40 in KS would win by a country mile.
US-30 from (north of) Lima to Mansfield --- I suppose portions of that stretch aren't technically "freeways." Is that why it's not on this list?
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
169 miles, 2 hr 22 min: US-131, Portage-Manton, MI
98.0 miles, 1 hr 34 min: US-101, Los Angeles-Goleta, CA (Ventura Fwy)
98.0 miles, 1 hr 21 min: US-127, Ithaca-Grayling, MI
93.5 miles, 1 hr 29 min: US-23, Sylvania-Flint, OH-MI
89.6 miles, 1 hr 25 min: US-101, San Francisco-Hopland, CA (Presidio Pkwy, Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Hwy)
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
84.9 miles, 1 hr 20 min: US-20, Duncombe-Waterloo, IA
84.1 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-412, Perry-Tulsa, OK (Cimarron Turnpike)
83.8 miles, 1 hr 23 min: US-75, Dallas-Colbert, TX-OK
81.1 miles, 1 hr 7 min: US-69, Fort Scott-Lenexa, KS
79.0 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-101, Gilroy-San Francisco, CA (S Valley Fwy, Bayshore Fwy)
78.1 miles, 1 hr 8 min: US-35, Xenia-Richmond Dale, OH
68.4 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-421, Wilkesboro-Colfax, NC
66.7 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-22/322, Milroy-Harrisburg, PA
66.7 miles, 55 min: US-31, Grand Haven-Ludington, MI
63.9 miles, 54 min: US-53, Eau Claire-Haugen, WI
62.9 miles, 58 min: US-219, Meyersdale-Ebensburg, PA
61.6 miles, 54 min: US-15, Williamsport-Lawrenceville, PA
59.4 miles, 50 min: US-412, Fair Oaks-Flint Creek, OK (Cherokee Turnpike)
55.8 miles, 53 min: US-70/70 BYP, Clayton-La Grange, NC
Very interesting that off that list, only 2 service more than one state.
For US 101 from Gilroy-SF, the all-freeway distance is actually 80.0436 miles if we include the Central Freeway segment between I-80 and Mission Street/Duboce Avenue/South Van Ness Avenue:
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=880319
US 264 in NC should be on this list...
Are we excluding routes that were originally built as US routes but the interstate designation was added later?
The entirety of US 23 in Tennessee is a freeway, but all but the northernmost couple of miles is co-signed as I-26. Even after the I-181 designation (when it was there) ended at US 321 in Johnson City, the freeway continued as US 23 (concurrent with US 19W for a distance) to the North Carolina state line.
Quote from: Big John on July 14, 2021, 01:42:40 PM
US 41 in Wisconsin ;-)
US 87 in Colorado and Wyoming :bigass:
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 14, 2021, 02:06:33 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 14, 2021, 01:43:46 PM
Quote from: Big John on July 14, 2021, 01:42:40 PM
US 41 in Wisconsin ;-)
I was assuming he meant non-interstate, though he didn't say it.
Otherwise US 40 in KS would win by a country mile.
US-87 between Raton, NM and Glenrock, WY has it beat by 200 miles, concurrent with I-25 the whole way.
US 67 between North Little Rock, AR and Walnut Ridge, AR (127 mi) although this one is more or less an interstate in the works, so it may not count.
(https://i.imgur.com/nGtAHhr.png)
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
This one comes out to about 98 miles, 1 hr 24 min, not 86 miles.
Quote
55.8 miles, 53 min: US-70/70 BYP, Clayton-La Grange, NC
This isn't even close to being all freeway.
Big gap between the Clayton Bypass and Goldsboro Bypass that's non-limited-access highway. It's planned to be upgraded within the next decade apart of I-42, but it's not now.
Quote from: Mapmikey on July 14, 2021, 02:28:46 PM
US 264 in NC should be on this list...
Agreed, between US-64 at Zebulon to Greenville is around 63 miles.
I'll add US-421 between Greensboro and Wilkesboro is around 70 miles long.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 14, 2021, 02:32:08 PM
Are we excluding routes that were originally built as US routes but the interstate designation was added later?
The entirety of US 23 in Tennessee is a freeway, but all but the northernmost couple of miles is co-signed as I-26. Even after the I-181 designation (when it was there) ended at US 321 in Johnson City, the freeway continued as US 23 (concurrent with US 19W for a distance) to the North Carolina state line.
Another one that also qualifies is US 52 from Lexington to Mt Airy, NC. It has had the I-285 designation added to it from Lexington to Winston-Salem, and will have the I-74 designation added north of Winston-Salem. But it has always carried the US 52 designation for as long as it has existed.
Good luck getting from Los Angeles to Goleta in 94 minutes on US 101. Interestingly I am assuming that segment of US 101 is part of what I believe to be the longest segment of US Route lacking a traffic light (Los Angeles-San Francisco).
Quote from: sprjus4 on July 14, 2021, 03:35:48 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
This one comes out to about 98 miles, 1 hr 24 min, not 86 miles.
Quote
55.8 miles, 53 min: US-70/70 BYP, Clayton-La Grange, NC
This isn't even close to being all freeway.
Big gap between the Clayton Bypass and Goldsboro Bypass that's non-limited-access highway. It's planned to be upgraded within the next decade apart of I-42, but it's not now.
Quote from: Mapmikey on July 14, 2021, 02:28:46 PM
US 264 in NC should be on this list...
Agreed, between US-64 at Zebulon to Greenville is around 63 miles.
I'll add US-421 between Greensboro and Wilkesboro is around 70 miles long.
I didn't count the I-87 segment.
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
169 miles, 2 hr 22 min: US-131, Portage-Manton, MI
124 miles, 1 hr 46 min: US-67, Little Rock-Walnut Ridge, AR
98.0 miles, 1 hr 34 min: US-101, Los Angeles-Goleta, CA (Ventura Fwy)
98.0 miles, 1 hr 21 min: US-127, Ithaca-Grayling, MI
93.5 miles, 1 hr 29 min: US-23, Sylvania-Flint, OH-MI
89.6 miles, 1 hr 25 min: US-101, San Francisco-Hopland, CA (Presidio Pkwy, Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Hwy)
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
84.9 miles, 1 hr 20 min: US-20, Duncombe-Waterloo, IA
84.1 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-412, Perry-Tulsa, OK (Cimarron Turnpike)
83.8 miles, 1 hr 23 min: US-75, Dallas-Colbert, TX-OK
81.1 miles, 1 hr 7 min: US-69, Fort Scott-Lenexa, KS
79.0 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-101, Gilroy-San Francisco, CA (S Valley Fwy, Bayshore Fwy)
78.1 miles, 1 hr 8 min: US-35, Xenia-Richmond Dale, OH
68.4 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-421, Wilkesboro-Colfax, NC
66.7 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-22/322, Milroy-Harrisburg, PA
66.7 miles, 55 min: US-31, Grand Haven-Ludington, MI
63.9 miles, 54 min: US-53, Eau Claire-Haugen, WI
62.9 miles, 58 min: US-219, Meyersdale-Ebensburg, PA
61.6 miles, 54 min: US-15, Williamsport-Lawrenceville, PA
59.4 miles, 50 min: US-412, Fair Oaks-Flint Creek, OK (Cherokee Turnpike)
for extra credit would Interstate number would you give them
A few of these may not be this list forever:
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
169 miles, 2 hr 22 min: US-131, Portage-Manton, MI
124 miles, 1 hr 46 min: US-67, Little Rock-Walnut Ridge, AR–future I-57
98.0 miles, 1 hr 34 min: US-101, Los Angeles-Goleta, CA (Ventura Fwy)
98.0 miles, 1 hr 21 min: US-127, Ithaca-Grayling, MI
93.5 miles, 1 hr 29 min: US-23, Sylvania-Flint, OH-MI
89.6 miles, 1 hr 25 min: US-101, San Francisco-Hopland, CA (Presidio Pkwy, Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Hwy)
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
84.9 miles, 1 hr 20 min: US-20, Duncombe-Waterloo, IA
84.1 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-412, Perry-Tulsa, OK (Cimarron Turnpike)–possible future interstate (legislation pending in Congress, number TBD)
83.8 miles, 1 hr 23 min: US-75, Dallas-Colbert, TX-OK
81.1 miles, 1 hr 7 min: US-69, Fort Scott-Lenexa, KS
79.0 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-101, Gilroy-San Francisco, CA (S Valley Fwy, Bayshore Fwy)
78.1 miles, 1 hr 8 min: US-35, Xenia-Richmond Dale, OH
68.4 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-421, Wilkesboro-Colfax, NC
66.7 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-22/322, Milroy-Harrisburg, PA
66.7 miles, 55 min: US-31, Grand Haven-Ludington, MI
63.9 miles, 54 min: US-53, Eau Claire-Haugen, WI
62.9 miles, 58 min: US-219, Meyersdale-Ebensburg, PA
61.6 miles, 54 min: US-15, Williamsport-Lawrenceville, PA
59.4 miles, 50 min: US-412, Fair Oaks-Flint Creek, OK (Cherokee Turnpike)–possible future interstate (legislation pending in Congress, number TBD)
The Cherokee Turnpike is only 33 miles long. US 412 quickly devolves into divided at grade expressway at each end of the turnpike. Also, if you want to get technical, the Keystone Expressway has an at grade.
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on July 14, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
169 miles, 2 hr 22 min: US-131, Portage-Manton, MI
124 miles, 1 hr 46 min: US-67, Little Rock-Walnut Ridge, AR
98.0 miles, 1 hr 34 min: US-101, Los Angeles-Goleta, CA (Ventura Fwy)
98.0 miles, 1 hr 21 min: US-127, Ithaca-Grayling, MI
93.5 miles, 1 hr 29 min: US-23, Sylvania-Flint, OH-MI
89.6 miles, 1 hr 25 min: US-101, San Francisco-Hopland, CA (Presidio Pkwy, Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Hwy)
85.9 miles, 1 hr 11 min: US-64, Knightdale-Williamston, NC
84.9 miles, 1 hr 20 min: US-20, Duncombe-Waterloo, IA
84.1 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-412, Perry-Tulsa, OK (Cimarron Turnpike)
83.8 miles, 1 hr 23 min: US-75, Dallas-Colbert, TX-OK
81.1 miles, 1 hr 7 min: US-69, Fort Scott-Lenexa, KS
79.0 miles, 1 hr 12 min: US-101, Gilroy-San Francisco, CA (S Valley Fwy, Bayshore Fwy)
78.1 miles, 1 hr 8 min: US-35, Xenia-Richmond Dale, OH
68.4 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-421, Wilkesboro-Colfax, NC
66.7 miles, 1 hr 2 min: US-22/322, Milroy-Harrisburg, PA
66.7 miles, 55 min: US-31, Grand Haven-Ludington, MI
63.9 miles, 54 min: US-53, Eau Claire-Haugen, WI
62.9 miles, 58 min: US-219, Meyersdale-Ebensburg, PA
61.6 miles, 54 min: US-15, Williamsport-Lawrenceville, PA
59.4 miles, 50 min: US-412, Fair Oaks-Flint Creek, OK (Cherokee Turnpike)
The US 322 freeway has a couple at-grade intersections while near the Laurel Creek Reservoir, and also loses freeway status between US 11/US 15 and PA 849 near Duncannon. The distance between these two points is 53.1 miles.
If we consider those at-grades near the reservoir to not detract from freeway status, similar to I-40 in western North Carolina, then the distance grows to 58.8 miles from Potters Mills to Duncannon, as the project to upgrade US 322 there is now complete.
There's also the pesky matter of the at-grade railroad crossing in Lewistown, which some may feel also creates a gap in the freeway.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
It's not very secret amongst this group.
Amusingly if US 99 wasn't decommissioned it would blow anything on this list out of the water.
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
I don't think there is anything secret about it, unsigned yes but secret nah.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 15, 2021, 08:25:03 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
I live in Grand Rapids, and I'll bet 90%+ of the residents here have no idea that there is an unsigned I-296 designation.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
I don't think there is anything secret about it, unsigned yes but secret nah.
Do the average non-roadgeek even know about unsigned interstates? Like I don't think more people call the US 50 freeway as "I-595" than "US 50" .
It doesn't matter unsigned or not it's still an Interstate between I-196 and I-96.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:00:44 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
It's not very secret amongst this group.
I would say that not only would US 131 count with the unsigned I-296 segment, but the 55 mile stretch of US 127 from just north of I-94 to just north of St. Johns, Michigan would also count. While I-496 joins US 127 for 4 miles, I-496 is incidental to the longer I-127 freeway which extends in either direction just as US 131 does in Grand Rapids.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:00:44 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
It's not very secret amongst this group.
And it used to be signed.
To me, unsigned = nonexistent.
Quote from: GaryV on July 15, 2021, 12:22:05 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:00:44 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 14, 2021, 11:58:48 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 14, 2021, 11:08:09 PM
If this excludes interstates how is US-131 continuous between Portage and Manton? There is a hidden interstate I-296 between I-196 and I-96.
Cripes sake, stop nitpicking at the OP's intent. 296 is a secret unsigned designation. 131 is clearly signed and on maps; it's not a hidden or assumed routing.
It's not very secret amongst this group.
And it used to be signed.
And is still considered I-296 even though it's not signed correct?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 15, 2021, 07:45:50 AM
Amusingly if US 99 wasn't decommissioned it would blow anything on this list out of the water.
And it still would have been even without the south Merced section finished a few years back; from I-5 at Wheeler Ridge to the Madera/Merced county line north of Chowchilla (the previous north end of the freeway section) is 173 miles and change; longer than the US 131 continuum in MI (including the multiplex with hidden I-296). Now, it's a hair over 299 miles to the Oak Park interchange in Sacramento -- then you have the situation where it would multiplex with hidden I-305 and I-5 to get to the next freeway section. So avoiding controversy, 299 it is. But the shields are green spades, so it's moot; the next likely designation would be as an Interstate (maybe).
Washington's longest might be US 395, which has a 20-mile section between two at-grade intersections. If the remaining at-grade intersections between Pasco and Ritzville are eliminated/replaced, then it would be 73 miles of continuous freeway.
Quote from: sparker on July 15, 2021, 05:30:06 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 15, 2021, 07:45:50 AM
Amusingly if US 99 wasn't decommissioned it would blow anything on this list out of the water.
And it still would have been even without the south Merced section finished a few years back; from I-5 at Wheeler Ridge to the Madera/Merced county line north of Chowchilla (the previous north end of the freeway section) is 173 miles and change; longer than the US 131 continuum in MI (including the multiplex with hidden I-296). Now, it's a hair over 299 miles to the Oak Park interchange in Sacramento -- then you have the situation where it would multiplex with hidden I-305 and I-5 to get to the next freeway section. So avoiding controversy, 299 it is. But the shields are green spades, so it's moot; the next likely designation would be as an Interstate (maybe).
Wasn't the Wheeler Ridge-Chowchilla segment of US 99 finished to freeway standards before it was truncated out of California in 1965? I want to say the Turlock Bypass was another post US 99 segment which opened in the late 1970s?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 15, 2021, 07:45:50 AM
Amusingly if US 99 wasn't decommissioned it would blow anything on this list out of the water.
I never understood that decommissioning.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 15, 2021, 07:10:10 PM
Quote from: sparker on July 15, 2021, 05:30:06 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 15, 2021, 07:45:50 AM
Amusingly if US 99 wasn't decommissioned it would blow anything on this list out of the water.
And it still would have been even without the south Merced section finished a few years back; from I-5 at Wheeler Ridge to the Madera/Merced county line north of Chowchilla (the previous north end of the freeway section) is 173 miles and change; longer than the US 131 continuum in MI (including the multiplex with hidden I-296). Now, it's a hair over 299 miles to the Oak Park interchange in Sacramento -- then you have the situation where it would multiplex with hidden I-305 and I-5 to get to the next freeway section. So avoiding controversy, 299 it is. But the shields are green spades, so it's moot; the next likely designation would be as an Interstate (maybe).
Wasn't the Wheeler Ridge-Chowchilla segment of US 99 finished to freeway standards before it was truncated out of California in 1965? I want to say the Turlock Bypass was another post US 99 segment which opened in the late 1970s?
There were a couple of segments of 99 south of Chowchilla that remained expressway both before and after the 1966 re-signing as CA 99; both were in Madera County; one between the San Joaquin River bridge and Madera, and the other between Madera and CA 152. The former was upgraded to full freeway circa 1980, while the latter retained at-grade crossings through about 2010 (one actually accessed one of the last "big orange" juice stands, which IIRC finally closed up shop circa 1998).
Quote from: ztonyg on July 15, 2021, 10:56:07 PM
I never understood that decommissioning.
Since the total mileage of US 99 (including 99E) not subsumed by various portions of I-5 would have exceeded 300 intrastate miles, it could have technically been retained in CA. But after both WA and OR decided to decommission their sections, the DOH, with AASHO's consent, elected to follow suit. Apparently DOH management decided that the only US routes that should remain within CA were those serving other states as well; US 99 would have been an intrastate "orphan", which didn't sit well with the prevailing agency policies at the time, especially since it would have multiplexed on I-5 through Sacramento in any case. Also, the portion of CA 99 between Sacramento and Yuba City was at the time considered substandard (particularly the narrow Feather River bridge on former LRN 245 as well as the then-awkward CA 99/113 junction) and deemed inappropriate as a signed US route. Essentially DOH didn't want to buck the trend started in OR and WA, so they simply cited the situations described above, plus their own policies, and went ahead and decommissioned the US highway.
P.S.: the Turlock freeway bypass was completed in late 1973, 7 years after the signage change from US 99 to CA 99.
Quote from: sparker on July 16, 2021, 02:56:09 AM
Since the total mileage of US 99 (including 99E) not subsumed by various portions of I-5 would have exceeded 300 intrastate miles, it could have technically been retained in CA. But after both WA and OR decided to decommission their sections, the DOH, with AASHO's consent, elected to follow suit. Apparently DOH management decided that the only US routes that should remain within CA were those serving other states as well; US 99 would have been an intrastate "orphan", which didn't sit well with the prevailing agency policies at the time, especially since it would have multiplexed on I-5 through Sacramento in any case. Also, the portion of CA 99 between Sacramento and Yuba City was at the time considered substandard (particularly the narrow Feather River bridge on former LRN 245 as well as the then-awkward CA 99/113 junction) and deemed inappropriate as a signed US route. Essentially DOH didn't want to buck the trend started in OR and WA, so they simply cited the situations described above, plus their own policies, and went ahead and decommissioned the US highway.
P.S.: the Turlock freeway bypass was completed in late 1973, 7 years after the signage change from US 99 to CA 99.
I remember a 1964 era California Highways and Public Works article that straight up mentioned that switching from US 99 to Route 99 was done in part because of wanting to use the green shields more. Not that that was the only reason - but that it was mentioned at all was interesting. I know I've posted about it before in this forum but not sure which exact issue mentioned it.
Quote from: TheStranger on July 16, 2021, 04:07:18 PM
Quote from: sparker on July 16, 2021, 02:56:09 AM
Since the total mileage of US 99 (including 99E) not subsumed by various portions of I-5 would have exceeded 300 intrastate miles, it could have technically been retained in CA. But after both WA and OR decided to decommission their sections, the DOH, with AASHO's consent, elected to follow suit. Apparently DOH management decided that the only US routes that should remain within CA were those serving other states as well; US 99 would have been an intrastate "orphan", which didn't sit well with the prevailing agency policies at the time, especially since it would have multiplexed on I-5 through Sacramento in any case. Also, the portion of CA 99 between Sacramento and Yuba City was at the time considered substandard (particularly the narrow Feather River bridge on former LRN 245 as well as the then-awkward CA 99/113 junction) and deemed inappropriate as a signed US route. Essentially DOH didn't want to buck the trend started in OR and WA, so they simply cited the situations described above, plus their own policies, and went ahead and decommissioned the US highway.
P.S.: the Turlock freeway bypass was completed in late 1973, 7 years after the signage change from US 99 to CA 99.
I remember a 1964 era California Highways and Public Works article that straight up mentioned that switching from US 99 to Route 99 was done in part because of wanting to use the green shields more. Not that that was the only reason - but that it was mentioned at all was interesting. I know I've posted about it before in this forum but not sure which exact issue mentioned it.
I remember something about CalTrans wanting a Green 99 over White 99 and it still baffles me. By that logic, they could have gone for a Green 101 south of Crescent City and Green 395 south of Bishop, though I'm glad they didn't.
And I'm fairly certain I read that Oregon didn't opt to downgrade 99 prior to California; that they did so following Green 99 and Washington did theirs in.
I still miss the missigned US 99E along I-5 between Salem and Albany :(