I am limiting this to interstates because they tend to be longer and harder to clinch, but what interstate was the first for you to clinch? How did you feel?
I wonder because for me it was I-37 from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and I was somewhere younger than 10, so clinching wasn't a thing. It was just a family trip. Yes, I was wild about roads then too, but driving the whole length of an interstate wasn't something to do, it just happened, but still was great! Of course, being a kid, I couldn't see past this and didn't realize there were much more to clinch.
I'm sure it was I-27, back when I was in high school–heck, I probably clinched it on a learner's permit.
I didn't think anything of it, because "clinching" wasn't a concept I had in my brain at that time.
First interstate clinched was I-465, not sure of the exact year but it was by 1992.
First 2di clinched was I-43 I-76(W) if we're counting the 76s separately. Otherwise, it's I-19 in 2000.
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Going to try to put years on all of these, but many are estimates:
8 - 2019
11 - 2019
17 - 2019
19 - 2000
39 - 2020
41 - 2012
43 - 2001?
65 - 2011
74 - 2020
76(W) - 1990
88 - 2004
96 - 2018
Mine was I-19 (probably the only one on the forum). Visited my grandparents when I was six who lived in Rio Rico, AZ and we drove down into Mexico when we were there. I didn't feel much of anything other than excited to go to Mexico.
Second one was I-335 on the return trip since my dad didn't take the shorter way back to Minnesota (and avoiding tolls) despite me telling him to.
My first x0 or x5 was I-25 when I was 13.
Chris
No clue but I-684 if I had to guess.
I'm not sure, but my guess is Denver's I-270.
2di: I-78, on a trip to NYC
3di: I-270, a long time ago. Last section needed for the clinch is the portion between MO 21 (exit 2) and I-55 (exit 1).
For 2D I-65 as a passenger.
3di - I-675 in Michigan.
2di - I-96
First 2di was definitely I-82 on a family road trip from Salt Lake to Seattle and back as a kid. Didn't think anything of it at the time as that was just the fastest way.
I probably had finished Utah I-215 by then, simply through piecing together several trips on various segments through the years. I definitely had 215 clinched as a passenger by the time I got my learners permit.
2di: I-82 on a road trip with friends to Boise. Re-clinched it a few weeks ago while in the area for sightseeing.
3di: Probably I-405, given that I have been up and down that corridor hundreds of times even before I had my license.
I-43 including the part that was WI 15
I-894
It's guesswork, but likely I-890. I'm sure I traveled it all many times as a young child in the 1970s but that's before it extended all the way west, apparently. By the time it was completed, I expect I'd also traveled I-787. It's possible other 3dis on family trips in the northeast came first, but that seems unlikely.
For a 2di, I-87. It's very likely I fully traveled it by some time in the 1970s, whenever we first went up into Quebec. The earliest 2di clinch other than I-87 was I-24 but that wasn't until 1997 and I can be very sure I had clinched I-87 multiple times over by then. I-4 probably came next, now that I think about it a bit more, likely by some time in the 80's.
2di: obviously I-12, which is the only one I've clinched. I possibly clinched it as early as 2007 or so.
3di: I-110 in Baton Rouge. Not entirely sure exactly when I clinched it, but I can remember being on all parts of it (so possibly 2010?)
I have four guesses:
I-190 in NY, I-290 in NY, I-270 Spur in MD (does this count?), or I-295 in DC/MD
2di: first was I-84(E); second was I-8. I'm not much of a clincher; the only other 2dis I have are H1, H2, H3, 17, 19, and maybe I-76(W).
3di: I-475 in GA is the first. Seems a bit random, but this was a trip from southern FL to see relatives in midwest.
Hm. I-391? I-475 (GA)? One of those, I think.
Pretty sure I-595 (FL), but I-4 was the first mainline I'd clinched.
Not sure what else I may have clinched while others were driving; though I-675 stands out because it's probably the only time I convinced someone else to "take this shortcut that heads northeast of Atlanta".
I think it was I-635 (KS-MO). But it's also possible it was I-240 (OK) or I-235 (OK). I've had all three of those clinched since the beginning of my "roadgeek career", as it were.
Quote from: kphoger on September 02, 2021, 04:50:32 PM
I'm sure it was I-27, back when I was in high school–heck, I probably clinched it on a learner's permit.
I didn't think anything of it, because "clinching" wasn't a concept I had in my brain at that time.
My first 2di was exactly the same: I-27, back in high school, on a learner's permit...but I
did have the concept of clinching in my brain, so it was intentional. I was able to sell the idea to my mom as an easy, safe way of giving me driving experience, and she went with it because she just wanted to get out of the house and see something new.
I think I've always had the idea of clinching in my brain, it's just that I was more motivated to do it after I learned the name of it–which happened around the same time I started driving, happily.
For me, my first 2di was actually interstate 59 but it was before I knew what clinching was.
Once I did, interstate 49 became the first I did myself...when it was just Lafayette to Shreveport. Then interstate 12. Then 45.
For 3dis, the first was I-110 in Baton Rouge then I 610 in New Orleans.
I've clinched three Interstates: I-88 (NY), I-290 (MA), and I-291 (MA). As I did all of them before I was really a roadgeek, it could be any of the three.
Most likely, I-68, on a work trip to DC back in 2004.
I may have clinched I-264 and I-265 in Kentucky, and I-471 in Kentucky and Ohio, prior to that, but I'm not positive.
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 02, 2021, 10:22:16 PM
I think I've always had the idea of clinching in my brain, it's just that I was more motivated to do it after I learned the name of it–which happened around the same time I started driving, happily.
I just figured "completed" or "finished" was the term for satisfaction of a given route.
The term "clinch" has stuck, but in sporting terms, a
clinch sort of implied something (a pennant, division championship, home-field advantage, or some other title) is attained
before a full season has actually completed. (Depending on one's point of view, a clinch occurs before you're actually done with the route!)
I guess there's always more driving to go, so it makes sense.
Quote from: formulanone on September 03, 2021, 11:49:20 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 02, 2021, 10:22:16 PM
I think I've always had the idea of clinching in my brain, it's just that I was more motivated to do it after I learned the name of it–which happened around the same time I started driving, happily.
Don't ask Bandit what clinching is.
I just figured "completed" or "finished" was the term for satisfaction of a given route.
The term "clinch" has stuck, but in sporting terms, a clinch sort of implied something (a pennant, division championship, home-field advantage, or some other title) is attained before a full season has actually completed. (Depending on one's point of view, a clinch occurs before you're actually done with the route!)
I guess there's always more driving to go, so it makes sense.
As a young driver in the mid 1980s:
Interstate 88 (Eastern) for the 2dis
Interstate 690 for the 3dis
Longest 2di for me: Interstate 94
Shortest 2di for me: Interstate 19
2di: I-96
3di: I-296
My first 3-digit was probably either I-440 or I-540, as a kid growing up in North Carolina.
My first two-digit was I-85, in a combination of family road trips and one church youth group road trip. I think it's still the only two-digit I've clinched, unless you count I-87 (NC) where we drove the currently-signed section prior to it gaining Interstate numbering.
Not sure which was first, but it was once of these two:
1. I-495 (Md./Va./D.C. (about 700 feet in D.C.)) or
2. I-70S (now I-270) (Md.)
I-66 was an early clinch (when the "main" I-66 only ran between I-495 and U.S. 29 at Gainesville, Va. and there were short sections open between D.C. and Arlington County, Virginia over the T. Roosevelt Bridge and another short section near Delaplane and Marshall in Fauquier County). So it was not a clinch of all of I-66 since it was not complete then.
All of I-66 from D.C. to I-81 at Front Royal was not completed until about 1982 when the section between I-495 and U.S. 29 at the Rosslyn Tunnel opened.
Did several cross-country trips before I was 4 that I do not remember anything about (and interstates then still had unfinished segments anyway).
It is possible my first 3di clinch was in 1974 with either I-264 or I-564 in Norfolk area.
For 2di, one trip after moving to SC in 1975 would've finished I-26 but the gap in Tryon NC still existed.
Didn't travel much outside of NC/SC from 1975-84. So the first 3di I know for certain I finished as a child was I-805 in California, 1984, followed by I-215 a couple hours later. Did not complete any 2dis on that cross-country trip. I don't think I completed a 2di until I was the driver and I believe it was I-26 in 1986.
I-290 was my first clinched 3di, especially since I would drive on it mainly to avoid the Kennedy traffic (but I would also use it as a route to Cubs games).
As for 2di, I'll probably go with I-5, which played a huge part in my move from L.A. to Seattle in 2000.
Easy one for me, almost certainly I-590. Even though I was too young to remember it, there just aren't any other plausible candidates.
3di - I-271
2di - I-68
My first clinched 2di is I-93. It's also the only 2di I've clinched.
Probably I-494 or I-694 as a kid. I'd get my grandpa to do a lap with me around it once in a while.
The first I clinched as a driver was I-277 Ohio.
I like this subject because, just as suspected, most clinched their first interstate as a kid and/or before clinching was a thing. It's interesting to see how it was perceived back when it wasn't a thing to do, but simply because a family road trip involved driving an interstate from start to finish.
Hell if I know :bigass:
My best guess would be I-581 in Roanoke VA back in 1968 or 1969. On family trips north we used the NC 68/US 220/I-581 corridor as a shunt between I-85 and I-81 (this was pre I-77).
As far as 2di, I clinched I-85 (as defined at the time) for sure in 1985. Lost the clinch when I-85 was re-routed around Greensboro NC in 2004, regained the clinch in 2005.
I think we clinched the entire I-85 corridor in 1967, but there were gaps that hadn't been built yet, forcing us onto the parallel US 29.
2di: I-83 on multiple trips to Baltimore Aquarium; I always remembered the S end of I-83
3di: PROBABLY I-283
The first Interstate I ever clinched had to be either of the two local I-470s.
The first 2DI I ever clinched was I-22.
I-8;
I-215
2di: I-91 in 1988 (as a passenger), I-97 (1998-ish) as a driver
3di: I-691 right after the designation (as a passenger), same in 1992 as a driver.
Assuming Dad didn't drive the length of South Dakota's I-190 when I was 5, I believe the first was I-694. Of course, I would have been a passenger. The first one I drove is my only 2di I've clinched, I-88 in Illinois.
Quote from: Ned Weasel on September 07, 2021, 09:00:35 PM
The first Interstate I ever clinched had to be either of the two local I-470s.
The first 2DI I ever clinched was I-22.
Wait, I might be wrong on both of these. I'm pretty sure I clinched I-635 in Kansas and Missouri before either of the local I-470s, because I-635 is closer and it's the usual route to the airport.
I-22 is debatable. The first time I drove it, it didn't yet go all the way to I-65, and I'm pretty sure I took US 78 from I-22 to I-20. I remember a barrier closing off the left two lanes and a sign saying through traffic needed to exit. I-22 also wasn't fully signed in both states yet (I think it was signed in Mississippi but not fully in Alabama). So, if you don't count I-22 for that reason, then I-24 is the first 2DI I clinched.
264 for me which was pretty remarkable because I live east of 65 and generally had absolutely no reason to go to the west end as a kid or as an adult. I think I finally did from 64 to the dumesnil street exit maybe back in 2004 which was the only section I hadn't hit since 1984.
the next year I finally went all the way up 71 to cleveland when a friend and I went to the cleveland grand prix champcar race.
Looking back on it, there's a better-than-good chance my first clinched interstate was actually I-670 in Kansas City, followed by I-190 in South Dakota and I-229 in Nebraska and Iowa on the same trip
Given an educated guess:
2di: I-84 (E)
3di: I-691
Surely it was I-30. I know I had gone to Little Rock and to the (then ) western end (at the current end of US-80.)
It might have been I-45, because I drove from Houston to Dallas when I was 16. I may not have been on south to Galveston.
Either I-97 or I-895. 97 was definitely my first 2DI clinch; I then clinched I-70 and I-83 during the same month in 2009 (and now I have 66 and 68).
2di: I'm guessing I-43 but could have been I-39
3di: Most assuredly I-894 in Milwaukee
Well I only count as clinched those routes that I have personally driven, so that makes it easier to disregard pre-driving-age memories of trips.
First mainline interstate I clinched was I-39. And yes, that's well after the extension to Wausau.
If I'm counting 3di's, then it'd be I-535.
Roads I clinched, with a caveat:
2 di - I-72 as far as it went at the time (1973). I have not been on any parts built after 1973.
3 di - I-895 in Maryland - but long before it was called 895 (1971) - it was just the Harbor Tunnel Thruway.
Roads I clinched in their current configuration and number:
2 di - probably I-88 in New York.
3 di - I 275 in OH/IN/KY - my buddy and I made a point of driving its entirety when the last segment opened (1976-ish).
2DI - if it's always run from Hancock to Morgantown, then I-68; if not, I-85
3DI - I-190 [Chicago], but if you want a serious answer, then probably I-290 [Chicago]
either I-295 or I-195 in NJ or I-495 around DC.
3di -- most likely I-405 in California in the 1970s, a route I often traveled on trips between home in the San Diego area and school in the Bay Area
2di -- probably I-5 in 1991, or maybe one or more of the four paper Interstates in Alaska on my first trip there in 1994
These were both well before I started keeping track of my travels.
As a passenger - I-55, from family road trips to New Orleans and Chicago splitting from St. Louis in the 80s. As a driver - the grueling slog down 375 in St. Petersburg FL.
That was a long time ago, my memory isn't clear :hmmm:. Probably I-65 or I-85. I had regular runs from Mobile to Chicagoland & Montgomery, AL to Richmond, VA for many yrs so either I-65 or I-85.
Overall either I-471 or I-275 (Greater Cincinnati)
2di: none unless you count the individual sections of I-74 in North Carolina separately. Closest otherwise is I-71 missing only the last 2 miles or so in Cleveland.
I couldn't remember exactly, so I needed to start from scratch with all of them.
Spur I-270 Bethesda MD (1982)*
I-279 Pittsburgh PA (1984, unclinched briefly 1989 when Parkway North opened)
I-295 Jacksonville FL (1986, unclinched briefly 1990 when Dames Point Bridge misdesignated)
I-565 Madison AL (1986, unclinched 1989 when the remainder of Phase 1 opened)
I-4 Tampa FL (1986)
I-275 New Sunshine Skyway (1987)
I-475 Macon GA (1987)
I-295 Richmond VA (1987, unclinched briefly 1988 when opened to Varina)
I-270 Cabin John to Rockville MD (1987)*
I-66 Washington DC (1987)
I-495 Capital Beltway VA/MD (1987)
I-376 Pittsburgh PA (1987, unclinched 1992 when the Airport Bypass opened)
I-195 Richmond VA (1987)
I-395 Washington DC (1987)
I-395 Baltimore MD (1987)
I-579 Pittsburgh PA (1988)
I-795 Reisterstown MD (1988)
I-295 Varina VA (1988, unclinched briefly 1990 when opened to Hopewell)
I-279 Pittsburgh PA (1989 soon after Parkway North opened, Parkway West decommisioned 2009)
I-470 Wheeling WV (1990)
I-295 Jacksonville FL (1991, but Dames Point Bridge was resigned FL-9A in 1993)
I-68 National Freeway WV/MD (1991)
I-295 Petersburg VA (1992)
I-695 Baltimore MD (1992)
It gets more complicated after then.
* I-270 is the only one that I remember clinching by coming in from either end at different times. The first time I used Spur I-270 and headed for College Park.
I-795 in NC. I was living in Fremont when it first opened.
My first 3di I clinched was I-410 in San Antonio. Although at the time I was closer to clinching I-635 in Dallas, the portion from US-80 south to I-20 was left untraveled by me for the longest time.
Probably I-43. My career was in St Louis. My family is from Green Bay. I've driven its length many times since the 80's especially once I-39 was completed in Illinois as it's the best way to bypass the Chicago area.
Quote from: skluth on October 05, 2021, 06:31:15 PM
Probably I-43. My career was in St Louis. My family is from Green Bay. I've driven its length many times since the 80's especially once I-39 was completed in Illinois as it's the best way to bypass the Chicago area.
I've always seen I-43/I-39/I-74 as some sort of "partial outer beltway" of sorts for the Chicago area. I've used the I-74/I-39 movement a couple of times getting to points in Wisconsin and Minnesota before.
In about 1974, either modern day I-270Y (which would have been I-270 at the time) or I-495 (because doing laps around the DC Beltway was a thing when i was growing up). I-495X would be in the running, but it wasn't considered an Interstate at the time.