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National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 04:18:51 PM

Title: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 04:18:51 PM
I was lurking on some of the "Counties reachable with a single route from a state" threads today, starting with Illinois, and thought it would be interesting to do this with metro areas too. This time, state routes are included. You can either list the counties below or make a map of them and post it below. Here's a map for the Cincinnati metro area:
(https://i.imgur.com/XI5quY7.png)

Counties colored: 434 (not including Cincinnati MSA), 450 (including Cincinnati MSA)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Scott5114 on September 18, 2021, 06:55:34 PM
The Oklahoma City one is kind of insane.
(https://i.imgur.com/b6HkJKM.png)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: NWI_Irish96 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 07:32:04 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.
Toledo most likely wouldn't beat Chicago, though with I-80, I-90, I-75, US 6, US 20, US 23, US 24, it could probably be somewhere on the top.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: NWI_Irish96 on September 18, 2021, 07:36:32 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 07:32:04 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.
Toledo most likely wouldn't beat Chicago, though with I-80, I-90, I-75, US 6, US 20, US 23, US 24, it could probably be somewhere on the top.

Remember the Chicago MSA includes 4 counties in Indiana and 1 in Wisconsin, so you get interstates 41, 55, 57, 65, 80, 90, 94; US Highways 6, 12, 14, 20, 24, 30, 34, 41, 45, 52, 231, and several state highways in all three states.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 07:53:33 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 18, 2021, 07:36:32 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 07:32:04 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.
Toledo most likely wouldn't beat Chicago, though with I-80, I-90, I-75, US 6, US 20, US 23, US 24, it could probably be somewhere on the top.

Remember the Chicago MSA includes 4 counties in Indiana and 1 in Wisconsin, so you get interstates 41, 55, 57, 65, 80, 90, 94; US Highways 6, 12, 14, 20, 24, 30, 34, 41, 45, 52, 231, and several state highways in all three states.
Yea I know.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: froggie on September 18, 2021, 08:02:29 PM
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have some of us who don't live in a metropolitan (or even micropolitan) area.  Using my home county, I think I would net a total of 13 other counties.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Great Lakes Roads on September 18, 2021, 08:18:09 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/px7ynDs.png)

Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: hotdogPi on September 18, 2021, 08:25:56 PM
Anyone notice that the map background is missing I-22? (So is the New York Times default background map, for that matter...)

EDIT: @admins: Does a several thousand × several thousand non-SVG image (which is what you get after clicking) strain the servers? These maps are perfect for being SVGs, but somehow they're not.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: NWI_Irish96 on September 18, 2021, 08:27:45 PM
Indianapolis MSA is 11 counties so there are a lot more SR and even a couple more US.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: jlam on September 18, 2021, 08:31:31 PM
Quote from: 1 on September 18, 2021, 08:25:56 PM
Anyone notice that the map background is missing I-22? (So is the New York Times default background map, for that matter...)
This map is a bit outdated, as it is also missing I-2, I-11, I-41, and more.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: jmd41280 on September 18, 2021, 09:09:26 PM
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51490853216_9eda0b963d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ms55Kj)
MapChart_Map(1) (https://flic.kr/p/2ms55Kj) by Jon Dawson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/), on Flickr
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 10:59:37 PM
Quote from: jlam on September 18, 2021, 08:31:31 PM
Quote from: 1 on September 18, 2021, 08:25:56 PM
Anyone notice that the map background is missing I-22? (So is the New York Times default background map, for that matter...)
This map is a bit outdated, as it is also missing I-2, I-11, I-41, and more.
I think the highways overlay may be from like 2010, as it's missing some more noticeable new additions in the last decade, like I-69 south of Indy and I-49 in MO.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: epzik8 on September 19, 2021, 09:22:58 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/7a3n73N.jpeg)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on September 19, 2021, 03:42:29 PM
Fun fact: There are at least 6 MSAs only crossed by state routes, thus they are unable to reach any counties outside their states. Five of them are in California: Chico, Madera, Modesto, Santa Cruz-Watsonville and Visalia. All but Santa Cruz used to have a US Route (US 99). The other is Ithaca, New York.

Another interesting fact: Starting from Barnstable Town, Massachusetts MSA, only three counties can be reached on a route other than US 6. So its map is a pretty lopsided one, with a few counties in Eastern Massachusetts and a long string going almost all the way to the other end of the country, courtesy of the longest US Route ever, but (according to some metrics (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27532.0)) not currently.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: hotdogPi on September 19, 2021, 03:52:41 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on September 19, 2021, 03:42:29 PM
Another interesting fact: Starting from Barnstable Town, Massachusetts MSA, Suffolk county (the one with Boston in) is the only one directly reachable on a route other than US 6. Its map is basically the counties traversed by US 6 plus that one.

MA 28 reaches Middlesex County and Essex County.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on September 19, 2021, 04:00:02 PM
You are correct. For some reason I thought MA 28 stopped in Boston.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Flint1979 on September 19, 2021, 05:54:00 PM
For the Tri-Cities in Michigan (Saginaw, Midland, Bay City)
These are the number of counties each route goes through not including Bay, Midland or Saginaw County.
I-75: 81
US-10: 30
US-23: 65
M-13: 3
M-15: 3
M-20: 4
M-25: 4
M-30: 2
M-46: 6
M-47: 0
M-52: 5 (3 more with connecting route OH-109 at the Ohio border)
M-81: 2
M-84: 0
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: jlam on September 19, 2021, 07:06:16 PM
I live in the Greeley MSA, but for the purposes of this thread, I'll use the Denver combined statistical area.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51494595114_ee32385443_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mspg5N)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on December 07, 2021, 12:04:13 PM
Here's one for a metro I used to live in: St Louis
(https://i.imgur.com/KylWo2J.jpg)

Counties colored: 417 (not including St Louis MSA), 432 (including St Louis MSA), 479 (including counties formerly reached by on US routes)

EDIT: Fixed US 61 at northern end, and Added counties on former US 40 and 50 routings in the west in.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on December 07, 2021, 12:30:43 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on September 18, 2021, 07:32:04 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.
Toledo most likely wouldn't beat Chicago, though with I-80, I-90, I-75, US 6, US 20, US 23, US 24, it could probably be somewhere on the top.
I just did a count for Toledo, and not including Ohio state routes, you can get to 491 counties (including the 3 counties part of Toledo MSA), with the 7 routes I mentioned above, as well as US 223. Pretty impressive for its size and population!
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: 7/8 on December 07, 2021, 12:43:39 PM
Since my metro area is basically synonymous with Waterloo Region (which I already did here (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=30654.msg2687154#msg2687154)), I'll do the GTA (Toronto, ON) instead:
(https://i.imgur.com/PpgzlzS.png)

Black = The GTA
Yellow = The 401 and Quebec A-20
Purple = The 400
Brown = The QEW
Dark Blue = The 403
Lighter Blue = Highway 9 (note: this ignores a downloaded gap between Orangeville and Harriston)
Red = Highway 7
Green = Highway 10
Orange = Highway 35
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: iowahighways on December 07, 2021, 07:48:10 PM
One for Des Moines:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iowahighways.org%2Fphotos%2FDes_Moines.png&hash=0931f690ef9978cd0967468e655dad837a4831c0)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on December 07, 2021, 07:52:57 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 07, 2021, 12:04:13 PM
Here's one for a metro I used to live in: St Louis
(https://i.imgur.com/YSu91Dh.jpg)

Counties colored: 422 (not including St Louis MSA), 437 (including St Louis MSA), 463 (including those on former US 66)

You used US 61's historic extent and US 66, but forgot to add the historic US 40/50 counties on their former western extents.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on December 07, 2021, 08:18:52 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 07, 2021, 07:52:57 PM
You used US 61's historic extent and US 66, but forgot to add the historic US 40/50 counties on their former western extents.
I forgot that US 61 doesn't reach the Canadian border since decades ago, and it's now MN 61. Oops. Fixed that, and added in counties on the former US 40/50 routings.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: CoreySamson on December 07, 2021, 10:25:53 PM
Here's the Houston metro:

(https://imgur.com/CfgdopG.jpg)

Total counties: 304
Excluding all future, former, and disconnected routes: 203
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: WNYroadgeek on December 07, 2021, 11:41:39 PM
Buffalo/Niagara Falls:

(https://i.imgur.com/e7i7DBX.png)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on December 16, 2021, 11:02:48 PM
Cincinnati map edit: While making my Brown County, OH map for the other thread, I realized that it's part of the Cincinnati metro area, and so are US 62 and US 68 because of that. Here's the revised map with those two US routes, bringing up the total to 29+DC states and 556 counties reachable from the Cincinnati MSA.
(https://i.imgur.com/WApZBzX.png)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: hbelkins on December 17, 2021, 10:15:52 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 16, 2021, 11:02:48 PM
Cincinnati map edit: While making my Brown County, OH map for the other thread, I realized that it's part of the Cincinnati metro area, and so are US 62 and US 68 because of that. Here's the revised map with those two US routes, bringing up the total to 29+DC states and 556 counties reachable from the Cincinnati MSA.
(https://i.imgur.com/WApZBzX.png)

Only some bureaucrat detached from reality would consider Brown County to be a part of the Cincy metro area. There's nothing "metro" about Brown County.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: paulthemapguy on December 17, 2021, 10:18:02 AM
Chicago's is going to be painstaking to assemble, and downright stupid. I'd only include the 6-county immediate metro area.  Maybe I'll mess with this later if and when I don't have a boatload of work to do.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Rothman on December 17, 2021, 10:42:30 AM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on December 17, 2021, 10:18:02 AM
Chicago's is going to be painstaking to assemble, and downright stupid. I'd only include the 6-county immediate metro area.  Maybe I'll mess with this later if and when I don't have a boatload of work to do.
See above.  Someone already did it.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: SkyPesos on December 17, 2021, 10:47:18 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 17, 2021, 10:15:52 AM
Only some bureaucrat detached from reality would consider Brown County to be a part of the Cincy metro area. There's nothing "metro" about Brown County.
I would say the Cincinnati metro area ends at around Batavia, going east on OH 32, which is still deep within Clermont County. I have no idea why Brown County is counted part of it, but I'm just going off the official borders for this map.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: NWI_Irish96 on December 17, 2021, 10:51:22 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 17, 2021, 10:15:52 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 16, 2021, 11:02:48 PM
Cincinnati map edit: While making my Brown County, OH map for the other thread, I realized that it's part of the Cincinnati metro area, and so are US 62 and US 68 because of that. Here's the revised map with those two US routes, bringing up the total to 29+DC states and 556 counties reachable from the Cincinnati MSA.
(https://i.imgur.com/WApZBzX.png)

Only some bureaucrat detached from reality would consider Brown County to be a part of the Cincy metro area. There's nothing "metro" about Brown County.

One of the biggest factors that determine whether or not an "outer" county like Brown gets included in a metro area is the percentage of people who commute to the city. How rural the county may seem isn't really a factor. Apparently enough people in Brown County commute to Cincinnati to qualify.

There are quantifiable factors for inclusion, it's not arbitrary.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Echostatic on December 17, 2021, 05:22:11 PM
Austin's is quite lackluster and would be much duller if I-10/US 90 didn't briefly poke into Caldwell county.

(https://i.imgur.com/yZAif1N.png?1)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Ellie on December 18, 2021, 12:30:01 AM
If you consider Washtenaw County, Michigan its own metro, anyway -- here's what I got.

(https://i.imgur.com/oG1cLCu.png)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: vilegloom on August 07, 2022, 05:38:10 AM
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on September 18, 2021, 07:22:51 PM
I wouldn't be close to having the time to do this for Chicago, but I would think we could all agree it would have the most.

I had time!

(https://i.imgur.com/LBrKMAy.jpg)

I started with major interstates and ended with state routes, skipping disconnected routes and any overlaps. Didn't feel like counting the counties.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on August 07, 2022, 05:56:21 AM
US 66 would add Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona; leaving only Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine unreachable from anywhere in Chicago MSA on a single route.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: hotdogPi on August 07, 2022, 06:06:05 AM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on August 07, 2022, 05:56:21 AM
US 66 would add Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona; leaving only Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine unreachable from anywhere in Chicago MSA on a single route.

It looks like Delaware and Maryland are blank in the map above.
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on August 07, 2022, 06:23:18 AM
Also true, I somehow took the entire state of Illinois (US 40 does hit both Maryland and Delaware, but not Chicago).
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: flan on August 07, 2022, 05:32:43 PM
Did my best w/ Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I didn't bother with former routes, though. Edit: accidentally forgot Fallon County, MT. Oops.
(https://i.imgur.com/tno0CyA.png)
Title: Re: Counties reachable with a single route from your metro area
Post by: Scott5114 on August 07, 2022, 06:06:28 PM
Quote from: 1 on September 18, 2021, 08:25:56 PM
EDIT: @admins: Does a several thousand × several thousand non-SVG image (which is what you get after clicking) strain the servers? These maps are perfect for being SVGs, but somehow they're not.

I apparently never answered this. Since these images are hosted elsewhere (like on Imgur), it doesn't strain our servers at all. All you get from our server is a reference to the image (<img src="https://...">), and then your browser grabs the image from that other server and slaps it into place as part of the rendering routine.

This forum generates pages in XHTML 1.0 (released January 26, 2000), which has no real easy way to embed an SVG into a document. (The <img> tag doesn't work, because that wouldn't tell the browser it needs to render the SVG content.) HTML 5 has solved that problem with the <embed> tag, but SMF hasn't released a version that generates HTML 5 yet.