Along US 20, the longest road in the country, there are two roughly 100-mile stretches that largely run north-south - heading east, it goes mainly north from Idaho Falls to West Yellowstone, Montana, and later on, back south in Wyoming from Greybull to Shoshoni.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, I-95 - along with parallel US 1 - spans the length of Connecticut east-west, also running about 100 miles, whereas down in Florida, I-75 (Alligator Alley) and parallel US 41 (Tamiami Trail) run just about the same east-west distance between Naples and the Miami area.
Also, back in the Northeast, I-95 and parallel US 1 from Baltimore to Philadelphia follow a primarily east-west trajectory, again spanning a little more than 100 miles. These are the examples I can think of - throughout the country, what other roads might there be that are mainly north-south but have a long east-west section, or vice versa? In addition, how long are these sections of highway that run perpendicular to the primary directional orientation of the road?
WA 16 is signed east-west and treated as east-west (down to its even number), but most of it runs north-south.
Several sections of US 2 in WA are north-south, totalling about 60 miles.
74 from Galesburg North is sharp. 74 and a lot of Interstates are diagonals. . No doubt about 74 thoigh.
US 101 has two key east-west segments:
1. in California, from Route 134/Route 170 in North Hollywood to Gaviota. 122 miles
2. in Washington, from Beaver to Blyn. 81 miles
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I-15 in the Mojave Desert has a diagonal-ish segment that is more eastward rather than pure northeastward or northward, from Barstow to Wheaton Springs for about 105 miles
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California examples:
Route 78 (mostly east-west) has one north-south segment from county route S34 east of Glamis, north to I-10 in Blythe, for about 44 miles.
I-80 in California runs primarily north-south from the MacArthur Maze to I-505 in Vacaville (coincidentally, this was the segment that would have been part of planned I-5W before the 1964 renumbering), for about 48 miles.
Due to geography, Route 49 from Oak Valley to Sierra Brooks runs mostly east-west for 65 miles.
Although Route 70 is ostensibly an east-west route overall (using portions of former Route 24 and former Alternate US 40), the north-south portion is 94 or so miles, from Route 99 in East Nicolaus to near Bald Eagle Mountain.
Route 96 is signed east-west from its terminus at Route 299, but the portion from Route 299 to Seiad Valley area is 93 miles north-south trajectory.
US 92 in Florida from Lake Alfred to DeLand is more N-S while paired with US 17. I believe it's around 95 miles.
US 40, after you come off Berthoud Pass into Winter Park, seems like it's much more north, than west.
Like, doesn't really turn back 'west' again, until you get to Rabbit Ears.
Having lived in southeastern Idaho, US 20 is generally still perceived as an east-west highway, despite heading northeast to Yellowstone from Idaho falls. Sort of like East and West Duluth, MN, come to think of it.
I-94 between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago is almost entirely n/s for about 100 miles.
I-90 between Buffalo, WY and Crow Agency, MT is about 100 miles pretty much n/s. More of an extension of I-25 than anything.
EDIT: Sniped on parts of this
Perhaps not longest segments, but I-94 has 3 - Madison to Portage, Chicago to Milwaukee, and Detroit to Port Huron (that one is overall northeast, but several north portions). And I-94 along south of Benton Harbor / St Joe is on quite an angle as well.
I-90, Rockford to Portage. Another section in WY and MT is pretty much n/s too.
Nominating the entire state of South Carolina.
Fairly recently they changed the direction banners on nearly the entire system such that even numbers are posted E-W and odd numbers are posted N-S.
Except their route numbering system wasn't developed with that in mind 80-100 years ago.
Egregious examples of longer routes are SC 5, SC 9, SC 20, SC 45, SC 61, SC 63
Quote from: Mapmikey on February 11, 2024, 10:02:12 AM
Nominating the entire state of South Carolina.
Fairly recently they changed the direction banners on nearly the entire system such that even numbers are posted E-W and odd numbers are posted N-S.
Except their route numbering system wasn't developed with that in mind 80-100 years ago.
Egregious examples of longer routes are SC 5, SC 9, SC 20, SC 45, SC 61, SC 63
SC 9 is blatantly confusing in that regard; it's indisputably east-west.
NC 55 is signed entirely east-west, but it truly a north-south route from its western terminus in Durham to Erwin at US 421.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on February 11, 2024, 08:35:32 AM
I-94 between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago is almost entirely n/s for about 100 miles.
Farther than that, it doesn't turn eastward until the interchange with I-80/294/IL 394 in the south suburbs. One of the minor reasons why I-41 was duplexed with it was to give at least that part of the road a proper north-south route number.
Mike
The post-1964 extension of CA-1 is almost exclusively east-west between Santa Monica and Oxnard. Likewise, the northernmost alignment between Rockport and the Leggett Junction is windy and twisty, but is more west-east than south-north. Although this was a compromise, as CA-1 was intended to travel farther north to Ferndale.
There is a stretch of US 98 (nominally E/W) in Florida that runs generally N/S from Perry to Belle Glade (about 350 miles) before becoming E/W again towards West Palm Beach.
Been a while since I've been on it, but IIRC that section is actually signed N/S.
US 24 runs north-south between Vail and Buena Vista, Colorado, a total of nearly 70 miles.
Interstate 69 runs about 130 miles from the north side of Lansing to Port Huron almost straight east, and is signed as such by MDOT. This portion of I-69 also appears to be slightly bowed, so there's portions that point slightly southeast (including the Blue Water Bridge) despite eastbound I-69 being "northbound" I-69.
I-81, which is designated north-south, goes a huge distance east-west through Virginia and TN. It's more diagonal so I don't know if it counts here. Was going to say I-75 in Florida but see it was already mentioned. Although more of I-75 within the state is north-south than east-west, unlike I-95 in CT which is entirely east-west through the state.
Quote from: mgk920 on February 11, 2024, 01:17:31 PM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on February 11, 2024, 08:35:32 AM
I-94 between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago is almost entirely n/s for about 100 miles.
Farther than that, it doesn't turn eastward until the interchange with I-80/294/IL 394 in the south suburbs. One of the minor reasons why I-41 was duplexed with it was to give at least that part of the road a proper north-south route number.
Mike
And at the Indiana-Michigan Line, I-94 is more north-south to the interchange with I-196. A lot of the North-South routing of I-94 in WI, IL, and MI is because of Lake Michigan.
US 11 hugs the Canada-USA border east-west between I-81 and I-87 in New York, too.
Mike
QC 162 is signed east-west but is exclusively heading north-south. It should have been QC 163.
South Carolina has plenty of them. US 52 is signed E- W but is N- S in the state.
In Minnesota:
TH 1 between Ely and TH 61 is about 60 miles mostly N/S but signed E/W.
TH 9 between Benson and New London is 35 miles, due E/W but signed N/S and features two prominent "wrong way" stretches - this segment shouid probably either be re-oriented or just given a different number
I've heard anecdotes that locals on the shore refer to TH 61 as an E/W route, but never investigated this myself. There is one local sign in Two Harbors referring to "61 West".
TH 92 is fully N/S but signed E/W from its "eastern" terminus at TH 200 north to the town of Clearbrook, 27 miles.
Another one in Michigan: I-196 runs more north-south than east-west.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 12, 2024, 01:15:07 AM
South Carolina has plenty of them. US 52 is signed E- W but is N- S in the state.
South Carolina has a huge problem with this. They blindly assigned all even numbered state routes as E-W and all odd numbered state routes as N-S with absolutely no regard to how they actually travel. One of the worst examples is SC 14, which is signed E-W, travels mainly N-S, and its northern endpoint is barely west of its southern endpoint. At one point it is multiplexed with I-385 for a couple of miles. SC 14 west turns left onto I-385 north, run with it for a couple of miles, then branches off to the right.
SC 9 is also another really bad example, as it is signed N-S but mainly travels E-W from the NC line near Spartanburg all the way to North Myrtle Beach, staying close to the NC line for a good chunk of the time.
Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on February 12, 2024, 03:47:02 AM
Another one in Michigan: I-196 runs more north-south than east-west.
It "switches" direction at Holland - e/w east of there, n/s south of there.
Quote from: jlam on February 11, 2024, 04:11:22 PM
US 24 runs north-south between Vail and Buena Vista, Colorado, a total of nearly 70 miles.
It's also n/s from Toledo to Clarkston, MI - but it's signed N/S there.
If we're going by signed direction, all of I-85, in particular from about Suwanee, GA to Charlotte and from Greensboro to Durham.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 12, 2024, 01:25:51 AM
In Minnesota:
TH 1 between Ely and TH 61 is about 60 miles mostly N/S but signed E/W.
TH 9 between Benson and New London is 35 miles, due E/W but signed N/S and features two prominent "wrong way" stretches - this segment shouid probably either be re-oriented or just given a different number
I've heard anecdotes that locals on the shore refer to TH 61 as an E/W route, but never investigated this myself. There is one local sign in Two Harbors referring to "61 West".
TH 92 is fully N/S but signed E/W from its "eastern" terminus at TH 200 north to the town of Clearbrook, 27 miles.
And what about Highway 23, for that matter? It cuts across the state at a diagonal from SW to NE, about 350 miles from I-90 just east of Sioux Falls to Duluth. It's signed east-west, but I suppose a case for north-south signage could be made as well. (Or perhaps both - I could see it being marked N-S from I-90 to Willmar, then E-W from there to I-35, and then finally N-S again on the section near Duluth.) Anyway, what do you think?
I've never had an issue with TH 23 being signed entirely E/W. I don't know if it was an error or not, but there were formerly signs for "23 South" coming off I-35 southbound in Duluth, with the signs likely dating to before the part of 23 through downtown and east Duluth was removed in 1997. The replacement signs no longer carry a directional indicator.
Quote from: miclugo on February 12, 2024, 10:00:51 AM
If we're going by signed direction, all of I-85, in particular from about Suwanee, GA to Charlotte and from Greensboro to Durham.
Also from Montgomery to Opelika, AL. The Greensboro-Durham section is also part of an I-40 concurrency.
I take it that no one has yet mentioned the normally north-south US-89 running east-west for about 72 miles between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona? Well, fine, I will.
The vast majority of US-89A's route, despite being marked as N-S, runs more E-W, particularly between Fredonia and Bitter Springs, AZ.
QuoteAlso from Montgomery to Opelika, AL. The Greensboro-Durham section is also part of an I-40 concurrency.
Yes, that's true.
Although I'm realizing now that this makes it sound like 85 looks like a staircase, when it's really not! It's just a road that runs basically southwest to northeast, and has some segments that happen to be a little more east-west than others.
Since I haven't seen it mentioned yet, I'm going to say MA 28 on Cape Cod which is signed north south from Falmouth to Chatham, but runs entirely east west. Even the segment from Middleborough to the Bourne Bridge runs more east west. MA 28 just has a really bizarre path in general.
Not really a long stretch, but notable due to change of route type and importance:
Route 238 from Fremont to Castro Valley is north-south between I-680 and I-580, and runs north-south.
The freeway segment towards San Lorenzo and Ashland that is now I-238 is also signed as north-south, even though 0% of that short freeway connector between 580 and 880 runs north-south at all.
IA 136 from Oxford Junction east to the Mississippi River Bridge in Clinton is signed N-S even though it's basically an E-W road for 49 miles.
Here's another one:
I-85 from Atlanta to Charlotte is more E-W than N-S.
I-84 from Twin Falls to Hermiston has an NW-SE orientation, but has a steeper N-S run.
I-74 has a directly N-S segment from the Quad Cities to Galesburg.
US-68 has a hook and goes E-W in Kentucky, but I'm not sure how it's signed.
Quote from: JCinSummerfield on February 19, 2024, 01:15:18 PM
US-68 has a hook and goes E-W in Kentucky, but I'm not sure how it's signed.
It's signed E-W, as is US 42.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 12, 2024, 01:25:51 AM
In Minnesota:
TH 1 between Ely and TH 61 is about 60 miles mostly N/S but signed E/W.
TH 9 between Benson and New London is 35 miles, due E/W but signed N/S and features two prominent "wrong way" stretches - this segment shouid probably either be re-oriented or just given a different number
I've heard anecdotes that locals on the shore refer to TH 61 as an E/W route, but never investigated this myself. There is one local sign in Two Harbors referring to "61 West".
TH 92 is fully N/S but signed E/W from its "eastern" terminus at TH 200 north to the town of Clearbrook, 27 miles.
Just looking at Google Street View, US 169 is signed N-S from Grand Rapids to Virginia even though it's more of an E-W road. MN 169 appears to be the same.
IL 113 is fully signed north-south but is primarily east-west. Oddly enough, its sister highway IL 102 across the Kankakee River is signed east-west.
An obvious Bay Area one that I just re-remembered:
I-580 between Exit 10B in Richmond and I-238 is mostly north-south, a distance of about 22 miles. Arguably, one could even say that all of 580 from 101 to 238 is primarily a north-south route, despite the east-west Richmond-San Rafael Bridge: the portion from 101 to Albany is former north-south Route 17!
(580 provides part of an all-freeway north-south route from the South Bay to northern Marin County, bypassing San Francisco entirely)
Interestingly, 580 itself has a loop route around it that IS signed north-south - Route 13, whose termini are both on different portions of 580 - with the Ashby Avenue segment representing half the route and going entirely east-west! (The 5.4 mile freeway portion from 580 to 24, a trajectory of north/northwest, is the only portion of 13 as built that fits a north-south orientation)
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Also in the Oakland area is one that can be argued either way:
I-980 is signed east-west, though its orientation is primarily northeast/southwest. As 980 was originally planned as an extension of the east-west 24, and seamlessly continues into 24, the orientation of the longer route was retained for the Interstate-funded final couple of miles to 880.
US 209 in PA is more E-W than it is N-S.
I think I-82 could be mentioned here.
Roughly 40 miles south from I-90 until just south of Yakima, WA.
Then about another 30 mile N-S segment from just south of the Tri-Cities to its terminus at I-84 in Oregon.
More Bay Area:
CA-85 (signed north/south) runs decidedly east/west from CA-17 in Los Gatos to US-101 in south San Jose, nearly 45% of its entire length.
More I saw:
I-69 in Indiana from Fishers to Daleville (signed N-S, E-W in reality)
All of I-295 in Pennsylvania (signed E-W, actually N-S, used to be signed N-S when it was I-95)
I-295 in New Jersey from the US 1 junction to the NJ/PA line (signed N-S, actually E-W, same situation when this was I-95)
Quote from: DandyDan on February 25, 2024, 04:58:35 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 12, 2024, 01:25:51 AM
In Minnesota:
TH 1 between Ely and TH 61 is about 60 miles mostly N/S but signed E/W.
TH 9 between Benson and New London is 35 miles, due E/W but signed N/S and features two prominent "wrong way" stretches - this segment shouid probably either be re-oriented or just given a different number
I've heard anecdotes that locals on the shore refer to TH 61 as an E/W route, but never investigated this myself. There is one local sign in Two Harbors referring to "61 West".
TH 92 is fully N/S but signed E/W from its "eastern" terminus at TH 200 north to the town of Clearbrook, 27 miles.
Just looking at Google Street View, US 169 is signed N-S from Grand Rapids to Virginia even though it's more of an E-W road. MN 169 appears to be the same.
Another significant one is US 10 between St. Cloud and Motley, which is 65 miles mostly N/S. You could probably put the start of the more N/S section a little further SE closer to Becker or Big Lake if you really wanted.
WIS 13. Starts near Superior and hugs the northern edge of the state. It starts out going north, but is technically considered southbound as it turns south near Red Cliff.
All of I-79 is signed as north/south, but the part from its terminus at I-77 to US 19 at Exit 57 is predominantly east-west.
US 119 is signed as north/south in West Virginia. Its overall path in the state is a diagonal, but from Charleston to the PA line is a series of roads that are largely at right angles to each other. It is multiplexed with east-west US 33 for 81 miles from Spencer to Buckhannon.
WV 4, which parallels I-79 and US 119, is a diagonal, but covers 2.5x as much east-west distance as north-south distance. Nevertheless, it is posted north/south.
US 62 in NY is 103 miles N- S with the final three miles running E-W in the opposite direction.
However, NYSDOT signs it North- South along with PA to the south. The interesting thing is that in the Keystone State, the route is actually more East- West. Only north of US 6 it is truly N-S. PennDOT should banner it as East- West.
For sake of OP, the PA stretch being awkwardly signed also fits this discussion. US 62 is 113 miles in Pennsylvania.
Quote from: Bitmapped on June 19, 2024, 02:36:22 PMWV 4, which parallels I-79 and US 119, is a diagonal, but covers 2.5x as much east-west distance as north-south distance. Nevertheless, it is posted north/south.
This is even more bizarre, given that WV-4 was once the longest route in the state, running from the Kentucky border over the Big Sandy River at Kenova -to- the Virginia state line east of Capon Bridge. Almost entirely multiplexed with other routes, the one non-multiplexed section from Clendenin -to- Sutton was posted as north-south back then, as well. But the remainder of the route was certainly west -to- east. I'm old enough to remember the multiplexed sections, almost always posted with the WV-4 shield beneath the other shield (with no directional banner for WV-4). So one could make the argument that the portions of WV-4 that were multiplexed with US-60 and US-50 were "posted as east/west".
However, there is historical rationale for WV-4 being posted as north/south. Before I-79 arrived, Elk River Road was the main route between Charleston -and- West Virginia University. Some 8 hours before Saturday football gametimes, Elk River Road was quite congested heading [north] to Morgantown. Another oddity is that WV-4 between Sutton -and- Ireland is the only remaining section of the original WV-4. The original WV-4 was definitely a north/south route.
I should mention that the east-west WV-4 was just a hair over 350 miles long. Its southernmost point on US-60 near South Charleston is only about 60 miles south of its northernmost point near New Creek (or about 165 miles of diagonal heading WSW -to- ENE).
US 150 between Vincennes, IN and Danville, IL runs predominantly N-S, partially multiplexed with US 41 in Indiana and IL 1 in Illinois.
From Danville to the Quad Cities, 150 parallels I-74, so 150 also has the N-S stretch between Galesburg and its Northern/Western terminus at US 6 in Moline near the Quad Cities Airport
Quote from: wanderer2575 on June 23, 2024, 09:46:12 PMThe 69-mile stretch of WI-13 between Parkland (US-2/US-53) and Red Cliff along the Lake Superior shore is signed north-south, even though "sbd" travels east-northeast and vice-versa.
Uh huh...
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34499.msg2929281#msg2929281
Not the longest, but adding I-70 Breezewood to Hancock (27 miles) to the mix here.
Surprised to not see I-26 mentioned yet. Southeast of the I-385 split is debatable as it's at a diagonal, but from the 385 split to US 74 at Columbus, NC, then Flat Rock northward (including the future extension) is much more north-south than east-west.
Part of I-24's diagonal also looks more north-south, especially in IL.
I-5 has three distinct east-west segments, not counting its long diagonal run from Mexico to I-580:
CA 99 north of Sacramento to Woodland, Central Point to Grants Pass, and the overall Olympia to Tacoma segment.
Sacramento to Woodland is 13 miles, not counting the diagonal that takes it to CA 20.
Central Point to Grants Pass is 23 miles, not counting the diagonal segment through the Rogue Valley starting in Ashland, and the portion just north of Grants Pass.
Olympia to Tacoma bends it a little by including the Fort Lewis to WA 16, but comes in around 32-33 miles adjusting for the five mile northward segment.
A quick estimate of the Mexico-I-580 diagonal puts it at a 200 mile east-west change.
Quote from: Bickendan on June 25, 2024, 12:38:24 AMI-5 has three distinct east-west segments, not counting its long diagonal run from Mexico to I-580:
CA 99 north of Sacramento to Woodland, Central Point to Grants Pass, and the overall Olympia to Tacoma segment.
Sacramento to Woodland is 13 miles, not counting the diagonal that takes it to CA 20.
Central Point to Grants Pass is 23 miles, not counting the diagonal segment through the Rogue Valley starting in Ashland, and the portion just north of Grants Pass.
Olympia to Tacoma bends it a little by including the Fort Lewis to WA 16, but comes in around 32-33 miles adjusting for the five mile northward segment.
A quick estimate of the Mexico-I-580 diagonal puts it at a 200 mile east-west change.
People often don't comprehend that LA is only a few miles further south than east of San Francisco.
US-101 has some sections in Ventura and Western LA counties where the southbound route runs so far toward the west that a couple of turns to dodge hills actually run to the north.
Quote from: michravera on June 25, 2024, 12:52:19 AMQuote from: Bickendan on June 25, 2024, 12:38:24 AMI-5 has three distinct east-west segments, not counting its long diagonal run from Mexico to I-580:
CA 99 north of Sacramento to Woodland, Central Point to Grants Pass, and the overall Olympia to Tacoma segment.
Sacramento to Woodland is 13 miles, not counting the diagonal that takes it to CA 20.
Central Point to Grants Pass is 23 miles, not counting the diagonal segment through the Rogue Valley starting in Ashland, and the portion just north of Grants Pass.
Olympia to Tacoma bends it a little by including the Fort Lewis to WA 16, but comes in around 32-33 miles adjusting for the five mile northward segment.
A quick estimate of the Mexico-I-580 diagonal puts it at a 200 mile east-west change.
People often don't comprehend that LA is only a few miles further south than west of San Francisco.
US-101 has some sections in Ventura and Western LA counties where the southbound route runs so far toward the west that a couple of turns to dodge hills actually run to the north.
Another point of consideration is that the total east-west displacement I-5 undergoes is roughly 325 miles between its easternmost point (the US/Mexico border) and its westernmost points just north of Merlin, north of Grants Pass, and that San Ysidro and Tijuana are roughly the same longitudinal line as the Oregon/Idaho border.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 12, 2024, 01:15:07 AMSouth Carolina has plenty of them. US 52 is signed E- W but is N- S in the state.
US 52 is strange during its whole route, going from South Carolina to North Dakota. But the eastern end must be close to a winner for this topic, almost 400 miles from its start in South Carolina through North Carolina and Virgina as a north/south road before finally going primarily west.
Here in Europe we don't do directional banners, so determining such sections may be hard. For example I always have a hard time thinking which directions N-234 (running from Sagunto to near Burgos) would have, I consider it to be a North-South route, however in the province of Soria, and especially "North" (West) of the namesake city, it runs East-West.
US 29 in VA is mostly east-west from the moment it enters the state from DC to US 17 near Warrenton, but is signed north-south.
VA-3 from VA-200 in Kilmarnock to its eastern end at US 17/VA-14 in Gloucester is mostly north-south, but is signed east-west.
VA-6 from its western end at US 250 to US 29 is mostly north-south but is signed east-west.
VA-20 from its northern end at VA-3 to US 15 in Orange travels east-west, despite being signed north-south.
Almost all of VA-208 goes north-south, but is still somehow signed east-west.
I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson is more of a north-south road, or at least diagonal.
Quote from: TheStranger on February 11, 2024, 06:50:01 AMUS 101 has two key east-west segments:
1. in California, from Route 134/Route 170 in North Hollywood to Gaviota. 122 miles
2. in Washington, from Beaver to Blyn. 81 miles
You're forgetting where it cuts across to the coast in Humboldt.
Quote from: bootmii on July 03, 2024, 02:21:34 AMQuote from: TheStranger on February 11, 2024, 06:50:01 AMUS 101 has two key east-west segments:
1. in California, from Route 134/Route 170 in North Hollywood to Gaviota. 122 miles
2. in Washington, from Beaver to Blyn. 81 miles
You're forgetting where it cuts across to the coast in Humboldt.
Drove up 101 from SF to the Oregon border a few weeks ago as part of a roadtrip, and I can't think of a significant east-west portion of 101 in Humboldt County outside of within Eureka itself.
Garberville to Loleta primarily heads northwest/southeast, Arcata to Klamath is mostly north-south.
The next significant 101 east-west portion I can see on the map is from Amanda Park, WA to Queets, WA, about 25 miles.
Quote from: WestDakota on June 27, 2024, 12:43:22 AMQuote from: roadman65 on February 12, 2024, 01:15:07 AMSouth Carolina has plenty of them. US 52 is signed E- W but is N- S in the state.
US 52 is strange during its whole route, going from South Carolina to North Dakota. But the eastern end must be close to a winner for this topic, almost 400 miles from its start in South Carolina through North Carolina and Virgina as a north/south road before finally going primarily west.
I was shocked to find out US 52 made it to North Dakota. This whole time I thought it ended at the Great Lakes.
Although I-81 generally travels in a northeasterly direction, in Pennsylvania there is a lot more "east" than "north". Part of this is because the road travels in a valley, part also being that PennDOT decided not to have I-81 parallel US 11 in the middle of the state. Therefore, from Harrisburg to Hazleton (~78 miles), I-81 travels eastward (spawning the east-west I-78) until it can head north to the NY state line. Conveniently, I-81 comes back to US 11 about 20 miles north in Wilkes-Barre.
Some other quick examples:
-PA 120 is signed east-west but basically follows a river. Therefore, about 47 miles (or 45% of its length) of PA 120 travels north-south.
-PA 44 is signed north-south but follows a NW-SE trajectory south of US 6. After a short concurrency on US 220, it travels east-west (and intersects the N-S US 15 near Lewisburg) to end at I-80. This stretch is about 47 miles, though you could argue that the last 7 miles are north-south.
-US 209 is signed north-south but travels due east-west until Pottsville. Then it curves northeast towards Tamaqua, but it's not until Stroudsburg that US 209 actually travels north-south. Being loose, about 110 miles of US 209 are east-west (Millersburg - Stroudsburg); but if we stay strict (counting Millersburg - Pottsville) then US 209 travels east-west for 44 miles.
Quote from: MATraveler128 on February 13, 2024, 11:02:57 AMSince I haven't seen it mentioned yet, I'm going to say MA 28 on Cape Cod which is signed north south from Falmouth to Chatham, but runs entirely east west. Even the segment from Middleborough to the Bourne Bridge runs more east west. MA 28 just has a really bizarre path in general.
Yup. The tail end of MA 28 even ends up 180 degrees (or worse) off of its nominal direction, with the stretch from Chatham to Orleans signed "south" but running mostly north for about 9 miles.
Oddly, the same number in New York has the same issue. NY 28 is signed north/south for its entire length but actually does a big "C" shape. There's about 86 miles that are more-or-less east/west from a curve near McKeever, NY to its northern end near Warrensburg, and 84 miles from North Franklin at NY 357 to the southern end in Kingston.
The NY 28 example is clearly signed north/south throughout, which is disorienting when you leave Warrensburg going compass NW but with the highway signed "South." I think that in the 90s and early 2000s, this wasn't the case - I can't remember if that stretch was signed east/west or just didn't have directions signed at all. I can't find any evidence of this online.