AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: Quillz on October 19, 2010, 12:54:14 PM

Title: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: Quillz on October 19, 2010, 12:54:14 PM
Does your state have any state highways or routes that you feel are completely unnecessary?

California has many three-digit routes that are either a mile or less in total length. There are also other highways, such as CA-77, that aren't signed, less than a mile long and their entire route is absorbed within a longer route. To me, all these routes seem useless, and are usual the result of other roads or routes having been realigned over the years.

What about in your state? Any numbered highways that leave you wondering why it's a numbered highway?
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: froggie on October 19, 2010, 01:08:09 PM
We've had past discussions on useless multiplexes (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=437.0) and pointless routes (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=439.0).
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: agentsteel53 on October 19, 2010, 01:17:44 PM
I don't know if it is reasonable to expect someone to find a thread that has not been added to in a year and a half!

in any case, I-710 between Pasadena and Valley Blvd is pretty useless.  It exists legislatively, but the navigational benefits of a zero-lane freeway are dubious at best.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: Quillz on October 19, 2010, 01:19:54 PM
Quote from: froggie on October 19, 2010, 01:08:09 PM
We've had past discussions on useless multiplexes (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=437.0) and pointless routes (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=439.0).
Sorry, didn't see these topics. I guess you can close this one, then.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: froggie on October 19, 2010, 01:34:37 PM
QuoteI don't know if it is reasonable to expect someone to find a thread that has not been added to in a year and a half!

Was just pointing out that we've had past discussions on the topic.  As for whether it's reasonable or not to expect someone to find threads, I believe that's just a matter of whether one uses the search function or not (I do).
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: Alps on October 19, 2010, 09:15:09 PM
Those threads are SO OLD that we may as well have a new one.  I thought about merging them, but wow, those are old.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: huskeroadgeek on October 19, 2010, 09:32:57 PM
Nebraska used to have some spur routes that didn't appear to go anywhere, but most of those have been decommisioned. Some states like Wyoming in which just about every paved road in the state is a state highway or Virginia in which the state maintains just about every rural road have more routes that don't appear to be necessary.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: Ian on October 19, 2010, 09:39:43 PM
I guess I'll contribute to this...

Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: cu2010 on October 19, 2010, 10:05:12 PM
NY has several routes under a mile which do nothing but serve as a connector between two other state routes (such as 437, which is less than a half-mile long) or just connect one route to a point of interest (such as 419, which connects 329 near Watkins Glen with Watkins Glen State Park). 

On that note, 329 and 409 in the same area (which are longer than a mile, but just as useless if you ask me) start at 14/414 and just randomly end at local roads after a very short distance...

Then there's 421, which starts at 30 south of Tupper Lake (in the middle of absolutely nowhere) and dead-ends after a little over six miles at the Veteran's Memorial Camp (in the middle of absolutely, positively nowhere).

I think all of those roads could be turned into reference routes (or turned over to county/local maintenance) and nobody would really notice or care...

Of course, there's also 790 and 587...
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: Hot Rod Hootenanny on October 20, 2010, 12:32:36 AM
Quote from: froggie on October 19, 2010, 01:34:37 PM
QuoteI don't know if it is reasonable to expect someone to find a thread that has not been added to in a year and a half!

Was just pointing out that we've had past discussions on the topic.  As for whether it's reasonable or not to expect someone to find threads, I believe that's just a matter of whether one uses the search function or not (I do).

We should give you the Marc Fannin Award for Historic Thread Awareness.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: J N Winkler on October 20, 2010, 05:37:27 AM
My personal view is that new discussion on old topics should be merged with the older discussions and that mentions of "this has been discussed before" can usefully be translated as "these observations have been made in the past; let's not reinvent the wheel; let's go back, take those previous comments into account, and come up with something new and interesting."
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: froggie on October 20, 2010, 07:29:20 AM
...which is more or less the same view I have and why I referenced the earlier threads.
Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: US71 on October 20, 2010, 10:51:27 AM
Quote from: cu2010 on October 19, 2010, 10:05:12 PM
NY has several routes under a mile which do nothing but serve as a connector between two other state routes (such as 437, which is less than a half-mile long) or just connect one route to a point of interest (such as 419, which connects 329 near Watkins Glen with Watkins Glen State Park). 


Sounds like Arkansas: 398 connects AR 23 and AR 22

We have many more that are dead-end spurs.

352 starts at US 64, then heads south 1 mile before becoming a county road.

399 runs 1/2 a mile to the local charcoal plant near Paris, AR

219 runs from 64 at Ozark and dead-ends in the forest, while another section dead-ends near the Arkansas River

Title: Re: Seemingly useless state highways...
Post by: SSOWorld on October 20, 2010, 12:35:37 PM
I refer you to https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3021.msg80799#msg80799 (which covers both topics)