State Highways that are routed better than their US Highway Counterpart

[peterj920]

In Wisconsin, Wis 93 and US 53 both travel between La Crosse and Eau Claire.  However, Wis 93 is shorter and on the National Highway System, while WISDOT considers US 53 a secondary highway.

In Michigan, US 41 and M-35 both travel between Escanaba and Menominee.  M-35 is shorter and the preferred route over US 41.  US 41 was intended to travel on a more direct route between Powers and Marquette, but that alignment was never built and instead shared a concurrency with US 2 to Escanaba.  Any other examples?

Toll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road. 

[sparker]

NV 318 (with a short stretch over US 6) between Ash Springs & Ely, NV is a much more direct route than US 93, which "detours" eastward through Caliente before turning west again along US 6/50 via Connors Pass.  The overall superiority of this "shortcut" was recognized when the N-S NHS corridor in this area was routed over NV 318 rather than US 93.

[coatimundi]

SR 17 versus US 285 in Colorado.

[lordsutch]

Indiana has SR 63 and US 41 north of Terre Haute, where SR 63 is the more sensible and modern alternative for traffic headed to Chicago.

In Georgia, SR 96 + SR 49 are a better alternative to following US 80 from Columbus to Macon.

On a more local level, Tennessee SR 385 from I-240 in Memphis to Collierville functions as a bypass for parallel US 72.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Seriously, DOTs should request AASHTO to realign those US routes onto the better alternates. Particularlly those whose alternative is on the NHS.

Toll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road. 

Then ask O(K)DOT to remove US 412 from Cimarron and Cherokee turnpikes.

[74/171FAN]

PA 272 and US 222 south of Lancaster,  PA 272 stays due south past Willow Street while US 222 curves to the east before heading south

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 316 and US 61 southeast of the Twin Cities. 316 cuts the corner while 61 heads in an L-shape to Miesville before turning east to reconnect with 316. I think MnDOT has designs on someday moving 61 onto 316, but who the hell knows when or if this will ever happen.

[Takumi]

VA 143 and US 60 between Williamsburg and Newport News.

[peterj920]

Seriously, DOTs should request AASHTO to realign those US routes onto the better alternates. Particularlly those whose alternative is on the NHS.

Toll Roads, such as DE 1 and US 13 or former Toll Roads such as US 231 and the Natcher Parkway do not count since US Highways were prohibited from be routed on a toll road. 

Then ask O(K)DOT to remove US 412 from Cimarron and Cherokee turnpikes.

There's an AASHTO rule that US routes couldn't be routed onto toll roads unless there was a suitable free route.  US 412 is an exception, but Alternate 412 had to be signed as a free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike.  AASHTO must have felt that US 64 was a suitable free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike.  US 13 wasn't rerouted onto DE 1 for the rule stated above.  I just wanted to exclude those examples for the sake of this discussion because those toll roads and former toll roads were clearly constructed as a better alternative than the US highway.  The routes listed on this thread were most likely not intentionally built to be a better alternative to the US highway at the time. 

[roadman65]

FL 729 is a better quality road than both US 98 & US 441 in Pahokee, FL.  In fact, through trucks are advised to use the state route bypass over the main road that traverses narrow streets and a business district.

[sparker]

NC 11 between Bethel and Ahoskie, NC is a more direct route than US 13, which multiplexes on US 64 and US 17 for much of the distance between those points on an indirect alignment.

[noelbotevera]

PA 272 and US 222 south of Lancaster,  PA 272 stays due past Willow Street while US 222 curves to the east before heading south

The ironic thing is that they were once swapped. PA 272 was once US 222 and vice versa. I have no idea why they moved, but hey.

[Jmiles32]

VA-7 and US 50 between Winchester and Falls Church.

[jp the roadgeek]

For those who shun I-95, CT 80 to CT 9 or CT 154 is usually a better option than US 1 between New Haven and Old Saybrook, especially during beach season.  CT/MA 10 is more of a direct option from New Haven to Northampton (neglecting the fact it does briefly overlap with US 44 and overlaps a longer stretch with US 202), and RI 3 and RI 2 are more direct shots to Providence from the Pawcatuck/Westerly area than US 1.  And NY 32 can be a better option from the Newburgh area to Albany if you take the Poughkeepsie and Kingston traffic into account on US 9 and US 9W.  Last one: NJ 27 is better near Menlo Park and New Brunswick than US 1.

[sparker]

Just remembered another one:  PA 59 vs. US 6 between Warren and Southport in NW PA.  PA 59 takes the direct route between those points, while US 6 veers south to serve the towns of Sheffield and Kane -- 39 miles (direct) as opposed to 50 miles via the more convoluted US 6 to the south. 

[TheStranger]

In the 1930s/1940s, what was then Route 150 between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara was clearly the more direct route between the two compared to US 101, but freeway upgrades on 101 have negated that advantage to a degree.  (That segment of 150 is now Route 154)

From the late 1950s to 1965-1966, Route 24 offered the much more straightline route to Marysville/Yuba City in comparison with US 99W and US 99E; after the 1964 state route renumbering, that portion of 24 became part of a realigned (state) Route 99 and the newly designated Route 70.

When US 50 ran between the Bay Area and Sacramento along today's I-580, I-205, I-5, Route 4 and Route 99 corridors, Route 24 between Oakland and Sacramento offered a scenic but less out-of-the-way route; while the portion of 24 from Oakland to Walnut Creek still exists, the rest has become I-680 (was Route 24/I-680 until 1990 or so), Route 242, Route 4 (originally Route 4/24), and Route 160.

[Bitmapped]

The former WV 73 routing between Morgantown and Fairmont is superior to US 19's route. I-79 was built close to WV 73's alignment.

[wphiii]

PA 285/OH 85 between Conneaut Lake, PA and Andover, OH, while U.S. 6 weirdly meanders north over Pymatuning.

PA 59 also might be more direct than U.S. 6 between Warren, PA and Smethport.

[noelbotevera]

OH 2 and US 6. OH 2 is freeway between Cleveland and Sandusky. It also bypasses Sandusky and Lorain while US 6 goes straight through the two towns. US 6 is two/four lanes.

US 250 and OH 4. OH 4 from the Ohio Turnpike to Sandusky is 8 miles. US 250 from the same points is 9.5 miles.

[bassoon1986]

Looking at an Alabama map, I found an example. It would appear that between Opp and Enterprise, AL 134 is the shorter, straighter route, over US 84, which arcs to the north. I don't know if the condition of the road is great or not.

[TheStranger]

Looking at an Alabama map, I found an example. It would appear that between Opp and Enterprise, AL 134 is the shorter, straighter route, over US 84, which arcs to the north. I don't know if the condition of the road is great or not.

From a quick Google Maps satellite view, much of the US 84 route is now dual-carriageway (four lane divided) while 134 remains two lanes throughout.

There's still a portion of 84 awaiting a realignment/upgrade in Elba, where a bypass is only half-complete:
http://www.southeastsun.com/news/article_b407742a-fbf1-11e3-b470-001a4bcf6878.html

[dvferyance]

VA-307 is a cutoff between US 360 and US 460. The GPS told me to take it.

[dgolub]

DE 1 and US 13.

[74/171FAN]

VA-307 is a cutoff between US 360 and US 460. The GPS told me to take it.

I do not think this one counts.  VA 307 is not meant as a parallel route to either road but as a connector route so traffic along both routes headed to Richmond from Lynchburg and vice versa can save time from not having to go all the way south to Burkeville.  US 360 and US 460 are both major through routes here.

[lordsutch]

I'd have to drive it to be sure, but I'd reckon east of Selma, AL 14 + US 82 is a better route to most of Montgomery (except the airport) than following US 80.

Following AR 1 from Jonesboro to Helena-West Helena is substantially shorter and faster than following US 49.

A bit of a weird one: MS 8 from Cleveland MS to the Alabama state line is a far more direct option than following US 278. Similarly, following AR 35 east out of Monticello would save you a few miles over taking US 278 over toward Lake Village. The former problem will remain even when/if the I-69 bridge is built to divert US 278 along a more straightforward routing.