State Highways that are routed better than their US Highway Counterpart

[Duke87]

OH 32 is a higher grade and faster route between Cincinnati and Athens than US 50.

The former is newer than the latter, but this doesn't explain why that corridor was chosen for upgrade over US 50, or why US 50 was not rerouted onto it.

[hbelkins]

KY 286 is a better route than either US 60 or US 62 between Paducah and Wickliffe.

[DandyDan]

In Iowa, I think IA 24 would make a better route for US 18 than the current US 18 east of New Hampton, or else IA 346 would make a better route for US 18 west of US 63 to US 218.

In Minnesota, I'm still inclined to believe MN 7 would be a better route for US 212 than the current US 212, but I believe US 212 gets all the county seats.  That's probably a lot of the underlying logic for the routes of US highways, now that I think of it (and it works for my Iowa example above).

[NWI_Irish96]

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.

Also:

IN 2 is a 4-lane route from South Bend to Rolling Prairie while US 20 is 2 lanes

[SD Mapman]

WY 193 vs US 87 south of Sheridan is probably the best example of this.

[TheStranger]

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.

In that same vein...

Between Tonopah and Winnemucca, NV 376 and NV 305 provide a more direct pathway than US 95.

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Some examples that have since been supplanted due to interstate construction:

- In Arizona, due to US 80 taking current AZ 85 to connect with Phoenix, the more direct route to Tucson from Stanfield was AZ 84 (now mostly replaced by I-8 and I-10); between Benson and Steins, NM, AZ 86 was the quicker route (now replaced by I-10).  AZ 93 (now replaced by I-10) was the more direct Phoenix-Tucson route in comparison with US 80 following US 60, AZ 79, and AZ 77 out of town.

- In Texas, SH 73 and SH 124 provided an alternate for US 90 between Houston and Beaumont; that corridor is primarily where I-10 was built.

[Bitmapped]

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.

US 250 and SR 4 do not serve the same corridor. Doesn't count.

[bassoon1986]

CO 17 vs US 285 from Alamosa to Villa Grove

[NE2]

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.

This is not true.

[NE2]

related thread: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9540

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I was going to point that out. I personally love how AR 19 and LA 159 is more direct than both US 79 AND US 371.

[RobbieL2415]

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.

Plus you get the 50mph speed limit on CT 80.  I think US 1 is stuck at 35-40 most of that way.

[Avalanchez71]

So what is the deal with IN SR 63 and US 41 anyway?  Why is US 41 not marked as US 41 ALT and SR 63 not marked as US 41?

[sparker]

Between Billings & Great Falls, the MT 3 routing via Judith Gap (including multiplexes with both US 12 and US 191) is shorter (by about 14 miles) than by using US 87.  The gradients are a shade easier as well (MT 3 essentially follows the path of the BNSF [ex-GN] branch from Great Falls down to Laurel, west of Billings).  Also, when High Priority Corridor 27 was established, it used the MT 3 corridor (which does multiplex with US 87 from Moore to Great Falls) rather than the full US 87 alignment; MT 3 itself was not extended beyond its Billings-Lavina independent segment until HPC 27 was defined. 

[TheStranger]

Though not quite a state route, Lassen County Route A3 (Standish-0Buntingville Road) offers a savings of 10 miles over US 395 between the road's namesake two destinations.

Through the 1950s and early 1960s, Route 30 between San Dimas and San Bernardino offered a slightly shorter connection between those two segments of US 66. Could also argue that between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles, pre-1960 route 26 (which the Santa Monica Freeway to the south supplanted) offered a less-congested route than US 66 (today's Route 2).  Another example from that era of a more logical state route path as compared to the US route would be the difference between US 91 from Anaheim Hills to Long Beach as compared to Route 55 to Route 22.

[roadfro]

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.

In that same vein...

Between Tonopah and Winnemucca, NV 376 and NV 305 provide a more direct pathway than US 95.

Both of these situations arise because what comprises the present-day shorter route either did not exist or was not an improved/paved roadway when the US routes were extended southward through Nevada. Also, the US routes tend to serve more populated areas than state route counterparts.

[Sykotyk]

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.

This is probably a case of US6 being the much better road for large vehicles. There's a low bridge just west of Smethport (it's well signed heading west), that is just an old concrete railroad bridge. It really should be redone as trucks must go the long way while cars, if they know about it, can take the short way.

Though PA66-US6 to Smethport and then cutting up to Lawrenceville, PA and US15/Future I-99 is a great angle route from Pittsburgh toward Syracuse/Albany areas of New York.

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.

Another issue with trucks. The causeway through Pymatuning Reservoir just can't handle big trucks or their weights. It's built up on piled rock and narrow. PA has a 10-ton weight limit on it, and the 'bridge' on the causeway isn't wide. Little shoulder. And you have fishing off the causeway down its entire length. Probably US6 existed in some form prior to the reservoir existing, and PA285 was just built when they realized they were going to cut off two large areas from one another in each state. Especially with Andover being the 'resort' area along the lake rather than the PA side (there's restaurants, fast food, hotels, etc in Andover). Same reason US322 makes the turn south around Jamestown and then west.




Another one would be OH 172 over US 30 from Canton to Lisbon. The US 30 freeway through Stark County ends abruptly just west of East Canton and dumps you on the old alignment. Then, in East Canton, US 30 makes an awkward jog south through town and then goes from town to town while OH 172 makes a relatively straight shot east. Google Maps gives it as the recommended route between Canton and Lisbon.

[Max Rockatansky]

From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60.  I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.

[MNHighwayMan]

In Iowa, I think IA 24 would make a better route for US 18 than the current US 18 east of New Hampton, or else IA 346 would make a better route for US 18 west of US 63 to US 218.

Also in Iowa, IA-51 and IA-9 between Postville and Decorah is a more direct route than US-52. If you allow county routes then CR W4B would make it even better.

[texaskdog]

When you take Wisconsin 77 from Mellen to Clam Lake, there is a stretch of county GG west of Mellen that is much shorter and faster than staying on 77.  Saves 7 miles & 7 minutes.

[texaskdog]

Of course before they decommissioned US 2 between St Ignace & the Soo, M-28 was much shorter.

[sparker]

From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60.  I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.

Unless AZDOT puts a steroidal clone of the O'Callaghan-Tillman/I-11 bridge over the Salt River Canyon (yeah, right!), US 60/AZ 77 will never be a safer and more efficient route than 260/87.  Besides -- pine forest vs. scrub brush?  No contest in regards to scenery (both will burn equally well in any of the notorious Mogollon wildfires!).   

[Max Rockatansky]

From Show Low Arizona both AZ 260 and AZ 87 is the better engineered and more modern route to Phoenix over US 60.  I don't think my opinion will change even with the current improvements of US 60 from Superior to Globe being built.

Unless AZDOT puts a steroidal clone of the O'Callaghan-Tillman/I-11 bridge over the Salt River Canyon (yeah, right!), US 60/AZ 77 will never be a safer and more efficient route than 260/87.  Besides -- pine forest vs. scrub brush?  No contest in regards to scenery (both will burn equally well in any of the notorious Mogollon wildfires!).   

Hey at least Salt River Canyon has one thing going for it.  It's a much better route than old US 60T which used to follow AZ 73 when it went to Peridot.    One of my favorite fictional suggestions for AZ is have US 70 run to the I-10 stack, have AZ 77 stay the course, and have US 60 follow AZ 260, AZ 87, and AZ 202 to I-10 then Grand Ave.

[US 41]

So what is the deal with IN SR 63 and US 41 anyway?  Why is US 41 not marked as US 41 ALT and SR 63 not marked as US 41?

They decided to just upgrade SR 63 from the northern US 41 / 63 intersection down to Clinton rather than upgrade US 41. Although up near Veedersburg, south of US 136, it looks like there may have been plans at some point to further widen US 41 to the south. In Clinton SR 63 actually crossed the river (now is SR 163) and ran concurrent with US 41 down to Terre Haute. So all of SR 63 from Clinton to TH is actually a totally new alignment.  I'm also sure that the towns along US 41 fought to keep the "US" designation through their towns as well.

[Captain Jack]

That's the million dollar question Hoosiers have been wondering of INDOT since this was completed. I think there may be several reasons..none of which make valid sense.

1. I am sure US 41 is correct in that the towns along US 41 fought to keep the designation. Now the realty, there are only (2) towns along this route of any size, Rockville and Attica. Neither of them are probably sniffing 5K in population. It makes absolutely no sense to cause years of confusion to motorists so (2) one-horse towns can claim to be on an US Route.

2. For whatever reason, there does appear to be some indications that INDOT or other interests wanted to make sure US 41 did not continue to be a viable route during the era of both the interstate construction and the improvements of this route. For starters, US 41 between Chicago and Nashville was left off of the interstate map, despite being the direct route, and heavily used at that time. Then, the routing of I-65 appears to be almost deliberately too far east to provide any benefit to this traffic. Anyone with a 3rd grade IQ or higher would have seen the benefits of running 65 a little farther west, and providing benefit not only to 65 traffic, but travelers using 41 from Evansville and Terre Haute. I think it's entirely possible that the powers feared that many motorists, with just a few stoplights in Terre Haute and Evansville, would opt to take the shorter and direct 41 route than travel the extra miles and fight the traffic in Indy and Louisville, if there was limited access for 41 traffic in Lake County.

Not routing 41 on the direct, and four lane route between Terre Haute and Attica seems to only confirm this theory. I can' find any logic to support anything else. It would also support why, despite nearly every Indiana city of any size having had bypasses built for years, US 41 still barrels right down the middle of Terre Haute.