Best EW interstate through the great plains

[sparker]

Since there's not a lot to look at on any of the options mentioned in the OP, when I have crossed the "Great Prairie" I more often than not shift into "railgeek" mode, preferring Interstates that follow rail lines.  This causes issues with I-80; while the parallel UP line has more than enough rail traffic to hold one's interest, it's best seen from US 30 rather than the paralle I-80 (it's a bit better out west of US 385, where the line is a bit closer to the freeway).  While the UP "Kansas Pacific" line parallels a lot of US 70 -- particularly between Denver and Limon, CO, there's just not a lot of traffic on the Topeka-Denver section except for grain-elevator action (short and irregularly scheduled trains).  I-40 and I-90 are, as the priest in "Holy Grail" would say, right out; both used to have parallel rail lines with uneven use, but the old Rock Island "Choctaw" line next to I-40 was removed starting in 1982, while the Milwaukee line paralleling I-90 (but only east of the Missouri River) was sold to a local short line in 1980 and cut back to Chamberlain, SD; very sporadic action there.  But the best readily visible RR action of those Interstates listed in the OP is on I-94, paralleled by the old Northern Pacific main, now a BNSF line.  The part running through the Badlands near the MT/ND state line gets a lot of coal and grain traffic, and eastbounds out of Glendive, MT have a heavy gradient getting out of the Yellowstone River valley and often put on a good show slogging up the hill via multiple locomotives on very long trains. 

Too bad the OP didn't consider I-20 across west Texas to be part of the Great Plains; more train action, mile-for-mile, than any of the others -- and most of it from Pecos east to Ft. Worth very visible from the Interstate.   Plenty of traffic (mostly containers) especially since after 1996 UP rerouted most of that traffic out of L.A. over those former Texas & Pacific tracks to their DFW-area offloading facilities. 

[Roadgeekteen]

Since there's not a lot to look at on any of the options mentioned in the OP, when I have crossed the "Great Prairie" I more often than not shift into "railgeek" mode, preferring Interstates that follow rail lines.  This causes issues with I-80; while the parallel UP line has more than enough rail traffic to hold one's interest, it's best seen from US 30 rather than the paralle I-80 (it's a bit better out west of US 385, where the line is a bit closer to the freeway).  While the UP "Kansas Pacific" line parallels a lot of US 70 -- particularly between Denver and Limon, CO, there's just not a lot of traffic on the Topeka-Denver section except for grain-elevator action (short and irregularly scheduled trains).  I-40 and I-90 are, as the priest in "Holy Grail" would say, right out; both used to have parallel rail lines with uneven use, but the old Rock Island "Choctaw" line next to I-40 was removed starting in 1982, while the Milwaukee line paralleling I-90 (but only east of the Missouri River) was sold to a local short line in 1980 and cut back to Chamberlain, SD; very sporadic action there.  But the best readily visible RR action of those Interstates listed in the OP is on I-94, paralleled by the old Northern Pacific main, now a BNSF line.  The part running through the Badlands near the MT/ND state line gets a lot of coal and grain traffic, and eastbounds out of Glendive, MT have a heavy gradient getting out of the Yellowstone River valley and often put on a good show slogging up the hill via multiple locomotives on very long trains. 

Too bad the OP didn't consider I-20 across west Texas to be part of the Great Plains; more train action, mile-for-mile, than any of the others -- and most of it from Pecos east to Ft. Worth very visible from the Interstate.   Plenty of traffic (mostly containers) especially since after 1996 UP rerouted most of that traffic out of L.A. over those former Texas & Pacific tracks to their DFW-area offloading facilities.

Considered, but is Texas really the plains? Heard many say that even I-40 doesn't go through the plains.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The Panhandle probably is. I don't really know about south of I-20, though.

[sparker]

Actually, IMO the best Plains route, Interstate or conventional, for railgeeking has been NE 2 (no pun intended) from Alliance to Grand Island, NE; paralleling the BNSF "coal conduit" originating in the Powder River, WY mining zone.  Back in the late '80's, when most of the midwest power companies still relied on coal-fired generating plants, there was an eastbound coal hauler averaging 100+ cars every 10 minutes like clockwork; I understand that with plants switching over to natural gas or simply being closed the traffic is now down to about a third of its 1989 peak.  Still, the road's a nice if slower alternative to schlepping down I-80!

[sprjus4]

Considered, but is Texas really the plains? Heard many say that even I-40 doesn't go through the plains.

Clearly you've never visited the Texas Panhandle.

[kphoger]

What has actually been said about I-40 has specifically mentioned the Texas panhandle as being the only truly plains stretch along the route.

Well, except for CNGL-Leudimin (pinche español ), and even he clarified that it runs along the edge of the plains.

You only really get the real plains experience across the Texas panhandle

40 has a fairly short stretch of actual plains - as Scott said

Just by looking at a map, I-40 is too far South to be really plains. And judging by satellite imagery, I-40 appears to run along the transition zone between the plains and Western Texas.

[JayhawkCO]

How are we defining the area to cross? Depending on the latitude, the "plains" start or end a little earlier.  For example, all of I-90 in southern Minnesota is plains, where due south in Missouri or Arkansas, I would not consider that the plains.  I think for the sake of discussion, we say the western edge is about equal to Denver's longitude and the eastern edge is the eastern border of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma (or at least once you get outside of the metro area that happens to be on/very close to the border, i.e. Fargo, Sioux Falls, Omaha, and Kansas City)

Case For I-40
It actually passes through cities.  Oklahoma City is the largest metro area in the area defined above.  Amarillo is the second largest.  The Eastern Oklahoma side is relatively hilly and has trees.  Intersects five different interstates (I-27, I-35, I-44, I-235, I-240) and has multiple business interstates.

Case Against I-40
The rest of Oklahoma is nothing to look at.  The Texas panhandle is flat as a pancake.  The portion of I-40 in Eastern New Mexico is more or less flat, desert wasteland.

Case For I-70
The portion east of Salina is actually relatively hilly and pretty for Kansas.  Once you get past Limon, you see mountains in the distance.  Intersects two interstates outside of KC and Denver (I-135 and I-470). 

Case Against I-70
Eastern Colorado is largely terrible.  Everything west of Salina is the same kind of terrible.  Kansas has no business interstates if you're into those.

Case For I-80
Towns are staggered relatively well through Nebraska to give you something to "look forward to(?)" (Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte).  Intersects two other interstates outside of Omaha and Cheyenne (I-76, I-180). 

Case Against I-80
Flat as a pancake and pretty much no scenery from Lincoln westward.  Nebraska has no business interstates if you're into those.

Case for I-90
Nearing the Missouri River Valley and west is quite scenic, even into Wyoming with rolling hills.  80 mph speed limit.  The Corn Palace.  Intersects one other interstate (I-190) and has multiple business interstates.

Case Against I-90
Anything east of the Missouri River Valley is the same flat as a pancake as some of the other highways.

Case For I-94
Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is scenic, although less so than western South Dakota.  Some hilliness continues into extreme eastern Montana.  Intersects one (unsigned) interstate (I-194) and has multiple business interstates.

Case Against I-94
The rest of the whole stretch is flat with no towns to speak of outside of Bismarck.

For me, I'd rank them I-90, I-40, I-94, I-70, I-80.

And just for completeness, I've driven I-90 once, I-40 twice (but not the stretch in eastern Oklahoma a.k.a. the prettier part), I-94 once, I-70 around 40 times, and I-80 around 12 times.

Chris

[kphoger]

To me, it seems wrong to discredit a highway for being flat, when it's specifically "the plains" that we're crossing.

[SectorZ]

To me, it seems wrong to discredit a highway for being flat, when it's specifically "the plains" that we're crossing.

Flat roads can be just as good as hilly roads. It's all about the entire experience.

[zzcarp]

I live in Denver now and have taken I-80 dozens of time traveling to Ohio and Ontario. I love that there are towns every 10 miles or so, plus they have rest areas at very convenient spots. I agree, the Lincoln to Omaha stretch is the best scenery and also six lanes which helps. It does occur as a slog with the heavy truck traffic. Last time I bailed and took US 6 and US 34 from west of Lincoln to Brush, Colorado.

I've taken I-70 a handful of times. I do like the hills west of Topeka, at least when it's not snowing. But, yes, the most interesting scenery in western Kansas is the long S-curve from paralleling US 40 to US 24.

I've been on sections of I-90 but mostly from Douglas, WY to Spearfish. I'm not sure that's still the plains, but it was scenic and hilly.

I spent quite some time near Dickinson, ND and I-94 in back in 2012-13. I never did make it west of Belfield where Teddy Roosevelt NP is. But at least I-94 is a 75 MPH highway and pretty straight. You can also follow old Highway 10 intact within a mile of it through most of North Dakota.

[sparker]

Really best thing about I-80 -- specifically EB -- knowing that there's a great steak waiting for you at
Cattleman's in Lincoln!!!!

[Jim]

Give me a "boring" ride across the northern plains any day over the insanity that is roads like I-70 in Missouri or much of I-95.  Hilly, flat, whatever, if you look around there are things to see.  Just observing the fact that there's so much open space for miles on end, right next to an interstate highway, is interesting to me.  The incredible flatness of eastern North Dakota is something to see in its own right.  And like many of us say on this forum so often, get off the interstates when you can and there's always a series of little towns to experience, if only for a few minutes as you pass through.  To each his own, though.

One my most memorable moments from a road trip growing up was crossing eastern South Dakota in 1985 on I-90 during an August afternoon mostly dry thunderstorm.  You could see the bolts of lightning striking the rolling hills, then one struck barely off the right shoulder just as we were passing.  I think it's still the closest I've ever been to a lightning strike, hearing the thunder which was much more like an explosion, and seeing the big cloud of dust, probably mixed with smoke, kicked up around the strike.  And of course the other highlight was seeing the actual Oacoma, South Dakota, after reading about it at the top of the Mass Pike so many times when crossing the Berkshires.

[oscar]

Really best thing about I-80 -- specifically EB -- knowing that there's a great steak waiting for you at
Cattleman's in Lincoln!!!!

I didn't know about that, will need to check it out someday. But I do try to get a steak dinner in Omaha whenever I'm passing through. All of the several places I tried (one downtown, one near the stockyard, a few in the suburbs) were good, though some were rather pricey.

[JayhawkCO]

To me, it seems wrong to discredit a highway for being flat, when it's specifically "the plains" that we're crossing.

At least for me, part of the appeal of driving is turning the steering wheel.  Maybe I shouldn't have said flat, but rather "stick straight".   

Chris

[sbeaver44]

I can only vouch for 90 or 94. 

I absolutely love 94 around Teddy Roosevelt NP.  But that's not enough for me to give it a higher rating than 90.  94 just feels like it drags forever in a lot of other places.

90 I mostly did at night and that honestly might be why it seems like it went faster. (It was still 75 then in SD)  Even though it was a long straight shot from Gillette to Sioux Falls, it really didn't seem that long.

Approaching Rapid City from the West on 90 at night is really cool.  I also like the section of 90 in Eastern MN and around LaCrosse.

While I like the Twin Cities a lot, I also appreciate that 90 doesn't go through any large cities either.

[sparker]

Really best thing about I-80 -- specifically EB -- knowing that there's a great steak waiting for you at
Cattleman's in Lincoln!!!!

I didn't know about that, will need to check it out someday. But I do try to get a steak dinner in Omaha whenever I'm passing through. All of the several places I tried (one downtown, one near the stockyard, a few in the suburbs) were good, though some were rather pricey.

The restaurant is out on US 6 heading east out of town, sandwiched between the highway and the BNSF main line.  It's a bit pricier than the chain steakhouses (Stuart Anderson, Outback, etc.) but well below what you can expect from the likes of Ruth's Chris or Morton's; one can generally get out of there with a full dinner for about $40-50/person (unless you order a couple of craft beers or really good bottle of wine).  Discovered it back about '82 when going to the now-discontinued Consumer Electronic Summer Show in Chicago -- they had at least 3 billboards on 80 coming in from the west, so their presence was certainly "out there".  We were staying overnight in Omaha, so it was decided to eat there and get it somewhat digested by the time we got to the hotel.  Pleasantly surprised, of course; don't let the glitzy archetypal-Western decor put you off -- the food, including the "all-in" baked potato, is excellent. 

[webny99]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

[Roadgeekteen]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

NY has 55 on most rural roads, especially upstate.

[webny99]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

NY has 55 on most rural roads, especially upstate.

I know! This is a personal favorite 55 mph back road.

But that's exactly the point: 55 is the upper bound, since we don't have anything higher than that on non-freeways. So when you hit a 55 zone, you're not going to be saying "I wish this limit was higher!". You're going to be saying "This is a treat that I must enjoy while it lasts!".

[Ketchup99]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

NY has 55 on most rural roads, especially upstate.

I know! This is a personal favorite 55 mph back road.

But that's exactly the point: 55 is the upper bound, since we don't have anything higher than that on non-freeways. So when you hit a 55 zone, you're not going to be saying "I wish this limit was higher!". You're going to be saying "This is a treat that I must enjoy while it lasts!".

This is a personal favorite 35 mph back road.

PA legally has a 55 default on two-lanes but it seems more like the default is 45, 35 in towns. Many towns will push their state routes to 25, and 55 is only allowed in the literal middle of nowhere. Almost any 55 in Pennsylvania could be a 65, at least, with absolutely no problem, and most 45s could be 55. While we're at it Pennsylvania has a lot of 55 freeways left over from the NMSL days which should be way higher, stuff like  (this and this and lots of four-lane divided not-quite-freeway at 55 as well (like this). Lots of our 65 zones could be higher and we have some 65 and 70 which could be 80 or more.

Point is, it's dumb. My friends out west, enjoy your freedoms.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

NY has 55 on most rural roads, especially upstate.

I know! This is a personal favorite 55 mph back road.

But that's exactly the point: 55 is the upper bound, since we don't have anything higher than that on non-freeways. So when you hit a 55 zone, you're not going to be saying "I wish this limit was higher!". You're going to be saying "This is a treat that I must enjoy while it lasts!".

As Minnesota just finished raising thousands of miles from 55 to 60...this is precisely not how I see it. 

[kphoger]

This is a personal favorite 35 mph back road.

Did they recently lower the speed limit?  In GSV, I don't see anything lower than 40 or 45 in either direction.

[webny99]

The 55mph speed limit just gets old after a while...

Come east and 55 will feel like a treat before too long...

NY has 55 on most rural roads, especially upstate.

I know! This is a personal favorite 55 mph back road.

But that's exactly the point: 55 is the upper bound, since we don't have anything higher than that on non-freeways. So when you hit a 55 zone, you're not going to be saying "I wish this limit was higher!". You're going to be saying "This is a treat that I must enjoy while it lasts!".

As Minnesota just finished raising thousands of miles from 55 to 60...this is precisely not how I see it. 

I know. And you don't live in the east. So we've come full circle. 

[Ketchup99]

This is a personal favorite 35 mph back road.

Did they recently lower the speed limit?  In GSV, I don't see anything lower than 40 or 45 in either direction.

It used to be higher but my town has been dropping every limit they possibly can. It's now part 35, part 45. The part I showed is, I'm pretty sure, now 35.

[sparker]

This is a personal favorite 35 mph back road.

Did they recently lower the speed limit?  In GSV, I don't see anything lower than 40 or 45 in either direction.

It used to be higher but my town has been dropping every limit they possibly can. It's now part 35, part 45. The part I showed is, I'm pretty sure, now 35.

I see you're from a town with a major university.  Here's the thing -- a significant percentage of those, particularly state universities, have an urban planning program (regardless of where they're located); "exclusionary" urbanism tends to dominate those programs, including the invariable anti-car attitude.  And more often than not those folks gain internships in the local planning agencies as part of their curriculum -- and a few tend to get hired right there upon graduation (cf. City of Portland [OR] and PDX Metro vis-a-vis the PSU urban planning department).  At that point, the "garbage can" method of policy formulation -- predetermined solutions looking for a place and/or situation where they may be applied -- is instituted.  And one of the easiest places to do that is with in-town speed limits -- lowering them as a general principle to (a) attempt to enhance safety of non-automotive street occupants as well as (b) increase the perception of city driving as being more of a PITA than it's worth.  The former is actually a worthy goal, but the latter is less salient; those who need to traverse the city to engage in business or social activity will generally just suck it up and put up with the fact it takes 10 minutes more to get where they're going, but overall they're just a wee bit more pissed off than they were before.  It won't drive anyone who requires an automobile any more than sporadically to switch to a transit mode -- particularly in locales with less-than-comprehensive/exemplary systems.  But speed limits are low-hanging fruit to planners -- it's easy to inundate city councils with stats and generally convince those not intrinsically opposed to such to accede to these measures.  Thus in recent years the movement to kick street speed limits into low gear has gained traction as planning departments assume this particular "one-size-fits-all" approach to such matters.