What do you Count/Not Count When Clinching?

[Flint1979]

I do little turnarounds over borders when it comes to county clinching -- if I am not in that new county, then where am I?  For interstates, I only need to count one direction, but if I get off, I do need to backtrack to get the over or underpass.

That said, for special cases like I-95 in NJ or I-670 in Columbus or I-480...I do clinch the legs or spurs.

That's how I am for county clinching too. A classic one for me was my clinch of Parke County, Indiana. I simply drove over the bridge on US-36 into Montezuma and turned around at the gas station within the first block after crossing the bridge.

[epzik8]

I do little turnarounds over borders when it comes to county clinching -- if I am not in that new county, then where am I?  For interstates, I only need to count one direction, but if I get off, I do need to backtrack to get the over or underpass.

That said, for special cases like I-95 in NJ or I-670 in Columbus or I-480...I do clinch the legs or spurs.

That's how I am for county clinching too. A classic one for me was my clinch of Parke County, Indiana. I simply drove over the bridge on US-36 into Montezuma and turned around at the gas station within the first block after crossing the bridge.

This is how I'm clinching Sussex, NJ.

[pderocco]

In California, we have an alternative definition of clinching counties, which is to clinch County Sign Routes. This is a 1958 vintage program in which a certain few of the thousands of county roads are designated as being up to certain standards, and worthy of the blue and yellow pentagonal signs. Since the maximum number of such routes in a county happens to be 25 (and is usually far fewer), it's practical to drive all of them. And since I've driven all the state highways in most counties, I have to resort to county sign routes to feed my habit. So far I've clinched 17 of the 40 participating counties, and intend to polish off five more in a month or so. Unfortunately, the rest are mostly straight two-lane roads in the flat boring Central Valley, or a network of roads in Silicon Valley with hundreds of traffic lights.

[Max Rockatansky]

Amusingly a draw for a lot flat lands letter county routes is finding out they are actually still signed.  Two examples I never would have driven otherwise are J19 and J40.

Worth noting, the letter county routes tend to feature some seriously awesome winding roads and unique structures.  I regularly take G16 as a bypass of the Salinas area when I'm heading to the Monterey Peninsula.  G16 has a large single truss bridge and is one of the few roads to cross the Santa Lucia Mountains.

[SSOWorld]

On a trip back in 1991, I made the connection from I-29 south to I-80 east in Iowa via the eastern segment of I-680. That's the only segment of I-680 I've ever been on. When that portion of 680 was redesignated as 880, I scored a clinch of I-880.
On that same trip, I was on US 666 from Shiprock to Gallup. Earlier this year, I was on US 491 from Shiprock to Monticello. Therefore, I consider US 491/US 666 to be clinched.

I have been on all of I-81 from Tennessee to the last exit in New York before crossing the border into Canada. Since I don't have a passport, I could not legally enter Canada. I got off at the last exit, drove as far north as I could, and got back on I-81 going south. I consider I-81 to be clinched.

Cheapskate.

I'm with you H.B..

Two road clinchers rather than route clinchers.

Mine is a "was I there" thing. I clinch roads not for numbers but for the experiences of seeing the things that that road allows me to see. Other than a sign, not much will have changed from the last time I was on I-515 (in the I-11 example).

[DenverBrian]

I-11, formerly I-515, probably is changing most at night. They're installing miles of new tall light poles in the center, all LED lighting.