The Most Boring Stretches of Highway

[JakeFromNewEngland]

I don't know if it has been mentioned, but probably I-95 east of New London, CT until you hit Greater Providence. The stretch is basically just fields and trees. Nothing else. When I was younger and going to Cape Cod, it made it worse because being the young roadgeek I was, I wanted to see the 8 lane highways in Providence badly! 

[Tom958]

I just read through all 11 pages of this topic and will be happy to add my contribution:

Insterstate 20 in Georgia between Augusta and Atlanta's eastern suburbs.  Wow, that is a miserable stretch of road.

Sing along with me!

"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"

This goes on without any deviation for about 100 miles.

I'd have to agree. It's even worse than I-16. Why? Because, as desolate as I-16 is, it was also built over a longer time period-- early '60's to late '70's-- so there's some variation in the design and appearance. Not much, but some. I-20 was all built in the mid to late '60's, and has very little variation.

They've replaced a lot of the interchange bridges on I-20, but the new ones are all the same. *Yawn* They've replaced a few on I-16, too, but few enough that they add a little bit of interest.

[Haeleus]

My vote is for I-80 across Iowa and Nebraska. Driving this route on the way from Chicago to Colorado amounts to over a 1000km of boredom. Heh, I remember the first time I drove to Colorado expecting mountains and freaking out on I-76 at the prospect of yet more grass until Denver.

[hotdogPi]

I feel like trees are more boring than plains, since you can see further in plains.

[thenetwork]

I just read through all 11 pages of this topic and will be happy to add my contribution:

Insterstate 20 in Georgia between Augusta and Atlanta's eastern suburbs.  Wow, that is a miserable stretch of road.

Sing along with me!

"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"

This goes on without any deviation for about 100 miles.

[/quote]

I said that when I was on a family trip and was heading west in PA from NYC on I-80 en-route to Ohio.  This was when PA was still using sequential exit numbers and 55 MPH speed limits.  Exit 36 didn't sound that far from Ohio, until you saw mile marker 292 right next to it.

[pianocello]

I've seen I-80 in Iowa mentioned, but IMO, that's the most interesting interstate going out of the Quad Cities. I-88, 80, and 74 in Illinois are all mind-numbingly boring outside of Chicagoland, Peoria, and Moline.

[bing101]

I-5 Halfway from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Sure the Manure smell will wake you up halfway.

[mcdonaat]

I-49 between Opelousas and Alexandria, and Alexandria to Shreveport.
LA 28 between Leesville and Gardner.
US 61 between Natchez and Woodville.
And finally, because it is too boring, LA 139/AR 13 between Bastrop, LA and Pine Bluff, AR.

[Strider]

Just about any stretch of I-95 that I have been on has been boring.  I have travelled it from near Philadelphia to the south end in Miami.

Do us all a favor and stay off of I-95 in eastern CT and northern ME, so that it doesn't become boring like the others.

I-95 in eastern CT is a PAIN. boring, but Trafficfest!

[Strider]

Interstate 40 in North Carolina between I-77 and I-85 is also a beast because I-40 goes on for so much longer than you think in NC.  I guess it's like I-81 in Virginia in that it looks shorter than it really is.


I disagree.  because once you hit Winston-Salem to Greensboro, NC you're going to encounter heavy traffic through both cities. If you're driving faster than usual, you'll find that stretch faster. But when you goes west on I-40 from Winston-Salem to I-77, that's a different story.

[Strider]

I don't have any experience driving in the plains states, so... I will say that on my trip from New England to Atlanta, I-81 through Virginia was a total snoozefest.

If you're driving north on I-81, I agree with you. it seems to be taking forever, but if you are driving south on I-81, that's different. It seems like traffic is going faster when it goes south instead of north.

[ZLoth]

Boring stretches? Maybe it's because I was in the back of a hot car with a broken A/C when I was young, or I took these routes once too often, but here are my selections:

• I-80 between Auburn and Fairfield. I swear, going home to Sacramento feels LONGER than getting away from Sacramento.
  
• I-5 between Tracy and the Grapevine (please, sirs, may I take CA-99?)
  
• I-680 between Fairfield and Benicia
  
• I-205 near Tracy
  
• I-580 east of Livermore and the I-5
  
• US-50 between Placerville and Folsom
  

That's when I'm glad I have a working audio system in my car and some good audiobooks in my smartphone.

I know that people like to condemn I-5 between Redding and the Grapevine, but I found the drive between Tracy and Sacramento halfway interesting, and I enjoy the farmland between Sacramento and Redding.

[bing101]

Boring stretches? Maybe it's because I was in the back of a hot car with a broken A/C when I was young, or I took these routes once too often, but here are my selections:

• I-80 between Auburn and Fairfield. I swear, going home to Sacramento feels LONGER than getting away from Sacramento.
  
• I-5 between Tracy and the Grapevine (please, sirs, may I take CA-99?)
  
• I-680 between Fairfield and Benicia
  
• I-205 near Tracy
  
• I-580 east of Livermore and the I-5
  
• US-50 between Placerville and Folsom
  

That's when I'm glad I have a working audio system in my car and some good audiobooks in my smartphone.

I know that people like to condemn I-5 between Redding and the Grapevine, but I found the drive between Tracy and Sacramento halfway interesting, and I enjoy the farmland between Sacramento and Redding.

Well the only time a boring highway becomes interesting is when you have to smell manure in your car.  I 680 at the Lake Herman rd exit is interesting. LAke Herman rd is when you have an underated scenic road within Benicia and Vallejo city limits.

[Strider]

Boring stretches? Maybe it's because I was in the back of a hot car with a broken A/C when I was young, or I took these routes once too often, but here are my selections:

• I-80 between Auburn and Fairfield. I swear, going home to Sacramento feels LONGER than getting away from Sacramento.
  
• I-5 between Tracy and the Grapevine (please, sirs, may I take CA-99?)
  
• I-680 between Fairfield and Benicia
  
• I-205 near Tracy
  
• I-580 east of Livermore and the I-5
  
• US-50 between Placerville and Folsom
  

That's when I'm glad I have a working audio system in my car and some good audiobooks in my smartphone.

I know that people like to condemn I-5 between Redding and the Grapevine, but I found the drive between Tracy and Sacramento halfway interesting, and I enjoy the farmland between Sacramento and Redding.

Well the only time a boring highway becomes interesting is when you have to smell manure in your car.  I 680 at the Lake Herman rd exit is interesting. LAke Herman rd is when you have an underated scenic road within Benicia and Vallejo city limits.

There are plenty of manure smells along I-78/US 22 in PA! yeow.

[bing101]

Boring stretches? Maybe it's because I was in the back of a hot car with a broken A/C when I was young, or I took these routes once too often, but here are my selections:

   
• I-80 between Auburn and Fairfield. I swear, going home to Sacramento feels LONGER than getting away from Sacramento.
• I-5 between Tracy and the Grapevine (please, sirs, may I take CA-99?)
• I-680 between Fairfield and Benicia
• I-205 near Tracy
• I-580 east of Livermore and the I-5
• US-50 between Placerville and Folsom

That's when I'm glad I have a working audio system in my car and some good audiobooks in my smartphone.

I know that people like to condemn I-5 between Redding and the Grapevine, but I found the drive between Tracy and Sacramento halfway interesting, and I enjoy the farmland between Sacramento and Redding.

Well the only time a boring highway becomes interesting is when you have to smell manure in your car.  I 680 at the Lake Herman rd exit is interesting. LAke Herman rd is when you have an underated scenic road within Benicia and Vallejo city limits.

There are plenty of manure smells along I-78/US 22 in PA! yeow.

Never thought about I-78. But thanks! I only know about the I-5 one Halfway between Sacramento/ and Bay Area to Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley sections where cows live on Manure.

[jbnv]

I-49 from Opelousas to Alexandria, and Alexandria to Shreveport. Mile after mile of nothing. Make sure you stop at the Natchitoches exit. No matter how empty your bladder and colon are, or how full your gas tank is. At the very least, get a meat pie. If you don't, you'll regret it. (Also gives you more time to chuckle at the sign that says "Many Natchitoches" when we all know there's only one. )

Also on my boring list:
I-10 between Tallahassee and I-75.
I-55 from West Memphis to I-57.
Most of I-57 in Illinois.
Pretty much all of rural Ohio north of I-70.
Pretty much all rural interstates in Mississippi.

Almost qualifies but doesn't: Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Parts are elevated, there's some odd stuff out there, and you can watch your destination skyline grow from nothing. Otherwise it's just you and the water for 20 miles.

[Zzonkmiles]

I've been on I-78 in southeastern PA before, and yeah, it is boring and "fragrant."

Last week I drove to Atlanta and had to endure that stretch of I-20 that I complained about earlier. Yeah, it really is that bad. From mile marker 185 (wherever the weigh station is) to about 93 (where the road expands to 6 lanes), there is absolutely NOTHING to look at. Literally nonstop trees and NO towns of any significance whatsoever. It's like once you pass Fort Gordon and the sound barrier west of Augusta, it's just trees and trees and trees. No cars get on or off the interstate because there's NOTHING. You can't even see the fast food restaurants or gas stations off the exits!

[Gnutella]

Sing along with me!

"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"
"Up the hill! Down the hill! Look at the trees! Turn!"

This goes on without any deviation for about 100 miles.

Allow me to rewrite the lyrics for I-79 in West Virginia:

Up the hill, up the hill some more, turn right, down the hill, turn left, down the hill some more, turn right, oh shit, slow down a bit, *tires chirp slightly*, up another hill, downshift and accelerate, put the sun visor over the driver's side window, down another hill, S-curve, pretty creek, beat-up trailer, turn left, keep turning left, will this curve ever end?, brake, up another hill, downshift and accelerate, put the sun visor over the windshield, HOLY SHIT A STRAIGHT SECTION!, accelerate, turn right, turn right some more, brake, put the sun visor back over the driver's side window, down the hill, turn right as you go downhill, brake, be careful, Exit [insert number in the 90's here], cute houses clinging to the hillside, slow 18-wheeler lumbering up the on-ramp, move into the left lane, Kawasaki flies by and cuts you off, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!, move all the way into the left lane, up another hill, downshift and accelerate, move the sun visor back over the windshield, turn right, down another hill...

I-10 between Jacksonville and I-75 is boring too when you go through that huge forest and there is a section with no exits for maybe 25 miles or so. Yeesh.

That segment without exits was always a serene drive at night. All there is is a rest area in the middle of it.

[hbelkins]

I really liked I-79 in West Virginia the first few times I was on it. Now, it's a chore to drive that I've come to dread anytime I use the road.

[ZLoth]

From SB Nation:

Staff Picks: Worst highways in America

If every highway is like a story waiting to be told, then it follows that some of these stories are beautiful, poignant travels in the human experience, and some are Lovecraft stories that end with you wanting to cry and gouge your eyeballs from your head. We asked the SB Nation staff about their worst highways, their least favorite drives, and what roads in this great country need to be shut forever and left to the zombies. These are their answers.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[freebrickproductions]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but Florida SR 71 between Wewahitchka, FL and White City, FL is rather boring (pretty much nothing but pine forests around the highway).

[Rainking75]

Allow me to serve up US85 from Watford City, ND to Canada and US 2 from Williston to Minot. Unless you find nodding donkeys (a.k.a. pump jacks) and gas flares scenic, it's pretty bland...

[billtm]

Boring stretches? Maybe it's because I was in the back of a hot car with a broken A/C when I was young, or I took these routes once too often, but here are my selections:

   
• I-80 between Auburn and Fairfield. I swear, going home to Sacramento feels LONGER than getting away from Sacramento.
• I-5 between Tracy and the Grapevine (please, sirs, may I take CA-99?)
• I-680 between Fairfield and Benicia
• I-205 near Tracy
• I-580 east of Livermore and the I-5
• US-50 between Placerville and Folsom

That's when I'm glad I have a working audio system in my car and some good audiobooks in my smartphone.

I know that people like to condemn I-5 between Redding and the Grapevine, but I found the drive between Tracy and Sacramento halfway interesting, and I enjoy the farmland between Sacramento and Redding.

Well the only time a boring highway becomes interesting is when you have to smell manure in your car.  I 680 at the Lake Herman rd exit is interesting. LAke Herman rd is when you have an underated scenic road within Benicia and Vallejo city limits.

There are plenty of manure smells along I-78/US 22 in PA! yeow.

Never thought about I-78. But thanks! I only know about the I-5 one Halfway between Sacramento/ and Bay Area to Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley sections where cows live on Manure.

I-65 between Lafayette and Gary, IN is flat, boring, and smells like manure as you drive by Fair Oaks. (Indiana 14)

[US 41]

US 36 in Illinois is straight and passes through many flat corn and bean fields. It is rather boring to drive.

Many westerners probably think their roads are boring. However I like driving on roads that go through deserts. Living in Indiana it is nice to see something different. Driving in deserts and mountains is my favorite type of driving (this is probably why I want to go to Mexico so bad).

[Arkansastravelguy]

I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis, also between Old Fort and Winston-Salem NC. Hell throw in the last stretch of 40 between Raleigh and Wilmington. Then there's Oklahomas 40. Really most of the road just sucks. And any road in Central Nebraska. And Western Colorado.