The U.S. Interstate Highways, Ranked

[chays]

If this has been posted already, I apologize- I did search for it.

This is an article on Mapquest.com that ranks the interstates from worst to best.

Unfortunately for me, here in Central Florida, the two interstates I use 99.9% of the time (I-95 and I-4) are the worst 2 interstates in the country.  Some of these are downright silly.

http://classic.mapquest.com/travel/articles/us-interstate-highways-ranked-21144041

[Max Rockatansky]

Personally I would have had I-70 at number one, I-90 seemed like a strange choice.  Granted I know you got some really awesome states like Montana on I-90 but nothing really in the Interstate system matches I-70 between I-15 and I-25 for scenic awesomeness.

[dcharlie]

I agree with that.  I do love I-90, but that stretch of I-70 in Colorado is incredible!

[Avalanchez71]

I-40 in the Texas panhandle.   

[NE2]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14982

[chays]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14982

Yep, figured.  Maybe if the thread was more aptly named it would have been found with search.

[7/8]

I can't believe I-86 (PA/NY) only ranked 52 out of 66. I drove it from I-390 to I-81 for the first time and I found the mountain scenery really pretty.

[DevalDragon]

Last time I checked, I-69 was in the North EAST side of Indiana.

"60) I-69 ("Bryan Adams' Rocket Science")

Route: 458 miles, Houstonish to Detroitish
Traffic Rating: 1.93
It would take a "summer of I-69" to find all the stranded bits of I-69 that stop/start in seven sections between the Houston area and north of Detroit. Start in Indiana's northwest, where the road started in the 1940s."

[jbnati27]

Since I have an affinity for I-26, I'm a little disappointed to see it ranked all the way back at 63 because of an elephant curse. It's a pretty drive through Tennessee, North Carolina and the upstate and midlands of South Carolina.

I-75 at #13? Not one my favorite highways at all. It's pretty ugly between Cincinnati and Dayton. The lengths I've driven are prone to stupidity, too.

Glad to hear I-70 is scenic out west. The stretch from Indianapolis to Columbus is pretty boring.

All that being said, it's just someone else's list. Another list would probably be entirely different.

[sparker]

I-5; you get a little bit of everything -- urban madness (L.A., Seattle, more-often-than-not Portland); ocean frontage, seemingly endless flatlands in the Central Valley, spectacular scenery (if sometimes accompanied by curvature that requires constant attention) between Redding and Eugene, a lazy stretch along the Columbia, and greenery galore along the entire stretch north of Eugene.  Best of all, it goes to places (or provides reasonably close access to such) to which folks generally want to go (even boring old Willows, CA is becoming a regional artisanal cheese center!).  The only other N-S Interstate I can think of featuring such variety is I-75 -- but (sorry, Appalachian fans) IMHO our western mountainous regions are more spectacular (you can't turn a corner and see anything like Mt. Shasta on I-75!). 

[chays]

Since I have an affinity for I-26, I'm a little disappointed to see it ranked all the way back at 63 because of an elephant curse. It's a pretty drive through Tennessee, North Carolina and the upstate and midlands of South Carolina.

I agree, it is a nice road north of Spartanburg.

[Avalanchez71]

I-26 is a nice ride.  I like US 23 before it was I-26 though.

[epzik8]

Oh my god! I-97 is ranked higher than I-95! It's not last!

[Max Rockatansky]

Finally got a chance to go back and here are some of my thoughts:

I-95 and I-4:  I-4 I would certainly rate as the most miserable 2d in the Nation.  I can't think of any redeemable factor to the whole corridor.  Tampa is a miserable drive, between Tampa and Disney everyone drives like they were in a NASCAR race, Orlando was really badly designed and now has to I-4 Ultimate project, and maybe...JUST maybe once the six lanes are finished between Sanford to Daytona it will have section worth a reprieve.  I-95 is probably the most miserable of the of X5 Interstates but it does have some nice spots between Florida state line to North Carolina state line.  Maine wasn't too bad either in my opinion...everything else is over whelming crap.  The tolls in Maryland have become shockingly high.

I-26:  Why the hell is I-26 all the way down at 63?  From what the author wrote it sounds like they just don't like mountain driving.  Even in South Carolina the route isn't that heavily traversed compared to others in the vicinity....so what the hell?

I-17:  I would probably have I-17 in my top 10 even though it wasn't really ranked that low here.  Pretty drive, not a ton of traffic and a road that is actually engaging.

I-5:  I was expecting this to be higher but I think it's pretty appropriate considering how much of the good parts are ruined by urban slogs in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

I-75 and I-10:  How the hell are both of these so high up?  Neither route is really particularly almost top 10 enjoyable and they both are largely urban for how long they are.  I-75 has Alligator Alley and everything north of Detroit...but the rest almost completely urban.  I-10 has some really quiet and boring stretches like Florida, west of San Antonio to Tucson, but it the whole corridor from Houston to Mobile is completely miserable.

I-8:  I don't know if I-8 belongs in the top 10 but the terrain does get really interesting from Imperial Valley to the mountains in San Diego county.

I-15 and I-25:  I agree where they were placed, both are pretty solid and rarely have anything too nuts going on urban wise save maybe some San Diego, Vegas, SLC, and Denver traffic. 

I-55:  What the hell really?  I would have put this somewhere mid-pack at best.  Somehow it managed to avoid most of Chicago....I think that's about the best thing that I could be said.

NOW, I would like to see the 2d and 3d US Routes ranked...now there is a challenge.

My personal top 10 out of the remaining routes would be:

US 191
US 550
US 163
US 50
US 395
US 199
US 101
US 212
US 2
US 129

[sparker]

Another multi-faceted western Interstate is the western I-84.  Best enjoyed east to west, you start off with sagebrush-encrusted canyons replete with massive amounts of adjoining railroad action (Weber Cyn. east of Ogden), high-plains farmland (multiplexed with I-15) segueing into high desert; farmland adjacent to the Snake River, the ever-growing Treasure Valley area of west-central Idaho (Boise, Nampa, etc.); more sagebrush mountains with more RR action (Huntington -LaGrange).  Finally there's a roller-coaster of a descent down the Blue Mountains to Pendleton, then a leisurely jaunt down the Columbia, with the first half consisting of some of the most desolate scenery bisected by a major river -- but the second half, west of US 97, featuring some of the most beautiful scenery in the country -- the best having been saved for near the last.  And you end up in Portland, where you can get some of the best real BBQ (no parboiled pork!) in the Northwest at Buster's!  My personal favorite of all the east-west routes west of the Rockies.       

[20160805]

"The summer of I-69...
The best road trip of my life."

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

I've actually read this twice now, and I think it's really interesting.  I'm surprised that I-95 is ranked last.  You'd think such a long, important road would get some credit.  I do, however, agree that I-66 is really nothing compared to the old Route 66.  It's a shame they got rid of US 66, and really, if there was going to be an I-66, you'd think it would at least be somewhere near as grand as the original.

I-2 is ranked at 55th, with no explanation other than that it's a new and very short route.  Is it also just so bland and insignificant too?

Just my two cents about the article.  Overall a well-made article, though.

[kennyshark]

Glad to hear I-70 is scenic out west. The stretch from Indianapolis to Columbus is pretty boring

And the stretch between Indianapolis and St. Louis is as exciting as watching paint dry (similar to I-55 between St. Louis and Joliet).

[Jmiles32]

I wouldn't rank I-95 last. I-97 and I-4 are both worse.
I-97 because that road is stupid and so short that it shouldn't even be an 2D interstate in the first place.
I-4 because that road is hell, every single mile of it. I-95 at least has some breaks.

Would love to see a similar ranking of 2D US-Routes!

And hey where's the love for I-66! 

[Max Rockatansky]

Well what would the criteria be for a US Route ranking?  If you are looking for what is the best designed transportation corridor it's probably going to be US 101 for the win given it's almost total expressway status in California. 

[ET21]

I think one of the best drives personally for me is I-94 from Madison to the Twin Cities. I love the rolling hills of west-central and southwest Wisconsin, especially in Fall.

[Jmiles32]

Well what would the criteria be for a US Route ranking?  If you are looking for what is the best designed transportation corridor it's probably going to be US 101 for the win given it's almost total expressway status in California. 

Well for starters I'm still not exactly sure what the criteria for the Interstate Ranking was. As for the US routes, the criteria would probably be based on the scenery, corridor, history, and overall significance of the route. Traffic would not counted because of how much it varies( US-101 in LA compared to US-83 in the middle of nowhere).

Still US-101 would definitely be #1 probably in a landslide. As for #2 I'd pick US-50. As for dead last I'm not sure.

Not saying doing a US-Routes ranking would be easy but if it can be done for the interstates it's definitely possible. Even though in the end it's a matter of opinion, it would still be cool to see.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't know, now that I think about US 191 might be pretty close to the top for scenery.  Basically it takes you to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Canyonlands, and Arches National Park.  There are some other parts like the Flaming Gorge and Coronado Trail which are spectacular, the latter is probably the best driving section of US Highway if you want a challenge. 

[froggie]

Related to this thread, FHWA posted a "Battle of the Interstate Titans" tweet yesterday, with the battle going between I-5 and I-95.

https://twitter.com/USDOTFHWA/status/768433159885221888

[pianocello]

Related to this thread, FHWA posted a "Battle of the Interstate Titans" tweet yesterday, with the battle going between I-5 and I-95.

(tweet)

I'd be interested to see how I-35 and I-75 match up against these two. The mileages and number of cities over 1 million are comparable (35 has 6, 75 has 5), but I'm not sure about traffic volume and freight flow.