Straightest highways

[Dirt Roads]

Of course, West Virginia is at the other end of the spectrum with respect to straight sections of highway.  I always wondered if the section of I-64 ending in my proverbial backyard (MM 38 to MM 40, give or take, including Exit 39 Teays Valley) was the longest in state.  That stretches out only 2.95 miles.  But I did find two other sections of I-64 that are longer: 

I-64 from the third Mud River bridge to the curve west of Exit 28 (Milton) - 3.36 miles
I-64 from Culloden to east of Hurricane Creek bridge (including Exit 34 Hurricane) - 3.08 miles

Also, there's the notorious straight stretch on I-64 between Exit 50 (Institute) and Exit 53 (Dunbar) where you can speed past the West Virginia State Police Academy.  It's only 2.33 miles long, and due to an inflection, the longest truly straight piece is between the Academy itself to the east side of the Roxalana Road bridge at 1.75 miles long.  The section between the first two Mud River bridges (in front of the Huntington Mall) is longer than that (2.48 miles), and the stretch just east of the Johns Creek bridge (near Exit 28 Milton) is slightly less at 2.31 miles.

The "straightest section of highway" in West Virginia has always been Corridor D between Parkersburg and Clarksburg.  The longest section of that road appears to be the first straight section east of Parkersburg, starting from Murphytown Road curve, which is only about 2.24 miles.  Even that long section over the Bear Run bridge (just west of Clarksburg) pales in comparison at 1.76 miles, and that includes a slight change of inflection (meaning not quite straight).

Not all of the straight stretches are on the freeways.  US-60 in Putnam County has a long straight stretch on the west side of the Coal Mountain crossing that is 1.96 miles long.  There's another one of US-60 in Fayette County running [south] of Hico at 1.67 miles long.

I was way short on this one:  Another memorable straight section of highway is I-70 starting on Wheeling Island and poking through the Wheeling Tunnel to Exit 2A (US-40 Oglebay Park).  The westbound lanes are the only candidate here, and are no means perfectly straight (several points of inflection at the Ohio River main channel bridge, the tunnel itself and the new Fulton Bridge.  The entire distance is a mere 1.51 miles.

I thought that I should check out the one newer highway in my old stomping grounds that I have not yet been on:  WV-43 (the West Virginia section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway).  That first straight stretch north of I-68 doesn't pan out either.  It's only 1.48 miles from the west end of the Goodwin Hill Road bridge to the east end of the Morgans Run bridge, but it looks like the eastern third of that piece is actually in a very slight curve.  The true straightline is only 4,443 feet long.

The new section of US-35 north of the Buffalo Bridge has some memorable straight sections.  The longest appears to be from northeast of the Cornstalk bridge to southeast of the Middle Ninemile Creek bridge, which is only 1.45 miles long.  That's just a hair longer than the longest straight section of the Charles Town bypass (US-340/WV-9), which is only 1.41 miles long.

West Virginia freeways are also interesting that some of the straight stretches are way longer for one side than the other.  I-64 has a notable one of these, where the westbound lanes just east of Exit 125 (Airport Road WV-305/CR-9/9) is 1.41 miles long, whereas the eastbound straight section is a mere 3175 feet long.

Plus, there's been the myth that the "Racetrack section of US-33" east of Elkins had really some long straight stretches.  In that part of the mountains, anything remotely straight seems unusual.  We can say the same about I-68 east of Morgantown.  No viable candidates on either route.

Needless to say, hardly any of these are flat.

[Dirt Roads]

Needless to say, hardly any of these are flat.

And perhaps I should mention that the longest "flat sections" in the state are on an 8% grade.

[Mapmikey]

US 522 south of Berkeley Springs has straight segments longer than any cited in WV so far and is mostly flat.

WV 29 north of US 50 also has a straight stretch about 5 miles but is hillier.

[Dirt Roads]

US 522 south of Berkeley Springs has straight segments longer than any cited in WV so far and is mostly flat.

You're right.  I've driven this hundreds of times and never paid much attention.  The longest stretch (ignoring turn lanes) runs from the entrance to Mountain View Solar all the way up to an inflection point just north of Tabor Road (5.22 miles).  If you ignore that one inflection, you get 5.45 miles up to the intersection with Sunny Meadow Place. 

Then there's the not quite perfect straight stretch from just north of Mawani Village to the Fox's Pizza Den just south of Berkeley Springs comes in at 3.46 miles (if you ignore a slight bubble just northeast of the old Southern Belle Truck Stop).  Amazingly, both ends of this entire run are inline with each others, and the "bubble" never veers beyond the width of the highway.

WV 29 north of US 50 also has a straight stretch about 5 miles but is hillier.

Starting at the north end of the wye at US-50 and WV-29, it's 4.71 miles to just north of Voits Road at Hainesville.  It's not perfectly straight because of the hills and vales, but the centerline of the road only veers off a few feet here and there.  Close enough for a railroader who is a stickler for discounting the length of spirals entering the arc of curve.

[chrisdiaz]

Definitely not as long as some other examples, but a few that come to mind for me:

US-501 from SC 544 to just past SC 31 through Conway, SC and the Carolina Forest section of Myrtle Beach.

I-95 throughout St. Johns, Flagler, and Volusia counties in Florida

[thenetwork]

Look at any Ohio state map and SR-4 from Sandusky to Cincinnati almost looks like someone took a ruler and drew their own road.

[skluth]

Look at any Ohio state map and SR-4 from Sandusky to Cincinnati almost looks like someone took a ruler and drew their own road.

That is how a lot of older roads were planned. Check out AR 34. IL 48. US 270 in Oklahoma. They all look that way.

It's also true of colonial boundaries; look at the borders in North Africa and the Middle East.

[Sapphuby]

Look at any Ohio state map and SR-4 from Sandusky to Cincinnati almost looks like someone took a ruler and drew their own road.

That is how a lot of older roads were planned. Check out AR 34. IL 48. US 270 in Oklahoma. They all look that way.

It's also true of colonial boundaries; look at the borders in North Africa and the Middle East.

If you want to play that game look at the Canadian-U.S. border from Minnesota to Washington 

[Bickendan]

I-5 from Coburg to Albany comes in at 32.53 miles.
I-84/US 30 comes in at 28.31 (I-82's interchange at roughly midpoint).

[skluth]

Look at any Ohio state map and SR-4 from Sandusky to Cincinnati almost looks like someone took a ruler and drew their own road.

That is how a lot of older roads were planned. Check out AR 34. IL 48. US 270 in Oklahoma. They all look that way.

It's also true of colonial boundaries; look at the borders in North Africa and the Middle East.

If you want to play that game look at the Canadian-U.S. border from Minnesota to Washington 

It certainly is a long straight line even if it's not at 54° 40' N. Difference is that line is along a line of latitude. It's not unusual for straight roads and boundaries (like almost every township boundary west of the 13 colonies) to follow lines of latitude and longitude. Those diagonal lines, whether boundaries or roads, just look bizarre.

[JayhawkCO]

Looks like the longest stretch in Colorado (a state not known for straight roads) is a portion of CO94 at 44 miles. And I can certainly confirm, it's very boring to drive.

[golden eagle]

A section of I-55 in Arkansas and Missouri is straight. I also seem to recall a portion of I-70 in Indiana is quite straight.

[US20IL64]

US 60 going west, from Sikeston MO, for quite a few miles.

[MATraveler128]

Many highways in Iowa fit this bill. I-80, US 20, US 30, IA 92, I-880, I could go on and on.

[Road Hog]

I counted an 11-mile straight stretch of I-55 north of Sikeston when I was a kid, and the terrain there wasn't flat. Lots of hill cuts and slopes.

[ErmineNotyours]

I remember when Foghorn Leghorn said, "She's just like the highway between Dallas and Fort Worth.  No curves."