The LEAST important/consequential interstate in your state

[SteveG1988]

For the most part I-55 in Arkansas feels like it goes through nothing at all, Jonesboro to West Memphis AR...it is just a connector road that would not be missed if it ran down the eastern shore of the river.

[jeffandnicole]

PA: I-80. There is really nothing between Toledo and the eastern terminus and I-80 does not go through anything major. US 6 would be better here than I-80.

As a commerce & trucking route, PA's I-80 is extremely vital.

[empirestate]

PA: I-80. There is really nothing between Toledo and the eastern terminus and I-80 does not go through anything major. US 6 would be better here than I-80.

As a commerce & trucking route, PA's I-80 is extremely vital.

Well, this illustrates another question: are we talking about the least important Interstate to our state? Or the least important overall, a part of which just happens to traverse our state? (Or something else?)

As an example, I think we all agree that I-15 is the least important Interstate to Arizona, but I-15 on the whole is more important than I-19 or I-17 are overall.

[NE2]

It would be bad if a section had to be closed, since I-80 doesn't parallel anything in PA, and are forced to use US 6.

There are parallel routes south of US 6, including US 322 and PA 940.

[Bitmapped]

It would be bad if a section had to be closed, since I-80 doesn't parallel anything in PA, and are forced to use US 6.

There are parallel routes south of US 6, including US 322 and PA 940.

US 6 may be parallel, but it's not particularly accessible from I-80.  The routes are about an hour apart across most of Pennsylvania.

[jp the roadgeek]

It would be bad if a section had to be closed, since I-80 doesn't parallel anything in PA, and are forced to use US 6.

There are parallel routes south of US 6, including US 322 and PA 940.

US 6 may be parallel, but it's not particularly accessible from I-80.  The routes are about an hour apart across most of Pennsylvania.

In PA, I-86 is clearly first, followed closely by I-99.  I-84 is a distant 3rd

[vtk]

Indiana: I-80, just because it's entirely overlapped by 90 or 94.

[NWI_Irish96]

Indiana: I-80, just because it's entirely overlapped by 90 or 94.

I thought about mentioning that, but the road itself is most definitely not the least important in the state, even though the I-80 designation itself might be.

[pianocello]

For Iowa, I'd say 129. It's just a quarter-mile spur to a bridge to Nebraska.

(2di only)

Heh, oops. I guess I'd have to go with I-74 instead, although the section in the Quad Cities is arguably one of the most important sections of the route as a whole.

[kurumi]

Connecticut: I'd have to say I-84. It's important, but the others are "importanter".

I-91 hits both Hartford and New Haven. I-95 is the highway you hate but can't live without. 84 serves Hartford and a lot of second-tier cities.

If we go back in history, I-86 would be an easy answer; but I-87 would be even easier :-)

[thenetwork]

Utah would probably be I-70 since a lot of it can be paralleled with US highways -- current and former alignments included -- and has the least amount of traffic. 

But most importantly, Utah for a FACT considers I-70 the least important because despite most of the non-mountainous sections of the interstate being straight, flat and desolate, they still refuse to raise the speed limits there to 80 MPH while portions of I-15 between AZ and SLC (which get more traffic in a day that I-70 gets in a week) get to go 80.

[hbelkins]

Looking back at some of the other states that have been mentioned, and thinking about consequence within the state as the deciding factor:

PA: I-86. I-84 comes in second.

MD: I-83. It only links Baltimore to the state line. I-97, while too short to be a 2DI, connects the state capital with the largest city and probably carries mostly in-state traffic. I-68 links the western part of the state to the rest of it.

OH: I-74. Like I-83 in Maryland, it only links one city to the state line.

TN: I-55.

GA: Tie between I-59 and I-24.

IN: I-64

VA: I-77

MO: I-72. I-57 comes in second.

IL: I-72

[TEG24601]

How about I-705 in Tacoma, WA.  Very short, and largely useless in my opinion.  Would be better off as just SR-7 or part of SR-509.

[Zzonkmiles]

How about I-705 in Tacoma, WA.  Very short, and largely useless in my opinion.  Would be better off as just SR-7 or part of SR-509.

2dis only! That's what makes this tricky.

[Zzonkmiles]

For North Dakota, I'll go with I-94 simply because I-29 links more immediate cities of significance: Fargo, Sioux Falls, etc.

For West Virginia, I-70 is the easy choice, but the funky shape of the state makes this one an easy call.

For Alabama, I'll reluctantly offer I-10 because of its limited length. I think I-59 is probably of more regional importance as a truck route.

For Mississippi, I think I-59 is the clear winner because of the concurrency with I-20 and the fact that I-55 is not too far away.

Nevada is a tough one. I-15 goes through Las Vegas and goes to Salt Lake City. I-80 goes through nowhere other than Reno, but is much longer and offers passage to the Bay Area. I'd probably reluctantly say I-80 is less critical than I-15 simply because of how much of Nevada's population is concentrated near Vegas.

[empirestate]

For West Virginia, I-70 is the easy choice, but the funky shape of the state makes this one an easy call.

Does it? Even (especially) given the funky-shape criterion, what makes I-70 the obvious choice over I-81?

[noelbotevera]

Montana...ooh this is tricky.

I'm gonna crack. I-15. I-90 passes through the top 3 largest cities in Montana, and I-94 connects a lot of the northern Midwest (at least west of the Twin Cities - east of there it takes a southernly, then a northernly alignment towards Detroit.). I-15 only connects the state capital and one of the largest cities in the state. US 89 can probably do a better job, but it misses the state capital. At least it intersects US 287 (which goes through Helena). US 89, US 287, and I-90 can probably do better functions than I-15.

[roadman65]

Florida is a tough one as all 4 of its primary interstates serve a purpose.

In New Jersey it is I-76 as it serves only as a connector between the N-S Freeway and the Schuykill Expressway.  Consider it a glorified ramp from the State of New Jersey's freeway network to Pennsylvania's interstate system.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Florida is a tough one as all 4 of its primary interstates serve a purpose.

In New Jersey it is I-76 as it serves only as a connector between the N-S Freeway and the Schuykill Expressway.  Consider it a glorified ramp from the State of New Jersey's freeway network to Pennsylvania's interstate system.

Florida would be I-75.. There's really nothing until Atlanta. US 27 would work better here. 

Macon and Tampa exist

[Zzonkmiles]

For West Virginia, I-70 is the easy choice, but the funky shape of the state makes this one an easy call.

Does it? Even (especially) given the funky-shape criterion, what makes I-70 the obvious choice over I-81?

Oh yeah, I forgot about I-81. Hmmmm...well, I think I-81 might not be that important to WV, but it does carry a lot of truck traffic (as I recently saw firsthand), so it's probably more important overall. But I guess for the purposes of this thread, you are right. I-81 is more useless in WV than I-70 is.

[Zzonkmiles]

Florida is a tough one as all 4 of its primary interstates serve a purpose.

In New Jersey it is I-76 as it serves only as a connector between the N-S Freeway and the Schuykill Expressway.  Consider it a glorified ramp from the State of New Jersey's freeway network to Pennsylvania's interstate system.

Florida would be I-75.. There's really nothing until Atlanta. US 27 would work better here. 

Macon and Tampa exist

eh...I-4 and I-275 can do a good job...

In an earlier post, I reluctantly gave my vote to I-10. At least Midwestern travelers can use I-75 to access Miami. But yeah, ALL of Florida's interstates are pretty darn important. That might be the toughest state of all to analyze for the purposes of this thread.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Florida is a tough one as all 4 of its primary interstates serve a purpose.

In New Jersey it is I-76 as it serves only as a connector between the N-S Freeway and the Schuykill Expressway.  Consider it a glorified ramp from the State of New Jersey's freeway network to Pennsylvania's interstate system.

Florida would be I-75.. There's really nothing until Atlanta. US 27 would work better here. 

Macon and Tampa exist

eh...I-4 and I-275 can do a good job...

In an earlier post, I reluctantly gave my vote to I-10. At least Midwestern travelers can use I-75 to access Miami. But yeah, ALL of Florida's interstates are pretty darn important. That might be the toughest state of all to analyze for the purposes of this thread.

Every summer me and my family actually use I-75 to go to Sarasota for the summer. We actually see a decent amount of traffic on the corridor in Florida.

[xcellntbuy]

Florida is a tough one as all 4 of its primary interstates serve a purpose.

In New Jersey it is I-76 as it serves only as a connector between the N-S Freeway and the Schuykill Expressway.  Consider it a glorified ramp from the State of New Jersey's freeway network to Pennsylvania's interstate system.

Florida would be I-75.. There's really nothing until Atlanta. US 27 would work better here. 

Macon and Tampa exist

I have recently experienced weekend and holiday traffic on Interstates 75 and 16 in middle Georgia.  Although not nearly as intense as the wackos who drive in south Florida, it can get mighty busy and backed up solid north- and southbound simultaneously on Interstate 75 with speeds reduced in the 20-25 mph range for miles in the middle of nowhere and no accidents.  The first exit eastbound on Interstate 16 in Macon can backup badly onto the highway while trying to leave and turn left onto US 129.

[Pete from Boston]

MA: I-84
NH: I-89
ME: I-95
VT: I-93
CT: I-91
RI: I-95

Huh? The only one of these I'd agree with is I-93 in VT.  I-84 in MA may be short, but it gets a ton of traffic from Massachusetts and is one of the main routes between the Boston area and points southwest.  So, it's short but important.  I-95 in Maine?  If that's the least consequential, then what's the most?  The Atlantic Ocean?   

Same goes for I-95 in Rhode Island.  Tell it to someone from Providence who needs to get to Warwick.  And I-91 in Connecticut? You mean the heavily used interstate that links New Haven with Hartford (two of the state's biggest cities)?  Perhaps I-384 is a better pick.  Or I-684.     For NH, what about I-393?

Frankly, New England doesn't have many interstates that would qualify in the spirit intended.  But those that do are going to be the small 3di's like I-391 in MA.

Only 2-digit Interstates are being considered in this thread.

OK, but if you're ME or RI or NE, then your most important interstate is also your least consequential/important one too - even if it's truly vital.  And, there's a big difference between Illinois' stretch of I-24 and the 8 or so miles of I-84 in Massachusetts.  Also, to nominate I-91 for CT would seem absurd to anyone who lives in the central or northern parts of the state; given these parameters, they'd probably say I-95.

Sorry, but rules are rules.  I-95 in Maine and Rhode Island is inconsequential.

[noelbotevera]

How about I-705 in Tacoma, WA.  Very short, and largely useless in my opinion.  Would be better off as just SR-7 or part of SR-509.

2dis only! That's what makes this tricky.

Washington would have to be I-90. US 101 can't make the final 150-200 miles to the Canadian border (US 97 can, however), so I-5 takes that role for the western part of Washington (US 97 only covers the middle to eastern half of the state to the Canadian border, or US 395). I-90 does go through Snowqualmie Pass, and US 2 (I-90's parallel alignment) takes a different way around, and US 2 does not barge through Seattle, but US 2 supplants I-90, except between the western terminus (of I-90) and east of Snowqualmie Pass.

Oregon: I-5, because it does not supplant US 101 in this state. US 101's US Routes it intersects go through Portland, but misses out on Bend (In Weed, CA, US 97 does not end at US 101, US 101 is still in Mendocino County.), which may or may not be a big deal. i-84 connects SLC with Portland and points east.