Most boring sections of freeways/roads

[noelbotevera]

I-495 between Exit 31 and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. What type of skyline am I looking at? is the question here. Am I on the 405 again? I love this traffic! (sarcasm)
US 101 between CA 92 and the Golden Gate Bridge is also that too.

[kkt]

You know, I think the argument could be made that any of the EW interstates that cross the Great Plains are super boring.

Oh, and you just get used to the fact that there are no trees. I think having lots of trees is weird (but that's just me).

I'm originally from California, so I don't expect trees in every bit of scenery.  But when there are no trees, there are usually mountains, or hills, or colorful rock in the desert, or something.

[empirestate]

I-81 north of Syracuse, NY is another long tree-lined stretch that is surprisingly featureless.
Another is I-90 along Lake Erie in NY and PA.


iPhone

[SD Mapman]

You know, I think the argument could be made that any of the EW interstates that cross the Great Plains are super boring.

Oh, and you just get used to the fact that there are no trees. I think having lots of trees is weird (but that's just me).

I'm originally from California, so I don't expect trees in every bit of scenery.  But when there are no trees, there are usually mountains, or hills, or colorful rock in the desert, or something.

Nah, I'm not saying anything about it, just that after you live in the Plains States for a while, you get used to treeless boring drives. I bet the top ten boring drives in the US are in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, or Texas.

[hbelkins]

I don't understand the inclusion of I-80 in Pennsylvania on these lists. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.

[Rothman]

I don't understand the inclusion of I-80 in Pennsylvania on these lists. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.

...that takes absolutely forever.  I don't care if there are bigger states with allegedly longer sections of interstate in them.  I-80 takes longer.  I think if you steamrolled all those hills out that I-80 in PA would wrap around the world twice.

[The Nature Boy]

I've always found the New York Thruway between Buffalo and Albany to be incredibly long and boring.

And there are plenty of trees on that drive! I've taken I-80 across Pennsylvania to avoid the Thruway. I love I-80 in PA.

[Rothman]

I've always found the New York Thruway between Buffalo and Albany to be incredibly long and boring.

FTFY.  I used to make this trip about once a month, if not more for work.  It is boring, but I'd take it over I-80 any day.

[kurumi]

+1 for I-80 in Pennsylvania (and I've driven 80 in NE, 5 in CA central valley*). It's long, repetitive, and somehow provincial, like the world ends at either state line. Imagine how that must have been in the era of 55 MPH.

* I've only done the Nebraska trip once, so perhaps the novelty makes it an unfair comparison

[jbnati27]

4. I-70 across most of Ohio (see #1)
5. I-80 across central PA (see #2)

Another vote for I-70 in Ohio, but only up to MM130 or so. Going East past that point is a pretty nice drive. The boredom extends West on I-70 from the Ohio border to I-465 around Indy.

I kind of think of I-80 in central PA as kind of middle of the road. I like the trees and rolling hills, but I like bigger hills and mountains better.

I'll also cast a vote for I-71 from about MM40 up to I-270 around Columbus. Nothing but flat land, corn and soybeans.

[empirestate]

I don't understand the inclusion of I-80 in Pennsylvania on these lists. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.

Parts of it are, where it transitions through the valleys from one ridge to the next. But I think where it loses so many points is that it's so much less gorgeous than it should be given the countryside it traverses. In particular, the whole bit west of I-99 goes through very monotonous scenery, with trees close in and few expansive views. Taking US 6 or 22 through the same area would give you much more interesting results.

But even more boring than I-80, for Pennsylvania highways, would be I-380. It hasn't got a single redeeming mile in my opinion (and mirrors my perception of the Poconos in general: what's the big flippin' deal??).

[jbnati27]

Parts of it are, where it transitions through the valleys from one ridge to the next. But I think where it loses so many points is that it's so much less gorgeous than it should be given the countryside it traverses. In particular, the whole bit west of I-99 goes through very monotonous scenery, with trees close in and few expansive views. Taking US 6 or 22 through the same area would give you much more interesting results.

I'd agree with you here. Having explored the roads off I-80, you do get cheated out of seeing some very beautiful scenery you would otherwise experience on the alternate routes.

[Rothman]

I don't understand the inclusion of I-80 in Pennsylvania on these lists. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.

Parts of it are, where it transitions through the valleys from one ridge to the next. But I think where it loses so many points is that it's so much less gorgeous than it should be given the countryside it traverses. In particular, the whole bit west of I-99 goes through very monotonous scenery, with trees close in and few expansive views. Taking US 6 or 22 through the same area would give you much more interesting results.

But even more boring than I-80, for Pennsylvania highways, would be I-380. It hasn't got a single redeeming mile in my opinion (and mirrors my perception of the Poconos in general: what's the big flippin' deal??).

Totally agree about I-380, too.  You come out of there wondering why people even bother with the Poconos (although, to be fair, their heyday was about half-a-century ago).

[ekt8750]

I don't understand the inclusion of I-80 in Pennsylvania on these lists. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive.

At night though it's awful. I once drove it from 81 to Ohio all at night and was bored out of my mind. I do agree though its a lot more scenic during the day.

[doorknob60]

Also, U.S. 97 between Bend and Klamath Falls is a real snooze fest as well, especially with the (soon to be gone, thankfully) 55 m.p.h. speed zone.

I enjoy this one.  There's some scenery and it's a pretty relaxing drive.

Agreed, there are much worse drives even in Oregon, such as US-20 from Bend to Burns (maybe interesting the first couple times, but after that boring), I-5 from Albany to Eugene, and I-84 from US-730 to Wildhorse Casino (Pendleton). The only thing that can make US-97 suck (aside from the speed limit which I just ignore) is when there is too much traffic in the 2 lane segments. But there are a decent number of passing lanes so it's not too bad.

[sipes23]

Without a doubt, my least favorite freeway drive is I-55 through Mississippi. No variation in scenery, nothing but trees lining the road.

That really does give I-80 in Nebraska a run for its money.  I'll give the edge to Nebraska for the vile traffic and fun alternatives just a few miles off of I-80.

I-55 through Mississippi is brutal, but there's no reasonable alternative (so far as I could tell from the very few times I've had to do that). I've invented alternatives across Nebraska (and hooray, I'll need another this winter).

[mariethefoxy]

I-495 between Exit 31 and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. What type of skyline am I looking at? is the question here. Am I on the 405 again? I love this traffic! (sarcasm)
US 101 between CA 92 and the Golden Gate Bridge is also that too.

When it moves its got its charm, you can see the World's Fair buildings that are still up, theres that elevated section in Maspeth. The part in Rego Park by the Woodhaven Blvd exit is kinda interesting with the tall buildings.

If you wanna talk boring highways in New York City, you left off the Cross Bronx, It's almost always backed up, and inner city Bronx is nothing to look at. Yea theres the interesting underpass under Grand Concourse which also goes under the subway line under the boulevard, and the part with the apartment buildings, but for the most part its a slow, boring ride. Took me an entire hour to get to Jersey from the Throggs Neck in the middle of the daytime!

[Scott5114]

How did this get to the second page without I-39 being mentioned? Haven't done any of it north of Beloit, but I-39 in Illinois at night is the only Interstate that has ever caused me to fall asleep in the car out of boredom.

I've never done I-70 in KS but I want to try it sometime because, despite the scenery, I tend to enjoy KDOT's freeways, so the infrastructure would be enough to keep me entertained.

[ModernDayWarrior]

I actually like I-70 in Kansas. I was only nine years old when I traveled I-80 in Nebraska, so I don't remember it well enough to make a determination on it.

[vtk]

I-75 between Atlanta and Tampa. Especially south of Macon.

When I was a kid my family would take vacations in Clearwater Beach or Saint Petersburg. We would leave late at night, and my dad would drive straight through. We would usually wake up in Atlanta, seemingly most of the way there by counting states, but really only halfway. The highlight of the remaining segment was counting down the exits, 3, 2, 1, until the Florida border, and even that was slow because of the distance between exits. Even in places full of farms and fields, the Interstate was thickly tree-lined so there was nothing interesting to look at.

[roadman65]

As a kid when my dad drove NY 17 from Binghamton to Harriman, I used to think NY 17 was long and boring as well as not deserving of its name the "Quickway."

US 301 in GA between Jesup and Folkston is a long boring ride.

I-70 in Eastern Colorado.
I-90 in South Dakota between Rapid City and the Missouri River.
NJ Turnpike between its southern terminus plaza and Exit 3.

Of course there is I-10 which is rated the most boring by magazines, bus drivers I talked to, and even truckers.  Hence that is why Texas is really long to surpass on it.

[vtk]

US 191 between Rock Springs and Boulder, Wyoming

[allniter89]

I 16 Macon to I 95. Flat with only Trees, Trees, Trees & county cops with speed traps. I don't remember which county did that but they were out there regularly. The only other views were the businesses at the exits. The one saving grace is its only 181 miles or so but its a long 2:50. 
Gotta agree with I 75 from Macon south, terrible traffic, trucks trucks truck & the GHP.
I 10 Florida.
I 71 Ohio

[Buffaboy]

I-81 north of Syracuse, NY is another long tree-lined stretch that is surprisingly featureless.
Another is I-90 along Lake Erie in NY and PA.


iPhone

Well, I disagree on the PA part. There's this sign, which I always look forward to seeing because I think it's confused naive people over the years!!!

[Rothman]

As a kid when my dad drove NY 17 from Binghamton to Harriman, I used to think NY 17 was long and boring as well as not deserving of its name the "Quickway."

What's interesting is that Google Maps only prefers NY 17 over I-80 when you have a starting point in, say, Yonkers (Westchester Co.), to get to Buffalo.

Still, I'm betting when NY 17 was built even to the at-grade four lane highway that those along the tier appreciated the improvement.