Community Question: Where should the Crossroads of America REALLY be and Why?

[SD Mapman]

Missouri.

Specifically, St. Louis.

Because it lies at a point that divides the nation culturally into North and South and into East and West.
It's a divide historically; The Missouri Compromise; Dred Scott, The Louisiana Purchase.
It's (almost) at the junction of our two largest rivers.
St. Louis is close the to center of population in the United States.
As an interstate crossroads, the importance of 44, 55 and 70 nationally gives St. Louis more significance than other cities in the region like Indianapolis.

Indeed, this is very much the assessment given by roadgeek emeritus William Least Heat-Moon (on Missouri generally, not just St. Louis), and I would certainly cast my vote as well for that state if we're looking at this from a socio-cultural viewpoint.

Now, if we're talking roads-wise, it's got to be the intersection of I-35 and something, as I-35 is undeniably the spine of the American heartland as Interstates go. And I-70 is no slouch as an east-west heartland route (though 40 and 80 are also good candidates), so perhaps Kansas City?

It's better than Iowa.

[empirestate]

Missouri.

Specifically, St. Louis.

Because it lies at a point that divides the nation culturally into North and South and into East and West.
It's a divide historically; The Missouri Compromise; Dred Scott, The Louisiana Purchase.
It's (almost) at the junction of our two largest rivers.
St. Louis is close the to center of population in the United States.
As an interstate crossroads, the importance of 44, 55 and 70 nationally gives St. Louis more significance than other cities in the region like Indianapolis.

Indeed, this is very much the assessment given by roadgeek emeritus William Least Heat-Moon (on Missouri generally, not just St. Louis), and I would certainly cast my vote as well for that state if we're looking at this from a socio-cultural viewpoint.

Now, if we're talking roads-wise, it's got to be the intersection of I-35 and something, as I-35 is undeniably the spine of the American heartland as Interstates go. And I-70 is no slouch as an east-west heartland route (though 40 and 80 are also good candidates), so perhaps Kansas City?

It's better than Iowa.

Though OKC isn't a bad choice, either.

[Rothman]

This discussion reminds me of a NYSDOT employee that went around trying to call the Northway/Thruway interchange the Crossroads of New York.

...

He sort of got laughed out of the room like the consultants that did that study some years ago saying that essentially the Williamsville Toll Barrier (I-290/I-90) on the Thruway was the worst freight bottleneck in the country.

[Henry]

I think St. Louis would be the ultimate choice for the title in question, because as previously mentioned, it's where East, West, North and South come together; the closest major city to the middle of the country; and the meeting point for four different interstates (44, 55, 64 and 70). And this is coming from a native Chicagoan!

[Rothman]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

[kkt]

It's predictable, but I'd say Chicago.  Good water, rail, road, and air access to the most places in the US.

[empirestate]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

But to what extent is population a criterion? Certainly, nobody's claiming NYC as the crossroads. (Well, maybe Times Square, but that's sort of a different idea.)


iPhone

[theline]

Can anyone name a specific junction?  Where does the longest N/S interstate cross the longest E/W?  I'd say that could be the place.  Or the same thing but the added goes through the most major cities.

Weston, Massachusetts. I-95 (longest N-S interstate) crosses I-90 (longest E-W interstate).

That's my candidate then

I'm wondering if Weston might be supplanted in some distant time by Fremont, Indiana, when (if ever) I-69 is completed from border to border. I guess there is no sure way to know what the length of 69 will be, but I suspect it will be longer than I-95 due to its diagonal path.

[hbelkins]

How about Vandalia, Ohio? Intersection of US 40 (National Road) and former US 25 (Dixie Highway).

[triplemultiplex]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

Only the city proper.

[Scott5114]

I'd shift further west than Kansas City - Kansas City is still well into humid America. Coming from the west, I feel like I've arrived in the east when I get to Kansas City. The real east-west shift is the arid-humid line, where irrigation becomes unnecessary and population density increases significantly. Generally, that's a little bit east of the US 83 (Nebraska and north) and US 81 (Kansas and south) corridor. 

Jake Bear has long used US-81 as his personal demarcation between east and west, and I can't say that it's a bad place to put it. Within Oklahoma in particular, the portion of the state west of US-81 is starkly different from that east of it. I suppose whether the big question on whether US-83 is better is if you consider Dallas/Fort Worth and Wichita to be western or eastern cities; if they are eastern, then US-83 looks like a better dividing line.

OkDOT has signs up as you approach Oklahoma City declaring it to be "America's Corner", whatever that means, complete with a map that grossly exaggerates the size of Oklahoma relative to the rest of the country.

[US 41]

My list

Honorable Mentions (not quite good enough to make the list): Dayton, Kansas City, OKC, Chicago, Louisville, Atlanta, Birmingham

#5 Effingham, IL: May sound odd, but it is true. Currently the best route from Detroit to Laredo runs along I-70 and I-57. I-57 is basically I-55. Anyone not going to St. Louis will use I-57 to get across Illinois. It may move off the top 5 when I-69 is finished. 

#4 Memphis, TN: It will pass Nashville on this list once I-69 is complete. I-22 also helps. Memphis is going to be well prepared thanks to the new bypass I-269.

#3 Nashville, TN: I-40, I-65, and I-24 all go through the state capital. You can access any city in the southern part of the US very easily.

#2 St. Louis, MO: Anyone going to the southwestern US from the east or Chicago is going to go through St. Louis, unless they chose to go south on I-57 at Effingham (#5). I-70, I-44, I-64, and I-55 are all major interstates in the US and they all go through St. Louis.

#1 Indianapolis, IN: It's easily #1 and when I-69 is complete from Indy to Laredo it will be unanimous. I-65, I-69, I-70, I-74, US 31 are the major highways that go through Indianapolis.

[Henry]

It's predictable, but I'd say Chicago.  Good water, rail, road, and air access to the most places in the US.

That would be my next choice!

[Rothman]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

Only the city proper.

Sounds like an epic flight to the suburbs. 

[DTComposer]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

Only the city proper.

Sounds like an epic flight to the suburbs. 

Meaning no disrespect to St. Louis, but the metro area, while not shrinking, is basically stagnant: 0.66% growth from 2010 to 2014. Even taking St. Louis proper out of the equation, growth for the rest of the metro is 0.83%.

Average growth for the 50 largest metro areas over that time is 4.59%. Only metros growing slower than St. Louis are Buffalo, Hartford, Providence, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit.

[empirestate]

St. Louis is a good choice for being on the Mississippi River, inarguably a central path of commerce for the US.


iPhone

[US 41]

Terre Haute, Indiana, is actually where the official Crossroads of America is. It was named that since US 40 was the major route across the US and it ran from Atlantic City to San Francisco. US 40 was the busiest US Highway in the nation. US 41 on the other hand was the main route from Chicago to Miami. Both roads crossed in Terre Haute at the corner of Wabash Ave. and 7th Street.



http://www.in.gov/history/markers/374.htm

[kkt]

Why is Chicago to Miami the main N-S route?  Why not Chicago to New Orleans or Houston?

[noelbotevera]

Why is Chicago to Miami the main N-S route?  Why not Chicago to New Orleans or Houston?

Do remember that this was when the US routes were just established, so not every route was their longest. That's why Chicago to Miami was the main north - south route.

[DTComposer]

Terre Haute, Indiana, is actually where the official Crossroads of America is.

Official according to who? The Indiana Historical Bureau? Not to say it's not a worthy candidate, but any state quasi-governmental agency could come up with their own, equally "official" designation with as good a rationale.

Here's my late night pseudo-scientific method: take the 50 largest metro areas (feel free to change the number or geography). Rank them twice:

-Aggregate number of Interstates used to get to the other 49 areas, using shortest possible routing (fewer is better).
-Aggregate mileage to get to the other 49 areas (lower is better).
Add the rankings together, metro with the lowest number wins.

I'm sure it would be a lot of work just to confirm Chicago or St. Louis, but maybe if I have a spare couple hours...

Bonus: add third ranking - number of the other 49 metros you can fly to non-stop.

[triplemultiplex]

I don't think population trends should be weighed too heavily.

#1 Indianapolis, IN: It's easily #1 and when I-69 is complete from Indy to Laredo it will be unanimous. I-65, I-69, I-70, I-74, US 31 are the major highways that go through Indianapolis.

Sooo, never?
Or right after I-74 makes it to Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington?

And why does US 31 enter into the equation?  It's just a follower route; and then it goes to only mid-sized cities north of Indy.

I consider most of Indy's I-routes to be regional.  70 is the real deal, but 69 and 74 are and will remain only regionally important.  Even I-65 is not always the best route to connect Chicago and Atlanta with I-57 & 24 being there.  Compared to I-44 which is THE route between Chicago and the entire Southwest/Texas.  I think it's no contest.  St. Louis' connections beat Indy's.

[GaryV]

Why is Chicago to Miami the main N-S route?  Why not Chicago to New Orleans or Houston?

It's not just Chicago.  It's Copper Harbor - that makes all the difference.   

[noelbotevera]

Why is Chicago to Miami the main N-S route?  Why not Chicago to New Orleans or Houston?

It's not just Chicago.  It's Copper Harbor - that makes all the difference.   

Copper Harbor is just a dinky town in the middle of nowhere...

[Revive 755]

My problem with Saint Louis being the Crossroads of America is that it's been notoriously shrinking in size over recent years.

The core city has been shrinking, but the metro area has still seen slow population growth.

I consider most of Indy's I-routes to be regional.  70 is the real deal, but 69 and 74 are and will remain only regionally important.  Even I-65 is not always the best route to connect Chicago and Atlanta with I-57 & 24 being there.  Compared to I-44 which is THE route between Chicago and the entire Southwest/Texas.  I think it's no contest.  St. Louis' connections beat Indy's.

The lack of a good route between Chicago and the Southeast is one reason I would vote against Chicago being the crossroads of America (the stoplight infested, lacking a decent connection to the Chicagoland freeway network US 41 doesn't count IMHO).  The other reason is that a few of Chicago's connections are redundant:  I-80 and I-88 reconnect at Quad Cities; I-55 and I-57 reconnect in Missouri; and then there's I-90 and I-94, which keep reconnecting to the west.


As for a specific interchange to be the Crossroads of America, I would have nominated the I-55/I-70/US 40 interchange at the west end of the PSB before the recent changes to that area.


And if someone wanted to base the crossroads title on freight flow, you could also make a case for Nashville, TN.

[Brandon]

Why is Chicago to Miami the main N-S route?  Why not Chicago to New Orleans or Houston?

It's not just Chicago.  It's Copper Harbor - that makes all the difference.   

Copper Harbor is just a dinky town in the middle of nowhere...

Copper Harbor is not in the middle of nowhere, it's beyond the edge of nowhere. :-)