Which little details in US/Interstate highway systems really bother you?

[NE2]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10190
US 57 was a violation when it was created in 1970. Too bad.

[Flint1979]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10190
US 57 was a violation when it was created in 1970. Too bad.

Not only by that standard but the entire route goes east and west.

[Flint1979]

And there is no reason that US 57 can't be downgraded to a state highway. It'd be fine if it was Texas 57.

I can see why it was given the number 57 though, it was to continue the numbering from the Mexico highway on the other side of the border and that highway is a pretty important highway in Mexico as it goes all the way to Mexico City.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I discovered US 57 was originally SH 57 (which itself was a renumber) but was inexplicably upgraded to a US route only a few years after the 57 number was applied.

[wxfree]

And there is no reason that US 57 can't be downgraded to a state highway. It'd be fine if it was Texas 57.

I can see why it was given the number 57 though, it was to continue the numbering from the Mexico highway on the other side of the border and that highway is a pretty important highway in Mexico as it goes all the way to Mexico City.

That is the reason the number was used.  In the "whereas"es Mexico Highway 57 and the lack of a US 57 are mentioned, and it's stated that "it would be beneficial to the traveling public and would serve to promote good will with Mexico" to form a single-number international highway from Mexico City to I-35.  Scroll down to Minute Order 64166 on page 31.

https://publicdocs.txdot.gov/minord/MinuteOrderDocLib/003674232.pdf

[Flint1979]

I discovered US 57 was originally SH 57 (which itself was a renumber) but was inexplicably upgraded to a US route only a few years after the 57 number was applied.

I saw that too. It was originally State Highway 76.

SAMSUNG-SM-J727A

[hbelkins]

Being those two are so close to each other its redundant to have VDOT maintain the both. 

Virginia would be maintaining it anyway, no matter what type of route marker was placed on the road.

[D-Dey65]

Heck VA with all its independent cities not signing some state highways within its borders or signing Business routes as mainlines (South Hill comes to mind for Route 58) and there is US 301 along the frontage of I-95 from Petersburg to Jarrat.  Why not put US 301 on 95 and leave the current two lane US 301 as a county or secondary 600 series road?

Being those two are so close to each other its redundant to have VDOT maintain the both. 

I could see that between Jarrat and Stony Creek (and maybe even Templeton), but beyond that US 301 moves a little too far away from I-95.

[Beltway]

Heck VA with all its independent cities not signing some state highways within its borders or signing Business routes as mainlines (South Hill comes to mind for Route 58) and there is US 301 along the frontage of I-95 from Petersburg to Jarrat.  Why not put US 301 on 95 and leave the current two lane US 301 as a county or secondary 600 series road?
Being those two are so close to each other its redundant to have VDOT maintain the both. 

I could see that between Jarrat and Stony Creek (and maybe even Templeton), but beyond that US 301 moves a little too far away from I-95.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton,_Virginia

When was that named Templeton? 

"Templeton is a census-designated place in Prince George County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 431.  Templeton is located along Interstate 95 at Exit 41 where US 301, and Virginia State Routes 35 and 156 converge."

[roadman]

Why was us 1 rerouted onto 93  ?

Because the MDC - now DCR - demanded that MassDPW do it in the naïve belief that moving the US 1 designation away from Storrow Drive would magically cause all the overheight vehicles that were hitting their bridges to go away.  And no, it didn't work

[kkt]

I really wish the signage included which side of the freeway an upcoming exit is on.  It doesn't help to warn me two miles in advance of my exit if I'm not sure which side I should be getting over to.  Standards are better recently, but the old signs are mostly still there.

[briantroutman]

^ I've been bitten by that a few times, although left exits are rare enough and yellow LEFT panels becoming increasingly common to the point that it's not enough to rate major frustration for me personally.

On the other hand, what does really bug me is being on a busy surface street and not knowing what side a freeway entrance is on. You can see the underpass up ahead–perhaps some traffic signals and a JCT assembly–but you won't see the tiny little ↰ or ↱panels until it's too late to squeeze into the appropriate lane. I've seen some cases where a small LEFT AHEAD or LEFT LANE panel is installed farther ahead of the ramp, and of course the use of larger overhead signs solves the problem. But all too often, I'm leaning forward in my seat trying to see: OK is this a full cloverleaf?...Partial?...Ramp on the right?....On the left?....

[D-Dey65]

Heck VA with all its independent cities not signing some state highways within its borders or signing Business routes as mainlines (South Hill comes to mind for Route 58) and there is US 301 along the frontage of I-95 from Petersburg to Jarrat.  Why not put US 301 on 95 and leave the current two lane US 301 as a county or secondary 600 series road?
Being those two are so close to each other its redundant to have VDOT maintain the both. 

I could see that between Jarrat and Stony Creek (and maybe even Templeton), but beyond that US 301 moves a little too far away from I-95.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton,_Virginia

When was that named Templeton?

Not a clue, but it wasn't named by anybody on Wikipedia:
https://virginia.hometownlocator.com/nearby/places-of-interest,n,templeton,lat,37.0823707581,lon,-77.3549804688.cfm

[NE2]

It was named Templeton by 1894 (USGS topo). Back then the settlement was just to the east on Templeton Road.

[bugo]

"Ban" might be too strong of a word but short intrastate US highways are against current AASHTO policy.

[Beltway]

It was named Templeton by 1894 (USGS topo). Back then the settlement was just to the east on Templeton Road.

That odd, I lived 1/2 mile from the I-95/VA-35 interchange for a year in the late 1970s, and I never heard any kind of town name for that area, from anyone who lived there.  Even though 12 miles from downtown Petersburg and 8 miles from the city limits, my home had a Petersburg postal address, and per Google Maps directions it still has the same address/city/state/ZIP today.

According to this, Templeton is an Unincorporated Place, and my home is within those boundaries --
https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Virginia/Templeton/Overview   There is no business district there to speak of, just a couple gas stations and a couple small stores.

As Carson is actually on the state highway map, that was the town name that I mentioned to people as where I lived near to.  Actually Carson is an Unincorporated Place as well.

[D-Dey65]

It was named Templeton by 1894 (USGS topo). Back then the settlement was just to the east on Templeton Road.

I wasn't able to find any info about the place on my searches, so thanks for that.

[Henry]

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10190
US 57 was a violation when it was created in 1970. Too bad.

Not only by that standard but the entire route goes east and west.

And US 96 goes north-south, also located in TX, of all places!

[JasonOfORoads]

Thought of another one: Pointless multiplexes. For example, I-894 in Milwaukee is now completely cosigned with other mainline Interstate highways for its entirety. Since 2DIs > 3DIs, the 894 number now needs to go away. There's no valid reason, even when cost is factored in, for keeping it.

• The locals can still call it 894 or just start adapting to new numbers, like anywhere else that has done away with superfluous numberings such as Nashville with I-265.
• The exits should be renumbered to match I-41's mileage, with "Old Exit" panels easing the transition, like anywhere else that has done similar renumberings such as Pennsylvania and Florida. 99.9% of business advertising will be switched out during the transitionary time, especially if all they have to do is change a few characters on a website.
• If the route needs to be marked as a bypass, call it the "I-41 Milwaukee Bypass" on numerous BGS's.
• What Illinois does or does not do with I-41 is irrelevant to whether or not I-894 should be retained.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Since I-894 predated both 41 and 43 and is well known to locals as a bypass route, it's not going anywhere no matter how much people here want it to be eliminated.

[Roadgeekteen]

Since I-894 predated both 41 and 43 and is well known to locals as a bypass route, it's not going anywhere no matter how much people here want it to be eliminated.

So it is the MA 128 of Wisconsin?

[MNHighwayMan]

Since I-894 predated both 41 and 43 and is well known to locals as a bypass route, it's not going anywhere no matter how much people here want it to be eliminated.

So it is the MA 128 of Wisconsin?

Eh, kind of; for the part along I-95 anyway. I-894 is redundant for that, in its entirety, it follows the route of I-41/43/94. The part of MA-128 NE of I-95, in this scenario, isn't really comparable.

[thenetwork]

States which still number their exits sequentially, or a combination of mileage-based & sequential.

I was in Texas last week and looked on a map considering if I should sneak up from Dallas to Durant, OK for a little casino play.  When I saw that US-75, Exit 73 was near the Oklahoma border and Durant a little further north, I figured it was a 1 1/4-hour drive to the casino. 

Turned out US-75's were SEQUENTIAL in an area where practically everything else was Mileage-based, and what I thought was a 75 minute trip took a bit over 2 hours each way.

[Bickendan]

I-84's sequential exits in Portland makes sense, however, as it accounts for the missing two miles of the unbuilt Mt Hood Freeway and syncs into the Columbia River Highway/Old Oregon Trail mileage.

[Roadgeekteen]

States which still number their exits sequentially, or a combination of mileage-based & sequential.

I was in Texas last week and looked on a map considering if I should sneak up from Dallas to Durant, OK for a little casino play.  When I saw that US-75, Exit 73 was near the Oklahoma border and Durant a little further north, I figured it was a 1 1/4-hour drive to the casino. 

Turned out US-75's were SEQUENTIAL in an area where practically everything else was Mileage-based, and what I thought was a 75 minute trip took a bit over 2 hours each way.

Is this a roadgeek thing to use exit numbers to figure out distances? Almost everyone uses google maps.