U.S. Highways That Don't Parallel Any Interstates

[Beltway]

Has US-258 been mentioned?  It could be argued that none of it was paralleled by an Interstate highway.

U.S. Route 258 (US 258) is a spur of US 58 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia.  The U.S. Highway runs 220.15 miles from US 17 Business and NC 24 Business in Jacksonville, North Carolina north to Virginia State Route 143 (SR 143) at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.
. . . . .

Has US-13 been mentioned?  Other than about 10 miles of I-64 and about 60 miles of I-95 the rest is not concurrent with any Interstate highway.

U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north—south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for 517 miles (832 km) from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville.  In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region.

[sprjus4]

Has US-258 been mentioned?  It could be argued that none of it was paralleled by an Interstate highway.

U.S. Route 258 (US 258) is a spur of US 58 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia.  The U.S. Highway runs 220.15 miles from US 17 Business and NC 24 Business in Jacksonville, North Carolina north to Virginia State Route 143 (SR 143) at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.

It was mentioned on the last page. It would work. About 5 miles in Hampton is paralleled by I-64, but that's it. That's only about 2% of the entire routing.

Has US-13 been mentioned?  Other than about 10 miles of I-64 and about 60 miles of I-95 the rest is not concurrent with any Interstate highway.

U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north—south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for 517 miles (832 km) from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville.  In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region.

About 15% paralleled by interstates. That could barely fit, but debatable.

Once I-87 is completed in NC, it would be concurrent for about 34 miles between Windsor and Bethel. That would bring it up to about 22%, and by then, it wouldn't really count. If US-58 / US-13 / US-460 is ever upgraded into an I-X64 or I-264 extension between Bowers Hill and the east end of the Suffolk Bypass, that's another 15 miles, up to 25%.

[Chris19001]

I've always been a fan of the famous "Million Dollar Highway", US-550.  As mentioned previously, it fits the bill quite well in weaving through a unique corridor.  It shares south Durango with US-160 for about 4.5 miles

[GaryV]

How about US 23? Its concurrency with I-26 is a relatively new thing.

What about the long concurrency with I-75 (Flint to near Standish)?

[Flint1979]

How about US 23? Its concurrency with I-26 is a relatively new thing.

What about the long concurrency with I-75 (Flint to near Standish)?

And US-23 is pretty parallel to I-75 until at least the Upper Sandusky, Ohio area. And then again from Atlanta to Macon.

Also I don't think I-26 should even be an Interstate north of Asheville. It even has to run concurrent with an 3-di to go between alignments.

[sprjus4]

Also I don't think I-26 should even be an Interstate north of Asheville. It even has to run concurrent with an 3-di to go between alignments.

I-26 originally ended at I-40 / I-240. Sometime in the 80s and 90s due to the push for an interstate in Johnson City and Kingsport, NCDOT & TDOT decided to come up with an extension of Interstate 26. That involved routing I-26 over a portion of I-240, over the existing US-23 freeway between Asheville and Mars Hill. From that point, it was all new construction. The NC portion of I-26 running north of Mars Hill opened in 2002. Once entering Tennessee, it then took over the existing US-23 freeway between North Carolina and Virginia.

All in all, the I-26 extension north of I-40 really overlays all existing freeways, and built a few new segments to form one continuous freeway. It connects the metro areas of Johnson City and Kingsport to the south, and Asheville and cities on the southerly I-26 corridor to I-81 north, and obviously the cities together. It's also a detour and alternate route to I-40 through the mountains - and frankly a much nicer drive - but out of the way unless I-40 is closed.

Ironically, I-26 between Asheville and Mars Hill is still designated as "Future I-26". It still has not been fully upgraded to interstate standards. But for continuity purposes, it has regular I-26 shields, but has an additional banner above the directional one indicating "Future".

[paulthemapguy]

For some reason, the first route I thought of in response to this is US385.  I don't think the short jog it has along I-10 should implicate that the paths they take are similar in any significant way.  And you could argue that it kind of parallels I-90 for its northern 20 miles or so.

[hbelkins]

US 58 and I-81 go to vastly different places, and if US 58 and its alternate were switched, there would only be a one-exit concurrency. And there's really no reason why US 58 was placed on the interstate alignment and US 11 and US 19, which also parallel I-81 between two towns in the same county, were not.

I-264 was originally VA 44, so the interstate designation came much later.

[plain]

US 58 and I-81 go to vastly different places, and if US 58 and its alternate were switched, there would only be a one-exit concurrency. And there's really no reason why US 58 was placed on the interstate alignment and US 11 and US 19, which also parallel I-81 between two towns in the same county, were not.

I-264 was originally VA 44, so the interstate designation came much later.

My guess is even back then VA wanted US 58 to be a major route, so they threw it on the interstate there. It's really the only reason that makes since to me.

As far as I-264 goes, that's only the case in Virginia Beach. I-264 "between the 64's" has always been I-264 as sections were completed.

[sprjus4]

I-264 was originally VA 44, so the interstate designation came much later.

Only between I-64 in Norfolk and the Oceanfront. From I-64 in Norfolk to I-64 in Bowers Hill, it's always been I-264. Either way though, this is talking from current designations. As of today, I-264 stretches the entire length.

US-58 was likely routed over I-81 unlike US-11 because US-11 serves as a local route, while US-58 is a major thru route. The goal is really to keep it on 4-lane alignments as much as possible, whereas US-11 isn't a big deal.

[Beltway]

Only between I-64 in Norfolk and the Oceanfront. From I-64 in Norfolk to I-64 in Bowers Hill, it's always been I-264. Either way though, this is talking from current designations. As of today, I-264 stretches the entire length.

I-264 was in two segments as authorized in 1956.  It took a special authorization over 20 years later to fill the gap.

The originally designated I-264 from I-64 at Bowers Hill to I-64/I-264/VA-44 near Military Circle was completed in 1972, and did not include the Downtown Tunnel / Berkley Bridge complex (completed 1952, funded with toll revenue bonds).  The tunnel (which crosses the Elizabeth River, South Branch) had a single 2-lane tube, and the bridge (which crosses the Elizabeth River, East Branch) had a single 4-lane span.  For years, this road had to serve the I-264 corridor.  Virginia got federal Interstate funding (90% FHWA funds) approval in 1978 to upgrade that facility and include it in I-264.  The 2.2-mile-long project to build a parallel 2-lane tube, parallel 4-lane bridge, renovated existing 2-lane tube, redecked existing 4-lane bridge, and upgraded urban interchanges was completed in 1991.  The dual Downtown Tunnel was finished in 1988.

[Flint1979]

Also I don't think I-26 should even be an Interstate north of Asheville. It even has to run concurrent with an 3-di to go between alignments.

I-26 originally ended at I-40 / I-240. Sometime in the 80s and 90s due to the push for an interstate in Johnson City and Kingsport, NCDOT & TDOT decided to come up with an extension of Interstate 26. That involved routing I-26 over a portion of I-240, over the existing US-23 freeway between Asheville and Mars Hill. From that point, it was all new construction. The NC portion of I-26 running north of Mars Hill opened in 2002. Once entering Tennessee, it then took over the existing US-23 freeway between North Carolina and Virginia.

All in all, the I-26 extension north of I-40 really overlays all existing freeways, and built a few new segments to form one continuous freeway. It connects the metro areas of Johnson City and Kingsport to the south, and Asheville and cities on the southerly I-26 corridor to I-81 north, and obviously the cities together. It's also a detour and alternate route to I-40 through the mountains - and frankly a much nicer drive - but out of the way unless I-40 is closed.

Ironically, I-26 between Asheville and Mars Hill is still designated as "Future I-26". It still has not been fully upgraded to interstate standards. But for continuity purposes, it has regular I-26 shields, but has an additional banner above the directional one indicating "Future".

I think it's just slapping a highway number IMO that's just how I see it. I guess my point is that I can't see why it can't just be called US-23 since I-26 seems to be a redundant route north of Asheville.

[RobbieL2415]

US 2
US 4
US 7*
US 13
US 44
US 50
US 119
US 202
US 219
US 302

*Part of original Interstate plan but idea later scrapped.

[Verlanka]

Doesn't US 7 briefly parallel I-89?

[hotdogPi]

Doesn't US 7 briefly parallel I-89?

Yes, and US 50 parallels I-66, and US 4 parallels I-89, and US 202 parallels I-287, and US 302 parallels I-93.

[zzcarp]

I would suggest US 285 as it currently exists. It serves as a shorter route from Denver to Santa Fe than I-25 and connects Denver to Buena Vista and Alamosa and Espanola, New Mexico along the way along the west side of the front range and through South Park and the San Luis Valley. South of Santa Fe it has a 7 mile wrong-way unmarked concurrency with I-25 through part of the P-trap, then continues as an independent corridor southeast to Sanderson, TX.

[luokou]

US 97, though the 40-ish mile concurrency with I-90 and I-82 from Ellensburg to Yakima is only about 6% of its length
US 195
US 197
US 730

[RobbieL2415]

Doesn't US 7 briefly parallel I-89?

Yes but I dont believe it's for more than the 15% of total miles that would disqualify it.  It's pretty clear that I-91 is complimentary to US 5 and I-87 to US 9. A lot of I-89 parallels US 4.

[hbelkins]

I-264 was originally VA 44, so the interstate designation came much later.

Only between I-64 in Norfolk and the Oceanfront. From I-64 in Norfolk to I-64 in Bowers Hill, it's always been I-264. Either way though, this is talking from current designations. As of today, I-264 stretches the entire length.

US-58 was likely routed over I-81 unlike US-11 because US-11 serves as a local route, while US-58 is a major thru route. The goal is really to keep it on 4-lane alignments as much as possible, whereas US-11 isn't a big deal.

US 19 is also a major route, and it definitely could have gone on the interstate, following VA 381/I-381 to I-81, then VA 140 over to just south of where it departs US 11 for Bluefield.

[hbelkins]

I would submit the current iteration of US 460. Since it's truncation west of Frankfort, it really doesn't serve as a parallel route to any interstate (unlike US 60 and I-64). Yes, it parallels I-81 between Christiansburg and Roanoke, but this is much like the US 58 example, and it's an incidental occurrence between two roads with vastly different termini and destinations.

[zzcarp]

If the western US-2 counts as a separate route, then that should be on the list. There are short concurrences of I-35 near Duluth and I-90 near Spokane. Otherwise, it's entirely independent.

[roadman65]

US 4 in both NY and VT does not as well as it east of Concord, NH.  What always got me is the N-S portion in NY and E-W part in VT together do not form a straight line corridor and its endpoints is better served by NY 7 and VT/NH 9.  However, that was adlibbed as most of US 4 in NY was old US 109 and the parts in VT and NH together did form an east- west corridor.

Being the road is a regional route serving locals it is only used, but with NY 149 connecting US 4 to I-87 I guess that continues Vermont's segment further west in a way.

[bassoon1986]

US 171
US 371
US 380
US 425


iPhone

[mgk920]

Except for a secton within the MStP metro area, nothing of what is left of US 10 parallels any interstate.

Mike

[ilpt4u]

Except for a secton within the MStP metro area, nothing of what is left of US 10 parallels any interstate.

Mike

Looking quickly on Google Maps, US 10 roughly parallels I-94 between Fargo, ND and Osseo, WI - basically all the way across MN