The "Mount Rushmore" of roads in every state.

[thspfc]

Simple: Pick the four most iconic and/or important roads in each state. Can be Interstates, US routes, state routes, turnpikes, parkways, tollways, whatever.
I'll start with Wisconsin:

WI-35 (longest state route and Great River Road)
I-41 (perfect example of the oddities of Wisconsin highways)
US-51 (one of the state's oldest roads, and lies on the Chicago - Northwoods route)
I-94 (connects many major areas of the state and lies on a cross-country route)

[cwf1701]

For Michigan

M-1: (Woodward Ave) passes near all the major car manufactures in Detroit, as well as at one time a showcase for Detroit Muscle.
I-75: The longest interstate in Michigan and the only road to be in both the Upper and Lower peninsular.
M-8: (The Davision) the first below ground freeway in the world.
I-94: Connect Detroit to Chicago, the oldest sections was built in WWII to serve the defense plants near Willow Run.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky:

US 60 -- first four-lane road in the state (between Frankfort and Lexington)
Kentucky Turnpike -- later part of I-65, Kentucky's first toll road
Mountain Parkway -- the first toll road built to reach into rural Kentucky and opened up the mountains to easier access
I-64 -- links the state's two largest cities and serves the state capital

My shot at West Virginia:

Corridor L -- the New River Gorge Bridge. Need more be said?
WV Turnpike/I-77 -- vital north-south link
US 60 -- the Midland Trail
WV 251 -- Wheeling Suspension Bridge

[gonealookin]

Nevada:

-- Las Vegas Boulevard.  The Strip, baby.  You asked for "iconic".
-- US 93 from downtown Las Vegas to the AZ border, particularly before the construction of the O'Callaghan-Tillman Bridge.  The construction of Hoover Dam was the catalyst that turned Las Vegas from a spring-fed oasis and railroad stop in the desert to what it is today.  The I-11 alignment is obviously far more efficient but it's missing the "charm" (euphemism there) of the old crawl through Boulder City and across the top of the dam.
-- I-15.  Brings in all that money from LA and San Diego, and plenty of Utah money as well.
-- US 50, the so-called Loneliest Road.  It isn't really the loneliest but it's a great display of Nevada topography with a few classic old mining towns along the way.
-----
Omitted:  I-80, because so much of the traffic is just getting across an empty desert as fast as possible rather than reaching any place in Nevada as a destination, and NV 375, the "Extraterrestrial Highway", which I suppose appeals to a narrow segment of the population in a "cute" way but doesn't really go anywhere that travelers need to go.

[froggie]

Pretty sure we've had this topic (or one very similar) a few times.

[Mark68]

Colorado:

I-25: Connects the Front Range Urban Corridor with NM to the south. Connects most of the larger cities, including Ft Collins, Greeley (via US 34), Loveland, Longmont, Boulder (via CO 119, CO 7 & US 36), Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
I-70: Connects Kansas to Denver to most of the major ski resorts (Winter Park via US 40, Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Vail, Breckenridge via CO 9, Vail, Aspen via CO 82), the highest point on any interstate highway (Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnels), Glenwood Canyon, Grand Junction and Utah.
US 550: Million Dollar Hwy through the San Juan mountain range. Iconic Colorado scenery. Connects Montrose to Ouray, Silverton, Durango and New Mexico (assuming there is no wall at the border ).

Wasn't sure what I would add as the fourth one, so I decided on:

CO 9: Connects US 40 in Kremmling via Middle Park to I-70 in Silverthorne & Frisco to Breckenridge through Hoosier Pass to South Park, ending at US 50 west of Canon City. Good overview of the parks (high mountain valleys) west of the Front Range.

[BrianP]

Pretty sure we've had this topic (or one very similar) a few times.

One possible example:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=24432.0
Granted that one was limited to freeways.  But carry on if you so desire.

[Beltway]

Virginia

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (7.5 miles of Beltway upgrade shared with Maryland)
I-664 and its bridge-tunnel
I-77 thruout

The first two received OCEA awards, 1964 and 2008 respectively.  The American Society of Civil Engineers annually recognizes an exemplary civil engineering project as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement.

The CBBTD continues to develop toward having a full 4-lane facility thruout, granted it may be awhile before the northern tunnel is paralleled.

[corco]

For Idaho:

U.S. 95 - Idaho's only road! Without this, the only way to get from Boise to Lewiston on or off pavement is through an adjacent state.

Idaho 75 - peak Sawtooths, the most impressive scenery in a state chock full of it

Idaho 55 - a slice of everything Idaho has to offer from the potatoes near Marsing to the suburban hell of Eagle to the iconic Rainbow Bridge to McCall, which is the best place in the world.

And most importantly
Interstate 86- it passes through the center of the known universe and is the origin of the true interstate system

[NWI_Irish96]

Indiana

I-65 - connects the largest city with the Chicago and Louisville metro areas
The National Road (mostly US 40) - first road through the state
Lincoln Highway (mostly US 30) - connects Chicago area to Fort Wayne and other points in Northern Indiana
Michigan Road (mostly US 421 and US 31) - first N/S road in the state

[jeffandnicole]

The top 2 in NJ would easily be the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

After that it becomes a huge toss-up.  I'd probably just go with I-78 and I-80.  The AC Expressway is a great road from Philly to AC, but relatively speaking not all that heavily traveled.  287 & The Pulaski Skyway would be 2 others deserving honorable mentions.  Lots of others like that too.

[jp the roadgeek]

CT is pretty easy:

I-84:  Crosses the state from southwest to northeast.  Serves Danbury, Waterbury, New Britain, and Hartford.  Part of it serves as an inland route between New York and Boston.

I-91: The main North-South interstate.  Serves as a direct connection between New Haven and Hartford, plus it serves most traffic bound for Bradley International Airport.  Also part of the inland route between New York and Boston.

I-95: The Main Street of the East Coast.  Serves the coastal cities and towns of Fairfield and New Haven, plus the beaches of Eastern CT, New London, casino bound traffic from NYC and RI, RI beaches, and parallels the Northeast rail corridor.

CT 15  The Legendary Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkway, the Berlin Turnpike, and the Charter Oak Bridge are all part of this route.  Serves as an alternate for I-95 from Greenwich to New Haven, and an alternate to I-91 from New Haven to Hartford.  The Charter Oak is the connection for traffic looking to connect to and from I-91 from the south to I-84 to the east, and is a major link in the Boston-New York inland route.   No trucks allowed between Greenwich and Meriden. 

[Konza]

Illinois:

I-55.  The Mother Road.

The Tri-State Tollway.  How long would it have taken to get through the Chicago area before it?

US 51/I-39.  Runs the height of the state, down the middle of the state, from Cairo to the Cheddar Curtain.

US 41 in Chicago.  Ain't no finer place to be than riding Lake Shore Drive.

[webny99]

A lot of people seem to be going with "most important", but I think it would be more interesting (and more unique compared to past threads) if we stuck with "most iconic".

For Upstate NY, I'll do an iconic blend and pick:
(1) US 20
(2) NY 28
(3) NY 17/I-86
(4) NY 104

Up for debate, of course. Downstate is a whole different animal; not even sure how many Upstate routes would even be included if you factor in Downstate. US 9 hits both.

[ilpt4u]

Illinois:

I-55.  The Mother Road.

The Tri-State Tollway.  How long would it have taken to get through the Chicago area before it?

US 51/I-39.  Runs the height of the state, down the middle of the state, from Cairo to the Cheddar Curtain.

US 41 in Chicago.  Ain't no finer place to be than riding Lake Shore Drive.

No E-W routes on IL's Mt Rushmore?...Well I guess I-55, being the US 66 replacement in IL, is very much diagonal and obviously used to be designated E-W

I-90 runs Seattle-Boston via Downtown Chicago

I-80 runs San Fran-NYC via Northern IL.

I-70 (with I-15's help) runs LA-Baltimore&Washington via Southern IL

I could argue all 3 of those should be on the Mt Rushmore of IL Roads, probably with I-55/US 66 as the 4th, connecting all 3 SW-NE from STL/I-70 to CHI/I-90

I like US 51 and live fairly close to it and have all but IL clinched it (only piece missing in IL is where it exits I-39/90 at the Cheddar Curtain in South Beloit to enter Beloit separate from the freeway), but I can't say it is more important nor iconic than the 4 "Primary"  Interstates in Illinois

[sprjus4]

Virginia

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (7.5 miles of Beltway upgrade shared with Maryland)
I-664 and its bridge-tunnel
I-77 thruout

The first two received OCEA awards, 1964 and 2008 respectively.  The American Society of Civil Engineers annually recognizes an exemplary civil engineering project as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement.

The CBBTD continues to develop toward having a full 4-lane facility thruout, granted it may be awhile before the northern tunnel is paralleled.

I'd argue I-81 having more importance in Virginia over I-77. It's apart of the major freight corridor from the mid-south to the northeast (I-10, I-59, I-24, I-75, I-40, I-81), and also from the west to northeast (I-40, I-81), linking multiple major metros & cities, the largest freight corridor in Virginia by far, and links the west / southwest with the three major metros in Virginia - DC, Hampton Roads, and Richmond via connections to I-64 and I-66.

There's also I-95. It's the east coasts "Main Street" , serves all of Virginia's major metros - DC, Richmond, and Hampton Roads via I-64, and links all of the major metropolitan areas from Florida to Maine, and is a semi-important freight corridor, though less so than I-81. I-85 also supplements this carrying traffic to/from a more southwesterly direction.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Since this one is any road (in my case, Ohio)...

1) National Road/US 40
2) 3-C Highway (aka Oh 3)
3) Ohio Turnpike (I-76/80/90)
4) US 23

[Beltway]

Virginia
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (7.5 miles of Beltway upgrade shared with Maryland)
I-664 and its bridge-tunnel
I-77 thruout

I'd argue I-81 having more importance in Virginia over I-77. It's apart of the major freight corridor from the mid-south to the northeast (I-10, I-59, I-24, I-75, I-40, I-81), and also from the west to northeast (I-40, I-81), linking multiple major metros & cities, the largest freight corridor in Virginia by far, and links the west / southwest with the three major metros in Virginia - DC, Hampton Roads, and Richmond via connections to I-64 and I-66.
There's also I-95. It's the east coasts "Main Street" , serves all of Virginia's major metros - DC, Richmond, and Hampton Roads via I-64, and links all of the major metropolitan areas from Florida to Maine, and is a semi-important freight corridor, though less so than I-81. I-85 also supplements this carrying traffic to/from a more southwesterly direction.

Mine was more facility oriented, and in keeping with that I probably should have only cited the I-77 tunnels and Fancy Gap.

"Pick the four most iconic and/or important roads in each state."
Plus the "Mount Rushmore" illustration.

I would agree that taken in entirety a whole corridor would have high importance (325 miles of I-81, 182 miles of I-95), plus they have their own highlight sections.

[jp the roadgeek]

The rest of New England:

MA: I-90, I-93, I-95, I-495 (honorable mention to US 6)
ME: I-95, US 1, ME 9, ME 11
NH: I-89, I-93, US 3, NH 101
RI: I-95, US 1, US 6, RI 138 (I considered 195, but it's mostly in MA)
VT: I-89, I-91, US 7, VT 100

[froggie]

NH: I-89, I-93, US 3, NH 101
VT: I-89, I-91, US 7, VT 100

For pure importance, yes.  But your list totally misses the iconicness of NH 112, US 2 (itself an important route), US 302, and VT 108.

[DandyDan]

My version of Iowa:
1. I-80: The major east-west route across Iowa
2. Lincoln Highway: Not to be confused with US 30, which it overlaps at various points. The original highway across America
3. US 20: The major east-west route across northern Iowa. Also almost entirely not on its original route
4. I-35: The major north-south route through Iowa

[Max Rockatansky]

In terms of being scenic for California:

CA 1:  In particular Big Sur but there are so many great segments like; the North Coast Highway, San Francisco Peninsula and the Coast along the Santa Monica Mountains.

CA 49:  Almost nothing but pure Gold Rush era communities with some kick ass driving segments like the Merced River Canyon.

US 395:  El Camino Sierra from the Nevada State Line south to CA 14 has nothing but huge vistas of the Eastern Sierras. 

CA 18:  The Rim of the Highway, Big Bear and Mojave Desert are all highlights on CA 18. 

[gonealookin]

In terms of being scenic for California:

CA 1:  In particular Big Sur but there are so many great segments like; the North Coast Highway, San Francisco Peninsula and the Coast along the Santa Monica Mountains.

CA 49:  Almost nothing but pure Gold Rush era communities with some kick ass driving segments like the Merced River Canyon.

US 395:  El Camino Sierra from the Nevada State Line south to CA 14 has nothing but huge vistas of the Eastern Sierras. 

CA 18:  The Rim of the Highway, Big Bear and Mojave Desert are all highlights on CA 18. 

That's OK for scenery but for "iconic" in California I'd only include CA 1 from that list.

The others would be:
-- US 101, El Camino Real going back to the missionary days.  The Hollywood Freeway portion is one of the early contributors to the suburban sprawl of the LA area, connecting downtown to the San Fernando Valley...now that's "iconic".
-- US 99, the traditional spine of the state.
-- As an east-west, probably US 40, traversing the Sierra over Donner Pass along the general line of the Transcontinental Railroad, passing through the state capital and finally crossing the Bay Bridge and terminating in San Francisco.  There's also an argument for US 66, thinking back to Tom Joad leading his family of Okies out of the Dust Bowl to the Promised Land.

[dgolub]

New York: I-87, I-90, NY 17
New Jersey: I-95, Garden State Parkway
Connecticut: I-95, I-84, I-91, CT 15
Rhode Island: I-95
Massachusetts: I-90, I-95
Pennsylvania: I-76, I-476, I-80
Delaware: DE 1, US 13
Maryland: I-95, I-70, US 50

[hotdogPi]

How about MA 2?