Least Favorite Interstate Segment in Your State.

[webny99]

-I-86 west of I-390.  Little traffic, and not bad for scenery, but it goes on and on through what is basically the middle of nowhere.

Oh, I love that part of I-86, especially between NY 36 and Allegany State Park in the fall.
I've never been on the NY 36 - I-390 segment, but it does get pretty boring west of Jamestown.

I was actually going to say that I'm having trouble thinking of any for New York. There's no freeway I find truly abhorrent. Every one I can think of has positives that outweigh, or at least match, the negatives. Many people might mention the Thruway, but I love it and miss it right now with no travel happening. Boring roads like that have their own novelty, especially with that much traffic to keep things interesting. I think I've mentioned this before, but there's nothing I enjoy quite like cruising at 75 while still getting passed like you're standing still. 

[ce929wax]

I-69 south of Lansing for me.  Nothing but trees with some small towns here and there.  I would put I-196 as a close second for the same reasons.

[vdeane]

-I-86 west of I-390.  Little traffic, and not bad for scenery, but it goes on and on through what is basically the middle of nowhere.

Oh, I love that part of I-86, especially between NY 36 and Allegany State Park in the fall.
I've never been on the NY 36 - I-390 segment, but it does get pretty boring west of Jamestown.

I was actually going to say that I'm having trouble thinking of any for New York. There's no freeway I find truly abhorrent. Every one I can think of has positives that outweigh, or at least match, the negatives. Many people might mention the Thruway, but I love it and miss it right now with no travel happening. Boring roads like that have their own novelty, especially with that much traffic to keep things interesting. I think I've mentioned this before, but there's nothing I enjoy quite like cruising at 75 while still getting passed like you're standing still. 

The main times I've been on that road have both been eastbound, so I've only seen the boring part west of Jamestown while still "fresh" from changing the route I'm on and state I'm in.  Jamestown, Salamanca, and Olean are nice progress markers that come quickly.  Then comes the long stretch to Hornell (which may as well be a random control city for how much I-86 interacts with it, then onwards to I-390 (the first time I was on this road was for the clinch; the second was to photograph the signs, since the first time was back in 2006 before I got a digital camera).  As such I hit the long stretch at the end, when I'm starting to get tired and looking forward to getting home.  The first time I was on it, Mom and I (I'm still not sure how I convinced Mom to drive me around to clinch the Thruway and I-86) were amazed with how long the distances were and how desolate the area was.

I will admit, the times I've driven shorter sections of it (especially westbound) were not as bad.  Never been on it in fall, though.

I do agree with your assessment of NY.  If I could pick anywhere in the country for this thread, it wouldn't be in NY.  Probably like my I-87 listing, but much bigger.

[CoreySamson]

Texas:
Of the parts I've been on, I-10 between Anahuac and the Ford Center in Beaumont is kind of a drag.

[Flint1979]

What I hate the most about I-75 is through Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties. It comes into Genesee from Oakland county with six lanes, then it meets the south end of I-475 and I-75 goes down to 4 lanes until the US-23 split, then it's 4 lanes with an exit lane northbound and 3 lanes southbound. After it loses the exit lane at Bristol the right lane becomes the exit for I-69 and it goes six lanes until I-475's north end where it becomes eight lanes until the Hess Road overpass in Buena Vista Township (currently being rebuilt and widened to I-675's south end), then it becomes six lanes until the Zilwaukee Bridge where it has an exit lane in both directions and becomes eight lanes until exit 164. After that it becomes 4 lanes except for some short 6 lane stretches all the way to the northern terminus at the rapids of the St. Mary's River.

Anyway what I don't like is how it loses its fourth lane south of the Zilwaukee Bridge but regains it a few miles later. MDOT started this widening project north of Flint in 2002 and will be done with it in 2022. This is about 10 years after doing the last part of this project.

[plain]

Probably I-64 between Frankfort and Shelbyville. Wide, wooded medians that are perfect for deer to hide in. It never fails when I drive that route that the shoulders are littered with deer carcasses. Plus, it seems to go on forever despite only being about 20 miles.

For me, it would be the most boring stretches of interstate in Virginia which IMO would be the long tree medians that accompany most of I-85 and long sections of I-64 in between Charlottesville and Richmond and Richmond and Williamsburg. Agree that they are perfect for Deer or other wildlife to hide in and frequently have seen both alive and dead animals in the wooded median before. Don't get me wrong, I am not at all in favor of clearing all of these medians, just in favor of more breaks in the trees, something I think we are gradually seeing more of in particular on I-85. I-95 between Fredricksburg and Richmond gets this mix right. Its amazing IMO how compared to I-66's crossing through the beautiful Piedmont region of Virginia, I-64's is so much less scenic (with the exception of its crossing of Afton Mountain).

Yeah my answer pretty much matches yours. Really the only halfway interesting part on I-85 is the crossing of Lake Gaston.

[webny99]

I will admit, the times I've driven shorter sections of it (especially westbound) were not as bad.  Never been on it in fall, though.

I would say that is a must-do at some point. It's well worth it in late September or October!
We've even taken I-86 as an alternate route on trips to Erie or the Cleveland area. Even though it adds close to an hour, it's much more peaceful and scenic, and has basically no truck traffic compared to the Thruway.

I do agree with your assessment of NY.  If I could pick anywhere in the country for this thread, it wouldn't be in NY.  Probably like my I-87 listing, but much bigger.

Yeah, same here. Although, I don't think this is so much a compliment to NY's freeways as it is the fact that I'm a big freeway fan in general. I think a list of all roads I've been on from favorite to least-favorite would have mostly freeways at the top and mostly arterials at the bottom, regardless of state.

[Thing 342]

My vote goes towards I-64/95 in downtown Richmond, as it is the section that I most dread driving. Ancient design with terrible interchange geometries that create tiny merge zones and massive amounts of weaving combined with high traffic count make it super nerve wracking to drive. A good example is the on-ramp from I-64W to I-95N, in which through traffic following 64 has roughly 400ft to merge lest they end up taking the next ramp to Chamberlayne. Another is the northern merge from 64E to 95S, which keeps 2 lanes through the ramp, but it's the left lane of the ramp that merges immediately into the right lane of 95 with little warning. Oh, and the right lane from 64 that does get added drops less than 1000ft later to go to Boulevard. I know we weren't supposed to complain about traffic in this thread, but I loathe driving this section even during non peak periods.

My runner up is probably I-95 south of Petersburg for being extraordinarily dull whilst also having fairly high traffic.

[Rothman]

I-790.  It's hardly real.

I-587 at least has some novelty to it.

[clong]

I-10 Baldwin County - It's the only Interstate segment in my state that has eluded me.

Once I knock that out, it would probably be I-65 between Montgomery and Mobile.

[sprjus4]

Texas:
Of the parts I've been on, I-10 between Anahuac and the Ford Center in Beaumont is kind of a drag.

For another Texas candidate, I-37 between San Antonio and Corpus Christi can get quite boring as well. At 143 miles, the northern and southern segments are interesting passing through the urban areas, but the 100 mile stretch in between from LP-1604 and US-77 seems to drag on forever with practically nothing between. Services are spread far apart and only at certain junctions, such as the US-281 split, US-59 interchange, and near Mathis, and there's little in the way of any towns, and the ones that are there are a couple miles off the highway before you hit anything.

I-37 would be a reasonable candidate for an 80 mph speed limit for most of its length.

[DandyDan]

After moving here to Mason City 3 1/2 years ago, I've come to not like I-35 between US 18 and Ames, mostly because it's boring scenery, but then again, large chunks of Interstate highway in Iowa are boring scenery. However, I-29 from Council Bluffs to Sioux City is worse, because it's not only all flat, but the cliffs east of I-29 are taunting you the whole way.

[Ketchup99]

In Pennsylvania, I hate the bit of I-99 from Exit 81 to the northern terminus at I-80. The pavement is crap and any faster than 55 makes your car feel like it's about to jump off the road. And at the end, as your reward for surviving the four miles of carnage on your car, you get dumped in the middle of a four-lane at-grade boulevard which hits I-80 at an interchange with at-grade lefts, stop signs, bad signage that makes it look like a little side road is the ramp to I-80 East, and 25mph curves. The roadway itself, while still freeway, has a weird paving scheme where the entire right lane is basically a rumble strip from when the limit was 55 (it's 65 now), encouraging everyone to ride the left, so if someone's going 55 you're stuck behind them. Cops do not tolerate passing on the right, either. Near the end the limit drops to 55 and then 45 (why? idk) and at the other (southern) end there's a tight curve which if you're not careful you slide off of, right into an oncoming two lanes of 65mph traffic before going down an embankment.

It's a mess.

Unless delayed by the COVID mess, isn't that section of I-99, including the I-80 interchange, slated for full Interstate-grade completion in the very near term?

Only the interchange. Presumably the rest of the section will remain as is - due do development around it, the tight curve is here to stay, and I haven't seen anything about a repaving.

Pennsylvania, pretty much all ancient, poor design:
-80 Stroudsburg due to the poor design and 50 mph limit

Forgot about that... two winding lanes each way, barebones shoulders... I kind of love how it opens to four each way right away in NJ with less traffic then there is in Stroudsburg.
(Pretty sure they're adding a third lane, though.)

[triplemultiplex]

I-43 from Silver Spring Drive to the Ozaukee County line.
Substandard interchanges and left shoulders.  And it's in need of another lane each way.
What makes it worse, though, is plans to fix it have been delayed by the penny pinchers.  It's still up in the air in terms of funding.

[bwana39]

Texas:
Of the parts I've been on, I-10 between Anahuac and the Ford Center in Beaumont is kind of a drag.

Boy you are swooping way down there using Anahuac as a point on the Freeway.  I do think you are not far from right that I-10 is pretty bad there. For me anything on I-10 from I-69 in Houston to the Pearl River is bad.

My choice for the worst in Louisiana would be The I-10 bridge in Lake Charles. It used to be the portion of I-20 from Texas to Pines Road in Shreveport, but they FINALLY fixed that.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

40 through the mountains. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but still extremely sketchy

[Konza]

I haven't been all thew way across I-40 in Arizona, but it would be tough to beat the two lane (in each direction) segment of I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson.  Probably the least scenic area of the Sonoran Desert, and not built for the traffic it now carries.

[shadyjay]

I-84 in Connecticut, between Exits 44 & 53 in Hartford.  Exits and entrances on the left and right.  Curves.   Lane drops galore.  Exits overbuilt for roads that were never built.  Posted speed limit of 50, but with an actual motorist speed of 75-80.  That is, when its not at a standstill due to rush hour.

[briantroutman]

I think most of the answers that I'd post are mostly due to either my own boredom with having driven that segment so many times or some negative connotations associated with why I'd be on that road– rather than anything about the road itself–which I don't think is fair for this discussion. But trying to put that aside, here are the two "least favorite"  segments that come to mind.

I-78 from Exit 8 (Fredericksburg) to Exit 30 (Hamburg)
- obsolete design standards reminiscent of the 1940 Pennsylvania Turnpike but without the historical significance, charm, tunnels, interesting topography, or service plazas
- closely-spaced interchanges (by rural standards) but a general lack of decent services (except Hamburg)
- arrow-straight alignment is monotonous and fatiguing
- some of the most pungent agricultural aromas I've encountered along any Interstate

I-276
- much of it was widened to six lanes decades ago, so it lacks the increased shoulders and other enhancements that make the more recently reconstructed Turnpike segments more user-friendly
- another boring, straight alignment
- increasingly boxed in with sound walls relatively close to the travel lanes, leading to a claustrophobic feel and limited views

Intentionally not included in this list: I-76 through Philadelphia, I-376 through Pittsburgh. While both are substandard designs with tight ramp geometry, they're also interestingly perched on steep hillsides at various points and offer some great views of their respective cities. If you exclude the issue of traffic congestion (as the OP specified), I find both to be worthwhile and enjoyable drives.

In Pennsylvania, I hate the bit of I-99 from Exit 81 to the northern terminus at I-80. The pavement is crap and any faster than 55 makes your car feel like it's about to jump off the road.

Did pavement conditions change here radically over the winter? The last I drove that section of I-99 was at some point in either the late last summer or fall, and I don't recall any conditions rough enough to cause "carnage"  to my car. What Google Street View shows is basically what I recall–pavement not in perfect shape, but reasonably decent.

[JKRhodes]

Interstate 10 between Mile 304 and 308 in Arizona, basically the bottom of the San Pedro River Valley in Benson - For some reason, the material under the road tends to settle, which makes for some hellish whoops and bumps at freeway speeds. It seems like the entire stretch gets flattened and rebuilt every 10-15 years.

For a close second, I second Konza on I-10, the four-lane stretch crossing the Gila River Indian Community between Phoenix and Tucson... Clearly there's a need to make it six lanes wide, but the state and the tribe can't seem to cast aside their differences and make it happen.

Interstate 40 in Flagstaff deserves an honorable mention. It gets riddled with potholes anytime it freezes. The original asphalt is black, and all the patches are white or tan, so it's a hideously ugly, rough stretch of freeway. You'd think by now the state would bite the bullet and pave the whole stretch in concrete.

[Ketchup99]

quote author=Ketchup99 link=topic=26835.msg2496781#msg2496781 date=1588701334]
In Pennsylvania, I hate the bit of I-99 from Exit 81 to the northern terminus at I-80. The pavement is crap and any faster than 55 makes your car feel like it's about to jump off the road.

Did pavement conditions change here radically over the winter? The last I drove that section of I-99 was at some point in either the late last summer or fall, and I don't recall any conditions rough enough to cause "carnage"  to my car. What Google Street View shows is basically what I recall–pavement not in perfect shape, but reasonably decent.
[/quote]
Perhaps carnage was the wrong word... the two main problems (with the paving) are that it makes for a very bumpy ride and everyone's riding the left, and that all sorts of things get kicked up into the underbelly of your car. The left lane is more or less fine, but the right lane will kick all sorts of stuff up and over time can't be good for your car.

[Ned Weasel]

The roadway itself, while still freeway, has a weird paving scheme where the entire right lane is basically a rumble strip from when the limit was 55 (it's 65 now), encouraging everyone to ride the left, so if someone's going 55 you're stuck behind them. Cops do not tolerate passing on the right, either.

Wait a minute.  I know most U.S. states now have KRETP (Keep Right Except to Pass) laws (legally obligating anyone who's in the left lane and not passing, to move to the right lane if someone is behind them), but I've never heard of passing on the right being illegal in the U.S. (although I've heard of it being illegal in Germany).  Can someone point to any Pennsylvania traffic law that specifically prohibits passing on the right when there are two or more same-direction through lanes and the person doing the passing is not also speeding?

[ftballfan]

Probably I-94 through Jackson. If US-23 between Brighton and the Ohio line were an interstate, that would be the clear-cut winner.

[Ketchup99]

The roadway itself, while still freeway, has a weird paving scheme where the entire right lane is basically a rumble strip from when the limit was 55 (it's 65 now), encouraging everyone to ride the left, so if someone's going 55 you're stuck behind them. Cops do not tolerate passing on the right, either.

Wait a minute.  I know most U.S. states now have KRETP (Keep Right Except to Pass) laws (legally obligating anyone who's in the left lane and not passing, to move to the right lane if someone is behind them), but I've never heard of passing on the right being illegal in the U.S. (although I've heard of it being illegal in Germany).  Can someone point to any Pennsylvania traffic law that specifically prohibits passing on the right when there are two or more same-direction through lanes and the person doing the passing is not also speeding?

There's not, but since it's generally frowned upon you're more likely to get pulled over for speeding even when narrowly over the limit. I saw a cop on that road pull someone over for what looked to me like 66-67 while passing a slow car in the right. (Yes, I know PA has a legally mandated 5mph grace period. Ask the cop, not me...)

[thspfc]

I-39 from Portage to Stevens Point. Ick.