Unpopular Route Opinions

[achilles765]

Having made the drive from Houston to New Orleans and my parents' house in Mississippi hundreds of times, iH 10/12/55 all get boring-incredibly boring and tiring. So I've made it a point to change up the route as much as possible. If I'm going to New Orleans first or as the only destination, I'll try to use US 90 for most of the trip, and always from Lafayette to Nola. I love that trip through the swamps on future IH 49. If I'm going to Baton Rouge or Mississippi I have taken 90 from Houston to Lafayette and then 190, I've even gone the back roads– once I took SH 105 to US 69/96/287, then state highway 12 to Louisiana and la 12/190. Lots of different ways.

My potentially unpopular opinion: I love US 90 alternate in Texas.

[Evan_Th]

A US highway has a bit more importance than a state highway but all my ideas have the US highway using the shorter route like they should. When you come into a situation like 25E and 25W you'd have to look and see which one is the shorter route because there is no way I'd want to be on the longer route. So you take 25E between Newport, TN and Corbin, KY because it's shorter. 25W becomes useless as a US highway.

But if the longer route serves more towns/people/traffic, then it could be argued it's the more important of the two and therefore better deserves the US designation.  I don't think shorter—longer should be the only consideration.

When you have a situation like that I would think the older or shorter routing is what they would choose for the mainline US highway. There's only like six highways that have this that I can even think of and US-45's is pretty close to the same length too. US-11,19,25,31,45 and 49 so why not just eliminate them all at this point?

Don't forget US 101-ALT around Oceanview, WA.  That's a pretty good place for an ALT, though I suppose you could downgrade the mainline to two state highways if you really wanted to.

[froggie]

^ Because, as noted upthread, split US routes are not acceptable per AASHTO's US route policy and they won't approve those alignment changes until MDOT opts to eliminate the split.

Right, but i think its more sticky than the other split routes since they are basically the same length and are equally important

Your "equally important" argument loses steam when one considers that MDOT opted to 4-lane one but not the other.

There's no reason why they couldn't make one the "mainline" and the other an Alternative route...there's even precedent for such within the state, given 45/ALT 45 between Brooksville and Shannon.

[kenarmy]

^ Because, as noted upthread, split US routes are not acceptable per AASHTO's US route policy and they won't approve those alignment changes until MDOT opts to eliminate the split.

Right, but i think its more sticky than the other split routes since they are basically the same length and are equally important

Your "equally important" argument loses steam when one considers that MDOT opted to 4-lane one but not the other.

There's no reason why they couldn't make one the "mainline" and the other an Alternative route...there's even precedent for such within the state, given 45/ALT 45 between Brooksville and Shannon.

I didn't say they couldn't, I just said it's more sticky. True, 49w is fourlaned. But it is only 0.3 miles shorter and 4 minutes shorter on average. Disregarding times, look at the other current split routes (sorry if these are wrong but im sure these are all more than 0.3)
- One of the 11s is 10 miles longer
- One of the 19s is 13 miles longer
- One of the 25's is significantly longer.
- One of the 31s is 11 miles longer
- One of the 45's is 4 miles longer (the other one)

[SkyPesos]

While we're on the topic of suffixed routes, here's one of my unpopular opinions for suffixed interstates: I-70N for Baltimore and I-70S for DC makes sense to me as much as the split I-35s.

[Flint1979]

While we're on the topic of suffixed routes, here's one of my unpopular opinions for suffixed interstates: I-70N for Baltimore and I-70S for DC makes sense to me as much as the split I-35s.

The difference is that 70 ends in Baltimore. Both 35's are through routed. Where would 70 pick up on the east end?

[SkyPesos]

While we're on the topic of suffixed routes, here's one of my unpopular opinions for suffixed interstates: I-70N for Baltimore and I-70S for DC makes sense to me as much as the split I-35s.

The difference is that 70 ends in Baltimore. Both 35's are through routed. Where would 70 pick up on the east end?

It doesn't have to pick up anything at the other end (*cough* the three I-69 branches). Why I think this one makes sense is that like with I-35, there's two large cities in a metro area (well, technically combined statistical area for DC/Baltimore), with one branch to each. And the branches themself are relatively short, unlike the 800 mile I-80N to Portland that used to exist in the system.

[Flint1979]

While we're on the topic of suffixed routes, here's one of my unpopular opinions for suffixed interstates: I-70N for Baltimore and I-70S for DC makes sense to me as much as the split I-35s.

The difference is that 70 ends in Baltimore. Both 35's are through routed. Where would 70 pick up on the east end?

It doesn't have to pick up anything at the other end (*cough* the three I-69 branches). Why I think this one makes sense is that like with I-35, there's two large cities in a metro area (well, technically combined statistical area for DC/Baltimore), with one branch to each. And the branches themself are relatively short, unlike the 800 mile I-80N to Portland that used to exist in the system.

So you are saying that I-270 should be I-70S and the mainline I-70 should be I-70N? Or what route do you have in mind?

[hotdogPi]

The I-69 branches were a bad idea. Just because they exist doesn't mean we should make more of them.

[SkyPesos]

So you are saying that I-270 should be I-70S and the mainline I-70 should be I-70N? Or what route do you have in mind?

Yes, that's what I have in mind, like what it was before the suffixes got removed. Though, in an ideal fictional world for me, I have the I-70 mainline to DC with an extension east. Not going to list the details for that here, it's in my fictional compilation thread.

The I-69 branches were a bad idea. Just because they exist doesn't mean we should make more of them.

The population for the DC and Baltimore metros combined is about the same as the DFW area, and 8x more than Brownsville and McAllen combined. Laredo is like 140 miles away from McAllen, so I'm not even going to count that. There's many more reasons why the I-69 branches are bad that's not related to them not meeting up at both ends, but I think we all know.

[kphoger]

It doesn't have to pick up anything at the other end (*cough* the three I-69 branches).

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

There's many more reasons why the I-69 branches are bad that's not related to them not meeting up at both ends, but I think we all know.

Well, OK, I guess you can stay...

[paulthemapguy]

US 87 should continue south through Midland, replacing TX-349 so that both Midland and Odessa have a north-south US route through them.  Also TX-349 is way too high and convoluted a number for that route.  US87 east of Lamesa, TX can become US86.

[webny99]

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

More specifically, if your reason for joining is "I love the I-69 branches", you will not be approved.

[kenarmy]

US 87 should continue south through Midland, replacing TX-349 so that both Midland and Odessa have a north-south US route through them.  Also TX-349 is way too high and convoluted a number for that route.  US87 east of Lamesa, TX can become US86.

I think it would be better if instead US 385 was shifted to 349 from Odessa to its northern terminus. and then over TX 137 to realign with itself. This route is only 1 minute longer than 385's current routing. now you have a route that connects Midland and Odessa.

[SkyPesos]

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

More specifically, if your reason for joining is "I love the I-69 branches", you will not be approved.

Have anyone tried signing up an alt account here and use that reason before?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

More specifically, if your reason for joining is "I love the I-69 branches", you will not be approved.

*deletes and re-registers to find out the truth of this statement*

[Mapmikey]

While we're on the topic of suffixed routes, here's one of my unpopular opinions for suffixed interstates: I-70N for Baltimore and I-70S for DC makes sense to me as much as the split I-35s.

The difference is that 70 ends in Baltimore. Both 35's are through routed. Where would 70 pick up on the east end?

Under this theory they would meet back up in Annapolis...70N uses I-97 and 70S uses I-595

[Scott5114]

Using the I-69 branches as precedent is a terrible idea, because I-69 is only like that because of quirks in the I-69 law. Non-legislated routes don't have the same reason for splitting that the I-69 branches do.

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

More specifically, if your reason for joining is "I love the I-69 branches", you will not be approved.

No, you'll be approved, but instead of being taken to AARoads, you'll instead be signed up for WWRoads, CCRoads, or EERoads, all of which have completely different users and topics. EERoads has an interesting, long-running thread called Ellenland, about a well-run fictional country where everything is decided by pure logic.

[SkyPesos]

Using the I-69 branches as precedent is a terrible idea, because I-69 is only like that because of quirks in the I-69 law. Non-legislated routes don't have the same reason for splitting that the I-69 branches do.

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

More specifically, if your reason for joining is "I love the I-69 branches", you will not be approved.

No, you'll be approved, but instead of being taken to AARoads, you'll instead be signed up for WWRoads, CCRoads, or EERoads, all of which have completely different users and topics. EERoads has an interesting, long-running thread called Ellenland, about a well-run fictional country where everything is decided by pure logic.

How about FFRoads, with the F for FritzOwl?

[hotdogPi]

DDRoads. DD = Dunkin Donuts, but DDR = Dance Dance Revolution or Deutsche Demokratische Republik (East Germany).

[kphoger]

CCR = Creedence Clearwater Revival forum?

[hbelkins]

I don't understand the existence of Alternate US 41 in Kentucky between Madisonville and Henderson. What is now signed as the alternate was originally US 41 before a new, more direct route was built. No one is going to use the Alternate US 41 route as the primary route between the two towns due to the fact that it's out of the way. (Of course, most through traffic is going to use the former Pennyrile Parkway/current I-69).

[kenarmy]

Ok but US 6 and US 24 are so similar.. They both have curves near their terminuses, they both replaced some of 40S, they both have only one child route but formerly had another one, they both parallel I-70, they both got truncated from a lengthy overlap with a US route, and if they swapped numbers they would still mostly fit the system. And 24 is a multiple of 6  Coincidence? I think not.

[SkyPesos]

Ok but US 6 and US 24 are so similar.. They both have curves near their terminuses, they both replaced some of 40S, they both have only one child route but formerly had another one, they both parallel I-70, they both got truncated from a lengthy overlap with a US route, and if they swapped numbers they would still mostly fit the system. And 24 is a multiple of 6  Coincidence? I think not.

US 6 and 66 are also similar. Both used to go between the LA and Chicago metro areas, and the latter is two sixes

[achilles765]

It doesn't have to pick up anything at the other end (*cough* the three I-69 branches).

You can't be OK with the I-69 branches.  That's, like, a requirement for signing up on the forum, isn't it?

There's many more reasons why the I-69 branches are bad that's not related to them not meeting up at both ends, but I think we all know.

Well, OK, I guess you can stay...

As a Texan, I find the three branches of IH 69 kind of neat in an "only in Texas"  kind of way.
I mean. Interstate 69C?