Most useless US Highway?

[kphoger]

Nobody is driving US311 as a continuous corridor from central NC to Danville, VA.  For this reason, there's no reason for the US311 designation to exist.

Of course, nobody drives US-160 as a continuous corridor from Springfield (MO) to Independence (KS) either.

Well, except hbelkins...

[hbelkins]

Nobody is driving US311 as a continuous corridor from central NC to Danville, VA.  For this reason, there's no reason for the US311 designation to exist.

Of course, nobody drives US-160 as a continuous corridor from Springfield (MO) to Independence (KS) either.

Well, except hbelkins...

I haven't yet, but it's still on the table.

[SkyPesos]

On the contray, US 66 doesn't exist anymore except in history and pop culture, but there's probably still people out there trying to clinch as much of the old roadway that's possible.

[Scott5114]

Of course, nobody drives US-160 as a continuous corridor from Springfield (MO) to Independence (KS) either.

I didn't make it quite to Independence, but I did do US-160 as a continuous corridor from Springfield to US-169 once. Mostly because doing I-44 from Springfield (where I was going to college) to Oklahoma City was boring as hell by that point, so I was trying anything approximating a diagonal between Springfield and Norman to liven things up (and of course to put mileage into routes and clinch counties).

[Flint1979]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd bump it because I saw US-211 on another post and it made me think of useless US highways and I don't see where it was mentioned here. I see where US-311 and US-411 have been mentioned but US-211 is a very short US highway only in Virginia so why does it even exist?

[Scott5114]

I'm surprised the thread made it this long with nobody mentioning US-266. By the time US-66 was decommissioned, 266 didn't connect to it anymore, and what little is left after I-40 plowed through just connects a few random small towns (or I guess provides an alternate to I-40 if you want to be charitable). About the only use it has is as a good cheap clinching target for roadgeeks to get their first US route clinch without having to go on a multi-day drive.

Part of me wonders if the reason nobody's tried to have it decommissioned is because Oklahoma already has a SH-266, and nobody trusts ODOT to pick a new number instead of just having two of the same route, like they do with a bunch of other numbers.

[Quillz]

Modern US-91 does cross state lines, but it really seems like it could just be two state highways at this point.

[Max Rockatansky]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd bump it because I saw US-211 on another post and it made me think of useless US highways and I don't see where it was mentioned here. I see where US-311 and US-411 have been mentioned but US-211 is a very short US highway only in Virginia so why does it even exist?

US 211 definitely is not useless.  US 211 and Lee Highway is a good access point for the center of Shenandoah National Park and carries a decent amount of freight traffic.  The eastern terminus is what doesn't make sense, or rather how it is configured in Warrenton.

How US 211 survived is due to it being one of the original US Routes.  For a time it even reached Washington DC before it was truncated to where it is now.  Basically it hangs around because Virginia isn't really beholden to request a deletion for it being intrastate and under 300 miles. 

[Bruce]

us 730

Provides a quick connection between I-84 and Walla Walla, so not useless.

[US 89]

Modern US-91 does cross state lines, but it really seems like it could just be two state highways at this point.

Ehh... maybe the part between Pocatello and Idaho Falls, but the southern half that isn't right next to I-15 gets a lot of traffic (relatively speaking) and would probably be a good candidate for a shorter 3dus if 91 were to not exist at all. As it is, 91 is the only four-lane connection to the outside world for both Franklin and Cache County.

[Rover_0]

Modern US-91 does cross state lines, but it really seems like it could just be two state highways at this point.

Ehh... maybe the part between Pocatello and Idaho Falls, but the southern half that isn't right next to I-15 gets a lot of traffic (relatively speaking) and would probably be a good candidate for a shorter 3dus if 91 were to not exist at all. As it is, 91 is the only four-lane connection to the outside world for both Franklin and Cache County.

Having lived in Logan for about 6 years, I can concur. US-91 may be a shell of its former self, but I wouldn't call it useless.

I'm all for preserving/breathing new life into orphaned US Routes, but I'd nominate US-266 as it currently stands; its only purpose is to serve as a frontage road to I-40.

[texaskdog]

Modern US-91 does cross state lines, but it really seems like it could just be two state highways at this point.

Ehh... maybe the part between Pocatello and Idaho Falls, but the southern half that isn't right next to I-15 gets a lot of traffic (relatively speaking) and would probably be a good candidate for a shorter 3dus if 91 were to not exist at all. As it is, 91 is the only four-lane connection to the outside world for both Franklin and Cache County.

Of course ultimately US-191 would be US-91 and vice versa

[roadman65]

us 730

Provides a quick connection between I-84 and Walla Walla, so not useless.

Walla Walla is the place Daffy Duck originated in the 1956 cartoon The High and the Flighty 

[Flint1979]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd bump it because I saw US-211 on another post and it made me think of useless US highways and I don't see where it was mentioned here. I see where US-311 and US-411 have been mentioned but US-211 is a very short US highway only in Virginia so why does it even exist?

US 211 definitely is not useless.  US 211 and Lee Highway is a good access point for the center of Shenandoah National Park and carries a decent amount of freight traffic.  The eastern terminus is what doesn't make sense, or rather how it is configured in Warrenton.

How US 211 survived is due to it being one of the original US Routes.  For a time it even reached Washington DC before it was truncated to where it is now.  Basically it hangs around because Virginia isn't really beholden to request a deletion for it being intrastate and under 300 miles.

The route might not be useless but it being a US highway is, even though it provides access to Shenandoah National Park I think it should be a state highway and if it was I wouldn't think it was useless.

[Flint1979]

Out of US-11's spur routes the one that makes the most sense is US-411 but the problem there is that it never meets US-11 it comes close to it a couple times though. I-83 pretty much replaced US-111, US-211 is too short and only in one state so yeah I'm surprised that one hasn't been downgraded to a state highway which basically a US highway is pretty much anyway. I think the difference is that US highways follow more important corridors than state highways do. Another thing is that US-411 for the most part has Interstate highways following it.

[Max Rockatansky]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd bump it because I saw US-211 on another post and it made me think of useless US highways and I don't see where it was mentioned here. I see where US-311 and US-411 have been mentioned but US-211 is a very short US highway only in Virginia so why does it even exist?

US 211 definitely is not useless.  US 211 and Lee Highway is a good access point for the center of Shenandoah National Park and carries a decent amount of freight traffic.  The eastern terminus is what doesn't make sense, or rather how it is configured in Warrenton.

How US 211 survived is due to it being one of the original US Routes.  For a time it even reached Washington DC before it was truncated to where it is now.  Basically it hangs around because Virginia isn't really beholden to request a deletion for it being intrastate and under 300 miles.

The route might not be useless but it being a US highway is, even though it provides access to Shenandoah National Park I think it should be a state highway and if it was I wouldn't think it was useless.

To me a sub three hundred mile US Route which provided direct access to a National Park is totally worth while.  US 211 also has some extra punch given it is part of the Lee Highway which itself is a significant surface Route corridor.  I tend to believe the 300 mile rule AASHTO put in place for intrastate routes to be dubious at best.  I see no reason why small US Routes which are intrastate shouldn't exist if they provide utility, US 211 certainly does.  Just because a small US Route doesn't meet the 300 mile intrastate rule doesn't mean it's useless.  Virginia seemingly agrees given they have never requested for US 211 to be deleted. 

The only issue I find with US 211 is that it ends at US 211 Business/US 29 Business instead of modern US 15 and US 29 at the Warrenton Bypass.  It would literally only be about a 1,000 foot extension for US 211 to reach the Warrenton Bypass.

[roadman65]

US 211 is been replaced by I-66.  It once served as connection to Washington from US 211 as I-66 now does from I-81.  US 211 used to end at the Key Bridge between Arlington and Washington via a lengthy overlap with US 29.

Yeah, it still is a connector for regional needs, but that does not mean it has to be a US route either.  It can be VA 211 IMO.

[Max Rockatansky]

A National Park sure seems like something that has substantial weight that usually carries non-regional traffic.  A fair amount of plates on US 211 in the vicinity of Thornton Gap aren't from Virginia.  I also don't see an issue having a US Route acting as redundancy or an alternate to an Interstate (look to California to see what that lack of redundancy in mountain corridors has wrought).  All of these things are far from "useless."  

I think we are making a weak case for saying US 211 has little use or utility.  Doesn't meet current AASHTO guidelines, but definitely not the worst example of US Route regarding utility we can come up with.  We aren't talking US 191/Coronado Trail levels of low traffic.

[hbelkins]

Out of US-11's spur routes the one that makes the most sense is US-411 but the problem there is that it never meets US-11 it comes close to it a couple times though. I-83 pretty much replaced US-111, US-211 is too short and only in one state so yeah I'm surprised that one hasn't been downgraded to a state highway which basically a US highway is pretty much anyway. I think the difference is that US highways follow more important corridors than state highways do. Another thing is that US-411 for the most part has Interstate highways following it.

At one time, US 411 met US 11 in Bristol, Va. It followed the route of what is now US 321 out of Newport, Tenn., then was concurrent with US 11E, then US 19W and US 19 after its E-W splits merge, to terminate at the split of US 11E and 11W on the Virginia side of the state line.

This is especially memorable to me because for years, there was a typo in an oil company map, which I think was produced by Gousha, that listed one of the concurrencies as "US 441" instead of 411. I think it was the concurrency of 11E, 19, and 411 in a single shield printed along the road between the 19 E-W split and Bristol.

[MATraveler128]

How about US 163? Aside from it being nowhere near US 63, why isn't this just a state highway? It's also really short at only 64 miles. I know it serves 2 states so it's legal, but why?

[Henry]

US 117 is definitely one. It only exists in NC, and most of its route has been taken over by two Interstates (I-40 and I-795).

[Max Rockatansky]

How about US 163? Aside from it being nowhere near US 63, why isn't this just a state highway? It's also really short at only 64 miles. I know it serves 2 states so it's legal, but why?

Handy short cut from Flagstaff and Phoenix to Moab.  Hate the number but definitely has a use for a really scenic destination.

[ethanhopkin14]

How about US 163? Aside from it being nowhere near US 63, why isn't this just a state highway? It's also really short at only 64 miles. I know it serves 2 states so it's legal, but why?

This one did come to my mind, only because it could easily be two state highways.  I think also it probably being the most photographed US highway in the system more than makes up for its justification to be a US highway. 

[Max Rockatansky]

How about US 163? Aside from it being nowhere near US 63, why isn't this just a state highway? It's also really short at only 64 miles. I know it serves 2 states so it's legal, but why?

This one did come to my mind, only because it could easily be two state highways.  I think also it probably being the most photographed US highway in the system more than makes up for its justification to be a US highway.

You guys should really look up what is going on with US 191 north of US 160 to the Utah State Line.

[ethanhopkin14]

How about US 163? Aside from it being nowhere near US 63, why isn't this just a state highway? It's also really short at only 64 miles. I know it serves 2 states so it's legal, but why?

This one did come to my mind, only because it could easily be two state highways.  I think also it probably being the most photographed US highway in the system more than makes up for its justification to be a US highway.

You guys should really look up what is going on with US 191 north of US 160 to the Utah State Line.

I have driven it more than once.  It's part of a larger route, so there is no point decommissioning 5 miles of it.  I only thought of US-163 because of its short length and number being so random, but again, it's photographic prowess more than makes up for it.  US-191 is a border to border so why get picky about 5 miles of it?