Dumbest decommissionings

[bugo]

The first two that come to mind are US 61 and US 75.  Old US 61 north of Duluth is a major route and the main route for a large part of Minnesota.  Old US 75 south of Dallas has a very lengthy section that does not duplex with I-45.  What are some other boneheaded decommissionings that have occurred?

[agentsteel53]

easily US-99. 

come to think of it, does any route use the "greater than 300 miles, but in a single state" exemption to declassification?  Maybe some three-digit routes in Texas? 

[TheStranger]

easily US-99. 

come to think of it, does any route use the "greater than 300 miles, but in a single state" exemption to declassification?  Maybe some three-digit routes in Texas? 

US 290 is close, though it is only 261 miles long.  (At one point, pre-Interstate 10, it was 560+ miles.)

Now, on the other hand, not only has North Carolina retained the short remnant of US 311, it has actually extended it in recent years!  (Once I-74 is signed southeast of Winston-Salem, I don't know how long this will last though.)

[bugo]

easily US-99. 

come to think of it, does any route use the "greater than 300 miles, but in a single state" exemption to declassification?  Maybe some three-digit routes in Texas? 

US 290 is close, though it is only 261 miles long.  (At one point, pre-Interstate 10, it was 560+ miles.)

Now, on the other hand, not only has North Carolina retained the short remnant of US 311, it has actually extended it in recent years!  (Once I-74 is signed southeast of Winston-Salem, I don't know how long this will last though.)

Last I heard the north extension of US 311 was unsigned.  Is this still the case?

I think it's silly to have a US route end at a state route.  Either extend US 311 into Virginia or cut it back to US 220.

[corco]

A bit of an unorthodox choice, but US-410. Admittedly, with US-12 existing as it does today 410 wouldn't be great, but the routing that 410 took was far more useful than the one that 12 takes today through Washington. 12 bypasses Mt Rainier National Park, doesn't serve any major cities, and goes to what...Aberdeen? Who cares about Aberdeen? That's a meth house, not a tourist area. The only good parts of the Washington coast are already served indirectly by US 101, and US 12 doesn't serve any of the cool parts. Heck, it doesn't even facilitate interstate commerce. What two significant areas are connected by the 12 corridor west of Yakima? Centralia?  Not to mention, most of the coastbound traffic that would benefit from US-12 being there comes from the Puget Sound region to the coasts, and 410-101 is a simpler way to navigate by than 101-8-12-101.

Bring back US-410! You can call it 12, I guess, but decommissioning the routing of 410 was silly.

[TheStranger]

I think it's silly to have a US route end at a state route.

The exception I would make are "coastlines" in which the state route is the furthest extent that the US route can end at (i.e. several locations in Texas, or US 466 when it was in California).

For that matter, should 466 really have been decommissioned?  Its remnant from Morro Bay to Barstow was just a tad short of the 300 mile rule, but US 290 is about the same length today (260 miles), and the corridor is still pretty important.  The impression I get is that California wanted to really cut back on excessive route concurrencies, but cut back way beyond necessary (definitely the case for 99, and very arguably so for 466).

Even the former US 299, at the current length of State Route 299 (305 miles), could have been retained as well (though ending at a dirt road at the state line probably wouldn't have been great for a US route).

[agentsteel53]

For that matter, should 466 really have been decommissioned?  Its remnant from Morro Bay to Barstow was just a tad short of the 300 mile rule, but US 290 is about the same length today (260 miles), and the corridor is still pretty important.  The impression I get is that California wanted to really cut back on excessive route concurrencies, but cut back way beyond necessary (definitely the case for 99, and very arguably so for 466).

wow, I didn't realize it was that long!  Is the section from 1 to 101 all that important?  I'd always thought of it as a winding road with little traffic.  101 to 5 to 99, certainly, that serves a lot of truck traffic.

Even the former US 299, at the current length of State Route 299 (305 miles), could have been retained as well (though ending at a dirt road at the state line probably wouldn't have been great for a US route).

the original end of US-299 was at US-395; it was extended only as a state route in 1964.

[TheStranger]

For that matter, should 466 really have been decommissioned?  Its remnant from Morro Bay to Barstow was just a tad short of the 300 mile rule, but US 290 is about the same length today (260 miles), and the corridor is still pretty important.  The impression I get is that California wanted to really cut back on excessive route concurrencies, but cut back way beyond necessary (definitely the case for 99, and very arguably so for 466).

wow, I didn't realize it was that long!  Is the section from 1 to 101 all that important?  I'd always thought of it as a winding road with little traffic.  101 to 5 to 99, certainly, that serves a lot of truck traffic.

I've been on 46 between 1 and 101 (as opposed to 41/former 466 between the two) and was surprised how much traffic I saw - probably tourists coming back from Hearst Castle like I was.  Not sure if 41/old 466 is busy.

Even the former US 299, at the current length of State Route 299 (305 miles), could have been retained as well (though ending at a dirt road at the state line probably wouldn't have been great for a US route).

the original end of US-299 was at US-395; it was extended only as a state route in 1964.

Yeah, based on the strict definition of the AASHTO 300-or-less rule, 299 wouldn't have been "long enough," but considering the continued existence of 46, 311, et al...

I think it's one thing to decommission a route based on a direct Interstate replacement/redesignation or parallel route (i.e. US 101 being taken off the concurrency with I-5 south of Los Angeles, US 91 and 466 being supplanted on I-15 from Devore to Las Vegas), but when the existing route is a standalone corridor of some function, no reason to demote the highway from US to state.

(399 I always thought was a bit of an oddball L-shaped route though.)

[Scott5114]

US 66 was a pretty stupid decommissioning. Yes, the 66 designation was redundant to 55-44-40, but when you get something with as much cultural mindshare as 66, things like that should really be looked at in a different light. I'd really like to see 66 recommissioned in some form. Hell, while they're resigning it, crank out a few hundred spare 66 shields and sell 'em off to the public to defray the costs...

[agentsteel53]

I've been on 46 between 1 and 101 (as opposed to 41/former 466 between the two) and was surprised how much traffic I saw - probably tourists coming back from Hearst Castle like I was.  Not sure if 41/old 466 is busy.

it is not.  It's a fun drive but pretty narrow and winding.

(399 I always thought was a bit of an oddball L-shaped route though.)

I figured they wanted another 99-to-101 connection.  Extending 33 over most of it makes a lot of sense, actually.  Now 33 all the way from Tracy or wherever could be US-399! 

[Landshark]

Bring back US-410! You can call it 12, I guess, but decommissioning the routing of 410 was silly.

Instead of bringing back US 410, they can rename the mainline between Olympia and Aberdeen under a single number, and have US 101 terminate at Mud Bay and US 12 terminate at Elma.  If they could get it up to interstate standards they could call it Interstate 105.  

I also think they should extend Interstate 82 west along portions of SR-410 to Tacoma and eventually on to Port Angeles.  

[TheStranger]

US 66 was a pretty stupid decommissioning. Yes, the 66 designation was redundant to 55-44-40, but when you get something with as much cultural mindshare as 66, things like that should really be looked at in a different light. I'd really like to see 66 recommissioned in some form. Hell, while they're resigning it, crank out a few hundred spare 66 shields and sell 'em off to the public to defray the costs...

I recall that it was the decommissioning itself that brought MORE attention to 66 than previously.  Honestly, considering the tourist industry built upon the route, why not resurrect it as a navigable, continuous highway from Santa Monica to Chicago?

For that matter, at the Four-Level in Los Angeles, having the Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway) as just US 66, with I-110 being in use from 101 south to San Pedro, would make more sense than it'd seem at first - that freeway is almost entirely east-west in its scope, compared to the Harbor Freeway (signed as Interstate 110 in its entirety southbound, but as Route 110 northbound from I-10 to US 101).

[US71]

US 66 was a pretty stupid decommissioning. Yes, the 66 designation was redundant to 55-44-40, but when you get something with as much cultural mindshare as 66, things like that should really be looked at in a different light. I'd really like to see 66 recommissioned in some form. Hell, while they're resigning it, crank out a few hundred spare 66 shields and sell 'em off to the public to defray the costs...

I recall that it was the decommissioning itself that brought MORE attention to 66 than previously.  Honestly, considering the tourist industry built upon the route, why not resurrect it as a navigable, continuous highway from Santa Monica to Chicago?

We were just discussing that on another list today.

I think resurrecting 66 would detract from the Historic Route/Scenic Byway that has grown up around it.  Efforts have been made to preserve the flavor & feeling of old 66 and  IMHO, bringing the route back would have an adverse effect on those efforts. You would risk losgin the historical aspects of 66 that make it unique. Better by far to leave it as is for future generations and to impress upon them its significance.

Besides, which alignment would you choose? Each state has at least 2 or 3 different alignments 

[TheStranger]

US 66 was a pretty stupid decommissioning. Yes, the 66 designation was redundant to 55-44-40, but when you get something with as much cultural mindshare as 66, things like that should really be looked at in a different light. I'd really like to see 66 recommissioned in some form. Hell, while they're resigning it, crank out a few hundred spare 66 shields and sell 'em off to the public to defray the costs...

I recall that it was the decommissioning itself that brought MORE attention to 66 than previously.  Honestly, considering the tourist industry built upon the route, why not resurrect it as a navigable, continuous highway from Santa Monica to Chicago?

We were just discussing that on another list today.

I think resurrecting 66 would detract from the Historic Route/Scenic Byway that has grown up around it.  Efforts have been made to preserve the flavor & feeling of old 66 and  IMHO, bringing the route back would have an adverse effect on those efforts. You would risk losgin the historical aspects of 66 that make it unique. Better by far to leave it as is for future generations and to impress upon them its significance.

Besides, which alignment would you choose? Each state has at least 2 or 3 different alignments 

I'm thinking, at the very least though, make it a LOT easier for one to navigate along the route from point-to-point (which is difficult as is).

[huskeroadgeek]

US 66 was the most obvious one I thought of too, but its decommisioning at least made sense since it's usefulness as a through route has been completely superseded by its parallel interstate routes, so resurrecting it would be fairly redundant. But then again, how is the old US 66 much different than most of US 11? The only portions of US 11 that are really independent of any interstate routing are N. of Watertown, NY, btw. Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg, PA, and the split routing btw. Bristol and Knoxville, TN. The rest(the vast majority of it) is rarely more than about 5 miles from a parallel interstate. How has US 11 managed to stay around in its entire length, despite its usefulness as a long-distance through route being superseded by parallel interstates?

[agentsteel53]

the east coast, midwest, and south tend to have fewer decommissionings.  US-5, for example, is entirely superseded by I-91, as well, but the old road tends to be at least a few miles away from the new freeway because the towns are so much closer together that the western model of putting the new interstate right over the old road, and making business loops, is less sensible.  

even out in the sticks of, say, rural Vermont, there is a house every mile or so at most along US-5 - and similarly for US-11 in Virginia - so the eminent domain issues would be significantly greater than buying up some farm or ranch land, or sectional roads that belong to the county or state as public right-of-way already.  It's significantly less problematic to lose a small percent of your cattle grazing area for a fair price, than it is to have your house demolished!

[bugo]

I can see US 66 recommissioned from El Reno, OK to Springfield, MO, but not any further than that.  That's the longest stretch of old 66 that is still a major highway.

[thenetwork]

In Ohio, one of the dumbest decommissions was US 223 in Toledo. 

Monroe Street )Former US 223) was a straight shot from US 23 in Sylvania to downtown Toledo (still is).  But in 1986, during the "Great Toledo Route Swap", ODOT thought it was a better idea to extend SR-51 along US 223's Monroe Street alignment to create a single Northwest to Southeast route connecting US 23 in Sylvania to US 20 near Elmore.  Why they didn't just rename SR-51 US-223?   

It would have made more sense to ultimately have a single route number connecting Southeast Toledo to Adrian, MI, than to have the current US-223 Alignment:  Starting US 223 in a multiplex with US 23 at a suburban exit, less than a mile from the state line, then finally turning onto it's own roadway 15 minutes to the north. 

If the powers that were in 1986 were going to truncate US-223 properly, they should have ended US-223 at it's intersection with US-23 near Blissfield, MI and eliminated the needless multiplex altogether.  And why they decided to switch the rest of the routes in Toledo is another story.   

[xonhulu]

A bit of an unorthodox choice, but US-410. Admittedly, with US-12 existing as it does today 410 wouldn't be great, but the routing that 410 took was far more useful than the one that 12 takes today through Washington. 12 bypasses Mt Rainier National Park, doesn't serve any major cities, and goes to what...Aberdeen? Who cares about Aberdeen? That's a meth house, not a tourist area. The only good parts of the Washington coast are already served indirectly by US 101, and US 12 doesn't serve any of the cool parts. Heck, it doesn't even facilitate interstate commerce. What two significant areas are connected by the 12 corridor west of Yakima? Centralia?  Not to mention, most of the coastbound traffic that would benefit from US-12 being there comes from the Puget Sound region to the coasts, and 410-101 is a simpler way to navigate by than 101-8-12-101.

Bring back US-410! You can call it 12, I guess, but decommissioning the routing of 410 was silly.

I can't claim to really know what was the actual basis of the decision, but I'd guess the fact White Pass is open year round while Chinook Pass is closed in winter and 410 passes through a national park is the likely reason 12 doesn't follow the original 410 between Naches and Elma.

[corco]

I can't claim to really know what was the actual basis of the decision, but I'd guess the fact White Pass is open year round while Chinook Pass is closed in winter and 410 passes through a national park is the likely reason 12 doesn't follow the original 410 between Naches and Elma.

That's a good call- I completely forgot about that major detail, although I suppose if US-212 can be closed during winters, 410 could be able to be too. White Pass just doesn't serve much of a national purpose in my mind- to get any decent sized city besides Centralia or Aberdeen or maybe Longview from Yakima, you'd take 82 to 90 or 97 down Satus Pass to I-84. But yeah, that's definitely a really important factor that I totally spaced.

[Revive 755]

US 66 was the most obvious one I thought of too, but its decommisioning at least made sense since it's usefulness as a through route has been completely superseded by its parallel interstate routes, so resurrecting it would be fairly redundant. But then again, how is the old US 66 much different than most of US 11? The only portions of US 11 that are really independent of any interstate routing are N. of Watertown, NY, btw. Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg, PA, and the split routing btw. Bristol and Knoxville, TN. The rest(the vast majority of it) is rarely more than about 5 miles from a parallel interstate. How has US 11 managed to stay around in its entire length, despite its usefulness as a long-distance through route being superseded by parallel interstates?

US 66, at least for large parts in Missouri and Illinois, would be pretty much 80% outer road if the last pre-interstate alignment was used.  US 11 appears to be more than an outer road.

As for dumbest decommission, I'll second US 99.  Second dumbest would be US 460 west of Frankfort, Kentucky.  Sure most of the Indiana section stays close to I-64 and is somewhat low quality, but the Illinois section strays a bit from I-64, especially west of Mount Vernon.  The indirect section using IL 1 in eastern Illinois could have always been relocated or had a more direct alignment later added, possibly feeding into the IN 62 toll bridge.

Third dumbest would be US 32.  That one should have stayed instead of having an extra-long, out of place US 6.

[TheStranger]

US 66, at least for large parts in Missouri and Illinois, would be pretty much 80% outer road if the last pre-interstate alignment was used.  US 11 appears to be more than an outer road.

Interestingly, except from Pasadena to Victorville, a surprising amount of former US 66 in California is far enough from parallel routes to be considered more than just a nearby frontage.

As for dumbest decommission, I'll second US 99.  Second dumbest would be US 460 west of Frankfort, Kentucky.  Sure most of the Indiana section stays close to I-64 and is somewhat low quality, but the Illinois section strays a bit from I-64, especially west of Mount Vernon.  The indirect section using IL 1 in eastern Illinois could have always been relocated or had a more direct alignment later added, possibly feeding into the IN 62 toll bridge.

Third dumbest would be US 32.  That one should have stayed instead of having an extra-long, out of place US 6.

460 in Indiana actually passed far enough south from I-64 at times, particularly in Evansville (which 64 stays north of, using I-164/future I-69 to access). 

As for 32, I do wonder - the "Grand Army Of The Republic Highway" designation for the whole of US 6 was designated in 1939 or so, including the run to Long Beach.   I don't think a single named trail applied to that route when US 32 and US 38 existed...

[Roadgeek Adam]

I know this a state route but its worth putting up:

In 1928's state highway expansion of Pennsylvania, PennDOH created Route 415 and Route 515 to basically circumnavigate Harveys Lake, PA. Now PA 415 goes further out than that (then and today), but Route 515 basically was a spur of 415 on the eastern side of the lake. In the 1946ish mass decommissioning, PA 515 was taken out in favor of basically a 2nd PA 415 alignment on the eastern side of the lake. Meaning PA 415, both two-way roads, went on both sides of the lake, and still does I may add. I've been on it, signage can confuse you, and although PA 515 is now SR 1415 to disambiguate, using 515 wouldn't be a bad idea, but its really a strange way to set up a route.

[agentsteel53]

As for 32, I do wonder - the "Grand Army Of The Republic Highway" designation for the whole of US 6 was designated in 1939 or so, including the run to Long Beach.   I don't think a single named trail applied to that route when US 32 and US 38 existed...

indeed, 6 is kind of a hodgepodge - though it does faithfully follow the Midland Trail from at least west of Denver, as far as I know.

[TheStranger]

As for 32, I do wonder - the "Grand Army Of The Republic Highway" designation for the whole of US 6 was designated in 1939 or so, including the run to Long Beach.   I don't think a single named trail applied to that route when US 32 and US 38 existed...

indeed, 6 is kind of a hodgepodge - though it does faithfully follow the Midland Trail from at least west of Denver, as far as I know.

In 1934 (the initial signage of California state routes), this would have been covered by multiple designations, certainly not under one number (and I don't think in any case, really warranting an east-west number in California) all the way to Denver:

Route 3 from Long Beach to San Pedro
Route 11 from San Pedro to the Chavez Ravine area of Los Angeles
US 99 from Chavez Ravine to Newhall Pass
Route 7 from San Fernando north to Bishop
Route 168 from Bishop to the Nevada state line (today's remnant of US 6 in California)

in Nevada, Wikipedia notes several predecessor routes as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_6_in_Nevada

Much of the route through Utah was at one point US 50 (though I don't think it always was US 50 on the west end).  Not sure what the segment from Grand Junction to Denver was - US 38?