What is Your States Most Famous Route?

[froggie]

For New Jersey, the Turnpike is too easy as the Interstate.

For US Highway, I'd say US 30 because the White Horse Pike is a pretty notable road thanks to shows like "Boardwalk Empire" , the Admiral Wilson Blvd was a prominent project during NJ's Good Roads Movement, and the Airport Circle was the first modern highway circle in the US.

I'm surprised US 40 isn't a runner-up due to the fact that it was part of the National Road, leads to Atlantic City (I know, US 30 does too), crosses Delaware Memorial Bridge (Overlapped by I-295, of course) which plenty of non-road-geeks are afraid of, and is where the New Jersey Turnpike begins.

I think a stronger argument could be made for US 9, which traverses both North and South Jersey and was popularized by one Bruce Springsteen.

For NY I genuinely think its either I-278 or I-87 (Deegan, NYS Thruway and Northway).

Hard to beat "Broadway" for fame and popularity, part of which is US 9...though I think they call the US 9 part north of the Cross Bronx something else now.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN's most famous street is likely Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, with Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street right behind it.

[Rothman]

MN's most famous street is likely Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, with Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street right behind it.

Nah.  Hennepin above all.

[NE2]

Probably G1A or A19A.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN's most famous street is likely Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, with Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street right behind it.

Nah.  Hennepin above all.

...is that not what I said?

[Rothman]

MN's most famous street is likely Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, with Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street right behind it.

Nah.  Hennepin above all.

...is that not what I said?

Lyndale and Lake are nowhere near Hennepin.

[JayhawkCO]

Thought I'd just put out what I would personally consider the most famous route in each state.  That way you can all tell me how wrong I am.

A preface saying that since US66 doesn't exist anymore, I'm not using that for any states.  But, it would have qualified for a bunch of them. And I'm including surface streets if I think they're more recognizable than numbered routes to the populace at large.

AL - I-65 I guess.  Since it runs through (or right by) the four largest cities in the state.
AK - Alaska Highway.  Not that the part that is actually in Alaska is all that exciting, but people have heard of it.
AZ - Here's one where it would have been US66, then maybe US93 over the Hoover Dam.  Now?  I guess AZ89A through Sedona since that's a day trip for a lot of people.
AR - Can't think of anything more famous than I-40. 
CA - A real toss up between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.  I think I'll go Hollywood. 
CO - I-70.  Almost everyone that comes here to visit heads up into the mountains on it.
CT - I-95.  One of my least favorite drives, but there's nothing that's going to jump to people's minds more.
DE - I-95. Same story.
DC - Pennsylvania Avenue.
FL - FLA1A.  Already got in this argument, but Vanilla Ice makes a state highway well known.
GA - I-75.  The spine of the state.
HI - Hana Highway.  Nothing on O'ahu is all that famous.
ID - ID55.  The main way to head into prettier parts from Boise.
IL - I-294.  Tri-State Tollway is pretty well known to people from at least, well, three states.
IN - I-80/90.  Indiana Toll Road is kinda similar to Illinois' example
IA - I-80.  No real reason why, but joins three metro areas.
KS - Kansas Turnpike.  Kansas' main street (in populated areas at least)
KY - Bluegrass Parkway.  Not the most important road in KY, but it is the Bluegrass State after all.
LA - Bourbon Street.  Easy.
ME - US1.  I-95 is the spine, but most people coming to Maine to visit are heading to the coast.
MD - I-495.  The beltway.
MA - I-90 barely edging out US6.  The Mass Pike being one of the most well known interstate segments.
MI - 8 Mile.  Eminem ekes out a win over I-75.
MN - US61.  Obviously an older demographic knows Bob Dylan well, but no other road is in the public consciousness as much.
MO - I-70.  Kansas City and St. Louis play baseball in the I-70 Series.
MS - Natchez Trace Parkway.  I dare say the only famous road in the state.
MT - Going to the Sun Road.  Glacier's main thoroughfare.
NE - I-80.  For better or worse, the most exposure people get to Nebraska is in its ugliest part.
NV - Las Vegas Strip.  Easy.
NH - I-93.  Hits a couple of major towns and gets to the Whites.
NJ - NJ Turnpike.  No question.
NM - US66 would have been the easy choice here, but I think it's probably its replacement, I-40.
NY - Broadway.  Everyone has heard of it.
NC - Blue Ridge Parkway.  Beats out NC12 on the OB.
ND - I-94.  Default pick.
OH - I think I have to go with Ohio Turnpike.  You'll sense a theme with the important interstate toll roads.
OK - Eh... I-40 I guess?  I-44 is more important, but more people are going to be traveling west through Oklahoma on I-40.
OR - US101.  Oregon coastline get a ton of tourist traffic.
PA - Pennsylvania Turnpike.  No other option.
RI - I-95.  The only way a lot of people (myself included) have ever visited RI.
SC - US17.  Hugs the coast and a lot of the tourist attractions.
SD - SD244.  The road in front of Mt. Rushmore.  The only thing most people know about SD is that Mt. Rushmore is there.
TN - Beale Street.  Nashville is the more popular town, but doesn't have one street that people know.
TX - 6th Street. I can't name a more important street in Dallas or Houston.
UT - US163.  Monument Valley made famous by Forrest Gump.
VT - Tough one.  I'll go I-89 just because US2 is multiplexed for so long, otherwise it might have gotten the nod because of Lake Champlain.
VA - I-495.  The Beltway beats out the Blue Ridge Parkway.
WA - Pike Street.  When people think Washington, they think Seattle.  When they think Seattle, they think of Pike's Place.
WV - I-64 I think.  It's close with the other interstates, but I think it's a more important route for the state's thru traffic.  I-70 if it were longer.
WI - Lombardi Avenue.  Packers rule Wisco.
WY - Grand Loop Road.  In Yellowstone, going by Old Faithful.

Chris

[SkyPesos]

NC - I-40.  Runs the length of the state and no more well known routes (although NC12 should be)

Blue Ridge Pkwy? Especially that the famous Linn Cove Viaduct section of the road is in NC.

[JayhawkCO]

NC - I-40.  Runs the length of the state and no more well known routes (although NC12 should be)

Blue Ridge Pkwy? Especially that the famous Linn Cove Viaduct section of the road is in NC.

Yeah, probably a better call.  Off the top of my brain, I was only remembering the Virginia part.

Chris

[US20IL64]

"IL - I-294.  Tri-State Tollway is pretty well known to people from at least, well, three states."

State St, Lake Shore Dr, Michigan Av, Lower Wacker Dr. and even the city Xways [Ike, JFK, Ryan] are more well known to average folks. IMHO.     I-90/55 and US 20/30/41 for route #s

[JayhawkCO]

"IL - I-294.  Tri-State Tollway is pretty well known to people from at least, well, three states."

State St, Lake Shore Dr, Michigan Av, Lower Wacker Dr. and even the city Xways [Ike, JFK, Ryan] are more well known to average folks. IMHO.     I-90/55 and US 20/30/41 for route #s

I toyed with the idea of Lakeshore and Michigan Ave., but I'll stick with I-294.  I even thought about Clark for a minute just because of Wrigley.

Chris

[bwana39]

We could do named streets too, which would lead to some interesting choices. I'll start off with an easy one

New York: Either Broadway or 5th Ave, both in Manhattan.

What about Wall Street?

[JayhawkCO]

We could do named streets too, which would lead to some interesting choices. I'll start off with an easy one

New York: Either Broadway or 5th Ave, both in Manhattan.

What about Wall Street?

For sure up there.  But I still think Broadway is more famous.  It doesn't just apply to theatre, i.e. Broadway Joe.

Chris

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN's most famous street is likely Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, with Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street right behind it.

Nah.  Hennepin above all.

...is that not what I said?

Lyndale and Lake are nowhere near Hennepin.

...which has what to do with me saying Hennepin was the most famous, on which we agree, since I did not say either of those were equal to Hennepin?

[skluth]

Hawaii:

Interstate: H-3
US route: n/a
State route: HI 360 (the most interesting part of the Hana Hwy)

Alaska:

Interstate: Almost nobody knows Alaska even has Interstates.
US route: n/a
State route: AK 11, from "Ice Road Truckers" rather than personal experience; otherwise, AK 3 (Parks Hwy). While the Alaska Highway (part of AK 2) is more famous overall, most of it is in Canada.

California:

State route: CA 1, not even close

I'll add I-5 and US-101.

Here's a question: Which counties in California are neither on I-5 nor have a one-road access to I-5?

Sierra County comes to mind.

I-80 (which intersects I-5 at approximately a right angle) nips Sierra county. You may be right that most of Sierra county can't get to I-5 via a single road, but you certaintly can get to Sierra county by driving on just one road from I-5.

I think Inyo County qualifies.

[michravera]

Hawaii:

Interstate: H-3
US route: n/a
State route: HI 360 (the most interesting part of the Hana Hwy)

Alaska:

Interstate: Almost nobody knows Alaska even has Interstates.
US route: n/a
State route: AK 11, from "Ice Road Truckers" rather than personal experience; otherwise, AK 3 (Parks Hwy). While the Alaska Highway (part of AK 2) is more famous overall, most of it is in Canada.

California:

State route: CA 1, not even close

I'll add I-5 and US-101.

Here's a question: Which counties in California are neither on I-5 nor have a one-road access to I-5?

Sierra County comes to mind.

I-80 (which intersects I-5 at approximately a right angle) nips Sierra county. You may be right that most of Sierra county can't get to I-5 via a single road, but you certaintly can get to Sierra county by driving on just one road from I-5.

I think Inyo County qualifies.

CASR-14?

[roadman65]

State Road A1A in Florida! It runs along the coast and serves as the backbone to major beachfront cities.  It is where the action and hotels are in Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami Beach.

[Techknow]

Hawaii:

Interstate: H-3
US route: n/a
State route: HI 360 (the most interesting part of the Hana Hwy)

Alaska:

Interstate: Almost nobody knows Alaska even has Interstates.
US route: n/a
State route: AK 11, from "Ice Road Truckers" rather than personal experience; otherwise, AK 3 (Parks Hwy). While the Alaska Highway (part of AK 2) is more famous overall, most of it is in Canada.

California:

State route: CA 1, not even close

I'll add I-5 and US-101.

Here's a question: Which counties in California are neither on I-5 nor have a one-road access to I-5?

Sierra County comes to mind.

I-80 (which intersects I-5 at approximately a right angle) nips Sierra county. You may be right that most of Sierra county can't get to I-5 via a single road, but you certaintly can get to Sierra county by driving on just one road from I-5.

I think Inyo County qualifies.

CASR-14?

I started to think of San Mateo county and realized you have to take multiple freeways to go east but CA-1 and US 101 both go south and terminate to I-5.

What about San Benito county? Only county route J1 goes east... oh US-101

I think Inyo County is the only one that qualifies because CA-14 north terminates a few miles south of the county border

Otherwise I don't think there's any route in California that is near famous as CA-1, there are probably some routes that are as infamous though!

[Flint1979]

Thought I'd just put out what I would personally consider the most famous route in each state.  That way you can all tell me how wrong I am.

A preface saying that since US66 doesn't exist anymore, I'm not using that for any states.  But, it would have qualified for a bunch of them. And I'm including surface streets if I think they're more recognizable than numbered routes to the populace at large.

AL - I-65 I guess.  Since it runs through (or right by) the four largest cities in the state.
AK - Alaska Highway.  Not that the part that is actually in Alaska is all that exciting, but people have heard of it.
AZ - Here's one where it would have been US66, then maybe US93 over the Hoover Dam.  Now?  I guess AZ89A through Sedona since that's a day trip for a lot of people.
AR - Can't think of anything more famous than I-40. 
CA - A real toss up between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.  I think I'll go Hollywood. 
CO - I-70.  Almost everyone that comes here to visit heads up into the mountains on it.
CT - I-95.  One of my least favorite drives, but there's nothing that's going to jump to people's minds more.
DE - I-95. Same story.
DC - Pennsylvania Avenue.
FL - FLA1A.  Already got in this argument, but Vanilla Ice makes a state highway well known.
GA - I-75.  The spine of the state.
HI - Hana Highway.  Nothing on O'ahu is all that famous.
ID - ID55.  The main way to head into prettier parts from Boise.
IL - I-294.  Tri-State Tollway is pretty well known to people from at least, well, three states.
IN - I-80/90.  Indiana Toll Road is kinda similar to Illinois' example
IA - I-80.  No real reason why, but joins three metro areas.
KS - Kansas Turnpike.  Kansas' main street (in populated areas at least)
KY - Bluegrass Parkway.  Not the most important road in KY, but it is the Bluegrass State after all.
LA - Bourbon Street.  Easy.
ME - US1.  I-95 is the spine, but most people coming to Maine to visit are heading to the coast.
MD - I-495.  The beltway.
MA - I-90 barely edging out US6.  The Mass Pike being one of the most well known interstate segments.
MI - 8 Mile.  Eminem ekes out a win over I-75.
MN - US61.  Obviously an older demographic knows Bob Dylan well, but no other road is in the public consciousness as much.
MO - I-70.  Kansas City and St. Louis play baseball in the I-70 Series.
MS - Natchez Trace Parkway.  I dare say the only famous road in the state.
MT - Going to the Sun Road.  Glacier's main thoroughfare.
NE - I-80.  For better or worse, the most exposure people get to Nebraska is in its ugliest part.
NV - Las Vegas Strip.  Easy.
NH - I-93.  Hits a couple of major towns and gets to the Whites.
NJ - NJ Turnpike.  No question.
NM - US66 would have been the easy choice here, but I think it's probably its replacement, I-40.
NY - Broadway.  Everyone has heard of it.
NC - Blue Ridge Parkway.  Beats out NC12 on the OB.
ND - I-94.  Default pick.
OH - I think I have to go with Ohio Turnpike.  You'll sense a theme with the important interstate toll roads.
OK - Eh... I-40 I guess?  I-44 is more important, but more people are going to be traveling west through Oklahoma on I-40.
OR - US101.  Oregon coastline get a ton of tourist traffic.
PA - Pennsylvania Turnpike.  No other option.
RI - I-95.  The only way a lot of people (myself included) have ever visited RI.
SC - US17.  Hugs the coast and a lot of the tourist attractions.
SD - SD244.  The road in front of Mt. Rushmore.  The only thing most people know about SD is that Mt. Rushmore is there.
TN - Beale Street.  Nashville is the more popular town, but doesn't have one street that people know.
TX - 6th Street. I can't name a more important street in Dallas or Houston.
UT - US163.  Monument Valley made famous by Forrest Gump.
VT - Tough one.  I'll go I-89 just because US2 is multiplexed for so long, otherwise it might have gotten the nod because of Lake Champlain.
VA - I-495.  The Beltway beats out the Blue Ridge Parkway.
WA - Pike Street.  When people think Washington, they think Seattle.  When they think Seattle, they think of Pike's Place.
WV - I-64 I think.  It's close with the other interstates, but I think it's a more important route for the state's thru traffic.  I-70 if it were longer.
WI - WI42, the gateway to Door County.
WY - Grand Loop Road.  In Yellowstone, going by Old Faithful.

Chris

Woodward is more famous than Eight Mile and it's really not even close.

[JayhawkCO]

Woodward is more famous than Eight Mile and it's really not even close.

I've never heard of Woodward.

Chris

[djsekani]

Woodward is more famous than Eight Mile and it's really not even close.

Maybe to locals or road geeks. For everyone else, 8 Mile is exponentially more well-known than Woodward.

[SEWIGuy]

WI - WI42, the gateway to Door County.

??  Most people use WI-57 to get to Door County.

I would suggest Lombardi Avenue is the most famous street in Wisconsin.

[Rothman]

Woodward is more famous than Eight Mile and it's really not even close.

Maybe to locals or road geeks. For everyone else, 8 Mile is exponentially more well-known than Woodward.

Yeah, the movie solidified this.

[Max Rockatansky]

Woodward is more famous than Eight Mile and it's really not even close.

Maybe to locals or road geeks. For everyone else, 8 Mile is exponentially more well-known than Woodward.

Yeah, the movie solidified this.

One of my favorite things that I showed my wife in Detroit circa 2019 was how lame Eight Mile is.  I accomplished this by taking her to where my Dad worked just west of I-275 at Haggerty Road.  She wasn't impressed by the Big Boy Statue, Target and some of the most generic white collar office buildings ever seen as the back drop. 

The Woodward Dream Cruise probably alone makes Woodward Avenue worlds more notable than Eight Mile.

[JayhawkCO]

WI - WI42, the gateway to Door County.

??  Most people use WI-57 to get to Door County.

I would suggest Lombardi Avenue is the most famous street in Wisconsin.

Yeah, that's fair.  I thought about that and then shied away from it for some reason.  I'll update.

Chris