Strange Route Termini

[kphoger]

The southern terminus of MO-85 is at this seemingly random spot in Gentry County, where it becomes Supplemental Route A.

But it turns out it's not actually a random spot, but the bustling metropolis of Evona, the number of whose domiciles I can count on one hand.  Why Missouri decided Evona deserves a primary route, I have no idea.

What other examples are there of a strange route terminus?

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 68 ends on Asilomar Avenue in Pacific Grove.  The segment extends about a quarter mile north of Sunset Drive seemingly to serve the entrance the Asilomar Conference Grounds. 

CA 3 ends the eastern city limit Montague randomly along Ball Mountain Little Shasta Road.  The only reason 3 is even in Montague was to service the Southern Pacific Railroad passenger depot (now defunct) which bypassed the Shasta County seat of Yreka. 

[JayhawkCO]

I'll nominate a few, and leaving out some that have discontinuous segments (CO67, CO90, CO105):

CO109 - Ends in "Toonerville" which is apparently an unincorporated community, but there's nothing there per GSV. I guess you could say it's not random because it ends when the pavement does, but still in the absolute middle of nowhere.

CO202 - Ends at a random Otero county road. No pavement ending. No buildings nearby. Just random.

CO317 - Unlike it's worthless neighbor CO394, this highway ends a little ways away from the Moffat/Routt county line in the middle of nowhere at a random cemetery.

And then for some more urban ones, CO22, CO44, and CO35 all end at notable intersections (for the area), but not at any other signed routes.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Virginia has a lot of primary routes with odd termini. Here's a few examples:

VA 36 ends at an intersection with two secondary routes west of Matoaca. It's always ended in that general area for the entire time it's been primary (it began life as a spur of what used to be VA 10 and is now also VA 36).

VA 67 ends at an intersection with a dead-end road north of Richlands. It really has no reason to exist north of US 460, and SR 616 (its continuation) doesn't go anywhere in particular as it straddles the Virginia-West Virginia state line, although you can find a random horse on GSV.

VA 68 ends under a railroad bridge in the geographical middle of nowhere and doesn't really have any reason to exist either.

VA 98 is a dead-end road in Bland. It ends about half a mile south of US 52 before transitioning onto SR 605.

VA 102 does the Hokey Pokey along the Virginia-West Virginia line but randomly ends in downtown Pocahontas. There's only one VA 102 sign on that segment, and the endpoint is not posted at all.

VA 120 ends at VA 123 just before the Chain Bridge into DC, but you'd think VA 120 would cross the Chain Bridge instead of VA 123 turning onto it.

[kphoger]

CO109 - Ends in "Toonerville"

Here's a picture of the terminus:

[JayhawkCO]

CO109 - Ends in "Toonerville"

Here's a picture of the terminus:

Interestingly enough, it was named after a cartoon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonerville_Folks.

[kphoger]

Interestingly enough, it was named after a cartoon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonerville_Folks.

Random trivia:  so was the band Poco.

[gonealookin]

Nevada has a few state-maintained routes where the state maintenance ends at some odd point but the road continues as a county road, still paved and keeping more or less the same character.

Here's the western terminus of SR 825 in the Smith Valley in Lyon County:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/vC8FRoq2VHSDJ99j6.  SR 825 has a total length of 0.415 miles, extending west from SR 824 at an intersection in front of Smith Valley High School.

Why it ends at that particular spot, no idea.  I can only guess that the person who lives or lived in the property whose driveway extends left from the road right there had enough political influence to get it designated a State Route as far as his property for the purpose of reliable snow removal.

[Big John]

I'll give you the obvious-I-70.

[LilianaUwU]

QC 199 fits this category, because not only is it completely disconnected from the rest of the system, but both its ends are interesting, with its southern end at a fishing harbor and its northern end at a roundabout just shy of another harbor.

[kphoger]

I'll give you the obvious-I-70.

It has Interstates at both termini.

Or did you forget that it doesn't actually end at a Park 'n' Ride anymore?

On MDOT's AADT interactive data map, the ramp from the park-n-ride at I-70's former terminus to Security Blvd is labeled RAMP 2 FR IS 70 WB TO MD 122 NB (RP-70).  On its AADT .pdf, the park-n-ride has an I-70 shield.

This pleases me, even though the stretch east of I-695 was eliminated from the I-70 designation eleven years ago and, since that time, I-70 has not come within 1½ miles of Baltimore city limits.

Item No. 13

Member DOT — Maryland

Request — Elimination of I-70

Description — In Maryland, this route begins at the Pennsylvania state line.  It currently ends at a road end and park and ride in Baltimore City.  It travels on a two-way dual carriageway-type highway.  The predominant direction of this route is east.  The main cities along this route are Hagerstown and Frederick.  The mileage after de-designation will be approximately 112 miles.  It will end at I-695, the Baltimore Beltway as a result of the de-designation.

Decision — APPROVED

[oscar]

VA 120 ends at VA 123 just before the Chain Bridge into DC, but you'd think VA 120 would cross the Chain Bridge instead of VA 123 turning onto it.

Most of the Chain Bridge is in DC. VA 123 ends at the DC line. Not sure what's strange about the last 0.07 mi. west of the DC line being assigned to VA 123 rather than VA 120.

[NWI_Irish96]

Because INDOT has been very aggressive in getting municipalities to take back control of routes and because INDOT doesn't sign routes under local control, there are several.

IN 120 ends at CR 13
IN 933 ends at Ash Rd
Central IN 4 ends at Blackport Dr
Northern IN 931 ends at Tyler Rd
Western IN 22 ends at CR 300 W

Probably a few others I'm not thinking of right now.

[JayhawkCO]

The island segments of AK7 don't exactly have obvious termini other than the downtown Juneau endpoint.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN:

TH 11 east end at the Sha-Sha Resort seven miles east of International Falls. Ending at the Voyageurs NP entrance would at least make some sense over going all the way to where it does. MnDOT I think has plans to eventually eliminate the route east of I-Falls.

TH 169: stub extends east from Ely after a 40+ mile duplex with TH 1, bypasses the small town of Winton to the south, ends at Power Dam Road on its way into the BWCA

TH 172: similar to 11, ends at Wheelers Point on Lake of the Woods near a resort complex. This was TH 72 until 72 was rerouted to cross the border at Baudette.

Former: TH 25 extended north of Brainerd to the tiny town of Merrifield. Rightly truncated to Brainerd at TH 210 around 2000 in a general overhaul of Brainerd's local state routes..

[BrianP]

The two that I recall for MD are 137 west and 351 south.

137 ends at an intersection west of MD 25 in Baltimore County. The road eventually became MD 89 in nearby Carroll County. At least 89's end made a tiny bit of sense ending at the Carroll/Baltimore county line.  But 89 was really short and the odd ending were probably reasons why it was decommissioned.

351 was decommissioned.  But it used to end nowhere in particular along Ballenger Creek Pike in southern Frederick county.

[zzcarp]

Adding to Colorado's weird termini list, I nominate:

CO 75-begins at roundabout at Chatfield Avenue which connects to a RIRO exit from WB C-470, then it ends at Bowles Avenue near Littleton.

CO 30 ends at Gun Club Road/Quincy Avenue. There's an E-470 exit nearby but to get to the ramps you must take county roads.

CO 55 ends at a random curve about 3 miles south of I-76 in the middle of nowhere.

CO 300 begins at US 24 near Leadville and goes 3 miles west to end at the state fish hatchery.

And, CO 5 is the Mount Evans Mount Blue Sky highway, and it ends at the top of Mount Blue Sky, a Colorado 14er (and is the highest paved road in North America).

[Quillz]

CA-299 ends at the Nevada State border and turns into a dirt road that seemingly goes nowhere. (It can be used to reach some towns). From the California side, it's an odd way for a major route across the state to end.

[jp the roadgeek]

I'll nominate CT 4.  Used to go all the way into Hartford on Farmington Ave. Now, it randomly ends in West Hartford just short of Boulevard.  Not too far from there, you have CT 173's north end on South Main St at an intersection just north of I-84.  Of course, keep going through West Hartford Center on North Main St and it turns into CT 218 when you cross US 44.

[WillWeaverRVA]

VA 120 ends at VA 123 just before the Chain Bridge into DC, but you'd think VA 120 would cross the Chain Bridge instead of VA 123 turning onto it.

Most of the Chain Bridge is in DC. VA 123 ends at the DC line. Not sure what's strange about the last 0.07 mi. west of the DC line being assigned to VA 123 rather than VA 120.

I know, I just feel it's odd that Glebe Road feeds directly onto the Chain Bridge, but the VA 120 designation doesn't go with it.

[kphoger]

The southern terminus of MO-85 is at this seemingly random spot in Gentry County, where it becomes Supplemental Route A.

But it turns out it's not actually a random spot, but the bustling metropolis of Evona, the number of whose domiciles I can count on one hand.  Why Missouri decided Evona deserves a primary route, I have no idea.

What other examples are there of a strange route terminus?

For what it's worth, Evona isn't even signed from SSR-A's terminus:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/d3t52puqMTPkyUUE8

It's like it only exists to serve as MO-85's terminus.

[ModernDayWarrior]

The southern terminus of MO-85 is at this seemingly random spot in Gentry County, where it becomes Supplemental Route A.

But it turns out it's not actually a random spot, but the bustling metropolis of Evona, the number of whose domiciles I can count on one hand.  Why Missouri decided Evona deserves a primary route, I have no idea.

What other examples are there of a strange route terminus?

For what it's worth, Evona isn't even signed from SSR-A's terminus:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/d3t52puqMTPkyUUE8

It's like it only exists to serve as MO-85's terminus.

Yeah, this is a weird one that I wasn't aware of. Good find.

Another odd one is in Big Spring Park, in Carter County south of Van Buren. MO 103 and Route Z apparently both terminate at the same three-way intersection, where the third leg is a county road. Google Maps doesn't show it clearly (there's no Street View either) but OSM does.

I've been curious about this intersection for a long time--have never been there despite living in the area for most of my life. Planning on taking a day trip down there the first chance I get; it will also give me a chance to test out my new dash cam I received as a Christmas present.

[kphoger]

CO 55 ends at a random curve about 3 miles south of I-76 in the middle of nowhere.

Wow, that's a really weird one.  Because so many references say it ends at the next county road to the south, I confirmed your endpoint here.

[Mapmikey]

Virginia has a lot of primary routes with odd termini. Here's a few examples:


VA 68 ends under a railroad bridge in the geographical middle of nowhere and doesn't really have any reason to exist either.

VA 68 ends at a county line.

A few more in Virginia:

VA 69 ends at a random intersection instead of Austinville a short distance ahead.

VA 142 used to end at Petersburg CL but the city grew and they never moved the endpoint.

Both VA 228 and VA 401 end at jurisdiction lines that are very very close to freeways VA 267 and I-95/495 respectively.

On the eastern shore VA 183, VA 187 and VA 178 end at random points.

VA 172 ends at a random intersection in Poquoson when it could end at VA 171

In the middle neck, VA 198 and VA 214 end at random locations.

[Big John]

Missed the east terminus change of I-70

I will try the west terminus of WI 24 at the Milwaukee/Waukesha County line.