If the elements were highways, what road would be which element?

[Beltway]

VA/MD I‑495 -- Bromine 
Reactive, irritating, and capable of producing fumes that make everyone cranky. Perfect for the Beltway.

PA I‑476 -- Technetium 
Rare, slightly mysterious, and nobody is entirely sure why it exists in its current form.

MD I‑270 -- Osmium 
One of the densest substances known -- just like the traffic between Rockville and Frederick.

IL I‑294 -- Gold 
Valuable, shiny, and expensive to interact with. Especially the tolls.

CA I‑405 -- Mercury 
Liquid, unpredictable, and hazardous at high temperatures. Also moves slower than you'd expect.

FL I‑595 -- Neon 
Bright, flashy, and full of Florida energy -- especially at night.

GA I‑285 -- Radon 
Invisible, dangerous in high concentrations, and tends to accumulate in enclosed spaces -- like Atlanta traffic.

TX I‑610 -- Uranium 
High‑energy loop with occasional chain reactions. Handle with care.

[achilles765]

VA/MD I‑495 -- Bromine 
Reactive, irritating, and capable of producing fumes that make everyone cranky. Perfect for the Beltway.

PA I‑476 -- Technetium 
Rare, slightly mysterious, and nobody is entirely sure why it exists in its current form.

MD I‑270 -- Osmium 
One of the densest substances known -- just like the traffic between Rockville and Frederick.

IL I‑294 -- Gold 
Valuable, shiny, and expensive to interact with. Especially the tolls.

CA I‑405 -- Mercury 
Liquid, unpredictable, and hazardous at high temperatures. Also moves slower than you'd expect.

FL I‑595 -- Neon 
Bright, flashy, and full of Florida energy -- especially at night.

GA I‑285 -- Radon 
Invisible, dangerous in high concentrations, and tends to accumulate in enclosed spaces -- like Atlanta traffic.

TX I‑610 -- Uranium 
High‑energy loop with occasional chain reactions. Handle with care.

I love these

[Beltway]

TX I‑610 -- Uranium 
High‑energy loop with occasional chain reactions. Handle with care.

I love these

PA I‑76 Turnpike -- Carbon
Fundamental, unavoidable, and the backbone of countless structures -- but under pressure it becomes something extremely hard, expensive, and occasionally brittle. Just like the Turnpike's tolls, tunnels, and 1940s geometry.

NY I‑95 CBX -- Plutonium 
Highly unstable, intensely concentrated, radioactive, fissionable, and dangerously potent when even slightly disturbed.

IL I‑494 Crosstown -- Unobtainium 
Forever proposed, endlessly debated, yet perpetually impossible to build in reality.

[ilpt4u]

I-64 deserves Carbon

Since the English word Carbon comes from the Latin "carbo" and means coal, and I-64 traverses coal country across Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, the Carbon element is appropriate

[Beltway]

I-64 deserves Carbon
Since the English word Carbon comes from the Latin "carbo" and means coal, and I-64 traverses coal country across Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, the Carbon element is appropriate

Three major coal marine terminals, Newport News and Norfolk. I-64 cities.

Hampton Roads handles more coal export tonnage than any other U.S. port. Direct railroad access to Appalachian coal fields.

[newyooper]

While I appreciate the full list above from Beltway, let me offer...

US 14 across the state of Wyoming for Sulfur.

Stick with me for a minute.  US 14 across Wyoming is part of the "Black and Yellow Trail."  It is Black and Yellow as it connects the Black Hills of South Dakota with Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  Now, the "Yellow" in Yellowstone is due to the sulfur from the hot springs, so US 14 is sulfur.

[flan]

I-180 in Illinois: Thulium. Not really useful for very much other than being interesting for how useless it is.

[kphoger]

For Intestates, I'd say I-80 would be bore-on (and on and on and on).

[formulanone]

Actinides for varporware Interstates

Lanthanides for "quiet" 3dis (Peoria has a 3di?)

Heavy metals for those with extreme resistance

Noble (group VIII) for loops with no other 3dis

Pretty much need an I-110 group

[dantheman]

The Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico interstates should be the noble gases, since they don't interact with anything else.

[achilles765]

I have to say I am loving this particular topic, largely due to the fact that in 2 months I'll be officially back in school (at 40, yikes!) and my declared major is Physics with a minor/possible double major in Chemistry and I have been doing some self study and preparing over the last like year and a half so I have been very deep in the periodic table and the elements.

Side note---I would love to see someone come up with a good one for which interstate would be Astatine, Bromine, Mercury, and Fluorine haha.

Oh, and I have one--
I-42: Oganesson.  Because its the newest, and only a little of it exists

[Dirt Roads]

Side note---I would love to see someone come up with a good one for which interstate would be Astatine, Bromine, Mercury, and Fluorine haha.

I'll bite.  I-85 is Astatine.  Double bonus is that the 8.1 hours that it takes to get through Atlanta at rush hour is exactly half of the trip.  Which might feel like a different type of half-life as well.

[kphoger]

Astatine

What did you call me?

[Dirt Roads]

Astatine

What did you call me?

Uh, uh... you O.K., Bromine?

[kphoger]

I would love to see someone come up with a good one for which interstate would be Astatine, Bromine, Mercury, and Fluorine haha.

Mercury Highway is the one that heads north from US-95 at postmile 6 in Nye County, Nevada.

Bonus points to anyone who manages to clinch it.

[Dirt Roads]

I would love to see someone come up with a good one for which interstate would be Astatine, Bromine, Mercury, and Fluorine haha.

Mercury Highway is the one that heads north from US-95 at postmile 6 in Nye County, Nevada.

Bonus points to anyone who manages to clinch it.

And Mercury Boulevard is US-258 in Hampton and Newport News on the Tidewater Peninsula.  Of course, it was renamed to correspond to Project Mercury at the NASA Langley Base back in the late 1950s.  And only now do I realize that when my dad drove us to nearby Buckroe Beach in the early 1960s, he was driving a 1959 Mercury three-tone hardtop.  Never put all of those things together before.  Maybe I'm not as forgetful as I claim to be.

[kphoger]

Maybe I'm not as forgetful as I claim to be.

Maybe not, but, for all we know, you're just imagining things that never happened...

[Dirt Roads]

Maybe I'm not as forgetful as I claim to be.

Maybe not, but, for all we know, you're just imagining things that never happened...

Worse is that I'm sure that I've inherited the proof in pictures, but I've never had the time to look at them again.  Last time I saw them was around 1965 or so.

[CtrlAltDel]

Both I-124 and I-640 would be Tennessine.

[newyooper]

A little more esoteric.  A highway between Grand Island and Alliance NE that eventually became NE 2 is known as the Potash Highway.  This was(?) due to the intermediate town of Antioch being known as the Potash Capital of NE.  There is still an "Old Potash Highway" street in Grand Island.

Potash is a general term for any Potassium (K) containing mineral that can be used as a fertilizer.

Apparently Utah Highway 279 is also know as the Potash Highway for the Cane Creek potash mine.

[paulthemapguy]

Maybe US550 could be gold or platinum (Million Dollar Highway)

[newyooper]

Ok, so I got a little crazy.  Another where the two letter state postal code (ZIP) and the element have the same two letter initials/abbreviation and the route number is the atomic number of the element (could also use the most common isotope number, but that is another list):

Nebraska/Neon  Ne-10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Highway_10

Alabama/Aluminum Al-13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_State_Route_13

Arkansas/Argon Ar-18  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_Highway_18

California/Calcium Ca-20  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_20

South Carolina/Scandium Sc-21  No actual state route, so instead US 21 is SC https://www.aaroads.com/guides/us-021-sc

Minnesota/Manganese  Mn-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_State_Highway_25

Colorado/Cobalt Co-27 No state route.

Georgia/Gallium Ga-31 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_Route_31

Missouri/Molybdenum Mo-42 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Route_42

Indiana/Indium In-49  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_State_Road_49

North Dakota/Neodymium Nd-60  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota_Highway_60

Pennsylvania/Protactinium  Pa-91  Former state route https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Former_state_routes_in_Pennsylvania

Maryland/Mendelevium Md-101 Former state route  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_Maryland_state_highways_(2%E2%80%93199)#MD_101

Montana/Meitnerium Mt-109  USDA Forest service road https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/helena-lewisclark/recreation/trails/crow-creek-trail-109

[kphoger]

Colorado/Cobalt Co-27 No state route.

Nah, it's just in West Virginia:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ttyHxKrsqdHr11aA

[flan]

Minnesota/Manganese  Mn-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_State_Highway_25

Coincidentally, the northern end of MN 25 is only about 15 miles from the former mining town of Manganese in Crow Wing County.

[newyooper]

And one more...  New Mexico 6563.  From Wikipedia: "It takes its number from the wavelength of the Hydrogen-alpha spectral line (6563 Å) used by scientists at the observatory to study the solar chromosphere and to locate solar flares on the Sun."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_State_Road_6563

So, NM 6563 is the Hydrogen Highway.