Pointless Termini

[DrZoidberg]

 Driving back from some vineyards this past weekend, I noticed that OR highway 18, while bypassing McMinnville, is duplexed with OR-233 for a couple of miles until its eventual end at OR-99W.  Going westbound, there is no mention of 233, and there aren't any signes for 233 on westbound 18, but that's a different story tied to Oregon's poor signage.

  This got me thinking, why run 233 along with 18 for the last few miles?  Why not just "kill" 233 when it meets OR-18? 

  What are some other pointless termini that you can think of?  I thought of years ago how US 26 ran with 101 to meet US 30 in Astoria (this is since changed) but I'm sure there are more.

[Chris]

US 14/US 16 both start at US 89 in Yellowstone NP, but are immediatly duplexed with eachother + US 20. I would shorten both of them until the point where they meet US 20.

[deathtopumpkins]

Well I can answer the "Why not kill them before the multiplex?" question...

It is to allow people to stay on their original route as long as possible. They're trying to prevent confusion that would be caused by having you switch to a different route for just a moderate distance (like a few miles). It's easier for drivers if they can just stay on the same route the whole way...

[FLRoads]

U.S. 301 terminates at U.S. 41 in Sarasota. The two exist separately for 13 miles before multiplexing in Bradenton and after crossing the Manatee River into Palmetto, U.S. 301 departs U.S. 41 for points further north. It does seem pointless to have U.S. 301 multiplex with U.S. 41 south of Palmetto just to end 16 miles south in downtown Sarasota. Perhaps the southern portion of U.S. 301 between Bradenton and Sarasota would make a viable Alternate U.S. 41 instead...    

[Alex]

Delaware 34 continues a short distance west of Delaware 41 (Newport Gap Pike) to Duncan Road, ending arbitrarily there.

The Delaware 62 end shield was posted at Old Capital Trail, almost within sight distance of Delaware 2/41's intersection nearby. Delaware 62 has a shield directing motorists onto Newport Gap Pike south at Delaware 2/41, but officially there is a useless gap between Delaware 2 (Kirkwood Highway) and Old Capital Trail.

[74/171FAN]

About US 301 it multiplexes with VA 2 for 20-35 miles form US 1 in Richmond to VA 207 and US 17 Business multiplexes with VA 2 up to Fredericksburg pointlessly as both ends of VA 2 are on multiplexes.  Theoretically VA 2 should only exist between US 301 Business in Bowling Green and US 17 and US 17 Business south of Fredericksburg.

[Alex]

Interstate 26's "west" end is pointless! 

[Duke87]

CT 137. It's south end is at US 1 (Tresser Blvd). I-95 is just a few blocks beyond there, and here's the thing... the third of a mile or so between US 1 and I-95 is a state highway.. but it's unsigned service route 493 (for some reason). Convoluted things further, signs on I-95 say  "CT 137 North", despite the fact that the two routes technically do not meet. Why can't that stretch of road just be officially part of route 137?

[FLRoads]

Very pointless, indeed...considering that one is heading "north" and not "west". And two, that it abruptly ends at an interchange with U.S. 11W. Some may argue that Interstate 27 does the same thing but at least its intentions were to only go as far as Lubbock, with only an idea to extend it in the 1970's that was never passed. I see no purpose for Interstate 26 to end where it does in Tennessee.

[Scott5114]

OK 3 is nothing but concurrencies from Colorado to Okarche, which is about 315 miles of concurrencies for no real reason. 315 miles–that's the same distance from my house to Springfield, Missouri.

[TheStranger]

I think Route 108 in Modesto has a terminus at Route 99, while co-signed with Route 140 (which continues on at both ends).  (108 is supposed to continue south someday to I-5 from there but that has never been built.)

Business 80 and US 50 have concurrent termini in West Sacramento, but it isn't pointless as the business route is designed to be a downtown route along former I-80. (A similar situation exists in Bakersfield, where Route 204 runs entirely along the northern, partially-freeway segment of Business 99.)

Had it been completed, I-480 in San Francisco would have ended at current Route 1/once-planned I-280 in the Presidio while concurrent with US 101 - this would have made the 480 numbering logical (as it would have connected the I-280 terminus with I-80 in South of Market).

Until the late 1980s, Route 99 ended at I-5 concurrent with Route 36 in Red Bluff - this was former US 99E.

Historic examples in California:

Route 21 (mostly supplanted by I-680 - except at this segment) used to end at Route 17, while co-routed with Route 9 on what is now Route 262 in Fremont.

US 40 and 50 used to end at US 101 with I-80 in San Francisco, at the Central Freeway junction.

US 60 and 70 once began at US 101 at the San Bernardino Split in downtown Los Angeles (with 70's entire run in California a co-routing with either US 60, or US 99).

Both US 6 and US 91 ended in Long Beach at the junction of Route 19 and then-US 101A (now Route 1), both co-routed with 101A.

US 80 and 395 once ran together along Market Street in San Diego to US 101 (at Harbor).

US 466 east of Barstow ran entirely along other routes - US 91 (current I-15) up to Vegas (including portions of the Las Vegas Strip) and US 93 through Hoover dam to Kingman. 

[mightyace]

In PA, when PA 309 was still US 309, it went from its current terminus in Tunkhannock, PA to the Sayre, PA - Waverly NY area.  It was duplexed with US 6 from Tunkhannock to just past Towanda and with US 220 from Towanda north.

When 309 was downgraded to a state route, 309 was truncated to Tunkhannock ending the multiplexing.

[74/171FAN]

About US 301 it multiplexes with VA 2 for 20-35 miles form US 1 in Richmond to VA 207 and US 17 Business multiplexes with VA 2 up to Fredericksburg pointlessly as both ends of VA 2 are on multiplexes.  Theoretically VA 2 should only exist between US 301 Business in Bowling Green and US 17 and US 17 Business south of Fredericksburg.

Deathtopumpkins suggested this one already, but this is a case of having a single route number between the two termini.  The same argument has been used by Arkansas and Louisiana regarding U.S. route changes and additions in the two states over the past 10-12 years.

Yeah but the VA 2 multiplexes have been around for many years from what I know.

[Voyager]

Interstate 70 in Baltimore...

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

Many Louisiana state highways have rather pointless, arbitrary termini. See LA 47 north (west?) end; LA 1080 both ends; LA 611-1 west end; most (if not all) of the state highways in Assumption Parish not numbered 1, 70, 70 Spur, 308, or 398. 

Then again, these are mostly the ends of routes or parts of routes which are pointless in themselves....

[Tarkus]

The one that the AASHTO did recently that seemed kind of pointless was with US-197 in Washington.  It was originally multiplex with WA-14 for a few miles so that it met up with US-97 again.  Now, it just ends at WA-14 shortly after crossing the border out of Oregon.  It made more sense previously connecting up with US-97 at both ends.  Of course, if the AASHTO hadn't nixed the old US-830 designation (which used to cover all of WA-14 and WA-4), it would have made sense to terminate it there. 

I somehow just don't like seeing US Highways terminated at State Routes when they're right in the vicinity of other state routes.

One they did get rid of that I was happy about, though, was the multiplex of US-101 and US-26 through Seaside, Oregon, which made no sense, as there was no other section of 26 west of that 101 interchange. 

-Alex (Tarkus)

[corco]

Wyoming is a giant useless concurrency-

All business loops off of interstates with concurrent US routes are marked as Interstate Business and US Business (so I-80 Business/US-30 Business serves Green River, etc)

WYO 789 is almost entirely concurrent with other routes except its southernmost segment

US-189 runs uselessly concurrent with US-191 between their meeting point and Jackson

US 14, 16, and 18 all run uselessly concurrent either to Yellowstone or to I-25 along US-20

Interstate 180 is useless as well

As far as Washington-

SR 260 and 261 both run from their southward junction to SR 26 where SR 260 ends

Idaho doesn't have any I can think of off the top of my head (huzzah)

[akotchi]

U.S. 301 terminates at U.S. 41 in Sarasota. The two exist separately for 13 miles before multiplexing in Bradenton and after crossing the Manatee River into Palmetto, U.S. 301 departs U.S. 41 for points further north. It does seem pointless to have U.S. 301 multiplex with U.S. 41 south of Palmetto just to end 16 miles south in downtown Sarasota. Perhaps the southern portion of U.S. 301 between Bradenton and Sarasota would make a viable Alternate U.S. 41 instead...    

The other end of U.S. 301 is a similar circumstance.  The last number of miles is multiplexed with DE 896.  Truncate it southward to the intersection where 896 turns east.

[FLRoads]

U.S. 301 terminates at U.S. 41 in Sarasota. The two exist separately for 13 miles before multiplexing in Bradenton and after crossing the Manatee River into Palmetto, U.S. 301 departs U.S. 41 for points further north. It does seem pointless to have U.S. 301 multiplex with U.S. 41 south of Palmetto just to end 16 miles south in downtown Sarasota. Perhaps the southern portion of U.S. 301 between Bradenton and Sarasota would make a viable Alternate U.S. 41 instead...    

The other end of U.S. 301 is a similar circumstance.  The last number of miles is multiplexed with DE 896.  Truncate it southward to the intersection where 896 turns east.

Or an even better idea would be to truncate it when it reaches U.S. 50 and renumber the remaining portion up to DE 896 to a state route. I was up in Delaware in December and seen first hand how poorly signed U.S. 301 is in the vicinity of its northern terminus.

[akotchi]

OK, I'll buy that.

Or have 301 turn east and end at 13, and truncate 896 back to that intersection.  I think that is the way it was at one time, iirc.

[Alex]

OK, I'll buy that.

Or have 301 turn east and end at 13, and truncate 896 back to that intersection.  I think that is the way it was at one time, iirc.

The thought process, is that if U.S. 301 is moved onto the planned toll road around Middletown as planned, that it will end at the SR 1 Turnpike north of Odessa. I say if, because is it legal to move a U.S. highway onto a toll facility?

[mightyace]

The thought process, is that if U.S. 301 is moved onto the planned toll road around Middletown as planned, that it will end at the SR 1 Turnpike north of Odessa. I say if, because is it legal to move a U.S. highway onto a toll facility?

IIRC From reading Rand McNally, the Cimarron Turnpike in OK was originally unsigned and US 412 was added later.

[algorerhythms]

OK, I'll buy that.

Or have 301 turn east and end at 13, and truncate 896 back to that intersection.  I think that is the way it was at one time, iirc.

The thought process, is that if U.S. 301 is moved onto the planned toll road around Middletown as planned, that it will end at the SR 1 Turnpike north of Odessa. I say if, because is it legal to move a U.S. highway onto a toll facility?

My understanding of it is that it's generally discouraged, but there are exceptions, such as U.S. 412, which follows the Cimarron Turnpike in Oklahoma, and mightyace apparently types faster than I do.

[WillWeaverRVA]

VA 356 should be extended to either I-64 or VA 6 rather than ending at US 33, since the route remains a major thoroughfare beyond that point.

US 33 needs to end at US 250 at the Richmond city limits, which would eliminate a confusing and rather useless multiplex.

VA 150 could easily be extended up Parham Road to either VA 6 or US 250 (or heck, get rid of VA 73 and bring it all the way up to US 301). Henrico County would never go along with it, though, since Parham is considered by the county's public works department to be its crowning achievement.

[Voyager]

I always thought that the northern terminus of US-101 in Olympia was pointless. It doesn't even end inside of the city.