Farthest You've Gone Between Traffic Lights???

[thenetwork]

Stoking my memories of my brief (and painful) 6-month job in north central Montana, brought me to this question:

What has been the farthest you have been able to travel on numbered highways without hitting a traffic light? 

The criteria:

• At no time can you include a part of any freeway, expressway, super-2 or any type of limited-access highway which regularly uses exits for accessing crossroads.
• Encountering stop signs and/or flashing blinkers (one color per direction) are okay to include on your travels. 
• Highways with decommissioned (signals that could be switched on at anytime), and/or part-time traffic signals (programmed to flash in off-hours) are not okay to count.

Back in the Summer of 1992, I was able to travel from Havre to Billings, MT from roughly city limit to city limit, without encountering a traffic light. 

This was attained traveling via:

US-2 East/MT-66 South/US 191 South/MT-19 South/US-87 South.

Total Mileage:  About 240 Miles.


Even to this day, it's still hard to imagine going up to 5 hours over primary 2-lane highways without seeing a green light, although I'm sure there are still are some routes that could beat mine.



.

[NE2]

You didn't exclude playing NASCAR on a roundabout

[xonhulu]

I've done the drive from Ely, NV to Fallon, NV on US 50: 257 miles without encountering a traffic light.  I'm sure this can be topped.

[roadfro]

I've done the drive from Ely, NV to Fallon, NV on US 50: 257 miles without encountering a traffic light.  I'm sure this can be topped.

Topped by another Nevada drive...


The farthest I have gone is 398 miles. Driving from Las Vegas, NV to Fernley, NV (en route to Reno).

The route was the following:
* US 95, beginning at SR 157 NW of Las Vegas (where it downgrades from freeway to divided highway) and traveling through Beatty, Tonopah, Hawthorne (using US 95 Truck/unsigned SR 362 to bypass the signal in town) and ending at Schurz.
* US 95 Alt, from Schurz west to Yerington and north through Silver Springs, ending at a signal on Main Street (US 50 Alt-US95 Alt at SR 427) in Fernley.

Normally, I make this drive via Fallon instead of Yerington--this way has some higher speed limits and is three miles shorter. Doing it this way is about 395 miles, with the first signal still occurring in Fernley.

That route is the following:
* US 95 as described above, continuing north from Schurz to just south of downtown Fallon.
* SR 117 to bypass downtown Fallon (this cutoff bypasses several signals)
* US 50 west out Fallon
* US 50 Alt to head into the Fernley roundabout
* US 95 Alt from the roundabout, which encounters a signal just before the I-80 interchange.


The divided highway portion of US 95 along either route has two interchanges in a 46 mile stretch, so there's not any "regular" exits. Even if you didn't count that portion, it's still about 350 miles on mostly two-lane highway with no signals (flashing beacons on stop signs not withstanding).

[Alps]

I'm thinking something like Highway 11 in northern Ontario has a shot at this... Dalton Highway, certainly. And quite possibly the whole of the Alaska Highway from BC to Fairbanks or Anchorage.

[hobsini2]

Well US 85 comes to mind for a single highway. Spearfish SD to Williston ND back in 2004.  Don't know if there has been any added since. about 299 miles.  I seem to recall the US 12/US 85 jct in Bowman ND was a 4-way stop sign.

[Kacie Jane]

Mine are all fairly well short of what's been listed here, but since you asked...

• SR 20 from Sedro-Wooley to Okanogan, WA (167 miles)
• US 12 from I-5 in Napavine to outside of Yakima, WA (about 130 miles)
• US 101 from Hoquiam to Port Angeles, WA (159 miles) -- I'm fairly certain there's no traffic light in Forks, but I could be wrong about this
  
• ID/MT 200 and US 93 from Sandpoint to Missoula (176 miles) -- I believe the 200/93 intersection was a stop sign, but I again reserve the right to be wrong
  

[agentsteel53]

I believe the entire Alaska Highway would count, excepting maybe the first few miles in Dawson Creek.

[Bryant5493]

Mississippi Highway 19 North between Collinsville and Philadelphia, which is about forty miles or so.


Be well,

Bryant

[Sykotyk]

Easy one for me: MT-200 from just east of Lewiston through Circle and onto MT-200S to Glendive onto I-94. There's one stop sign when US-87 turns to the south. That's it. That's approximately 245 miles.

If you follow the Lewiston bypass, you can go from just east of Great Falls to Glendive (almost 350 miles) with one stop light and one stop-sign.

Closest I've found elsewhere, would be Oakley, KS to Colorado Springs, CO via CO-94/US-40. From the Oakley, KS, there's one stop sign at Punkin Center, CO that westbound traffic must stop for. I don't recall at any other major junction having to come to a full stop.

[Jim]

I believe the entire Alaska Highway would count, excepting maybe the first few miles in Dawson Creek.

As of 2001, Fort Nelson and Whitehorse had at least one traffic light each on the Alaska Highway.

Fort Nelson:



Whitehorse:



At the time, I don't believe there were lights in Tok or Delta Junction, so my longest stretch is most likely from Whitehorse to the first light (or controlled access section) southwest of Fairbanks.  Or possibly from Palmer back up to Tok and on to Whitehorse.

[ftballfan]

M-115 between M-55 west of Cadillac and downtown Clare, a distance of 46 miles. You can go from the outskirts of Manistee to downtown Clare via M-55 and M-115 and only hit one traffic light (M-115/M-55 west of Cadillac), just short of 90 miles.

M-37 between US-31 south of Traverse City and M-82 north of Newaygo may go nearly 95 miles without a stoplight. There may be a light in White Cloud, which would shorten the distance to around 86 miles.

[rawmustard]

M-115 between M-55 west of Cadillac and downtown Clare, a distance of 46 miles. You can go from the outskirts of Manistee to downtown Clare via M-55 and M-115 and only hit one traffic light (M-115/M-55 west of Cadillac), just short of 90 miles.

M-37 between US-31 south of Traverse City and M-82 north of Newaygo may go nearly 95 miles without a stoplight. There may be a light in White Cloud, which would shorten the distance to around 86 miles.

If some fairly recent discussions are correct, there are no traffic signals on US-2 from M-35 just outside of Gladstone to its eastern terminus at I-75, a distance of just over 130 miles. (There are also none in St. Ignace.) For some reason, I recall seeing a traffic light in Manistique at the M-94 junction, but that was no later than 1991, so it was either bad memory or it could've been removed in that timespan. You can certainly extend that distance if you chose to divert on a road that intersects M-28 east of Munising, as it has no lights from there to I-75, either, plus I doubt there's one at M-129. If Google Streetview is up-to-date, Newberry has no traffic lights, so the entire length of M-123 has no traffic lights. I'm pretty sure none of the county designated highways have traffic lights either, so you could cover a lot of distance in the eastern U.P. and as long as you avoid Sault Ste. Marie, you shouldn't hit a traffic light.

[agentsteel53]

forgot about Fort Nelson and Whitehorse.  As of March, 2010 there were none in Tok or Delta Junction.

I do not remember if there are any lights at the US/Canada border, or how that counts with regard to the spirit of this question. 

[ftballfan]

Another possible long stretch is US-10 between Scottville (Old US-31) and the beginning of the US-10 freeway west of M-115 near Farwell. There may be a stoplight in Reed City and/or in Evart. There is a stop sign at M-37 heading eastbound and a ramp that avoids an intersection with M-37 westbound.

[Rover_0]

For me, if you don't count blinking red lights in Panguitch, UT, then the longest I've been without getting onto a freeway/Interstate is US-89 between Kanab and I-70 in southern Utah, about a distance of 130 miles (128-9 to be more exact).

[InterstateNG]

M-115 between M-55 west of Cadillac and downtown Clare, a distance of 46 miles. You can go from the outskirts of Manistee to downtown Clare via M-55 and M-115 and only hit one traffic light (M-115/M-55 west of Cadillac), just short of 90 miles.

M-37 between US-31 south of Traverse City and M-82 north of Newaygo may go nearly 95 miles without a stoplight. There may be a light in White Cloud, which would shorten the distance to around 86 miles.

If some fairly recent discussions are correct, there are no traffic signals on US-2 from M-35 just outside of Gladstone to its eastern terminus at I-75, a distance of just over 130 miles. (There are also none in St. Ignace.) For some reason, I recall seeing a traffic light in Manistique at the M-94 junction, but that was no later than 1991, so it was either bad memory or it could've been removed in that timespan.

No stoplight at US-2 and M-94 when I was up there a few weeks ago.  Just flashing yellows from I-75 to Gladstone.

[bulldog1979]

M-115 between M-55 west of Cadillac and downtown Clare, a distance of 46 miles. You can go from the outskirts of Manistee to downtown Clare via M-55 and M-115 and only hit one traffic light (M-115/M-55 west of Cadillac), just short of 90 miles.

M-37 between US-31 south of Traverse City and M-82 north of Newaygo may go nearly 95 miles without a stoplight. There may be a light in White Cloud, which would shorten the distance to around 86 miles.

If some fairly recent discussions are correct, there are no traffic signals on US-2 from M-35 just outside of Gladstone to its eastern terminus at I-75, a distance of just over 130 miles. (There are also none in St. Ignace.) For some reason, I recall seeing a traffic light in Manistique at the M-94 junction, but that was no later than 1991, so it was either bad memory or it could've been removed in that timespan. You can certainly extend that distance if you chose to divert on a road that intersects M-28 east of Munising, as it has no lights from there to I-75, either, plus I doubt there's one at M-129. If Google Streetview is up-to-date, Newberry has no traffic lights, so the entire length of M-123 has no traffic lights. I'm pretty sure none of the county designated highways have traffic lights either, so you could cover a lot of distance in the eastern U.P. and as long as you avoid Sault Ste. Marie, you shouldn't hit a traffic light.

Until MDOT erected the stoplight in Munising on M-28, I'd only encounter one stoplight from my parents' house in Negaunee all the way to I-75 north of St. Ignace by taking CR 480 and Silver Creek Road (CR 551) to M-28 and the eastern M-123 junction. Once I pulled off I-75 at C-66, I wouldn't have one the rest of the way into my grandma's house in Cheboygan. I could bypass both lights along the way if I took CR 480 all the way to US 41 to M-94 to M-28. That would bypass the light in Harvey and the one in Munising. That's about 170 miles from my parents' driveway to the freeway.

[MeanMeosh]

Farthest I've gone is in southern Utah - start in Blanding on US 191, then north on U-95, then west on U-24, then west on U-12, then south on US 89 down to Kanab.  That's approximately 348 miles without a traffic light.  I haven't done this in one sitting, but you could theoretically go west on the U-9 towards St. George instead of staying on US 89 to Kanab.  You would see your first signal in La Verkin, which would give you about 375 miles between lights.

[SteveG1988]

US 2 from Grand Forks Airport in ND to Devils Lake ND Westbound. 83.5 Mi at 70 mph

[golden eagle]

Mississippi Highway 19 North between Collinsville and Philadelphia, which is about forty miles or so.


Be well,

Bryant

I remember being able to drive on US 49 from south Hattiesburg to north Gulfport (about 60 miles) without a traffic light. Last time I drove through there, there were traffic lights installed in Wiggins and at Saucier.

I also recall driving US 98 from Hattiesburg to Mobile without lights. That's about 85-90 miles. I don't know if there are any lights in between now since it's been a decade since I did so.

If I'm allowed to count the Natchez Trace, I've gone from Jackson to Natchez and then from Jackson to Tupelo.

[formulanone]

You probably couldn't get much above 100 miles in Florida, but if you take a very carefully  planned bunch of routes, you probably could. Tamiami Trail (US 41) from SR 997 to SR 951 would be the longest stretch on a continuously signed route that I've driven on (there's a flashing red/yellow light at SR 29).

Edit: It's 82 miles in length.

[Michael]

The only one I'm familiar with is NY 414 from Seneca Falls to Watkins Glen.  There's one 4-way stop in Ovid, and a stop sign at the northern end of the NY 96/414 duplex (southbound only) but other than that it's 38.4 miles non-stop.

EDIT: I'm not sure if this counts, but US 11/15 from Selinsgrove, PA to Camp Hill, PA is 41.8 miles.  It's a mix of at-grade intersections, jughandles, and expressway.

[Bryant5493]

I remember being able to drive on US 49 from south Hattiesburg to north Gulfport (about 60 miles) without a traffic light. Last time I drove through there, there were traffic lights installed in Wiggins and at Saucier.

I forgot about that stretch. There's a light in Wiggins, at the Wal*Mart. There's a new light on U.S. 49 at the south entrance to Camp Shelby, right upon entering/leaving the Hattiesburg city limits.


Be well,

Bryant

[golden eagle]

I remember being able to drive on US 49 from south Hattiesburg to north Gulfport (about 60 miles) without a traffic light. Last time I drove through there, there were traffic lights installed in Wiggins and at Saucier.

I forgot about that stretch. There's a light in Wiggins, at the Wal*Mart. There's a new light on U.S. 49 at the south entrance to Camp Shelby, right upon entering/leaving the Hattiesburg city limits.


Be well,

Bryant

Really? I also remember that Magee was the only stretch of the highway from Florence (south of Jackson) to Hattiesburg that had a traffic light. There were caution lights in Seminary to slow down since it was a 45 mph zone. I wouldn't be surprised if all these new lights will make louder noises for a new interstate between Jackson and the Gulf Coast.