Interesting stuff

[Roadsguy]

If it were up to me, I'd end US 15 at PA 581 at Harrisburg. Most of it north of there is either multiplexing another route (US 11, future I-99), or close to a better route. Perhaps from Williamsport to the US 11 split it could be replaced by a state route.

[roadman65]

It would be logical, but I don't think PA will do it.  They're not even planning to truncate US 15, which will be entirely superseded.

As for I-99, I think it's current length if too long for a 3di, but if we could break it up, I'd do the following:
-Current I-99: I-x80
-US 220 west of Williamsport: extension of I-180
-US 15: I-486

Or, I just had another thought enter my head:
-Current I-99: same as above
-US 220 west of Williamsport: I-280
-US 15: extension of I-180

Actually the extension of I-180 would be the best for future I-99 north of Williamsport along with a I-280 for it west of Williamsport, but east of I-80.

Too bad, Pa won't go for it as NY would be willing as they did when I-390 got started.  Many of us know or perhaps remember when US 15 actually went to Rochester, NY.  Plus, I heard from some roadgeeks here, that NYSDOT really does not like US routes, hence none of them being on Long Island and most major through routes in New York are state routes. Even NY 299 is the primary route over US 44 in Ulster County which not only takes second, but does not even interchange with the NYS Thruway like its big brother does.

[vdeane]

Yeah, every multiplex between a US route and NY route has the NY route on the reference markers even.  This isn't the case for interstates and other routes in NY.  NY also treats US routes like NY routes but interstates as a separate (but integrated) system.  I suspect US 11 exists in NY because of the north country (and because it's transcontinental); I'm not sure how US 9 has survived north of Albany, though.  Maybe regions 1 and 7 don't care as much as regions 4 and 6 (heck, when US 15 got truncated, it was to NY 17, which was decades away from becoming I-86!).

[theline]

I'd number it 686 or 868.

Neither of which have a 3di that I can think of.

666? 

[Roadsguy]

Maybe, if it were connected to I-66.

[roadman65]

I found out that if you cross the border into Canada, via the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, you can buy gas at the Ammex Duty Free shop.  I always knew you could buy tobacco, liquor, and perfume, but this is unusual.

Also, the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit Tunnel both have a twist in logic due to the Detroit River running East and West.  If you are Americanbound, you actually head north into the country south of you.  If you head into Canada, as well, from the US, you are in turn going south to head into the northern country.

[vtk]

Also, the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit Tunnel both have a twist in logic due to the Detroit River running East and West.  If you are Americanbound, you actually head north into the country south of you.  If you head into Canada, as well, from the US, you are in turn going south to head into the northern country.

The Niagara River does the same thing near the falls.

If Canada wanted to physically separate from the US, it couldn't, because Ontario would get hung up on Michigan and New York.

[vtk]

Tonight, The Big Bang Theory posed the following trivia question: Which 4 state capital cities aren't served by the Interstate system?

Without looking at a map, Mom and I thought of Juneau, AK and maybe Frankfort, KY.  Wait, where the heck is Carson City, NV?  Is it not on an Interstate?

[akotchi]

Montpelier, VT, and Dover, DE, are two of them.

[Sanctimoniously]

Jefferson City, Missouri.

[theline]

I-89 goes through Montpelier, and Frankfort is served by I-64. Juneau, Dover, Pierre SD, and Jefferson City MO lack interstates

[TheStranger]

  Wait, where the heck is Carson City, NV?  Is it not on an Interstate?

As of the last few months, it's on recently signed I-580 (the long-planned US 395 freeway extension from Reno).

[Alps]

Discussion of largest cities without Interstate service has been moved to its own thread

[vtk]

Good call.

[roadman65]

 I just found out that the I-70 & US 40 overlap from Ellicot City, MD to Frederick, MD was not built for interstate standards, but as an expressway for US 40 back in the mid 1950s.

   It turns out that it was only made to interstate in 1974, with it being 20 years with at grade intersections and "TO I-70 or I-70N" signs along it depending on the times each route number was designated for I-70 east of Frederick at the time.

[haljackey]

A parade of snowplows!

[Michael]

^^^ So everyone else doesn't have to count, I counted 24 snowplows in the video.

While looking around Elmira, NY on Google Maps last night, I came across a pair of what I'd call "reverse jughandles".

[roadman65]

I was noticing that on I-295 southbound near Wilmington, DE that there is a bridge over nothing just before it crosses US 13 & US 40 (WB).  It is seen on Google from the air and on street view as well.

It is obvious that there was another road that was to be built here that never got off the ground just in the same manner as I-69 intersecting both I-65 and I-70 in Indianapolis where you have a bridge over nothing as Indy killed the plans for I-69 entering the 464 loop,

[NE2]

It is obvious that there was another road that was to be built here that never got off the ground

It's obvious that you're wrong: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=39.69698,-75.57504&z=17&t=O

[roadman65]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Amarillo,+TX&hl=en&ll=35.229451,-101.831363&spn=0.00425,0.010568&sll=27.698638,-83.804601&sspn=9.892242,21.643066&oq=ama&t=h&hnear=Amarillo,+Potter,+Texas&z=17&layer=c&cbll=35.229136,-101.831359&panoid=TUmNs1QuBVav76xW6g_QZA&cbp=12,205.64,,0,0

Here is something interesting in Amarillo, TX.  You have the US 87 & 287 Freeway split into Pierce and Taylor Streets where you have each road signed for different routes.  US 287 to I-40 on Taylor and US 87 to I-27 on Pierce, but both roads lead to all from here.

Then you have US 60 join in the four street pairs where it runs WB with US 87 SB on Pierce and EB with US 287 NB on Buchanan to make it more interesting. 

[NE2]

Don't forget the lack of a direct freeway-to-freeway connection from I-40 east to I-27 south.

[djsinco]

Also a thing to note that Rhode Island has no 3 digit US routes within its borders.

I was thinking about US 395 in CA as it really does transit on its top segment and another thing about it is the fact that because it enters Nevada in the middle, US 281 has to hold the title of the longest three digit route within a state.  California is longer than Texas if you go north to south as I-5 is longer in mileage in the Golden State than I-35 is in the Lone Star State.   I believe that in the early days when US 395 went all the way to San Diego, if it never entered Nevada, US 395 would be the longest 3 digit to be within one state then.

... but US 395 enters Oregon. How is that within one state? Or are you saying "most miles of a single 3 digit US route in one state?" US 380 in Texas must be up there, too.

EDIT: Wow, as long as 380 is, even if it extended all the way to Arkansas, it'd STILL be 70 miles short of 281.

US287 in TX is also a long way, ~504 miles...

[roadman65]

Don't forget the lack of a direct freeway-to-freeway connection from I-40 east to I-27 south.

Yeah there is always something interesting out there.

Has anyone checked out the new I-405 and Willshire Boulevard Interchange in LA configuration design?  I love the way the eliminated the weave problem in the plans being it is a cloverleaf in an urban environment.  Check this out for a good overview.
http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/I405/images/wilshire_bi_ramps_final.jpg

[djsinco]

When Columbus's I-270 opened completely, NMSL was in effect, so it took exactly one hour to drive one 55-mile lap around the city.

So there was never a traffic jam in those days?

[djsinco]

I found out that if you cross the border into Canada, via the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, you can buy gas at the Ammex Duty Free shop.  I always knew you could buy tobacco, liquor, and perfume, but this is unusual.

Also, the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit Tunnel both have a twist in logic due to the Detroit River running East and West.  If you are Americanbound, you actually head north into the country south of you.  If you head into Canada, as well, from the US, you are in turn going south to head into the northern country.

None of which, interestingly enough, give me even the least bit of reason to ever return to Detroit!