U.S. Route 20

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U.S. Route 20
Length: 3365 mi[1] (5415 km)
Formed: 1926[1]
West end: US 101 in Newport, OR
Major
junctions:		 I-5 at Albany, OR
I-15 at Idaho Falls, ID
I-25 at Casper, WY
I-29 at Sioux City, IA
I-35 near Williams, IA
I-39/I-90 at Rockford, IL
I-55 near Chicago, IL
I-65 at Gary, IN
I-75 near Toledo, OH
I-90 at the Innerbelt in Cleveland, OH
I-81 near Syracuse, NY
I-91 in Springfield, MA
I-95 in Waltham, MA
East end: Route 2 in Boston, MA
United States Numbered Highways

U.S. Route 20 is an east-west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, U.S. 20 is a coast-to-coast route. However, the road does not exist and is not signed in Yellowstone National Park. Spanning 3,365 miles (5,415 km), it is the longest road in the United States [1].

It and U.S. Route 30 break the numbering rules in Oregon, since U.S. 30 actually starts to the north of U.S. 20 and remains further north throughout the state. The two overlap and continue in the "correct" positioning near Caldwell, Idaho.

As of 2004, the highway's eastern terminus is in Boston, Massachusetts at Kenmore Square, where it meets Route 2. Its western terminus is in Newport, Oregon at an intersection with U.S. Route 101, within a mile of the Pacific Ocean.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Historic termini

Until 1940, the western endpoint of US 20 was the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

[edit] Historic routes

Between Fort Dodge, Iowa and Dubuque, Iowa the route has been upgraded to four lanes, the last link of this completed in 2003. Much of the old route is a few miles north of the present route except between Interstate 35 and Waterloo. There, the old route is farther north, going through Iowa Falls, Aplington, and the north side of Cedar Falls along what is now Iowa Highway 57.

Highway 20 crosses the Mississippi River at Dubuque, Iowa. The bridge crossing the river is known as the Julien Dubuque Bridge.

From just west of South Bend, Indiana to the Saint Joseph/Elkhart County line, the old route of US 20 through Saint Joseph County is now Business 20. In Elkhart County, its old route is now classified as a county road, and is simply called Old US 20. The St. Joseph Valley Parkway is the present route of US 20 in the South Bend/Elkhart Area.

[edit] Historic names

  • Through western Indiana, US 20 was built as the Dunes Relief Road, as it bypassed the heavily traveled Dunes Highway.
  • On the West Side of Cleveland, Ohio and its western suburbs it is known as Clifton Boulevard and Center Ridge Road. On the East Side of Cleveland and eastern suburbs it is known as Euclid Avenue or Mentor Avenue, depending upon the locality.
  • In Erie, PA it is known as 26th Street.
  • In the Buffalo area, US 20 follows three busy roads: Broadway (east of Depew), Transit Road, and Southwestern Boulevard.
  • In the state of New York, part of US 20 follows the old Cherry Valley Turnpike and is still referred to by that name in some places.
  • In Massachusetts, US 20 is referred to as the Old Mass Pike and also as Boston Post Road.
  • In Chicagoland it is called Lake Street.

[edit] States traversed

Major cities
US 20 at the Mississippi River
Enlarge
US 20 at the Mississippi River

The highway passes through the following states:

[edit] Oregon

[edit] Idaho

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Idaho

In the state of Idaho, U.S. 20 crosses into Idaho from Oregon northwest of Parma. It begins multiplexed with U.S. Route 26 and joins U.S. Route 95 through Parma. U.S. 20/26 leave U.S. 95 southeast of Parma and run to Caldwell where U.S. 20/26 joins with Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30 for a short time. These four highways parallel each other (on two roadways) to Boise where U.S. 20/26 runs through downtown before joining with Interstate 84 and U.S. 30 again to Mountain Home. U.S. 20 continues east, occasionally joined with U.S. 26, to Idaho Falls where it turns north-northeast to Targhee Pass.

[edit] Montana

In the state of Montana, U.S. 20 runs for less than 10 miles (16 km). It runs from the Idaho state line to West Yellowstone, Montana, the western entrance to Yellowstone National Park. U.S. 20 is known as the Targhee Pass Highway in Montana.

[edit] Wyoming

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Wyoming

In the state of Wyoming, the eastern segment of U.S. 20 starts at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park along with the western termini of U.S. Route 14 and U.S. Route 16. These three routes run east to Greybull, where U.S. 14 continues east and U.S. 16/20 turns south; at Worland, U.S. 16 turns east while U.S. 20 continues south. U.S. 20 joins U.S. 26 in Shoshoni, where it turns east. In Casper it joins Interstate 25 and U.S. Route 87. These four routes stay combined to Orin, where U.S. 20 runs east to Nebraska.

[edit] Nebraska

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Nebraska

In the state of Nebraska, U.S. 20 runs from west of Harrison to South Sioux City on the Missouri River. Portions are multiplexed with U.S. Route 385, U.S. Route 83, U.S. Route 183, Interstate 129, and U.S. Route 75.

[edit] Iowa

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Iowa

U.S. 20 enters Iowa at Sioux City via a Missouri River crossing concurrently with Interstate 129 and U.S. Route 75. After skirting the southeast side of Sioux City as a freeway, U.S. 20 continues to Moville as an expressway. From Moville through Sac City to a point just east of Moorland U.S. 20 is a rural two-lane highway. At Moorland, U.S. 20 again becomes a four-lane highway, passing just to the south of Fort Dodge and Webster City. It junctions Interstate 35 near Williams.

At Cedar Falls U.S. 20 picks up the Avenue of the Saints briefly between Iowa Highway 58 and the east junction of Interstate 380. From I-380, U.S. 20 passes Independence, Manchester, and Dyersville before reaching Dubuque. At Dubuque, U.S. 20 crosses into Illinois by the Julien Dubuque Bridge.

The entire route of U.S. 20 east of Moorland is a four-lane divided highway, with the exception of a brief section through Dubuque.

[edit] Illinois

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Illinois

In the state of Illinois, U.S. 20 runs from the Mississippi River across from Dubuque east through hilly northwestern Illinois and Galena. The road then runs as a bypass north around Freeport, then runs south of Rockford. Between Rockford and Chicago, U.S. 20 is a mixture of four-lane expressway, four-lane limited access freeway, and winding two-lane surface road. U.S. 20 leaves Illinois beneath the Chicago Skyway with U.S. 12 and U.S. 41.

U.S. Route 20 meets State Road 127 in a traffic circle in Angola, Indiana. This panoramic view was shot from the west-bound U.S. 20 leaving the circle.
Enlarge
U.S. Route 20 meets State Road 127 in a traffic circle in Angola, Indiana. This panoramic view was shot from the west-bound U.S. 20 leaving the circle.

[edit] Indiana

Main article: U.S. Route 20 in Indiana

In the state of Indiana, U.S. 20 enters from the west beneath the Chicago Skyway with U.S. 12 and U.S. 41. U.S. 20 passes through heavily industrialized northwestern Indiana, and is the main east-west artery through Gary. It then parallels U.S. 12 to just west of Michigan City before running due east to South Bend. U.S. 20 travels around South Bend and Elkhart on a freeway, the returns to surface road east of Elkhart. U.S. 20 then passes through Angola and intersects Interstate 69 before leaving Indiana just north of the eastern terminus of the Indiana Toll Road.

[edit] Ohio

[edit] Alternate route

Alternate US 20 in Ohio has an eastern terminus in the Toledo suburb of Maumee. It rejoins US 20 north of Montpelier, shortly before the Indiana border. The arrow-straight parallel routes are never more than five miles apart for the entire 50-mile stretch through the Ohio farm country, with the main line of US 20 taking the more northerly route. Alternate US 20 is little more than a toll-free alternative to Interstate 80, a mile to its north.

[edit] Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, U.S. 20 runs for 30 miles (48 km),known as 26th street, passing through Erie.

[edit] New York

[edit] Alternate route

US 20A in New York has an eastern terminus about five miles west of Canandaigua, the county seat of Ontario County. It rejoins US 20 in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg at what is called Seven Corners, near the intersection of US 20 and US 62 and west of Ralph Wilson Stadium. While the main line of US 20 takes a direct path to Buffalo via Avon, US 20A veers to the south to serve Geneseo. The town of Attica, famous for the Attica Prison riots of 1971, lies between US 20 and 20A.

[edit] Massachusetts

[edit] Alternate route

Route 20A has an eastern terminus in Springfield, at the junction of US 20 and Interstate 291. It rejoins US 20 at its junction with Interstate 91 before crossing the Connecticut River on the North End Bridge. This alignment provides an alternate to Interstate 291, which is multiplexed with US 20 for much of its length, but was originally an alternate to old US 20, which ran down State Street and Boston Road. This route was therefore never part of US 20, but has served as an alternate to two separate routes.

[edit] U.S. Highway Intersections along this route

[edit] Notes

  • Since about 1997 a shoe tree has been developing east of Juntura, Oregon, at a turnout on the north side of the highway between mileposts 206 and 207. As of 2006 a second shoe tree had begun to form a few miles to the east, south of the highway at milepost 228.[citation needed]
    Sign for U.S. Route 20 along with the Sign for State Route 7 in Conneaut, Ohio
    Enlarge
    Sign for U.S. Route 20 along with the Sign for State Route 7 in Conneaut, Ohio

[edit] See also

[edit] Related U.S. Routes

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
  2. ^ Endpoints of US highways


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Main U.S. Routes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79
80 81 82 83 84 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
101 163 400 412 425
Lists  U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced
Browse numbered routes
< US 18 WY WYO 22 >
< IA 19 IA IA 21 >
< ILL 19 IL ILL 21 >
< SR 19 OH SR 21 >
< US 19 PA PA 21 >
< NY 19A NY US 20A >
< Route 19 MA Route 20A >
< Route 4 N.E. Route 6 >
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