Portal:U.S. Roads/Selected article
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[edit] 2006
[edit] February
U.S. Route 66 was one of the original 1926 highways and was decommissioned in 1985 when it was completely bypassed by interstates. It is now designated an historic route for its entire length of 2,347 miles. Promoted as the "Main Street of America" and immortalized by John Steinbeck as the "Mother Road", it has been the subject of a television show, a popular song, and numerous books. It has also given its name to a gasoline company and two sports teams.
[edit] March
U.S. Route 1 runs from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine for a total of 2,390 miles (3,846 kilometers). Although it has the lowest number and should, in theory, be along the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 17 at times are between US 1 and the ocean. The highway parallels the later Interstate 95 for much of its length and serves numerous cities along the east coast.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 66
[edit] April
The General Pulaski Skyway, commonly referred to as the Pulaski Skyway, is a series of cantilever truss bridges in New Jersey that carry four lanes of U.S. Highways U.S. Route 1 and 9 for 5.6 km (3.5 miles) between the far east side of Newark and Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City. It is considered by many to be the first "super highway" in the United States and is still in use in its original form.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 1 – U.S. Route 66
[edit] May
The Kansas Turnpike is a 236-mile (380 km) toll road entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. The turnpike runs northeasterly from the Oklahoma border to the western fringes of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), estimates that 120,000 drivers use the turnpike each day. The entire route is part of the Interstate system, although the Turnpike carries four different Interstate designations along its length.
Recently selected: Pulaski Skyway – U.S. Route 1 – U.S. Route 66
[edit] June
Interstate 95 (abbreviated I-95) is an Interstate Highway that runs 1,927 miles (3,101 kilometers) north-south along the east coast of the United States between Miami, Florida and Houlton, Maine. It is one of the best-known, most important, and most heavily travelled highways in the Interstate system. It serves and connects the major cities along the Northeast corridor, and it is the major north-south highway along the east coast. It is the longest north-south Interstate highway (five east-west routes are longer), and it passes through more states (15) than any other Interstate. As it passes through CT and RI, it actually runs East/West but still keeps it odd numeral designation. I-84 runs east/west through the same area, parallels I-95, however has an even numeral designation.
Recently selected: Kansas Turnpike – Pulaski Skyway – U.S. Route 1
- Note: Was left as selected article until October.
[edit] November
New York State Route 104 is a 182-mile (292.8 km) long east-west highway in Upstate New York, USA. The entire length of the road was designated U.S. Route 104 until 1972, except for locations near Rochester where the highway has since been moved onto expressways. NY 104 travels from New York State Route 384 near the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls in Niagara County to New York State Route 13 near Altmar in Oswego County. Route 104 primarily runs parallel to the south shore of Lake Ontario throughout most of its route between the Niagara River in Niagara Falls and the Oswego River in Oswego.
Before US 104 was created, the roadway carried a number of designations, namely New York State Route 3, New York State Route 18 and New York State Route 31. All three of these routes were reconfigured to allow for the designation of US 104.
Over time, the 104 designation has been shifted from surface streets to expressways and Super-2s, particularly from Rochester east to Oswego. The first such realignment occurred in the late 1940s in western Wayne County and was completed by the realignment of NY 104 onto the Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway near Webster in the early 1980s.
Recently selected: Interstate 95 – Kansas Turnpike – Pulaski Skyway
- Note: Was left as selected article until December.
[edit] 2007
[edit] January
State Route 37 (SR 37) in the northern part of the U.S. State of California runs twenty-one miles along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay and is currently built from U.S. Route 101 in Novato, California to Interstate 80 in Vallejo, California. It serves as a crucial bypass around the northern end of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Recently selected: New York State Route 104 – Interstate 95 – Kansas Turnpike
[edit] February
Interstate 295 (abbreviated I-295) in New Jersey and Delaware is a bypass route from a junction with Interstate 95 south of Wilmington, Delaware to another junction with I-95 north of Trenton, New Jersey. The route runs parallel with the New Jersey Turnpike for most of its course.
Interstate 295 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, designated as a beltway around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Interstate 95 serves the city directly, connecting it with Wilmington and Trenton, whereas I-295 bypasses the city running east of the Delaware River. Interstate 95 was originally supposed to continue northeast from the routes' junction near Trenton on the proposed Somerset Freeway, but this plan was cancelled, limiting I-295's capability as a true bypass between Baltimore and New York City.
Today, traffic on Interstate 295 is directed to take Interstate 195 (or surface street connections further south) to the New Jersey Turnpike to reach New York City. The same route is prescribed for traffic on I-95 in Pennsylvania and near Trenton to bridge the gap with I-95 further north.
Recently selected: California State Route 37 – New York State Route 104 – Interstate 95
[edit] March
Interstate 290 (abbreviated I-290) is a main Interstate freeway that runs west from the Chicago Loop. A portion of I-290 is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. Colloquially it is known as the Eisenhower or the Ike. Before being designated the Eisenhower, the Eisenhower was called the Congress Expressway for the surface street that was located approximately in its path and into which I-290 runs at its eastern terminus in the Loop.
Interstate 290 connects Interstate 90 (Northwest Tollway) in Rolling Meadows with Interstates 90/94 (Kennedy Expressway / Dan Ryan Expressway) near the Loop. North of Interstate 355, the freeway is known locally as Illinois Route 53, or simply Route 53, as Illinois 53 existed before Interstate 290, but now merges with I-290 at Biesterfield Road. In total, Interstate 290 is 29.84 miles (48.02 km) in length.
Recently selected: Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey) – California State Route 37 – New York State Route 104
[edit] April
Interstate 476 is a 132 mile long Interstate Highway that travels between Interstate 95 near Chester, Pennsylvania and Interstate 81 near Scranton, Pennsylvania, serving as the primary north-south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the approximately 21 mile Mid-County Expressway (locally referred to as the Blue Route) through the suburban Philadelphia counties of Delaware and Montgomery, and the 110 mile Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike connecting the Philadelphia metropolitan area with the Lehigh Valley, the Poconos, and the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area.
While proposed as early as 1929, the construction of the Mid-County Expressway through Delaware County, Pennsylvania was not completed until 1992 due to massive community and environmental opposition during the freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s, leading The Philadelphia Inquirer to dub it "the most costly, most bitterly opposed highway in Pennsylvania history."
Following the completion of the Mid-County Expressway, in 1996 the Interstate 476 designation was extended to include the entire length of the existing Northeast Extension, making I-476 the longest auxiliary Interstate highway in the United States.
Recently selected: Interstate 290 (Illinois) – Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey) – California State Route 37
[edit] May
At 325 miles (523 km), U.S. Route 9's New York segment accounts for more than half the highway's total length. It runs from the New Jersey state line in the middle of the George Washington Bridge to a cul-de-sac just south of the Canadian border north of Champlain. It is the longest north-south U.S. highway in the state.
The highway's passage through the state offers a diverse sample of New York to a traveler, taking in busy urban neighborhoods, suburban strips and forested wilderness. It is Broadway in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. It uses parts of the old Albany Post Road in the Hudson Valley, where it passes the historic homes of a U.S. President and Gilded Age heir. It passes the center of New York political power in downtown Albany, and the patrician grandeur of Saratoga Springs. It penetrates into the deep recesses of the Adirondack Park and runs along the shore of Lake Champlain.
US 9 spawns more letter-suffixed state highways than any other route in New York, including the longest, 143-mile (230 km) NY 9N. Outside of the cities it passes through, it is a mostly a two-lane road, save for two expressway segments in the mid-Hudson region. For much of its southern half it follows the Hudson River closely; in the north it tracks Interstate 87, the Adirondack Northway.
Recently selected: Interstate 476 – Interstate 290 (Illinois) – Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey)
[edit] June
State Route 1002 (SR 1002), locally known as Tilghman Street and Union Boulevard, is a major 13.7 mi (22.0 km) long east-west road in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The majority of the roadway is the former alignment of U.S. Route 22, maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as a Quadrant Route, and is not signed except on small white segment markers.
Tilghman Street begins at Pennsylvania Route 100 in Fogelsville, though SR 1002 continues west on Main Street (also old US 22) to the intersection of Church Street (SR 3014). It becomes Union Boulevard just east of the bridge over the Lehigh River in Allentown; SR 1002 ends at the interchange with Pennsylvania Route 378 in Bethlehem. Union Boulevard continues over Monocacy Creek, which forms the border between Lehigh and Northampton Counties, and ends in downtown Bethlehem.
Today, the highway attracts more than the average traffic for roads in the Lehigh Valley. An average of 21,018 vehicles use it in South Whitehall Township and 21,706 in Allentown each day.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 9 in New York – Interstate 476 – Interstate 290 (Illinois)
[edit] July
U.S. Route 40 is an east-west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traverssed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first designated termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The western end has been truncated several times, and the route currently ends at I-80 just outside of Park City, Utah.
Starting at its western terminus in Utah, US 40 crosses a total of 12 states, including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. One former and four current state capitals lie along the route. For much of its route, it runs parallel to or concurrently with 3 major Interstate Highways: I-70 from Empire, Colorado to Washington, Pennsylvania and again from Hancock to Baltimore, Maryland; I-68 along the Maryland Panhandle; and I-95 from Baltimore to New Castle, Delaware.
Recently selected: State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) – U.S. Route 9 in New York – Interstate 476
[edit] August
Pennsylvania Route 39 (PA 39) is a 17.68 mi (28.45 km) long, east–west state highway entirely within Dauphin County of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is designated from North Front Street in Susquehanna Township, to US 322 and US 422 near Hershey.
From the western terminus to Interstate 81, PA 39 is known as Linglestown Road. Linglestown Road is mostly a two-lane road, signed east–west.
From Interstate 81 to Hersheypark Drive, PA 39 is known as Hershey Road turning south, but keeping the east–west signage. Where the highway is named Hersheypark Drive, PA 39 is routed opposite to its alignment east of the eastern terminus.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 40 – State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) – U.S. Route 9 in New York
[edit] September
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The portion of Interstate 15 in the U.S. state of Arizona passes through Mohave County in the far northwest corner of that state. Despite its short length of about 30 miles (50 km), and its isolation from the rest of the state in the remote Arizona Strip, it is notable for the scenic section through the Virgin River Gorge, the most expensive section of rural Interstate per mile when it opened.
Recently selected: Pennsylvania Route 39 – U.S. Route 40 – State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania)
[edit] October
U.S. Route 50 is a major east-west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3000 miles (4800 km) from West Sacramento, California east to Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean. Until it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of Sacramento, it extended to San Francisco, near the Pacific Ocean. The route mostly remains separate from Interstates, and generally serves a corridor south of Interstates 70 and 80 and north of Interstate 64.
Signs at each end give the length as 3073 miles (4946 km), but the actual distance is slightly less, due to realignments since the former figure was measured.
Recently selected: Interstate 15 in Arizona – Pennsylvania Route 39 – U.S. Route 40
[edit] November
Within the U.S. state of New York, U.S. Route 15 extends 12.59 miles (20.26 km) through the Southern Tier from the New York-Pennsylvania border north to the western suburbs of Corning. The southern terminus is at the state line in Lindley, where US 15 continues into Pennsylvania. The northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 86, NY 15, and NY 17 in Painted Post northwest of downtown Corning.
US 15 originally continued north to Rochester before being truncated to its present northern terminus. Future plans call for US 15 to be redesignated as Interstate 99.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 50 – Interstate 15 in Arizona – Pennsylvania Route 39
[edit] December
New York State Route 9A is a state highway in New York, United States, providing an alternate to US 9 from New York City north to Peekskill. In New York City, it is a major route of its own, running along the West Side Highway and Henry Hudson Parkway. In Westchester County, NY 9A follows the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 15 in New York – U.S. Route 50 – Interstate 15 in Arizona
[edit] 2008
[edit] January
Interstate 355 (abbreviated I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an interstate highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Like other tollways in northeastern Illinois, it is run by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA). I-355 runs from Interstate 80 in New Lenox north to Interstate 290 in Itasca, a distance of 32.5 miles (52.3 km). The highway is six lanes wide for its entire length.[1]
Recently selected: New York State Route 9A – U.S. Route 15 in New York – U.S. Route 50
[edit] February
State Highway 74, usually abbreviated as SH-74 or OK-74 (or simply Highway 74) is the numbering of two different highways maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. These highways were once a single major north-south route, connecting Oklahoma City to more rural parts of the state. The original road stretched from SH-7 near Tatums, Oklahoma to SH-11 west of Deer Creek.
Due to encroaching Interstate highways - especially Interstate 35 - the middle section of the route through Norman, Moore, and Oklahoma City was decommissioned in 1979 for reasons of redundancy. However, some maps show SH-74 as concurrent with I-35, I-240, and I-44, thus linking the two sections.
Recently selected: Interstate 355 – New York State Route 9A – U.S. Route 15 in New York
[edit] March
In the U.S. state of Colorado, Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway traversing an east-west route across the center of the state. The highway connects the metropolitan areas of Denver and Grand Junction via a route through the Rocky Mountains. The Colorado portion of I-70 is noted for the Eisenhower Tunnel. With an elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) this tunnel was, at the time of construction, the highest vehicular tunnel in the world, and is the highest point along the Interstate Highway System.[2] The Glenwood Canyon portion of the freeway is also noted as an engineering marvel.[3] It is one of the last pieces of the Interstate Highway system to be completed, 1992-10-14. As of the date of its completion, this section had the most expensive construction cost per mile of any highway in the U.S. The construction achievement earned 30 awards for the Colorado Department of Transportation, including the 1993 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.[4]
In addition to the engineering achievements required to construct the freeway, the construction unintentionally became noted as an event in the feminist movement.[5] The Colorado portion of I-70 was built parallel to U.S. Route 40 east of Idaho Springs, Colorado. West of Idaho Springs I-70 was built along the corridor of a road that was numbered U.S. Route 6 at the time of I-70's construction.
Recently selected: Oklahoma State Highway 74 – Interstate 355 – New York State Route 9A
[edit] April 1 (April Fool's Day)
State Highway 251A, also known as SH-251A or OK-251A, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) long, running from State Highway 16 in Okay, Oklahoma to State Highway 80 north of Ft. Gibson. It runs across the dam of Fort Gibson Lake.
The reason for the number SH-251A is unclear, as there has never been a state highway in Oklahoma with the number 251.[6] The highway was once part of SH-16.[7]
Recently selected: Interstate 70 in Colorado - Oklahoma State Highway 74 – Interstate 355
[edit] April
U.S. Route 50 in Nevada crosses the center of Nevada and was designated the Loneliest Road in America by Life in July 1986.[8] The name was intended as a pejorative, but instead, Nevada officials seized on it as a marketing slogan. The Nevada Commission on Tourism publishes novelty passports that visitors can validate at approved stops. Visitors can submit the completed passport for a certificate signed by the state governor to show they have "survived" the loneliest road. While route 50 may or may not be the loneliest road in America, its reputation for loneliness is merited. In the stretch of highway between Fallon and Delta, Utah, a span of 409 miles (658 km),[9]there are only three major towns: Austin, Eureka and Ely.
The route follows a historic corridor, first used for the Pony Express, and later for the Lincoln Highway. The highway was first designated Nevada State Route 2. The highway passes through the center of the Great Basin and passes through a series of Basin and Range features in its path across the state. There are also several ghost towns along this path.
Recently selected: Interstate 70 in Colorado - Oklahoma State Highway 74 – Interstate 355
[edit] May
New York State Route 22 is a north-south state highway in New York paralleling the eastern edge of the state, from the outskirts of New York City to the Canadian border. At almost 341 miles (549 km) in total length, it is the longest north-south route in the state and currently the third longest overall, after NY 5 and NY 17. Many of the state's major east-west roads intersect with Route 22 just before crossing the state line into the neighboring New England states.
With the exception of its southern end, in the heavily-populated Bronx and lower Westchester County, as well as in the city of Plattsburgh near the northern end, almost all of Route 22 is a two-lane rural road that passes only through small villages and hamlets. The rural landscape off the road varies from horse country and views of the large reservoirs of the New York City watershed in the northern suburbs of city, to dairy farms further upstate in the hilly Taconics and Berkshires, to the undeveloped, heavily forested Adirondack Park along the shores of Lake Champlain. An 86-mile (138 km) section from Fort Ann to Keeseville is part of the All-American Road known as the Lakes to Locks Passage.
The southernmost section of the road used to be the White Plains Post Road in the 18th and 19th centuries, a major highway connecting New York City to White Plains, the county seat of Westchester County. Route 22 in its modern form was established in 1930 as one of the principal routes from New York City to Canada.
Recently selected: U.S. Route 50 in Nevada - Interstate 70 in Colorado - Oklahoma State Highway 74
