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Which freeway is worse?
Interstate 99 60%  60%  [ 3 ]
Interstate 238 40%  40%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 5

Tim_Tex
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28 Feb 2008, 6:40 pm

Which freeway is a bigger abomination?

Interstate 99 is located in south central Pennsylvania. It violates the national numbering standards, in that odd-numbered freeways (north-south) increase in number as one heads eastward. Every odd-numbered interstate from Interstate 81 (excluding auxiliary 3-digit interstates) on is east of I-99. It was the brainchild of then-PA Rep. Bud Shuster, and his pork-barrel spending.

Interstate 238 is located in Hayward, California, south of Oakland. It violates the numbering system because three-digit highways are usually auxiliary routes of interstate highways that end with the last two numbers. However, Interstate 38 does not exist. It was named 238 because a) for reasons beyond explanation, California State Highway 238 needed interstate funding for a 3-mile freeway, and b) all the auxiliary numbers for Interstate 80 at that time (early 1980s) were in use.


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28 Feb 2008, 7:27 pm

Interstate 99 breaks a big chain, it should be exiled from traffic use.


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29 Feb 2008, 4:39 pm

I used to be obsessed with the Interstate system myself, but haven't kept up with all the changes. That's interesting, though, because it does screw up the grid. As to which road is worse, haven't driven either, so don't know.

The US highway system is like the Interstate, but in reverse, the high numbers are in the north and west and the low numbers are in the east and south. There are two major exceptions. US 6 is not where you would logically expect it, neither is US 41. US 41 starts out logically enough in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan but then ends up in Miami Beach, Florida when it really should end in Mississippi. Have never been able to find out why. US 41 has quite a history behind it--I have driven it end to end--it used to be part of the Dixie Highway system. It is my favorite highway, I never can get enough of it.

People wonder how I am able to navigate around the country without getting lost and I tell them that as long as I am near an Interstate or a US highway it is impossible for me to get lost. You could drop me down in LA (I've never been there) and as long as I can find an Interstate (any Interstate) I can get home. Without a map. Just by knowing the system and how it works. Now it sounds like they've gone and screwed it up.



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01 Mar 2008, 3:36 am

Tim_Tex wrote:

Interstate 238 is located in Hayward, California, south of Oakland. It violates the numbering system because three-digit highways are usually auxiliary routes of interstate highways that end with the last two numbers. However, Interstate 38 does not exist. It was named 238 because a) for reasons beyond explanation, California State Highway 238 needed interstate funding for a 3-mile freeway, and b) all the auxiliary numbers for Interstate 80 at that time (early 1980s) were in use.

I-680 between Alamo and Pleasant Hill and Danville to Dublin during the commute.

And I don't get the point of Highway 242.



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01 Mar 2008, 9:33 am

And what's up with I-35 splitting into 35W and 35E--twice? (It splits in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and again in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area)


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ClosetAspy
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01 Mar 2008, 12:15 pm

Yes, I have wondered about that, too.

I-80 used to be split into I-80 and I-80S which went to Denver but then they changed it to I-76. Also, some of the US highways in the South, like US 31 and US 41 are split like that too. US 41 has an alternate through Kentucky and Tennessee and US 31 is split up into US 31E and US 31W also in Kentucky and Tennessee. I heard that it was because when the US system was first proposed there was a lot of rivalry among the towns along certain routes, so this was a way of satisfying everyone.

By the way, the US highway system is NOT a federal system, contrary to popular belief. It is a voluntary system agreed upon by the states, not like the Interstates which were signed into law by Eisenhower the year I was born. (Maybe that's why I became obsessed with them). There was an interesting situation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula about a decade ago involving US 41. It is the main road through one of the Indian Reservations; and the Indians were having an intratribal dispute over who was and wasn't a member of the tribe. About 200 protesters barricaded themselves in the Tribal Center on 41 and in retaliation the Tribal Chairman threatened to blockade the highway and start searching cars for weapons and contraband. Since 41 is the only road in and out of the Keweenaw, the tourist industry got alarmed. The problem was, nobody knew if the Tribal Chairman could legally carry out his threat. If 41 had been either a state highway or an Interstate the answer would have been no, but since that was not the case, the question was who had jurisdiction over that part of the road--the Indians because it was on their land, or the government. Apparently this situation had never come up before so it had the potential to set a precedent for other highways running through Indian Reservations. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Tribal Chairman backed down on his threat and the issue was never decided.