Favorite way to skip the interstates?
I get lazy with my routing sometimes and rely too much on Google Maps and my in-dash nav. It’s easy enough to skip the interstates in an area you’re familiar with, but I’d be interested in hearing...
Forum Discussion
Most US# highways were completed before the Interstates, with varying degrees of improvement since then. Some have been extended (e.g US12 in Washington), others upgraded to interstate standards. Some state highways are limited access as well. So you can't identify the nature of the highway simply by the numbering system.
US# number generally is even for EW, same as for Interstates, but with smallest numbers in the north. US2 is northern most. NS are odd, with US101 generally hugging the Pacific coast.
Some highways ceased to exist when Interstates were built. US10 is mentioned in histories of I90 in Washington State, and there are sections called "Old US10" in Montana. Now it mainly exists in MN and WI. All sections of US99 have the same state number. In much of California it's a limited access alternative to I5. Around Seattle it's a major arterial, with the new tunnel under downtown being its latest reroute.
US2 has a major gap around the Great Lakes. US20 crosses Oregon, Idaho, etc. I've also driven it in Indiana. US30 starts out in Oregon north of 20 (it's a scenic drive through the Columbia Gorge paralleling I84), but most of the time it is south of 20. It's the Lincoln Hwy in the east. US50 is famous as a 'lonely' crossing of Nevada, but in Utah it is I70, and one of just four cross state highways in Colorado.
There are a number through NS highways in the West. US97 starts at Weed, CA, and runs up the east side of the Cascades to Canada. US95 runs border to border, with alternates like 195 and 395. Part of 395 is now I580, a new Interstate south of Reno. US 93 and US89 are other major NS routes. Some of these continue with the same number into Canada.
Further east the number of alternatives of all categories increases. The Interstate number is only one criteria.
Many of these highways have a Wiki page. US52 is an unusual 'diagonal', running NW from SC to ND
US# number generally is even for EW, same as for Interstates, but with smallest numbers in the north. US2 is northern most. NS are odd, with US101 generally hugging the Pacific coast.
Some highways ceased to exist when Interstates were built. US10 is mentioned in histories of I90 in Washington State, and there are sections called "Old US10" in Montana. Now it mainly exists in MN and WI. All sections of US99 have the same state number. In much of California it's a limited access alternative to I5. Around Seattle it's a major arterial, with the new tunnel under downtown being its latest reroute.
US2 has a major gap around the Great Lakes. US20 crosses Oregon, Idaho, etc. I've also driven it in Indiana. US30 starts out in Oregon north of 20 (it's a scenic drive through the Columbia Gorge paralleling I84), but most of the time it is south of 20. It's the Lincoln Hwy in the east. US50 is famous as a 'lonely' crossing of Nevada, but in Utah it is I70, and one of just four cross state highways in Colorado.
There are a number through NS highways in the West. US97 starts at Weed, CA, and runs up the east side of the Cascades to Canada. US95 runs border to border, with alternates like 195 and 395. Part of 395 is now I580, a new Interstate south of Reno. US 93 and US89 are other major NS routes. Some of these continue with the same number into Canada.
Further east the number of alternatives of all categories increases. The Interstate number is only one criteria.
Many of these highways have a Wiki page. US52 is an unusual 'diagonal', running NW from SC to ND
