Greatest interstate highway in the country

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Poll question: Greatest interstate highway in the country

[Radical Activist]

1. You only name highways at the edge of the country.

Why do you hate America?

[Taverner]

39. Yeah - I-80's pretty cool: you have the Donner Pass, SF Bay Bridge and Mt Rushmore on it!

[huskerlaw]

62. Mt. Rushmore's not on I-80.

I-80 goes through the center of Nebraska, a good 5-6 hours south of South Dakota.

[Taverner]

78. Ok - never mind :)

[TZ]

2. I'll name I-95

As the most aggravating highway in the country. Been caught in piss awful traffic waaaay too many times on that damned road.

[CreekDog]

29. they should call it I-35

My grandparents used to haul us between Florida and New Jersey and that was our average speed thanks to weather, traffic and road conditions.

[crimsonblue]

85. There already is an I-35.

It goes from the south of Texas to Minneapolis.

[CreekDog]

90. i know

i was being jokey. :rofl:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

31. Yes, but no other interstate could ever claim it has this right off the side of the road:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

55. nor would they want to

I hate that place. I hate their bumper stickers

[Kali]

67. that IS pretty cool, but I-10 has...

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2023

[CreekDog]

91. been there many times

:eyes:

all i know is that it was a big deal to get to South of the Border on our annual trips from FL to NJ. it was basically halfway there. otherwise, the trip was so boring, it was just a ribbon of concrete among trees for some 1300 miles, although at least Virginia had some mountains to look at. :D

[motely36]

3. I-70

[jschurchin]

11. Have you ever driven

I-70 in PA. If you have I can't believe your choice. If you haven't, come try it. Oh yeah, and then call your dentist.

[TZ]

12. I-70 in PA is the turnpike right?

If so, I totally agree with you...

[motely36]

15. no I-76 is the turnpike

:)

[ElboRuum]

71. No. I-276 is the Pennsylvania Turnpike

I-476 is the PA Turnpike NE Extension/Blue Route, and I-76 is the Schuylkill Expressway.

[motely36]

14. I drive it from PA to Ohio about once a year.

[TZ]

17. Have you ever driven I-68

through Western Maryland? Now thats a pretty interstate...

[motely36]

27. I don't think so.

Not been in western MD much.

[madinmaryland]

51. I-68 is a really scenic drive over to Morgantown.

[littlebit]

79. Yes but it is a major

PITA in a 80,000 lbs truck.

[TZ]

88. oh yeah.

Sideling Hill is something you dislike I imagine...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

101. I want to check out the Sideling Hill Exhibit sometime...

I68 has some breathtaking vistas...

[Radical Activist]

13. Kansas

That stretch in Kansas is so hard to get through. There are some good stops along I-70 though.

[crimsonblue]

86. It is long and a bit boring outside, but I-70 is always in great shape

It gets even better in Co going west, as the speed increases to 75pmh. Also, whenever I drive on I-70, I enjoy seeing the new windfarms going in.

[Shakespeare]

4. Highway 1 (not part of the interstate system, but still an interstate highway).

There's just nothing else like it, and nothing else even comes close.

[Radical Activist]

5. Do you mean the National Road

that Washington started that goes from Virginia to Illinois?

That's a good one.

[Shakespeare]

8. No, I mean Highway 1 on the west coast.

[CreekDog]

94. Highway 1 near where I live isn't too shabby either:

[NightWatcher]

6. do you mean US1 down to Key West? I could agree to that

[Shakespeare]

9. Also pretty, but still not as incredible as Highway 1 on the west coast.

Pics on my post above.

[SacredCow]

21. I LOVE that drive!

I flew to Tampa a couple of years ago and rented a convertible. Visited some friends in Sarasota, then went down to Naples, and across Alligator Alley to Homestead. Woke up bright and early the next morning, popped in a tropical tunes CD mix, and made the drive down to Duval Street (where I was staying for a week).

Good Trip, and the drive was the perfect prelude!

[Sebastian Doyle]

35. It's a fun drive, but how can it be an "interstate highway"

...when it only exists in Collieforneea?

[Shakespeare]

37. It doesn't exist ijust in California. It goes through Oregon and Washington, and even....

....into Canada, I believe. It merges with/becomes Highway 101 for stretches, too.

[Sebastian Doyle]

48. No it doesn't.

101 exists in all three states. Highway 1 only exists in California. Two different highways.

Highway 1 in Canada is their version of an "interstate", the Trans Canada Highway, but it's an east-west road, and has no direct connection at all to any US highway.

[Shakespeare]

49. Oh, for crying out loud. Then let me amend my nomination.

Highway 1 until it merges with/becomes Highway 101, up through and including crossing the border. The Pacific Coast Highway, the Coast Highway, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

I'm not talking about the Trans Canada Highway, btw. I'm aware that's a totally different animal.

[Sequoia]

43. PCH down south, Coast Hwy up north

When I first moved to Northern Cal and referred to Highway 1 as the PCH, no one knew what I meant.

[fizzgig]

56. there isn't anything like it, i agree

i'm too much of a weenie to drive it, but i love being a passenger on that drive

[begin_within]

63. Agreed - Highway 1 is the world's greatest drive.

Scary at some places but always spectacular. Here are a few pictures I took on a trip down it last May:











Just do a Google Images search for "big sur" to see tons more pictures of it.

[Aristus]

7. I-5. The Seattle-to-L.A. lifeline.

The urban sections, through Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, can be a nightmare. But the interurban sections can be all right. Coming down out of the Oregon mountains and into California, especially at dawn, can be memorable. But nothing can redeem that awful soul-killing slog through the Central Valley in California.

[maxsolomon]

28. the descent from Siskyou Pass onto the Mt. Shasta plain is awe-inspiring.

that's my favorite place on i-5, too. "the state of jefferson"!

[XemaSab]

64. The 6 hours from Redding to Bakersfield

make Baby Jesus have a poopy diaper. Which makes him cry, and which makes Mary sad. :cry:

[pokerfan]

93. PCH > I-5

I understand that the poll was for interstates, but voting for the best interstate is like voting for your favorite canned food. To really see the sights, one must get off the interstates.

For example, here in Washington, I-90 crosses the Cascades at Snoqualmie:



While that's nice, check out http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades">SR-20 to the north:

[Radical Activist]

10. I-40

It's a great way to travel cross country. The western half roughly follows old Route 66. The eastern part, once you get past Nashville, is some of the most beautiful scenery the country has to offer. There are some cool places to stop in between like Beale Street in Memphis and the Clinton Library in Little Rock.

I have a soft spot in my heart for I-80 that goes along the old Lincoln Highway in big sky country. But I won't call it the best because part of it is a toll road in Ohio, and it goes through Iowa.

[abq e streeter]

23. Also amazing scenery from west of Albuquerque to the Arizona state line

especially the red rock country around Grants, NM and again near the Ariz. border...also goes through what's left of Winslow ; called my then-girlfriend from there last summer on the way back from a gig in Scottsdale just to tell her I was standin on a corner in Winslow Arizona. ( I'll take a wild guess that I'm not the only person to have thought themselves so incredibly hip and clever for having thought of doing this).

[Redbear]

44. That depends: Was there a girl in a flatbed Ford?

On I-35 in Texas, there is a small town called West.

I like to call people while passing through to tell them I am somewhere in the middle of West Texas.

[blondeatlast]

42. Absolutely I-40; best thing to do is duck off it in the West and take Rt. 66.

I've been virtually the entire length and would do it again in a heartbeat; good times.

[Bake]

68. Plus, they wrote a song about it: Highway 40 Blues!!

:hi:

Bake

[geardaddy]

16. Umm hello...

I-90?

Interstate 90 (I-90) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at 3,099 miles (4,987 km). It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate. Its western terminus is in Seattle, Washington, at 4th Avenue S. next to Safeco Field and Qwest Field, and its eastern terminus is in Boston, Massachusetts, at Route 1A near Logan International Airport. It crosses the Continental Divide just east of Butte, Montana.

[Radical Activist]

20. The trouble with 90

is that there's soooooo much nothing in between. You've got that with any cross country interstate but 90 might be the most boring.

[geardaddy]

22. I guess.

But it is the longest.

[no name no slogan]

26. One man's nothing is another man's scenery

It's desolate, but beautiful in its own way.

[CreekDog]

58. Don't knock it, sometimes nothing is really something!

here's I-80 through the Salt Flats in Utah, truly nothing has ever been so grand:

[Radical Activist]

80. I wrote that I like I-80

in my other post. Nothing is fine but I like the scenery on 80 better than 90. You need to break up nothing with something once in a while.

[MineralMan]

25. I-35

You turn left onto it at Oklahoma City, when coming East and it takes you to Minnesota. Never wanted to see an interstate as much as that one when I moved from CA to MN, using I-40 to come across. I-40 blows!

[Tektonik]

18. The I-5

the borders, SD, LA, the Central Valley, Portland and Seattle

[jobycom]

19. I-10 is the greatest for constant construction and greatest quality range.

It's barely above a dirt road in west Texas, it's constantly under construction from Houston to Lafayette, and it is often damaged by hurricanes from Jacksonville to Houston.

It's also the one that takes me home, so it's my favorite. :)

[no name no slogan]

24. No love for I-35?

Starts in Duluth, MN, and goes to the Laredo, TX, right through the heartland. It's about as middle American as you can get. Plus it has a spiffy new bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

[geardaddy]

41. I love the new bridge.

[fishwax]

69. I like I-35

I've got a lot of fond memories of it :)

[Critters2]

89. I used to live about 20 miles west of I-35. If you're ever driving it,

stop at the rest area at Dows, IA. There's this walking path with markers that have quotes from letters written by Iowan Civil War soldiers to their families back home. Some will break your heart. The path winds through a small patch of native prairie. People always think I'm crazy when I tell them they just gotta see this rest area. But they always thank me once they've seen it.

[CreekDog]

30. I-70 overall is the prettiest

[madinmaryland]

53. Did you know I-70 ends in Baltimore??

I'm on the eastern end of I-70 at least once or twice a month.

Here's the sign as you enter WB I-70 from the I-695 Beltway...

[CreekDog]

57. didn't know that, but i know it begins in the middle of nowhere

near here, and pretty impressive too:

[TZ]

59. psst!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8483709
:hi:

[fishwax]

70. that's a cool pic/sign

:D

[argyl]

76. Agreed. It's also superbly engineered. That you can safely haul ass through the alpine and

canyon country it goes through is something else.

[fishwax]

77. From Denver west to where it ends in Utah, I-70 is hard to beat

What a gorgeous drive.

It also has the Eisenhower Tunnel, the highest in the world and one of the longest in the U.S.:

[rockymountaindem]

84. That's my favorite part of the drive into the mountains

Floyd Hill, I believe.

[CreekDog]

32. I-280 as I near home is a great ride

[WinkyDink]

33. I-78: Takes me straight to NYC!

[Burma Jones]

34. I-370

Three exciting miles of suburban splendor.....

[TZ]

36. *snort*

Don't forget the scenic Sam Eig Highway..:rofl:

[madinmaryland]

54. I prefer I-395 going into Baltimore, all 10,000 feet of it!!

Scenic view of M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards!!

[blondeatlast]

38. I-40; basically, the old Route 66 but stop off in the small towns. I've traveled cross-country on it

and spent much time in the little AZ towns along it.

Much, much fun.

[LostinVA]

40. I-40, of course -- from Wilmington, NC, all the way to Barstow, CA

[PVnRT]

45. I-75

At least, once it crosses the Ohio River heading South. Basically the Old Wilderness Road, and you can catch glimpses of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

[1gobluedem]

50. Don't forget Northern Michigan

I-75 goes across the Mackinac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula:

[PVnRT]

52. Good point

I tend to forget the boredom that is Cincinnati through Lansing.

[1gobluedem]

72. I-75 doesn't go through Lansing

It joins up with US 27 at Saginaw.

[PVnRT]

97. Shit, that's I-69

I haven't lived in Michigan for seven years, can you tell?

[BOSSHOG]

46. Nomination for WORST interstate in the country

I-55 heading North out of New Orleans. Horrible Condition. And if conservative values prevail it will only get worse.

[KamaAina]

47. H-3!

For some reason, they won't let us use real numbers for our Interstate* highways out here; they make us call them H-1, H-2 and H-3 (and now H-201, formerly HI 78). (The lowest number in use on the Mainland is I-4 in Florida.)

H-3, the newest, tunnels directly through the Ko'olau mountain range in its short run from Aloha Stadium to Kane'ohe (home of the great Opihi).

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

60. I'm fond of I-5.

Cuts through the Chuckanut formation up near Bellingham, with beautiful scenery of lakes and exposed sandstone cliffs.

Down across the Skagit river valley.

Into Seattle with its gorgeous skyline.

Down through Tacoma, past Commencement Bay, the Tacoma Dome, and the old railroad station.

Across the pretty little Nisqually valley.

Past Olympia (stop for a walk at Tumwater Park)

Down past some rolling hills then along the Columbia for many miles.

Over the bridge and into Portland, another beautiful city.

Then it's a rather boring stretch along the Willamette Valley into Eugene.

Past that it's more hills and lakes and up up up to Siskyou pass.

Then back down a gorgeous stretch into the State of Jefferson. Time for a stop at the Weed Rest Area.
There's Mt. Shasta. And Lake Shasta. Cindercone volcanoes right along side the freeway.

Stop at the palindromic Yreka Bakery for something to eat.

You'll see your first proper palm tree down near Redding.

Then there's many miles of odd rolling hills, very pretty and green in winter until you get to about Stockton.

Then it starts drying out. Stop at the rest area here and you'll see olive trees. Something you don't see up in Bellingham. Maybe even a rattlesnake.

Then you hit the Central Valley, which is like the Willamette Valley, only with orange groves.

And then it's up, up, up into those beautiful mountains.

Past Pyramid Lake.

Past Magic Mountain.

Then down into the great western suburbia.

[begin_within]

61. Charles Kuralt said:

"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

[Eurobabe]

65. I-64

[begin_within]

66. Kind of odd that Hawai'i has 3 "interstate" highways

[KamaAina]

81. Several mainland Interstates* are contained within a single state

I-4 in Florida, I-12 in Louisiana, I-87 in New York among others, not to mention most of the three-digit interstates* that go into or around cities.

http://www.interstate-guide.com/main.html

Besides, they say the bridge will be fixed real soon... :-)

[begin_within]

92. well I'm shot down again

[KitchenWitch]

73. I-70

[MajorChode]

74. I don't need no stinkin hiways

I gots me an aeroplane.

[fishwax]

75. I voted for "other," though I'm torn

I'd probably pick I-90. It connects Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. It's got some gorgeous mountain passes, historic tunnels and bridges, it skirts the great lakes, and has a good variety of terrain. Some big chunks of it are toll roads east of Chicago, though. Plus, it's my home interstate. :)

[Fleshdancer]

82. I drove on I-35 from Minneapolis, MN to Austin, TX

I was nuts to do it straight through, but the highway was in good condition and the trip was uneventful so I guess that's enough to make it my choice for the greatest highway. :shrug:

[Critters2]

83. You mean there are interstates besides 80?

Huh. Who knew?

[Radical Activist]

87. Hard Travelin

This thread calls for a song.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2Bwja39IVzM

This band appears to have added some lyrics of their own but theses are original:

I've been walking that Lincoln highway, I thought you knowed,
I've been hittin' that 66, way down the road
Heavy load and a worried mind, lookin' for a woman that's hard to find,
I've been hittin' some hard travelin', lord

[yvr girl]

95. Sea to Sky Highway

http://images.google.com/images?q=sea%20to%20sky%20highway&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7RNWN_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Not technically an interstate, but one heck of a pretty drive.

[begin_within]

96. That looks awesome.

I'm sure we'll see a lot of it in the Olympics coverage next year.

[skygazer]

98. I-91, short but very sweet

From Hartford, CT north through Mass into Vermont and up to the Canadian border. Beautiful and very little traffic.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

100. My vote too...

It's a beautiful highway.

[JTG of the PRB]

99. I-70, from western Utah to Denver. My very favorite drive!

The beautiful deserts, the gorgeous Rockies, the unending plains before you... Great views all around.

Also, Highway 1 in California is damned nice, too.

[AwakeAtLast]

102. The correct answer is of course ---> I-69!

Although not yesterday. There were three crashes all within 40 miles of each other. One involved 34 cars, another 25 cars, third one 22!



Can't believe you pevs didn't put it in the poll :P