2013 Trip Questions.

[Lifemagician]

That's in the plural. I'm sure there will be more.

Some of my favourite routes east/west are 20, 30 and 50. Can anyone tell me if there is a similar road in the I-10/I-40 corridor? Florida to California. I don't seem to be able to see any continuity with my paper maps.

Lifey

[AZBuck]

None of the major east-west US highways in the southwest (US-90, US-80, or US-70) survived the coming of the Interstates. The farthest west they still reach is western Arizona where US-60 now terminates when it hits I-10 near Brenda AZ. But US-60, like the defunct US-66, heads more southwest-northeast, so it won't get you to Florida. Near Globe AZ, however, US-70 branches off from it and proceeds to Lordsburg NM where it too terminates at (or is co-aligned with) I-10. It's not until Van Horn TX that US-90 finally detaches from I-10 and proceeds eastward, although again co-aligned with I-10 from San Antonio to Seguin and from Columbus to Houston. Through much of the South, you may have trouble finding it on maps since it runs parallel and close to I-10, and maps will tend to show the Interstate rather than the old road. But it does eventually reach Jacksonville Beach FL on the Atlantic Ocean.

AZBuck

[glc]

US-90 will get you all the way from Jacksonville to Van Horn, TX. US-98 goes from Palm Beach to somewhere in MS, crossing US-90 in the Mobile area. US-84 goes from Brunswick, GA to Pagosa Springs, CO. US-82 goes from Brunswick to Alamogordo, NM. There are some stretches of US-60 and US-70 out west. US-80 is still in commission from GA to Dallas.

[DonnaR57]

In Southern California, US-80 is often designated as "Olde Hwy. 80". It's very patchy, though. Mostly, it parallels I-8.


Donna

[32vld]

That's in the plural. I'm sure there will be more.

Some of my favourite routes east/west are 20, 30 and 50. Can anyone tell me if there is a similar road in the I-10/I-40 corridor? Florida to California. I don't seem to be able to see any continuity with my paper maps.

Lifey

Alt US 27 US 27 AL-28 US 11 I-30 I-35E TX-180 US 377 I-20 US 180 I-20 I-10 TX-20 NM-478 US 70 I-10 NM-80 AZ-80 I-10 AZ-77 AZ-79 US 60 I-10 AZ-85 I-8 CA-80 I-8

This was copied and pasted from:
www [dot] us-highways [dot] com/us2 [dot] htm,
which was a great website for starting research on finding the old US routes.

When US routes are decommissioned they do not rip up the pavement and remove all traces to make the road disappear as it never existed. They signs marking the route come down. Then whether the state or county takes over the road then new signs with state or county numbers are put up. Yes sometimes the Interstates are paved over the original roads and they no longer exist. Though quite often they can be found. With local numbers or by their street names.

For those that want to find out about the old roads and the first auto trails the American Road Magazine website home page has a link to their forum. Many knowledgeable Road Archaeologists are willing to share their knowledge.

Also do some research on US highways and you maybe able to piece some routes together. US 6 Starts Cape Cod Mass. Then NY, PA, though it finishes up in Long Beach, CA, by the way of Colo, Utah, Nevada.

Also many of the early cross country routes were of historical importance. Being they were known as the original Auto Trails. Many of the US Routes took over these road beds. So some of these Routes have websites. Such as the Lincoln Highway.

[Lifemagician]

Thanks all. Great information. Much appreciated.

US90 it will be, out of the FL panhandle to ??? So far am only planning to Houston. Will worry about the rest later.

What I want to know now is how to get around New Orleans without having to go right through the middle, as I-10 and 90 both do.

Lifey

[AZBuck]

I-12 and US-190 both spit off from I-10/US-90 around Slidell and stay north of Lake Pontchartrain, rejoining the 'main' roads around Baton Rouge (the Interstates) or Lafayette (US-90 via a short stretch on I-10).

AZBuck

[Lifemagician]

Thanks Buck.

Lifey

[glc]

It would be a shame to miss the stretch of US-90 between NO and Lafayette - so you could take US-90 (Chef Menteur Highway) into the city to its first interchange with I-10. Take I-10 west to I-610 back to I-10, then I-310 back to US-90. This shouldn't be too bad, and it doesn't dump you into downtown.

[Lifemagician]

This one is of AZBuck. Last year when I was heading from Newton to Wilmington via West Chester, and the Brandywine valley, etc., I recall you mentioning something about if I was going to be in the area over a weekend you would have some places / sights suggestions for me. Well as it happens, this weekend, 21st & 22nd September, I will be in the Wilmington area. Need to be in Philadelphia on 24th & 25th.

So whatever it was you had in mind then, would be much appreciated this weekend. Looking forward to it. :)

Lifey