Originally published at: Need some solitude? Here's a map of the loneliest road in every US state | Boing Boing
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That’s really interesting. I would have expected the least traveled (loneliest) road in Maine would be route 11, given that portions of 201 are close to Waterville/Skowhegan and fairly heavily used. Guess I’ll have to take a trip up 201 sometime soon and see how it compares to the last trip I took up 11 when we were planning our move back to Maine.
Ironically, even though the Dalton Highway in Alaska is #1 for least amount of traffic, it’s the only road where I’ve ever ended up with a broken windshield. OTOH, it’s almost certainly the longest stretch of gravel road I’ve ever driven, so maybe not so ironic after all.
I’m stunned that the Texas one isn’t somewhere in west Texas.
I don’t know what data they are using. Rt. 32 ‘River Road’ from Falls Twp to Kitnersville in Pennsylvania is a major thoroughfare. I would think route 40 out west near Union City, or rt. 6 through the Allegheny State forest would be waaay more empty.
“Route 90003” in Virginia is better known as Colonial Parkway. That’s surprising.
I actually have spent a decent amount of time on US 383 in Kansas when I was young, my family would go a tiny little town along it every few years for Christmas or Thanksgiving to visit my grandparents.
I think those get pretty well used by trucks though because there aren’t as many roads in general there and only two interstate highways for most of west tx. I know more traffic goes on 10 east to Louisiana than any other route, but don’t know why. Maybe 49 is too far north to be worth it from most of the rest of the state?
I didn’t know there was any of 49 that was actually in Texas either? I thought if you were on 49 you were already in Louisiana (not being sarcastic). I guess there’s a state route called 49 up there… TIL.
Yeah that makes sense. I just remember several road trips in high school between Wichita Falls and Lubbock and sometimes going a hundred miles without seeing another car.
Yeah similar experiences for me too which makes me wonder if anyone actually drives on sh49 like at all? Perhaps it’s actually hard to drive on or something or too small for trucks.
Oh, and one memorable trip to Canadian in the panhandle for a speech and debate tournament. Memorable because we had a black student on our team, and his mere presence in the town caused someone to call the police. I’m not even kidding. We got off the bus at the motel, and checked into our rooms, and someone saw him in the parking lot and called the cops. I just checked Wikipedia. Today, Canadian has one black resident. In 1986, they had zero. This is unrelated to the post, but this triggered my memory. God, I hadn’t thought about that in years.
Yeah… That doesn’t surprise me. Someone from out of State asked me recently whether I’d rather move closer to the northern or southern border and I surprised them by emphatically stating that the southern border is much more comfy and inviting than the panhandle. People need to stop believing the propaganda. The racists are way scarier than the migrants.
Nowt in Michigan? Pfui.
There are plenty of quiet roads surprisingly near Detroit, and lots and lots more the further N you go in the Lower Peninsula. I’m sure much of the Upper Peninsula (AKA U.P.) is covered with V quiet ones, too, also.
45 in da UP.
I find it rather presumptuous and even borderline offensive to call these roads ‘lonely’. Maybe they thrive in solitude? Maybe they’re perfectly happy in their own company?