# Largest City Without an Interestate **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099 "2002-03-13T18:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/1 "2002-03-13T18:53:28Z")
Having just returned from my third round trip within six weeks on a driving expedition that is just over 700 miles one way, I’ve come to realize that most large cities in the US are “on” an Interstate highway – in the sense that either it passes through them or shaves the edge of the city, within ten miles or so, with links into the city proper. Which leads me to wonder, what is the largest city in the U.S. without service (in that sense) from an Interstate highway? ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/2 "2002-03-13T19:01:33Z")
Before some smart-aleck comes in here and says Honolulu, I believe H-1 is officially considered an interstate. Something to do with qualifying for federal highway funding or something like that. Good question. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/3 "2002-03-13T19:14:12Z")
H-1 and H-2 are legally interstate highways – it was the very first amendment to the National Defense Highway Act that created the interstate system. ---
**Author:** ![Mystery\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mystery\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mystery_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/4 "2002-03-13T19:20:59Z")
According to [this site](http://www.publicpurpose.com/pp-is2000.htm), the answer is Fresno, California. [This site](http://www.nickmojave.com/Ideal/i7.html) too. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/5 "2002-03-13T19:23:23Z")
I would say that Fresno is a likely candidate. It’s population is around 427,000. The principal highway that goes through it is California State Route 99, which is tantamount to an Interstate, but doesn’t have the nifty red, white, and blue shield. Fresno is the 37th largest city in the US. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/6 "2002-03-13T19:24:44Z")
Dang, one minute too late. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/7 "2002-03-13T20:06:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > I would say that Fresno is a likely candidate. It’s population is around 427,000. The principal highway that goes through it is California State Route 99, which is tantamount to an Interstate, but doesn’t have the nifty red, white, and blue shield. Once upon a time, California 99 was I-5. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/8 "2002-03-13T20:21:23Z")
At what point was California 99 the same as Interstate 5? From my understanding, I-5 was built to be an alternative to SR-99 when driving through the Central Valley. SR-99 goes through the majority of the Central Valley’s cities, such as Bakersfield and Fresno. I-5 bypasses nearly every major city once you leave LA County until you hit Stockton. SR-99 has been around for a fairly long time. I believe that I-5 wasn’t built until the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/9 "2002-03-13T20:28:25Z")
Now what would prompt a question like that unless the OP might consider his home city ripped off 😉 . My Grosset Road Atlas map , published 1981 for Raleigh ,North Carolina does not show an Intersate highway, although every other major city shown does. The US map I have does show I85 nearby, but it’s got a be more than 10 miles away. My information is that the metropolitan area population of Raleigh is approaching 1 million. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/10 "2002-03-13T20:42:10Z")
Grienspace, you are correct in that I-85 is not close enough to be considered passing through Raleigh. However, Raleigh has I-40, I-440, and I-540 that circle the city. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/11 "2002-03-13T21:27:06Z")
Only slightly off-topic, but Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is not only not on the interstate system, it can only be reached by boat or plane. ---
**Author:** ![DRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@DRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRS)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/12 "2002-03-13T22:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*Only slightly off-topic, but Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is not only not on the interstate system, it can only be reached by boat or plane. \*\* Only slightly MORE off-topic, but I’ve always thought it bizarre that the people of Juneau brag about having the only drive-up glacier in North America, when you can’t drive to the city. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/13 "2002-03-13T22:20:30Z")
The first cite of **Mystery Dog** was very interesting and enlightening. There were several places where interstates are needed that I was not aware of, but it still didn’t mention the one dear to my heart. There is no interstate that connects Memphis and Birmingham. Actually, there is an interstate look alike that has been completed thru Mississippi, but work continues in Alabama. In case you do not think that it is important that Memphis and Birmingham are connected, it also is the same as saying that Atlanta is not connected with St. Louis. Also from Atlanta if you are traveling west you have to use the southern routes, without this connection. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/14 "2002-03-13T23:01:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > At what point was California 99 the same as Interstate 5? From my understanding, I-5 was built to be an alternative to SR-99 when driving through the Central Valley. Oops. My mistake. I had the idea that originally I-5 went through Fresno and Bakersfield and that they built the current I-5 to shorten the driving distance between the Bay area and LA. But checking several old road atlases, I find I was wrong. Even though Cal 99 was mostly a multi-lane, limited access, divided highway (in other words, a freeway) before I-5 was done, it was never I-5. {One more of the thousands of mistaken ideas expugned from my brain…} ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/15 "2002-03-13T23:41:50Z")
The first website linked by Mystery Dog is from Wendell Cox. I am skeptical of statements that particular highways are _needed_ when they come from a “consultant” whose entire practice is promoting any and all highway construction and opposing any and all rail projects. (No insult to Mystery Dog intended. The bias of the site is not evident from that page alone.) [http://www.cfte.org/images/response\_cox.pdf](http://www.cfte.org/images/response_cox.pdf) [http://www.lightrailnow.org/progress/m\_000007.htm](http://www.lightrailnow.org/progress/m_000007.htm) To give a concrete example, Cox’s “common sense” counterproposal to discussions of commuter rail or MARTA extensions in metropolitan Atlanta included double-decking freeways and building a grid, no more than a mile apart, of six- to eight-lane ideally grade-separated highways! :rolleyes: [http://www.gppf.org/pubs/projects/transportation/transportation.htm](http://www.gppf.org/pubs/projects/transportation/transportation.htm) ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/16 "2002-03-14T00:00:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > \*\* > Oops. My mistake. I had the idea that originally I-5 went through Fresno and Bakersfield and that they built the current I-5 to shorten the driving distance between the Bay area and LA. But checking several old road atlases, I find I was wrong. Even though Cal 99 was mostly a multi-lane, limited access, divided highway (in other words, a freeway) before I-5 was done, it was never I-5. > > {One more of the thousands of mistaken ideas expugned from my brain…} \*\* That is very strange, because there are old signs in LA that have been covered over to say “5 North-Sacramento”, and on some of them you can clearly see “Bakersfield” - I’m surprised about this. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/17 "2002-03-14T00:15:15Z")
Well, I-5 actually passes within 10 miles of Bakersfield (just barely, but it does). Besides, signs often point out the best route to get to a city, even if you don’t stay on the same highway. While the number 1 question has been answered, it seems more interesting that number 2 is pretty hard to find. I haven’t discovered it yet, but I haven’t looked too hard. For assistance, try the FHWA page. On the page linked you can find maps by state (plus Puerto Rico, which has an interstate even though it’s not a state, otherwise San Juan could’ve won) of the highway system (each one’s a detailed, color PDF which makes them kind of big): [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/index.html](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/index.html) FHWA also has an online highway system viewer (linked to on same page, below the map list). A little harder to see when zoomed out, but you can pick a specific state & city. Here’s the 2000 Census ranking for metropolitan areas (these aren’t necessarily cities, but it seems useful for measurement), in several lovely formats: [http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t3.html](http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t3.html) I think Bakersfield would have taken second if it was a little further away. * * * “Yes, we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful beautiful river …” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/18 "2002-03-14T00:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DRS \* > \*\* > Only slightly MORE off-topic, but I’ve always thought it bizarre that the people of Juneau brag about having the only drive-up glacier in North America, when you can’t drive to the city. \*\* Two corrections here. 1. You can take The Alaska Highway from Edmonton, capital of Alberta till you reach Hwy 7 in the Yukon. Hwy 7 originates at the Tok Junction in Alaska (where Hwy 1 and Hwy 2 meet as well), traverses the southwest corner of the Yukon and continues on down the panhandle to Juneau. Thus you can drive to Juneau from any major city in North America. 2. The Columbia Ice Fields at Banff National park can be driven on as well. I was there several years ago. Bus tours from the parking lot at the base of the Glacier are regularly scheduled. If you elect to hike, make sure you dress warm. There is a constant freezing cold wind up there even in the middle of summer. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/19 "2002-03-14T00:49:50Z")
I think the signs in L.A. that give “Sacramento” as the northern destination for I-5 and I-405 have been that way for a while. I remember those changes being made before I learned to drive and that was in 1982. Bakersfield looks to be the largest city not named Fresno in California that doesn’t have an Interstate go through its borders. There are some other cities that are close like Oxnard. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099/20 "2002-03-14T01:37:57Z")
What about Ventura and Santa Barbara? Fresno and Bakerspatch are likely bigger, but last I knew, US-101 wasn’t an interstate. As for Cal St. route 99, people should remember that that used to be US-99. It lost that designation when I-5 was built. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-without-an-interestate/98099.md?page=2)