# US cities served by 3 or more "primary" Interstate highways **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983 "2021-02-28T23:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/41 "2021-03-01T17:19:46Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > A couple of my cartographer friends have created diagrammatic maps of what roadgeeks call 2di’s (two-digit Interstates). [This one by Cameron Booth](https://cambooth.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Interstates_4000px.jpg) makes it fairly easy to see that several cities, including Indianapolis and Birmingham, make it to four. What a fascinating map. On my way to Corpus Christie a few years ago I passed by the terminus for I-20 in “Kent” TX. I thought what an ignominious end it was for a 0/5 interstate as there is literally no [there](https://www.google.com/maps/@31.0894611,-104.0488604,3a,75y,290.52h,71t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sw-WWiEMMUBMz3U-TlYthtg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en) there. Curious about Kent, I [wikied](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent,_Texas) it and, boy was I right. > As of 2005, its population was estimated at 60 residents, with three small businesses, a [general store](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_store), a [service station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filling_station), and a [post office](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service), as well as ruins of a public school and other businesses that flourished until the 1960s. As of 2014, only the general store remained in operation; the nearest service station is in Plateau, 18 mi west along the interstate. It, therefore, has had no medical, pharmaceutical, public educational, legal, police, fire, or other governmental services beyond the post office within its boundaries; the nearest source of these is in [Van Horn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Horn,_Texas), 37 mi west. No motels, hotels, or trailer/RV parks, restaurants, or other tourist services are available, either. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/42 "2021-03-01T17:51:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Baltimore is served by 70, 95, 83, and 97 (which is the shortest interstate, at 17 miles). I believe the shortest interstate is I-587 in Kingston NY which is 1.2 mile long. Those that 97 may be the shortest 2 number interstate. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/43 "2021-03-01T17:54:03Z")
@kanicbird I believe you are correct, that is damn short. I-97 is reported as the shortest primary (two digit) interstate. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/44 "2021-03-01T17:55:58Z")
Looking more into it it’s I-878 also in NY, known as part of the the Van Wyck. at 0.70 miles. Whoops make that Nassau Exp ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/45 "2021-03-01T19:09:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > What is the nature of the other two-digit interstates, that don’t end in 0 or 5? Are they long-haul cross-country roads? Or shorter more local-ish or regional highways that, say, connect cities not too far apart? Are they late-comers to the Interstate highway system? Mostly, they’re latecomers to the system, which means they are frequently short-haul routes connecting relatively close cities: I-27, for instance, connects Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, a distance of about 125 miles. I-14, just twenty-five miles long between Copperas Cove and Belton, Texas, was created in 2015; there are plans to eventually extend it east to Georgia. Some of the latecomers, however, are fairly long. I-29, for example, runs from Kansas City to the Canadian border, roughly 750 miles (it’s “late” only in the sense that it was added a year or two after the original 1957 plan for the interstate). In the 1960s, locals began lobbying for a southward expansion of I-29 down to the New Orleans area, but the existing rules for numbering interstates (numbers increase west to east) prevented this because I-35 and I-45 are to the west of the proposed route, so I-49 was chosen. A section in Louisiana was built in the early 1980s; the Missouri section was largely completed in 2012 with the remainder scheduled to be done in 2022, and Arkansas still has multiple unconnected segments, with design completed but no funding for construction of the remainder. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/46 "2021-03-01T19:14:33Z")
If we follow the OP’s instruction to include only “primary” interstates (1 or 2 digits) then DC only has the two: 66 which terminates just after crossing into the District, and 95 which does not actually enter DC boundaries. Since it forms part of the Beltway, though, I consider that as serving DC. 270 terminates at the Beltway and would count, except it’s 3 digit. Similary 295, 395, 495 (which IS the Beltway) and 696. If you further narrow it down to those major interstates divisible by 5 - e.g. 5, 10, 15 etc. - how many cities have 2 or more of those? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/47 "2021-03-01T19:18:28Z")
[Per Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Interstate_Highways), I-87 near Raleigh, NC is currently listed as the shortest. It is, of course, not connected with the other I-87 up in New York. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/48 "2021-03-01T19:24:05Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > If you further narrow it down to those major interstates divisible by 5 - e.g. 5, 10, 15 etc. - how many cities have 2 or more of those? I’d expect a fair number of places to have two of those (a N-S “5” intersecting an E-W “0”), but not many with more than two, as the nature of the “major” interstates is that they’re usually somewhat spread out. However, Toledo appears to have 3, due to the fact that I-80 and I-90 share a roadway through parts of Indiana and Ohio. I-75 runs through Toledo, and I-80/I-90 run along the city’s southern border. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/49 "2021-03-01T19:24:28Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > 39 and 43 are stretches, in my mind. For 39, a whole lot of corn/soybean fields separate that interstate from any of Chicagoland metro area. And for 43, neither Milwaukee nor Beloit are generally considered to be Chicago metropolitan territory. I’m inclined to agree, since the one time I drove to Milwaukee I took that route to deliberately avoid the Chicago area and I didn’t see any sign of a nearby metropolis on those roads before I got to the Milwaukee suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/50 "2021-03-01T19:32:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > However, Toledo appears to have 3, due to the fact that I-80 and I-90 share a roadway through parts of Indiana and Ohio. I-75 runs through Toledo, and I-80/I-90 run along the city’s southern border. As previously mentioned, Atlanta also has three major interstates: I-20, I-75, and I-85. 75 and 85 share an alignment through downtown Atlanta (the “Downtown Connector”), so it’s the same situation as Toledo. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/51 "2021-03-01T19:37:34Z")
Thanks to the graphic that @Mr_Downtown shared, I can see (and have confirmed on Google Maps) that Dallas has four major interstates within its city limits: I-20, I-30, I-35E, and I-40. Fort Worth has three: I-20, I-30, and I-35W. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/52 "2021-03-01T19:53:41Z")
Little Rock and surrounding areas in Arkansas I30, I40 serve Little Rock I49 which is under construction. I49 will use several existing roads and some new. There’s also a proposed I69. [https://www.arkansashighways.com/I-49.aspx](https://www.arkansashighways.com/I-49.aspx) I69 will be a major cross country corridor > **[I69Info.com: Interstate 69](http://www.i69info.com/)** > > Overview and regional information about the NAFTA Interstate project. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/53 "2021-03-01T20:19:37Z")
Since someone will want to know (as did I), the largest city to not be served by an Interstate is Fresno, California. (9 of the 10 largest cities to not have an Interstate are in CA; the other is (arguably) Anchorage, Alaska. The “arguably” part is because Alaska has its own “interstate” system, numbered A1 through A4, that is paid for by the state. The signage, however, is identical to that of the Eisenhower Interstate System.) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/54 "2021-03-01T20:32:11Z")
The 405 is an interstate. Sorry, I’m a native LASpeaker. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/55 "2021-03-01T20:44:58Z")
H-2 in Hawaii (which is indeed part of the Interstate Highway System), is 8.33 miles long. Given that its naming convention is different (beginning with H), I’m not sure if this would be considered a “primary” highway. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/56 "2021-03-01T20:56:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > but not many with more than two, as the nature of the “major” interstates is that they’re usually somewhat spread out. Generally that’s true, but an example: If you get on I-30 headed west from Dallas, you will merge in with I-20 (near Ft. Worth) and merge in with I-10 out in West Texas. If you get on I-30 headed east from Dallas, you will merge in with I-40 in Little Rock. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/57 "2021-03-01T21:01:12Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > If you further narrow it down to those major interstates divisible by 5 - e.g. 5, 10, 15 etc. - how many cities have 2 or more of those? As Qadgop mentioned, Baltimore has I-95 going through it and I-70 ending exactly at the city limit (by the time it was time to start building inside Baltimore City, people had sort of woken up to the whole “wait, exactly why are we wiping out entire parts of the city to put a road through?” and the whole thing was delayed long enough to give up on it. Some of what would have been the intown end exists as a freeway segment if US 40). Los Angeles has 10 and 5 and if you reeeaaalllyyyyy stretch it some may count 15. Sacramento has 80 and 5, Seattle 90 and 5. Durham NC has 85 and 40. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/58 "2021-03-01T21:05:38Z")
I-45 is perhaps a bit of a cheat in regards to Interstates divided by 5 since it goes from Houston to Dallas only. ETA: Galveston to Dallas to be precise. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/59 "2021-03-02T01:23:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Thanks to the graphic that @Mr_Downtown shared, I can see (and have confirmed on Google Maps) that Dallas has four major interstates within its city limits: I-20, I-30, I-35E, and I-40… I-40 is way up in OKC - nowhere near Big D. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983/60 "2021-03-02T01:36:07Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I-40 is way up in OKC - nowhere near Big D. Alas, that was a typo on my part. It should have been I-45. Thank you for the catch! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cities-served-by-3-or-more-primary-interstate-highways/933983.md?page=4)