# Which "Main" US Interstate Highways have you travelled? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347 "2011-07-08T19:46:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/21 "2011-07-08T23:35:16Z")
All but I-15 and I-30. I’ve been the entire way on 75, 85, and 10 (as well as smaller ones like 94 and 59). ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/22 "2011-07-09T01:25:37Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > I-85 near Greensboro is like 90 in Wisconsin, except you take I-85N to go east and I-85S to go west. I-85 exactly the same in Montgomery, AL. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/23 "2011-07-09T02:07:53Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > How did you choose the ones in your poll? You left out at least half of them. In theory, the highway numbers ending in 0 and 5 are the main ones. That theory works out just about as well as the US highway numbering system did. Doesn’t matter to me; if an interstate existed between about 1972 and '78, chances are I hitch-hiked on it. I’ve also picked up some more on road trips since then. I only recently added I-72, for example, from Hannibal to Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/24 "2011-07-09T02:37:08Z")
I used to know I-40 about as well as I know my wife. Maybe better. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/25 "2011-07-09T07:43:21Z")
A good friend of my dad’s owns a company that restores and modifies old DeHavilland Beavers, a classic old bush plane from the '40s. He’d get old ones wherever he could find them. I went on one trip with him to pick up two in Kansas City and bring them to St. Paul. There were no nav radios, so we just followed I-35 the whole way. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/26 "2011-07-09T11:45:11Z")
I’ve done all but 25, 30, 45, and 55. 5 - In OR, WA, and probably sometime in L.A. 15 - between St. George, UT, and I-10 in CA 35 - between Wichita and Arkansas City, KS 65 - between Indianapolis and Louisville 75 - between Knoxville and Tampa 85 - assorted places in VA, NC, and upstate SC 95 - practically all of it between Brunswick, ME and Daytona Beach, FL 10 - bits and pieces in LA, MS, and FL (ETA: and CA) 20 - between Columbia and Florence, SC 40 - bits and pieces in NC and eastern TN 70 - from the PA turnpike to the I-270 split in MD 80 - northern NJ, eastern OH, plus the part that’s also 90 90 - almost all of it, except for the parts between Rome, NY and Cleveland, and between Coeur d’Alene, ID and Bozeman, MT ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/27 "2011-07-09T13:45:52Z")
I’ve actually traveled on both I-35’s in Texas. Those of you from Texas will get that joke.😃 EDIT: It never really occurred to me that I-20 might ever leave the DFW area, actually, as the only reason I ever got on it was to go from one city in the Metroplex to another (usually Cedar Hill, Arlington, and Dallas, as I recall). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/28 "2011-07-09T14:51:29Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I’ve actually traveled on both I-35’s in Texas. > > Those of you from Texas will get that joke.😃 > > EDIT: It never really occurred to me that I-20 might ever leave the DFW area, actually, as the only reason I ever got on it was to go from one city in the Metroplex to another (usually Cedar Hill, Arlington, and Dallas, as I recall). There are two I-35s in Minneapolis, also: I35-W and I35-E. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/29 "2011-07-09T15:09:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There are two I-35s in Minneapolis, also: I35-W and I35-E. Yep, I always thought that was kind of fascinating. It can be a very problematic thing if you don’t know about it ahead of time driving through either state (well, at least in Texas, dunno about Minnesota, but the two I-35s in Texas stay apart for some distance) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/30 "2011-07-09T18:46:34Z")
Here’s a sorted look after 100 have voted: ```auto Which Interstates have you travelled on? 95 62 62.00% 80 57 57.00% 10 55 55.00% 40 55 55.00% 90 54 54.00% 5 52 52.00% 70 47 47.00% 75 47 47.00% 35 37 37.00% 20 32 32.00% 55 31 31.00% 65 31 31.00% 15 30 30.00% 85 29 29.00% 25 18 18.00% 30 16 16.00% 45 11 11.00% Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 100 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/31 "2011-07-09T19:39:47Z")
35: A very short segment of I-35E where it’s concurrent with I-694 near St. Paul. 65: Indianapolis north to the Toll Road in Gary. 70: I live a few miles from I-70. I’ve traveled on it as far west as Indianapolis and as far east as the junction with I-270 in Maryland. 75: The Cincinnati area, and also from Dayton to Pontiac. 80: The Ohio Turnpike from Toledo to around Lorain, and also from Youngstown to I-79. ETA: And also between I-94 and I-65 in the Chicago area. 90: Ditto on the Ohio Turnpike (it’s I-80 and I-90 on the part I was on), and also from Cleveland to Syracuse. ETA: And also from Gary to where it splits from I-94 in Wisconsin. 95: Richmond to Washington, Newark to Greenwich, and Providence to just inside Maine. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/32 "2011-07-09T22:07:10Z")
I was so shocked at the number of people who have traveled I-20 that I had to go look it up. I had no idea it went so far west. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/33 "2011-07-10T01:45:18Z")
Wow. All of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/34 "2011-07-10T03:34:39Z")
I marked all put 2, but I forgot to mark I5, I drove on it from LA to Bakersfield once. And I may have actually driven on I45 while going around Dallas, the interstates there combine and split up constantly. > [@Zeldar](#): > > I used the ones in green on the list. They are supposedly the “main” ones. I didn’t want to list them all, but I’d be glad to vote in another list if somebody else wants to put it up. I don’t think the green is the main highways, just the ones that end in 5 and 10. I45 is less than 300 miles, in one state, while I44 is over 600 through 3 states. > [@elmwood](#): > > Has anybody here ever traveled on the entirety of a mainline Interstate, end to end? I75, I70, I30 (Not very difficult), and I40. Have traveled most of I65, I80, I85, I90, I95, & I55. > [@Raguleader](#): > > I’ve actually traveled on both I-35’s in Texas. > > Those of you from Texas will get that joke.😃 > [@Chefguy](#): > > There are two I-35s in Minneapolis, also: I35-W and I35-E. And I have actually traveled on both I35s in both states. Which was slightly confusing the first time I hit them. I have to admit, I had an easy time, I have spent the last year as an OTR trucker. Although I really only gained I85, I30, I20, and I10 from that. The other roads I have already driven over, including the full lengths of I75, I70, and I40. I like driving. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/35 "2011-07-10T03:59:17Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > I don’t think the green is the main highways, just the ones that end in 5 and 10. I45 is less than 300 miles, in one state, while I44 is over 600 through 3 states. If you will refer to the link in the OP, where the green marked roads are listed, down at the bottom of that page in the External links area there is a chart or crosstable where you will be able to see the text > [@](#): > > Main Interstate Highways (major interstates highlighted) and then you can draw your own conclusions. I have no objection to another poll using another set of roads labelled any way you wish. List them all for that matter. But the notion of calling the ones I chose as Main Roads was Wikipedia’s, not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/36 "2011-07-10T04:20:17Z")
There’s an I-27 in Texas that oddly never leaves the state. It just runs 120 miles or so between Lubbock and Amarillo. Maybe they have plans for it, but it’s been there for decades with no extensions. Hawaii’s interstate highways have already been discussed elsewhere on the Board. They are designated interstates in order to be eligible for federal funding, as they all begin and end at military bases. The government wants them maintained in case they need to move men and materiel rapidly between each other. But there seems to be no such reason for I-27 in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/37 "2011-07-10T18:35:47Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > If you will refer to the link in the OP, where the green marked roads are listed, down at the bottom of that page in the External links area there is a chart or crosstable where you will be able to see the text and then you can draw your own conclusions. > > I have no objection to another poll using another set of roads labelled any way you wish. List them all for that matter. But the notion of calling the ones I chose as Main Roads was Wikipedia’s, not mine. I understand why you chose them, I was simply saying that they need a better criteria than the end numeral for designating them major. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There’s an I-27 in Texas that oddly never leaves the state. It just runs 120 miles or so between Lubbock and Amarillo. Maybe they have plans for it, but it’s been there for decades with no extensions. > > Hawaii’s interstate highways have already been discussed elsewhere on the Board. They are designated interstates in order to be eligible for federal funding, as they all begin and end at military bases. The government wants them maintained in case they need to move men and materiel rapidly between each other. But there seems to be no such reason for I-27 in Texas. There is an [entire list of Intrastate highways](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intrastate_Interstate_Highways) that are part of the Interstate system. My favorites are [I19](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_19) (Reaches Mexico, but no states but Arizona), [I87](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_87) (From NYC to Canada, longest intrastate), and [I97](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_97) (Shortest Intrastate, in one county, doesn’t connect to any other 2 digit Interstate). ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/38 "2011-07-10T21:10:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There’s an I-27 in Texas that oddly never leaves the state. It just runs 120 miles or so between Lubbock and Amarillo. Maybe they have plans for it, but it’s been there for decades with no extensions. > > Hawaii’s interstate highways have already been discussed elsewhere on the Board. They are designated interstates in order to be eligible for federal funding, as they all begin and end at military bases. The government wants them maintained in case they need to move men and materiel rapidly between each other. But there seems to be no such reason for I-27 in Texas. It looks like Lubbock and Amarillo both used to be home to Air Force Bases, but I want to say both were training installations. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/39 "2011-07-10T22:00:10Z")
All but three from memory. Most likely I am missing two, I-35 and I-90. The family vacations when I was a kid involved driving to American Nuclear Society meetings. If my Dad drove his job paid gas since he’d go to the meeting and we would go vacation (note, he’d throw in an extra week so that he’d get time off as well). So we drove everywhere. Slee ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347/40 "2011-07-10T22:44:58Z")
Only 3 or 4. (I’m not completely sure about 35, it’s been awhile). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-main-us-interstate-highways-have-you-travelled/588347.md?page=3)