U.S. road system question

[robkelk]

Is there a road in the USA - a ribbon of highway that can be driven without taking an on-ramp or off-ramp in the middle of the trip, not necessarily a single Interstate - equivalent to Canada's Trans-Canada Highway?

The defining characteristic of the Trans-Canada Highway is that it stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It has different names or numbers in different provinces, but it's identified as the Trans-Canada Highway along its entire route. (While it exists in all ten provinces, it doesn't extend to the territories, and the section in PEI is as connected as are the Interstates in Alaska. Thus, it doesn't matter whether the road that I'm wondering exists does or doesn't pass through all 48 contiguous states.)

IIRC, "Route 66" only went as far east as Chicago, so it isn't long enough...

[Labster]

Without taking a ramp: That's an interesting challenge.  Even Interstate 5, you have to take a ramp to continue on it, as the majority of lanes north of L.A. point towards 99 and Bakersfield.

If we're being a strict as that, it looks like 80 is out, though it looks like 101-80-76 will get you to from L.A. to Philadelphia.  10 runs from Santa Monica to San Antonio before getting lost in a freeway maze.  And 40 is only Barstow, Calif to Memphis.  So the answer would be "no".

If you had a looser definition of "without taking a ramp" to mean "not leaving a freeway", then any of 80, 10, or 40 will get you from coast to coast. There are several more useful routes depending on which corners you're trying to connect, as all of the Interstate Highways have no cross-traffic.

See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Highway which is an old, mostly forgotten road that was an early transcontinental car route.

[LynnInDenver]

If it weren't for the Kansas Turnpike (it becomes a toll road for about 236 miles, and you basically have to pick up a ticket at one end, then pay a fee at the other), I-70 might almost qualify: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_70

[Labster]

I-70: Well, except for the stopping 500 miles from the ocean part.

[robkelk]

Thanks.

Parts of the Trans-Canada are toll roads, so that isn't a concern. (In Canada, "highway" and "freeway" aren't quite synonyms.)

[Rajvik]

No, I-40 goes all the way to I-95 which is the East coast north to south run, and I-10 goes all the way to Jacksonville Fla

[Labster]

You're not applying a "no-ramps" rule, Rajvik. Though the definition of that is kind of hazy. Take the 101-134-170 interchange in North Hollywood. Should I consider the 101 to be taking a ramp here to stay on the same-numbered freeway or not? The majority of lanes curve, but it sure looks like a standard interchange. Notably the names are different from the numbers here -- the Ventura Freeway goes east-west, the Hollywood Freeway goes north-south. The 170 leaves north, the 134 leaves east, and the 101 has the west and south branches. (Named freeways is the most likely reason we use the definite pronoun on the numbered version as well down here.)

[robkelk]

I'm going to have to relax the "no off-ramps" rule, because of this.

That's a junction between Ontario Highways 11 and 17. Highway 17 is the Trans-Canada Highway. West of that interchange, 11 and 17 are concurrent... and Highway 17 has the ramp going east.

So... if it's highway-to-highway, then a ramp is okay.

[Ebony]

I cannot confirm the northern half, but I believe that Interstate 35 runs uninterrupted from Laredo, Texas (terminating fairly close to the Mexico border) to Duluth, Minnesota. It splits into two halves at Hillsboro, Texas, with I-35E going through Dallas and I-35W going through Ft. Worth, but they join back again in the northern end of Denton, Texas (Home of the University of North Texas), and there's no interruption of the road requiring taking a ramp.

[jonathanlennox]

I'd suggest I-90 (Boston to Seattle), though I'm not sure of all the details of what happens going through Chicago.

Note that staying on I-90 isn't actually the shortest route from Logan Airport to Safeco Field; if you ask Google Maps it'll put you on a few other highways along the way, cutting off some of I-90's corners.

But you're definitely going from a tunnel under Boston Harbor (connected to the Atlantic) to less than a mile from Puget Sound (connected to the Pacific).