Largest Interstateless City? (dangerous, design, metro)

[Fastphilly]

What is the largest city in the US not served by a Interstate freeway?

[slo1318]

Directly or are you counting sub or business routes.

New Orleans isnt directly on I-10 the east/west interstate.
Fresno, not technically on an interstate

[GunnerTHB]

Jonesboro, Arkansas comes to mind first, although I doubt it's the largest. 67,263 in the city and 121,026 in the metro.

[Fastphilly]

Originally Posted by slo1318

Directly or are you counting sub or business routes.

New Orleans isnt directly on I-10 the east/west interstate.
Fresno, not technically on an interstate

Directly. No business routes.

I was on the I-10 and I remember seeing the Lousiana Superdome fairly close.It's been many years since I've been down to the Big Easy (2001), but I do remember I-10 going through New Orleans. You are right, it is Fresno. Allthough I hear State Route 99 could be renumbered in the coming years as I-9. The majority of the route from the I-5 cutoff to Sacramento is complete on ramp-off ramp multi-laned.

Crazy that a city of 510,000 is not served by an Interstate.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by Fastphilly

Directly. No business routes.

I was on the I-10 and I remember seeing the Lousiana Superdome fairly close.It's been many years since I've been down to the Big Easy (2001), but I do remember I-10 going through New Orleans. You are right, it is Fresno. Allthough I hear State Route 99 could be renumbered in the coming years as I-9. The majority of the route from the I-5 cutoff to Sacramento is complete on ramp-off ramp multi-laned.

Crazy that a city of 510,000 is not served by an Interstate.

It's definitely Fresno--and there isn't even a very good connection going west to get to I-5 on the western edge of the Central Valley. You're forced to drive through country highways and rural roads through farmland and small towns to get to the Interstate. When I was a kid growing up in Santa Cruz, I always thought that Fresno was further south, and I'd forget that it's directly east of the Monterey Bay Area because it seemed so much further to get there with the roads you had to take.

Highway 99 serves as the main freeway for the San Joaquin Valley south of Manteca and Stockton all the way to Bakersfield. There's been talk in the past of sometime in the future upgrading Highway 99 to becoming Interstate 7 or Interstate 9. But at the present time, Fresno seems like the most isolated large city in California, since I-5 was built to bypass it and since there isn't a fast connecting highway from the South Bay/Silicon Valley/San Jose area or the coast. Highway 152 gets you to 99 north of Fresno fairly quick, but still for a city of about half a million people, it's strange that they've never upgrade the highway system to there.

Interstate-Guide: Interstate 9

[Fastphilly]

Originally Posted by Deezus

It's definitely Fresno--and there isn't even a very good connection going west to get to I-5 on the western edge of the Central Valley. You're forced to drive through country highways and rural roads through farmland and small towns to get to the Interstate. When I was a kid growing up in Santa Cruz, I always thought that Fresno was further south, and I'd forget that it's directly east of the Monterey Bay Area because it seemed so much further to get there with the roads you had to take.

Highway 99 serves as the main freeway for the San Joaquin Valley south of Manteca and Stockton all the way to Bakersfield. There's been talk in the past of sometime in the future upgrading Highway 99 to becoming Interstate 7 or Interstate 9. But at the present time, Fresno seems like the most isolated large city in California, since I-5 was built to bypass it and since there isn't a fast connecting highway from the South Bay/Silicon Valley/San Jose area or the coast. Highway 152 gets you to 99 north of Fresno fairly quick, but still for a city of about half a million people, it's strange that they've never upgrade the highway system to there.

Interstate-Guide: Interstate 9

Great post!! There is State route 41 If memory serves correct that goes to I-5..I'm spouting off without cross checking my post with a map but I do remember a State Route that heads in a Southwesterly direction from Fresno. But you are right that there is no "Due West" highway routing to I-5. From San Francisco, I take either I-580/I-205/I-5/CA-120/CA-99 through Tracy and Manteca or I-5 to CA-152 to CA-99. Both seem to be about the same time drivewise.

As for Highway 152, it is DANGEROUS on the Gilroy side. There are too many big rigs and there is a stretch that is two way traffic with just a yellow painted line. For a major metro like the South Bay to have to transverse a high speed two way road to get to Fresno/Los Angeles/beyond that is horrible. NOTE: 101 takes too long to use for a LA run.

[slo1318]

Originally Posted by Fastphilly

Directly. No business routes.

I was on the I-10 and I remember seeing the Lousiana Superdome fairly close.It's been many years since I've been down to the Big Easy (2001), but I do remember I-10 going through New Orleans. You are right, it is Fresno. Allthough I hear State Route 99 could be renumbered in the coming years as I-9. The majority of the route from the I-5 cutoff to Sacramento is complete on ramp-off ramp multi-laned.

Crazy that a city of 510,000 is not served by an Interstate.

I guess you are right, they named the northern route north of New Orleans I-12, but its actually the more direct route east/west. I-10 is like a half loop that swoops down through New Orleans that you would only take if you wanted to see New Orleans.

[jtur88]

However, Fresno still has a freeway, which is more important than the question of whether it is designated as an interstate highway or not.

The largest city that is not connected by a 4-lane road to the interstate system is San Angelo, Texas, whose 92,000 people have to drive on many miles of 2-lane road in order access the interstate network.

[Chicago60614]

Pretty sure I-10, one of the biggest interstate in the country, goes straight through downtown New Orleans.

[jtur88]

Lexington Kentucky (300,000, now the biggest city in the state) is not "on" an interstate. The interstates pass right by, but Lexington itself is a nightmare of connecting feeders and ring roads with traffic lights, cross traffic, and incomprehensible signage, and no access roads signed as interstate business routes.