U.S. Major Cities with best interstate highway connections?

[Metro Matt]

I-10 in Houston is the United States' widest stretch of freeway at over 500' wide from shoulder to shoulder. In one word its MASSIVE. At its widest point its over 20 lanes wide & stays that width for several miles.

[jetsfan16]

In the South, the two best are Columbia, SC and Atlanta. From Atlanta, you can go NW, NE, E, SE, SW, and W down the interstate to all the major cities in the South.

Columbia is great because you have I-26 which takes you to Charleston or the mountains, I-20 which goes to Atlanta or I-95, and I-77, which goes to Charlotte and directly to Ohio. You just have to go 50 miles or so on 26 before hitting 95. The only thing Columbia doesn't have is a route to Raleigh.

[imperialmog]

It is interesting to see how different the impact of the interstate highway system is depending on if it is in rural or urban areas. I have noticed in rural areas places near one and especially where two meet tend to be better off economically than more isolated places. With cities I wonder how much it really had to do with white flight since it was almost certainly going to happen for cultural reasons. Though I do have to ask at this point would a city not conncted well to the suburbs hurt revitalization chances? I could see problems if a core city is not easily accesable to more prosperous suburbs having a hard time revitalizing due to it being harder to access. As to harm to central cities and interestates, my guess is that it was disruptive and harmful when they were placed but more neutral over time as trends changed. (Especially the revitalization of inner cities)

In terms of connections to other areas and cities. St. Louis does have a good case for the top tier. The only problem is no direct connection to Iowa/Minnesota. Although in that case the road is now about all divided and eventually will be limited-access. There also is a possibility that I-24 will end in the St. Louis area due to how often people connect between 24 and St. Louis by way of I-64/I-57, that and issues related to IL-13 which any route would be close to. Another future route mentioned is I-30 going North from Little Rock ending in Jefferson County going along US-67. It will be all divided soon and many parts are already or being upgraded over time to limited access roads with grade seperated intersections.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by jetsfan16

The only thing Columbia doesn't have is a route to Raleigh.

Maybe not a direct singular route, but it's quite easy traveling the interstates to get there:

20 to 95 to 40

[kidphilly]

I believe N. Jersey around Newark has the highest concentration of Interstates and Highways of anywhere in the country

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

I-10 in Houston is the United States' widest stretch of freeway at over 500' wide from shoulder to shoulder. In one word its MASSIVE. At its widest point its over 20 lanes wide & stays that width for several miles.

Yeah, that is an awesome stretch of Highway. It really has eased Houston to Katy traffic

[danwxman]

Harrisburg, PA has a direct link to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC (via Baltimore and route 15, which is almost a limited-access highway its entire length). Also, west to Pittsburgh and northwest to State College.

[kingchef]

memphis, and getting better all the time. easy driving through the city, one inner belt way, one outer belt way that lacks about 7 miles to complete the stretch from mexico to canada. the connection from memphis to birmingham is practically finished. east town to drive through in all directions. go big M.