Interstate Orphans | Why These Highways DO NOT Connect to their Parent Routes 

You missed I-370 in Maryland, which spurs off of I-270. I-270 should also be an odd digit highway since it doesn't loop back to I-70.

I-495 in NY is most certainly an orphan interstate too! It was originally planned to cross Manhattan and connect to the Lincoln Tunnel (currently designated as NY 495 and NJ 495) which would then meet I-95 in NJ. If we want to go even further with potentially resigning, I-295, I-495, I-478, and I-678 are all spur routes and should have odd first digits. I-287, which bypasses the New York City area, does meet with its parent I-87, but both ends are at different points on I-95, so that should also be a child of I-95. If I were to go about resigning all of these, I'd label the current I-278 as I-495 (to avoid confusion with I-295 around Trenton because of the tiny section of I-278 in NJ), the current I-695 staying the same, the current I-287 as I-895, the current I-295 as I-195, the current I-495 as I-395, the current I-678 as I-595, and the current I-478 as I-795. And for good measure, resign NY 895 as NY 295 to avoid confusion with the new I-895 replacing I-287, NY/NJ 495 as NY/NJ 395, and NY 878 as NY 995. I also wouldn't be opposed to resigning the current I-495 as a major interstate, perhaps I-82, considering its prominence in serving nearly 3.8 million people across Long Island, as well as most freight, as it's Long Island's only interstate outside of the city.

Born and raised in Worcester County, and I was wicked impressed by the correct pronunciation of the city, a lot of non locals butcher it often. And then you followed it up with Lee O Minster and my heart sank! Lmfao, obviously kidding, but correct pronunciation is easier than it looks - the "Leomin" is pronounced like "Lemon." Lemmen-Stir. Great video as always

You have the classic military cadre/drill instructor voice. Very commanding, clear, concise....and oddly enough, very calming.

I love these types of videos 😍. I’m such a nerd for this stuff lol

The 210 used to connect to the 10 at the Kellogg Interchange with CA 57 and 71, but when the stub CA 30 freeway was extended east, California pulled the 210 off what is now the northernmost segment of the 57, and put it onto what was the 30 as CA 210. And the Feds still consider that portion of the 57 to be chargeable Interstate.

Love the video Mike. In it, you mention an interstate with traffic lights. I have another example of that for you, which is I 70 in Breezewood, PA. It joins up with US 30 (Lincoln Hwy) for 2-3 lights through town before joining with the PA Turnpike (I-76). This stems from an old law (now changed) in PA where a toll road couldn't directly connect with the Interstate Highway System, which could be an interesting topic in itself.

I-495 in NYC actually never touches it's parent in I-95. I-495 in NJ was replaced by NJ-495 which spawns from I-95.

579 in Pittsburgh only connects to 279. Also used to be named interstate 876.

One that is often overlooked, and I'm not sure why because it's mentioned fairly heavily on other websites is I-690 in Syracuse, NY. It was originally supposed to extend beyond its current terminus passing through the Eastern suburbs of East Syracuse, Minoa Chittenango and Canastota and reconnect to the New York State Thruway (I-90) in Canastota, but was abandoned due to local opposition. If you use Google maps to look at it's interchange with Interstate 481 to the Southeast of Downtown Syracuse, you can still see it's planned Eastern Route back towards it's parent route. It's something they've maintained to this day and to ensure it's still useable, constructed a New York State DOT barn at the former merge point to ensure that area did not go to waste.

Good video, Mike! I’ve always been curious of these “bastard” child routes. I-238 is bad and it doesn’t have an Interstate parent. California and New York are the kings of these routes.

I should point out that even though I 78 was cancelled in New York City (outside of that 1/4 mile you mentioned), 278 STILL could've been connected to I-78 - in New Jersey. You'll notice that 278 ends abruptly about a mile west of the Turnpike at US 1. However, 278 was supposed to connect with 78 at the point where the NJ 24 freeway meets 78, crossing the Garden State Parkway in the process somewhere not far from where the GSP and 22 intersect. That freeway was cancelled somewhere in the 60's or 70's, for reasons that everyone can guess. And it explains several issues that existed for a long time (and one still does). For over 40 years, for instance, one could not go from the GSP north to 78 West or from GSP south to 78 East - because 278 was supposed to be that link instead. Didn't happen. Now you can as ramps have been built to make that possible. The 2nd one is still a problem: The exit ramps from 78 to 24 and vice versa had to be rebuilt before they were finished in the first place in the mid 70's or so because 278 was not built. One consequence is that the ramp from 78 east (local) to 24 west is a sharp reverse curve underneath the rest of 78 with a left lane merge to 24 that is hazardous especially in bad weather, made even worse by the fact that 78 east is headed downhill rather steeply while 24 west goes back up the same hill. So, yes, 278 is an orphan - on several levels.

I was just on I-795 yesterday. It's definitely a necessary route, though orphaned.

CA-210 from Glendora to Redlands is indeed up to interstate standards. It's a full fledged freeway like many others in the LA area.

I-280 comes really close to meeting I-80. When I-280 dumps you onto city streets at the sixth street exit go one block north, then two blocks east to reach an on ramp to I-80. So, three city blocks short. But it’s still the fastest way to get on the Bay Bridge from the peninsula, IMO, rather than using US 101. There was some kind of freeway revolt in SF in the 1960s. I think that is why it stops short. That is definitely why US 101 goes onto city streets shortly after the I-80 interchange on its way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Interstate highway standards won’t allow the three city blocks between I-280 and I-80 to be signed as I-280. The street section of US 101 is several miles.

I currently live in Maryland and I think the car changing lanes and almost cutting the person off without a signal at around 6:50 perfectly encapsulates Maryland drivers.

Here's a thought: these "spur-of-spur" routes should be called *GRANDCHILD ROUTES,* since they're branching off the branch, and (generally) connect to the main line through that branch.

Great video, another orphan interstate is the short I-579 in downtown Pittsburgh, it only connects to I-279 and the connection only allows you to go northbound on 279

To answer your question at the end, I've been on I-190 throughout its entirety in the Worcester, MA, area and at an intersection with I-590 in Rochester, NY

There is one more in NYC, I-495 Long Island Expressway. Going from Riverhead in Long Island west to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, it was going to connect to the Lincoln Tunnel and continue to I-95 at Exit 16E. The Manhattan connector was never built. New Jersey used to have I-495 signs on their part but took them down though a sign still in Manhattan on route 9A 12th Street heading south above 42nd Street still shows i-495 on it for the Lincoln Tunnel.

Aside from what didn't happen in NYC, I-278 was still supposed to connect to I-78 in New Jersey in the Union area. This western extension of 278 was also cancelled by community opposition. And if I-480 is available in CA, the state should really renumber I-238, which is a completely illegal designation.

Technically, I-235 in Wichita, Kansas is an orphan route. Although signed along with I-135 on the Kansas Turnpike exit (I-35), the actual begin and end of I-235 is about a mile north on I-135. On the singular exit between I-35 and I-235 on I-135 at 47th Street, I-235 is signed with a pathfinder shield as "To I-235". Of course, the norther terminus of I-235 is again at I-135.

It’s interesting that Philadelphia has 2 interstates that are both auxiliary routes of I-76 & I-95, yet somehow they got them both signed and named as the main route as a matter of pride, because the city wants to say that the 2 main interstates run through the city, but in actuality, both are auxiliary routes, and numbered improperly 😂

About I-238 in California: One thing I don't understand is why the interstate highway system doesn't use four-digit numbers such as 1080, 1180, etc. I-238 would better be served as I-1080. New York ran out of numbers for I-90 with all numbers between I-190 and I-990 being used. Or renumber CA-180 to something else and renumber I-238 as I-180. There is precedent here. When I-5 was created, CA-5 which ran atop the coast mountan range north of Santa Cruz was renumbered to CA-35 so that I-5 could be numbered.

In Memphis Tennessee i-269 is a orphan route

275 around Detroit. The road is formed at exit 20 on 1-75 then proceeds north where it connects 1-96 and ends. 275 connects with 696 that eventually heads east where it’s joins 1-75. 696 ends at the junction with 1-94.

Great video! Also of note that was missed, I380 in Iowa is heavily traveled to shortcut to I35 towards Minneapolis, instead of going all the way to Des Moines

I-380 in the Bay Area was supposed to go all the way out to Pacifica, but due to freeway revolts in the 1970s it was only truncated to I-280. If you look of Google Maps at the western end of I-380 you can see that it is wider than it needs to be. There's also a disconnected piece of freeway right next to I-280 that was meant to pe part of the extension.

Though not exactly an orphan, I-476 only connects once to its parent interstate despite having a leading even number

1:58 California State Route 210 just had a major upgrade on the narrowest section, near I-10 in Redlands. Was originally 4 lanes and was upgraded to 6 lanes with wider shoulders. They seem to be taking a while to upgrade to the red and blue shields though…

One you missed was I-105 in Greater Los Angeles. It doesn’t directly connect to its parent route of I-5. It does, however, connect to 2 other 3 digit routes with the parent I-5. Those are, I-405 and I-605.

Oh, there are some Interstates that people would think should be a 3-digit spur. Some Texas examples are I-14 and I-27.

In Maryland, I-370. I-370 is a spur of I-270, which is a spur of I-70.

Can you do a video on all the bridges and tunnels in NYC? I’d love to learn more about them, that would be very interesting!

A small FYI - the town in Massachusetts where I-190 ends is pronounced "Lemminster". Most towns in MA have weird pronunciations - just go with it. 😗

I remember when I-238 (as now) was signed as California state route 238. I was never sure why they changed it, or whether the state route was given that number in anticipation of the Interstate upgrade.

I-695 in Washington, D.C. does not connect with I-95, but does connect with I-395 and I-295 in Washington, DC. Reisterstown is pronounced like "Rye" as in rye bread. If I'm not mistaken, I-195 in NJ was orphaned until PA/NJ ran the I-95 designation across the Delaware River Bridge and to and up the NJ Turnpike. That 95 designation used to appear on the Turnpike north of I-195 until that time (they had those "TO I-95" signs on parts of the Jersey Turnpike). Then I-195 was no longer orphaned.

I find it interesting that the leaders of Columbus, Georgia (FYI Fort Benning one of the largest Army training centers in the US is literally next door) have been able to suppress the construction of the east-west interstate connector from Montgomery to Macon while keeping a lid on the I-75 by-pass around metro-Atlanta (Chattanooga to Tallahassee) that is now the I-185 connector for all these years.

I believe when a 3-digit route that branches off another 3-digit route that branches off the parent route is called a tertiary auxiliary or tertiary spur.

The other I-587 in Kingston, NY doesn't really connect directly to I-87 and is not signed on I-87.

NYC Interstate proposals (with minimal construction needed): Extend I-78 in a tunnel (westbound on Spring St, eastbound on Grand St) to the Williamsburg Bridge. It could even use the remnants of the Nassau Street line to cut costs. In this way, I-78 would connect to I-278. No exits in this tunnel to reduce congestion. From I-278 it would be an elevated Grand Street Expressway connecting to I-495/LIE in Maspeth, reducing I-278 traffic and providing a third LI-NJ route. I-495 would then be renumbered at I-78 from this point, with I-178 being the branch to the Midtown Tunnel. While were add it, we can have a pair of tunnels under 38th and 39th Street connecting the Lincoln Tunnel to the QMT with no exits. Id NJ 495 was upgraded to interstate standards, this I-178 could instead be I-495 as it is now.

Interstate 210 in California used to connect to I-10 (and on the federal level still does). That was when I-210 curved south in Glendora and met I-10 where SR57 and SR71 also end(ed) at the Kellogg Interchange. However, California later decided that extending the 210 along what was SR30 to Redlands was a good idea, and constructed a freeway signed as SR210 (once some segments in San Bernardino are up to standards, the hope is to have that as I-210, thus resolving the situation.) while resigning I-210's southeasternmost segment as an extension of SR57.

Ill give a Small mention to PA-378 in Bethlehem PA, which was originally I-378 but was Orphaned when I-78 was rerouted south of the City, but it was Adopting into a Pennsylvania State Route keeping its original Number and is now basically a Spur of US-22, so at least One of I-78’s abandoned children got a Home

Good video! Just was in Buffalo visiting relatives in New York state. During an internship, lived in Williamsville right across the street from Amherst and SUNY Buffalo at Amherst. I-990 runs through and has an exit or two through the perimeter of the campus, which I always thought it was odd.

Thanks for this video, Mike. I have relatives just north of Worcester, MA, so I was wondering if I-190 would make the list. I'm glad it did.

The 105 in Los Angeles is a tertiary/orphan route as it also never meets up with the 5 directly, only connecting to it via the 605.

The section of the 210 up until state route 259 is up to interstate standards, but it’s still signed as a state route because the shorter section between the 259 and where it eventually meets up with I-10 is not yet.

Recently found your channel. Been a real fascinating look into these insights you provided! I am curious though: Are you gonna cover more of the New England highways sometime? There might a handful of oddities even I am not aware of, speaking as a native Rhode Islander.

0:14 One of the best things to see when traveling back home from out of state!!! “Welcome to TEXAS”. Bad thing about where I live from any Interstate state line, is it there’s usually AT LEAST 300 miles still to go!!

Great video Mike

Great video! One thing I noticed about the Bay Area i-80 spur routes: treat US-101 as i-80's extension/equivalent, then all the interstate codes would make sense. i-280 starts and ends at 101, hence even number, with a bit overshoot into SF; i-380 is spurred from 101 instead of i-280; i-580 starts at 101 and ends at i-205 (i-205 is indeed the one that actually doesn't make sense), hence odd number; i-680 starts at i-80 and ends at 101 (treated as i-80, hence the even number 6); i-780 doesn't connect back to i-80 nor 101, hence odd; i-880 connects i-80 and 101... Voila!

I'm not a frequent commenter, but I wanted to comment on your saying that I-280 in Bay Area California was noted as the most beautiful freeway. I think you meant it was noted as the most beautiful "urban" freeway. I used to drive it everyday when I worked in the area for a year and I can definitely agree it passes some amazing mountain scenery as it passes through the foothills where the San Andreas Fault literally passes through.

The 210 did connect to I-10 until they built the extension. 57 use to start south of the 10, the upper part was 210. Now why it has an even number is beyond me cause it never connected on the north end.

They should extend I-80 from NJ to be routed to and replace I-495 at Long Island, since I-495 will never cross the Long Island sound, as originally planned. Ans I-678 should be renumbered I-995, I-278 as I-695 and I-287 in NJ, as I-895, since I-287 begins and ends on I-95.

Awesome video!

Like, a month ago, near me, Oklahoma City made the Kickapoo Turnpike I-335. Right now, it's an orphan interstate too, but it has plans to extend to Norman and Purcell, meaning it will no longer be an orphan

Good stuff, always been a highway nerd!! Being a Mass resident, I’ll give you a hint on how to say Leominster… It’s LEM-in-ster. Or “stah” if you’re a townie. Cheers!

the routes like 990 and 795 are just the grandchildren of the main routes

You missed I-105 in California which barely misses I-5.

There is also no I-3 or I-7/9 in California because those state routes are taken. I-7/9 was supposed to take over SR 99 between I-5 between Stockton and south of Bakersfield.

Hey, that outro is the orphan I-695 in DC. Part 2 coming soon?

The "O" in Leominster is silent, so it is properly pronounced "leminster".

No mention of I-105 in Norwalk, CA??

Isn’t there a weird interstate in Chicago that goes directly into Chicago ohare airport..? I-190 or I-194??

Would have loved to hear you share about I 495 the LIE. It connects with I 95 in NJ but as NJ 495. A failed attempt to connect this section with the formal interstate over in Queens and Long Island

You forgot I-495 in nyc ,Long Island expressway it ends in Manhattan and doesn’t connect to I-95

NYC also has I-495, which is a 70 mile spur route that never intersects with I-95

I drove on I-369 in Texarkana, Texas. I was confused as to where the parent I-69 was, so I looked it up. I-69 is nowhere near northeast Texas at this point. I-369 runs only a few miles from I-30 to US-59. Actually, US-59 is co-signed with I-369. Down at Nacogdoches, Texas, it appears part o I-69 is being built south of the city as there is highway construction to by-pass US-59.

I370 in Maryland does the same thing i795 does.

Yep. I've driven I-590 in Rochester, NY.

What’s ridiculous is NJ wants to spend $10 billion to expand I 78 though NJ up to the holland tunnel, even though there’s no plans to expand the tunnel or extend the interstate it in NYC. NYC could use i78 being finished, but Boston style underground as a bypass to skip Manhattan when going to Long Island.

I-190 (using Rt. 146 to I-290) has been useful for me as a native of Rhode Island, to drive to Vermont. This portion of interstate keeps our average speed up before state routes 2 & 12 to pass through southwestern New Hampshire and connect to I-91 just across the state line. Without this option, the choices are to use one of the belt highways around Boston I-95 or I-495 to I-93 north to I-89 north to enter the middle of Vermont; or take I-90 due west and I-91 due north from the Springfield area. Longer but speedier routes. However with any type of traffic or delays (which happen often on I-90, I-495 or I-95), these quickly become frustrating options.

I-169 in Brownsville spawns off of I-69E. I wonder if we can include this as an orphan as this spawns off of a suffixed I-69 route rather than the mainline I-69. I-635 is another example around Dallas as a child route of I-35E but I don't consider this an orphan since 35E carries the mainline mileage of I-35.

The Chicago Skyway, fron the Indiana State Line to the junction with I-94 on the South Side, is signed as TO I-90.

I481 was supposed to loop around Syracuse but never did. People often get confused with I690 (signed East West) but becomes NY690 (signed North South) at the NYS Tway interchange #39

One thing that I wants to add is that there is actually a California State Highway 238 which runs from I-238 in Ashland to I-680 in Fremont, which is weird considering that Interstates and California State Highways does not share the same number, and maybe that is where the Interstate got its name from.

Thanks

Could I add one that was an orphan? That would be the now CT 66 in Windham . It was a part of the proposed Interstate 84 to Providence, then it proposed as Interstate 384 (which was unique as it was 2 orphaned routes (The Manchester Bypass, which is now connected to Interstate 84 and the Windham Bypass, which is now Connecticut Route 66). Another orphaned route was Interstate 291, now connected to Interstate 91 and Interstate 84)

This one is a future example I-576 in pittsburgh

Since this is such a missed interstate whenever we are talking about this, I-444 in Downtown Tulsa AKA the IDL is another orphan you missed Back in the early 1970's, ODOT was in the middle of construction of I-244, Which spawned I-444. It was also made to circle around the downtown area just like its brother. However, You cannot see it while driving on 412, 75, LL Tisdale, Or the BA since they took down the signing back in the 90's citing drivers being confused on the actual interstate since...you see why, But my point still stands. Despite this, Google and Apple have yet to take off the signage on their maps regarding this so you are still able to see this as of writing.

Now that I-335 is connected between I-40, and I-44, east of Oklahoma City Oklahoma.

When discussing New York Interstates, you forgot to mention I-495 or New Yorkers call it LIE. Goes from Midtown tunnel in Queens and ends on the shore deep in Long Island. That is the most orphan of all of them. No connection to I-95 at all lol

Although some auxiliary highways don’t connect directly to their parent routes, as long as they have other auxiliary interstates that belong to the same parent route, it’s still acceptable. This is what I call a sibling route.

You missed my home interstate, I-495, (perpendicular to I-278 and I-678) because it simply doesn't connect to its parent I-95 at all. In order for that to be addressed, the highway will have to cut through the Empire State Building.

What about doing a video about the connection between Barstow and Bakersfield California. Between Reno NV and San Bernardino, a distance of 450 miles, there are no interstates crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains. Plans are to upgrade CA 58 to Interstate 40. Connecting Central and Northern California to Las Vegas, Arizona and beyond.

You missed one in the Bay Area: I-980; and one in LA: I-105. The 280 was supposed to meet with the now demolished 480. Your map only highlighted the 280 down to the 880/17 interchange. It extends east to the 101 where it merges into the southern terminus of the 680. This is the famous half finished interchange. For most of the '70's into the early '80's the connecting ramps between the 280/680 with the 101 were left starting and stopping in 150'+ in mid air!. A radio station had a Cadillac hoisted up on the orphan elevated bridge where a DJ broadcasted for a few days to bring attention to the absurdity of the abrupt mid '7's freeway budget cuts.

I 390 which is the Elgin OHare expressway in Chicago suburbs.

What is now I-295 in Queens, NYC, was originally signed as I-78 when built in the early 1960s.

I am not sure I remember this right. But I do recall a California state hwy 238 where I 238 is now. So maybe what California did was upgrade state hwy ,238 to interstate standards but kept the 238 designation as a courtesy to drivers

I have driven in all of the cities and interstates mentioned. The worst place to drive is I-5 in Washington. Specifically in the Seattle area. Drivers do not know how to merge. Even in off peak hours traffic backs up on the interstate at on ramps to the interstate.

I-635 on the east side of the Dallas- Ft Worth Metro and is a spur route to I-35, I know you know that I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W, 635 does connect to I-35E but doesnt connect to I-35W. It also doesnt start off I-35E on the southbound terminus and doesnt start at the northern terminus, its route starts at Texas 121 on the north end and ends on I-20 on the southern end

I-605 is an interstate orphan since it goes from the end of I-405 and start of CA-22 all the way to Route 66 and I-210 where it ends. I-105 is also an interstate orphan since it starts from Studebaker Rd, Hoxie Ave, and I-605 before ending at Imperial Highway at Los Angeles International Airport.

I've always wondered why Interstate 238 was a thing. It's an interstate auxiliary route that connects two different auxiliary routes. It would make no sense to have an auxiliary route for an auxiliary route. I just think that California didn't want another auxiliary route for I-80. They could've labeled that interstate, "I-180".. Since the one in Wyoming doesn't meet interstate federal standards.

You could probably call I-579 in western PA an orphan, as it doesn't connect to I-79, although it does connect to I-279

I 585 will probably always be an orphan. It does in indirectly connect to I 85 via freeway on Business 85

I-87 from Raleigh to the Hampton Roads should be deisgnated as I-99 and it has rightfully earned it.

As a person from the Bay Area, I-238 could theoretically extend to the I-380, but it will never happen. 238 would have to be extended through Manor Blvd, the mouth of the Estudillo Canal, and Marina Park to even get to the Bay. Then the Bridge would have to be a bit long as it can’t go straight to the other side of the bay. So it has to go diagonally south. Then the connector between the 380 and the bay goes through parking at SFO. Backlash from SFO, San Bruno, the City of San Francisco, San Lorenzo, and Alameda County would never allow that to happen.

No but I think I have driven on a future orphan, and that’s IL 390 in the Chicago area. It’s future eastern terminus will be at I-490 on the west side of O’Hare Airport once it’s completed in the not-too-distant future. My thinking would be that once I-490 is built, IL 390 will be upgraded to I-390.

I-105 doesn't connect to I-5 Nether even though they are 1/2mile from each other.

I love New York