Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2024 May 11

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May 11

East-west interstates go 10,20,30,40,64,70,80,90 with no 50

The main east-west interstates in the United States, in order from south to north, are 10, 20, 30, 40, 64, 70, 80, and 90; with no 50. The reason there is no I-50 is because they thought that I-50 and US 50 would likely go through the same areas, and that it would be confusing. But, according to the US 50 article, US 50 is north of I-64, and the missing I-50 would be between I-40 and I-64. What's wrong with what I said?? Georgia guy (talk) 19:07, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

Two thoughts… first I-64 may have been an afterthought (ie added after they had decided to skip both I-50 and I-60 in the numbering)… second, it seems that I-64 was originally planed to run quite a bit further to the north than it does now. Blueboar (talk) 19:37, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

Where was it initially planned to go?? It goes from Saint Louis through Louisville, Lexington, Huntington, Charleston, Beckley, Charlottesville, Richmond, and Norfolk. What cities was it initially planned to go through?? Georgia guy (talk) 19:53, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

The Feds say that even going through some of the same states as US-50 would have been confusing. Remember, they reversed the numbering system to avoid the US Route numbering system. And I-50 may have never reached the planning stage. Abductive (reasoning) 20:26, 11 May 2024 (UTC)