obsession with the US roadway system?

Sunday May 25th 2008

roads-thumb2A week or so ago I was delivering my sister from TPA to Pop’s house. At one point we were on Highway 41 and I said “We’re goin’ down Highway 41, just like it says in Ramblin’ Man.”

My sister replied with “How do you know all this stuff?”

I answered that I like to research stuff. This stuff includes things about roads in the US.

Here’s a small example (with driving):

On a local level I will purposely take roads other people don’t just to see where they go as long as it doesn’t take me too far out of my way (because at that point you’re wasting gas.) A good example is the way I drive to my boss’ house as there are several ways to get there.

  1. I-275 to I-4 to I-75 - very roundabout way but is an option.
  2. I-75 southbound - straight to exit, drive a few miles and you’re there.
  3. US-301 southbound - follows somewhat alongside I-75, takes longer.
  4. US-41 (Tamiami Trail) - this is the way I’ve been going for some time now.

I started off by taking I-275 to I-4 to I-75 because I didn’t know any better. Total distance was close to 35 miles.

Then I discovered I could just take I-75 directly there. This cut the trip down to about 25 miles. Yeah, big difference.

I tried US-301 a few times. Distance-wise it’s decent but any time saved is for nothing because of the wasted gas from stop-and-go traffic.

On a goof I found that Tamiami Trail is the best way to get there. If I remember correctly, the reason I ended up on Tamiami the first time was due to road construction where I was forced to take that road. I’m glad that happened because that road has the lightest traffic, allows you to breeze along at 55mph and (best part) cut my trip down to just under 21 miles. The only drawback is that it adds about 10 minutes to the trip. I encounter some stop-and-go traffic near Ybor City but it’s all smooth sailing right after that point.

Due to my experimentation (and a little luck) I cut 14 miles out of the trip. In addition the route I take now is far less stressful, so it’s a winning situation all around.

Am I obsessed with the US roadway system? Considering I save gas by examining where to go, I’d say no. :-)

For those keeping score, the signs in the image above are for I-75, CR-580, SR-60, US-92, New England Route 12, and Connecticut I-395.

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