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Shortest distances between adjacent county lines on Interstates

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Larry Harvilla

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Nov 21, 2004, 3:05:39 AM11/21/04
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The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was coming up
I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before it
crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is probably
the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.

What are some of the others? Discuss ...

--
Larry Harvilla
E-mail: roads AT phatpage DOT org

also visit: http://www.phatpage.org/
Highways section in progress.


SloRide9430

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Nov 21, 2004, 7:48:14 AM11/21/04
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>From: "Larry Harvilla"

>The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was coming up
>I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
>through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before it
>crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is probably
>the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.

I've often wondered about that too, as I-75 thru Georgia is my primary traffic
lane.

BTW, 250 feet AT MOST!


Safe truckin' !

Slo

Marc Fannin

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Nov 21, 2004, 1:53:32 PM11/21/04
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Larry Harvilla wrote:

> The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was
coming up
> I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts

> through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before
it
> crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is
probably
> the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.
>
> What are some of the others? Discuss ...

The Mob Rule county counters website has a whole page addressing these
instances:

http://www.mob-rule.com/counties/faq.html

:)

________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musx...@kent.edu or @hotmail.com| http://www.roadfan.com/

US 71

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Nov 21, 2004, 2:13:55 PM11/21/04
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I-530 all but straddles the Jefferson and Grant County Lines. I'd need a
county map (or mapblast) to figure out the exact alignment.


---
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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Michael G. Koerner

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Nov 21, 2004, 2:26:52 PM11/21/04
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Marc Fannin wrote:
>
> Larry Harvilla wrote:
>
> > The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was
> coming up
> > I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
>
> > through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before
> it
> > crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is
> probably
> > the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.
> >

I-57 'ticks' a county corner (Fayette County) in central/southern Illinois.

--
___________________________________________ ____ _______________
Regards, | |\ ____
| | | | |\
Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again!
Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | |
___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________

Robert Cruickshank

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Nov 21, 2004, 3:33:53 PM11/21/04
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Marc Fannin wrote:
> Larry Harvilla wrote:
>>What are some of the others? Discuss ...
>
>
> The Mob Rule county counters website has a whole page addressing these
> instances:
>
> http://www.mob-rule.com/counties/faq.html

That isn't a comprehensive list. I-80 cuts a small corner of Napa
County, California, between Vallejo and Fairfield - both of which are in
Solano County. It only lasts for maybe a mile and a half. There is no
sign saying you're entering Napa County, but the Caltrans postmiles in
this area do note that you're in Napa County (using the three-letter
code NAP), and the postmiles use Solano County's numbers, so there's no
discontinuity as you leave and re-enter Solano via Napa on I-80.

--
Robert I. Cruickshank
roadgeek, historian, progressive

The Etobian

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Nov 21, 2004, 4:02:47 PM11/21/04
to
On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 13:26:52 -0600, "Michael G. Koerner"
<mgk...@dataex.com> wrote:

>Marc Fannin wrote:
>>
>> Larry Harvilla wrote:
>>
>> > The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was
>> coming up
>> > I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
>>
>> > through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before
>> it
>> > crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is
>> probably
>> > the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.
>> >
>
>I-57 'ticks' a county corner (Fayette County) in central/southern Illinois.

About 1/3 mile of Clay County, actually.

David J. Grabiner

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Nov 21, 2004, 7:18:50 PM11/21/04
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"Larry Harvilla" <ro...@SCREWSPAM.phatpage.org> writes:

> The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was coming up
> I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
> through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before it
> crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is probably
> the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.
>
> What are some of the others? Discuss ...

I-95 has a stretch of about that length between state lines. Part of
the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, over the Potomac River, is inside
Washington; the ends of the bridge are in Maryland and Virginia.

(Will the new Wilson Bridge be completely outside the District line,
connecting Maryland directly to Virginia?)

--
David Grabiner, grab...@alumni.princeton.edu, http://remarque.org/~grabiner
Baseball labor negotiations FAQ: http://remarque.org/~grabiner/laborfaq.html
Shop at the Mobius Strip Mall: Always on the same side of the street!
Klein Glassworks, Torus Coffee and Donuts, Projective Airlines, etc.

Scott M. Kozel

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Nov 21, 2004, 7:30:38 PM11/21/04
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grab...@alumni.princeton.edu (David J. Grabiner) wrote:
>
> I-95 has a stretch of about that length between state lines. Part of
> the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, over the Potomac River, is inside
> Washington; the ends of the bridge are in Maryland and Virginia.
>
> (Will the new Wilson Bridge be completely outside the District line,
> connecting Maryland directly to Virginia?)

The new WWB will indeed still enter D.C. territory.

A plan view of the bridge and approaches --

http://www.wilsonbridge.com/schedule_graphics/BRRainPock_0204.pdf
(2.2 MB size)

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com

David J. Grabiner

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Nov 21, 2004, 7:47:02 PM11/21/04
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"Scott M. Kozel" <koz...@attbi.com> writes:

> grab...@alumni.princeton.edu (David J. Grabiner) wrote:
> >
> > I-95 has a stretch of about that length between state lines. Part of
> > the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, over the Potomac River, is inside
> > Washington; the ends of the bridge are in Maryland and Virginia.
> >
> > (Will the new Wilson Bridge be completely outside the District line,
> > connecting Maryland directly to Virginia?)
>
> The new WWB will indeed still enter D.C. territory.
>
> A plan view of the bridge and approaches --
>
> http://www.wilsonbridge.com/schedule_graphics/BRRainPock_0204.pdf
> (2.2 MB size)

At the median, the portion of the new bridge which is in DC looks like
300 feet, compared to about 500 feet for the old bridge.

Mike Tantillo

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Nov 21, 2004, 9:27:03 PM11/21/04
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slori...@aol.com (SloRide9430) wrote in message news:<20041121074814...@mb-m21.aol.com>...

OK, not a county (and not a state either), but I-95 knicks the corner
of the District of Columbia. According to the FHWA website, I-95 is
in the district for 0.11 miles. I'm assuming this distance is
measured at the centerline of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. But when the
new NB/EB WWB span is built, it will be much closer to the "tip" of
the district. Therefore the centerline of the interstate shifts to
south of the current WWB...halfway between the two new spans. Doing
some quick geometry in my head (assuming the WWB and the VA/DC border
make a right triangle, with the DC/MD border being the hypotenuse), if
the centerline shifts 250 feet to the south, I-95 will enter the
district for a very, very short time, definitely less then 250 feet in
the rightmost lanes of the NB bridge.

FYI, the FHWA owns the current span, and I believe DC has a "say" in
bridge operations. With the New bridge, ownership goes to MDOT and
VDOT, and DC pretty much gives up all rights to the bridge, but must
provide an access easement for VA and MD to build and operate their
bridge over District waters.

> Safe truckin' !
>
> Slo

Keith

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Nov 21, 2004, 9:28:16 PM11/21/04
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slori...@aol.com (SloRide9430) wrote in message news:<20041121074814...@mb-m21.aol.com>...

Two gay posters here..... Harvilla and Slo-homo.

Scott M. Kozel

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Nov 21, 2004, 10:53:38 PM11/21/04
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mjtan...@yahoo.com (Mike Tantillo) wrote:
>
> OK, not a county (and not a state either), but I-95 knicks the corner
> of the District of Columbia. According to the FHWA website, I-95 is
> in the district for 0.11 miles. I'm assuming this distance is
> measured at the centerline of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. But when the
> new NB/EB WWB span is built, it will be much closer to the "tip" of
> the district. Therefore the centerline of the interstate shifts to
> south of the current WWB...halfway between the two new spans. Doing
> some quick geometry in my head (assuming the WWB and the VA/DC border
> make a right triangle, with the DC/MD border being the hypotenuse), if
> the centerline shifts 250 feet to the south, I-95 will enter the
> district for a very, very short time, definitely less then 250 feet in
> the rightmost lanes of the NB bridge.

The existing drawspan is entirely within D.C. boundaries. The new
drawspan will be almost bisected by the D.C./Maryland boundary.

A plan view of the WWB project bridge and approaches --

> FYI, the FHWA owns the current span, and I believe DC has a "say" in


> bridge operations. With the New bridge, ownership goes to MDOT and
> VDOT, and DC pretty much gives up all rights to the bridge, but must
> provide an access easement for VA and MD to build and operate their
> bridge over District waters.

Four agencies share the maintenance and operation of the Woodrow Wilson
Bridge. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) of the
District of Columbia is responsible for the draw span, the Maryland
State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) maintains the bridge structure,
the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) supplies water and
electrical power to the bridge, and the U.S. Coast Guard has authority
over the raising and lowering of the draw span.

That arrangement will change when the new bridges are complete in 2008.

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge itself has belonged to the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) since the bridge's inception, the only Interstate
highway section owned by the federal government and not by the
respective state, and an agreement was worked out in August, 2001 by
FHWA, Virginia and Maryland, to turn over the ownership of the new
bridge, when it is completed, to joint ownership by Virginia and
Maryland.

Here is more detail about the ownership transfer, with citations from
FHWA, VDOT, and MDOT SHA --

"Woodrow Wilson Bridge Ownership" -
http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge.html#Bridge_Ownership

H.B. Elkins

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Nov 22, 2004, 9:56:48 AM11/22/04
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On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 03:05:39 -0500, Larry Harvilla wrote:

>The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was coming up
>I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
>through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before it
>crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is probably
>the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.
>
>What are some of the others? Discuss ...

I-79 does this in West Virginia -- can't recall the counties for certain, but
might be Gilmer, Lewis and Braxton.


--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"

Sir Hailstone the BOFH

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Nov 22, 2004, 10:21:07 AM11/22/04
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I-65 cuts thru Shelby County for a very short distance, though it's more
along the lines of 1/2 to 1 mile instead of 250 feet. I believe exit 80
(SR 252) is in Shelby County and going east you stay in Shelby but west
you're immediately in Johnson County.

HB - doesn't I-65 near the Cumberland Pky kind of jump around counties?
I seem to recall it goes from Warren to Edmonson and maybe back to
Warren again?

--
Sir Hailstone - Bastard Operator From Hell
Live from Indianapolis, Indiana
known to a select few as just "Mike"

H.B. Elkins

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Nov 22, 2004, 2:05:11 PM11/22/04
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On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:21:07 GMT, Sir Hailstone the BOFH wrote:

>HB - doesn't I-65 near the Cumberland Pky kind of jump around counties?
>I seem to recall it goes from Warren to Edmonson and maybe back to
>Warren again?

Yes -- the interchange itself is in both counties.

There are a couple of near-misses in Kentucky -- I-75 comes very close to Owen
County but doesn't quite enter it. Ditto for I-64 and Greenup County.

DanTheMan

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Nov 22, 2004, 1:40:33 PM11/22/04
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There's one of these in New York, on I-88 just south of Unadilla. I
think county line follows an oxbow which used to be the course of the
Susquehenna River, and was filled in when the river straightened itself
out and the land was needed for I-88. The stretch of I-88 in Otsego
County is .15 miles long, according to NYSDOT data. It's fully signed
in both directions IIRC with county line signs. (I-88 on either side is
in Delaware County, and there's actually another longer section of I-88
in Otsego County further east, near Oneonta.)

-Dan
--
WhereRoadsMeet.8k.com - The Website for Interchanges

Crl4u14857

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Nov 22, 2004, 6:31:28 PM11/22/04
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I-70 in Maryland, passes through Carroll County for about 1/2 mile between
Howard and Frederick Counties.

ParrotRob

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Nov 22, 2004, 6:53:07 PM11/22/04
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"Crl4u14857" <crl4u...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20041122183128...@mb-m26.aol.com...

> I-70 in Maryland, passes through Carroll County for about 1/2 mile between
> Howard and Frederick Counties.

It's actually about 1.6 miles. But if you get off at Route 27 in Mt. Airy
and go south, then turn left on 144 (at the Shell station) and go straight
onto Lake View drive, you can pass from Frederick to Montgomery to Howard to
Carroll in the span of about 200 yards.


Michael G. Koerner

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Nov 22, 2004, 7:24:52 PM11/22/04
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What about the part of (future) I-86 in Bradford County, PA?

Michael Moroney

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Nov 22, 2004, 10:25:04 PM11/22/04
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"Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> writes:

>What about the part of (future) I-86 in Bradford County, PA?

That's a good one, but not quite for that reason. NY 17 crosses from
Chemung County to Tioga County NY when it crosses the Chemung River
and it dives into Bradford County, PA shortly after. According to
the "Book" it does so 0.1 mile later but it's hard to interpret.
(It doesn't acknowledge NY 17 entering Pennsylvania! According to it,
NY 17 just enters the village of Waverly. The only way you know something
is up is the first digit on the reference marker last line number is
incremented, which usually means a city line was crossed. The
region/county number states Tioga County throughout)

Anyway, looking at the USGS Geological Survey maps, it appears the
eastbound lanes stay in Tioga County for 0.2 miles and the westbound
lanes 0.3 miles. (NY 17 crosses the state line at a sharp angle)

NY 17 stays in Bradford County PA for about a mile.
--
-Mike

Marc Fannin

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Nov 22, 2004, 10:41:41 PM11/22/04
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Michael Moroney wrote:

> "Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> writes:
>
> >What about the part of (future) I-86 in Bradford County, PA?
>

> [snip] Anyway, looking at the USGS Geological Survey maps, it appears


the
> eastbound lanes stay in Tioga County for 0.2 miles and the westbound
> lanes 0.3 miles. (NY 17 crosses the state line at a sharp angle)

http://www.empirestateroads.com/maps/waverly.jpg (Right?)

FWIW county near-misses and near-hits aren't covered in the FAQ, but
state ones are (Question 12.2).

http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html#a122

(I will be adding a link to this thread and to the Mob Rule webpage in
that question)

Kevin Flynn

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Nov 23, 2004, 10:16:23 AM11/23/04
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"ParrotRob" <parr...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<0-WdnZ_el8f...@adelphia.com>...

I checked this out on DeLorme, and the reason for it is a Montgomery
County arm that is a thin line defined by a straight line on the
northwest side and a water course that nearly parallels it on the
south before intersecting. An oddity of old boundary definitions
perhaps? Very interesting. Is this marked somehow on Lake View Drive
as you go across the lines?

Michael Moroney

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Nov 23, 2004, 1:12:12 PM11/23/04
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"Marc Fannin" <musx...@kent.edu> writes:

>Michael Moroney wrote:

>> "Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> writes:
>>
>> >What about the part of (future) I-86 in Bradford County, PA?
>>
>> [snip] Anyway, looking at the USGS Geological Survey maps, it appears
>the
>> eastbound lanes stay in Tioga County for 0.2 miles and the westbound
>> lanes 0.3 miles. (NY 17 crosses the state line at a sharp angle)

>http://www.empirestateroads.com/maps/waverly.jpg (Right?)

I was trying to remember where that map was when I was posting my reply.
That map is a little clearer than the USGS map. The section I am talking
about is the part above the words "South Waverly" in the lower left corner.
--
-Mike

Michael Moroney

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Dec 1, 2004, 12:35:37 AM12/1/04
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"Larry Harvilla" <ro...@SCREWSPAM.phatpage.org> writes:

>The idea for this thread occurred to me Friday evening, as I was coming up
>I-75 in Georgia. There is a spot not far south of Macon where 75 cuts
>through a corner of Crawford County for a mere 250 feet or so before it
>crosses into Bibb County. To the best of my recollection, this is probably
>the shortest run any Interstate makes through any one county.

>What are some of the others? Discuss ...

Not sure if it was mentioned, but I-84 just barely clips the corner of
Hampden County, Mass. when crossing from Windham County CT to Worcester
County MA. From what I can tell from the topo maps, the northbound lanes
are in Hampden County for about 0.04 miles (a little over 200'), the
southbound lanes about 3 times as long, as the highway crosses both lines
at a 45 degree angle. There would be an easily measurable difference
between the rightmost and leftmost northbound lanes' times in Hampden
County because of the angle.`
--
-Mike

AlbertC79

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Dec 3, 2004, 9:07:16 AM12/3/04
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>Subject: Re: Shortest distances between adjacent county lines on Interstates
>From: mor...@world.std.spaamtrap.com (Michael Moroney)
>Date: 12/1/2004 12:35 AM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <cojl79$93f$1...@pcls4.std.com>

I don't know if this one qualifies, but on the maps, it looks as if US-41 in
Florida as it crosses from Miami-Dade County into Collier County clips mainland
Monroe county. I don't know if the road itself actually crosses into Monroe
county or just shot of it, but on all maps I seen, the road appears to be on
top of the point where Dade, Monroe, and Collier Counties meet.

Chris Bessert

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Dec 3, 2004, 3:51:49 PM12/3/04
to
AlbertC79 wrote:
>
> I don't know if this one qualifies, but on the maps, it looks as if US-41 in
> Florida as it crosses from Miami-Dade County into Collier County clips mainland
> Monroe county. I don't know if the road itself actually crosses into Monroe
> county or just shot of it, but on all maps I seen, the road appears to be on
> top of the point where Dade, Monroe, and Collier Counties meet.

I know the original topic of this thread was concerning Interstates
(of which which US-41 is not one), I took a look at the online topo-
graphic maps and, to the extent they are accurate, it seems a very,
very, VERY short portion of US-41 does clip Monroe County.

Here's a zoomed-in view:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=17&n=2854146.99999608&e=512692.000000001&datum=nad83

Here's a backed-out view:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=17&n=2854146.99999608&e=512692.000000001&datum=nad83

Later,
Chris

--
Chris Bessert
Bess...@aol.com
http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org

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