Interstate? 635
Posted by JohnSolo22@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 90 comments
Yes, I asked Dr. Google, Wikipedia, Mr. Jeeves but couldn’t find an answer.
Why is 635 considered an “interstate” highway when it is actually “intrastate?”
Highway 75 goes all the way to Canada but is not an “interstate.” Why?
How does Hawaii have 4 “interstate” highways when they don’t go to other states?
I smell someone smoking delicious meats. I’m going to stroll down this interstate sidewalk until I find them.
gonzfather@reddit
With that logic, I-45 should be even more bothersome to you
cougar618@reddit
I-4, I-94.The interstates in Hawaii and Alaska.
Coastercameron@reddit
But… I-94 runs from Montana to Michigan???
cougar618@reddit
You're right! I meant I-96
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I don’t use this so-called “logic.”
gonzfather@reddit
It’s not a loop and never leaves Texas
QuantumWannabe@reddit
I think the original plan was to designate US-75 as I-45, but that never happened.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I am aware of that. That’s why I was questioning it being called an “interstate.”
cougar618@reddit
I-635 should be a spur, not a 'loop'; so it really should be I-235.
There are other fuckeries in the DFW area, like I-35W/35E. One of those should be a bypass, I-435.
I-45 being entirely in one state is not unique; I-4 in Florida, I-94 in Michigan, and the one in Hawaii, to name a few.
ReaderOfTheLostArt@reddit
If I recall, it was an allowance made for Dallas and Fort Worth. Neither city wanted to be known as a bypass city.
tgoz13@reddit
You’ll really shit your pants when you discover I-345 in Dallas
ReaderOfTheLostArt@reddit
I read about that about a year ago. I-345 is 1.4 miles long. It sounds fictional, but it's real.
msitarzewski@reddit
The “Interstate” in the Interstate Highway System refers to the national system and federal standards, not whether a specific highway crosses a state border.
Interstate 635 is entirely within Texas, so geographically it’s intrastate. But it is still part of the federally designated Interstate Highway System, which means it was built (or upgraded) to Interstate standards and funded in part through the federal Interstate program created by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.
tbear87@reddit
Also every interstate with 3 digits is a spur route so in this instance 635 is an offshoot of 35 which does go between states.
But you're correct there are interstates that don't go between states, such as on Oahu.
Coastercameron@reddit
You don’t even need to go that far. I-45 only goes from Dallas to Galveston.
FoolishConsistency17@reddit
The interstate is 35. 635 is a loop around the city off of 35. The 6 is even, which indicates that it is a loop. Spurs start with odd digits.
I-35 runs North/South, which is why it is an odd number. Between Denton and Waco, it is divided into two routes, I-35E, which runs through Dallas, and I-35W, which runs though Ft Worth. This is why one takes I-35 East to get to West.
What DO they teach in schools these days?
ApprehensiveAnswer5@reddit
Serious question- was that taught in schools at some point?
I went to school in a couple different Texas cities and never learned any of that. I don’t think my kids learned those things either.
It’s interesting though!
ovi2k1@reddit
I grew up in Connecticut and it was taught in 5th grade social studies. But this was back in the 90s so it’s probably lost with a bunch of other interesting but not necessarily useful stuff.
ApprehensiveAnswer5@reddit
Oh that’s neat! I was in elementary in the 80s and then middle and high school in the 90s.
Possibly something I forgot, or didn’t seem interesting to me at the time, so I didn’t commit it to memory.
I am pretty good at navigation, and I used to always be the “map person” on road trips and stuff, but I somehow never picked up on those things.
FoolishConsistency17@reddit
No, I was being funny. Its always been something only a certain type of nerd knows.
ApprehensiveAnswer5@reddit
It’s actually some cool facts.
TBH though, it would fit in with either Texas history or local history, (which I think 4th grade now?), or even when they do simple geography/maps.
TheyFoundWayne@reddit
Did you really learn all that in school? If so, what subject was it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in that stuff too, but I can’t see it being part of any school curriculum.
ovi2k1@reddit
5th grade social studies. But this was back in the extreme late-1900s and is knowledge that has nothing to do with passing a state-mandated standardized test so they probably dropped it.
Snobolski@reddit
Back when maps were things printed on paper, the map’s legend held a wealth of information.
Principle_Dramatic@reddit
My my question is why it’s not labeled 635W
Snobolski@reddit
It’s a loop off of 35E, why would it be labeled 635W?
Principle_Dramatic@reddit
Brain fart. 635E
lobosrul@reddit
Funnily enough I35 splits again at Minneapolis St Paul. Very few interstates do that even once.
C_Q_Cumberbuns@reddit
Here's a slightly better explanation;
Interstate numbers follow a structured grid system: 1- or 2-digit even numbers (e.g., I-10) run east-west, while odd numbers (e.g., I-95) run north-south. Numbers increase from west to east (odd) and south to north (even), with major, long-distance routes ending in 0 or 5. 3-digit numbers indicate urban loops or spurs.
DependentLoan6179@reddit
Spur 408? I-20? Loop 12? Your story doesn't hold up in DFW.
The-William-Munny@reddit
Then how do you explain Spur 408?
trashketballMVP@reddit
It's a state highway
TX SPUR 408
Its designed to state highway standards and maintained by TxDOT
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
They obviously didn’t teach you reading comprehension, did they?
3Time4Eater3@reddit
None of that I'd guess
berserk_zebra@reddit
Wait until he learns about 610, and 820
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
The interstate system was designed by Eisenhower! Who was a general mastermind and a Texan.
Rare-Echo-3139@reddit
The federal standards part is key - it's about meeting those specific design requirements rather than actually crossing state lines. Hawaii's interstates are probably the most obvious example since they literally can't cross to another state but still follow all the same engineering specs
Also good luck finding those meats, 635 has some solid BBQ spots along it
YaGetSkeeted0n@reddit
Maryland’s I-97 is another good example of a primary interstate (not a loop or spur) that is entirely in one state. Shortest two digit interstate!
JustMeInBigD@reddit
Mmm, bbq!
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
That’s the main focus.
9bikes@reddit
>The federal standards part is key - it's about meeting those specific design requirements
One factor being so that military equipment could be transported via the interstates. In the event of a national emergency, the government could ban civilian use of the interstates. That is very unlikely to happen.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
They obviously didn’t teach you reading comprehension, did they?
boone209@reddit
In a word: funding
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
That makes sense but also doesn’t.
Interstate highways should have more federal funding. I-35 is an interstate, however, a bridge on I-35 collapsed in Minnesota in 2007 causing 13 fatalities, 145 injuries & 111 vehicles plunging into the muddy banks of the river.
ReaderOfTheLostArt@reddit
Similar bridge collapse occurred in 1987 on I-90 in upstate NY.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoharie_Creek_Bridge_collapse
Also, why is your comment being downvoted? 🤦♂️
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
It’s a fact.
berserk_zebra@reddit
How do you feel about the h-01 in Hawaii?
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I guess you didn’t actually read my post, huh?
TexasBaconMan@reddit
Money; politics
emiTfOgnoS@reddit
635 is part of 35 officially. Thats why it has “35” at the end. Just how 610 has “10” in Houston.
creativeusername_vt@reddit
Came here to say this. It's not really that hard of a mystery. Also even numbers before highways are loops around cities, and odd numbers are spurs into cities. Fun fact for the group. Enjoy y'all's Sunday
The-William-Munny@reddit
Spur 408?
creativeusername_vt@reddit
I dunno man we got some weird shit going on, there a spur 395 in McKinney as well, which does kinda run back into McKinney, but there's no goddamn i95 here, so I got nothin.
But, technically, which we all know is the best way to be correct, odds are spurs and evens are loops. But yeah, there's some weird ones out there.
MagikEight@reddit
I think the use of the word spur is what throws people off. Technically 635/820 are interstates.
As someone else mentioned, if it starts with an even number, it’s basically a loop that starts and ends in the same interstate. So think i20 for 820 and i35 for 635.
If it starts with an odd number, it doesn’t go all the way around. It just links to two different interstates. Think of i345 in downtown.
By this logic, i20 east of i35 should be 635. i20 was rerouted south of downtown from where i30 is now. What we now know as i20 east of 35, was 635. They just never changed the name to prevent confusion with mile markers and exit numbers.
lordaddament@reddit
Any spurs are part of the states highway system
creativeusername_vt@reddit
Yeah they feed into a city or connect to another highway, which as I just learned because I was curious, makes sense for sure 395 as it connects to highway 5. TIL.
vivalakellye@reddit
Wait until you discover I-75.
cougar618@reddit
From Miami to Detroit?
noncongruent@reddit
So many people confuse US75 with I-75. US75 predates the interstate highway system by a few decades. It is named Central after the old railroad that was called the Houston and Texas Central Railway. It ran to Galveston, later supplanted by I-45, but most of the way between here and there it still exists as side roads, often containing the name "Central" in their names. Cesar Chavez and S. M. Wright used to be segments of the Central Highway. Before I-345 was built to connect I-45 to Central Expressway north of town the northbound side of Central Highway ran up what's now Cesar Chavez, and the southbound side ran down Pearl. That's why it's called S. Pearl Expressway south of Commerce. I-345 took most of that commercial through traffic off surface streets and allowed a lot of the land lost to highways to be reclaimed, such as Good Lattimer south of downtown and the new parks on the east side of downtown.
whiteholewhite@reddit
Look up the first or “third number”. There is a method to the madness
Snobolski@reddit
Bless your heart
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
No thanks.
Snobolski@reddit
Your heart has already been blessed, you can’t take it back.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I double bless up in your heart, in that case.
TChallaSan@reddit
What was the Google search you used to not get an answer?
Snobolski@reddit
They probably just asked some AI, only none of those are old enough to drive yet so they don’t have to understand highway numbers.
Wise-Shallot8683@reddit
Spur and loop routes connected to the main highways are officially considered part of the Interstate Highway System if they meet the design standards and receive federal funding.
FunRutabaga24@reddit
This right here. I swear I watched a YouTube video that explained this
DoctorOblivious@reddit
That sounds like a rabbit hole that CGP Grey would have threatened a fellow passenger with on a long airplane flight.
FunRutabaga24@reddit
That's were it was from! I would love to be that passenger. Would save me some boring ass flights!
Spock_Nipples@reddit
It's considered part of I-35. A bypass loop around the city/ies that is still technically part of 35.
TheRealMarimbaGuy@reddit
https://youtu.be/8Fn_30AD7Pk?si=OIIf-2-d6kFY3Gi4
pianotimes@reddit
This!
Melodic_Turnover_877@reddit
I don't think you actually asked Google, Wikipedia, or Jeeves. Jeeves shut down May 1st, I asked Google and got the answer and a link to Wikipedia with the full explanation.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I don’t think you read my entire post.
silbergeistlein@reddit
Wait until you learn about where I-45 goes.
mylinuxguy@reddit
Since we're on the topic of 635... as it's been said, the '6' part indicates it's a loop around 35 ( even if it's not a complete loop ) but I wanted to point out the fact that 35W in Fort Worth and 35E in Dallas have counterparts up in Minnesota with 35W and 35E splitting Minneapolis and Saint Paul up north.
Jericoholic_Ninja@reddit
The chickpea is neither a chick or a pea. Discuss.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
You know the difference between a chickpea & a garbanzo bean?
I’ve never paid $5 for a garbanzo bean on my chest.
*sounds better when spoken/heard as opposed to written/read
danxmanly@reddit
U know the difference between a vitamin and a hormone?
You can't hear a vitamin.
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I approve of this.
Substantial-Part-700@reddit
Dad?
JohnSolo22@reddit (OP)
I hope I'm not your dad because I can't afford another kid.
But, maybe you should call me Mr. Dad just in case.
Jericoholic_Ninja@reddit
🤣
TinyHands214@reddit
Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
markp_93@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_road#United_States
Mynameisdiehard@reddit
There isn't just primary interstate roads. There are also auxiliary roads that include circumferential, radial, and spurs. Those are assigned 3 digit numbers, where the final 2 digits are the same as the parent interstate it's attached to. Spurs will have an odd first digit, as they deviate and do not reconnect with their parent road. Circumferential and radial roads do reconnect with their parent at another point and are assigned an even numbered first digit.
Interstate Highway System
IHaarlem@reddit
These loops are often used to keep hazardous cargo moving along the interstate freeway system without transporting it through populous city centers
scottsmith7@reddit
And three digit designations typically refer to shorter connector type highways around metro areas.
Two digit highways are part of the original grid-like plan that traverses between different metro areas.
yarmulke@reddit
It’s on the Department of Transportation website
"Interstate" refers to their inclusion in the federally funded Interstate Highway System, not necessarily the path of the road itself.