Today I’m traveling across US Route 33. On this route that I’ve called “The Motor City Express”, I run from Laredo to Charlotte to Quincy to Redford/Detroit, Michigan, and back to Laredo. Part of this route makes use of US routes instead of the interstates. I found that these routes are less congested and also very relaxing to drive on. What is absent when I use many of these US highway routes, is a lot of the shuffling of traffic with drivers darting in and out to make it to the front. In fact, parts of these routes are only one lane in each direction, which cancels out many of the opportunities for the previously mentioned driving habits.
On the Motor City Express route, there’s one area that has been causing me great dismay. The section of my trip in question is I-30 from Rockwall, Texas through Dallas, I-35E to I-35 through Temple, Waco, Austin, Buda, and San Antonio. On this section of the highway, there is either bad traffic or road construction, which has made timely travel seemingly an impossibility. I might not be able to drive 55 on some of the routes that I’m now taking, but at least I am not driving in stop-and-go traffic because of crashes or rush-hour backups.
Over the past few trips, the end result from taking the US routes has been that I have made as good, or better time, than using the Interstate system. At the end of the day, I find myself to be much more relaxed and at ease while taking these old-school US highways. So, until I see something different happening on Interstate 35, I will continue to use these alternate roads to reach my destination in a timely fashion.
In closing, I encourage you to look at the US highway system, as you might find some routes that are refreshingly uncongested, unlike many of the main highway arteries of our nation. But doesn’t everybody take these same roads at the same time that I am on them? I’d like to keep my peaceful driving on these roads less traveled while I give up my 85 feet of road space on the earlier-mentioned section of I-35.