Back in the old days, US 52 was one of America's important roads as it links important cities of the states it passes through, even through the Twin Cities, Chicagoland, Indy, Cincy, the Piedmont Triad, Charleston SC, and others.
I always went by the county seat standard or major US. city like New York or Dayton, OH. for judging the control cities for US. routes. State routes were whatever the next incorporate town or city was. I never counted unincorporated towns like the average "Sunbury" 5 way intersection of two or three state routes or a US. Route or two that are a Sunsbury or Red Lion Unincorporated. Fun fact Todd, those are two literal unincorporated towns in my area of the Dayton-Cincinnati area of South West Ohio. The Sunsbury for some strange reason within the past 15 or 20 years has been renamed Sunbury. Ironically, Sunsbury(renamded Sunbury) is a 5 way intersection of 2 state routes or used to be 2 before route 4 was rerouted on a slight Highway style road and OH. 123 ended at the highway end of Route 4. Sunbury, Ohio in Delaware County(I'm in Montgomery County in my hometown) is a different town in Ohio near Columbus. It is just east of Delaware, Ohio. Sunbury, Ohio is another very significant place to me. It is the town of my Great grandparents farm i would visit as a child at family reunions. So I found it ironic how there's a much bigger than a 5 way intersection town with a same name that is where one family member lives and another, where I grew up.
At 18:08 to 18:20, we are not following/crossing the Ohio River; the Big Sandy River and its tributaries (Tug Fork and Levisa Fork) are the border between Kentucky and West Virginia.
7:54 Up until a few years ago, US-52 went through downtown Dubuque. Then IowaDOT rerouted US-52 along the new Southwest Bypass. 8:33 The new Savanna-Sabula Bridge. This replaced a much older, narrower bridge across here. Fun fact: US-52 goes into Illinois with multi-state route (IA/IL 64). 9:39 IL-38 here is also the Lincoln Highway, which US-52 will come near again in Joliet. 9:59 US-30 comes close to US-52 again in Joliet. Back in the 1950s, they actually bounced off each other in Joliet. 10:40 Between IL-251 and Shorewood, IDOT treats US-52 almost as a secondary state route. Not much in the way of shoulders, and the control cities are terrible. 10:57 Big jump, skipping over IL-47 (Yorkville/Morris) and IL-59 (I-55 South/Plainfield). I-55 here was built as US-66 in 1956. 11:10 Downtown Joliet is still 3/4 mile east of here at Raynor Avenue and Jefferson Street. Jefferson between here and US-30 is an unmarked state route. 11:17 US-52 makes a left turn from Raynor onto McDonough Street prior to this. US-6, even though it is four-lanes, is the one to have a stop sign for US-52 here. 11:27 One of four Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridges in Joliet (the largest concentration of these around). Two are narrow (this one and Jackson Street to the north), and two are wide (Jefferson Street and Cass Street - both US-30). 11:36 IL-53, also the original route of US-66 (1926-1940) and US-66A (1940-1967). 11:50 Older signs here for I-80 east are "Gary, Indiana". Newer ones are just "Indiana". 12:02 Skipped a whole bunch of turns. US-52 makes a right turn onto Manhattan Road, which has a stop sign at Briggs Street where US-52 turns right yet again toward Manhattan and Wilton Center (where it makes a left bend to this point). Fun fact: At Andres here, US-52, as IL-44, made a sweeping right curve instead of the current four-way stop sign. You can see the remnants on the Frontage Road to the right. 12:21 US-45 and US-52 take a squirrelly route through Kankakee with several turns from IL-17 to this point. The single shield and unisigns are common to the Kankakee area for some reason. 12:49 US-52 between US-45 and US-24 here is also treated as a secondary state highway by IDOT.
Since us NJ folks love to identify ourselves in reference to our exit on the GSP, would appreciate it if you could highlight my hometown exit 135 on the southbound side. Love the videos and glad to finally see one for the Parkway! Excited the channel is going strong after all the interstates!
I live in the Huntington/Ashland MSA and US52 is such a crucial route from Portsmouth, Ohio until the Interstate-64 bridge into Huntington and further down the coalfields. It runs to Cincinnati but if you live in the KY/WV/OH tri-state you're taking the AA or Appalachian Highway (OH-32) into Cincy. 52 is backwoods, 2-lane.
Some Rochester/SE MN commentary: As you mentioned, 52 and 63 both play major roles in Rochester; 63 is actually co-signed as Broadway, which is a major road in town.
I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos. I love the us interstate highway system and the us highways and you give me a chance to explore them.
In the 1970s I lived on US 52 in Albemarle, NC. I stayed on US 52 the first time I went to Charleston, SC. In August, 1973, I took a vacation that began with my flying to Indianapolis. A friend picked me up there and took me to West Lafayette, where we stayed at the home of a Purdue faculty member. I saw a sign for US 52, and say, “Hey! This is the street I live on!”
I don't know if you're still taking requests, but US 11 has a very strange path, going from New Orleans to Champlain, NY. US 6 also has an odd path, kinda sorta paralleling US 20, but taking a more meandering route.
My family took US 52 in segments on a road trip through the Midwest back in 2007. I remember the 'Valley of Numbers' at Kenmare, ND (northwest of Minot) where the local high school's graduating class places rocks in the form of their graduation year. The other part of US 52 we took was from I-494 south of St. Paul to the turnoff for Red Wing. At the split for Hastings is a giant oil refinery that was partially visible on your Google Maps shot. Seeing US 61 signs remind me of a Bob Dylan album. Seeing signage for Aurora, IL reminds me of 'Wayne's World'.
Thanks for this video.. I live outside Charleston in Goose Creek... Off of 52... My brother and I travel throughout the state every hwy so far.. we've traveled on 52 from GC to NC border.. we plan on driving the entire 52 w/o going into Canada 👍🏻
I’ve traveled a lot of miles on US 52 and I-77 from Wytheville to Bluefield. My ex-grandmother-in-law used to live off of it in Bland, VA. My ex-wife used to live in an apartment complex off of 52 in Wytheville. We’d go to Mercer Mall in Bluefield a few times when it wasn’t a dying mall.
I hope you will do US Route 62…from Buffalo, NY to El Paso, TX. A portion of that route goes through northwest PA (where I live) and northeast OH. In PA, it’s north-south and in OH it’s east-west. I wonder how many times it switches…🤔
Fun fact: Mt. Airy, NC was the basis for Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show. That was the town he was from. ...Also, you did pronounce Albemarle correctly.
I thoroughly enjoyed US 52! I appreciate the detail and I can only begin how much work you put into creating the video. Just putting together "The Way It Should Be" had to be exhausting.
People actually forget that part of the 7781 Wrong Way and currency also includes US Highway 11 and 52 running in a Wrong Way concurrency as well Yes, all four roadways share the same stretch of pavement between exit 73 and 80
One day I hope you cover US-1, especially through Saugus, MA with the Kowloon, hilltop cactus, and orange dinosaur. Tobin bridge into Boston, concurrency with 93 until Dedham/Norwood with Ernie Boch’s auto mile down to foxborough passing by Gillette stadium!
US-52 is my favorite alternative route to the interstates. I take US-52 to I-85 bypass I-77's construction and tolls when heading from VA to Charlotte, NC.
Haven’t heard of 95% of the places it goes through, and have only driven it from Cheraw to Florence. But it’s interesting to see how it winds from ND to SC.
Brookville, Indiana is a beautiful area. My grandparents owned a trailer off Brookville Lake and they would take me camping in the summers of my childhood. Also, hey now Todd. 😂 WHODEY!
Of all the videos on your channel, this is probably the one I've been most excited for. 52 is easily one of my favorite roads in the entire US solely because of all the different environments it'll take you through. I think US 62 would make for a great video as well seeing as it's similar in length and also has a weird diagonal route but in the opposite direction. You could almost think of it as 52's evil twin 🤣
And when US 52 and US 62 meet, there is a wrong-way concurrency with US 68 stuck in the middle signed North/South. I hope Todd shows that sign on his Westbound US 52 video.
I have experience with US 52, specifically the small sliver of it that goes along the southernmost part of Ohio. I grew up across the river in Ashland (KY) but my mom has family in that part of Ohio. She eventually moved back there herself.
@22:30 Regarding I-285 South from WInston-Salem, the Interstate designation is only 5 years old, and NC in all its wisdom never seems to change control cities when it slaps 3dis on US and state routes. Despite the new designation, the old number and its provincial control cities always take precedence. Also, you pronounced Albemarle perfectly!
Excited to see U.S. Routes being covered on this channel! Side note: Mt. Carroll, which is on the sign at approximately 8:58, is where my family lived when I was born. My father was the pastor of the ELCA congregation there for 3.5 years, during which time my older brother & I were born. Out of curiosity, if/when are you going to cover US-10, US-41, and/or US-45? Have exit requests for each of those however not sure when to post them in a super sticker.
US 1 is a must for a video!! Yes, it will be your LONGEST video, and you definitely would need to make it a multi part video. But it’s the American Byway for a reason
I’ve been on 52 in and around Bluefield, WV. I’ve also travelled it feels like every inch of it from Hillsville, Virginia to Lexington, North Carolina. I can only speculate why Lexington gets love is that there is an annual Barbecue Festival there in late October prior to Halloween and it gets a lot of attention locally. Looking forward to part two of US 52 in a few weeks.
I appreciate this video a lot. I love that this US Highway travels along some of the major US Highways that I've been on in my 13 years of living in Florida. (US 1, 19, 27, 41, 301)
Enjoyed this one, as U.S. Route 52 was "big" in two places in North Carolina for me: where my dad was from (Anson County) and where I lived in Surry County for a good part of the 1980s. My dad remembered when 52 was a "good plank road"-and some around there still call it that. "U.S. 52 from North Dakota to South Carolina"... we must consider that was in some politician's mind a century ago, he had some influence, and that's how we got this diagonal route.
Would LOVE to see US 6 in the works.... it is known as the Grand Army of the Republic highway and it goes through Denver, Chicagoland, Cleveland, Hartford, and Providence among others.
As US 52 enters West Lafayette, it is heading east on Sagamore (there is no K In Sagamore) Parkway. It then turns right onto the 231 bypass heading south past the Purdue campus and airport before crossing the Wabash River. It then turns left onto Teal Road heading east again. It then turns right onto Sagamore Parkway again heading south towards Indianapolis. US 52 used to follow Sagamore Parkway all the way through the area, until the 231 bypass was built.
US-52 goes through so many states, it’s crazyyyyy! US-52 goes through my home state of MN right? Well, when I went on a trip to North Carolina in 2017, of course, we crossed over US-52 a few times. And when we finally crossed over the state line to NC, after I-74 “ends”, we still have to take US-52 to Winston-Salem. What a route, what a route.
Thanks for the shoutout. Also, at 22:22 You mentioned that we meet US 421 again. Well, 421 runs from Fort Fisher, NC all the way up to Michigan City, IN covering 940 miles. Maybe you could do a US 421 video on the near future.
I live in the Cincinnati area, and in SW Ohio, even all the way north to Fairfield and Hamilton, OH, you'll see that ODOT puts State Route signages when it should be a US Shield, like Todd mentions at 16:42. It's like this for US-127 in a lot of areas. I'm only guessing, but perhaps ODOT workers may get the silhouette of the State of Ohio on our State Route signage confused with the Shield silhouette for US Routes, and for some, it may look the same at a quick glance. At times, it irritates me just a little bit whenever I drive through those areas and see the incorrect route signages. I wish little things didn't bug me! haha
I find that annoying, too, but I bear in mind that US routes are state routes in that the states get no special funding for US routes, like they do for interstate routes. At least in Ohio, there are no duplicate State Route and US Route numbers.
A few weeks ago when you announced US 52 I was excited and have been waiting. Would recommend taking Sagamore Parkway through Lafayette on the return trip! (despite the fact that it actually doesn't get close to downtown) Also hoping for a US 421 and US 101 video someday. keep on trucking
You’re the man Todd! Great job on the video, and even more so on putting together that lengthy Todd’s The Way it Should Be. If you ever get around to US 6, 11, 20, 21 or NY-5 I’ll have plenty of intersection super sticker requests
That sign mistake (Ohio plate instead of US highway) at 16:47 is something I see a lot here in Wisconsin, too. I’d never seen one anywhere else until now though!
Ah yes, I love these weird diagonal roads, I find them to be so interesting, US 52 being no exception! Did you know that the fastest way to drive to Alaska from most of the lower 48 states involves driving on US 52 to the Canadian border in North Dakota? Either way, great video Todd! :) 👍
This should be a good series, especially because I just moved right off US 40 in Ohio. Just one correction, Riverfront Stadium was torn down in 2002. It was replaced by Paycor Stadium (fka Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals play) and Great American Ballpark, the Reds' home.
Another great video! Super cool to see the Brookville Exit on 465. My wife races at the Indianapolis Speedrome and we turn left on Brookville Road instead of right.
On the North Side of Dyersville, there will be signs on Route 52 to get to the Field of Dreams; it’s about 2 or 3 miles from the highway, unless you want to take a detour and/or show actual footage!
I wish you could've taken a shot or two of the "Tolsia Highway" (between Huntington and Williamson) Nice scenic stretch. But like you said, if you included everything it would be 4 hours long
I-80 near Joliet is headed to Gary, and from there one has plenty of possible directions from there that make sense. To get to downtown Chicago you would have used I-55 and would not use I-57. I-80 meets I-94 (which US 52 never meets!) which goes to Detroit and (with the significant I-196) Grand Rapids in Michigan. Then it meets I-65 headed to Indianapolis (and meets and absorbs US-52 for some time). Then I-80 meets I-90 going past South Bend (bigger than Gary!) on the way through Toledo to near Cleveland while I-80 heads to the Big Apple. If you want to add other cities, 90 also goes to Boston and 76 cuts a bit south toward Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Unless one is turining into the South Side of Chicago or into Hammond, Gary, dreadful as it is, is on the way to lots of places.
Great to see U.S. federal highways. Driving on them is like going back in a time machine. Before the Interstate system these roads were the way to travel across the nation. Yes they have ababsolutely no rules. Yes they go through many small towns. But you get a feel for the local towns.
US highways do have rules, at least when it comes to numbering. Odds are still N/S and evens are still E/W. Routes that end in 0 and 1 (except for US 2, since you can't just use 0 by itself) are long-haul routes. And the numbers increase going west and south, which is the opposite of the Interstates.
Even though I've never lived near this highway, I've actually traveled on a lot of it. I've done sections in Minnesota, Illinois and South Carolina and I actually took 52 all the way from Bluefield all the way to Cincinnati because I was too cheap to pay the tolls on the WV turnpike. I've probably paid more in gas on that trip but it was a nice drive.
In Minot, the co-signed / "business" section of 2 & 52 follows Burdick Expressway (aka US 2) until you're almost at the viaduct east of the downtown area, then 52 takes off down Valley St. (I know this as a relative of mine lived near Valley / Burdick).
I grew up in the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati, and always found it funny how much 52 follows the border of the state, but never entered it (as you pointed out, it does now, but that was only done a decade or so ago). Also, after Huntington, US 52 isn't following the Ohio River any more, but the Big Sandy River and the Tug Fork, which make up the border between KY and WV. I had a friend whose wife was stationed in Minot, and seeing US 52 there was pretty funny, as was seeing it in Charleston when I was there a few years ago.
Another US route like this, the second-longest three digit US route is US 287, from Montana to Texas, one of my personal favorites. One, it’s an out of wack road (just like 52) and is a key route between Denver and Dallas. It would be greatly appreciated if you made a video (or videos) on this wacky road! PS: It may go through Limon, CO, so apologies.
My U.S. Route that I’m most anticipating is 395, the Three Flags Highway. Don’t be fooled by the three digit designation; even today it comes close to being a border to border highway, comparable in length to I 5…
Todd, if time permits, in the US 52 West (North) video I’d like to see you mention the projects that WV is undertaking to upgrade and replace US 52. The King Coal Highway will run from Bluefield to Williamson. The Tolsia Highway will run from Williamson to Huntington. Both are being planned and built as expressway-grade highways. These projects are what WV is doing in the I-73/I-74 corridor between Bluefield and Huntington, in lieu of building interstate-grade highways (that you have acknowledged, in other videos, will perhaps never be built as conceived). These highways are being designed and built slowly (painfully slowly), small piece by small piece, as WV finds funds available. Some parts of these massive projects are already partially open or are nearly completed. It would be interesting if you could find and show in the video one or more pieces of them. There is a piece of King Coal between Matewan and Gilbert which is open to traffic, but only two lanes are open (on a four-lane right-of-way), and I don’t believe it is officially designated US 52 yet. There are parts of Tolsia, near Crum, which likewise are open but only striped for two lanes. A small piece of King Coal near Bluefield running between US 460 and WV 123 is scheduled to open this fall. You can see the evidence of this one being built from the ramp running from US 52 North to US 460 East: a massive rock cut behind Mercer Mall, and the bridge over US 19 which has existed, unused, for over ten years.
Of note at the northern terminus of US 52 in Portal, ND is that there's an international golf course straddling the US Canadian border (Gateway Cities Golf Club). Holes 1-8 are in North Portal, Saskatchewan. The tee box for the 1st hole, the 9th hole green and club house are in the US in Portal. The final source of amusement is that while both locations are in the Central Time Zone, Saskatchewan does not observe Daylight Saving Time and North Dakota does. This means that when teeing of from the 9th hole, your ball will land in a different country an hour later! How about a video on US 123? It must be the shortest US route in existence. Not very exciting and, relatively speaking, it should not take long to make.
9:33, I think I ate at that Hardee's once. I hate Chicago tolls/traffic, so I find detours around when I go to Fort Wayne from Hastings, MN where I live. Been through here a couple of times
Its funny because you can be in either Cincinatti, OH, or you could be in Rochester, MN, on the same hwy, which is NORTH and WEST obviously. I believe you can take 52 into saint paul! commenting before I watch.. been one of my fave highways back when I used to hitchhike around. EDIT: minor detail, when I passed through ND many years ago, that state route shield was an indianhead of Chief Tomahawk, not sure why it was removed..
A tidbit about the Dubuque portion: until just a couple years ago US 52 followed IA 3's route from Luxemburg, IA to Dubuque, IA. That road is very curvey, with several sharp turns through rolling hills. The City of Dubuque wanted to build a bypass on US 52 and eliminate some of the hazards on its route, so they built the Southwest Arterial, and IDOT routed US 52 down through Dyersville and concurrent with US 20, and made use of the Southwest Arterial. So 52 used to go through downtown Dubuque just a couple years ago, but not anymore.
Todd, correct. It is the Brooklyn Bridge. 1866 was the year the Roebling Bridge was built. Technically it also is the terminus of Kentucky route 17 also known as the 3L highway(Lexington, Louisville, Latonia)
I hope you can eventually get a schedule of roads that you will cover at some point. There is no road with more personal connections to me than US 6, so when you announce that one I will surely have some points of interest to request, mainly in NY and CT.
Great series. Knitpick: it is Williamson, WV, not Williamston. Consider doing the Appalachian Regional Commission Corridor system as a series, or at least mentioning when a US highway is on the system, for example the short multiplex of US 52 and US 119, including the short incursions into KY isCorridor G.
Love the Windows XP reference. Hope you run for Mayor of Lymon
Hope he do a U.S. 62, it runs from El Paso to Buffalo, N.Y.
Back in the old days, US 52 was one of America's important roads as it links important cities of the states it passes through, even through the Twin Cities, Chicagoland, Indy, Cincy, the Piedmont Triad, Charleston SC, and others.
The one time Joliet should be signed
@@spellcast1391, we all know that Joliet, IL is a very important satellite city in Chicagoland and I agree for US 52 to sign Joliet.
US52 run by one of my favorite casinos in Cincinnati. It’s the one by the 52/275 junction on the east side of town. It’s called Belterra Park.
It also signs Dubuque IA and Rochester MN, which are both nice littke cities
I always went by the county seat standard or major US. city like New York or Dayton, OH. for judging the control cities for US. routes. State routes were whatever the next incorporate town or city was. I never counted unincorporated towns like the average "Sunbury" 5 way intersection of two or three state routes or a US. Route or two that are a Sunsbury or Red Lion Unincorporated. Fun fact Todd, those are two literal unincorporated towns in my area of the Dayton-Cincinnati area of South West Ohio. The Sunsbury for some strange reason within the past 15 or 20 years has been renamed Sunbury. Ironically, Sunsbury(renamded Sunbury) is a 5 way intersection of 2 state routes or used to be 2 before route 4 was rerouted on a slight Highway style road and OH. 123 ended at the highway end of Route 4. Sunbury, Ohio in Delaware County(I'm in Montgomery County in my hometown) is a different town in Ohio near Columbus. It is just east of Delaware, Ohio. Sunbury, Ohio is another very significant place to me. It is the town of my Great grandparents farm i would visit as a child at family reunions. So I found it ironic how there's a much bigger than a 5 way intersection town with a same name that is where one family member lives and another, where I grew up.
At 18:08 to 18:20, we are not following/crossing the Ohio River; the Big Sandy River and its tributaries (Tug Fork and Levisa Fork) are the border between Kentucky and West Virginia.
7:54 Up until a few years ago, US-52 went through downtown Dubuque. Then IowaDOT rerouted US-52 along the new Southwest Bypass.
8:33 The new Savanna-Sabula Bridge. This replaced a much older, narrower bridge across here. Fun fact: US-52 goes into Illinois with multi-state route (IA/IL 64).
9:39 IL-38 here is also the Lincoln Highway, which US-52 will come near again in Joliet.
9:59 US-30 comes close to US-52 again in Joliet. Back in the 1950s, they actually bounced off each other in Joliet.
10:40 Between IL-251 and Shorewood, IDOT treats US-52 almost as a secondary state route. Not much in the way of shoulders, and the control cities are terrible.
10:57 Big jump, skipping over IL-47 (Yorkville/Morris) and IL-59 (I-55 South/Plainfield). I-55 here was built as US-66 in 1956.
11:10 Downtown Joliet is still 3/4 mile east of here at Raynor Avenue and Jefferson Street. Jefferson between here and US-30 is an unmarked state route.
11:17 US-52 makes a left turn from Raynor onto McDonough Street prior to this. US-6, even though it is four-lanes, is the one to have a stop sign for US-52 here.
11:27 One of four Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridges in Joliet (the largest concentration of these around). Two are narrow (this one and Jackson Street to the north), and two are wide (Jefferson Street and Cass Street - both US-30).
11:36 IL-53, also the original route of US-66 (1926-1940) and US-66A (1940-1967).
11:50 Older signs here for I-80 east are "Gary, Indiana". Newer ones are just "Indiana".
12:02 Skipped a whole bunch of turns. US-52 makes a right turn onto Manhattan Road, which has a stop sign at Briggs Street where US-52 turns right yet again toward Manhattan and Wilton Center (where it makes a left bend to this point). Fun fact: At Andres here, US-52, as IL-44, made a sweeping right curve instead of the current four-way stop sign. You can see the remnants on the Frontage Road to the right.
12:21 US-45 and US-52 take a squirrelly route through Kankakee with several turns from IL-17 to this point. The single shield and unisigns are common to the Kankakee area for some reason.
12:49 US-52 between US-45 and US-24 here is also treated as a secondary state highway by IDOT.
Since us NJ folks love to identify ourselves in reference to our exit on the GSP, would appreciate it if you could highlight my hometown exit 135 on the southbound side. Love the videos and glad to finally see one for the Parkway! Excited the channel is going strong after all the interstates!
Thanks, you got it!
I live in the Huntington/Ashland MSA and US52 is such a crucial route from Portsmouth, Ohio until the Interstate-64 bridge into Huntington and further down the coalfields. It runs to Cincinnati but if you live in the KY/WV/OH tri-state you're taking the AA or Appalachian Highway (OH-32) into Cincy. 52 is backwoods, 2-lane.
52 may be slower but I will say it is a much prettier drive. Well worth the extra time.
Some Rochester/SE MN commentary:
As you mentioned, 52 and 63 both play major roles in Rochester; 63 is actually co-signed as Broadway, which is a major road in town.
US-63 used to go through downtown, until MnDOT moved the route to US-52 and along with US-14 for some reason.
I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos. I love the us interstate highway system and the us highways and you give me a chance to explore them.
Thanks!
In the 1970s I lived on US 52 in Albemarle, NC. I stayed on US 52 the first time I went to Charleston, SC. In August, 1973, I took a vacation that began with my flying to Indianapolis. A friend picked me up there and took me to West Lafayette, where we stayed at the home of a Purdue faculty member. I saw a sign for US 52, and say, “Hey! This is the street I live on!”
I don't know if you're still taking requests, but US 11 has a very strange path, going from New Orleans to Champlain, NY. US 6 also has an odd path, kinda sorta paralleling US 20, but taking a more meandering route.
My family took US 52 in segments on a road trip through the Midwest back in 2007. I remember the 'Valley of Numbers' at Kenmare, ND (northwest of Minot) where the local high school's graduating class places rocks in the form of their graduation year.
The other part of US 52 we took was from I-494 south of St. Paul to the turnoff for Red Wing. At the split for Hastings is a giant oil refinery that was partially visible on your Google Maps shot.
Seeing US 61 signs remind me of a Bob Dylan album.
Seeing signage for Aurora, IL reminds me of 'Wayne's World'.
US 281 going through both Dakotas
I really want to see you do route 22
Todd's the way it should be: there's no "t" in Williamson, but good job for such a long road!
Thanks for this video.. I live outside Charleston in Goose Creek... Off of 52... My brother and I travel throughout the state every hwy so far.. we've traveled on 52 from GC to NC border.. we plan on driving the entire 52 w/o going into Canada 👍🏻
Sounds great!
Can't wait for more U.S. Highway videos.
From NC, You did pronounce Albemarle right. 👍
I remember almost 10 Years ago, Salem Parkway was Business 40.
I’ve traveled a lot of miles on US 52 and I-77 from Wytheville to Bluefield. My ex-grandmother-in-law used to live off of it in Bland, VA. My ex-wife used to live in an apartment complex off of 52 in Wytheville. We’d go to Mercer Mall in Bluefield a few times when it wasn’t a dying mall.
I also hope you will do US 2 from the U P to Bellingham, WA
I will
i grew up in a town in mn that was 15 minutes from this highway. i travelled on it all the time growing up and never realized how far it went!
I hope you will do US Route 62…from Buffalo, NY to El Paso, TX. A portion of that route goes through northwest PA (where I live) and northeast OH. In PA, it’s north-south and in OH it’s east-west. I wonder how many times it switches…🤔
I know it's signed N-S in NY.
I second US-62.
You missed US 52 and Senour Rd in Indpls, near where my grandma lives!
9:27 Il38 is Roosevelt rd, not Harlem ave Il43
22:29 *Meme strikes again WELCOME TO NORTH CAROLINA WE LOVE PROVINCIAL CONTROL CITIES
Fun fact: Mt. Airy, NC was the basis for Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show. That was the town he was from.
...Also, you did pronounce Albemarle correctly.
So glad the Garden State Pkwy is getting some love! It's New Jersey's Main Street, along with the Tpke
Minot, North Dakota the home town of actor Josh Duhamel.
I thoroughly enjoyed US 52! I appreciate the detail and I can only begin how much work you put into creating the video. Just putting together "The Way It Should Be" had to be exhausting.
Thanks!
People actually forget that part of the 7781 Wrong Way and currency also includes US Highway 11 and 52 running in a Wrong Way concurrency as well
Yes, all four roadways share the same stretch of pavement between exit 73 and 80
I used to live in West Lafayette, Indiana.
One day I hope you cover US-1, especially through Saugus, MA with the Kowloon, hilltop cactus, and orange dinosaur. Tobin bridge into Boston, concurrency with 93 until Dedham/Norwood with Ernie Boch’s auto mile down to foxborough passing by Gillette stadium!
US-52 is my favorite alternative route to the interstates. I take US-52 to I-85 bypass I-77's construction and tolls when heading from VA to Charlotte, NC.
Haven’t heard of 95% of the places it goes through, and have only driven it from Cheraw to Florence. But it’s interesting to see how it winds from ND to SC.
You should do the US hwys as well.
Brookville, Indiana is a beautiful area. My grandparents owned a trailer off Brookville Lake and they would take me camping in the summers of my childhood. Also, hey now Todd. 😂 WHODEY!
Of all the videos on your channel, this is probably the one I've been most excited for. 52 is easily one of my favorite roads in the entire US solely because of all the different environments it'll take you through.
I think US 62 would make for a great video as well seeing as it's similar in length and also has a weird diagonal route but in the opposite direction. You could almost think of it as 52's evil twin 🤣
Yeah 62 looks pretty cool too
And when US 52 and US 62 meet, there is a wrong-way concurrency with US 68 stuck in the middle signed North/South. I hope Todd shows that sign on his Westbound US 52 video.
Us 52 is one of my favorites bc it has an interesting/underrated route!
I have experience with US 52, specifically the small sliver of it that goes along the southernmost part of Ohio. I grew up across the river in Ashland (KY) but my mom has family in that part of Ohio. She eventually moved back there herself.
You did great man that was quite a road you cover I hope you can do 183 sometime
@22:30 Regarding I-285 South from WInston-Salem, the Interstate designation is only 5 years old, and NC in all its wisdom never seems to change control cities when it slaps 3dis on US and state routes. Despite the new designation, the old number and its provincial control cities always take precedence.
Also, you pronounced Albemarle perfectly!
Excited to see U.S. Routes being covered on this channel! Side note: Mt. Carroll, which is on the sign at approximately 8:58, is where my family lived when I was born. My father was the pastor of the ELCA congregation there for 3.5 years, during which time my older brother & I were born.
Out of curiosity, if/when are you going to cover US-10, US-41, and/or US-45? Have exit requests for each of those however not sure when to post them in a super sticker.
Please do us 60,65,or 67 soon. I will definitely be doing superstickers for each of them for exits. Love your work.
Thanks! Will definitely do all 3, not sure when yet
US 321.. Love that and part of it is built to highway standards between Gastonia, NC and ends before Lenoir NC.
US 1 is a must for a video!! Yes, it will be your LONGEST video, and you definitely would need to make it a multi part video. But it’s the American Byway for a reason
US 52 goes through the most depressed portions in West Virginia.
I’ve been on 52 in and around Bluefield, WV. I’ve also travelled it feels like every inch of it from Hillsville, Virginia to Lexington, North Carolina. I can only speculate why Lexington gets love is that there is an annual Barbecue Festival there in late October prior to Halloween and it gets a lot of attention locally. Looking forward to part two of US 52 in a few weeks.
I appreciate this video a lot. I love that this US Highway travels along some of the major US Highways that I've been on in my 13 years of living in Florida. (US 1, 19, 27, 41, 301)
Makes me so happy that US 52 goes through my hometown pf Salisbury
Thank you for adding the picture of my home intersection at 1212 I guess I don't need to request it for northbound now
I still take donations!
In South Dakota, US 52 is pretty much a two lane.
Enjoyed this one, as U.S. Route 52 was "big" in two places in North Carolina for me: where my dad was from (Anson County) and where I lived in Surry County for a good part of the 1980s. My dad remembered when 52 was a "good plank road"-and some around there still call it that. "U.S. 52 from North Dakota to South Carolina"... we must consider that was in some politician's mind a century ago, he had some influence, and that's how we got this diagonal route.
I ride 52 everyday. I live in NC, takes me straight to Salisbury from 85/52
US 72 Memphis, TN to Chattanooga, TN "West Tennessee, North Mississippi, North Alabama, & East Tennessee"
Would LOVE to see US 6 in the works.... it is known as the Grand Army of the Republic highway and it goes through Denver, Chicagoland, Cleveland, Hartford, and Providence among others.
Used to be the longest U.S. highway in the country till Cali mucked it up...
As US 52 enters West Lafayette, it is heading east on Sagamore (there is no K In Sagamore) Parkway. It then turns right onto the 231 bypass heading south past the Purdue campus and airport before crossing the Wabash River. It then turns left onto Teal Road heading east again. It then turns right onto Sagamore Parkway again heading south towards Indianapolis. US 52 used to follow Sagamore Parkway all the way through the area, until the 231 bypass was built.
Thanks for the content, man! Could you show Luther College in Decorah, IA? 52 has a great view of the campus, and it's a special place for me!
Thanks, you got it!
US-52 goes through so many states, it’s crazyyyyy! US-52 goes through my home state of MN right? Well, when I went on a trip to North Carolina in 2017, of course, we crossed over US-52 a few times. And when we finally crossed over the state line to NC, after I-74 “ends”, we still have to take US-52 to Winston-Salem. What a route, what a route.
Thanks for the shoutout. Also, at 22:22 You mentioned that we meet US 421 again. Well, 421 runs from Fort Fisher, NC all the way up to Michigan City, IN covering 940 miles. Maybe you could do a US 421 video on the near future.
Disappointed that you didn't tarry in Iroquois (between Donovan,IL and Kentland, IN) where you could see the sign "Welcome to Bunkum".
I live in the Cincinnati area, and in SW Ohio, even all the way north to Fairfield and Hamilton, OH, you'll see that ODOT puts State Route signages when it should be a US Shield, like Todd mentions at 16:42. It's like this for US-127 in a lot of areas. I'm only guessing, but perhaps ODOT workers may get the silhouette of the State of Ohio on our State Route signage confused with the Shield silhouette for US Routes, and for some, it may look the same at a quick glance. At times, it irritates me just a little bit whenever I drive through those areas and see the incorrect route signages. I wish little things didn't bug me! haha
I find that annoying, too, but I bear in mind that US routes are state routes in that the states get no special funding for US routes, like they do for interstate routes. At least in Ohio, there are no duplicate State Route and US Route numbers.
A few weeks ago when you announced US 52 I was excited and have been waiting. Would recommend taking Sagamore Parkway through Lafayette on the return trip! (despite the fact that it actually doesn't get close to downtown)
Also hoping for a US 421 and US 101 video someday. keep on trucking
Will definitely do both! I've actually got a different route planned through Lafayette on the return
You’re the man Todd! Great job on the video, and even more so on putting together that lengthy Todd’s The Way it Should Be. If you ever get around to US 6, 11, 20, 21 or NY-5 I’ll have plenty of intersection super sticker requests
6 and 20 for sure. Maybe 11 but most of it's route is covered on 59, 75, and 81 so I'm not in any hurry on that one.
6,20 and 19 for me. Like taking route 5 between Buffalo and Erie very scenic route.
That sign mistake (Ohio plate instead of US highway) at 16:47 is something I see a lot here in Wisconsin, too. I’d never seen one anywhere else until now though!
These videos make me wanna get out and drive. Also it seems like the US highways will be more tedious and time consuming.
Ah yes, I love these weird diagonal roads, I find them to be so interesting, US 52 being no exception! Did you know that the fastest way to drive to Alaska from most of the lower 48 states involves driving on US 52 to the Canadian border in North Dakota? Either way, great video Todd! :) 👍
US 62 is like the opposite diagonal to US 52 as it travels from Niagara Falls to El Paso.
@@DWNY358 That is cool!
If only those routes were labeled “northwest,southeast” or vice versa. It would make sense.
@@mbdg6810Ohio used to sign routes like that until AASHTO got involved.
US 52 does quite the meandering route....I'm requesting you do US 13! It's a very interesting route
This should be a good series, especially because I just moved right off US 40 in Ohio. Just one correction, Riverfront Stadium was torn down in 2002. It was replaced by Paycor Stadium (fka Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals play) and Great American Ballpark, the Reds' home.
Another great video! Super cool to see the Brookville Exit on 465. My wife races at the Indianapolis Speedrome and we turn left on Brookville Road instead of right.
Very cool!
I’m excited about the New Jersey highway you’re doing next week!!
On US 52 Northbound, make sure to mention the Field of Dreams when in Dyersville,Iowa!
Thanks, will do!
On the North Side of Dyersville, there will be signs on Route 52 to get to the Field of Dreams; it’s about 2 or 3 miles from the highway, unless you want to take a detour and/or show actual footage!
I wish you could've taken a shot or two of the "Tolsia Highway" (between Huntington and Williamson) Nice scenic stretch. But like you said, if you included everything it would be 4 hours long
I-80 near Joliet is headed to Gary, and from there one has plenty of possible directions from there that make sense. To get to downtown Chicago you would have used I-55 and would not use I-57. I-80 meets I-94 (which US 52 never meets!) which goes to Detroit and (with the significant I-196) Grand Rapids in Michigan. Then it meets I-65 headed to Indianapolis (and meets and absorbs US-52 for some time). Then I-80 meets I-90 going past South Bend (bigger than Gary!) on the way through Toledo to near Cleveland while I-80 heads to the Big Apple. If you want to add other cities, 90 also goes to Boston and 76 cuts a bit south toward Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Unless one is turining into the South Side of Chicago or into Hammond, Gary, dreadful as it is, is on the way to lots of places.
Great to see U.S. federal highways. Driving on them is like going back in a time machine. Before the Interstate system these roads were the way to travel across the nation. Yes they have ababsolutely no rules. Yes they go through many small towns. But you get a feel for the local towns.
I hope he covers US 11 and 22. I’ve been on those.
US highways do have rules, at least when it comes to numbering. Odds are still N/S and evens are still E/W. Routes that end in 0 and 1 (except for US 2, since you can't just use 0 by itself) are long-haul routes. And the numbers increase going west and south, which is the opposite of the Interstates.
Love the video especiallly the section in Illinois....use to live in Freeport Ill.
Even though I've never lived near this highway, I've actually traveled on a lot of it. I've done sections in Minnesota, Illinois and South Carolina and I actually took 52 all the way from Bluefield all the way to Cincinnati because I was too cheap to pay the tolls on the WV turnpike. I've probably paid more in gas on that trip but it was a nice drive.
In Minot, the co-signed / "business" section of 2 & 52 follows Burdick Expressway (aka US 2) until you're almost at the viaduct east of the downtown area, then 52 takes off down Valley St. (I know this as a relative of mine lived near Valley / Burdick).
Mad props for the proper pronunciation of Clermont, Iowa.
Since you went to Limon you have to go to Statesville, NC.
I grew up in the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati, and always found it funny how much 52 follows the border of the state, but never entered it (as you pointed out, it does now, but that was only done a decade or so ago). Also, after Huntington, US 52 isn't following the Ohio River any more, but the Big Sandy River and the Tug Fork, which make up the border between KY and WV.
I had a friend whose wife was stationed in Minot, and seeing US 52 there was pretty funny, as was seeing it in Charleston when I was there a few years ago.
8:41 Illinois 64! locally known from Chicago to West Chicago as North Ave. & in St. Charles, Main St.
Another US route like this, the second-longest three digit US route is US 287, from Montana to Texas, one of my personal favorites. One, it’s an out of wack road (just like 52) and is a key route between Denver and Dallas. It would be greatly appreciated if you made a video (or videos) on this wacky road!
PS: It may go through Limon, CO, so apologies.
My interstate hero! Can you do the top 10 worst control cities?
My U.S. Route that I’m most anticipating is 395, the Three Flags Highway. Don’t be fooled by the three digit designation; even today it comes close to being a border to border highway, comparable in length to I 5…
It’s a cool road, will definitely do
Todd, if time permits, in the US 52 West (North) video I’d like to see you mention the projects that WV is undertaking to upgrade and replace US 52.
The King Coal Highway will run from Bluefield to Williamson. The Tolsia Highway will run from Williamson to Huntington. Both are being planned and built as expressway-grade highways. These projects are what WV is doing in the I-73/I-74 corridor between Bluefield and Huntington, in lieu of building interstate-grade highways (that you have acknowledged, in other videos, will perhaps never be built as conceived).
These highways are being designed and built slowly (painfully slowly), small piece by small piece, as WV finds funds available.
Some parts of these massive projects are already partially open or are nearly completed. It would be interesting if you could find and show in the video one or more pieces of them. There is a piece of King Coal between Matewan and Gilbert which is open to traffic, but only two lanes are open (on a four-lane right-of-way), and I don’t believe it is officially designated US 52 yet. There are parts of Tolsia, near Crum, which likewise are open but only striped for two lanes. A small piece of King Coal near Bluefield running between US 460 and WV 123 is scheduled to open this fall. You can see the evidence of this one being built from the ramp running from US 52 North to US 460 East: a massive rock cut behind Mercer Mall, and the bridge over US 19 which has existed, unused, for over ten years.
The Garden State Parkway will be an interesting one..
Can you do US-89 and historic US-89?
Of note at the northern terminus of US 52 in Portal, ND is that there's an international golf course straddling the US Canadian border (Gateway Cities Golf Club). Holes 1-8 are in North Portal, Saskatchewan. The tee box for the 1st hole, the 9th hole green and club house are in the US in Portal.
The final source of amusement is that while both locations are in the Central Time Zone, Saskatchewan does not observe Daylight Saving Time and North Dakota does. This means that when teeing of from the 9th hole, your ball will land in a different country an hour later!
How about a video on US 123? It must be the shortest US route in existence. Not very exciting and, relatively speaking, it should not take long to make.
Oh sounds cool! Funny they built it on the border, hardly a lack of empty space up there.
US 192 and US 123 are about the same length. I don't know if there are any shorter US highways.
9:33, I think I ate at that Hardee's once. I hate Chicago tolls/traffic, so I find detours around when I go to Fort Wayne from Hastings, MN where I live. Been through here a couple of times
Will you please make these videos: US-12, US-41, US-98, and US-17?
Can't wait for the videos for US 6 , US275 (current termini (Rock Port) and original southern terminus (St Joseph) ) and US 77...
Its funny because you can be in either Cincinatti, OH, or you could be in Rochester, MN, on the same hwy, which is NORTH and WEST obviously. I believe you can take 52 into saint paul! commenting before I watch.. been one of my fave highways back when I used to hitchhike around. EDIT: minor detail, when I passed through ND many years ago, that state route shield was an indianhead of Chief Tomahawk, not sure why it was removed..
A tidbit about the Dubuque portion: until just a couple years ago US 52 followed IA 3's route from Luxemburg, IA to Dubuque, IA. That road is very curvey, with several sharp turns through rolling hills. The City of Dubuque wanted to build a bypass on US 52 and eliminate some of the hazards on its route, so they built the Southwest Arterial, and IDOT routed US 52 down through Dyersville and concurrent with US 20, and made use of the Southwest Arterial. So 52 used to go through downtown Dubuque just a couple years ago, but not anymore.
That’s a pretty good note. Will definitely talk more about Dubuque and the old routing on the next video
That nice bridge in Cincinnati is called the Roebling bridge. The original bridge built by the same architect who did the eiffel tower.
Brooklyn Bridge I think
Todd, correct. It is the Brooklyn Bridge. 1866 was the year the Roebling Bridge was built. Technically it also is the terminus of Kentucky route 17 also known as the 3L highway(Lexington, Louisville, Latonia)
I hope you can eventually get a schedule of roads that you will cover at some point. There is no road with more personal connections to me than US 6, so when you announce that one I will surely have some points of interest to request, mainly in NY and CT.
I'll always talk about future episodes in the sode, and I'll post on the community tab as well
@21:30 because Lexington is the next control city. It’s a big small town basically lol
I-74 and U.S. 421? We'll see both of those again in NC...
Great series. Knitpick: it is Williamson, WV, not Williamston.
Consider doing the Appalachian Regional Commission Corridor system as a series, or at least mentioning when a US highway is on the system, for example the short multiplex of US 52 and US 119, including the short incursions into KY isCorridor G.
This was awesome. You should do us 127 now.