Doin' 70 on I-70 Trivia Quiz

Answer:

In the US, east-west interstates that end in zero are major routes that cross the country. However, only three of them go completely coast-to-coast (I-10, I-80, I-90). Two of them don't exist (i.e., no I-50 nor I-60). Of the remaining ones: I-20 goes from Florence, SC to west Texas, where it ends at an interchange with I-10; I-30 only goes between two states, from Little Rock, AR, to Dallas, TX; I-40 starts in coastal Wilmington, NC, but ends in Barstow, CA, about 100 miles from the Pacific coast; and I-70, which starts on the western side of Baltimore, MD (arguably a coastal city), and ends at an interchange with I-15 in southwest Utah. Since it ends in Utah, the Nevada and California choices in the quiz are naturally wrong.

As a part of Interesting Info, I'll go into detail about the path of I-70, going west-to-east. It starts on its western terminus at I-15, a major north-south interstate, about 130 miles south of Salt Lake City. On its path east towards Colorado, it passes through several small towns: Richfield, Salina, and Green River.

Crossing into Colorado, things get interesting. I-70 passes through Grand Junction, CO (the largest city on the Western Slope of Colorado) and its satellite towns: Mack, Loma, Fruita, Clifton, and Palisade. It is here in the Grand Valley that I-70 parallels the Colorado River for much of its route through the mountains.

After it goes through Glenwood Springs, it enters Glenwood Canyon. Construction of this 12-mile portion was hindered by the narrowness of the canyon and the aim of keeping environmental impact minimal. It took 12 years and almost half a billion dollars to complete.

After exiting Glenwood Canyon, I-70 passes through Dotsero, where the Colorado River diverges north to its source, Grand Lake. The highway continues towards the Continental Divide. But instead of going over the mountain at Loveland Pass (like its predecessor US-6 does), it goes through Eisenhower Tunnel, a 1.7 mile long double-bore tunnel which is the highest point on the Interstate highway system, at 11,158 feet above sea level.

After the Eisenhower Tunnel, I-70 heads to Denver, the state capital. Passing through Denver, I-70 then heads to the plains towns of Limon and Burlington, then onto the state of Kansas.

In Kansas, I-70 connects several plains towns before arriving at Topeka, KS. It then continues to Kansas City, KS, and over the Missouri River into Kansas City, MO (which was actually incorporated 20 years before Kansas City, KS).

In Missouri, I-70 passes through Columbia (about the halfway point through the state), then to St. Louis. Before crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois, the Gateway Arch can be seen to the south.

In Illinois, I-70 stays mainly traverses rural areas. Going into Indiana, I-70 goes through the cities of Terre Haute, Indianapolis, and Richmond.

Going through Ohio, I-70 passes through Columbus in the middle of the state. It then crosses the northern panhandle of West Virginia, through Wheeling, WV.

In Pennsylvania, I-70 goes through the southwest corner of the state, entering Maryland at Hancock, which is located at the narrowest portion of the state, The Maryland Waist.

In Maryland, I-70 parallels the Potomac River to about US-11, southwest of Hagerstown. From there, it heads to Frederick, MD, where a spur highway, I-270, veers off and heads to the Washington, DC, suburb of Rockville, MD. (I-270 is unusual, as it has a 3-digit loop highway designation, but it doesn't loop back to I-70.)

The final leg of I-70 heads to Baltimore, MD. It crosses over the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), then goes about 3 more miles where it ends at an interchange with MD 122. From the map of this interchange, it is obvious that I-70 was meant to continue further. It was planned to end at I-95 in downtown Baltimore. Due to local opposition, its construction was halted at MD 122. Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park are directly in the path of where I-70 would've gone, so it's best that it stopped where it did.