I dunno. Both are horrible in their own way. 81 is just so dangerous and an accident can have you stranded for hours since exists can be few and far between. I prefer lots of trucks on flat ground vs mountains. But I agree 95 is much uglier and our route to 95 is just so boring we avoid that way at all costs.
We usually head up 29 which is scenic for parts, but it’s own version of hell with a million stoplights. I seem to hit every single one. It takes 30-45 min longer now to get to nova than it used to in the 90s.
Fyi one of my first jobs I had to measure (walking with a wheel!) every mile marker sign on I-81 to its nearest landmark (bridge/large sign) between lexington and Harrisonburg. Both sides of the Highway! That was interesting. The other gal with me was pregnant, so I wouldn’t let her walk on the shoulder. She shadowed me in the van. I’m probably lucky to be alive. We didn’t wear vests in those days. And another FYI. Mile marker signs aren’t always exactly 1 mile apart. Ha.
I just drove I-81 to Lexington, and will drive back tomorrow. The signs saying “Accident? If no one is hurt, move car to shoulder” are disconcerting. (I paraphrased).
That’s pretty standard, no? I see that on I-95, I-85, I-40, etc. I would take I-81 over I-95 any day of the week. For background, we live in NC, one kid is in Roanoke and my cousins are further down in SW VA and my sister lives in NOVA. To me I-81 is a beautifully scenic road with way too many trucks. I-95 is a clustersuck that goes through boring scenery with terrible drivers, too many trucks and cars. It’s like Mad Max.
For more background I used to live in Los Angeles a long time ago and have driven across the country several times. I-95 north of Fredericksburg VA going up through Boston is still my most hated road. But maybe y’all like the NJ Turnpike and all of 95’s other iterations in the NE.
The one that used to drive me crazy was the drive from Orlando to Vero Beach, Florida. Absolutely straight, absolutely flat, and nothing to see except billboards advertising fireworks. Of course, the fact we were always jetlagged when we made that drive did not help at all!
I-70 from Denver east to about Topeka, Kansas is really boring and often very windy. After Topeka, the scenery becomes greener and hillier.
I-5 from Grapevine, California to Sacramento and even further north to about Red Bluff is very boring.
I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and beyond until you get to the Utah border is dull. In Utah, however from 15 to 70 is spectacular. There’s a section of 70 that could be a national park. There are overlook spots and no services for 100 miles. It’s heavenly.
Those signs are common here during the winter when counties go on “accident alert.” Move to the shoulder, exchange insurance information and, if possible, go on your way. The rationale is that a minor fender bender diverts emergency personnel from more serious accidents/traffic management.
And there are tons of fatalities all the time. My sister witnessed one a few weeks ago (car burst into flames) and my son’s roommate witnessed one last year.
I81 also has at least four colleges (VT, VMI, W&L, and JMU) located along its route which causes regular problems due to the thousands of students and parents driving back and forth, sports, etc. Then there are the students who think it’s a racetrack and drive way above the speed limit; there are regular posts on the VT parents page about kids who are charged with reckless driving (20+ above speed limit) and parents are looking for attorneys to get them some leniency .
When I moved to the Midwest, it was 2 lanes and felt like the pit of the rust belt, scary and lined with barrels. Since then it seems to have been cleaned up, modernized. I sure sang Gary, IN while driving through!
We drive from Chicago to Las Vegas and back every year. We don’t mind the stretches of desert because it’s wilderness and there’s a lot of stark beauty. The flat fields of the Midwest and Plains are the part we don’t care for. It’s not any closer to nature than city streets.
Though the Nevada section can be dull, strictly speaking the Virgin River Gorge is in the Arizona Strip (north of the Colorado). That is stunning scenery: as you drive up from the west it is hard to imagine where the road goes, then you realize it heads straight into the gorge. I doubt environmental regulations would allow that routing to be used nowadays!
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