For years, it has been said the longest continuous Main Street in the United States is located right here in the Metro East area. The city of Belleville, Illinois has been recognized as having the longest continuous Main Street, being 13 miles long, one way. If you’re an avid runner, run Belleville’s Main Street both ways and you have just run a marathon!

Of course varying opinions begin to surface during research of the longest roads in the United States and world. Another site named Boise, Idaho as having the longest Main Street in the United States, being 33 miles long. Maybe the key difference between Belleville’s longest Main Street and Boise’s longest Main Street is Belleville’s Main Street is continuous.

According to www.history.com, O Street in Lincoln, Nebraska ranks as the longest Main Street in the nation at 59 miles. Can you imagine traveling 59 miles on a Main Street? Hopefully there aren’t too many stoplights!

Traveling from the longest Main Streets to the longest streets, there are even more varying opinions. Broad Street in Philadelphia has been said to have the longest street in the United States, measuring 12.5 miles. Some reject this idea because the town’s city hall interrupts Broad Street somewhere in the middle. Another website said some sources claim Western Avenue (23.5 miles) in Chicago as being the longest street in the world. Other opinions reflect Colfax Avenue in Denver, CO, Figueroa, in LA, or even Broadway in New York as having the longest Main Streets.

One website identified Colfax Avenue as the longest commercial street in the United States. According to www.wikipedia.org, West Colfax Avenue began as a trail during the Colorado Gold Rush, being a well-traveled route to the mountains’ gold fields. The existence of West Colfax Avenue has been confirmed as far back as the spring of 1859 when it became a major thoroughfare for goods, people and transportation service to and from the Colorado Mountains.

Speaking of the longest commercial street, for those of you who really enjoy shopping, the longest outdoor sale is claimed to be along the 127 corridor from Defiance, Ohio through Kentucky, Tennessee and ending at Gadsen, Alabama. Yes, 630 miles of pure hard core sales and shopping. The world’s longest outdoor sale includes commercial sales and yard sales and will occur this year August 7 – 10.

Moving nationally to internationally, www.barrypopil.com identifies Highway 83 through the Rio Grande Valley as “the longest main street in the world” since at least 1929. Wikipedia states that U.S. Highway 83 at 1,885 miles is one of the longest north-south U.S. highways in the United States. There are 3 other long north-south routes which include U.S.1, U.S. 41, and U.S. 87. State Route 1 or Highway 1, is approximately a 600-mile state highway running along a large section of the Pacific coast in California. Although shorter than Highways 83, 87, or 41, Highway 1 is famous for running by some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, which has led it to be designated as an All-American Road. U.S. Route 41 is a north-south highway that runs from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Miami, Florida. It was formed in 1926 and is approximately 2000 miles long. U.S. Highway 87 is a north-south United States highway that runs for 1,998 miles from northern Montana to southern Texas.

Www.askyahoo.com identifies Yonge Street (1,178 miles long) in Toronto, Ontario as the longest street in the world. The road is roughly the distance from San Diego, CA to Seattle, WA. The website states that long before Yonge Street was paved, it was used as a trail by the Huron Indians and early explorers. Currently, most of the road is known as Highway 11.

Before it was removed from the United States Highway System in 1985, U.S. Route 66 could have claimed rights to the longest road in the United States if not the world at 2,450 miles in length. Route 66 has been referred to as The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the Will Rogers Highway. Most of us are familiar with the saying, “Get your kicks on Route 66.”

Whatever roads you get your kicks on, remember that Heneghan and Associates, P.C. can assist you with transportation engineering. Whether the road is the longest or shortest, widest, or more narrow, we’re here to help you!