Driving back from Virginia after Christmas, I had to choose a route. Should I take I-81 to I-84 and thence home, or I-81 to I-78 to I-287 to I-87 to I-84 and thence home? I-81 in the former route runs along the ridgeline of the Appalachians after leaving Pennsylvania’s Great Valley. There’s a greater chance of inclement weather, and the grades are somewhat steeper. The latter route runs through the Great Valley and the Lehigh Valley, but traverses some hills in New Jersey and New York. There’s a greater chance of heavy traffic because the route passes through or near several large cities.
So, I was wondering, which route would cost the least in time? Which would cost the least in dollars spent on fuel? And which would cost the least in mileage? Would each route be the same? Which would be the least cost overall?
And now I have a feature request for on-line maps in addition to allowing placement of arbitrary turning points in driving directions: least-cost routing options.
Oh, and the next incremental improvement for Google Maps should be topographical.