The US's most pathetic highways

[MidwestSimGeek 0]

Another favorite -- I-35E through Saint Paul, MN. AFTER all the land was purchased and graded for the project, the, let's just say, "well-remunerated" residents of the Crocus Hill neighborhood filed noise and safety complaints about the route. This resulted in an entire section of major interstate freeway, built up to the normal design and safety standards, being limited to 45 MPH....

(By the way -- to the moderator -- with all due respect, I have to laugh my tuchis off here. The part that you "edited for language" in my earlier post was nothing more than a collection of Shift-key symbols (%, etc.) that I myself intentionally used in the original post in place of actual cussing! Was this just a misunderstanding, or is it an accurate reflection of the level of moderation on this board?)

[aestiva 0]

confused04 & Duke87

   I-97 as a Delmarva interstate? NOOO WAY!  Delmarva is the last place of refuge on the east coast; Close to Balt., D.C., and Philly, but safe from all the crime and grime. I'm moving back there soon and it can stay just like it is.

As for a bad Hwy. My vote goes to the section of I-95 that runs from Wilmington,DE through Chester, PA. It's a narrow canyon of death with no shoulder,and everyone screaming along at 90+ mph (except when it becomes gridlock)

[K1A 0]

The 15 from Victorville in California to the Nevada stateline, the road needs to be repaved and widened from a 4 lane road to an 8 lane road or at a least a 6. theres so many cars & trucks on it, no room!!

[DOXXP29 5]

Aestiva, I don't think you have to worry. A plan was on the board to extend I-97 down US 301 in southern Maryland and into Virginia as a sort of beltway truck bypass. It was shot down and as far as I know, hasn't been resurrected since.

[Cjah 15]

Originally posted by: K1A The 15 from Victorville in California to the Nevada stateline, the road needs to be repaved and widened from a 4 lane road to an 8 lane road or at a least a 6. theres so many cars & trucks on it, no room!!quote>

 

That'd be alot of money...maybe 6....

Anyway I thought I'd add this Highway...its a simple highway by the 55,91 and the 57...it crosses the I-5 aswell....

The 22 Freeway has been under construction for almost 3 years...it has only two roads open in some areas and it is only being expended by one or two lanes at the most...in other parts of the highway there are TOO many lanes...like 6 or 8....

so it is all pretty odd....

[Scotty66 0]

I-405 the San Diego Freeway, Sepulveda Pass from U.S. 101 Ventura Freeway past the I-10 Santa Monica Freeway to LAX, LA International Airport, worst LA freeway. That doesn't include the uncompleted section of the I-710 Long Beach Freeway from I-10 San Bernardino Freeway to CA 134/I-210 in Pasadena. Still people are so opposed to that highway in their back yards, NIMBY. CA 210 would not be a worst freeway, but one of the best freeways constructed in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County. The Foothill Freeway extension. I would believe that the only criteria existing for a worst freeway would be no other than the mid 1950s Interstate 5 - Santa Ana Freeway from I-605 to the Los Angeles/Orange County border, a six lane freeway that is reduced down from ten lanes at the boundary going NW out of Orange County, it really puts the squeeze on traffic.

Scott

[The_Hutt 11]

I-205 through Tracy is absolutely hideous. They only recently started to upgrade it from four lanes to six (it should be ten, because of all the bay area commuters).

[shinkansen1 84]

Interstate 5 through Seattle - A Puget Sound landmark!

     Anywhere between four and five lanes in each direction from Tacoma through downtown Seattle and up to Everett, this plaque-filled artery makes itself an icon of western Washington state, it even comes complete with express lanes north of downtown Seattle! South in the morning and north in the evening, what difference does it make? Even near Kent, this interstate means trouble for Puget Sound commuters.

520 - floating bridge

     Ohh, so many years has it been in service. Now there's a big debate on when to replace it before the next big quake sends it and the 50,000+ commuters who use it down to hell. The poor thing was used over capacity right when it opened! Two lanes in each direction? How small do you think Seattle is???

highway 99 - a.k.a. Alaskan Way Viaduct!!

     3... 2... 1... BOOM! Isn't it about time we put that thing underground in tunnel form? Several years we've been so worried about that thing collapsing from a minor tremor. Maintenance costs are shooting through the roof, and the department of transportation can't even decide whether to replace it with a new viaduct or a tunnel? And guess what? The seawall got involved in the project!

Interstate 405

     Sure, it took a load off Interstate 5, but maybe it bit off more than it could chew. Going to Bellevue? Stick with 5 then go onto 90's floating bridge. The "S" curves are said to be the two "S"s in "disaster"!

[thetryer 0]

how about the crappy NYS thruway?? from buffalo to rochester, syracuse, utica to albany?? people dont know how to drive on that road, theres accidents all the time, and its a straight road!! its two lanes on each side and its do 80mph or get ran over. and dont try and get in the left lane to pass oh no, thats where all the idiot slow drivers are. they need to widen that road to three or four lanes on each side. but of course the state will never do that, they are to focused on NYC. screw upstate! we need to seceed!! haha

[xxbydesign 1]

I-76 through Philadelphia has to be one of the worst, major city highways in the country. It is too small for the districts it serves, and the onramp/offramp organization is terrible; lanes on this road have a tendency to divide uncontrollably, and there are several blind corners as it snakes along the riverfront. I lost a hubcap on this road taking a turn towards center city; i hit a pothole and the righthand side hit the curb. Sparks were flying, and I was not amused. It wasn't till i was home did i realize i was missing half a hubcap!!

[Duke87 1,070]

^^^Actually, don't blame the state. The NYS Thruway, along With I-84 in NY, I-287 in NY, the Garden State Parkway Extension from the state line to the thruway, and I-95 from Pelham Parkway to the CT state line are not under the jurisdiction of NYSDOT, they're run by the NYS Thruway Authority. Which means that it's up to them to make changes, and they can do so without legislation being handed down from Albany. That's not to say the state is free of all responsibility, though, as funding for any improvement projects would have to come from there, and therefore the state can effectively tell the authority "no, you can't do that" by denying them the funding.

I dunno about the far upstate part of the thruway, but the section between exits 15A and 16 is actually commonly cited as a dangerous stretch of road, particularly northbound. It's six lanes, doesn't have any nasty curves, and isn't that heavily trafficked, but the trouble is that northbound drivers have been going by frequent exits in urban/suburban areas, and then all of a sudden hit Orange County and have several miles before the next exit, and a change over to a more rural environment, which makes drivers unfamiliar with the road (who aren't expecting it) experience a temporary degrading of judgment and focus due to the psychological shock from the sudden change; their brains take time to adjust to the new situation.

You see people doing 80 all the time on the New Jersey Turnpike (especially further south). At least there they stay in the left lane and slowpokes know to stay right, though.

The turnpike actually goes through some interesting phases.

Exits 1-7A: South Jersey, mostly trees as scenery

Exits 7A-9: Warehouse Alley. Tons of huge retail distribution centers along the highway here.

Exits 9-13A: Stereotypical Jersey, plenty of factories and whatnot to be seen, along with suburban/urban towns.

Exits 13A-14: Port area. Newark Airport to the west, Port Elizabeth/Port Newark to the east. Airplanes or cargo cranes and containers? Take your pick.

Exits 14-15W: Transition zone. Newark Visible to the west, port continues to the east, as the highway heads into the meadowlands. The Pulaski Skyway also crosses here.

Exits 15W-18: Split zone. Eastern Spur or Western Spur, either way you're heading through salt marsh. Western Spur accesses the Meadowlands Sports Complex, while the Easturn Spur provides a breathtaking view of the Manhattan Skyline as you go over the crest of the bridge over the Hackensack River. The fact that it's salt marsh right in front of you makes for a sharp contrast.

There's the other thing. The New Jersey Meadowlands- thousands of acres of swamp a stone's throw away from the most expensive real estate in the country, covered in a forest of skyscrapers. Fun.

[shinkansen1 84]

Duke87, does your avatar mean "no smoking"? I happen to know that the symbol in your avatar is the Japanese character "no", and there is a lit cigarette in front of it.

[sloppy182 2]

I think my favorite most pathetic highway is Illinois 137 in Waukegan,IL. Officially known as the Amstutz Expressway the 2.9 mile expressway goes virtually nowhere. I found this while out for a drive in Chicago's northern suburbs. Afterwards I looked up some information about it. Apparently it was built to serve the downtown Waukegan area connecting it to the suburb of North Chicago but it was never completed. It has four lanes and has very light traffic using the expressway. Apparently several movies including Batman Begins, The Blues Brothers and Groundhog Day were filmed on this expressway because of its light traffic volume. There are plans to remove it and revitalize Waukegan's downtown lake front.

Another favorite in Chicago Area is the Elgin-O'Hare which goes to neither and I-180 near Hennepin,IL which was mentioned earlier by someone else.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: shinkansen1 Duke87, does your avatar mean "no smoking"? I happen to know that the symbol in your avatar is the Japanese character "no", and there is a lit cigarette in front of it.quote>

Why, yes it does.

The character itself is supposed to be smoking, but given it doesn't have a mouth, it's kinda hard to depict that.

[atilla5 6]

The most pathetic part of the interstate highway system that i've been on is in my very own state of South Dakota. Most of the interstate in the state is in very good condition. When you go north on I-29 out of Sioux Falls past the Renner, Baltic/Lyons, Dell Rapids, Trent exits the road is very good with no bumps (it's actually the smothest interstate highway road i've been on). But, right after you hit the Madison exit the road is absolutely terrible!! It's in very poor matinence, there's actually lumps of asphalt on the road!!!

Traffic wise, it can be a bit testy in Sioux Falls. Traffic in this area of the country is quite different than in more urbanized areas like the Twin Cities/Chicago, etc. The most busiest street (41st) in the state is actaully quite busy, by our standards. Otherwise the city is planning very good for long term traffic conditions. They plan to build a new bypass around the city (below). I believe that this is a great idea to solve upcoming traffic problems, since the city is expected to grow rapidly on the east/southeast/south sides of the city.

Sorry for the bad drawings but I kinda threw it together.

[Twalin 0]

I-35 in Austin has already been mentioned once but I have to second it.

they had a pretty good idea splitting the highway and making an expressway, but they messed up b/c it merges four lanes to 3 right at downtown if you are going south, and does nothing to ease congestion going north into downtown, not to mention merging from 4 lanes to 3 right where the two NE, SW highways cross 35 in North Central Austin. You might think that Austin is not that big of a city (only 650,000 residents). However there are no major east/west highways here so everything is built right along I-35 causing a major traffic problem. You would be considered in the "Austin metro area" for almost 40 miles of interstate.....

To make things even better they put in a toll road to the Austin airport, it runs almost 15 miles east of town, and is out of the way unless you live in the northern most suburbs of Austin.

not to mention all the truck traffic that travels from Laredo, all the way up I-35 To DFW.

To be honest... almost all of the major interstates in Texas are overcrowded... I think Houston is the only city with an 8-lane span (3rd largest city in the US) and most of the highways are only 4 lanes between the major metro areas.... SA-Houston, SA-Dallas, Houston-Dallas.

[spectrumtech 15]

My vote would have to be cast to California State Route 152. It connects the gigantic metropolis of the Bay Area to the east side of the Coast Range and I-5! From 2miles out of Gilroy, it turns into a windy, narrow, not-divided two lane road until you go the 30 miles to Casa de Fruta. While in the damned countryside, it is shuffled around onto a bunch of crap local roads until we hit the mountains. This stretch of road was given the moniker "Death Alley", whick still holds true today. Do you know what the gigantic project by CalTrans is to fix this? They are gonna put in a damn stoplight at 156-152! That interchange is another problem by itself. At rush hour, there is a parking lot from the interchange near all the way back to Gilroy. On a different topic, let's go to the other side of the mountains to a nowhere town called Los Banos. THe stoplights, turning lanes, and traffic cops there are so completely inaccurate. WHile pulling out of a sidestreet, I got in an accident on CA-152 thru Los Banos! Even further along is the terminal junctore with Hwy 99. Also nicknamed "asphalt hell" THe exit has wrong signs, ramps leading to nowhere, and an incredible large amount of traffic. Although I hate this stretch of hell, I have to say the road between 152-156 interchange and I-5 is very well planned out. Thank you for listening to my tirade.

[spectrumtech 15]

Also, I totally support The_Hutt's remarks about I-205 thru Tracy. As a San Jose resident, and a commuter to Stockton, I go thru that hell daily.

[dogma555 187]

How about the GW Bridge or Lincoln Tunnel connecting Jersey to NYC??! The most outrageously trafficked crossing in our country. Is there anywhere else that commuters wait anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes on a DAILY basis during peak hours just to cross a freaking bridge? Some other horrible highways in my area: The VAN WICK!!!!, THE BQE (I-278 from jersey thru staten thru brookyln thru queens) quite possibly the worst highway for the reason that its awfully congested but also difficult to navigate on and off of.

[Duke87 1,070]

^^^It's "Wan Wyck". With a y. And yes, the traffic on that highway is a mess, particularly the southern portions of it. And that's because almost everyone driving to JFK uses that highway, whether they're coming from points north or midtown. The Belt parkway provides a possible excape route, but only for those heading to eastern Long Island, Brooklyn, Staten Island, or New Jersey, Lower Manhattan really doesn't have any direct highway route to JFK. But going up to the LIE is shorter then going all the way around the Belt Parkway, so...

The BQE suffers from being old and narrow. It for the most part is not actually up to interstate standards, despite being one.

The Lincoln Tunnel is crowded simply because it's really the only direct way to get from midtown to New Jersey besides getting on a train at Penn Station or PATH. The Holland is crowded for the same reason.

The George Washington Bridge is a different story. Since it caries I-95, there's a lot more long distance traffic going over that bridge. It's a guaranteed mess during rush hour, but at other times it's rather unpredictable. Sometimes you can drive right onto and over the bridge with no trouble, other times you could spend a half hour or more sitting in traffic. There's more to it, though. It's all in the approaches.

Cross Bronx Expressway (NY side): never touch this highway unless you're out in the wee hours of the morning, or don't mind sitting in bumper to bumper traffic (or are feeling lucky, since on occasion you may actually get across it at a halfway decent speed).

Major Deegan Expressway (NY side): you bypass most of the Cross Bronx traffic by approaching this way, but then you have that nasty loop ramp to contend with, which is almost a guaranteed choke point.

Harlem River Drive (NY Side): up this north, this highway isn't that heavily trafficked, though this approach is only available to those coming from the south, and is not available to trucks.

Henry Hudson Parkway (NY Side): a rather reliable approach, though from the north getting onto the lower level requires you to move over three lanes in only a few hundred feet. Not to be attempted by the weak of courage. No problem for the upper level, but given that trucks aren't allowed on the lower level, it almost always moves better. Picture of this.

Leonia Bypass (NJ Side): The main route I-95 takes, and not surprisingly the most prone to traffic. Drivers coming from I-80 have little choice but to take this route, though.

US 46 (NJ Side): coming from the Jersey Turnpike, this is a nice approach to take. It's not a highway, but there are no lights, you can do a good 45 mph, and it's in fact shorter than taking I-95 around. The gamble, of course, is that if I-95 is backed up, you'll get way ahead by doing this, but if it's open, you can end up on the losing end, particularly if you get stuck behind someone slow.

Palisades Parkway (NJ Side): a fairly open route, though it's only good for approaching from the north, and it dumps you right onto the upper level, which as we said, has the truck issue.

NJ 4 (NJ Side): you won't hit too much traffic coming this way, but given that this is just a glorified boulevard, lights and all, and doesn't offer any other really connections until you reach the Garden State Parkway, it's best left to people coming from that direction anyway, it won't save you any time otherwise.

One last bit of advice: on the NJ side, aways take the "local" lanes as opposed to the "express" ones. The express always gets the brunt of the traffic since the wider, busier, trucked upper level directly dumps into it/comes from it, and since it's two lanes whereas the local is three.

[vilbe 6]

On the top of my list of some of the most pathetic highways in America, CT Route 11. 11-ish miles or so connecting nothing to even less, starts at an interesting interchange with CT Route 2 in connecticut, and randomly ends in the woods, onto a 2-lane state road. funding/construction stopped in the 70's, but because another 2 lane rural state road carries the proposed route 11's traffic load the idea has resurfaced, with many in favor, but alas, buearcracy at its finest!

CT Route 2 is no better, there are alot of exits where one can get off, to never get back on, with a much higher traffic load than designed for. Rush Hour parking lot, with no easy alternative route [especially going TO Hartford]. Another highway though that just ends, this time around the corner from Backus Hospital in Norwich, CT. Route 2 continues to 95, as a 2-lane road going passed Foxwoods, which makes it another choke point, but alas that part isn't a highway...

besides the 91/95 interchange in New Haven [really what were they thinking], theres another ugly interstate interchange if you continue, the 395/95 interchange. If heading northbound on 95, 395 is a left hand exit in a 50mph section of highway. If your heading southbound, your SOL getting on to 395 via the highway [but take exit 80, and go north]. However, going southbound on 95, you'll get hit with 395 traffic merging onto 95 again at 50mph [however if you do follow the speedlimit, expect to get dirty looks]. the irony of this interchange is less than 1000 feet from the 395 merge is exit 75 to route 1, which sometimes is sucidial to take..

but the granddaddy of the worst interchanges on the poor side CT lies at the 395/CT 2 interchange. if your going 2 east, and heading to 395 south, or 395 north to 2 east its not that much of a problem minus the short lane you have to make your switch on rather sparsely populated highway, but other than that your doing a full circle. if your heading east on 2 and want to go to 395 north not only do you make a circle, but you also have less than 500 feet to merge left while others are merging right to get the 2 west circle exit. lets not forget if your going 395 south theres no way without exiting the highway to get to 2 west..

[dogma555 187]

duke thanks for the info. you seem very knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff. Luckily I no longer live in Northern Jersey so dont have to deal with the traffic problems of the GW bridge unless I am going to a yankee game . The Holland tunnel seems to always have far less delays than the other hudson river crossings, despite it having smaller lane capacity. Granted, it leads you downtown but even taking the drive up to midtown still beats waiting on that godforsaken loop down the Lincoln tunnel, creeping bumper to bumper for 45 minutes. Also, do you know anything about what is going on with the Driscoll bridge? (northern tip of central jersey on the gs pkwy) It is now like 7 or 8 narrow lanes in each direction (not including the rt.9 bridge for trucks) and it almost looks like they are building an entire new span or something with constant ongoing construction. Is this a replacement span, or an addition to the existing spans? I am hoping they do something like widen the lanes, add a shoulder, and make about 12 or so lanes in each direction.. because the backups here are just horrible at times due to construction, a 45 mph speed limit (lol), and narrow lanes.

[Shingure 56]

As a native-Philadelphian and a 14 year old who has expirienced traffic in the Eastern Corridor I must say that I 95 is the most pathetic , under funded , over crowed , highway I have ever seen in my short life. When you get near NYC absolute hell. I mean it's like killing yourself without falling off the building and pulling thr trigger. You wait in traffic , Only to move 50 ft and then you wait in more traffic. Completely rediculous! In Jersy it's abit better. I mean there is abit less traffic heading into Philly. But when rush hour comes then you are expected to get dirty looks if youre going northbound. You get caught in suburban sprawl. Well... that's on you. Then we have Pennslyvannia, Home of another pathetic interstate. Interstate 76 which I will get to later.

95 in Philly is not nice to ride on. It's bumpy , There are metal plates in some places. And what they call in some spots fixing it is by covering up the metal plates with asphalt. But it really doesnt help when the rest of the asphlat is either old or degenerated to the point of pebbles and there are some concrete sections. Which are smooth . Meaning that 95 is let go around Philly. South of Philly in Chester county it's alittle bit better. They seem to have their roads done over in sections . But there is the 'clocking' sounds because there are little seperations which can say that the area has been replaced. There are also some concrete areas and the speed limit is very nice. In the rush hour though...It's hell...

Then going into Delaware the same deal as Chester county.The roads are better maintained than in Philly and the speed limit is comfortable. Even though when you get near Wilmington it becomes confusing to navigate. Port of Wilmington , or Inner City Wilmington...They make you go in a circle. Trust me. It happened to my family.

But now I 76 in Philly or SEW Schuylkill Express Way. It's traffic plaged and a risk to trucks. Honest to god I cant stand it when traffic becomes involved like during rush hour. When rush hour comes prepare to deal with hellish traffic. You are backed up. The exits are a curse and a blessing. In a traffic jam you can get off at Vare Avenue - Mifflin and get on At just before Grays Ferry , You get some people cussing as you have to cut lanes and the exits lies adjacent to the highway are Vare st which lets off in a housing development. Meaning you can easily speed and get caught. But those with weak constitutions dont try it. Those who have strong constitutions has given themselves 15 extra minutes out of traffic in a move that would allow you to get to the next exit in the minute.

Then you have South Street. A pathetic bridge. Meaning this exit lets off a bridge that has hunks of concrete and panels falling off it. Another Minneanapolis incident waiting to happen because they knew this bridge had problems for years. They see stuff falling off it onto the highway and the river and say it's fine..Give me a break PENNDOT.

[DOXXP29 5]

They don't call it the "Surekill Expressway" for nothing! Even after the renovations several years ago, I-76 is still a gamble with death, especially when entering and trying to exit. The weird connection from I-95 to I-76 doesn't help matters at all.

[1dera3 29]

My vote is for I-395/295 into DC. I-395 changes to 295 and the SE/SW Freeway, goes right by the captiol... which is covered by the ugliest power plants, railroad tracks, and Verizon buildings known to man. There seems like there is a wreck every other day and often traffic gets backed up so bad getting 3 miles takes you 20 minutes.

By the way, a few days ago near DC a truck hauling fat or grease or something left a hatch open underneath the truck, spilling a streak of slippery goo 20 miles down I-95, causing 4 wrecks and lots of spinouts.

[DOXXP29 5]

I couldn't agree more, Idera3! The whole "amputated highway syndrome" that DC suffers from has been causing traffic nightmares for around 40 years. Can you imagine how bad that junction is going to be when the new stadium opens? Evening rush hour on game days with traffic going out AND coming in...I get heart palpitations just thinking about it!

If you really want to cry, go to www.roadstothefuture.com and see what the DC highway system was SUPPOSED to be before politics and the whiners got involved and stopped the construction. Had the highway system been completed as planned, we'd have a really nice infrastructure and a lot less traffic problems.

(I didn't hear about the grease spill...that's a good one! Reminds me of the same kind of thing with tar spilling on the Wilson Bridge a few years back.)

[doorknob60 11]

Lol...I'm lucky to live in Oregon Especially Central Oregon, where the population of the area is just over 100,000. There are some problems with US-97 though...Like Highway 97 through Bend is a nice 4 lane freeway with pretty good traffic, but to the north of town are 2 stoplights by the mall, and they get super backed up during rush hour. Also, Redmond, about 15 miles north can get pretty crazy at times, but they're building a bypass so it should get better. And last, but not least, there is no US-20/US-97 Interchange forcing people and lots of truck drivers to use Business 97, which can get insanely crowded, especially at the US-20 and Reed Mkt. Rd. intersections, which needs some major changes because Reed Mkt. Rd. has no separate left turn lanes at Business 97, causing bad traffic any time between 3 P.M. and 6:30 P.M. Oh well, they are planning to fix most of these problems and they are not nearly as bad as what I've heard about I-95 so far

[southsider 0]

MD 295 inside Baltimore City cuts down to 1 lane!!!!

[tjperry88 24]

Well, I was going to add to the thread but most of our expressways have been either fixed or completely redone in Metro Detroit. However, our side roads and streets are terrible. More pot holes than any other place I have seen. Some bridges in the city actually have large chunks in them and holes where you can see the traffic or river below you.

[GAT-X105 3]

At the very southern end of the Garden State parkway, there are a few traffic lights. On a six-lane major highway. I heard once that it was planned to be all ramps like every other exit, but by the time they got down to the last few miles of road they ran out of money and had to go with stoplights. Plus, the Parkway just sort of stops being a highway and becomes a normal city street just before you get to Cape May, which I always thought was kinda weird.