Which State Designs Freeways and State Highways the Best?

[mgk920]

I will agree that when they have the money that they need, WisDOT does an amazing job on their road projects.  The recently rebuilt I-41 in the Green Bay, WI area is simply jaw-dropping!

Outside of Wisconsin, I've always been impressed with the work that MnDOT has been doing, mainly in the MStP metro area.

Mike

[Occidental Tourist]

I say from initial concept California probably was the best until the highways started to fall apart over the years in urbanized areas.  I like the use of concrete which has for the most part held up very well.  The older baked enamel signage generally is still present and still readable, despite looking hideous during the day from wear.  The expressway designs in California still are by far the best in the country; some notable examples being US 101, CA 198, CA 152, CA 58, and many more.  Even the two lane highway designs are very good and generally have a good variation from single lane road up to more modernized wide two-lanes with shoulders of a decent width.  So rural two-lane state highway and expressway I'd say California is still up there, freeways....not so much.

Right now I think ADOT in Arizona is building some nice stuff freeway designs in the Phoenix area.  The 101 project was completed in the last two decades and the 303 in addition to the 202 loops have been greatly expanded.  The Phoenix freeways are super nice for the most part and well maintained and seem to handle the traffic well enough that it rarely doesn't cause traffic jams.  There has been some nice expressway builds in the last decade like US 93 and AZ 260.  Some two-lanes have received some nice touch-ups like AZ 89A where I'm fairly certain even slight banking was added.  What Arizona gets knocked on is bad initial Interstate design (Vail to Benson and the Gila River Indian Community) and poorly maintained rural freeways.

If I was going to say something for numbering system design the win would go to Florida.  The grid FDOT did in the 1945 renumbering makes sense when you realize what it; odd numbers climb westward, even numbers climb southward.  Even the County Routes tend to retain the former state road numbers or are given a triple digit that complies in the grid.  I like what Nevada did in their renumbering also by giving routes in a given area similar numbers and putting urban, primary, and secondary routes into separate number bands.

I agree with this.  California freeways and highways used to be cutting edge, and now they are falling apart with little investment in upgrades.  Particularly with interchanges, there's a lot they could do to tweak capacity to help spread congestion out and other little fixes, and they've basically given up.  And they seem so lax now in oversight of the details under the design-build model, that all kinds of issues seem to arise on recently-completed projects.

I also agree that ADOT builds some great highways in the west.  Since the 80s, there's been a sea-change in how they approach freeway building, and most of the metro Phoenix projects have been very well executed.  For all of the "Not another LA" rhetoric that began in the 90s, ADOT seems to have applied all the best aspects of the old Caltrans to their highway development projects.

[kphoger]

This is a tough one, but I think I'll go with Texas.

Texas has an extensive network of paved farm-to-market roads that are as good as the primary network in some other states (KY, MO...). While the frontage road obsession takes some getting used to, the designs used in urban areas work quite well (I wish Kellogg frontage roads in Wichita functioned as well as Texas' frontage roads). A lot of the trunk highways are four lanes (JNW's po-boys notwithstanding), many others have passing lanes, and are generally a pleasure to drive. The I-35 project between Hillsboro and San Antonio has been taking forever, but the completed portions I've been on are fabulous.

Signage and especially pavement marking in Texas is top-notch, and to me the gold standard. There's very little bad I can say about Texas highways, but two things do come to mind. First is that I suspect some aging pavement conditions on non-Interstate trunk highways may become noticeable in a couple of years, and I wonder how actively the state re-paves them. Second, I've been on several highways on the southern part of the state with humps and dips, which becomes tedious with a heavy-laden vehicle. Highways that come to mind in this latter regard: US-385 south of Marathon, TX-255 (entire), TX-130 south of Austin (making 85 mph less enjoyable).

[Quillz]

I think the way Texas does frontage roads is a pretty good concept, especially in execution. I've been to Texas briefly, and never really had an issue with them. I can also see it being a good way to sign both interstates and US routes.

[mgk920]

I think the way Texas does frontage roads is a pretty good concept, especially in execution. I've been to Texas briefly, and never really had an issue with them. I can also see it being a good way to sign both interstates and US routes.

The thing that I love the most about how TxDOT does their freeway/tollway frontage roads is that they can be used to establish new corridors FIRST as super-wide median surface four lane roads, heading off any potential NIMBYs loooong before any of them have a chance to move into the areas, adding the freeways or tollways in the those spacious medians with little opposition later on when the need arises.



Mike

[Pink Jazz]

I also agree that ADOT builds some great highways in the west.  Since the 80s, there's been a sea-change in how they approach freeway building, and most of the metro Phoenix projects have been very well executed.  For all of the "Not another LA" rhetoric that began in the 90s, ADOT seems to have applied all the best aspects of the old Caltrans to their highway development projects.

Agreed.  If the state were to allow it I think some Phoenix area freeways could handle 70 mph speed limits due to their quality designs.  Plus, we now have logo signs on our freeways (which many other Sun Belt states already did in their urban areas), which California still refuses to expand to urban areas.

[Buck87]

I think the way Texas does frontage roads is a pretty good concept, especially in execution. I've been to Texas briefly, and never really had an issue with them.

Agreed. I especially like the special U turn lanes they have in some places to get from one frontage road to the other without having to make 2 left turns (not sure what these are officially called)

[Big John]

Agreed. I especially like the special U turn lanes they have in some places to get from one frontage road to the other without having to make 2 left turns (not sure what these are officially called)

They are called "Texas U-Turn" or "Texas Turnaround" even out of state.

[formulanone]

No love for Florida?

Wide lanes, generous runoff/breakdown lanes, smooth pavement, bright lane markings, wide rights-of-way, plenty of signage. Many urban/suburban state roads have dedicated bike lanes.

That's not to take away anything from Texas nor New York, but I think Florida deserves to be mentioned in the top 5.

[Max Rockatansky]

No love for Florida?

Wide lanes, generous runoff/breakdown lanes, smooth pavement, bright lane markings, wide rights-of-way, plenty of signage. Many urban/suburban state roads have dedicated bike lanes.

That's not to take away anything from Texas nor New York, but I think Florida deserves to be mentioned in the top 5.

Fairly certain I plugged Florida earlier in the thread.  There is some quality US Route expressway alignments like US 19, 192, and especially 27.  I always liked the grid system they have going with all the routes.

[formulanone]

No love for Florida?

Wide lanes, generous runoff/breakdown lanes, smooth pavement, bright lane markings, wide rights-of-way, plenty of signage. Many urban/suburban state roads have dedicated bike lanes.

That's not to take away anything from Texas nor New York, but I think Florida deserves to be mentioned in the top 5.

Fairly certain I plugged Florida earlier in the thread.  There is some quality US Route expressway alignments like US 19, 192, and especially 27.  I always liked the grid system they have going with all the routes.

Ah, I see it now.

True...growing up around that grid system, I still tend to assume (wrongly) that just about every state has it.

[Max Rockatansky]

No love for Florida?

Wide lanes, generous runoff/breakdown lanes, smooth pavement, bright lane markings, wide rights-of-way, plenty of signage. Many urban/suburban state roads have dedicated bike lanes.

That's not to take away anything from Texas nor New York, but I think Florida deserves to be mentioned in the top 5.

Fairly certain I plugged Florida earlier in the thread.  There is some quality US Route expressway alignments like US 19, 192, and especially 27.  I always liked the grid system they have going with all the routes.

Ah, I see it now.

True...growing up around that grid system, I still tend to assume (wrongly) that just about every state has it.

Yeah really Nevada was the only one out here that kind of makes sense in similar fashion.  I always liked US 27 especially, that was always such a nice quiet drive from Orlando down to Miami via Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.  I always found that ironic that I would be using US 27 so much considering I went to high school and lived on the route in Michigan of all places.

Florida always was pretty good with upkeep and over designing a lot of the lesser routes.  FL 50 comes to mind as one of the roads I used to frequent that was basically almost an expressway for the entirety of the route that most people probably expect.  I honestly miss being able to drive in the rain and not worry about the roadway being a hazard and having drivers around me accustomed to the conditions.

But then again....I would never trade some good ole mountain routes that I frequent regularly nowadays.   

[nexus73]

California struck me as a freeway paradise in the mid Seventies when compared to Oregon.  Seattle had the reversible flow middle lanes in downtown at that time, which sure seemed like a great idea at the time.

Since then I have lived in Louisiana and Utah.  Utah was first half of the Nineties and Louisiana followed after that for a bit over two years.  The Beehive State being the 7th most urbanized in the nation, saw I-15 being a wide freeway for a rather longish way.  Unfortunately I have missed out on seeing the improvements built before the Winter Olympics.  No doubt they may well have the best in the West.

Louisiana on the other hand was not particularly special in terms of any modern touches other than the massive very high freeway bridge (I-310?) that crosses the Mighty Mississippi by NOLA. To see so much causeway was amazing though.  You don't need to drain the swamp if you can go right over it...LOL!  As the I-49 South section fills in, no doubt more causeway will be added. 

So I'll take Utah as my choice from what I have seen.  That does mean I missed a lot sorry to say!  Even if it needed work, I would love to drive the Pennsylvania Turnpike due to its historical nature.  For a smaller state, Ohio packs in a lot of people.  How well do they handle that kind of situation?  I'm curious!  Kentucky roadbuilding in the mountains would be very interesting to see.  What is Chicago and their metro neighbors like Gary IN and Milwaukie WI like compared to SoCal for freeways and expressways?

Hawai'i is pretty special too!

Rick

[Rothman]

How on Earth is Utah the 7th most urbanized state with all that empty space?

Oh wait, it is not about the state's overall urbanization, but the density of its urban areas.  Whatever.

[jakeroot]

How on Earth is Utah the 7th most urbanized state with all that empty space?

Oh wait, it is not about the state's overall urbanization, but the density of its urban areas.  Whatever.

Not much to do with empty space. It's just a measure of how much of the populace lives in an urban area. Utah ranks high in that regard.

[Max Rockatansky]

How on Earth is Utah the 7th most urbanized state with all that empty space?

Oh wait, it is not about the state's overall urbanization, but the density of its urban areas.  Whatever.

Not much to do with empty space. It's just a measure of how much of the populace lives in an urban area. Utah ranks high in that regard.

That empty space especially in the southern half of the state is some of the most uninhabited areas in the country.  You could probably wander the San Rafael Swell or Maze in the Canyonlands and not see another person for weeks. 

[Rothman]

How on Earth is Utah the 7th most urbanized state with all that empty space?

Oh wait, it is not about the state's overall urbanization, but the density of its urban areas.  Whatever.

Not much to do with empty space. It's just a measure of how much of the populace lives in an urban area. Utah ranks high in that regard.

That empty space especially in the southern half of the state is some of the most uninhabited areas in the country.  You could probably wander the San Rafael Swell or Maze in the Canyonlands and not see another person for weeks. 

Right.  Although certainly how much of a state's population is urban is an interesting statistic, it'd also be interesting to see just the percentage of a state's area that is considered urban.

[J N Winkler]

Texas has an extensive network of paved farm-to-market roads that are as good as the primary network in some other states (KY, MO...). While the frontage road obsession takes some getting used to, the designs used in urban areas work quite well (I wish Kellogg frontage roads in Wichita functioned as well as Texas' frontage roads).

The more recently built freeways in Texas are attractive and operationally successful.  In the era of primary Interstate construction, however, Texas did quite poorly, both on and off the Interstates.  In the early 1960's they were notorious for penny-wise, pound-foolish moves like using little stubs of embankment to connect lengths on viaduct, using very low k-values for vertical curves that go under overpasses so that a driver approaching the overpass has to deal with the optical illusion of running toward a raised concrete object at 60+ MPH, etc.  The length of I-35 between Gainesville and the Red River bridge goes up hill and down dale (low curve k-values, again) and has a sharp curve at the Red River itself.  It is a textbook example of how not to design a rural Interstate.

A lot of the trunk highways are four lanes (JNW's po-boys notwithstanding), many others have passing lanes, and are generally a pleasure to drive.

As it happens, TxDOT has two contracts under advertisement for Burnet County for the March 2017 letting, both of which will convert existing segments of poor-boy to Super Two with fresh chipseals (no repaving) for both.  One covers US 183 near Lampasas while the other covers RM 1431 near Marble Falls.  Both contracts will withdraw continuous passing opportunity for both directions, but create continuous full shoulders where none now exist.

Signage and especially pavement marking in Texas is top-notch, and to me the gold standard. There's very little bad I can say about Texas highways, but two things do come to mind. First is that I suspect some aging pavement conditions on non-Interstate trunk highways may become noticeable in a couple of years, and I wonder how actively the state re-paves them.

"May become noticeable in a couple of years"?  Right now they are already chipsealed to death.  TxDOT doesn't allocate enough out of the large cities to maintain consistently good surface condition even on the important rural two-lanes.

Good surface condition is more than the mere absence of potholes.  It is also consistent surface profile, without ruts, sags, depressions, or other slight differences in elevation that are enough to boggle a car's suspension and tire out the driver after several hundred miles.  Preferably, it is also the absence of surface treatments like chipseals that somewhat extend pavement service life at a huge penalty in noise, vibration, and harshness.

When TxDOT actually goes in and reconstructs a rural two-lane from the subgrade up, as they did with US 281 through Hamilton County sometime in the last couple of years, the result is a wonder:  smooth asphalt pavement, full shoulders, excellent reflectivity from fresh thermoplastic and pavement delineators, and superlative NVH characteristics.  But this happens only once in a blue moon.

[RobbieL2415]

If we're talking vintage: hands down NY.   Their Parkway are very aestheticlly pleasing and theyre a lot less mundane to drive on than your standard interstate.

If we're talking Interstate era onward: Virginia.  I've always been drawn to how their congestion-based HOV lanes in the DC area operate.  That and their pavement is always in good shape.

[kphoger]

The length of I-35 between Gainesville and the Red River bridge goes up hill and down dale (low curve k-values, again) and has a sharp curve at the Red River itself.  It is a textbook example of how not to design a rural Interstate.

The stretch of highway you mention is the only location where I actually wish Texas had not raised the speed limit to 75 mph.

[cl94]

I have to agree with everyone who mentioned New York previously. Even since shortly after the US Highway system was developed, the state has been building alignments wide and with excellent geometry. Take US 20 west of Albany. Excluding a few places, it's generally very high quality and you could safely go 70+ even through the somewhat-rough terrain it traverses. Very little of that was improved after the 1930s. Many of the routes through the Adirondacks are wide and built to allow high speeds even crossing a mountain range. I expect state routes elsewhere to match in quality and I am always disappointed.

Know where the roads here generally suck? The Hudson Valley, and that's mostly because the network in many places predates the Revolution.

[plain]

If we're talking vintage: hands down NY.   Their Parkway are very aestheticlly pleasing and theyre a lot less mundane to drive on than your standard interstate.

If we're talking Interstate era onward: Virginia.  I've always been drawn to how their congestion-based HOV lanes in the DC area operate.  That and their pavement is always in good shape.

I like Virginia's expressways too but the pavement is pretty much hit or miss. I-85, I-264 and I-295 was notorious for potholes until recently.