WORST location for a traffic incident/road closure?

[StogieGuy7]

I can't come up with anything specific, but in general...

Places where the highway is dropped down into a narrow trench, with no turnouts/shoulders/etc. Nowhere to go to avoid anything, and you're trapped until the next exit. Places like tunnels/bridges that have no way out/off, or the approaches thereto.

Elevated highways, too.

I'd say that heavily trafficked corridors where perhaps multiple busy routes come together, yet there is no feasible (or at least reasonable) alternative route is available if it all goes bad. There are actually quite a few locations across the USA where this description fits well and pretty much any of those would probably qualify for the thread.

[VTGoose]

....

I-95 in South Carolina is another bad location for an incident -- two lanes and not many alternatives. What alternatives there are are also two lanes and can get just as congested as the interstate.

Heh. Some years back for our drive to Florida I had taken US-29 south through Greensboro and we stopped for the night near Charlotte. Heading south on I-26 the next day, we encountered a long line in the right lane waiting to exit to I-95 south. A check of Waze revealed a big wreck that had I-95 backed up as well. I wound up continuing on I-26 all the way down to Charleston and taking US-17 back to the Interstate. At the time, US-17 was two lanes (widening is now complete). The detour added 56 miles to the trip, so it probably didn't save us all that much time in the end, but I'm much happier when I'm moving (and, in that case, using roads that were new to me).

If that happened again, I'd consider trying US-15 south to Walterboro instead of going all the way to Charleston, although my wife tends to be happier on Interstates or four-lane highways. She seems not to like it when I pass people on two-lane roads. Plus, as you note, US-15 is likely to get congested because it's the obvious alternate when you look at a map.

Meant that some of the alternatives around I-95 (U.S. highways and frontage roads) are just two lanes, one in each direction.

With a son and his family in St. Petersburg (after living in Apollo Beach for 5 years), we have traveled back and forth between there and the mountains of Virginia. We've seen I-26 and I-95 bottled up for miles and at times have been stuck in that traffic. If jams are discovered soon enough, there are other ways to get from Columbia to Savannah. Earlier this spring, I-95 coming north was a mess in both Georgia and South Carolina. U.S. 17 from north of Brunswick to Richmond Hill was a nice diversion once we got out of traffic that jumped back on to I-95. Rather than deal with the interstates in South Carolina to reach our overnight stop in Columbia, I headed up U.S. 321 out of Hardeeville. It was one of the least stressful drives with almost no traffic. My wife is the same way, isn't always in favor of some of my "back roads" travel, but this one worked out well.

Bruce in Blacksburg

[1995hoo]

....

I-95 in South Carolina is another bad location for an incident -- two lanes and not many alternatives. What alternatives there are are also two lanes and can get just as congested as the interstate.

Heh. Some years back for our drive to Florida I had taken US-29 south through Greensboro and we stopped for the night near Charlotte. Heading south on I-26 the next day, we encountered a long line in the right lane waiting to exit to I-95 south. A check of Waze revealed a big wreck that had I-95 backed up as well. I wound up continuing on I-26 all the way down to Charleston and taking US-17 back to the Interstate. At the time, US-17 was two lanes (widening is now complete). The detour added 56 miles to the trip, so it probably didn't save us all that much time in the end, but I'm much happier when I'm moving (and, in that case, using roads that were new to me).

If that happened again, I'd consider trying US-15 south to Walterboro instead of going all the way to Charleston, although my wife tends to be happier on Interstates or four-lane highways. She seems not to like it when I pass people on two-lane roads. Plus, as you note, US-15 is likely to get congested because it's the obvious alternate when you look at a map.

Meant that some of the alternatives around I-95 (U.S. highways and frontage roads) are just two lanes, one in each direction.

....

Right, I got that part. That's what my reference to my wife not liking it when I pass people on a two-lane road was referring to–meaning the type of road where you pass in the oncoming lane of traffic. It was also what my reference to US-17 between Charleston and I-95 having been two lanes at the time of the prior trip meant–they widened it from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway (still has at-grade intersections, but those aren't a big deal).

[hbelkins]

Clays Ferry Bridge between Lexington and Richmond Kentucky comes to mind.

SM-G996U

There's a good alternative route in KY 627, which runs from White Hall (Exit 95) to Winchester, where you can pick up I-64.

One can also take KY 52 from Richmond to Lancaster, then US 27 north to Lexington. That route will become even more attractive when the KY 52 connection at I-75 Exit 83 (the Buc-ee's exit) is completed.

[GaryV]

Another long-ago incident, while traveling with my family in the Florida Keys:

US-1 off Key Largo to the mainland was closed down for something. The detour was to use a toll bridge. It took forever to get thru the toll booth.

I suppose it could have been worse - one of the bridges between Key West and Key Largo could have been closed.

[wriddle082]

I-40 west of Nashville gets really bad when there are traffic issues.  Between Jackson and Dickson, around 90 miles, US 70 stays pretty far to the north.  And TN 100 isn't much closer.  Even in the area from Dickson to Nashville, where 70 and 100 are closer, it still gets bad because both of those alternatives are mostly two lanes until you get right into the developed suburbs.

[davewiecking]

At least twice that I can remember I've been stuck on the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridges for about an hour. Both times near the middle of the suspension spans. Once on each bridge, but both times headed eastbound. Nice view, especially with ships passing underneath. But you're definitely not going anywhere, and certainly has a ripple effect on any traffic nearby.

[vdeane]

Another long-ago incident, while traveling with my family in the Florida Keys:

US-1 off Key Largo to the mainland was closed down for something. The detour was to use a toll bridge. It took forever to get thru the toll booth.

I suppose it could have been worse - one of the bridges between Key West and Key Largo could have been closed.

That's a good one.  Especially between Key Largo and Homestead, even though it has and alternate route, because of that 20 mile lone cattle chute that means that any incident will shut down the road in a given direction, with any traffic on it stuck until resolution.  I wouldn't be surprised if emergency services have to wait for traffic ahead of the incident to clear and then drive down the wrong way.

[jakeroot]

For Seattle, there's two critical chokepoints on I-5: around Joint Base Lewis-McChord between Lacey and Lakewood; and between Everett and Marysville. Both jam up during normal times (on weekdays and weekends), but when there's a collision that closes just one lane, all hell breaks loose.

I would give the "worst of..." edge to that stretch of I-5 through Joint Base Lewis-McChord. There is zero realistic alternative to that route; the best option (510 to 507 to 7 to 512) adds 30 miles, and it's entirely either roads that are maximum two lanes, winding through small towns and reservations, or large roads that are extremely poor at handling traffic (Pac Ave). Even if you exit way back at Grand Mound, you still conflict with traffic at Yelm. The best alternatives are 101 to 3 to 16 via Belfair and Port Orchard, adding 50 miles but lots of freeway, or US-12 to 7 through Morton(!!!), adding 25 to 30 miles of entirely two-lane highway. Just completely outrageous alternatives that are so ludicrous, avoiding travel is the best actual option.

By comparison, I feel like that stretch of I-5 from Everett to Marysville has a couple "reasonable" alternatives: 529, 9, Sunnyside Blvd, etc. None that could ever handle all of I-5's traffic, of course, but they don't require outrageous detours.

[fillup420]

I-95 in South Carolina is another bad location for an incident -- two lanes and not many alternatives. What alternatives there are are also two lanes and can get just as congested as the interstate.

I was heading north on 95 from Charleston when a truck overturned on the bridge over Lake Marion. Thats how i learned that there are zero alternate routes that actually cross that lake. The closest ways around are US 601 or SC 45, both of which add quite a bit of distance. Most traffic seemed to opt for SC 45 to US 52, so i went US 176 to US 601 instead.

[Hunty2022]

Another spot for Virginia is I-64 at the west end of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Hopefully it would get better with the new widening/rebuild.

If accidents/closures happen at both the HRBT and the MMMBT (I-664), it wouldn't be very good for traffic...

[skluth]

It really sucks around here when a crash closes I-10 in San Gorgonio Pass. There is no alternative, though it would be very simple to build a two-lane road parallel to the interstate through the pass. There is a way through the middle section, but it doesn't go to either end as there is no eastbound alternative at exit 102 (Ramsey St) and no westbound alternative at exit 111 (CA 111); note that both are simple Y-interchanges. Crashes on this section of I-10 can block traffic for hours. The only way around is using the curvy highways through the mountain ranges north and south of the pass.

Similar problems happen in several places out west, including other places on I-10 between Indio and Blythe along with Cajon Pass and the Grapevine, but this is one of the worst in the country as I-10 is four lanes in each direction through the pass. These crashes also often occur due to high winds through the pass so cleanup crews can be sandblasted while trying to clean up a crash site.

My solution ended up being Dillon Road and CA 62.  But then again I wasn't headed to an endpoint destination in the Inland Empire or Los Angeles.

Dillon Road can be quite handy in the Coachella Valley but doesn't run west into San Gorgonio Pass or east of Indio so wouldn't work in those situations.

[Bruce]

By comparison, I feel like that stretch of I-5 from Everett to Marysville has a couple "reasonable" alternatives: 529, 9, Sunnyside Blvd, etc. None that could ever handle all of I-5's traffic, of course, but they don't require outrageous detours.

Well, it only helps to an extent. SR 529 is also backed up normally, has three movable bridges (one of which is now capped at 25 mph), and dumps out in a downtown with railroad crossings. Sunnyside is a winding two-lane road. SR 9 is a bit out there and is also only two lanes, carrying much of its own commuter traffic.

[zachary_amaryllis]

For Colorado, the worst location is, unfortunately, the one that happens most - Glenwood Canyon. 3 hour+ detour every time it happens.

We visit Glenwood twice a year, though given where I live, we come down CO 131 to Wolcott, and pick up I-70 there.

We haven't beeen hit with a closure yet... but the point at which CO 131 intersects US 40 is sort of the 'decision' point. Does it look like it might rain by the time we get there? It'd be a really sucky example of 'gambled and lost', if you did.

[bugo]

When the I-40 Mississippi River bridge closed, it caused major traffic headaches. Imagine if both bridges were closed at the same time. If the New Madrid Fault decided to go off, that could very easily happen. They need to build at least two new bridges in Memphis.

[sharkyfour]

In Connecticut, many of the large river crossings of I-95 don't have easy detours and would cause serious issues.  The fire on the Gold Star Bridge a few months ago essentially deadlocked traffic in southeast CT for the day.  A closure of the Baldwin Bridge would require a ~30 mile detour on primarily 2-lane roads to a swing bridge that often gets stuck.  Could be quite the mess!

[HighwayStar]

Realistically any part of I-95 from about Richmond to Boston. Although some points are obviously worse than others, that corridor is the most important one in the entire US connecting the largest city, capital, numerous other large cities, and a nearly continuous megalopolis between them. That part of the country is so key it really should have a second route, something like a real I-99, for redundancy reasons, especially civil and national defense.

[Sctvhound]

Inside the Charleston metro area, being a city of bridges, really any of the major bridges (2 on US 17, 3 on I-526, Isle of Palms Connector) cause a monumental traffic issue whenever there is an accident.

I'd say the worst though is US 17 and the Ravenel Bridge. Whenever there is an accident there that closes the bridge (or other weird situations that happen from time to time), people have to go all the way around to I-526 through Daniel Island, adding like 20 miles to the distance from Charleston to Mt. Pleasant.



SM-G998U

[hotdogPi]

Realistically any part of I-95 from about Richmond to Boston. Although some points are obviously worse than others, that corridor is the most important one in the entire US connecting the largest city, capital, numerous other large cities, and a nearly continuous megalopolis between them. That part of the country is so key it really should have a second route, something like a real I-99, for redundancy reasons, especially civil and national defense.

The part of I-95 that collapsed was on a segment with redundancy (the other one being the New Jersey Turnpike). Similarly, New York to Boston has CT 15 → I-91 → I-84 → I-90 (or I-495 if you're going past Boston).

[sharkyfour]

Realistically any part of I-95 from about Richmond to Boston. Although some points are obviously worse than others, that corridor is the most important one in the entire US connecting the largest city, capital, numerous other large cities, and a nearly continuous megalopolis between them. That part of the country is so key it really should have a second route, something like a real I-99, for redundancy reasons, especially civil and national defense.

The part of I-95 that collapsed was on a segment with redundancy (the other one being the New Jersey Turnpike). Similarly, New York to Boston has CT 15 → I-91 → I-84 → I-90 (or I-495 if you're going past Boston).

CT-15 isn't fully redundant for I-95 since it is only for passenger vehicles.  It's also already beyond capacity, so any diversion of traffic from 95 to 15 would just gridlock it.

I'm not as familiar with the NYC area roads to know how to get traffic there, but diverting I-95 traffic to I-84 for those who are bound for Boston or beyond could maybe be feasible.

[HighwayStar]

Realistically any part of I-95 from about Richmond to Boston. Although some points are obviously worse than others, that corridor is the most important one in the entire US connecting the largest city, capital, numerous other large cities, and a nearly continuous megalopolis between them. That part of the country is so key it really should have a second route, something like a real I-99, for redundancy reasons, especially civil and national defense.

The part of I-95 that collapsed was on a segment with redundancy (the other one being the New Jersey Turnpike). Similarly, New York to Boston has CT 15 → I-91 → I-84 → I-90 (or I-495 if you're going past Boston).

That is not true redundancy in the sense of another parallel interstate. You can always string together some series of routes that theoretically bypasses but it will not always be interstate standard (as CT 15 is not) and will not have full lane flow the entire way (ie. exiting to change routes)
A proper I-99 would be full redundancy as an interstate grade route the entire way with a minimum of 2 full lanes of traffic capacity in the main line. It would also be signed as such which is key to navigation.

[sprjus4]

Another spot for Virginia is I-64 at the west end of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Hopefully it would get better with the new widening/rebuild.

It will certainly be better once the widening is complete around 2026. In the meantime, however, it is about to get worse. VDOT will be reducing I-64 between just east of I-664 and the HRBT from 6 lanes to 4 lanes permanently starting either later this month, or next month. This will accommodate the construction of 4 HO/T lanes (2 in each direction) that will tie into the under construction HRBT.

I disagree with their decision to replace a GP lane with a HO/T lane (not sure if this is even allowed on the interstate highway system), however the current decision to eliminate the lane entirely during construction will simply shift backups either further west on I-64, going even past I-664 likely.

[HighwayStar]

I disagree with their decision to replace a GP lane with a HO/T lane (not sure if this is even allowed on the interstate highway system), however the current decision to eliminate the lane entirely during construction will simply shift backups either further west on I-64, going even past I-664 likely.

That's the problem, anything goes these days. HO/T, express, etc. lanes are always a sub-optimal choice yet we keep getting stuck with more of the damn things. 

[plain]

Another spot for Virginia is I-64 at the west end of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Hopefully it would get better with the new widening/rebuild.

It will certainly be better once the widening is complete around 2026. In the meantime, however, it is about to get worse. VDOT will be reducing I-64 between just east of I-664 and the HRBT from 6 lanes to 4 lanes permanently starting either later this month, or next month. This will accommodate the construction of 4 HO/T lanes (2 in each direction) that will tie into the under construction HRBT.

I disagree with their decision to replace a GP lane with a HO/T lane (not sure if this is even allowed on the interstate highway system), however the current decision to eliminate the lane entirely during construction will simply shift backups either further west on I-64, going even past I-664 likely.

Mileage-wise, it will most likely stretch past I-664. The Norfolk side is notorious for stretching past Tidewater Dr (a seven mile backup) and that side has always been 4-lane down to I-564, so that should give you an idea to what to expect once they drop the lane.

I don't see a huge amount of people opting for I-664 as the MMMBT has problems of its own.

[sprjus4]

^ If only that US-460 freeway was built a decade ago... sigh.