Bad interchanges

[Beeper1]

The I-90/I-95/MA-128/MA-30 interchange mess in Weston & Newton MA.  Add the long C/D road on 95/128 NB and the access to/from Recreation Rd and it can be a massive bottleneck, especially where the ramp from 90 to 95/128 NB merges from 3 lanes to 1. (2 lanes from 90 and one on the C/D road which is still handling traffic from the Grove St. interchange to the south.

The I-91/I-95/CT-34 interchage in New Haven, which is luckily being fixed.

The US-6/RI-10/RI-14 interchange in Providence. This has been scheduled for replacement for yeard but who knows when/if it will ever happen.

And finally the classic disasters of the I-290/I-495 interchange and both I-93/I-95 interchanges. 

[6a]

Thank christ this got re-configured (Spring-Sandusky in Columbus, OH.)

[Revive 755]

One from recent travels:  I-355 at Boughton Road (pushing the envelope a bit here)
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.731547,-88.031956&spn=0.006005,0.020599&t=k&z=17

It's not really the interchange that stinks; it's how cash customers are forced to weave across entering traffic for the cash lanes at the toll plaza.  IMHO this is an offense worthy of striping I-355 of its interstate designation (get an IPASS?  One ought to not have to buy some special transponder to use an interstate)

[jdb1234]

I-459 @ US 280 in Birmingham:

http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&ll=33.441657,-86.730291&spn=0.004217,0.006545&t=k&z=17

Traffic going from I-459 Southbound to US 280 Eastbound not only has a ramp with a sharp curve, but one has to cross other traffic coming from I-459 Northbound going to US 280 in both directions.  US 280 Westbound only carries 2 through the interchange and a weaving problem existing on US 280 westbound just past this interchange with traffic trying to enter The Summitt shopping center.

[myosh_tino]

The US 101 shield is just fine--it meets Caltrans' rather offbeat but acceptably proportioned specification.  The I-880 shield, on the other hand, is an ugly and off-spec "bubble."

I disagree with that US 101 shield.  Below are two versions of that sign I created using the current Caltrans 3-digit US shield spec and the 1961 US shield I received from Agentsteel53...





Just for reference, the original sign...

[agentsteel53]

the current standard isn't too too bad (looks like a 1957-spec shield widened by a whole lot), but I hardly see it anywhere.  the 1961 looks great to me - but again I'd change it to the two-digit width.

my computer is being lame so I cannot upload the Shield Generator version of a 1961 green-sign spec US shield, two digit width, with Series D legend "101".  use your imagination, folks!

[kharvey10]

most of Highway 40 in St. Louis interchanges before they were rebuilt

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=3.2E-05&lat=38.6287399360093&lon=-90.2810827764684&year=1971

too many, just click and scroll the maps.  for fun and games, aerials from 1958 and 2007 are available for comparison.

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8E-06&lat=38.7703145193589&lon=-90.2387547764688&year=1958

Dunn and Route 367 before 270 was built, just for good measure.  Compare it to a later aerial after 270 was built.

[RoadWarrior56]

One of the most notorious interchanges in the southeast US - I-85 @ I-285 northeast of Atlanta.  Actually, the interchange is well designed, but for lower volumes that use it now.  When I moved to Atlanta in 1982 that interchange was a cloverleaf, and had the nickname "Malfunction Junction".  It would back up traffic on I-285 for miles every afternoon, overloaded with traffic wanting to use the loop to go north on I-85.

In the mid 1980's, over a four-year period, the interchange was converted into a fully directional interchange with no loops remaining at the cost of a billion dollars.  However, years of traffic growth rendered it a bottleneck once again barely a decade after it was rebuilt.  The traffic demands of the eastbound I-285 to northbound I-85 movement degrade the whole area, especially in the afternoon.  IMHO, there are no easy solutions.

There are lane balance issues.   I-85 traffic virtually doubles north of I-285, compared to south of I-285.  Over the long haul, I-85 has the same number of basic through lanes both north and south of that interchange.   The two-lane directional ramp itself is probably inadequate to carry the traffic that wants to use it.  But the traffic that is already using it barely has any place to go on I-85, so just widening the ramp is no real solution.

The biggest issue for Atlanta traffic are inadequate freeway and arterial network for its size and population, and lack of alternate routes, either freeway or arterial, and this is a big problem at this interchange - it is very difficult to avoid it, if you are driving through this part of the metro area.  Lots of local traffic is forced into that same interchange with the trucks and through traffic.

I work a few miles from this interchange, and I plan my work day to stay as far away from it as possible during certain hours of the day.   

[Brandon]

One from recent travels:  I-355 at Boughton Road (pushing the envelope a bit here)
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.731547,-88.031956&spn=0.006005,0.020599&t=k&z=17

It's not really the interchange that stinks; it's how cash customers are forced to weave across entering traffic for the cash lanes at the toll plaza.  IMHO this is an offense worthy of striping I-355 of its interstate designation (get an IPASS?  One ought to not have to buy some special transponder to use an interstate)

Lighten up, Francis.  Over 80% of ISTHA users have an I-Pass and use it, so why should they cater to the less than 20% who use cash first?

[vdeane]

It's bad for transponder people too: if you're getting off/on at that exit, you have to pay cash!

[mightyace]

^^^

Can't you still use a transponder (IPASS/EZ-PASS) in the "cash" lanes?

get an IPASS?  One ought to not have to buy some special transponder to use an interstate)

I don't like it either, but it's apparently the wave of the future.  There are some transponder only toll roads in the US but I don't think there are any yet that have an interstate designation. (I could be wrong.)

Pennsylvania does have some EZ-Pass only exits on the turnpike system and is looking at a plan to transition to cashless operation.

[Brandon]

It's bad for transponder people too: if you're getting off/on at that exit, you have to pay cash!

WTF!?!  I-Pass (and therefore EZ-Pass) is accepted in all toll lanes at all ISTHA toll plazas.  If you only use cash, you need to go through the manual lanes at the mainline plazas and cannot exit at Eola Rd on I-88.

[hobsini2]

* Any interchange where a mainline interstate uses a loop ramp.

How about two.  The Big X near Moline, Illinois has both I-80 and I-74 go through loops. 

Absolutely!
But i would also submit the stretch of I-294 between the I-88 ramp south of Cermak Rd to the I-290 ramp near North Ave especially for traffic flow for I-294 NB to I-290 WB, I-290 EB to I-294 SB, and I-294 SB to I-88 WB.  A 294 SB collector would fix the later two and a simple flyover on 294 NB into a collector for St Charles Rd on 290 would fix the first.

[hobsini2]

Boughton Rd and 355 is in my village.  The interchange itself is actually been improved ever since the I-Pass lanes were put in.  Getting on 355 North used to be frequently backed up. Now, other than the actually turn lane back up, even in the morning rush, the ramp doesn't back up.  As far as going South, again, there is no problem moving from the I-Pass lane in the actual plaza to exit at Boughton.  There is almost 1/2 mile of room between the plaza and the ramp.

[Michael]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Breezewood.

[WillWeaverRVA]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Breezewood.

Breezewood isn't a bad interchange, it's a bad non-interchange.

[Scott5114]

I'm from out of town so I would have no need for an IPASS, so just handwaving the problem by saying "get an IPASS" is a non-starter.

If I lived in Chicago I probably wouldn't get an IPASS anyway after the glaring example of ISHTA customer service I experienced at the Chicago meet.

[vdeane]

It's bad for transponder people too: if you're getting off/on at that exit, you have to pay cash!

WTF!?!  I-Pass (and therefore EZ-Pass) is accepted in all toll lanes at all ISTHA toll plazas.  If you only use cash, you need to go through the manual lanes at the mainline plazas and cannot exit at Eola Rd on I-88.

Maybe ISTHA handles it better than NYSTA, but on the Thruway, if you use EZ-Pass in a cash lane it isn't automatically handled - the booth operator has to push a button saying you can go, and you have to come to a complete stop.  There was even a post on MTR a while ago where a person did that entering at exit 23 and the toll booth was unattended - the person from the adjacent booth would walk over and hand out tickets to people in that lane.  Needless to say, rather than pushing the button to handle EZ-Pass, the person simply handed the driver an exit 23 ticket.  That driver had to use the cash lanes at Woodbury rather than the high speed lanes because of this.

[Brandon]

^^ It's automatically handled.  There are dozens of unattended booths on the ISTHA system (it's a barrier rather than ticket system) where it is automatically handled and the "Thank You" light comes on almost as soon as you stop in an I-Pass/coins lane.

[SteveG1988]

I-295 and I-76 in NJ. Being fixed now.

[D-Dey65]

I-75 at Florida's Turnpike and FL 44 are still bad interchanges that are too close together. FDOT and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise are still stalling on merging the two interchanges, but even when they get done with it, there will be no access to the turnpike from Northbound I-75, or from the turnpike to southbound I-75... unless you make a U-Turn at FL 44, of course.

[kharvey10]

WB I-270 at I-255 South ramp

IDiOT could had done this design much better than this.  This ramp is too easy to miss unless you're on top of it.  The interchange isn't that bad, its just this ramp that IDiOT f'ed up.  Now you wonder why there are so many 10-50s on this section of westbound 270. . .

[roadman65]

How about in Wayne, NJ where I-80 EB has no movements to NJ 23! You have to exit 5 miles sooner and use US 46 to make the connection!

How about the new I-4 and John Young Parkway in Orlando!  Now to go from WB I-4 to SB John Young you have to weave as the John Young and LB McLeod intersection has a long stack up to help matters worse.  Then there is a meaningless traffic signal at John Young and Clear Way that is only less than 400 feet  north from LB McLeod Road that does not help either!  It has hardly and traffic using Clear Way and could easily be a right in and right out on the NB Lanes of John Young.  Just make some u turns and you are Okay from the SB side!  How this signal got approved I do not know!  Its in violation of the MUTCD.

[ToledoRoadgeek]

Locally here in the Toledo area, the I-475/US 23 interchange in Sylvania if you're west/south on I-475 is pretty bad.  It narrows to one lane, and then one has to cross traffic if they wish to exit at Central.  This will likely get fixed when 475 is eventually widened.

I travel to MN to visit family a couple times a year, and the I-494/I-35W cloverleaf interchange is AWFUL.  Tight ramps, short merges and packed with traffic.  494 backs up for miles in either direction largely because of this interchange.  I sincerely hope for their sake they can at least advance construction of the two proposed flyovers (NB-WB and SB-EB) in the next 5-7 years, as funding will likely limit construction of the ultimate build-out for years to come.

[froggie]

494 backs up for miles in either direction largely because of this interchange.

494's backups are largely due to other interchanges and factors.  The 35W interchange is a contributing factor, but by far is *NOT* the primary factor.