The one highway, interstate, or city street you HATE to drive

[Rothman]

The Borman Expressway (I-80/94) in northwest Indiana between the Illinois state line and I-65.

I was just about to mention this! I drove from Tinley Park to Gary every day last summer for an internship, and it was hell on earth!

Constant construction, extremely high truck traffic, and people who can't drive all stack to make the road a nightmare, because there's no viable alternative unless you drive through Indianapolis or pay the extremely high Chicago Skyway rates.

I also hate driving on the Borman as NO ONE (literally) drive the speed limit at 55 mph (people drive as fast as they can)! Also, INDOT loves to do road work EVERY YEAR on that 10-mile stretch, and it causes endless accidents and reckless drivers trying to pass semi trucks!

If you drive exactly the speed limit, you're in the minority everywhere in the U.S.

[Flint1979]

I stayed in Fredericksburg a couple of years ago. I was driving from Charlotte, NC to Fredericksburg then goofing around in Virginia but I think the drive took about 5 hours and once I got north of Richmond that day at least it was fine. Of course it looks fine right now at about 9:00 on a Sunday morning.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I-64 between I-464 and I-664, it has been under construction since 2018 and never seems to end. Construction is supposed to be done this summer, but they also said last year it was going to be done by Fall 2022, so who knows.

Lane shifts, new traffic patterns, keep changing like every week it seems.

Once construction is finally complete, it should be far more enjoyable to drive - and hopefully they'll bump that old general purpose limit of 60 mph up to 65 mph (the design speed for project is 70 mph), but that's asking a lot from VDOT.

I haven't been in that area since the late '80's (lived in Smithfield for a hot minute). But what I recall, are some of the approaches to the tunnels, the Downtown and Midtown ones, seemed just.. incredibly convoluted. THOSE ... would be the things I would hate to drive routinely, though I imagine as a local, you navigate it just fine.

Did they ever fix the 'ripple' on the James River bridge? I can't remember which direction (NB, I think), it was a mini-roller coaster between the joints, with grooved pavement that made for a weird rhythm, basically the whole way across.

[sprjus4]

I haven't been in that area since the late '80's (lived in Smithfield for a hot minute). But what I recall, are some of the approaches to the tunnels, the Downtown and Midtown ones, seemed just.. incredibly convoluted. THOSE ... would be the things I would hate to drive routinely, though I imagine as a local, you navigate it just fine.

I haven't driven through the Midtown Tunnel in a while, so I can't speak for that, however having drive the Downtown complex numerous times, I've sort of adjusted. I think what makes that manageable, particularly in the westbound direction, is that everyone generally slows down through the curves and you're not too worried about reckless driving.

I usually get off at I-464 and don't actually go into the tunnels much (I usually don't have a need to go that way), and my biggest complaint is during rush hour. That is because the tunnel is usually backed up, and to exit onto I-464, you have to come from a complete stop in the left lanes, and merge into the right exit lanes going over the Berkley Bridge, which are the lanes coming from Downtown Norfolk, and people usually come flying on the highway from there, then come to a stop in those lanes near the gore point of I-464 / I-264 split, to merge into the tunnel. That area can actually be quite dangerous during peak hours and when the tunnel is backed up in general. But during free-flow, it's generally not too much of a problem. During free-flow, no one does 35 mph over the bridge though, as long as you're doing about 45-50 mph, you're fine.

Did they ever fix the 'ripple' on the James River bridge? I can't remember which direction (NB, I think), it was a mini-roller coaster between the joints, with grooved pavement that made for a weird rhythm, basically the whole way across.

I couldn't speak for this, since I have not driven across the James River Bridge northbound in years. I've taken it southbound a couple times in the last 6 months, but that's about it. But from memory from the past, I can't remember any notable issues northbound, so I would imagine so.

One "ripple"  effect that exists that I'm aware of in the region, is I-64 heading westbound in Norfolk over the "Twin Bridges"  near the I-264 interchange complex. It's not a long section, but that bridge is always bump, bump, bump, and can be uncomfortable.

[Jim]

I-70 across Missouri. Not that I do it often, but I've never had a good experience.

I'd say I-81 through Virginia but at least it has nice scenery when you can look around enough when you're not worried about getting stuck behind slow uphill trucks or run over by 80+ MPH downhill trucks.

[interstate73]

I'll do anything to avoid having to go through Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City. No matter how many slip ramps, traffic lights, cut-throughs, flyovers, and overpasses NJDOT adds they just can't seem to make it work! It's taken me upwards of 10-20 minutes to get through it before so I just go around unless there's literally no other way to make the movement I want.

[sprjus4]

I'd say I-81 through Virginia but at least it has nice scenery when you can look around enough when you're not worried about getting stuck behind slow uphill trucks or run over by 80+ MPH downhill trucks.

I-81 is frustrating... the last probably dozen times I've driven it (south of I-64 North), I've managed to hit it during off-peak truck times, so I've been able to cruise 80 mph the whole way, and it's quite nice scenery wise (the non-freeways through the region are still more scenic, however).

However, my latest time was wall-to-wall trucks the whole way, it was nothing but fluctuating between 55-80 mph for hundreds of miles. The change in grades does not help, because trucks will frequently hit 75 mph then slow down to 50 mph, in the left lane, at the slightest hill, and it makes passing impossible since they speed up on the downhills, and I don't feel comfortable hauling ass to 95 mph - due to the amount of state police I've seen at random areas along the highway.

[sprjus4]

I also hate driving on the Borman as NO ONE (literally) drive the speed limit at 55 mph (people drive as fast as they can)! Also, INDOT loves to do road work EVERY YEAR on that 10-mile stretch, and it causes endless accidents and reckless drivers trying to pass semi trucks!

I think this is an indication INDOT needs to raise the speed limit to 65 mph, especially if the normal speed is over 70 mph.

[CtrlAltDel]

The Borman Expressway (I-80/94) in northwest Indiana between the Illinois state line and I-65.

I was just about to mention this! I drove from Tinley Park to Gary every day last summer for an internship, and it was hell on earth!

Constant construction, extremely high truck traffic, and people who can't drive all stack to make the road a nightmare, because there's no viable alternative unless you drive through Indianapolis or pay the extremely high Chicago Skyway rates.

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know the truck percentage through the area? I've been looking through the various maps available online, but I haven't been able to find anything.

Never mind, I found it. The truck percent ranges from about 35 to 25% along the stretch, but is usually somewhere near 30.

[Rothman]

I'd say I-81 through Virginia but at least it has nice scenery when you can look around enough when you're not worried about getting stuck behind slow uphill trucks or run over by 80+ MPH downhill trucks.

I-81 is frustrating... the last probably dozen times I've driven it (south of I-64 North), I've managed to hit it during off-peak truck times, so I've been able to cruise 80 mph the whole way, and it's quite nice scenery wise (the non-freeways through the region are still more scenic, however).

However, my latest time was wall-to-wall trucks the whole way, it was nothing but fluctuating between 55-80 mph for hundreds of miles. The change in grades does not help, because trucks will frequently hit 75 mph then slow down to 50 mph, in the left lane, at the slightest hill, and it makes passing impossible since they speed up on the downhills, and I don't feel comfortable hauling ass to 95 mph - due to the amount of state police I've seen at random areas along the highway.

Given the complaints about I-81, I-95 and Hampton Roads, it seems VA just sucks.

[kurumi]

CA 262 (Mission Boulevard connector) in Fremont. From "south south bay" to Diablo Valley, Sacramento, Tahoe, etc. it's shorter to use 880 and 262 to 680; but I prefer staying on 280/680 and going the long way. No merges, no traffic lights vs. 3 merges and 2 traffic lights

[ZLoth]

In Dallas, there is a tie for the highway/interstate/city street I absolutely HATE to drive....

• The stretch of I-30 between I-35E and US-75 (aka unsigned I-345)/I-45. Although, quite technically, you aren't on I-30 proper, but on the feeder ramps.
• Stare Route 366 aka Woodall Rogers Freeway, again, between I-35E and US-75 (aka unsigned I-345)/I-45.

I live right next to US-75 in North Dallas, which means that if I want to go to Waco, Temple, or San Antonio, or even parts of South Dallas, I must cut over to the I-35E interstate, and the shortest gap is in Downtown Dallas. Sure, there are alternatives, but the gap is wider and thus additional distance. If it's north of downtown Dallas, then you'll have to take the Dallas North Tollway and incur tolls. Not only is it a no-win situation, but I see no way to fix this issue as well. There is already enough controversy with the I-345 and the anti-car alliance wanting to tear that major traffic artery between North and South Dallas.

Other areas that are problematic because of construction include:

• I-635 between US-75 (High Five Interchange) and I-30 aka "635 East Project". Construction began in spring, 2020 and will not be completed until late 2024.
• US-75 in Sherman, TX, and one of two major construction areas if I go north to Oklahoma. The expected completion is Fall, 2023. There is a thread about this, and one of two major construction areas if I go north to Oklahoma. The expected completion is Fall, 2023.
• US-69/US-75 Construction in Durant, OK. I believe this project began in 2019, and should be completed this summer.

At least these are temporary, but for I-635, I just simply avoid the area. Now that the I-35 project is substantially complete in Waco, I hope to explore that area more.

For Sacramento, CA, the pain is the Capital City Freeway aka Business 80 (unsigned CA-51). Specifically, the northbound section between Exposition Blvd and Arden Way where the freeway crimps down from three lanes to two lanes before it becomes four lanes. That section, as far as I can determine, has been in that configuration since 1964, and fixing it would require some major re-engineering. I believe the plan was to replace this section with a new routing of Interstate 80, but that project was killed in the late 1970s by the NIMBYs.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I-70 across Missouri. Not that I do it often, but I've never had a good experience.

There are plans for widening I-70 from KC to STL.

https://www.modot.org/improvei70/home

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I-70 across Missouri. Not that I do it often, but I've never had a good experience.

There are plans for widening I-70 from KC to STL.

https://www.modot.org/improvei70/home

Plans, but no money. Hell, when I drove across MO in 2021 I noticed some bridges in rural MO had been recently rebuilt but not constructed with the space for 6 lanes, which is either bad oversight or they're resigned to the fact it's not happening.

[vdeane]

The Borman Expressway (I-80/94) in northwest Indiana between the Illinois state line and I-65.

I was just about to mention this! I drove from Tinley Park to Gary every day last summer for an internship, and it was hell on earth!

Constant construction, extremely high truck traffic, and people who can't drive all stack to make the road a nightmare, because there's no viable alternative unless you drive through Indianapolis or pay the extremely high Chicago Skyway rates.

I also hate driving on the Borman as NO ONE (literally) drive the speed limit at 55 mph (people drive as fast as they can)! Also, INDOT loves to do road work EVERY YEAR on that 10-mile stretch, and it causes endless accidents and reckless drivers trying to pass semi trucks!

If you drive exactly the speed limit, you're in the minority everywhere in the U.S.

I like to have consistency in how I drive roads that have a given speed limit, presuming that things like traffic, weather, and roadway geometry don't override that.  For a long time, it's been to go five over on surface roads, and 7 over on freeways (with a taper that kicks in around 70 mph, since states that post higher numbers often have similar enforcement thresholds to states that post lower numbers; driving 15 over is normal on the Thruway, for example, but would lead to a reckless driving charge in VA and is probably grounds for a ticket on TX 130).  However, with the proliferation of speed cameras, particularly the recent expansions in NY, is leading me to reassess that.  There are too many exceptions now, and now the exceptions affect even my usual drive between Rochester and Albany (and, had things been as they are today about five years back, would have affected my daily commute).  There's a good chance that I'll switch to driving exactly the speed limit at all times (barring things like traffic, weather, etc. forcing me to go slower) in the not so distance future.  I really hope that the 70 mph bill in the state legislature passes, so that I can do this without drives on the Thruway taking significantly longer, but at this point it's getting more and more questionable whether the legislature will have time for anything that isn't the state budget the longer this drags on.

(personal opinion)

I'll do anything to avoid having to go through Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City. No matter how many slip ramps, traffic lights, cut-throughs, flyovers, and overpasses NJDOT adds they just can't seem to make it work! It's taken me upwards of 10-20 minutes to get through it before so I just go around unless there's literally no other way to make the movement I want.

Honestly, the large numbers of lights, slip ramps, cut-throughs, etc. is probably WHY that area is such a mess.  It would probably be better if they ripped the circle out and replaced it with a SPUI or something.  That might require disconnecting St. Pauls Ave and making the RIRO with the ramp to the Wittpen Bridge into a light in order to properly tie in the Truck 1-9 ramps.  Too bad ROW is so constrained.

[pianocello]

US 41 through Terre Haute, IN. Tons of lights on a 4- to 6-lane urban corridor full of thru traffic because there isn't a reasonable way around town.

Close second is US 41 through Evansville, but that's easier to avoid with I-69 and I-64.

[NWI_Irish96]

Interstate 65, generally between IN 160 and IN 2, but I REALLY hate the section from IN 32 to IN 2. There isn't even a close second.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I've only done it a few times, but I've always loathed the Cross Bronx Expressway. Too much congestion, outdated design, etc. 

[PurdueBill]

I hate I-70 between Dayton and Indianapolis.  I drove it a few weeks ago westbound out of necessity going to Indy itself, and it was just as bad as I remembered.  It needs to be 3 lanes each way that whole length really, and the roadway in Indiana is really starting to fall apart.  (I saw that they are going to do work on the easternmost miles of it in Indiana, but that work is maybe 20 years overdue.)  Coming back, I went up to US 30 to go east, which I usually use a lot anyway going between NE Ohio and Purdue, even though the trip a few weeks ago was not to or from Purdue.

If I had not managed to get around a couple 18-wheelers as the 3-laned section ended at SR 48 in Englewood, I would have been stuck behind them with a ton of other traffic, as one 18-wheeler wanted to go just a little faster than the other right as the road necked down to 2 lanes each way.  I could see absolutely nothing getting by them for a while in the rearview, then no traffic at all behind me, meaning still nothing was getting by, until west of Brookville.  Apparently the logjam, with a lot of traffic bunched together hoping to pass, lasted that long.  There was a lot of traffic behind the trucks that didn't make it as the left lane ended that was just stuck and two trucks aside each other for miles.  Somehow it always seems to be like that from Dayton to Indy on I-70 from what I remember having used it more a number of years ago.

[sprjus4]

I'd say I-81 through Virginia but at least it has nice scenery when you can look around enough when you're not worried about getting stuck behind slow uphill trucks or run over by 80+ MPH downhill trucks.

I-81 is frustrating... the last probably dozen times I've driven it (south of I-64 North), I've managed to hit it during off-peak truck times, so I've been able to cruise 80 mph the whole way, and it's quite nice scenery wise (the non-freeways through the region are still more scenic, however).

However, my latest time was wall-to-wall trucks the whole way, it was nothing but fluctuating between 55-80 mph for hundreds of miles. The change in grades does not help, because trucks will frequently hit 75 mph then slow down to 50 mph, in the left lane, at the slightest hill, and it makes passing impossible since they speed up on the downhills, and I don't feel comfortable hauling ass to 95 mph - due to the amount of state police I've seen at random areas along the highway.

Given the complaints about I-81, I-95 and Hampton Roads, it seems VA just sucks.

Yeah... I could agree with that honestly. I-64 between the West Virginia state line and Richmond (outside of the I-81 overlap) is honestly pretty good... 70 mph speed limit in most areas and generally minimal traffic. It's a little bit heavier east of I-81, but it always seems to move 80+ mph.

East of Richmond and I-295, I-64 can be pretty terrible to Williamsburg, but there's funding in place and construction will begin soon to widen the 29 mile "gap"  to six lanes, to be completed by 2030-ish. That should make the drive from Richmond to Newport News fairly manageable. The recently completed 6 lane portions are very nice to drive on, even in heavier traffic.

I'm hopeful the ongoing I-64 HRBT widening will address a lot of the issues there, the portion from I-564 to I-464 is generally not that bad, even during peak hours, and the HO/T lanes being implemented there will provide more option. The tolls are fairly cheap, it's nothing like Northern Virginia, plus the GP lanes flow well. I-464 to I-664 should be better once it's complete.

I-77 in Virginia has its own problems, particularly south of I-81, it's hit or miss honestly. I-295 had got to be best thing Virginia has. It is the perfect ideal metropolitan area bypass, it provides 6 to 8 lanes of rural 70 mph interstate capacity around the entire Richmond-Petersburg metro and never is congested.

I-81 and I-95 in Virginia suck. Simply put. I-81 needs to be 6 lanes throughout, from Tennessee to West Virginia. I-95 needs to be 8 lanes from Richmond to Washington, and bi-directional HO/T lanes north of Fredericksburg. Everything else is... okay. Still some issues, but not as bad.

[Rothman]

The Borman Expressway (I-80/94) in northwest Indiana between the Illinois state line and I-65.

I was just about to mention this! I drove from Tinley Park to Gary every day last summer for an internship, and it was hell on earth!

Constant construction, extremely high truck traffic, and people who can't drive all stack to make the road a nightmare, because there's no viable alternative unless you drive through Indianapolis or pay the extremely high Chicago Skyway rates.

I also hate driving on the Borman as NO ONE (literally) drive the speed limit at 55 mph (people drive as fast as they can)! Also, INDOT loves to do road work EVERY YEAR on that 10-mile stretch, and it causes endless accidents and reckless drivers trying to pass semi trucks!

If you drive exactly the speed limit, you're in the minority everywhere in the U.S.

I like to have consistency in how I drive roads that have a given speed limit, presuming that things like traffic, weather, and roadway geometry don't override that.  For a long time, it's been to go five over on surface roads, and 7 over on freeways (with a taper that kicks in around 70 mph, since states that post higher numbers often have similar enforcement thresholds to states that post lower numbers; driving 15 over is normal on the Thruway, for example, but would lead to a reckless driving charge in VA and is probably grounds for a ticket on TX 130).  However, with the proliferation of speed cameras, particularly the recent expansions in NY, is leading me to reassess that.  There are too many exceptions now, and now the exceptions affect even my usual drive between Rochester and Albany (and, had things been as they are today about five years back, would have affected my daily commute).  There's a good chance that I'll switch to driving exactly the speed limit at all times (barring things like traffic, weather, etc. forcing me to go slower) in the not so distance future.  I really hope that the 70 mph bill in the state legislature passes, so that I can do this without drives on the Thruway taking significantly longer, but at this point it's getting more and more questionable whether the legislature will have time for anything that isn't the state budget the longer this drags on.

(personal opinion)

Something tells me you haven't been privy to the parameters of the camera enforcement program...

(personal opinion emphasized)

[sprjus4]

^ I'm not sure I understand why, given the enforcement (not that I agree with it either...) is only limited to active work zones, and 10 mph over.

Driving 5-10 mph over on a rural interstate with no active enforcement will not cause any problems, unless they authorize speed cameras on highways, which... yikes. It's New York though, I wouldn't hold it past them.

[skluth]

I-70 across Missouri. Not that I do it often, but I've never had a good experience.

There are plans for widening I-70 from KC to STL.

https://www.modot.org/improvei70/home

Plans, but no money. Hell, when I drove across MO in 2021 I noticed some bridges in rural MO had been recently rebuilt but not constructed with the space for 6 lanes, which is either bad oversight or they're resigned to the fact it's not happening.

There are always plans to widen I-70 across the state. I remember plans from 30 years ago when I first moved to St Louis. There were new plans floated when I left the state five years ago. I still maintain the best plan would be to start with one contractor starting from Blue Springs going east and another from Wentzville going west and hope that it takes less time than it took the original transcontinental railroad. They can drive a golden barbeque rib into the pavement when they finally meet.

[index]

I-77 in Charlotte north of I-485. The toll lanes have only made traffic worse. Every single time I've driven that road I have been stuck in standstill traffic. Not even exaggerating.

Really, any road in Charlotte would make this list for me. Every time I come back, the drivers seem to become twice as stupid and aggressive compared to my last visit. Last time I was there, I had someone honk at me for not slamming on the gas when the light turned green (I always accelerate smoothly to preserve gas) which was a first. Northern transplants are really ruining the driving experience in cities like CLT.

[plain]

Broad St (US 250 Richmond and neighboring Henrico County) because it's absolutely traffic light hell.