Improving Freeway Stubs

[mrsman]

Freeways should not end in a stub.  Freeways should ideally end at other freeways or at some form of natural boundary.

When you encounter a freeway stub, it's usually because a full freeway was planned that got stopped in its tracks by highway budgetary issues or anti-freeway protesters.

Freeways should not end abruptly, but rather gradually.  If I'm on an east-west freeway, it is far better for that freeway to continue on an east-west surface street, then on a north-south street and be forced to turn in a direction that I don't want to go in.

I'm inspired to start a discussion about improving freeway stubs because I read about two planned projects on these forums that will improve freeway stubs to some degree.

First, there is I-490 in Cleveland that ends abruptly at E 55th Street.  The Cleveland Opportunity Corridor is designed to continue I-490 as a surface boulvard towards University Circle.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=12544.0

Next, there is I-70 in Baltimore that ends abruptly at a Park and Ride.  There are plans in conjunction with the Red Line trains to connect I-70 with a surface Cooks Blvd that will allow eastbound motorists to continue towards US 40 and Downtown Baltimore via surface streets.  The current routing doesn't even have ramps in the right direction.  You have to go around the park and ride before you can exit in the right direction. https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=12524.0

Any other stub improvement projects or ideas?

[hotdogPi]

Lowell Connector. It seems like nothing can be done about it now, though.

[thenetwork]

A

First, there is I-490 in Cleveland that ends abruptly at E 55th Street.  The Cleveland Opportunity Corridor is designed to continue I-490 as a surface boulvard towards University Circle.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=12544.0

A similar "Stub" is the W. 65th / Denison exit off of I-71:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=zkCtXrcLsabc.krkB_4T_mk8o

It would make sense to extend the freeway stub from it's current end at Denison Avenue, and extend it to the intersection near W. 65th and Storer Avenue, with Denison Avenue getting at least a 1/2-diamond interchange.

Problem is that there are too many houses to knock down to extend the stub for that short little distance -- many of those residents are still NIMBY families who stopped the stub at Denison 50 years ago.

[Roadrunner75]

They've been talking about eliminating this stub end of the Woodhaven Road freeway (PA 63) in northeast Philadelphia for years.  The freeway ends rather abruptly just after its interchange with US 1, requiring westbound traffic to make a left turn onto a rather narrow connecting street to Byberry Road.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.111013,-75.000282,3a,75y,318.92h,88.54t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sk_9vHIN-IqjcnGIAU93T5Q!2e0

A few miles south along I-95, there is also this stub on the Philadelphia side of the Betsy Ross Bridge, with the mainline (NJ/PA 90) incomplete to cross over I-95 to the west (long ago planned freeway into the interior of the City).  They did complete a few ramps a few years ago to connect local streets to I-95, but so far no direct connection via the mainline between City streets and the bridge (although not sure that it's needed and/or of traffic consequences).  There was a similar stub on the New Jersey side of the bridge for many years, before they finally extended NJ 90 from US 130 to NJ 73 (really needs to extend to I 295 / NJ Turnpike as once planned but that will never happen...)

https://www.google.com/maps?ll=39.99376,-75.07856&spn=0.000004,0.00261&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.993761,-75.079072&panoid=UCqLNDRjBca49Shenh2W-A&cbp=12,320.68,,0,-7.05

[Henry]

Another I-95 related stub that should definitely be eliminated is the one at the College Park Interchange. I'd convert this into a simple directional-T interchange with new C/D roads to serve US 1 (in this scenario, I-95 south would enter from the right instead of the left), and perhaps build a new weigh station at the same location as the MD Welcome Center further north.

[billtm]

I actually like the I-65 northern stub with US 20 and 12. I don't think an interchange is necessary there.

[roadman]

Lowell Connector. It seems like nothing can be done about it now, though.

You are correct that the logical options for resolving the issues with the stub end of the Lowell Connector (either extending the freeway or converting Gorham Street to a full grade-separated interchange) are not feasible or practical.  This is for the same reason that the highway was never extended through Lowell and re-connected with US 3 on the north side of the City when it was first built - the very large church and other properties that stand in the path of any extension.

However, IMO, the end of the Lowell Connector could be improved somewhat by not allowing 'inbound' traffic to go all the way to the 'T" intersection at Gorham Street and requiring such traffic to exit at Thorndike Street, which has two grade-separated ramps, instead.  As part of this, the mainline roadway should be reduced to two lanes (eliminating the current left lane) in advance of the Thorndike Street interchange.  Such a change would eliminate the potential for wrong-way entry from Gorham Street as well - every so often, there is a nasty crash caused by somebody entering the Connector the wrong way at this location.

[PHLBOS]

A few miles south along I-95, there is also this stub on the Philadelphia side of the Betsy Ross Bridge, with the mainline (NJ/PA 90) incomplete to cross over I-95 to the west (long ago planned freeway into the interior of the City).  They did complete a few ramps a few years ago to connect local streets to I-95, but so far no direct connection via the mainline between City streets and the bridge (although not sure that it's needed and/or of traffic consequences).

There are plans in the works for adding additional connections to that interchange (though not a revival of the Tacony/Pulaski Expressway) and is covered in this old thread.

Back in MA, there are plans to reconfigure the I-95/93 interchange in Canton and eliminate the long-abandoned I-95 stub located adjacent & north of the active interchange. 

There are also plans to redo the US 1/MA 60 interchange in Revere and eliminate the long-since-abandoned I-95 ramps & stubs as well but not sure when or if such will take place.

[roadman65]

How about NYCDOT using the never used bridge over Richmond Avenue for the Korean War Vets Parkway on Staten Island for a trumpet interchange and eliminate the traffic signals that are being used at that particular intersection.

[Roadrunner75]

A few miles south along I-95, there is also this stub on the Philadelphia side of the Betsy Ross Bridge, with the mainline (NJ/PA 90) incomplete to cross over I-95 to the west (long ago planned freeway into the interior of the City).  They did complete a few ramps a few years ago to connect local streets to I-95, but so far no direct connection via the mainline between City streets and the bridge (although not sure that it's needed and/or of traffic consequences).

There are plans in the works for adding additional connections to that interchange (though not a revival of the Tacony/Pulaski Expressway) and is covered in this old thread.

Back in MA, there are plans to reconfigure the I-95/93 interchange in Canton and eliminate the long-abandoned I-95 stub located adjacent & north of the active interchange. 

There are also plans to redo the US 1/MA 60 interchange in Revere and eliminate the long-since-abandoned I-95 ramps & stubs as well but not sure when or if such will take place.

The Canton interchange needs to be a priority.  I think I saw plans for it somewhere.  Having the mainline of 95 go down to one lane and through a cloverleaf ramp is unacceptable.

What's the history behind the ramps on US1 at MA 60?  I can see what looks like a good stretch of ROW along MA 107.  That was supposed to be the original alignment of 95?

[roadman]

What's the history behind the ramps on US1 at MA 60?  I can see what looks like a good stretch of ROW along MA 107.  That was supposed to be the original alignment of 95?

Correct RoadRunner.  When the Northeast Expressway (now US 1)/ MA 60 interchange in Revere was first constructed in the late 1950s, it included ramps to and from what was intended to be Interstate 95.  In the late 1960s, a fill embankment was constructed across the Lynn Marsh from MA 60 to Ballard Street at the Lynn/Saugus line.  Although it was partially paved at one point, it was never opened to traffic.  After the plans for I-95 and other Boston-area freeways were officially scrapped, the City of Lynn put forth a proposal to use the embankment as a road for truck traffic going to and from the GE River Works aircraft engine plant.  Before this plan could be seriously evaluated, it was discovered that the embankment had imploded in several places due to a design flaw (the Lynn Marsh is a tidal basin, and while the engineers had accounted for tidal inflow in the embankment design, they forgot to consider the tidal outflow as well).

A few years back, after seeming endless environmental studies, much of the sand in the original embankment was removed and relocated to Revere Beach to restore parts of the beachfront that had eroded away over the years.

[roadman65]

I forgot about the one in Newark, NJ for the defunct NJ 75 that never got built.  The Exit 13 ramp, that really is not a ramp, but what was to be part of the NJ 75 freeway branching off of I-280, ends abruptly at a signalized intersection where you are forced to turn as the road dead ends.

That could be improved to make an arc of something so it transitions into one of the other area streets or even First Street.

[triplemultiplex]

Sometimes the best solution for a freeway stub is to tear the whole damn thing down.  It doesn't go anywhere, so screw it.

Milwaukee has a bunch of stub ends to freeways that were discontinued, and they have different resolutions.
Two of them (the south end of the Stadium Freeway in West Milwaukee and the south end of WI 145 "Fond du Lac" Freeway) transition smoothly into surface arterials.
The end of the I-794 Lake Freeway was once a stub end that now continues as the Lake Parkway; a sub-freeway high-capacity roadway.
The Park East Freeway north of downtown was the one that got demolished completely, replaced with a four lane divided surface street and ample, developable land.
Lastly, is the north end of the Stadium Freeway; the only one remaining where the transition to surface street is rather abrupt.  It wouldn't take much to create a more sensible intersection at Lisbon Ave that's less confusing and moves people along better.  I can see such an improvement having the freeway curve into Lisbon Avenue; where most of the traffic is going once the freeway ends.

[SteveG1988]

On the 95revive site for philadelphia, there are plans for the NJ90 stub, they include tearing it down and building a smaller ramp for local streets for that end of the highway.

http://www.95revive.com/bridge-street-betsy-ross-home.aspx

http://www.95revive.com/bridge-street-betsy-ross-alternatives.aspx

At Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Avenue Interchange

    Build a new road that connects Aramingo Avenue to Adams Avenue.
    Build new ramps to and from Aramingo Avenue and I-95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge.
    Build a new off-ramp from I-95 North to Orthodox Street that provides access to Aramingo Avenue.
    Close the existing on-ramp from Aramingo Avenue to I-95 South.
    Close the existing off-ramp from I-95 North to Aramingo Avenue.

I-95 mainline improvements

    Reconstruction of four through lanes in each direction and widening of the median and shoulders.
    Reconstruction or repair of 28 northbound and southbound bridges.
    Construction of northbound and southbound collector-distributor lanes to serve traffic entering and exiting at Aramingo Avenue and the Betsy Ross Bridge.

[Roadrunner75]

On the 95revive site for philadelphia, there are plans for the NJ90 stub, they include tearing it down and building a smaller ramp for local streets for that end of the highway.

Comparing the PDF on the website with the current conditions (I realize it's schematic), it almost looks like they are going to be replacing some ramps and roadway that they only put in a few years ago for the current connection from Aramingo to 95 (and the description above seems to support this).  The current short section of divided roadway that would extend to Adams Avenue seems ready to accept a bridge mainline extension to the relatively new ramps, with a signalized intersection for the short connector roadway to Aramingo Ave.  One of the newer ramps from 95 SB to Aramingo Avenue was even built with a short stub section seemingly planned for a connection from the bridge:

https://www.google.com/maps?ll=39.998441,-75.082519&spn=0.000006,0.00327&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.998467,-75.083317&panoid=dgqJxi9AkcPjvW-djxKeOw&cbp=12,259.83,,0,15.92

[Beeper1]

At the I-95/295 interchange in MA, there have been plans sitting on the shelf for decades to build a short connector road into downtown Attleboro (connecting I think to MA-152) using those ramps.

Will probably never be built, though.

[PHLBOS]

Lowell Connector. It seems like nothing can be done about it now, though.

Similar could be said regarding RI 138 in Newport, just north of the bridge.