Road closures/accidents/etc. that cause very long backups

Started by andrepoiy, May 14, 2021, 03:12:17 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

andrepoiy

Today I heard on the news about a collision that closed all lanes of Highway 401 westbound at Highway 427, and I was surprised to hear where the backup starts - 13 km away. As of now, it's been 3 hours since the collision occurred and rush hour has started.

So perhaps this thread would be a nice place to document very long traffic jams due to certain events on the road.






EDIT: 2 hours later, they opened up one lane, but now the backup is 18 km long.



wanderer2575

One wrong move on westbound I-96 in the Novi/Wixom area during evening rush hour can back up traffic for several miles.

ozarkman417

The Hernando DeSoto bridge (I-40 over the Mississippi)'s ongoing closure has caused backups for many miles in recent days.

Aerial View of the backup via reddit user u/Flying_pharmacist


jmacswimmer

I still have this screenshot saved from September 2019 - I-95 between DC & Baltimore had a crash one afternoon during rush hour, and it jammed up* not only I-95 but parallel US 29, US 1, MD 295 and even perpendicular MD 32 & MD 100.

*jammed up beyond their normal level of rush-hour congestion, anyway :ded:

"Now, what if da Bearss were to enter the Indianapolis 5-hunnert?"
"How would they compete?"
"Let's say they rode together in a big buss."
"Is Ditka driving?"
"Of course!"
"Then I like da Bear buss."
"DA BEARSSS BUSSSS"

Max Rockatansky

Anything on I-5 between CA 138 and CA 126 tends to cause big traffic bottlenecks given there is no viable alternatives. 

sprjus4

Quote from: jmacswimmer on May 14, 2021, 03:27:58 PM
I still have this screenshot saved from September 2019 - I-95 between DC & Baltimore had a crash one afternoon during rush hour, and it jammed up* not only I-95 but parallel US 29, US 1, MD 295 and even perpendicular MD 32 & MD 100.

*jammed up beyond their normal level of rush-hour congestion, anyway :ded:


That just looks like a normal Friday afternoon  :spin:

Well, if you were talking about I-95 in Virginia.

frankenroad

Quote from: sprjus4 on May 14, 2021, 03:31:42 PM
Quote from: jmacswimmer on May 14, 2021, 03:27:58 PM
I still have this screenshot saved from September 2019 - I-95 between DC & Baltimore had a crash one afternoon during rush hour, and it jammed up* not only I-95 but parallel US 29, US 1, MD 295 and even perpendicular MD 32 & MD 100.

*jammed up beyond their normal level of rush-hour congestion, anyway :ded:


That just looks like a normal Friday afternoon  :spin:

Well, if you were talking about I-95 in Virginia.
I used to live and work in that area my house was very close to the intersection of US-29 and MD-32 - I do not miss the traffic at all!!
2di's clinched: 44, 66, 68, 71, 72, 74, 78, 83, 84(east), 86(east), 88(east), 96

Highways I've lived on M-43, M-185, US-127

TheHighwayMan3561

I-94 heading northwest out of the Twin Cities. If there's a crash or even a lane closure for construction, you're going to be chilling with a herd of trucks for several miles.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

jeffandnicole

During normal times, I experienced 14 mile backups on a regular basis on my commute home.

OCGuy81

I've been the victim of the I-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington being raised before.  I was heading north into Washington, and the backup started near the Rose Quarter.

webny99

Quote from: jeffandnicole on May 14, 2021, 03:45:40 PM
During normal times, I experienced 14 mile backups on a regular basis on my commute home.

Although I think it is worth distinguishing between 14 miles of stop-and-go rush hour traffic and 14 miles of traffic due to an abnormal incident.

Flint1979

Before the current Zilwaukee Bridge and I-675 were built the drawbridge in Zilwaukee would cause I-75 to backup for 15-20 miles in some cases. It was only four lanes back then too.

webny99

Back in the summer of 2019, the closure of the NY 104 EB ramp over NY 590 caused some major problems, unlike anything I've ever seen in this area on a recurring basis (granted, in a metro area known for having it very easy with traffic).

Here is the post I made at the time detailing the issue. In short, all traffic to the Bay Bridge (NY 104) had to funnel onto NY 590 NB, which subsequently jammed and caused traffic to detour via NY 404 and NY 286, which then also backed up into the valley.

ibthebigd

Northern Kentucky when the Brent Spence Bridge closed was all red everywhere

SM-G950U


JoePCool14

My favorite thing to do is when there's a big snowstorm over the entire Chicagoland area, and you go on Apple Maps and zoom out to see every single freeway reporting either yellow or red conditions. Unfortunately I don't have any screenshots, and by my calculations it's currently going into "not snowstorm" season, so...

Also, I'm surprised a thread like this hasn't been created sooner. Traffic jams are fun to look at when you aren't stuck in them.  :bigass:

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
JDOT: We make the world a better place to drive.
Travel Mapping | 60+ Clinches | 260+ Traveled | 8000+ Miles Logged

In_Correct

Quote from: OCGuy81 on May 14, 2021, 03:52:33 PM
I've been the victim of the I-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington being raised before.  I was heading north into Washington, and the backup started near the Rose Quarter.

That reminds me of when there were all these one lane bridges with traffic lights.

...

Quotevery long traffic jams

Interstate 35 in Texas has immense traffic congestion problems. Traffic is backed up be cause the interchanges need to be upgraded. Often every lane slows down and stops. Interstate 35 usually has Frontage Roads but the bridges are out most of the time. The frontage roads are still able to provide detours to other highways but they are usually 2 lane and very busy at grade rail road crossings.
Drive Safely. :sombrero: Ride Safely. And Build More Roads, Rails, And Bridges. :coffee: ... Boulevards Wear Faster Than Interstates.

gonealookin

I-80 and US 50 over the Sierra can be calamitously bad on winter weekends when the weather is not cooperating.

Here's the California Highway Patrol's Placerville office Facebook poster at the end of his/her rope on Washington's Birthday weekend a couple years ago.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2358629117703944&id=1464321477134717&sfnsn=mo

QuoteCHP - Placerville
February 15, 2019 ·
***Current conditions as of 11:30 PM 2/15/19***

STOP DRIVING UP HERE FROM OUT OF AREA.

We cannot handle the amount of vehicles that keep coming up and getting stuck here. There are no alternate routes.
Expect 6-8 hour delays.

US-50 is being closed intermittently for avalanche control.

Exits in Pollock Pines are being shut down for everyone except residents.

Just please stop coming up here. The situation is too much for the area to handle and there is nowhere for you to go.

I-80 is open. Go that way!

We have every available officer up there and have even held over the previous shift.

Hoping our media partners can help spread the word.

Flint1979

I think just about anything on the Fritzowl Expressway would cause a massive disaster.

ftballfan

Last week there was a truck/pedestrian accident on US-131 southbound just before rush hour near the Kent/Allegan county line. 131 SB was closed at 100th St, diverting traffic to Division, Clyde Park, and even Byron Center into Allegan County. Luckily, my commute is northbound during that time frame, but I noticed a long line of cars (along with semis) coming down 135th Ave toward US-131 from Division in Wayland.

On my way back from FL this year, I-75 was backed up over 10 miles due to a truck fire on the south side of Atlanta during rush hour, which dumped a lot of traffic onto US-23 or 19/41

cpzilliacus

#19
The MUTCD has three classes of incidents:

A. Major–expected duration of more than 2 hours,
B. Intermediate–expected duration of 30 minutes to 2 hours, and
C. Minor–expected duration under 30 minutes.

Duration class A, the worst of the bunch in terms of congestion impact, can often be classified as one of the following:

- Fatal crash requiring reconstruction
- Crash requiring extended extraction of persons involved in the crash
- Sometimes a combination of the two above
- HAZMAT crash (fire/explosion or just an offload of the hazardous cargo which can take many hours)
- Fuel spill and clean-up
- An abnormally large number of vehicles in a crash (such as in heavy fog or "unexpected" snow or ice)
- Non-HAZMAT cargo spill
- Commercial vehicle fire (not HAZMAT) to include trash truck fires
- Crime scene related to a crash
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

texaskdog

In Minnesota they'd do their best to get traffic through.  In Austin they close the freeway down for hours to investigate.  Idiot runs across freeway, gets hit.  :P

cpzilliacus

Quote from: texaskdog on May 19, 2021, 01:22:16 AM
In Minnesota they'd do their best to get traffic through.  In Austin they close the freeway down for hours to investigate.  Idiot runs across freeway, gets hit.  :P

That's usually a fatal crash, and those will take a while to investigate.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

bwana39

The worst ongoing backup in Texas is when they close a single lane virtually anywhere on I-20 between Terrell and Shreveport.
Let's build what we need as economically as possible.

roadman65

I-4 is another one. Shut one lane down and the backups occur miles behind it.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

andrepoiy

Although this isn't an accident or road closure, this is simply weather.

I find it funny that rain can singlehandedly cause the whole city to get jammed.




Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.