Road Closures

[silverback1065]

What is the longest time a road has been closed, what was the reason for it? 

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened. 

[silverback1065]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

will it ever open?  also wasn't US 89 permanently closed in montana or wyoming for the same thing?

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

will it ever open?  also wasn't US 89 permanently closed in montana or wyoming for the same thing?

It gets talked about every couple years but hasn't had much traction.  It get used as a fire evacuation route now and then like this year which I suppose justifies why it wasn't outright abandoned like the dirt part of CA 173.  I seem to recall what you're talking about with US 89, I want to say that was a section in Utah that was wiped out in a flood?

[abefroman329]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

[1995hoo]

A portion of Klingle Road NW in DC was closed in 1991 after it washed out during a storm. There were disputes for years over whether to rebuild it. Eventually, in 2017 a bike/pedestrian path opened where the road used to run. Litigation over the issue was ongoing as recently as 2012. Given that road's history, I guess you could say its fate was uncertain until the new path actually opened.

[US 89]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn’t reopened.

will it ever open?  also wasn't US 89 permanently closed in montana or wyoming for the same thing?

It gets talked about every couple years but hasn’t had much traction.  It get used as a fire evacuation route now and then like this year which I suppose justifies why it wasn’t outright abandoned like the dirt part of CA 173.  I seem to recall what you’re talking about with US 89, I want to say that was a section in Utah that was wiped out in a flood?

89 was wiped out for over a year south of Page, AZ by a landslide in 2013. They paved one of the Navajo Indian roads (I think N-20?) and designated it US 89T until they could rebuild 89, which took over two years.

You might be confusing it with I-15 in Nevada, which got wiped out near Moapa by a flood in 2014. I think that was fixed in a couple weeks, though.

[Mapmikey]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

will it ever open?  also wasn't US 89 permanently closed in montana or wyoming for the same thing?

It gets talked about every couple years but hasn't had much traction.  It get used as a fire evacuation route now and then like this year which I suppose justifies why it wasn't outright abandoned like the dirt part of CA 173.  I seem to recall what you're talking about with US 89, I want to say that was a section in Utah that was wiped out in a flood?

It was US 87 near Story WY...

Seems like this thread would make more sense if it were longest time a road was closed and then re-opened.  Otherwise there are innumerable examples of roads closed decades ago...

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

will it ever open?  also wasn't US 89 permanently closed in montana or wyoming for the same thing?

It gets talked about every couple years but hasn't had much traction.  It get used as a fire evacuation route now and then like this year which I suppose justifies why it wasn't outright abandoned like the dirt part of CA 173.  I seem to recall what you're talking about with US 89, I want to say that was a section in Utah that was wiped out in a flood?

It was US 87 near Story WY...

Seems like this thread would make more sense if it were longest time a road was closed and then re-opened.  Otherwise there are innumerable examples of roads closed decades ago...

Yeah but how many are still under state maintenance?  That section of 39 is still part of the state highway system whereas that dirt section of CA 173 is not.  I took the meaning of this thread to be Highways still actually part of state highway logs. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Portions of MN 210 through Jay Cooke State Park east of Carlton were washed out by a devastating flood in June 2012. It did not fully reopen until October 2017.

[skluth]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

I can't imagine any scenario allowing a tunnel beneath the White House, the Capitol, or any other politically significant building in DC. The Metro tunnel adjacent to the Pentagon would probably not be approved today either.

[sparker]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

I can't imagine any scenario allowing a tunnel beneath the White House, the Capitol, or any other politically significant building in DC. The Metro tunnel adjacent to the Pentagon would probably not be approved today either.

The RR tunnel extending south from Union Station and used by Amtrak for through trains to and from southern points is right under 1st Street, between the back of the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Senate office building complex (which it essentially bisects).  It's double-tracked and has been in service for at least 80 years;  the tracks curve to the west under the Cannon Building and emerge near the I-395/695 junction.  For obvious reasons, no freight utilizes the tunnel but travels on a bypass route paralleling the Anacostia River.   

[MCRoads]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

I can't imagine any scenario allowing a tunnel beneath the White House, the Capitol, or any other politically significant building in DC. The Metro tunnel adjacent to the Pentagon would probably not be approved today either.

The RR tunnel extending south from Union Station and used by Amtrak for through trains to and from southern points is right under 1st Street, between the back of the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Senate office building complex (which it essentially bisects).  It's double-tracked and has been in service for at least 80 years;  the tracks curve to the west under the Cannon Building and emerge near the I-395/695 junction.  For obvious reasons, no freight utilizes the tunnel but travels on a bypass route paralleling the Anacostia River.   

what about 395? it is almost directly under the capitol. frankly, I'm surprised it was built like that considering how close it is!

[oscar]

what about 395? it is almost directly under the capitol. frankly, I'm surprised it was built like that considering how close it is!

It's about two blocks away, under the level east end of the National Mall rather than the hill on which the Capitol was built. Not particularly close to the Capitol, though one House office building is one block east of the freeway.

[pianocello]

The Cline Avenue Bridge (Indiana SR 912 in East Chicago) was closed in 2009 for safety reasons, demolished a couple years later, and reconstruction was in limbo for a couple more years. I think it's under construction now, with plans to open sometime next year.

[abefroman329]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

I can't imagine any scenario allowing a tunnel beneath the White House, the Capitol, or any other politically significant building in DC. The Metro tunnel adjacent to the Pentagon would probably not be approved today either.

The RR tunnel extending south from Union Station and used by Amtrak for through trains to and from southern points is right under 1st Street, between the back of the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Senate office building complex (which it essentially bisects).  It's double-tracked and has been in service for at least 80 years;  the tracks curve to the west under the Cannon Building and emerge near the I-395/695 junction.  For obvious reasons, no freight utilizes the tunnel but travels on a bypass route paralleling the Anacostia River.

And the Metro Red Line tunnel is less than a block from the White House.

And the tunnel would run under Pennsylvania Ave, not the White House. The problem is that traffic in DC is terrible, and eliminating an east-west route through the most congested part of it hasn't helped matters.

[1995hoo]

Pennsylvania Ave NW was closed in front of the White House during the Clinton Administration for security reasons.  I'd say it's likelier that they dig a tunnel to replace it than reopen it, although neither are particularly likely.

I can't imagine any scenario allowing a tunnel beneath the White House, the Capitol, or any other politically significant building in DC. The Metro tunnel adjacent to the Pentagon would probably not be approved today either.

The RR tunnel extending south from Union Station and used by Amtrak for through trains to and from southern points is right under 1st Street, between the back of the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Senate office building complex (which it essentially bisects).  It's double-tracked and has been in service for at least 80 years;  the tracks curve to the west under the Cannon Building and emerge near the I-395/695 junction.  For obvious reasons, no freight utilizes the tunnel but travels on a bypass route paralleling the Anacostia River.

And the Metro Red Line tunnel is less than a block from the White House.

And the tunnel would run under Pennsylvania Ave, not the White House. The problem is that traffic in DC is terrible, and eliminating an east-west route through the most congested part of it hasn't helped matters.

It's not just eliminating one east—west route. They also closed westbound E Street across the Ellipse after the Oklahoma City bombing. Then they reopened it in 1999 or 2000 with the route slightly reconfigured (it no longer used State Place so as to keep traffic further from the West Wing), only to see it closed in both directions after 9-11 to give the Secret Service more parking, despite most security experts agreeing that street was not a hazard to the White House. The result is that two major crosstown routes were shut down and another (H Street) was converted to one-way traffic (it was two-way until Pennsylvania Avenue closed, at which time it became one-way to compensate for lost capacity).

[RobbieL2415]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

GSV still has it signed all the way through.  SMH.

[RobbieL2415]

Let's see:

The portion of US 9 that formerly ran along the Beasley's Point Bridge in Somers Point, NJ was standing but not operating.  The bridge was privately owned and was recently demolished. US 9 now just stays on the GSP.

Temp. I-90 in Fort Hunter was commissioned after the Scholaire Creek Bridge collapse in the late '80's.  It's now used as a snowmobile path.

Doesn't technically count, but Southeast Boulevard in DC with connects to (and was supposed to be a part of) I-695 and RFK Stadium is now permanently closed, since the United no longer play there and the freeway plans are long dead.

[oscar]

Doesn't technically count, but Southeast Boulevard in DC with connects to (and was supposed to be a part of) I-695 and RFK Stadium is now permanently closed, since the United no longer play there and the freeway plans are long dead.

Southeast Boulevard is still open from I-695 to Pennsylvania Ave. SE, though downgraded from freeway (when it was part of I-295) to "urban boulevard". Only the part east of Pennsylvania Ave. was used for stadium access.  AFAIK, that segment was never called "Southeast Boulevard", a name applied only to the decommissioned part of I-295 west of Pennsylvania Ave. after it was removed from the Interstate system. 

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 39 probably is pretty up there near the junction with CA 2.  The road was closed decades ago in 1978 for rock slides and hasn't reopened.

GSV still has it signed all the way through.  SMH.

California might be the one state where Google is the one arguably better signed...  Interestingly the abandoned part of CA 173 is now shown as a hiking trail.

[Beltway]

The RR tunnel extending south from Union Station and used by Amtrak for through trains to and from southern points is right under 1st Street, between the back of the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Senate office building complex (which it essentially bisects).  It's double-tracked and has been in service for at least 80 years;  the tracks curve to the west under the Cannon Building and emerge near the I-395/695 junction.  For obvious reasons, no freight utilizes the tunnel but travels on a bypass route paralleling the Anacostia River.

And the Metro Red Line tunnel is less than a block from the White House.

Those railroad tunnels have massive walls of steel rebar reinforced concrete probably at least two feet thick.  It is very unlikely that any improvised bomb could be made powerful enough to significantly displace the tunnel walls.

[txstateends]

TX 87 from just west of Sabine Pass to High Island has literally been a washout for years.  Hurricanes and erosion have been the main causes.  Nothing has been done to replace it, or re-sign it along other nearby roads.  Building it further inland wouldn't be an option as there is a wildlife refuge north of TX 87's path.  With nothing done, this leaves TX 87 as one of the few discontinuous numbered roads in TX.

[1995hoo]

Doesn't technically count, but Southeast Boulevard in DC with connects to (and was supposed to be a part of) I-695 and RFK Stadium is now permanently closed, since the United no longer play there and the freeway plans are long dead.

Southeast Boulevard is still open from I-695 to Pennsylvania Ave. SE, though downgraded from freeway (when it was part of I-295) to "urban boulevard". Only the part east of Pennsylvania Ave. was used for stadium access.  AFAIK, that segment was never called "Southeast Boulevard", a name applied only to the decommissioned part of I-295 west of Pennsylvania Ave. after it was removed from the Interstate system. 

Every reference I've ever seen has referred to the part from the tunnel under Barney Circle on up to Lot 8 as the "RFK Stadium Access Road."

There is no team known as "the United," BTW.

[silverback1065]

I can't find the rock slide on CA 39, maybe they just didn't feel like fixing it.