Routing Decisions that can go REALLY WRONG

[1995hoo]

It's no longer the case, but this thread made me think of the problem of passing through the Baltimore area up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. If you wanted to stay on the highway, you had three choices—take the Harbor Tunnel, detour around to the east over the (now-destroyed) Key Bridge, or detour around the (somewhat longer) west side of the Baltimore Beltway. You had to make an educated guess in advance because the Harbor Tunnel was prone to severe traffic backups and once you committed to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, if you hit a traffic jam the only way out was to make an illegal U-turn across the median if you were on a part of the road where that was possible. (I remember my father doing that one time. My mother was very much Not Pleased when he did it.) I recall a trip north to New York in what was probably the summer of 1983 when my father was not with us because of work demands, so my mother was driving and I told her she should take I-695 over the bridge because the tunnel would back up. She said it was a weekday and it wouldn't be too bad, so she took the Harbor Tunnel exit and we hit a severe backup. It took an hour to go five miles.

[StogieGuy7]

It's no longer the case, but this thread made me think of the problem of passing through the Baltimore area up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. If you wanted to stay on the highway, you had three choices—take the Harbor Tunnel, detour around to the east over the (now-destroyed) Key Bridge, or detour around the (somewhat longer) west side of the Baltimore Beltway. You had to make an educated guess in advance because the Harbor Tunnel was prone to severe traffic backups and once you committed to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, if you hit a traffic jam the only way out was to make an illegal U-turn across the median if you were on a part of the road where that was possible. (I remember my father doing that one time. My mother was very much Not Pleased when he did it.) I recall a trip north to New York in what was probably the summer of 1983 when my father was not with us because of work demands, so my mother was driving and I told her she should take I-695 over the bridge because the tunnel would back up. She said it was a weekday and it wouldn't be too bad, so she took the Harbor Tunnel exit and we hit a severe backup. It took an hour to go five miles.

Ah, the Harbor Tunnel! If you think that was bad, you should have seen it before the Key Bridge (RIP) was opened.  I vividly remember trips from VA to New England (back in the late 60s - early 70's) being delayed for hours thanks to traffic on the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, from which there was no escape and really no way to avoid it.  And, combine that with how the current-day I-95 didn't open until 1970 or 71 and before that you only had the Baltimore-Washington Parkway between the 2 cities.  It was a nightmare that made the beltway look easy. Still remember how happy we were when 95 opened through Laurel/Columbia/etc and made life so much easier.  With lovely [gold-colored] button copy signs too!

[elsmere241]

Then there was the time in February 1997 when I was coming down US 93 near Dolan Springs, Arizona and saw the sign for Cottonwood Road.  I naively thought it might in fact go through to Cottonwood Cove, Nevada.  (Or if it didn't I could always turn around and go back.)  Long story short, I plowed my car into a wash Wednesday night, and reached relative civilization Friday morning.

[1995hoo]

It's no longer the case, but this thread made me think of the problem of passing through the Baltimore area up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. ....

Ah, the Harbor Tunnel! If you think that was bad, you should have seen it before the Key Bridge (RIP) was opened.  ....

I almost certainly experienced the Harbor Tunnel before the bridge opened, but I don't remember any such trips because the bridge opened just over two months before my fourth birthday.

[StogieGuy7]

It's no longer the case, but this thread made me think of the problem of passing through the Baltimore area up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. ....

Ah, the Harbor Tunnel! If you think that was bad, you should have seen it before the Key Bridge (RIP) was opened.  ....

I almost certainly experienced the Harbor Tunnel before the bridge opened, but I don't remember any such trips because the bridge opened just over two months before my fourth birthday.

It was right up there with the Cross-Bronx Expressway for being the worst part of our 8 hour trip. Especially recall being stuck down in the road cut just before/after you are in the tunnel. Could not see anything but the traffic and the smog coming from it. They had some pretty ancient (even for then) signage and lighting back then too - like elongated fluorescent lights, which I thought were pretty cool. 1950s vintage, I'd imagine.

[dantheman]

So, my question for the forum: What are some routing decisions that can go badly?

A similar one that burned me recently is between the Hartford, CT area and Cape Cod, MA. The two options are basically I-84/I-90/I-495, or pick your favorite non-freeway route to Providence and then I-195. The choice has to be made at the I-84/CT 74 junction in Tolland, CT at the latest, or even earlier if you prefer US 6 to 44/101/6.

The problem spots are often I-90 between 84 and Worcester (over 20 miles from the decision point) or Providence (over an hour from the decision point). Providence is typically worse during weekday rush hours, while 90 is typically bad on summer weekends and big holiday travel times. However, an accident on either can quickly snowball into a half-hour traffic jam or worse.

With the Washington Bridge on I-195 all messed up, things are even worse now. I recently started this drive around 8:30 PM on a weeknight, and Google showed no traffic in Providence so I went that way. Unknown to me, the Washington Bridge construction had I-195 EB down to a single lane starting at 9 PM. By the time I got there, it took 50 minutes to go about 2 miles from the 95/195 interchange to the far side of the Washington Bridge.

[TheStranger]

This whole thread reminds me of when I had to go back up from Palmdale to the Bay Area back in 2019, and I was hearing inklings of snow in the Grapevine area:

My original plan for that day was 14-138-5-46-101, but my friend in the area suggested I go 14 to Santa Clarita, then 126-101, which ended up working out as there were some closures on 5 after all!