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Concrete lanes

Started by Mergingtraffic, July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM

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Mergingtraffic

Funny, that with the change of the seasons there aren't that many places in new England with concrete lanes. 
CT has only 4 spots left. 

CT-25, CT-9 around CT-72, I-84 in East Hartford, and the I-84 EB Exit 22 off-ramp.

MA, I only know of US-5 in West Springfield.



Any others?
I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/


shadyjay

I-691 in Southington... did they repave that yet?

I remember the New England Thruway used to have the smoothest concrete surface I've ever driven on... though it didn't look smooth with all the patches, but it was the most pleasant road to drive on, surface-wize.

I also remember when many roads in CT still had concrete pavement, like all of Route 9 from Old Saybrook to Cromwell.  In their later years before paving, they were rough, and all the cracks were filled in with asphalt and it wasn't a smooth ride.  It was paved I want to say around 1990-1991. 

Mergingtraffic

Yes I-691 and I-84 in Waterbury have been paved
I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/

froggie

By "paved", I presume you two are referring to "overlaid with asphalt".  I say this since concrete is technically pavement.


Regarding the OP, I am struggling to find a still-existing concrete road in Vermont.  Some of the older state routes were concrete at one point, but have long since been asphalted over.  I don't think the Vermont Interstates were ever concrete.

deathtopumpkins

Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM
MA, I only know of US-5 in West Springfield.

US 6 in Westport: https://goo.gl/maps/6tP95bGtG9jt5swt7

There are also a few random streets around Brookline and Newton that are concrete, including part of MA 16: https://goo.gl/maps/EmeAJsdxSS6UVmyJA
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

Clinched Highways | Counties Visited

SectorZ

Quote from: deathtopumpkins on July 29, 2021, 09:24:05 AM
Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM
MA, I only know of US-5 in West Springfield.

US 6 in Westport: https://goo.gl/maps/6tP95bGtG9jt5swt7

There are also a few random streets around Brookline and Newton that are concrete, including part of MA 16: https://goo.gl/maps/EmeAJsdxSS6UVmyJA

MA-133 in Lowell as well, from MA-38/110 to the Tewksbury border.

sharkyfour

Portions of the I-84/I-291/I-384 C/D system in Manchester are also still concrete.

storm2k

NJ still has some.

287 does north of Exit 47 (the part finished in 1993 that had that special grooved concrete that had so many noise complaints that they ground it down IIRC)
440 still does in the Woodbridge/Perth Amboy area but it's steadily disappearing as the concrete is in bad condition and it's being replaced by asphalt overlay as sections of the road are repaired and rebuilt.
676 through Camden (lots of it is a viaduct too)
Parts of the North-South Freeway (42) still are

That's about all I could find. Most of the more known concrete sections (295 for most of its length, 78 east of 24, 280 in Newark and the Oranges) have been rebuilt and resurfaced with asphalt over the past 20 years or so.

MASTERNC

PA is actually adding concrete sections in the Philly area when doing major highway reconstruction (I-476, US 202, US 422, I-95).  The strange one is the section on the PA Turnpike in the middle of nowhere west of Carlisle.

Old Dominionite

Quote from: shadyjay on July 27, 2021, 07:12:11 PM
I-691 in Southington... did they repave that yet?

I remember the New England Thruway used to have the smoothest concrete surface I've ever driven on... though it didn't look smooth with all the patches, but it was the most pleasant road to drive on, surface-wize.

I also remember when many roads in CT still had concrete pavement, like all of Route 9 from Old Saybrook to Cromwell.  In their later years before paving, they were rough, and all the cracks were filled in with asphalt and it wasn't a smooth ride.  It was paved I want to say around 1990-1991.

This brings back (literally) jarring memories of I-91 north of Hartford before it was widened.

plain

The city of Hampton, VA still has old concrete on some arterials.
Newark born, Richmond bred

storm2k

Quote from: MASTERNC on August 03, 2021, 01:10:32 PM
PA is actually adding concrete sections in the Philly area when doing major highway reconstruction (I-476, US 202, US 422, I-95).  The strange one is the section on the PA Turnpike in the middle of nowhere west of Carlisle.

PennDOT loves them some concrete roadways in a lot of places. PTC looks like they're favoring asphalt surfaces these days tho.

Alps

Quote from: storm2k on July 31, 2021, 01:54:53 PM
NJ still has some.

287 does north of Exit 47 (the part finished in 1993 that had that special grooved concrete that had so many noise complaints that they ground it down IIRC)
440 still does in the Woodbridge/Perth Amboy area but it's steadily disappearing as the concrete is in bad condition and it's being replaced by asphalt overlay as sections of the road are repaired and rebuilt.
676 through Camden (lots of it is a viaduct too)
Parts of the North-South Freeway (42) still are

That's about all I could find. Most of the more known concrete sections (295 for most of its length, 78 east of 24, 280 in Newark and the Oranges) have been rebuilt and resurfaced with asphalt over the past 20 years or so.
The ramp from I-78 WB to I-287 SB has a concrete section.

Roadsguy

Quote from: storm2k on August 04, 2021, 12:05:28 AM
Quote from: MASTERNC on August 03, 2021, 01:10:32 PM
PA is actually adding concrete sections in the Philly area when doing major highway reconstruction (I-476, US 202, US 422, I-95).  The strange one is the section on the PA Turnpike in the middle of nowhere west of Carlisle.

PennDOT loves them some concrete roadways in a lot of places. PTC looks like they're favoring asphalt surfaces these days tho.

PennDOT seems to generally use concrete on new construction and full-depth reconstructions in rural areas, but in urban and suburban areas, they seem to almost arbitrarily choose which to use. In the Philadelphia area, you have reconstructed sections of I-95, US 202, US 422, and I-476 done in concrete, while PA 309, most of the Blue Route when constructed, and possibly US 1 and I-295 in Bucks County were done/are being done in asphalt. Over in Harrisburg, I-81 was reconstructed with concrete, and both the older reconstructed and newer sections of PA 581 are concrete, while the I-83 widening (at least Section 1 north of the Eisenhower Interchange) is being done with asphalt.

Meanwhile the PTC uses concrete on the Pittsburgh area toll roads and reconstructed ramps on the mainline/NE Extension, while the mainline/NE Extension themselves are asphalt (with the notable exception of this one four-mile stretch west of Carlisle which was reconstructed with concrete for some reason.
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

RobbieL2415

Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM
Funny, that with the change of the seasons there aren't that many places in new England with concrete lanes. 
CT has only 4 spots left. 

CT-25, CT-9 around CT-72, I-84 in East Hartford, and the I-84 EB Exit 22 off-ramp.

MA, I only know of US-5 in West Springfield.



Any others?
Concrete surfaces are prone to frost heaves.

Just ask I-495 from Westborough to Foxboro.

froggie

Quote from: RobbieL2415 on August 06, 2021, 09:25:53 AM
Concrete surfaces are prone to frost heaves.

Just ask I-495 from Westborough to Foxboro.

Not if the concrete is built and maintained correctly.

Just ask the Upper Midwest (Minnesota and Iowa specifically)...

Crown Victoria

Quote from: Roadsguy on August 04, 2021, 06:30:06 PM
Quote from: storm2k on August 04, 2021, 12:05:28 AM
Quote from: MASTERNC on August 03, 2021, 01:10:32 PM
PA is actually adding concrete sections in the Philly area when doing major highway reconstruction (I-476, US 202, US 422, I-95).  The strange one is the section on the PA Turnpike in the middle of nowhere west of Carlisle.

PennDOT loves them some concrete roadways in a lot of places. PTC looks like they're favoring asphalt surfaces these days tho.

PennDOT seems to generally use concrete on new construction and full-depth reconstructions in rural areas, but in urban and suburban areas, they seem to almost arbitrarily choose which to use. In the Philadelphia area, you have reconstructed sections of I-95, US 202, US 422, and I-476 done in concrete, while PA 309, most of the Blue Route when constructed, and possibly US 1 and I-295 in Bucks County were done/are being done in asphalt. Over in Harrisburg, I-81 was reconstructed with concrete, and both the older reconstructed and newer sections of PA 581 are concrete, while the I-83 widening (at least Section 1 north of the Eisenhower Interchange) is being done with asphalt.

Meanwhile the PTC uses concrete on the Pittsburgh area toll roads and reconstructed ramps on the mainline/NE Extension, while the mainline/NE Extension themselves are asphalt (with the notable exception of this one four-mile stretch west of Carlisle which was reconstructed with concrete for some reason.

Adding a surface road example...PennDOT chose concrete for the reconstruction of PA 61 through Deer Lake a few years back (with a very short stretch northbound done with asphalt), while the current project at the I-78 interchange near Hamburg is using asphalt for PA 61's lanes and concrete for the ramps to/from I-78.

Back on the interstates...the current reconstruction of I-78 between Lenhartsville and the Lehigh County line is being done in concrete...except for the immediate area of the PA 737 interchange, which was done in asphalt.

Chris19001

PA 63 through Kulpsville was reconstructed about 10 years back with concrete.  It's a very heavy stretch seeing lots of trucks from the PA Turnpike...

US 89

Quote from: Roadsguy on August 04, 2021, 06:30:06 PM
PennDOT seems to generally use concrete on new construction and full-depth reconstructions in rural areas, but in urban and suburban areas, they seem to almost arbitrarily choose which to use.

This is fascinating to me because UDOT is almost the exact opposite. Almost all of Utah's rural freeway mileage is asphalt, and almost all the rural concrete sections I can think of are original pavement that has never been replaced. On the other hand, the majority of urban freeways and expressways are paved in concrete, whether it's original or recent. I think most urban asphalt sections were done that way in order to cut down on highway noise.

As for surface roads, they are mostly asphalt but some concrete arterials do exist here and there in urban areas, mostly as a result of recent reconstruction. I cannot think of a single concrete surface road in a rural area in Utah.

DJStephens

#19
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on July 29, 2021, 09:24:05 AM
There are also a few random streets around Brookline and Newton that are concrete, including part of MA 16: https://goo.gl/maps/EmeAJsdxSS6UVmyJA

That is in front of Warren Jr. High School.  Now "Warren House", apparently some kind of repurpose to housing.  Several of Newtons' main streets were indeed concrete, to include Washington, Watertown, Centre, Lowell Ave, among a few others.  Amazing that they still exist, albeit in pockmarked form.   

Breadman17

#20
Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM
Funny, that with the change of the seasons there aren't that many places in new England with concrete lanes. 
CT has only 4 spots left. 
Makes me think that you're saying that they're disappearing? PennDOT and the PTC love concrete lanes. The new section of the PA-576 turnpike that's about to open is paved entirely with concrete
ASU or bust!!!

abqtraveler

Quote from: Breadman17 on August 30, 2021, 08:29:42 AM
Quote from: Mergingtraffic on July 27, 2021, 04:06:17 PM
Funny, that with the change of the seasons there aren't that many places in new England with concrete lanes. 
CT has only 4 spots left. 
Makes me think that you're saying that they're disappearing? PennDOT loves concrete lanes. The new section of the PA-576 turnpike that's about to open is paved entirely with concrete
I recall during the 1980s, most of Connecticut's freeways were concrete. Nearly all of them were paved over with asphalt during the 1990s, save for the few remaining concrete sections that still exist today.
2-d Interstates traveled:  4, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 24, 25, 27, 29, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 49, 55, 57, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76(E), 77, 78, 81, 83, 84(W), 85, 87(N), 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95

2-d Interstates Clinched:  12, 22, 30, 37, 44, 59, 80, 84(E), 86(E), 238, H1, H2, H3, H201

DJ Particle

Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 09:57:59 AM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on August 06, 2021, 09:25:53 AM
Concrete surfaces are prone to frost heaves.

Just ask I-495 from Westborough to Foxboro.

Not if the concrete is built and maintained correctly.

Just ask the Upper Midwest (Minnesota and Iowa specifically)...
When I first moved to MN, portions of MN-77 and MN-62 near the airport were very "ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump" until they fixed it around 2004 or so.

shadyjay

This seems fitting for here.... this advertisement is on EBAY and says 60 miles of the new Connecticut Turnpike are asphalt-paved.  This would have to be east of New Haven, as I've seen photos of a mostly concrete turnpike to the west. 

Now the question is where on I-95 is that photo taken? 

s-l1600 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

DJStephens

Generally makes sense.  Flexible (asphalt) pavement in frost belt states, and use of rigid (PCCP) concrete in southern states.   Not sure why states with extreme winter temperatures and conditions (Pennsylvania as a leading example) were so fixed on concrete for initial Interstate construction.  Much of it was toast by the early eighties.   Leading to perennial dowel and joint repairs.   
Did find the concrete pavement in Connecticut fascinating as a kid though, in the seventies.  Along with the flyovers, left exits, and stubs, both going into the woods, or extending into mid-air.



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