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Overused Interchanges

Started by theroadwayone, August 10, 2018, 05:24:59 PM

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abefroman329

Quote from: Brandon on August 13, 2018, 08:17:51 AM
I would consider anything where the traffic routinely backs up onto the freeway/tollway (especially outside the rush) to be overused.  There's a fair number around Chicagoland, but these are notable:

- The Circle (as mentioned before), especially the ramp from the inbound Ryan to the outbound Ike.
- Hillside Strangler, ramps from Nbd I-294 to Wbd I-290, Ebd I-290 to Sbd I-294, and Sbd I-294 to Wbd I-88,
- Weber Rd, I-55 Exit 263.  A shitton of trucks.
- Cicero Av, I-55 Exit 286.  Midway Airport traffic.
- Chicago St, I-80 Exit 132.  An even bigger shitton of trucks.
The Strangler is still a billion times better than it was, though I have no idea why they thought reducing mainline I-88 eastbound to ONE lane would be sufficient.

I don't know that anyone could have envisioned the amount of traffic that would have been headed to Midway one day when they designed the Stevenson.


webny99

Quote from: froggie on August 13, 2018, 09:57:39 AM
By that logic, you really didn't need two threads.

Wasn't me. I agree though.  :D

jon daly

Quote from: froggie on August 13, 2018, 09:52:33 AM
"Which interchanges are overused" isn't really a good question....you could fill a multi-volume book with the answers.

The better question would be which major urban junctions are *NOT* overused.


My recent experiences commuting to Providence up I-95 North lead me to believe that none of the intersections from Ext 1-Exit 19 are over used. They only back up during rush hour. But the smoothest sailing near Providence is probably Exit 16. Traffic lets up usually around there after the messes that are Exit 14/15  intersections for RI-37 and Jefferson Boulevard. 16 even has a park-like vibe with the trees on the right side. If only they'd remove the heavy equipment from there.

jon daly

Quote from: abefroman329 on August 10, 2018, 08:38:01 PM
Circle Interchange, probably even after the reconstruction is complete.

Building the Hypotenuse would help.

Someone should build a wiki of the fictional highway ideas posted here.

Bruce

Quote from: jakeroot on August 10, 2018, 06:29:47 PM
Realistically, most interchanges in the top cities with worst traffic. Traffic is growing far faster than most agencies can keep up.

In Seattle, the worst interchanges are:

405/167/Rainier Ave (cloverleaf and too loopy (low speeds))
5/518/405 (left-side movements, loop for busiest movement)
167/18 (compounded by missing movements)
405/520 (too loopy)

Most other interchanges are over capacity, but not to the same degree.

You're missing the Mercer/520/45th trio, which contributes to a lot of the weaving-related slowdowns on I-5. Not to mention Mercer itself is a disaster that will never be fixed, no matter how many lanes you throw at it.

I-5 and SR 526 is also a bit of a mess because of Boeing's shift changes, which bring everyone onto the ramps at once. During the PM peak, it lingers around long enough to merge with traffic coming up from Seattle.

The Montlake Interchange on SR 520 is also a factory of sadness, given the tight turns and ongoing construction. Just getting onto NB Montlake Boulevard can take 30 minutes for buses stuck in the queue.

ET21

I-294 and 95th Street (US-12/20), praying they will redo this with the Central 294 Project
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

jon daly

#31
Quote from: jon daly on August 13, 2018, 07:57:30 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on August 10, 2018, 08:38:01 PM
Circle Interchange, probably even after the reconstruction is complete.

Building the Hypotenuse would help.



Someone should build a wiki of the fictional highway ideas posted here.

PS -if the Hypotenuse is what I think it is, it reminds me of L'Enfant's design of Washington DC; diagonal avenues that reduce travel times across town from what a pure grid system would offer.

hotdogPi

Quote from: jon daly on August 14, 2018, 10:01:46 AM
Quote from: jon daly on August 13, 2018, 07:57:30 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on August 10, 2018, 08:38:01 PM
Circle Interchange, probably even after the reconstruction is complete.

Building the Hypotenuse would help.

PS -if the Hypotenuse is what I think it is, it reminds me of L'Enfant's design of Washington DC; diagonal avenues that reduce travel times across town from what a pure grid system would offer.

Someone should build a wiki of the fictional highway ideas posted here.

The main problem with the Hypotenuse proposal was that its creator was pushing it in many threads, including non-fictional ones, even after being told that it wouldn't work in today's environment (no room to build it without demolishing too many buildings), and too many insults were flying around.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

sbeaver44

With respect to the design, the trumpet at I-83/PA 581 seems like a poor choice with AADTs above 80k.

The lane shift on 83 N plus no merge area from 83 N->581 W always makes morning commuting fun.  If something happens on 581 W, 83 will be backed up the whole way to the Turnpike, easily.

Nexus 6P


abefroman329

To be clear, I was being tongue-in-cheek about being in support of the Hypotenuse, although I do think it's probably true that the Circle Interchange carries more traffic than it would have if the Crosstown Expressway had been built.

jon daly

Oh, I gathered from some post recently about DZLSABE that only one person here took that seriously.

mrsman

I-495 @ Georgia Ave in Silver Spring, MD.

This interchange used to be a full cloverleaf and there were plans in place to add traffic signals and convert to a parclo a4 to address weaving issues on the Beltway.  (A Parclo b4 would not work as there are reversible lanes on Georgia and left turns in the area are prohibited during rush hour when the median left turn lane becomes a lane for dominant traffic.)  The parclo a4 was built for westbound 495, but not for eastbound 495.  Apparently there is so much traffic using the ramp from eastbound 495 to southbound Georgia that there is no room for the traffic to northbound Georgia to use the same ramp (and same signal).  So the loop to northbound Georgia (and the weaving issues) remain.

abefroman329

Quote from: mrsman on September 14, 2018, 10:42:45 AM
I-495 @ Georgia Ave in Silver Spring, MD.

This interchange used to be a full cloverleaf and there were plans in place to add traffic signals and convert to a parclo a4 to address weaving issues on the Beltway.  (A Parclo b4 would not work as there are reversible lanes on Georgia and left turns in the area are prohibited during rush hour when the median left turn lane becomes a lane for dominant traffic.)  The parclo a4 was built for westbound 495, but not for eastbound 495.  Apparently there is so much traffic using the ramp from eastbound 495 to southbound Georgia that there is no room for the traffic to northbound Georgia to use the same ramp (and same signal).  So the loop to northbound Georgia (and the weaving issues) remain.
It may be overused because 16th Street was intended to connect with the Beltway, but ends at Georgia Avenue instead.



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