Cities which need beltways that don't have them

[ibthebigd]

Nashville TN could use a full beltway.

SM-G950U

[Road Hog]

Austin has a couple of toll bypass options, but needs either a free beltway or a full 12-lane through I-35 route.

[vdeane]

Syracuse, NY - the eastern half is there, but the closest thing the western part has is NY 695 and the portions of NY 5 and John Glen Blvd (the latter not ever a freeway) that were built.  Especially now that part of I-81 is slated to be removed.

Rochester, NY was planned to have a full beltway, but only 3/4 of it was built.

[SkyPesos]

Doesn't need to be an interstate, nor a full beltway, but something for Lafayette, IN to make access to Purdue from both directions of I-65 easier.

[D-Dey65]

1. Is there any reason why the original plan was better? Usually, ideas improve over time (from thinking of new things, trial and error, etc.).
2. Isn't DC one of the most congested cities in the US, or at least complained about a lot?

I still say getting rid of the original plan (or at least the version before 1977) is why DC is one of the most congested cities in the US.

Orlando, Fl

The combination of FL State Toll Roads 417 and 429 were supposed to be just that.

[SkyPesos]

1. Is there any reason why the original plan was better? Usually, ideas improve over time (from thinking of new things, trial and error, etc.).
2. Isn't DC one of the most congested cities in the US, or at least complained about a lot?

I still say getting rid of the original plan (or at least the version before 1977) is why DC is one of the most congested cities in the US.

DC would probably be even worse off without I-66 inside I-495, which I heard came very close to cancellation at some point. Imagine access to Dulles Airport from DC with a boulevard in I-66's place.

[ftballfan]

For real, though, I have heard Nashville could use a NE quadrant bypass.

Either an upgraded TN 109 (Portland bypass) or a connector (4-lane divided controlled access at minimum) from I-65 between KY exits 52 and 58 to TN 111 near Cookeville would work for a NE quadrant bypass, although the latter would mainly be useful for Chicago/Indianapolis/Louisville to Atlanta/Florida traffic and vice versa

[1995hoo]

Orlando, Fl

The combination of FL State Toll Roads 417 and 429 were supposed to be just that.

Once the current construction to extend 429 along Route 46 to the interchange of I-4 and FL-417 is finished, those two roads will combine to give an almost-complete beltway–except there'll be that one notable gap on the southern end along I-4 between 429 and World Drive, which also happens to be the location of perpetual congestion on eastbound I-4 due to World Drive being a significant access point for Disney World. The connection between 417 and I-4 in that area functions sort of like C/D roads through the World Drive interchange. Maybe they should complete the full beltway loop by extending that configuration down to the existing interchange with FL-429–or perhaps beyond, because I-4 regularly backs up beyond FL-429. On the other hand, there may not be enough "thru beltway traffic" to warrant that sort of configuration. No question that it would be a lot more direct distance-wise to go from 417 to 429 via US-192, though that does mean traffic lights.

We've used FL-429 several times as a way to connect from points to the southwest, mainly Venice and Fort Myers, to FL-46 in Sanford because the latter is where the Auto Train depot is. Going that way has worked really well to avoid the traffic on I-4 downtown. It's a longer distance, of course–the most direct route from the I-4/FL-429 junction to the Auto Train via I-4 through Orlando is 47 miles, whereas taking FL-429 and FL-46 around the west side is 57.9 miles and taking FL-417 around the east side and then using US-17 and FL-46 through Sanford to connect is 58 miles. But taking 429 is an easier drive with very little traffic.

[MikeTheActuary]

Hartford, CT.

I'm not certain that a full beltway is necessary...but the lack of something for the northwest quadrant is painful.

[Revive 755]

* Des Moines, IA, especially if growth keeps up
* Memphis, TN, including two new Mississippi River crossings
* Champaign - Urbana, IL
* Terre Haute, IN - IN 641 doesn't go far enough for through traffic using US 41 and IN 63
* Lafayette, IN
EDIT:
* Joliet, IL

[hbelkins]

Charleston, WV.

[OCGuy81]

The Portland metro area I feel would benefit from a full beltway.

Want to get across the Columbia? Here are your options, and you've got a grand total of two.

5 and the antiquated Interstate Bridge
205 and the equally congested Glen Jackson Bridge

A third option would be nice, and being able to get around Portland on the west side would be great.

Granted the terrain, and that part of Oregon's hatred for roads means this will never happen....

[TheStranger]

Metro Manila, if only because...the first through limited access expressway in the region opened up a mere 6 weeks ago (Skyway Stage 3).  But there are proposals for belt routes:

- full upgrade of C-5 to expressway; right now it is an awkward mix of partial expressway (i.e. next to BGC, and the under-construction C-5 Southlink) and boulevard, plus a segment that is currently using a temporary routing (from the end of NLEX Mindanao Avenue Extension through Tandang Sora, Quezon City towards Congressional Avenue) due to right of way that was reserved as far back as the late 1940s for road construction but not cleared of informal settlements yet.

- C-6, the wider belt route that will reach Antipolo from Taguig and then continue north to the La Mesa area of Quezon City then northwest to Bulacan not too far east from the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.  Currently part of it is under construction as the Southeast Metro Manila Expressway/SEMME.

- One could argue that if Skyway Stage 3 and the NLEX Connector/Harbor Link will be the through routes of Manila, then in concert with C-5, the proposed Port Link Expressway would serve as the west portion of the belt.  NLEX/MPTC essentially view that Roxas Boulevard/Mel Lopez Boulevard corridor as such.

- EDSA has been ineffective as a bypass loop for decades due to the fact Quezon City grew up around it, as well as parts of Mandaluyong.  (Makati is the only city that really ensured that their segment of EDSA functions like a freeway with no business frontages and a significant amount of grade separation and flyovers).  San Miguel Corporation, the same folks who got Skyway Stage 3 built, have shown in their long term plans an EDSA Skyway as a fully limited-access route from Mall of Asia in Pasay to Monumento, Caloocan. 

- In addition, SMC has also shown concepts for a short connector between Harbor Link and the SS3 Sgt. Rivera exit in Caloocan + a short expressway spur on Quirino Avenue from Osmena Highway in Paco to Roxas Boulevard in Malate; these two connectors plus any Roxas corridor highway would create an inner belt around Manila itself with Skyway Stage 3 between Osmena and A. Bonifacio as the east loop.

[democratic nole]

Tucson, AZ
Fort Myers/Cape Coral, FL (partial)
North Port/Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda, FL (partial)
Bradenton/Sarasota, FL (partial) (noticing a trend?)
Philadelphia, PA

I-75 goes far to the east of downtown Bradenton, Sarasota, North Port, etc. I am not sure what the need is for a beltway in these areas of SW FL.

Someone else mentioned Tampa/St. Petersburg. A beltway here is never going to happen and I'm not sure it should. When the country was in freeway building mode (50's, 60's, 70's), this area screwed the pooch with freeway revolts and poor planning, which is why the freeway network here is inadequate compared to other large metros. The advantage of that is that as transportation planning has trended away from endless freeway building, the area is well-suited to take advantage of not having endless legacy freeways to plan for more robust multimodal transportation options.

[hotdogPi]

Tucson, AZ
Fort Myers/Cape Coral, FL (partial)
North Port/Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda, FL (partial)
Bradenton/Sarasota, FL (partial) (noticing a trend?)
Philadelphia, PA

I-75 goes far to the east of downtown Bradenton, Sarasota, North Port, etc. I am not sure what the need is for a beltway in these areas of SW FL.

I'm imagining something similar to Wheeling, WV, where I-75 forms one half and the 3di (or state route freeway) forms the other half. The main difference is that FL is growing, while WV is shrinking. Also see Lakeland, FL.

[SectorZ]

Springfield MA could use a full beltway. Unfortunately existing 291 wouldn't be a good fit for part of it because of it going right thru Springfield.

[hobsini2]

How about this tradeoff, which I like to call the DC Model-

You get your regional beltway, and you even get some stub highways to go from the beltway towards the core of the region/city.

But you have to give up (either eliminate from the planning books, or tear down) the highways that actually run through the center of the region/city (usually quite valuable land from a development standpoint).

That would be more, I think, what the original Interstate System had in mind, which is also what you see a lot of in Europe.

I see you haven't been on the Kennedy, Ryan or Eisenhower in Chicago.

[ran4sh]

Athens GA's beltway (GA 10 Loop) is used to manage traffic leaving the University of Georgia after football games. Specifically, some campus lots are directed to the inner/clockwise loop and other lots are directed to the outer/counterclockwise loop, and motorists are expected to continue in the direction that they got on the beltway until reaching the exit for the route they are using to leave Athens. The beltway is less than 20 miles long, so most traffic doesn't have to go too far out of the way.

A beltway could be used similarly for other cities that may get high volumes of traffic for certain events.

[thspfc]

Charleston, WV.

As far as cities that need beltways, don't have them, and will never in a million years get them, Charleston WV is at the top of that list. Plus it's a declining city anyways.

[webny99]

I went through the largest metros to see which ones stood out, and it looks like Sacramento, CA, Tampa, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA are the largest metro areas that lack either a full or partial beltway. Although in all three cases, there is a freeway route for through traffic that bypasses the urban core (I-505, I-75, and I-76, respectively).

You have to get pretty far down the list to find metro areas that have neither a beltway, a partial beltway, or a bypass. Some examples include Hartford, CT, Albany, NY, Worcester, MA, and Baton Rouge, LA.

[hotdogPi]

I went through the largest metros to see which ones stood out, and it looks like Sacramento, CA, Tampa, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA are the largest metro areas that lack either a full or partial beltway. Although in all three cases, there is a freeway route for through traffic that bypasses the urban core (I-505, I-75, and I-76, respectively).

You have to get pretty far down the list to find metro areas that have neither a beltway, a partial beltway, or a bypass. Some examples include Hartford, CT, Albany, NY, Worcester, MA, and Baton Rouge, LA.

What happened to Tucson?

[webny99]

I went through the largest metros to see which ones stood out, and it looks like Sacramento, CA, Tampa, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA are the largest metro areas that lack either a full or partial beltway. Although in all three cases, there is a freeway route for through traffic that bypasses the urban core (I-505, I-75, and I-76, respectively).

You have to get pretty far down the list to find metro areas that have neither a beltway, a partial beltway, or a bypass. Some examples include Hartford, CT, Albany, NY, Worcester, MA, and Baton Rouge, LA.

What happened to Tucson?

I started skimming when I got to that part of the list. That's another good example - probably one of the best in terms of lacking freeways in general.

[ahj2000]

Charleston, WV.

As far as cities that need beltways, don't have them, and will never in a million years get them, Charleston WV is at the top of that list. Plus it's a declining city anyways.

Oh boy that's be great. I HATE driving through Charleston on a busy day. Being able to pass the town from 77-79 or 77-77 would be fantastic and really help reduce congestion

[MinecraftNinja]

New York City Los Angeles and Philadelphia

[TheStranger]

I went through the largest metros to see which ones stood out, and it looks like Sacramento, CA, Tampa, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA are the largest metro areas that lack either a full or partial beltway. Although in all three cases, there is a freeway route for through traffic that bypasses the urban core (I-505, I-75, and I-76, respectively).

You have to get pretty far down the list to find metro areas that have neither a beltway, a partial beltway, or a bypass. Some examples include Hartford, CT, Albany, NY, Worcester, MA, and Baton Rouge, LA.

In the case of Sacramento, today's I-80 between US 50 and Business 80 was intended as part of a wider belt route around the region, albeit one that would be multiple designations and routes:

I-880 (today's I-80 through Natomas and Del Paso Heights), only portion fully built as intended.  Part of it includes a section of parking lots and light rail stations over what would have been an I-80 realignment along railroad right of way from North Highlands southwest to midtown Sacramento, which was partially constructed but halted in 1979 in favor of light rail.

Route 244 (the existing short highway spur from I-80 to Auburn Boulevard, plus a route east approximately along Winding Way corridor through Fair Oaks to US 50 in Gold River)

Route 143 (north-south route from the original planned Route 102/Elkhorn Boulevard corridor, south crossing Route 244 and running parallel to Watt Avenue, to Route 99 in Elk Grove)

Route 148 (east-west route approximately covered by the modern Cosumnes River Boulevard from I-5 in Freeport east to Route 143, but also somewhat reminiscent of the Capital Southeast Corridor project that is currently active)

From Cahighways, here is what the planned belt freeway system would have looked like:

LRN 242 - I-880, now post-1982 I-80
LRN 238 - Route 148
LRN 288 - Route 244
LRN 247 - Route 143

80 through Natomas is still called the North Beltline occasionally.