Reversible Lanes: Types, Your Thoughts, and the Dreaded “Squeeze Lane”

[RobbieL2415]

The only operating reversible lanes in Hartford.
https://goo.gl/maps/zntzAFssagb9fVe97
https://goo.gl/maps/nDJePGJ4xc5fm5fN6

It used to reverse all the way up to Main St., but that was changed in the middle of the last decade. Note the empty gantry. It used to have indicators.
https://goo.gl/maps/nBnUyaczdsjhYsrFA

Then there's Asylum Ave, which is standing but not operating since the late-2000s. These go all the way into the West End.
https://goo.gl/maps/3wixhJZwHc8N2TwF7
https://goo.gl/maps/oAKcgNye5E4H2kPE9
https://goo.gl/maps/br9euncJ3DH6mgZY7
Merge Indicator: https://goo.gl/maps/L49vjkyLkD9o5c3q7
A long incorrect sign approaching from the west: https://goo.gl/maps/iQNBzDhjC3fNzzmQ8

I don't really know why they turned it off and just left it there.

[1995hoo]

The DC area has a variety of reversible lanes. The OP here mentions the reversible carriageway on I-95 and I-395. That's the only one on an Interstate.

The notable thing about streets with reversible lanes is that I'm not sure any in DC have the "red X/green arrow" lights some places use, presumably for aesthetic reasons (note that DC also seldom uses either mast arms or span wire for traffic lights). You have to know what the traffic pattern is. The only place I've seen overhead lane control signals in DC in recent years was on Arlington Memorial Bridge during reconstruction work that is now complete.

The District of Columbia has certain roads that completely reverse direction at certain times of day, and they're not all necessarily obvious to someone who isn't from here. On 17th Street NW, for example, you have to be aware of these signs and you have to know which days are holidays. I've seen plenty of near-misses on a couple of federal holidays that aren't always observed by the private sector, such as Columbus Day–you run a serious risk if you legally drive in the "non-peak direction" during the morning rush hour on those days. That applies even more so on District of Columbia territorial holidays, such as "Emancipation Day," because almost nobody except the city government observes those.

15th Street NW used to be similar to 17th except it was one-way outbound during the afternoon rush hour. They did away with that sometime within the past 20 years.

Canal Road has better signs (including a light-up sign on top of that pole) but is still best avoided on holidays. Further west, the center lane is reversible between Arizona Avenue and Chain Bridge. The pattern changes just west of there; the prevailing direction for the center lane is based on providing left-turn lanes at Arizona Avenue and Chain Bridge except during rush hours. Then when you hit Chain Bridge, during the morning rush hour the single lane is left-turn only because the road beyond there is also reversible. At certain times of day, inbound traffic on the Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland must use the infamous "Glen Echo Turnaround" because the National Park Police block the road with sawhorses.

Then there is Rock Creek Parkway; that one involves moving sawhorses and flipping signs up and down. Non-local drivers tend to get the crap confused out of them at the spot where thru traffic needs to stay LEFT of the central median.

Connecticut Avenue, a six-lane road, has reversible lanes during rush hours and you have to notice the signs to tell you what rule applies. The city is thinking about doing away with the reversible lanes on there, in part because of accidents and in part because of speeding concerns. The signs are really not the sort of thing that will necessarily be obvious if you don't live here.

Virginia used to have reversible lanes on a portion of Wilson Boulevard between Seven Corners in Fairfax County and Ballston in Arlington County, but they did away with those years ago. A short section of Columbia Pike in Arlington County between South Courthouse Road and Washington Boulevard used to have them as well, but that has likewise been removed. Both of those segments had the overhead lane control signals. (Edited to add: Columbia Pike at Washington Boulevard has also been reconfigured. For many years, the right lane was right-turn-only during the morning rush hour and was right-or-straight at other times, while the left lane was left-or-straight during the morning rush hour and straight-only at other times. That caused plenty of crashes when people in the right lane ignored the right-turn-only rule, went straight, and crashed into people legally turning right from the left lane. In the new configuration, only the left lane permits going straight and both lanes are permitted to turn right at all times.)

[ftballfan]

Butler St in Sandusky, OH has this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4424203,-82.6895391,3a,40.4y,221.52h,89.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA9Km6lzXKk4re5LLlPwudQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en

It connects Cedar Point to US-250, which leads to the Ohio Turnpike.

[HTM Duke]

Adding onto what 1995hoo posted, there are a few more I remember from my time living in the DC area.

The first was US-29 in Silver Spring, MD, from Georgia Ave to Sligo Creek Pkwy.

Another was a tiny segment of Washington Blvd in Arlington, VA, from 13th St to Wilson Blvd.  I am unsure of current status, given that the latest streetview (2019) had this portion of roadway under construction, and the overhead arrow/X signals removed.

Also, (and this may be a bit of a tangent), the stretch of Arena Drive from I-95/495 to FedEx Field in Landover, MD utilizes reversible lanes and control devices.  A piece of Harry S Truman Dr (between where it now enters the shopping center and the Truman / Largo one-way pair) was once reversible as well, back when it served as the southern access road to the long gone Capital Centre.

[plain]

A small section of River Rd in Newport News, VA leading to/from the shipyard.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8RDecjJP8X9rMhQV6

[jmacswimmer]

The infamous reversible lane on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (with no zipper barrier or bollards or anything).  Inherently dangerous, but with the current traffic situation there aren't any better options.

Not one day after I mentioned the above example with no barrier between oncoming traffic, a nasty head-on collision occurs during 2-way operations...

https://twitter.com/DildineWTOP/status/1384584127127687168

[kphoger]

Was it due to driver misunderstanding?  I don't see what's hard to understand about a big red X and a big green arrow.

[jmacswimmer]

Was it due to driver misunderstanding?  I don't see what's hard to understand about a big red X and a big green arrow.

Unclear so far as this just happened less than 2 hours ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if this started as a rear-ending (drivers have a way of suddenly slamming on the brakes while crossing that bridge) that then spilled into oncoming traffic since there's no shoulders or anywhere else to go.

[CardInLex]

Of course there is the infamous Farnam Street in Omaha:

https://goo.gl/maps/NnHYLCK4PWXbY5Mx5

The entire street is reversible based on time of day with very little (my opinion) LED's and other controls.

[FixThe74Sign]

There's only one in Indiana, and that's on Fall Creek Parkway in Indianapolis.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8149348,-86.143033,3a,75y,43.4h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skg5aaNOhLQ0rgPDy718mhA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8269921,-86.1303332,3a,75y,206.5h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIsp-IS1lDiHj4RNHta7uGA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

It's reversible depending on the time of day except for the Indiana State Fair that is right off that road. 5-7 lane road.

The local DPW has really butchered the layout of Fall Creek Parkway while a trio of bridge work, bus line work, and major sewer work was going on nearby. Its not as useful as it once was. However, I've read in INDOT plans that due to the upcoming major interstate closure for the North Split Project (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27307.0), they plan on putting Fall Creek Parkway back to its previous alignment to help support an increase in local road traffic.

There is also Meridian St on the south side of Indianapolis that has a reversible lane. Its a 3 land road with the middle being controlled only by over head metal signs.

https://goo.gl/maps/hJs5Rp2xcrpt7EX38

[kj3400]

Baltimore has a reversible center lane on North Gay Street. It's honestly terrifying. There's only some signs posted that say something along the lines of "lane changes direction from 4pm-6pm" .

It's 2 lanes NB/1 lane SB from 4-6 pm. otherwise it's 2 lanes SB/1 lane NB. Because of the small signs which, in my opinion, are confusing as hell (they could have used a diagram), people just ignore them and either:
a) never use the middle lane
b) use the middle lane as a passing lane, especially around the one bus line that has stops at every block
c) use the middle lane until they come across someone also using it and then one person will cut back to the right lane.

There's also reversible lanes on Hanover St between I-95 and the south end of the Hanover St Bridge. It's usually 3 SB/2 NB except I think 6-10 am when it's switched, but the lane control signs haven't changed according to that in a long while, and to be fair, I don't use that route in the morning anymore, so I wouldn't know if it was working.

[1995hoo]

Adding onto what 1995hoo posted, there are a few more I remember from my time living in the DC area.

The first was US-29 in Silver Spring, MD, from Georgia Ave to Sligo Creek Pkwy.

Another was a tiny segment of Washington Blvd in Arlington, VA, from 13th St to Wilson Blvd.  I am unsure of current status, given that the latest streetview (2019) had this portion of roadway under construction, and the overhead arrow/X signals removed.

Also, (and this may be a bit of a tangent), the stretch of Arena Drive from I-95/495 to FedEx Field in Landover, MD utilizes reversible lanes and control devices.  A piece of Harry S Truman Dr (between where it now enters the shopping center and the Truman / Largo one-way pair) was once reversible as well, back when it served as the southern access road to the long gone Capital Centre.

I had totally forgotten about Harry Truman Drive. Great catch. It's no longer like that now. Regarding Washington Boulevard, I haven't been that way in a few years, so I don't know–I used to go to a doctor's office near there, but they relocated.

[MCRoads]

Of course there is the infamous Farnam Street in Omaha:

https://goo.gl/maps/NnHYLCK4PWXbY5Mx5

The entire street is reversible based on time of day with very little (my opinion) LED's and other controls.

[US 89]

The Atlanta area has a couple of these, including on Decatur Street/DeKalb Avenue and on Atlanta Street (the one in Roswell).

[HighwayStar]

Generally not a fan of any of them that I have encountered. If traffic is bad enough to require more lanes, then more dedicated lanes for each direction should be built. Reversible lanes should be treated as a stopgap measure only, until the system can be brought up to speed.

[MCRoads]

There are some cases where that just isn't going to happen. How would the liberty bridge in Pittsburgh be widened? You can't twin the bridge, because the approaches would require a large amount of ROW in downtown Pittsburgh. You can't widen it, as I'm pretty sure the structure was already widened in the past. You can't really have a zipper, as there isn't a place to put the zipper machine. Maybe if they were desperate, they could put a second deck on the bridge somehow within the existing ROW (but that might require modifications to the tunnel and intersection on the south side of the bridge). It's just stuck. It can't be replaced with a better option.

[HighwayStar]

There are some cases where that just isn't going to happen. How would the liberty bridge in Pittsburgh be widened? You can't twin the bridge, because the approaches would require a large amount of ROW in downtown Pittsburgh. You can't widen it, as I'm pretty sure the structure was already widened in the past. You can't really have a zipper, as there isn't a place to put the zipper machine. Maybe if they were desperate, they could put a second deck on the bridge somehow within the existing ROW (but that might require modifications to the tunnel and intersection on the south side of the bridge). It's just stuck. It can't be replaced with a better option.

Not with that defeatist attitude. Sounds like it really just needs replacing entirely, something with two decks and some extra width perhaps.

[sprjus4]

There are some cases where that just isn't going to happen. How would the liberty bridge in Pittsburgh be widened? You can't twin the bridge, because the approaches would require a large amount of ROW in downtown Pittsburgh. You can't widen it, as I'm pretty sure the structure was already widened in the past. You can't really have a zipper, as there isn't a place to put the zipper machine. Maybe if they were desperate, they could put a second deck on the bridge somehow within the existing ROW (but that might require modifications to the tunnel and intersection on the south side of the bridge). It's just stuck. It can't be replaced with a better option.

Not with that defeatist attitude. Sounds like it really just needs replacing entirely, something with two decks and some extra width perhaps.

You ever heard of cost constraints?

[HighwayStar]

There are some cases where that just isn't going to happen. How would the liberty bridge in Pittsburgh be widened? You can't twin the bridge, because the approaches would require a large amount of ROW in downtown Pittsburgh. You can't widen it, as I'm pretty sure the structure was already widened in the past. You can't really have a zipper, as there isn't a place to put the zipper machine. Maybe if they were desperate, they could put a second deck on the bridge somehow within the existing ROW (but that might require modifications to the tunnel and intersection on the south side of the bridge). It's just stuck. It can't be replaced with a better option.

Not with that defeatist attitude. Sounds like it really just needs replacing entirely, something with two decks and some extra width perhaps.

You ever heard of cost constraints?

Yep, that is always the excuse, any infrastructure we talk about today is "too expensive" or "we can't afford that", never mind someone built all this in the first place, apparently they never heard of that. Or never mind that China is throwing up infrastructure left and right not only in China but all over the globe. And we sit and moan that filling in the potholes is "too expensive"

[webny99]

I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but Stanley Park Causeway (BC-1A/BC 99) in Stanley Park and on the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver.

[Dirt Roads]

Of course there is the infamous Farnam Street in Omaha:

https://goo.gl/maps/NnHYLCK4PWXbY5Mx5

The entire street is reversible based on time of day with very little (my opinion) LED's and other controls.

Gosh, I completely forgot that back in the 1980s much of northwest District of Columbia and Maryland between the CSX former B&O Mainline and Michigan Avenue were reversible in the same way.  It was a big issue for folks to use neighborhood streets as an informal bypass to avoid lengthy delays on Michigan Avenue and other routes.  I had a project where I would walk from the Silver Spring station down to Rhode Island Avenue station on one side, and would get stuck relocating an F7000 stakebody truck back to Silver Spring during rush hour.  This got really complicated at times, when I would find most of the local streets reversed.  No wonder I needed to forget all that.

[mrsman]

Of course there is the infamous Farnam Street in Omaha:

https://goo.gl/maps/NnHYLCK4PWXbY5Mx5

The entire street is reversible based on time of day with very little (my opinion) LED's and other controls.

Gosh, I completely forgot that back in the 1980s much of northwest District of Columbia and Maryland between the CSX former B&O Mainline and Michigan Avenue were reversible in the same way.  It was a big issue for folks to use neighborhood streets as an informal bypass to avoid lengthy delays on Michigan Avenue and other routes.  I had a project where I would walk from the Silver Spring station down to Rhode Island Avenue station on one side, and would get stuck relocating an F7000 stakebody truck back to Silver Spring during rush hour.  This got really complicated at times, when I would find most of the local streets reversed.  No wonder I needed to forget all that.

There are a few still left.  Here's 12th near Geranium:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9794441,-77.0278636,3a,37.5y,87.67h,87.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWD6XaGGvwOEikAy66FK_Ww!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

This isn't so bad because 12th is not really a traffic corridor.  It's really just meant to keep traffic off of the residential streets.

Except for Canal Road and Rock Creek Pkwy, it seems like the totally reversible one-ways have all been gotten rid of in DC. 

Constitution Ave east of teh Capitol used to have something very similar to Farnam, with a one-way westbound during morning rush, but now it is 2-way at all times.

15th and 17th south of Massachussets Ave were changed more recently to full-time two-way operation.  17th was really crazy.  During morning rush, you had six lanes (4 regular lanes and 2 extra because parking was prohibited at those hours) all facing southbound, despite a yellow line in the middle.  At L street, the left lanes would force a left (and the next lane would allow a left), but only during the morning rush.

Here is an old GSV of the area:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9037855,-77.0384678,3a,15y,146.36h,89.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9RBRlhF0PtmSWOTJzqB2pg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Thankfully, many of these reversible streets have gone away.  They were too dangerous given the minimal traffic benefit they provided.

THe reversilbe lanes are still a thing and have their own issues, but at least if you are going the wrong way, you can simply shfit to the right when you realize it.  Ideally, they'd get rid of them all, unless there is really good access control of the reversible facility.

Here is a pic

[doorknob60]

Butler St in Sandusky, OH has this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4424203,-82.6895391,3a,40.4y,221.52h,89.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA9Km6lzXKk4re5LLlPwudQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en

It connects Cedar Point to US-250, which leads to the Ohio Turnpike.

I can speak from experience, that road has probably the worst quality pavement I've ever driven on. I don't remember the configuration of the reversible lanes when I was there though. I'm pretty sure I only ever used the right lane when I used the road. The center lane may not have been in use at all when I was there, not sure. Traffic was light enough that it wasn't necessary.

[TEG24601]

H-1 has Zipper Lanes from Piawa St. to the Nimitz Highway.  I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them in action, but the seem quite useful.  They also have some reversible lanes in Honolulu on the Surface Streets, the only one I recall for sure is along Kapiolani Blvd.  When I saw it in action, they were using cones and cops for traffic control.


I love the Express Lanes on I-5 in Seattle, but the really need to exist on both ends of city, and not be a single lane ingress/egress at the south end.  The issues with revere commuting has only really be an issue in the last 15 years, as more people are reverse commuting due to varying shifts and high rents in the city.  Hopefully the Link extensions should help significantly.

[Katavia]

Once upon a time there were a set of two reversible lanes on US 29 that went from Charlotte Motor Speedway at the north end to just shy of I-485 at the south end. They were removed some time ago, replaced with a paved median and some turn lanes. However, some of the lane-use signals stuck around for a few years(?) after.

A variable turn-control signal for the middle of 3 lanes (left only, variable turn-lane, right only) still exists on Speedway Boulevard/Bruton Smith Boulevard at the intersection of it and 29 (right in front of the Speedway) - yet I've never seen it deviate from its default "straight-or-left" indicator (the road markings also denote the second lane as "straight ahead or left turn OK")