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Most hated sections of roads/offramps/intersections in United States/Canada

Started by ZLoth, December 18, 2023, 02:42:19 PM

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MikieTimT

The one I personally loath, to the point of driving through Pine Bluff, AR and the delta to avoid, is I-55 just before crossing the Mississippi River into West Memphis, AR.

Thankfully, its days are numbered.


Road Hog

The Mixmaster in Dallas isn't great even after some major upgrades.

For starters, the cloverleaf off Woodall to southbound I-35E/ I-30 is still a single-lane stack-up. Then you have single-lane ramps leading to both freeways and two ramps merging into a single lane with basically no room to merge. Then you emerge on I-30 and have an immediate spaghetti effect as traffic attempts to align to whichever destination. Finally, if you're headed south on I-35E, you get to try and get into the left lane to access the one-lane ramp onto that highway.

The only thing they did was move the goatscrew downstream and off I-35E proper.

tmoore952

Anyplace one has to merge onto an interstate highway from the left. People noticeably drive faster, especially since the start of COVID, and those merges have become particularly scary for me.

Two places near me:

MD 32 EB to I-95 NB.

US 15 SB US 40 EB to I-70 EB (Frederick MD --> US 40 EB uses this ramp)

Thie last one is where, if you are coming on US 15 SB from PA, where you would get on I-70 EB. US 15 SB has already exited about 1/2 mile earlier. If you were to continue straight it would become I-270 MD, but I don't think it is actually I-270 at this point.
For me, this is always at the end of an hourlong (~57 miles from Dillsburg PA) stretch of US 15 with no traffic lights, so I always think of it (and describe it) as US 15, but it really isn't.

1995hoo

I-395 in the District of Columbia. Old road, obsolete design with left-side merges (at least they improved the worst one of those recently), relatively poor signage (including not signing the right lane at the 12th Street exit as "Exit Only" until the last second), low speed limits, a speed camera in the 45-mph zone through the tunnel, and constant congestion and frequent crashes both due in part to the road's design.

Yes, I recognize that I-395 is to be rerouted at some point, but it hasn't happened yet, and I assume I would still hate the same stretches of road regardless of what number appears on the signs.
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commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Robinsml

Any part of I-5 from south of Tacoma to north of Everett. Matter of fact, almost any freeway in the Seattle area. The traffic is insane.

The I-70/K-18 interchange in Kansas east of Junction City and southwest of Manhattan. That interchange is a diamond that badly needs upgrading to a flyover. There's just too much Manhattan-bound eastbound traffic coming off I-70 onto the K-18. KDOT has this in the IKE pipeline, so hopefully we'll see relief in a few years.

The I-35 (Kansas Turnpike) interchange with I-135 in Wichita. The tollbooth is just plain hard to get through even if you have a K-Tag/Pikepass.

Most of US-70 between Ardmore and Durant, Oklahoma. The worst parts are the two-lane portions in Marshall County. On the weekends, Madill and Kingston are jammed up with Lake Texoma-bound traffic. The powers-that-be in Madill have done everything they can to fight the bypass. Then there is the Roosevelt Bridge. This bridge is narrow, built almost 80 years ago, and accident-prone. With the growth in the area and the lack of funding, it's just going to get worse.

Almost any older US or state highway in Oklahoma. Narrow, hilly, no shoulders, crappy pavement, and steep ditches. A state highway in Oklahoma would be a county road in Kansas. I believe ODOT does what it can, but they are limited by funding. People in Oklahoma don't like to pay for good roads, and it shows. Only a state like Oklahoma would build a toll road like the Chickasaw Turnpike.


kphoger

Quote from: Robinsml on March 15, 2024, 10:52:01 PM
The I-35 (Kansas Turnpike) interchange with I-135 in Wichita. The tollbooth is just plain hard to get through even if you have a K-Tag/Pikepass.

What do you mean?  I've never had any problem getting through the toll booth.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
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Quillz

An oddly specific regional example: Exits 29 and 28 on "southbound" US-101. Problem here is Exit 28 is like a quarter mile or so after Exit 29, so it's one of those weaving instances where oncoming traffic moves to the left, outgoing traffic moves to the right. Then Exit 28 dumps onto a tiny neighborhood street with two stop signs, so you end up with a huge line of traffic in the right lane that can only move one car at a time. This lane is dangerous most times of the day because of the amount of traffic. The exit was obviously designed during the earlier days of the Ventura Freeway when traffic counts were much lower. For years I've been thinking about ways this exit could be improved. Perhaps signal lights on the side road? A total redesign featuring a trumpet off-ramp?

TheStranger

Quote from: ZLoth on December 18, 2023, 02:42:19 PMElvas Freeway (CA-51/Business 80) between E Street and Arden Way, Sacramento CA - I lived in Sacramento for 41 years, and this section of road has never been improved. Going northbound between Exposition Blvd and Arden Way, this freeway goes from THREE to TWO lanes, causing congestion even on a Sunday afternoon.[/li][/list]

This interestingly is the section that originally was supposed to be bypassed with a new I-80 along the railroad tracks in North Sacramento, that ended up getting nixed ca. 1979 in favor of funding Sacramento's light rail system.  This, combined with the contemporaneous cancellation of the Route 143 bypasss freeway connecting Elk Grove and the then-80/880 (now Business 80/I-80) interchange near Foothill Farms, essentially has left this river crossing permanently overloaded.  Always made going from downtown to Arden a chore on weekdays, back when I lived in the area...

I know there's been some talk of reworking that freeway due to the high traffic counts, but not sure anything is happening in the near future.
Chris Sampang

Flint1979

US-23 between the Michigan/Ohio state line and Flint. Most of it is four lanes (two in each direction) with very heavy traffic volumes that justify at least eight lanes in spots. It really is mind boggling that MDOT has neglected this highway for so long and hasn't come up with any plan to widen it other than the stupid flex lanes. You have people using it to bypass Detroit, the part between I-94 and I-96 is especially a joke.

michiganguy123

Downtown Grand Rapids US-131 70mph with some dangerous merge lanes/interchanges (wealthy st) and a S curve mixed in to the mess

kylebnjmnross

For me it's I-83 between I-76 and I-283. It's a sampler platter of everything that can go wrong with a highway. It's slowly being brought up to standard, but really should've been fixed 20 years ago.

mgk920

The only section of road in the upper great lakes region that I 'hate' is the outbound express lane merge on the Edens Expressway (I-94) at Wilson Ave in Chicago.  There is no room there for that left lane mainline merge ( a *POX!* on IDOT for that one).

Mike

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: mgk920 on March 31, 2024, 11:17:09 AMThe only section of road in the upper great lakes region that I 'hate' is the outbound express lane merge on the Edens Expressway (I-94) at Wilson Ave in Chicago.  There is no room there for that left lane mainline merge ( a *POX!* on IDOT for that one).

Well, the good news is that the lanes are closed till November or thenabouts.
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)



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