The Most Hated Freeway in Each City

[kernals12]

It seems that every metro area has one: a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents. And usually, someone will quip that it is "the world's longest parking lot"

Examples:
Boston: Southeast Expressway
New York: Long Island Expressway
Philadelphia: Schuylkill Expressway
Los Angeles: I-405
London: M25

What are some others?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Twin Cities: Crosstown, And the 2nd most hated, also Crosstown.

[Roadgeekteen]

DC could be I-66 as it's only 4 lanes

[SkyPesos]

Cincinnati: I-75

[Flint1979]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

[jmacswimmer]

DC could be I-66 as it's only 4 lanes

*DC 295 enters the chat*

(Not to mention the other belt-shaped elephant in the room)

[Max Rockatansky]

CA 99 in Fresno gets a lot complaints regarding the amount of accumulated trash and general brutalist aesthetics.

[OCGuy81]

All of Portland's freeways meet your description.

That said, OR-217 is probably the worst of them.  Narrow, only 2 lanes, short onramps creating difficult merging, busy at most hours.

[capt.ron]

Little Rock: currently I-30. At least the section from I-440 to I-40. I-630 is a close second.

[kernals12]

All of Portland's freeways meet your description.

That said, OR-217 is probably the worst of them.  Narrow, only 2 lanes, short onramps creating difficult merging, busy at most hours.

But there has to be one that gets everyone's vitriol.

[Max Rockatansky]

All of Portland's freeways meet your description.

That said, OR-217 is probably the worst of them.  Narrow, only 2 lanes, short onramps creating difficult merging, busy at most hours.

But there has to be one that gets everyone's vitriol.

Which probably is 217, it is also signed with an extra slow speed limit that is heavily enforced.  While the low limits aren't uncommon around Portland it is little absurd for 217 to be so heavily enforced out on the edge of the metro area.

[Roadgeekteen]

DC could be I-66 as it's only 4 lanes

*DC 295 enters the chat*

(Not to mention the other belt-shaped elephant in the room)

DC in general has bad traffic. I-66 is more embarrassing than DC 295 in my opinion because I-66 is an interstate.

[1995hoo]

DC could be I-66 as it's only 4 lanes

*DC 295 enters the chat*

(Not to mention the other belt-shaped elephant in the room)

DC in general has bad traffic. I-66 is more embarrassing than DC 295 in my opinion because I-66 is an interstate.

The question is not what someone who doesn't live here considers "embarrassing." The thread asks what is the "most hated" highway. It's absolutely not I-66. Part of the reason is that for most of its history, I-66 inside the Beltway carried a peak-direction HOV restriction (now an HO/T restriction) and was thus the rare highway that was congested except in the peak direction during rush hour.

The Beltway is generally the one about which you hear the most vocal griping throughout the DC area as a whole, though I think if pressed more people might say I-395 in the District (the Southwest—Southeast Freeway) is a worse highway and one they hate driving on more due to the combination of congestion, entrances on both sides in a short distance, aggressive drivers, and lots of crashes. I-295 is pretty bad, but you don't hear it mentioned as often.

Part of the issue, of course, is that people from Maryland don't necessarily drive as much on Virginia's highways on a daily basis and vice versa, but people from both Maryland and Virginia who work downtown do drive on the District's highways on a daily basis.

[Roadgeekteen]

DC could be I-66 as it's only 4 lanes

*DC 295 enters the chat*

(Not to mention the other belt-shaped elephant in the room)

DC in general has bad traffic. I-66 is more embarrassing than DC 295 in my opinion because I-66 is an interstate.

The question is not what someone who doesn't live here considers "embarrassing." The thread asks what is the "most hated" highway. It's absolutely not I-66. Part of the reason is that for most of its history, I-66 inside the Beltway carried a peak-direction HOV restriction (now an HO/T restriction) and was thus the rare highway that was congested except in the peak direction during rush hour.

The Beltway is generally the one about which you hear the most vocal griping throughout the DC area as a whole, though I think if pressed more people might say I-395 in the District (the Southwest—Southeast Freeway) is a worse highway and one they hate driving on more due to the combination of congestion, entrances on both sides in a short distance, aggressive drivers, and lots of crashes. I-295 is pretty bad, but you don't hear it mentioned as often.

Part of the issue, of course, is that people from Maryland don't necessarily drive as much on Virginia's highways on a daily basis and vice versa, but people from both Maryland and Virginia who work downtown do drive on the District's highways on a daily basis.

It is probably the Beltway, it seems like beltways are hating in many cities.

[wanderer2575]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

[Max Rockatansky]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

Nobody likes commuting on the Lodge, it was by far the most hated freeway when I lived in the area.

[OCGuy81]

All of Portland's freeways meet your description.

That said, OR-217 is probably the worst of them.  Narrow, only 2 lanes, short onramps creating difficult merging, busy at most hours.

But there has to be one that gets everyone's vitriol.

Which probably is 217, it is also signed with an extra slow speed limit that is heavily enforced.  While the low limits aren't uncommon around Portland it is little absurd for 217 to be so heavily enforced out on the edge of the metro area.

Plus there are a few exits that are too close together, giving someone merging into the main flow very little time to do so.

[wanderer2575]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

Nobody likes commuting on the Lodge, it was by far the most hated freeway when I lived in the area.

I don't know why.  Other than the long southbound backup (which hasn't existed for the past year) because of the stupid left entrance at the Davison Freeway, it's not at all a bad ride, especially since the 2008/2009 reconstruction of its northern 10 miles.  It's no comparison to the narrow, horrendous pavement, no acceleration lanes, permanently littered, "is that wrapped-in-plywood-to-catch-crumbling-concrete bridge going to collapse while I'm stopped underneath it?" experience of the Ford.

[Max Rockatansky]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

Nobody likes commuting on the Lodge, it was by far the most hated freeway when I lived in the area.

I don't know why.  Other than the long southbound backup (which hasn't existed for the past year) because of the stupid left entrance at the Davison Freeway, it's not at all a bad ride, especially since the 2008/2009 reconstruction of its northern 10 miles.  It's no comparison to the narrow, horrendous pavement, no acceleration lanes, permanently littered, "is that wrapped-in-plywood-to-catch-crumbling-concrete bridge going to collapse while I'm stopped underneath it?" experience of the Ford.

I was surprised at how improved the Lodge really was when I drove it again in 2019.  When I left the area your description of the Edsel Ford also applied equally to the Lodge Freeway if not more so.  There seems to be a lot of people that have negative memories of the Lodge that will probably always hate it.  The Lodge even now certainly is not a handsome freeway. 

[JoePCool14]

Chicago: Basically anything that's not the tollways, but since I have to narrow it down to one choice, I-290.

[Max Rockatansky]

Chicago: Basically anything that's not the tollways, but since I have to narrow it down to one choice, I-290.

Pretty much all the expressways are horrid Chicago.  At least the Kennedy and Van Ryan have cool views of downtown. 

[WillWeaverRVA]

Easily the I-95/I-64 overlap in Richmond.

[kernals12]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

Nobody likes commuting on the Lodge, it was by far the most hated freeway when I lived in the area.

I don't know why.  Other than the long southbound backup (which hasn't existed for the past year) because of the stupid left entrance at the Davison Freeway, it's not at all a bad ride, especially since the 2008/2009 reconstruction of its northern 10 miles.  It's no comparison to the narrow, horrendous pavement, no acceleration lanes, permanently littered, "is that wrapped-in-plywood-to-catch-crumbling-concrete bridge going to collapse while I'm stopped underneath it?" experience of the Ford.

I was surprised at how improved the Lodge really was when I drove it again in 2019.  When I left the area your description of the Edsel Ford also applied equally to the Lodge Freeway if not more so.  There seems to be a lot of people that have negative memories of the Lodge that will probably always hate it.  The Lodge even now certainly is not a handsome freeway.

Detroit's population has shrunk considerably over the years.

[Max Rockatansky]

Detroit: The Lodge and The Southfield.

Hardly.  In Detroit, the OP's definition of "a freeway built 70 years ago that carries twice or 3 times as much traffic as it was designed for and lacks shoulders or auxiliary lanes making it notorious for accidents" is synonymous with "I-94 Ford Freeway."

Nobody likes commuting on the Lodge, it was by far the most hated freeway when I lived in the area.

I don't know why.  Other than the long southbound backup (which hasn't existed for the past year) because of the stupid left entrance at the Davison Freeway, it's not at all a bad ride, especially since the 2008/2009 reconstruction of its northern 10 miles.  It's no comparison to the narrow, horrendous pavement, no acceleration lanes, permanently littered, "is that wrapped-in-plywood-to-catch-crumbling-concrete bridge going to collapse while I'm stopped underneath it?" experience of the Ford.

I was surprised at how improved the Lodge really was when I drove it again in 2019.  When I left the area your description of the Edsel Ford also applied equally to the Lodge Freeway if not more so.  There seems to be a lot of people that have negative memories of the Lodge that will probably always hate it.  The Lodge even now certainly is not a handsome freeway.

Detroit's population has shrunk considerably over the years.

But that doesn't have much to do with the redesign of the Lodge Freeway, just traffic count and traffic flow.  The Lodge was a beat up mess from the 1980s all the way into the early 2000s.  It was one of the many poster children highways that culminated in the "Pure Potholes"  memes.

[webny99]

The Beltway is generally the one about which you hear the most vocal griping throughout the DC area as a whole, though I think if pressed more people might say I-395 in the District (the Southwest—Southeast Freeway) is a worse highway and one they hate driving on more due to the combination of congestion, entrances on both sides in a short distance, aggressive drivers, and lots of crashes. I-295 is pretty bad, but you don't hear it mentioned as often.

I suspect there's more of an expectation that the Beltway should be free-flowing, and then frustration because it isn't, unlike the freeways closer to and in the district, where, to steal a comment from another thread, the bar is so low it's a tripping hazard. 

I've only been to the DC area twice, but from my experience and what I've heard from others, 295 (the Anacostia Freeway) has to be up there. It seems to be a perennial disaster during the AM commute period.