Who wants to weigh in with their opinion-Philly Freeways

[ARMOURERERIC]

Someone just started this thread on the City Data/Philadelphia forum, you will most likely need to register, but I thought the assembly here would have a lot of fun with this:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/1892254-philadelphias-lack-highways-freeways.html#post30144626

[jeffandnicole]

Interesting reading some of the responses.  Definitely wasn't SEPTA's doing that kept the highways from getting built! 

[ilvny]

I believe that there would be less traffic congestion in Philadelphia had some of the proposed highways been built.

It's a good thing I-95 was completed in Philadelphia because traffic had to use Delaware Avenue before the highway was completed.  I-95 has undergone many construction projects to increase its capacity and to maintain it.  The section near Academy Road was widened and most of the unfinished ramps of the Betsy Ross Bridge were completed (the unfinished ramps that were originally for PA 90/Pulaski Expressway now connect I-95 to Aramingo Avenue).

Unfortunately, there are some problems with I-95.  There is no direct access to I-76 westbound from Exit 19 (Walt Whitman Bridge).  At Exit 22, I-95 does not directly connect to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge due to the development in the area including Franklin Square.

I-76/Schuylkill Expressway is the worst in my opinion with its left-lane exits and congestion.  As most of you know, not much can be done with the Schuylkill Expressway because of the railroad, the cliffs, and the river it was named after.  It was not built to Interstate standards and its traffic flow is over-capacity.

The Roosevelt Expressway/US 1 is very dangerous due to its lack of acceleration and deceleration ramps.  The two interchanges for US 1 on I-76 are poorly designed since southbound drivers need to cross several lanes of I-76 to stay on US 1 (City Avenue).

PA 63/Woodhaven Road Expressway seems to be one of the better-designed highways, especially since it connects US 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard) to US 13 and I-95.  Unfortunately, the highway was never finished due to community opposition and other factors.  As a result, congestion is frequent in the area, especially on Byberry Road, which intersects major roads such as PA 532/Bustleton Avenue and Philmont Avenue.

[PHLBOS]

I believe that there would be less traffic congestion in Philadelphia had some of the proposed highways been built.

Agree 100%.

It's a good thing I-95 was completed in Philadelphia because traffic had to use Delaware Avenue before the highway was completed.

Please be aware there are some nut-case planners out there that want to eliminate 95 between 676 & 76 because they want to link the Delaware River waterfront to Center City and develop it into a hip-yuppie Xanadu of sorts.  Their timing their proposals to coincide with when I-95 in this area is slated for a major overall circa 2020-2025.  Their thinking is that because this stretch of 95 isn't at Level of Service F as often as the stretch north of 676; it's expendable.

While the current administration in Harrisburg would scoff at such a proposal; all it takes is another Philadelphian to become governor (one's already thrown their hat in the ring for next year's election) to make it become reality.  Case-and-point, the last governor from Philly (Rendell) is largely responsible for casinos being established in the Keystone State, the scaling down of US 202 (from a highway to a parkway) near Doylestown that recently opened and for the infamous PA Turnpike's Act 44 which turned the PTC into an economic basketcase and the PA Turnpike into one of the most expensive toll road in the nation. 

I-95 has undergone many construction projects to increase its capacity and to maintain it.  The section near Academy Road was widened, the PA 73 (Cottman Avenue) exit was rebuilt from I-95 SB is now closed due to I-95 being reconstructed in that area.

FTFY

...most of the unfinished ramps of the Betsy Ross Bridge were completed (the unfinished ramps that were originally for PA 90/Pulaski Expressway now connect I-95 to Aramingo Avenue).

There's presently plans to add addtional ramps; see posted thread below:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9221.0

There is no direct access to I-76 westbound from Exit 19 (Walt Whitman Bridge).

Sadly, I don't see a new direct connection to I-76 West happening any time soon. 

At Exit 22, I-95 does not directly connect to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge due to the development in the area including Franklin Square.

The connection was more likely dropped due to cost savings and the fact that the Vine Expressway (I-676) was scaled-down from its originally proposed size.  It was supposed to be 6 lanes all the way through between I-76 and I-95.

I-76/Schuylkill Expressway is the worst in my opinion with its left-lane exits and congestion.  As most of you know, not much can be done with the Schuylkill Expressway because of the railroad, the cliffs, and the river it was named after.  It was not built to Interstate standards and its traffic flow is over-capacity.

It was also built and sized under the assumption that other highways would eventually be built to distribute the traffic loads more evenly.  Nearly every one of those would-be highways were never built.

PA 63/Woodhaven Road Expressway seems to be one of the better-designed highways, especially since it connects US 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard) to US 13 and I-95.  Unfortunately, the highway was never finished due to community opposition and other factors.  As a result, congestion is frequent in the area, especially on Byberry Road, which intersects major roads such as PA 532/Bustleton Avenue and Philmont Avenue.

At present, there are still plans in the books to extend Woodhaven Road west of US 1; when it will actually happen's another story however.

[ilvny]

I found this on Wikipedia about the Vine Street Expressway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vine_Street_Expressway#History

There were several challenges in building the Vine Street Expressway between 18th Street and the Ben Franklin Bridge. The road was to run through developed areas of Philadelphia, intersecting several streets and railroad lines. In addition, the route was to run through Franklin Square, a historically sensitive site, to connect to the Ben Franklin Bridge. As a result, the routing was modified in 1966 to avoid many of these obstacles. The route was to avoid running through Franklin Square, leading to the eastbound direction using surface streets to access the Ben Franklin Bridge, and a planned connector to Market Street was removed.[18] In the 1970s, the proposed freeway's environmental impact statement had to be evaluated again per new guidelines; when the new environmental impact statement was issued in 1977, it was found that more improvements were needed for mass transit in the area of the planned freeway.[19] To comply with this, provisions were made concerning the proposed underground Center City Commuter Connection for SEPTA Regional Rail, in which the railroad tracks would pass under I-676 and residences would be built over the railroad tunnel in Chinatown.[20] Construction was approved in 1986 on the Vine Street Expressway from 18th Street to the Ben Franklin Bridge, with no provisions for elevated connections between the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Vine Street Expressway to avoid disturbing Franklin Square.

[D-Dey65]

One of the expressways I can accept is the Northeast Penn Expressway(PA 309), and the use of at least part of the proposed Girard Avenue Expressway between there an I-95. At first I wasn't willing to blame SEPTA on the thwarting of highway improvements, but the problems with Vine Street Expressway has made me reconsider this view.


As for the sources in that Wikipedia article:
*Regional Expressway System. Philadelphia City Planning Commission. 1966. 
*Interstate 676, Vine Street Expressway: Administrative Action Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement. Federal Highway Administration and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 1977. 
*"Vine Street Expressway: What the Impact Will Be". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 10, 1981. 

[Chris19001]

The two interchanges for US 1 on I-76 are poorly designed since southbound drivers need to cross several lanes of I-76 to stay on US 1 (City Avenue).

I'm a bit confused.  Wasn't that the old alignment of the 1970's, that was radically changed into its current form in the 80's?  Going Southbound from the Roosevelt Expressway to City Avenue, traffic has thier own dedicated carriageway, with minimal crossover as a result.  Now if you wanted to complain about the lousy signage from 76-W to US-1 South (City Ave), I'd totally understand the criticism.  The left exit should be advertised far better than what is there currently, considering all the signs showing the US-1 north exiting on the right.

I think it would be VERY interesting to see what kind of traffic the Pulaski Expressway (PA-90) would get if it were constructed to a widened Roosevelt Expressway.  I could only imagine how much traffic it could theoretically take off 95 and the Vine as an alternative route.  Frankly, I don't even see it as having too devestating of a consequence on what is left of the neighborhoods it would bulldoze through.  There would no doubt be big issues with the creek though.