Worst single lane ramps to/from a non-freeway

[Brandon]

Here's a few good candidates from Illinois.

1. The IL-53 exit at I-55.  Not only are the ramps short as hell, but they carry heavy truck traffic as well, particularly the northbound I-55 entrance ramp.  This bastard will cause rush hour (morning or evening) to back up: https://maps.app.goo.gl/No7wrXD8VXSu3cbt8
Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JeCUFs23qawZhghV8 & https://maps.app.goo.gl/DcnddZRjj5du4hWJ8
Note that there is no merge area.

2. North Avenue/Lake Street to NB I-294.  A very tight curve just before entry to the NB Tri-State Tollway: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HeprmdsRN6Eg1Wfa6
Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7PsXaLyqpWjqjQKg7

3. I-290 exit to Austin, WB.  Sure there's an exit area, but being both an exit only lane and a left exit means traffic can backup for a few miles along the Ike.  Without fail, it will backup during the evening rush: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bYYdjJQLu96v9vpF6
Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FxVNbwaVbzRTtQgx5

[boilerup25]

There are so many of those on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) in Philly. Take your pick.

My pick is the ramp connecting to University Avenue. Horrible merges and lack of accel/decel lanes.

However, if I really want to push it, I-76 EB at the 26th Street junction. The exits are on the left hand side and are one lane (though they widen to two lanes after the gores), while I-76 EB narrows to one lane and "exits" on the right hand side (though I-76 EB also widens to two lanes after the gore). If this one doesn't count, sorry.

[Flint1979]

Has everyone missed "non-freeway" in the thread title?

Did you miss "to/from"?

If there's a freeway, it's not to or from a non-freeway.

So every connection to a freeway comes from another freeway?

[WillWeaverRVA]

Has everyone missed "non-freeway" in the thread title?

The OP literally says "What about single lane ramps between a freeway and a non-freeway?"

[Rothman]

Has everyone missed "non-freeway" in the thread title?

Did you miss "to/from"?

If there's a freeway, it's not to or from a non-freeway.

Wut.

[webny99]

Sorry for the title confusion, I figured it was implied that one of the two roads would be a freeway and one wouldn't, although I suppose it wouldn't have to be; a ramp at a one off interchange between two non freeways works too.

[Henry]

The Rapid-Fire ramps on the Kennedy Expressway in downtown Chicago used to terrify me as a kid, mainly because at least half of them were on the left side. My father, who almost never used them for the same reason, once told me that you'd have to pray extra hard that no one got hurt or killed.

[webny99]

It's almost like you shift to driving on the shoulder prior to exiting

If you look at older GSV, it's more obvious that that's exactly what you're doing:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bahXaKHUo2HeTekX6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bc2SoDfGfN5QpiY56

My question is: why this configuration? Is it solely to slow traffic down? It doesn't seem necessary to shift the lanes here, especially given that it's a through lane exiting the freeway.

[kphoger]

It's almost like you shift to driving on the shoulder prior to exiting

If you look at older GSV, it's more obvious that that's exactly what you're doing:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bahXaKHUo2HeTekX6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bc2SoDfGfN5QpiY56

My question is: why this configuration? Is it solely to slow traffic down? It doesn't seem necessary to shift the lanes here, especially given that it's a through lane exiting the freeway.

Sorry, I can't tell you for sure.

Froggie's website says that I-35 was widened between that exit and the 35E/35W split back in 1995.  (I thought I remembered the widening, but that's way before I started going to the area, so I guess it's a false memory.)  However, his site also has something that might shed some light on the subject:

Interstate 35

Southern Metro Fringe

Future Plans

Dakota County is promoting two additional interchange projects, a full upgrade at CSAH 5/50 and reconstruction/upgrade at CSAH 70.  The proposed reconstruction at CSAH 70 will involve a 5-ramp partial-cloverleaf (with 2 loops), favoring movements to/from the north, while the proposal at CSAH 5/50 is for a 5-ramp partial-cloverleaf with a loop from SB CSAH 5 to NB I-35.  The CSAH 70 interchange is currently (as of fall 2006) slated for a 2007-08 construction.  No timetable for the CSAH 5/50 interchange, though some partial work was done there in 2004-05.

http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/minnesota/interstate/i35s.htm

Maybe he could shed some more light?

[froggie]

It's almost like you shift to driving on the shoulder prior to exiting

If you look at older GSV, it's more obvious that that's exactly what you're doing:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bahXaKHUo2HeTekX6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bc2SoDfGfN5QpiY56

My question is: why this configuration? Is it solely to slow traffic down? It doesn't seem necessary to shift the lanes here, especially given that it's a through lane exiting the freeway.

Sorry, I can't tell you for sure.

Extend the gore/deceleration lane so drivers are enticed to slow down before the physical gore.  Drivers are going to treat a "through lane" as just that...a full speed through lane, with not enough time to slow down and stop before the signal at the end of the ramp.  So the painted gore is an attempt to get them to slow down sooner and reduce rear-end crashes on the ramp.

Froggie's website says that I-35 was widened between that exit and the 35E/35W split back in 1995.  (I thought I remembered the widening, but that's way before I started going to the area, so I guess it's a false memory.)  However, his site also has something that might shed some light on the subject:

Interstate 35

Southern Metro Fringe

Future Plans

Dakota County is promoting two additional interchange projects, a full upgrade at CSAH 5/50 and reconstruction/upgrade at CSAH 70.  The proposed reconstruction at CSAH 70 will involve a 5-ramp partial-cloverleaf (with 2 loops), favoring movements to/from the north, while the proposal at CSAH 5/50 is for a 5-ramp partial-cloverleaf with a loop from SB CSAH 5 to NB I-35.  The CSAH 70 interchange is currently (as of fall 2006) slated for a 2007-08 construction.  No timetable for the CSAH 5/50 interchange, though some partial work was done there in 2004-05.

http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/minnesota/interstate/i35s.htm

Maybe he could shed some more light?

You may have missed it, but note that I haven't touched that webpage in 16 years.  The interchange was reconstructed and ramps widened into their current configuration in the 2006-2007 timeframe.  The then-proposed loop ramp from SB 5 to NB 35 was dropped.

[JREwing78]

A local exit for me.  SB US-23 in Michigan at exit 13.  The exit is very short, and you have to really lay on the brakes to stop at the end of the exit.  It's short because of a railroad overpass just north of the exit.  Hopefully if they ever need to work on the railroad bridge, they will widen it to 3 lanes so there is more space given for deceleration.

I present to you: I-94 @ Parma Rd, exit 130, outside Parma, MI. Ramp lengths from Parma Rd to when the lanes are fully merged into I-94 are 1100 feet. Most cars at full throttle on flat terrain will struggle to reach 70 mph in that distance, but these ramps are on a grade to bring them up to I-94's elevation.

Similar issues as in that Dundee example, made worse because of the slope working against drivers. There's no acceleration/deceleration lane to merge into or out of traffic coming up to the ramps, and traffic on I-94 has very little warning people are trying to get on the highway. I've found myself riding the shoulder a few times because people couldn't (or wouldn't) open up room for me to merge.

From recent Street View imagery, it does appear MDOT has *finally* added about 300' of length to the ramps  during this I-94 rehab project. That at least gives exiting traffic a chance to get out of the travel lane before braking, and those getting on have a few more seconds for folks to let them merge in.

[RobbieL2415]

I nominate the ramp leading from I-95/NJTP to Fletcher Ave, right before the GWB, only because the signage leading up to it wasn't clear on if it was from the inner or outer carriageway.

[webny99]

I nominate the ramp leading from I-95/NJTP to Fletcher Ave, right before the GWB, only because the signage leading up to it wasn't clear on if it was from the inner or outer carriageway.

With this one and several others mentioned, I would question whether the ramp is actually a problem because it's a single lane, or if it just happens to be both a problem ramp and a single lane ramp. I've seen quite a few that wouldn't necessarily be solved by adding a second lane. While I wouldn't deny them being problematic, issues that aren't capacity-related ignore the purpose of "single lane" in the thread title.

[SeriesE]

I-680 S to CA-262 W. Traffic always backs up to the exit only lane on the freeway for about a mile.

All interchanges on CA-110 between I-5 and the end at South Pasadena. 1940s era (or earlier) designs with no acceleration or deceleration lanes