Examples in America of Freeways where a river acts as the median?

[kernals12]

If you spend as much time on Google Earth as I do, you notice that one thing that's fairly common abroad are freeways that go along the banks of rivers and the river itself serves as the median

I'm guessing this saves money on right of way acquisition which is perhaps why we don't see it much in the US which historically offered more generous funding for highways in urban areas. The only example I've found is SR 54 in San Diego

Are there any others?

[Rothman]

Various long sections of I-87 and I-90 have creeks and rivers running down the median in NY.

[Ga293]

US 321/441 runs on either side of the Little Pigeon River between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

[SEWIGuy]

In Minnesota, Dakota Creek runs in the median of I-90 just to the west of LaCrosse, WI

[webny99]

Various long sections of I-87 and I-90 have creeks and rivers running down the median in NY.

Indeed, this section of I-90 where Canandaigua Outlet runs in the median for just under 2 miles was the first thing that came to mind

[02 Park Ave]

It's not a river but rather a lake, and a golf course, which separates the the northbound and southbound carriageways of the Sprain Brook Parkway in Westchester County, NY.

[roadman65]

I-135 and US 81 in Wichita has a bypass canal in its median.

[zzcarp]

I-70 on the east side of Vail Pass has 10 Mile Creek in its extra-wide median for a little over 3 miles.

[kphoger]

I-135 and US 81 in Wichita has a bypass canal in its median.

For those who don't know, I-135 and US-81 are same highway at that point.  Also K-15, which |roadman65| didn't mention.

Most of the time, the water is fairly low, as in the photo below.  But after heavy rains, it fills up quite a bit.

[IowaTraveler]

It's not a river by any stretch of the imagination, but I-74 in Peoria, IL has a 1/2 mile section with a small creek running in the median.

[kernals12]

It's not like America is lacking for places where this could be done, like the Stevenson Expressway in Chicago or the 710 Freeway in Los Angeles

[NE2]

Via Rapida in Tijuana.

[doorknob60]

It's not quite a freeway, but a short stretch of US-85 in Denver, CO does this with the South Platte River. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6973348,-104.992334,2862m/data=!3m1!1e3

I don't think this is a good thing, riverside land is much better used as a park, or at the very least, a greenbelt/pathway. Taking both banks of the river for a large slab of concrete is a waste. I'm not anti-freeway, but put them somewhere else.

[kernals12]

It's not quite a freeway, but a short stretch of US-85 in Denver, CO does this with the South Platte River. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6973348,-104.992334,2862m/data=!3m1!1e3

I don't think this is a good thing, riverside land is much better used as a park, or at the very least, a greenbelt/pathway. Taking both banks of the river for a large slab of concrete is a waste. I'm not anti-freeway, but put them somewhere else.

But obviously there are reasons why they do it. For one thing, you have a lot more space to put in ramps. Since the river is already a community divider, putting a freeway around it doesn't create a China Wall effect. Also, because these types of waterways are usually incredibly polluted and nobody wants to be near them, people won't mind a noisy, fume belching highway.

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6996666,-86.1483007,16z

Lick Creek runs between I-465 around the East Street interchange on the south side of Indy.

[kphoger]

Via Rapida in Tijuana.

countdown till he takes the bait

20 . . . 19 . . . 18 . . . 17 . . .

[J N Winkler]

I've wondered if there is a cultural factor to building divided express highways with a watercourse in the median.  On casual first impression, this form of development appears to be fairly common in Spain (with examples in Valencia and Madrid) but rare elsewhere in Europe, even in countries where other types of severance corridors (e.g., railway lines) are leveraged for motorway construction.  It seems to be more usual to build the highway entirely on one bank.  Frankly, it surprises me that we have as many examples of median watercourses in the US as we do.

[Bruce]

This section of I-90 along the St Regis River in Montana

Quite a waste to do this in an urban area, where rivers should be centers of recreation unspoiled by the noise and air pollution generated by freeways. Seoul showed the way in 2005 when it demolished an awful elevated freeway and restored the Cheonggyecheon.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-21/tearing-down-an-urban-highway-can-give-rise-to-a-whole-new-city

[kernals12]

This section of I-90 along the St Regis River in Montana

Quite a waste to do this in an urban area, where rivers should be centers of recreation unspoiled by the noise and air pollution generated by freeways. Seoul showed the way in 2005 when it demolished an awful elevated freeway and restored the Cheonggyecheon.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-21/tearing-down-an-urban-highway-can-give-rise-to-a-whole-new-city

Cheonggyecheon was built on top of the creek, not beside it.

Also, you assume that waterways are pleasant places to be, but that's often not the case. In undeveloped countries, they're filled with sewage, garbage, and effluent.

[kphoger]

Quite a waste to do this in an urban area, where rivers should be centers of recreation unspoiled by the noise and air pollution generated by freeways.

But not every area has rivers suitable for that.  For example, the Río Santa Catarina in Monterrey looked basically like this when we drove over it on that bridge in March.  Not too inviting for recreation.

[kphoger]

I-70 on the east side of Vail Pass has 10 Mile Creek in its extra-wide median for a little over 3 miles.

That's not the only part of I-70 in Colorado that has a river in the median, either.  Here's the Colorado River:  https://goo.gl/maps/VbLrQw5K873MAE8D9

[NE2]

Also, you assume that waterways are pleasant places to be, but that's often not the case. In undeveloped countries, they're filled with sewage, garbage, and effluent.

We're talking about freeways here. Undeveloped countries don't have freeways.

[cl94]

The George Washington Parkway has a channel of the Potomac River in the median next to Arlington National Cemetery.

Schenevus Creek runs in the median of I-88 for about a mile in Worcester, NY.

[MATraveler128]

CA 54 between I-5 and I-805 in San Diego has the Sweetwater River as its median.

[NE2]

CA 54 between I-5 and I-805 in San Diego has the Sweetwater River as its median.

No shit?