Closed Exits

[roadman65]

I discovered some closed ramps in Fort Lee, NJ.  These would be on I-95 to Hudson Terrace which are beyond the GWB Toll Plaza which might be why they're closed.  However, GWB was always tolled and the rock cut between Hudson Terrace and the Hudson River would have prevented any earlier toll plazas to be between the road and river.

The SB is no longer tolled since 1972 or around, so it could be used again, but instead the ramp to Hudson Terrace is a folded diamond type of ramp that loops back is still the ramp to Hudson Terrace SB.

[NE2]

I discovered some closed ramps in Fort Lee, NJ.  These would be on I-95 to Hudson Terrace which are beyond the GWB Toll Plaza which might be why they're closed.  However, GWB was always tolled and the rock cut between Hudson Terrace and the Hudson River would have prevented any earlier toll plazas to be between the road and river.

They've probably always been for official use only. So don't go listing all the access ramps along the Turnpike.

[Alps]

I discovered some closed ramps in Fort Lee, NJ.  These would be on I-95 to Hudson Terrace which are beyond the GWB Toll Plaza which might be why they're closed.  However, GWB was always tolled and the rock cut between Hudson Terrace and the Hudson River would have prevented any earlier toll plazas to be between the road and river.

They've probably always been for official use only. So don't go listing all the access ramps along the Turnpike.

--probably

[JustDrive]

There used to be an exit off southbound I-405 to a little street called Waterford Avenue just south of Sepulveda Pass. That offramp was blocked off some twenty years ago, and now any evidence of it has probably disappeared under all the construction.

As of November 24, the Montana Avenue exit off the 405 was permanently closed because of the construction.

The SB 101 onramp at Cabrillo Blvd in Santa Barbara was permanently shut down in 2012 because it was a left entrance.

I also remember the CA 15 interchange with Imperial Avenue, which was removed because of its very close proximity to the Market Street interchange to the north.

[vtk]

There used to be an entrance from Broad St to OH 315 NB (I-71 at the time?) many years ago.  Apparently the pavement remained until this section of OH 315 was rebuilt circa 2000.

Similarly, there was a left entrance from Twin Rivers Dr to OH 315 (I-71 originally) NB, which was closed sometime before the mid-90s.  It seems it was closed due to its unsafe design and redundancy with the ramps just north of Goodale (redundant since mid-1970s when Twin Rivers Dr was extended to Goodale).  Or it might have stayed open until circa 1993 when work began rebuilding the Spring-Sandusky Interchange.

While researching the previous ramp on USGS topos, the 1973 revision shows a looping ramp from OH 315 SB to Goodale St EB which was not in the 1965 edition or the 1979 revision.

The entrance from Fulton St & 21st St to I-71 NB was recently closed permanently, as part of the Columbus Crossroads megaproject – specifically, the phase constructing the exit from I-70 WB to Mound St which started this year.  The bottom half of this entrance ramp has been torn up, probably related to the alignment shift of the 70W to 71N ramp, but I believe the pavement of the top half of the ramp is still there.

There was once an interchange at US 62 (now also I-670) and Stelzer Rd.  Hints of that diamond interchange are clearly visible in the aerial imagery, including what might be residual pavement (or it might be coincidentally located dirt patches).

[roadman65]

In Whippany, NJ the Westbound NJ 10 ramp to Parsippany Road was closed due to safety concerns at the top of the ramp where Reynolds Avenue intersects with the ramp and Parsippany Road.

Traffic is now diverted to a side street beyond the interchange that was used as the defacto ramp from Parsippany Road to NJ 10 WB.  A light was installed at the intersection of that road and Parsippany Road instead of just signalizing the Reynolds Avenue/ Offramp intersection.

[TheStranger]

I also remember the CA 15 interchange with Imperial Avenue, which was removed because of its very close proximity to the Market Street interchange to the north.

In 1964 it was a surprisingly elaborate setup at Francis & Imperial, involving a traffic circle:

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8E-06&lat=32.7069942386938&lon=-117.11983505322&year=1964

(At the time, Ocean View Boulevard to the south had an at-grade intersection with what was then unsigned Route 103.  This would persist into the 1970s)

The interchange remained at least past 1989:
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8E-06&lat=32.7069942386938&lon=-117.11983505322&year=1989

[roadman65]

Oak Street in Delaware Water Gap, PA has two ramps on and off of I-80 that are closed just west of the Delaware River Toll Bridge Toll Plaza.

[Roadgeek2500]

There is one in my hometown on US 202 http://goo.gl/maps/3suSq.

And there is even Street View on the old ramp http://goo.gl/maps/O5ICs.

[thenetwork]

Wasn't there an exit along the Chicago Skyway which was closed for some time in the 80s before it was totally removed???  I seem to remember a creepy looking abandoned exit when I went through there in the late 80's/early 90s.

[NE2]

Wasn't there an exit along the Chicago Skyway which was closed for some time in the 80s before it was totally removed???  I seem to remember a creepy looking abandoned exit when I went through there in the late 80's/early 90s.

Indiana and Wabash Avenues. There's still a median on the one-way Indiana Avenue where the ramp touched down.

[pianocello]

Wasn't there an exit along the Chicago Skyway which was closed for some time in the 80s before it was totally removed???  I seem to remember a creepy looking abandoned exit when I went through there in the late 80's/early 90s.

Indiana and WabashMichigan Avenues. There's still a median on the one-way Indiana Avenue where the ramp touched down.

FTFY. You can see parts of what used to be an overpass over 67th Street in that location here. http://goo.gl/maps/zRkj4

[lepidopteran]

On I-75 NB in Covington, KY, there used to be an exit for Jefferson Ave.  When you approached it from the south during the '80s, the advance BGSs for that exit were all intact, but had the word CLOSED in larger white letters on green background, right about where the "1 MILE" or whatever would be.  Appeared a bit odd, yes.  The exit itself, of course, was barricaded off.

Someone told me the reason for the exit's closure.  The exit was at the bottom of a hill, and there might have been braking issues and such.  But this was not just any hill -- I think this one was infamously known as "Suicide Hill" or something, since the hill made a precarious S-curve on the way down, causing untold trouble for tractor-trailers.  (I was also told that the truckers refused to take the newer/safer I-275 bypass instead due to the longer distance; can't say I blame them. More likely, it was the trucking companies that refused the drivers the extra time and mileage.)  There was even a runaway truck ramp at the bottom of the hill at one point, rare for such a developed area.  This was the kind with a huge pile of pebble-gravel, with plenty of those yellow drums full of sand at the end.  When the hill was finally straightened in the '90s, the exit was eliminated entirely.  I think there's a swale following the route of the NB off-ramp, but that's about it.  In fact, there is now a hospital located within part of the interchange's footprint!

Another possible reason for the exit's closure was that it was basically an overbuilt interchange leading to a pair of residential streets.  Note its 1968 appearance:
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=8E-06&lat=39.0716978868713&lon=-84.5182641298833&year=1968

[lepidopteran]

In Dayton, OH, for a long time there was a closed exit off of I-75 at Riverside Dr., to and from the east only.  I heard it was closed because of its proximity to the interchange with OH-4, aptly named "Malfunction Junction", at least until its reconstruction in the 200s finally eliminated the tight and narrow curves.  Pretty much all evidence of the ramps on the north side have been eliminated with the recent construction, including the concrete-intensive ramp from the SB bridge down to Riverside Dr.  South of I-75, you can still make out the grading for the NB Riverside-to-NB I-75 on-ramp, along with SB-to-NB loop-ramp, which was actually still in use right up until it closed for the construction project.

[formulanone]

Florida's Turnpike has a couple of these; they're still active trumpet interchanges that are now short a couple of brass pipes.

Exit 244 for US 192
Exit 285 for FL 19

[thenetwork]

Back in the days when I-280 in Toledo crossed over a drawbridge, there was an interchange immediately to the north of the bridge for then-US-223/Summit St.  Prior to the 80s, not only was there a northbound exit ramp from I-280 to westbound US-223, but there was also a ramp to westbound Huron St off the same transition ramp.   

Not sure when/why the Huron ramp was abandoned, but what was left of the abandoned ramp and still-active interchange remained until the new Skyway bridge was constructed.

[countysigns]

Back in the days when I-280 in Toledo crossed over a drawbridge, there was an interchange immediately to the north of the bridge for then-US-223/Summit St.  Prior to the 80s, not only was there a northbound exit ramp from I-280 to westbound US-223, but there was also a ramp to westbound Huron St off the same transition ramp.   

Not sure when/why the Huron ramp was abandoned, but what was left of the abandoned ramp and still-active interchange remained until the new Skyway bridge was constructed.

Found this in the archives of the Toledo Blade:
http://tinyurl.com/oeaubah
According to the article, it was in late 1971, but the background on the closure is very interesting.  Also interesting is a picture at the bottom of the page...it shows old signage on the ramp to Huron and Summit and the old sequential exit numbering that existed at the time.  Pretty cool!

[mtantillo]

I-93 through Boston has a bunch of "lost" interchanges. Though the ramps are gone, obviously. Heading north on old I-93:

Exit 20: 90 west - Mass Pike - kneeland Street - Chinatown (still there but moved)
Exit 22: Atlantic Ave - Northern Ave. (closed)
Exit 24: Callahan Tunnel - Logan Airport - Government Center (Calahan access closed, Government Center is Exit 23)
Exit 25: Causeway Street - North Station (closed)
Exit 26: Storrow Drive - Cambridge (still there)
Exit 27: US 1 north - Tobin Bridge (exit remains, moved from right side to left side).

Heading south on I-93:
Exit 27: US 1 north - Tobin Bridge (closed)
Exit 26: Storrow Drive - Cambridge - North Station (exit moved several miles north via Leverett Circle connector)
Exit 25: Haymarket Square - Government Center (shifted south, now Exit 24B)
Exit 24: Callahan Tunnel - Logan Airport (now Exit 24A, combined ramp with Govt center exit)
Exit 23: High Street - Congress Street (ramp relocated to serve Purchase Street)
Exit 22: south Station (combined with mass pike exit, numbered 20B)
Exit 21: Kneeland St. Chinatown (closed)
Exit 20: 90 west - Mass Pike - Points West (now exit 20A, combined with South Station exit)

[TCN7JM]

Not really in my town, but on the other side of the state exit 66 on I-90, which lead to the Ellsworth Air Force Base, was closed in 2003. They got a new exit a mile or so to the west, though, and it serves the purpose exit 66 did just fine.

[SD Mapman]

Not really in my town, but on the other side of the state exit 66 on I-90, which lead to the Ellsworth Air Force Base, was closed in 2003. They got a new exit a mile or so to the west, though, and it serves the purpose exit 66 did just fine.

Also in the area, Exit 51 was replaced with Exit 52 and the interstate alignment shifted. Even though they did a lot of landscaping, you can still see the old one.

[TCN7JM]

Not really in my town, but on the other side of the state exit 66 on I-90, which lead to the Ellsworth Air Force Base, was closed in 2003. They got a new exit a mile or so to the west, though, and it serves the purpose exit 66 did just fine.

Also in the area, Exit 51 was replaced with Exit 52 and the interstate alignment shifted. Even though they did a lot of landscaping, you can still see the old one.

I've not been that far west. When was that exit replaced?

[ZLoth]

Westbound Business-80 (unsigned CA-51) had an offramp to Watt Ave near the IRS building that was removed in 2002. There was another Watt Ave offramp that was 1-2 miles earlier that already existed, so this shorter offramp was removed as a duplicate.

[froggie]

Oak Street in Delaware Water Gap, PA has two ramps on and off of I-80 that are closed just west of the Delaware River Toll Bridge Toll Plaza.

Was this one ever open to normal traffic, or was it built just for emergency/"authorized vehicle" access only?  I've seen recent photos that show it signed/gated for emergency/authorized vehicle access.

[PHLBOS]

I-93 through Boston has a bunch of "lost" interchanges. Though the ramps are gone, obviously. 

Not to nitpick, but I believe that the premise of this particular thread involves either closed ramps that are still present or remnants of such ramps being present; not ramps that were completely taken out due to a major mainline corridor overhaul such as the Big Dig.  Obviously the gap in the I-93 exit numbering will be finally addressed when those exit numbers are converted to mile-marker based ones in the future.

Heck from mid-70s onward, the original Central Artery and South Station Tunnel had some ramps that were either closed or cut off.  The reason I didn't mention those earlier was because the entire elevated Artery is now gone and the South Station Tunnel was completely reconfigured to a one-way tunnel carrying southbound traffic. 

[US71]

There is long-abandoned Rest Area on I-40 in Arkansas just before I-440 that is all overgrown.

There is another near Morrilton in 2000, but still looks usable.