*Busiest* Desolate Stretches Of Interstates

[JayhawkCO]

Given that *busiest* is the word emphasized in the thread title, has there been any examples that are truly busy in an objective sense, and not just "heavy truck traffic" or "lots of long distance traffic"? I'm thinking volumes of at least 50-60K.

I mean, it's not "desolate" as in the I-80 Wyoming example, but I've found I-75 in Southern Georgia, despite not going through any large towns to feel pretty darn busy.  AADT in the couple spots I checked are just a hair under 50K.

Chris

[kphoger]

But between Rock Springs and Wamsutta, there is NOTHING. 

OK, what am I missing here?  When I look at the WYDOT AADT map for that stretch, every segment has a Truck AADT that's higher than the Total AADT.

[CtrlAltDel]

To help look at things more systematically, I (admittedly inexactly) overlaid froggie's AADT map over Wikipedia's population density map to see what I could see. Overall, what we want is land that's toward the green side and lines that aren't. While this neglects small areas of settlement, it seems like a useful visual aid.

What sticks out the most for me is I-40 in the Southwest, but there's also some others, like that infamous bit of I-80 in WY.

[JayhawkCO]

To help look at things more systematically, I (admittedly inexactly) overlaid froggie's AADT map over Wikipedia's population density map to see what I could see. Overall, what we want is land that's toward the green side and lines that aren't. While this neglects small areas of settlement, it seems like a useful visual aid.

What sticks out the most for me is I-40 in the Southwest, but there's also some others, like that infamous bit of I-80 in WY.

Nicely done.

I'd also point out I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.

Chris

[kkt]

That being the case I-5 between CA 99/Wheeler Ridge and I-580 probably meets the criteria.  Its definitely the preferred route for Bay Area-Los Angeles traffic.

How about I-5 from Sacramento to Redding it seems to be the other part of I-5 that meets this criteria for Pacific Northwest traffic.

I don't think so.  That stretch of I-5 has decent sized towns every 20-30 miles, real towns with permanent populations, not just a gas station, a hotel, and two fast food places.  Williams, Willows, Orland, Corning, Red Bluff, Cottonwood.  The Sacramento Valley has rich agriculture and the towns have the people that work the land, plus all the ag related businesses.  Noticeably less desolate than I-5 between Wheeler Ridge and Tracy, to say nothing of I-80 through Wyoming.

[KCRoadFan]

When I saw the post about desolate interstates, the first one that came to mind was I-10 in west Texas. Given that it's the main route between El Paso and San Antonio (as well as Dallas via I-20), how busy would you say it gets with truck traffic? From what I've seen of it in pictures, it seems pretty empty for the most part.

[sprjus4]

Given that *busiest* is the word emphasized in the thread title, has there been any examples that are truly busy in an objective sense, and not just "heavy truck traffic" or "lots of long distance traffic"? I'm thinking volumes of at least 50-60K.

Best example I can think of would be I-64 between Richmond and Williamsburg with over 60,000 AADT, a few exits spread miles apart, and continuous trees on the outside and in the median with no sight of the opposite roadway. The stretch is only 30 miles long, though is monotonous 4 lane 70 mph interstate with heavy traffic with the left lane varying from 50-80mph (trucks aren't even a problem half the time, nobody seems to know how to drive 70 mph, yet come to Hampton Roads and 75-80 mph on 55-65 mph freeways is common place) and the right lane a steady 55 mph and no change in scenery that seems to go on forever.

Plans are to widen this segment of interstate to 6 lanes in the next decade, and by the time that finishes, traversing this corridor will definitely look different given the lack of median trees.

[Sctvhound]

I-95 from the Savannah River to Exit 33 (US 17) in SC. 50-60K cars a day on a 2/2 stretch of road, a hugely important piece of road as it gains thousands of cars from people getting off US 17 from the Charleston area who pick it up at 33. Has 2 stretches of 8-10 miles without exits.

You could add up to Exit 86 with I-95. About 50K cars a day that whole stretch, and it basically goes through a bunch of pine trees with only the 2 exits at Walterboro, and the one at St. George having many services.

95 gains a bunch of cars from 26 as folks from other parts of SC and I-77 use it to get to Florida.

[fillup420]

I-95 from the Savannah River to Exit 33 (US 17) in SC. 50-60K cars a day on a 2/2 stretch of road, a hugely important piece of road as it gains thousands of cars from people getting off US 17 from the Charleston area who pick it up at 33. Has 2 stretches of 8-10 miles without exits.

You could add up to Exit 86 with I-95. About 50K cars a day that whole stretch, and it basically goes through a bunch of pine trees with only the 2 exits at Walterboro, and the one at St. George having many services.

95 gains a bunch of cars from 26 as folks from other parts of SC and I-77 use it to get to Florida.

I would go further to say all of 95 from GA to Florence. I used to drive that for work on a regular basis, and its hell. Old crappy pavement, narrow lanes, heavy traffic going way too fast. The interchange with I-26 is woefully substandard, almost to the point of being dangerous.

[SkyPesos]

I-95 from the Savannah River to Exit 33 (US 17) in SC. 50-60K cars a day on a 2/2 stretch of road, a hugely important piece of road as it gains thousands of cars from people getting off US 17 from the Charleston area who pick it up at 33. Has 2 stretches of 8-10 miles without exits.

You could add up to Exit 86 with I-95. About 50K cars a day that whole stretch, and it basically goes through a bunch of pine trees with only the 2 exits at Walterboro, and the one at St. George having many services.

95 gains a bunch of cars from 26 as folks from other parts of SC and I-77 use it to get to Florida.

I would go further to say all of 95 from GA to Florence. I used to drive that for work on a regular basis, and its hell. Old crappy pavement, narrow lanes, heavy traffic going way too fast. The interchange with I-26 is woefully substandard, almost to the point of being dangerous.

From what it looks like, both I-95 to I-26 movements would benefit from flyovers. I-95 SB to I-26 EB probably have a lot of traffic going into Charleston, and I-95 NB to I-26 WB is part of the connection from I-95 in FL to the I-77 corridor.

[webny99]

I'd also point out I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.

Are you referring to I-20? That between I-10 and Dallas stood out to me as well.

Also I-70 in western Colorado and I-80 through Nebraska.

[JayhawkCO]

I'd also point out I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.

Are you referring to I-20? That between I-10 and Dallas stood out to me as well.

Also I-70 in western Colorado and I-80 through Nebraska.

No.  As I posted, I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.  In the map posted above, it's in a very desolate area (dark green population density) but the AADT isn't that low as it necessarily carries both the I-10 and what will become the I-20 traffic together.  There is absolutely nothing out there if you've ever been.

The I-20 stretch at least has Midland/Odessa and Abilene.

Chris

[webny99]

I'd also point out I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.

Are you referring to I-20? That between I-10 and Dallas stood out to me as well.

Also I-70 in western Colorado and I-80 through Nebraska.

No.  As I posted, I-10 between El Paso and the I-20 split.  In the map posted above, it's in a very desolate area (dark green population density) but the AADT isn't that low as it necessarily carries both the I-10 and what will become the I-20 traffic together.  There is absolutely nothing out there if you've ever been.

The I-20 stretch at least has Midland/Odessa and Abilene.

Sorry, I misread your post and was looking at the wrong section of I-10 (between I-20 and San Antonio). That doesn't seem as busy as I-20, but you're right about the stretch west of I-20.

[JayhawkCO]

Sorry, I misread your post and was looking at the wrong section of I-10 (between I-20 and San Antonio). That doesn't seem as busy as I-20, but you're right about the stretch west of I-20.

Yeah, that portion of I-10 (which I haven't been on yet) looks to be pretty barren since there aren't any towns over 10,000 people until you're almost to San Antonio (Kerrville, pop. 23,754) .

Chris

[Sctvhound]

I-95 from the Savannah River to Exit 33 (US 17) in SC. 50-60K cars a day on a 2/2 stretch of road, a hugely important piece of road as it gains thousands of cars from people getting off US 17 from the Charleston area who pick it up at 33. Has 2 stretches of 8-10 miles without exits.

You could add up to Exit 86 with I-95. About 50K cars a day that whole stretch, and it basically goes through a bunch of pine trees with only the 2 exits at Walterboro, and the one at St. George having many services.

95 gains a bunch of cars from 26 as folks from other parts of SC and I-77 use it to get to Florida.

I would go further to say all of 95 from GA to Florence. I used to drive that for work on a regular basis, and its hell. Old crappy pavement, narrow lanes, heavy traffic going way too fast. The interchange with I-26 is woefully substandard, almost to the point of being dangerous.

Yup. From Lake Marion to Florence (Exit 98 to 157) there is one exit (119 in Manning) with more than 1 gas station and/or motel on it. Still the same two lanes that it was when they built it in the 1960s-70s. And the I-26 interchange is brutal. Four sharp curves that could turn almost any truck. Pretty much the whole state of SC except for those 5 miles or so around Florence where it goes to 3/3 is probably the most substandard part of I-95.

[thspfc]

I-80 in Wyoming. Pretty much the entire state outside of Cheyenne & Laramie (because they're not desolate). All the trucks. All of them. And all of the wind.

There's a lot of truck traffic but it has never struck me as busy.

So you're saying the OP's own example doesn't qualify.

I mean, yeah, kind of. "Busiest" is obviously being used very loosely here. In my mind, just because a road has a lot of truck traffic doesn't mean it's busy.

[deathtopumpkins]

This probably doesn't really work when compared to the whole country, but a regional example that came to mind is I-95 between Danvers and Newburyport, MA. It's a fairly busy 8-lane freeway with exits every 2-3 miles, but not a single one of the interchanges along this 16-mile stretch has commercial development around it. No gas stations, fast food, nothing. Sure there are little towns just off the road, but the immediate surroundings just consist of lots of trees and some residential. Pretty desolate by eastern Mass standards.

[jdbx]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but the stretch of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside through Camp Pendleton always struck me as an odd contrast.  It's not an especially long stretch, but there is the extremely busy 8-lane freeway, adjacent to the coast, with no private development or services.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3287157,-117.4925478,3a,75y,139.01h,82.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_i-FRQoLA-Re2TkZmBMz5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[ethanhopkin14]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but the stretch of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside through Camp Pendleton always struck me as an odd contrast.  It's not an especially long stretch, but there is the extremely busy 8-lane freeway, adjacent to the coast, with no private development or services.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3287157,-117.4925478,3a,75y,139.01h,82.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_i-FRQoLA-Re2TkZmBMz5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I agree.  That portion of I-5 feels like you are in the middle of nowhere, yet you are in between 2 mega cities.  The huge ultra busy freeway feels out of place.

[kphoger]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but the stretch of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside through Camp Pendleton always struck me as an odd contrast.  It's not an especially long stretch, but there is the extremely busy 8-lane freeway, adjacent to the coast, with no private development or services.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3287157,-117.4925478,3a,75y,139.01h,82.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_i-FRQoLA-Re2TkZmBMz5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The distance between services is only 17 miles.  That doesn't sound like very far, but I'm guessing it's pretty rare for a non-tollway route with an AADT of 145,000.

[ethanhopkin14]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but the stretch of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside through Camp Pendleton always struck me as an odd contrast.  It's not an especially long stretch, but there is the extremely busy 8-lane freeway, adjacent to the coast, with no private development or services.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3287157,-117.4925478,3a,75y,139.01h,82.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_i-FRQoLA-Re2TkZmBMz5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The distance between services is only 17 miles.  That doesn't sound like very far, but I'm guessing it's pretty rare for a non-tollway route with an AADT of 145,000.

Yes, it's 17 miles and not far, but there is something about that drive.  Maybe because, particularly driving southbound on I-5, you have been in a continuous city for 100 miles, then you see open nothingness, for a second you forget you are still not far away from the Los Angeles or San Diego areas.   

[jdbx]

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but the stretch of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside through Camp Pendleton always struck me as an odd contrast.  It's not an especially long stretch, but there is the extremely busy 8-lane freeway, adjacent to the coast, with no private development or services.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3287157,-117.4925478,3a,75y,139.01h,82.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_i-FRQoLA-Re2TkZmBMz5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The distance between services is only 17 miles.  That doesn't sound like very far, but I'm guessing it's pretty rare for a non-tollway route with an AADT of 145,000.

Yes, it's 17 miles and not far, but there is something about that drive.  Maybe because, particularly driving southbound on I-5, you have been in a continuous city for 100 miles, then you see open nothingness, for a second you forget you are still not far away from the Los Angeles or San Diego areas.   

Exactly.  That sensation is compounded even more when it's a holiday weekend or other busy time and you are in bumper-to-bumper traffic in that environment.  I have encountered that many times when driving down to San Diego for a weekend getaway.

[Rick Powell]

These stretches aren't long, but I-80 in IL from exit 93 to 112 has no services at the intermediate interchanges, and between Exits 33 and 70 only has the services at Exit 56 Princeton and a rest area. And a constant 25-30k daily traffic.

[Gnutella]

I-76 and I-80 across central PA are among the best you'll get in the east.

Nothing in northern New England gets enough traffic to qualify. Everything remotely desolate in NY is pretty dead.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike in western Pennsylvania is a major conduit.

From the west, you have traffic from major Great Lakes metropolitan areas like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee on the Turnpike, and traffic from major lower Midwestern metropolitan areas like Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and St. Louis on I-70. From the east, you have traffic from Philadelphia and the southern half of the New York metropolitan area on the Turnpike, and traffic from Washington DC and Baltimore on I-70.

All of this long-distance traffic is funneled onto an 86-mile concurrency just east of another major metropolitan area, Pittsburgh, which happens to be flanked by both highways. In spite of all that traffic, the Turnpike/I-70 concurrency has only three interchanges on it, plus the fourth-longest interchange gap on the entire Interstate system: 36 miles from Somerset (Exit 110) to Bedford (exit 146).

The sooner the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission replaces or eliminates the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, the better, since the Turnpike can then be expanded to six lanes along the entire concurrency with I-70.

[Nacho]

I 39 in Illinois.  30 years in still nothing on it.  BOOOORRRRING

South of Rochelle, AADT stays in the 15k-21k range.  That surprised me:  I figured it would be lower.

I used to drive I-39 to I-74 a lot to visit family in Indiana when I lived in Wisconsin. I always got the impression a fair amount of the traffic on it was using that route for the same reason I was, to avoid having to drive through Chicago (something that's quite a bit harder for me to pull off now). Services along that stretch of I-39 were sparse enough that I'd usually try to time out meals for Bloomington-Normal or else somewhere along I-74.