Abandoned Rest Areas

[roadman65]

I hate it when i come up to a rest area and it is permaclosed. Look, semis depend on them to stop if they are running low on hours, we can only drive 11 hours before we have to take a 10 hour break. In a lot of places the only place to stop for a truck is a rest area. Yet they keep closing them to everyone. Then trucks start parking on the on/off ramps of diamond interchanges....and then states start to crack down on that....and towns won't let truck stops be built due to the riff raff they presume will come along with it, and then you get towns that ban truck parking at wal-mart, or the stores themselves do it. Then you have to deal with risking hours of service violations if you go through that area.

At least convert the closed facilities into truck parking only. Install a minimalistic toilet and such, widen out the spots, remove the car parking area, etc.

Just a rant as a guy who has been put under the bus by states doing this.

Welcome to New Jersey.  The last time I checked, unless something has changed since then, both I-80 and I-287 made the rest areas there Truck Parking Only!

[signalman]

Welcome to New Jersey.  The last time I checked, unless something has changed since then, both I-80 and I-287 made the rest areas there Truck Parking Only!

True for 287.  There's 3 open to cars both east and westbound on 80 (if one counts the Delaware Water Gap Nat'l Recreation Area; I would, since one could utilize it as a rest stop).  Two westbound and one east are marked as a "scenic overlook," but they function as a rest area without facilities.  There is a truck parking area at approx. MM 31 WB, although I see cars parked at it regularly.  The one EB has been closed for years, and is used for equipment storage.

[Fred Defender]

I-4 used to have one near Exit 33, until the current one between Exits 44 and 48 was opened.  The widening of  I-4 in the late 90's covered up the last remains of it.

This was a rather scenic rest area given that it was close to town. Sat up on a small hill, as I recall. I have a rather funny memory of it:

I stopped there riding my Honda CB750F to Bike Week in Daytona from my home in Sarasota - I believe it was 1982. The stop didn't help much; the rain never let up. Poured rain on me the entire way over.

[lepidopteran]

As I was perusing this thread I was thinking how Florida hardly ever closes a rest area, but instead have rebuilt and expanded the original 60's-era rest areas on I-75 and I-95.  This pair in Port Orange is the exception.

FDOT closed a pair on I-4 at mile 70 once sprawl had reached that far; retention ponds now sit there.

I just spotted another former pair on I-4, in Lakeland, near Exit 33 (formerly Exit 19).  The one for the EB lanes is now a relocated exit, presumably so they'd have less tight curves.

[freebrickproductions]

Here's an abandoned rest area on US 31 just north of Decatur, AL:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.673831,-86.9505692,322m/data=!3m1!1e3

[ftballfan]

Some more in MI:
NB I-75 near Bridgeport: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3309004,-83.8566329,1022m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (replaced with rest area near Mt. Morris in the 1980s)
EB I-94 near Dexter: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2990597,-83.8643053,1248m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (replaced with rest area near Chelsea between 2005 and 2009)
WB I-94 near Ypsilanti: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2256484,-83.6368107,702m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (replaced with rest area near Belleville in the 1970s; site taken over by development)
NB US-127 between Harrison and Houghton Lake: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.23219,-84.7997448,791m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (recently abandoned; not on MDOT state map)
SB US-127 near Higgins Lake: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4518424,-84.785888,2661m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (mentioned earlier in the thread)
EB I-94 near Coloma: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.1525953,-86.3407478,690m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (recently abandoned)
Not abandoned, but SB US-131 near Tustin: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.1233429,-85.4707952,1348m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US (in use as scenic overlook with rustic facilities; was this ever a full rest area?)

[Strider]

I'm surprised more states don't use the single median rest areas to save money.

Left exits are why they don't. Unsafe to have slow traffic entering on the left and it goes against driver expectation. There's a bit of art and psychology involved in road design.

Don't know if it's  still open but on i85 in North Carolina there was a rest area near Greensboro where the carriageways switch sides so the rest are is in the middle with right exits.

Yeah, they are still open. and it is on I-85 between Lexington and Thomasville.

[dcharlie]

Here's one in WI, on I-39/90 just North of Janesville.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7567144,-89.0035812,448m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[JasonOfORoads]

I've gone through this entire thread, and I don't think I've seen either of these ones listed:

• Oregon: Interstate 205 South @ MP 7, West Linn

Built in the late 1960s/early 1970s, this was a rare instance of a rest area in an urban area, at least out west. Unfortunately, the proximity to civilization also made it a hot spot for drugs and prostitution by the 1990s. West Linn PD made plenty of busts there before it got shut down in 1995, according to this Oregonian article from 2004. It was paired with a northbound viewpoint that overlooks Willamette Falls that is still open today, but otherwise offers no services or facilities. Below is a comparison of a satellite view from 1984 and the most recent GMaps image. I still have yet to investigate it.

• Nevada: Interstate 80 East @ MP 22, Sparks

I don't know too much about the history of this rest area. It was closed down by 1992, as evidenced by the satellite photos below. I wandered around that area around 2012 and took some photos. In addition to the building foundations and some pavement markings, there was also a heavily vandalized old-skool "Freeway Entrance" sign still up on the pole. I may be able to find the photos I took, but they're most likely on a disc somewhere in a box.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Here's one in WI, on I-39/90 just North of Janesville.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7567144,-89.0035812,448m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

The curious thing is why the NB rest area was demolished but the SB rest area remains in place.

[TML]

In the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, there was a rest area on 401 eastbound between exits 333 and 336 which was closed in 2006 and is now completely vacant (no structures still standing).

On Long Island, there was a rest area on 495 westbound between exits 53 and 51 which was closed in 2016.

[vdeane]

On Long Island, there was a rest area on 495 westbound between exits 53 and 51 which was closed in 2016.

Technically that was just a parking area/text stop, not a full rest area.

[CtrlAltDel]

Here's one in WI, on I-39/90 just North of Janesville.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7567144,-89.0035812,448m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

The curious thing is why the NB rest area was demolished but the SB rest area remains in place.

There is the NB welcome center about twenty miles away. That probable made that removed rest area redundant.

[US 89]

There used to be a Utah welcome center off I-15 near St George. It was abandoned when exit 2 was constructed, and was subsequently destroyed by a fire:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18498.0

[roadfro]

• Nevada: Interstate 80 East @ MP 22, Sparks

I don't know too much about the history of this rest area. It was closed down by 1992, as evidenced by the satellite photos below. I wandered around that area around 2012 and took some photos. In addition to the building foundations and some pavement markings, there was also a heavily vandalized old-skool "Freeway Entrance" sign still up on the pole. I may be able to find the photos I took, but they're most likely on a disc somewhere in a box.

In the street view, it's actually at Mile 21 (exit 21 being actually closer to mile 18 or 19). It appears to be eastbound only–maybe this helps explain why the rest area at Wadsworth (near mile 42) is westbound only...?

I'm actually surprised I never knew about this one. I have not noticed the remains of it before–now that I think about it, I have noticed the guardrail break and pavement that is still present from the entrance ramp, but never thought much about what it might be.

[DeaconG]

I-95 had a set of basic rest areas (no toilets) at Port St. John between Ranch Road and Fay Boulevard:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4746139,-80.8211184,569m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

These areas were closed down in the early 90s. The northbound area was used to store supplies during the I-95 widening two years ago.
I live less than a quarter mile away.

[inkyatari]

I've noticed a distinct lack of Illinois in this thread, so here's a few that I guess get in on technicalities.

First, here's this on I-39.  it was just a semi parking area when this stretch of I-39 first opened. It was never a full rest area with facilities...

In retrospect, it looks like a closed weigh station, but I could have sworn there was a closed truck parking lot...

https://goo.gl/maps/rq6DDSVpRCU2

Then there's this one..  It seems to close and open randomly.  It's closed every time I have gone by it in recent memory.  I-55, at Funk's Grove, IL.  I notice that on streetview, in the 2011 images it's open, in the 2016, the rest area signs are taken down...

https://goo.gl/maps/oUCozA4GtPR2

[Richard3]

A bit of Canada in this thread?

In province of Quebec, on Autoroute 31, southeast of Joliette, there's a pair of abandoned rest areas.  On NB, the MTQ turned it into a partial interchange to allow access to an industrial park, but on SB, the remnants are still there.

https://goo.gl/maps/RkTvGruP4bB2

[dvferyance]

I've noticed a distinct lack of Illinois in this thread, so here's a few that I guess get in on technicalities.

First, here's this on I-39.  it was just a semi parking area when this stretch of I-39 first opened. It was never a full rest area with facilities...

In retrospect, it looks like a closed weigh station, but I could have sworn there was a closed truck parking lot...

https://goo.gl/maps/rq6DDSVpRCU2

Then there's this one..  It seems to close and open randomly.  It's closed every time I have gone by it in recent memory.  I-55, at Funk's Grove, IL.  I notice that on streetview, in the 2011 images it's open, in the 2016, the rest area signs are taken down...

https://goo.gl/maps/oUCozA4GtPR2

I am not so sure about that. I was down there in the summer of 2016 on my way to St Louis and the signs said it would be reopening in the fall of that year.

[inkyatari]

I've noticed a distinct lack of Illinois in this thread, so here's a few that I guess get in on technicalities.

First, here's this on I-39.  it was just a semi parking area when this stretch of I-39 first opened. It was never a full rest area with facilities...

In retrospect, it looks like a closed weigh station, but I could have sworn there was a closed truck parking lot...

https://goo.gl/maps/rq6DDSVpRCU2

Then there's this one..  It seems to close and open randomly.  It's closed every time I have gone by it in recent memory.  I-55, at Funk's Grove, IL.  I notice that on streetview, in the 2011 images it's open, in the 2016, the rest area signs are taken down...

https://goo.gl/maps/oUCozA4GtPR2

I am not so sure about that. I was down there in the summer of 2016 on my way to St Louis and the signs said it would be reopening in the fall of that year.

I go to Springfield every year, and I could have sworn it was still closed last year.

[jflick99]

If you're including full service areas, the Topeka service area on the Kansas Turnpike (just west of where I-470 meets I-70) has sat empty since 2002. It was shut down when a new service area was built about five miles east of here.

[Brandon]

I've noticed a distinct lack of Illinois in this thread, so here's a few that I guess get in on technicalities.

First, here's this on I-39.  it was just a semi parking area when this stretch of I-39 first opened. It was never a full rest area with facilities...

In retrospect, it looks like a closed weigh station, but I could have sworn there was a closed truck parking lot...

https://goo.gl/maps/rq6DDSVpRCU2

Then there's this one..  It seems to close and open randomly.  It's closed every time I have gone by it in recent memory.  I-55, at Funk's Grove, IL.  I notice that on streetview, in the 2011 images it's open, in the 2016, the rest area signs are taken down...

https://goo.gl/maps/oUCozA4GtPR2

I am not so sure about that. I was down there in the summer of 2016 on my way to St Louis and the signs said it would be reopening in the fall of that year.

I go to Springfield every year, and I could have sworn it was still closed last year.

Funk's Grove is open currently.  Not so sure what the heck IDOT had it closed for though.

[ThatRandomOshawott]

Here's one on Interstate 24 near Eddyville: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0636555,-88.2046153,297m/data=!3m1!1e3

[SSOWorld]

Rest areas south of I-64 on I-57 in Illinois were closed for short term with signs saying

"Rest Area Closed....

Sorry!"


Was a political move.

[hbelkins]

Rest areas south of I-64 on I-57 in Illinois were closed for short term with signs saying

"Rest Area Closed....

Sorry!"

The moose out front should have told you...