There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
Both, since this is far from the only agency that uses it. I-93 in Massachusetts frightens me as a road that would do it, but they do it.
Quote from: Georgia Guardrail on September 19, 2022, 07:48:07 PM
There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
Widening the freeway and building toll lanes costs billions. Using the existing shoulder costs maybe several million, depending how extravagant they want to go with markings, signage, automated arrows, etc.
So, some pros are it adds capacity to the existing width of the pavement, at a fraction of the cost of widening the highway.
In the 1990's when I-93 in Massachusetts started allowing the rush-hour shoulder use, I thought it was going to be a colossal mess leading to something bad. In reality, after about 25 years, there's been minimal issues. The state installed lots of large cutoffs off the breakdown lane.
Same for MA 3 on the south shore, and I-95 between I-93 (Canton) and I-90 before that was actually widened to eight lanes.
Also not to re-direct discussion, but I feel the large cutoffs installed in Massachusetts where breakdown lane usage exists should be rolled out everywhere. If you can limp your car to one as a tire is going flat, it is MUCH safer to change one in that than just the breakdown lane, and on 93 people tend to use them for those purposes even when the breakdown lanes are closed.
The I-70 mountain shoulder lanes near Idaho Springs, Colorado, are both dangerous and practically useless. They weren't even open Saturday evening even with stop-and-go traffic in the normal lanes, plus the shoulder lane is narrow, so if you're in the leftmost standard lane, it feels like you're going to lose a mirror or worse. Not one of CDOT's best moves IMHO.
Quote from: Georgia Guardrail on September 19, 2022, 07:48:07 PM
There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
I agree. I think engineers generally agree that shoulders should not be used as traffic lanes, but unfortunately decisions about roads are often made by politicians and not engineers.
In fact I think, (in all locations) Interstates should be required to meet shoulder standards, even if this means restriping the road to take away one or two lanes.
There was one on EB I-264 in Norfolk when I lived there in the 2000s that was only open during evening rush hours. I lived in Portsmouth and worked on the Navy Base so rarely was in that area during rush hour so don't know its efficacy or whether there were problems. I'm sure it helped as long as nobody broke down as there were always backups there, hence the introduction of a shoulder lane.
Even ignoring breakdowns, I wonder how they affect emergency vehicle response times?
They'd be more useful if they were used more dynamically. The new ones on the Beltline in Madison seem to only be open on a rigid schedule of morning and evening commutes. But if there's a mid-day crunch or a weekend event making things heavy, there doesn't appear to be a system in place to open the shoulder. Or maybe there is but the threshold is higher than I think it should be? I dunno.
Frankly, I think that heavy traffic volume times are the most dangerous times to open up the shoulder.
Quote from: Georgia Guardrail on September 19, 2022, 07:48:07 PM
There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
Can you explain? Give links to streetviews, etc?
Back in the early 1990s, I-95 in Virginia had a part-time shoulder lane in the area roughly between somewhere around Newington (now Exit 166) and the northern exit for Woodbridge (Exit 161). It looked like any other lane except for the solid line separating it from the normal lanes, and there were periodic big white signs stating the hours during which it could be used as a lane. The result was somewhat predictable: Someone broke down and stopped there during the period when it was the shoulder (i.e., when it was not OK to be driving there). A tractor-trailer being driven illegally in the shoulder lane then smashed into the disabled car (a Mustang, as I recall) and killed the driver. VDOT wound up opening the shoulder on a 24/7 basis after that incident until they got around to widening the road. That incident was a major reason why the now-defunct I-66 shoulder lanes were painted a different color from the other lanes and had red "X"/green arrow signals overhead to indicate when it was OK to use the lane. Of course there were still violators, but it seemed to be less rampant of a problem than it was on I-95.
The problem with using the shoulder as a lane and then having designated "emergency pulloff" areas is what happens when a car breaks down at a location other than the designated emergency pulloffs. My mom had that problem once–she used I-66 in the reverse direction of prevailing traffic to get to work and in 2008 her car broke down on westbound I-66, in the morning, at a spot not near an emergency pulloff (I believe I recall the car simply died on her). Thankfully, traffic in that direction wasn't too heavy and nobody was ignoring the red "X" signals. That sort of thing has always made me suspicious of shoulder lanes as a long-term solution to traffic problems, but I do think the different-colored pavement and the lane-use signals were a definite design improvement over simply posting signs with the open/closed hours.
Quote from: Ga293 on September 20, 2022, 03:37:50 PM
Even ignoring breakdowns, I wonder how they affect emergency vehicle response times?
In my experience on MA 3, during congested times when breakdown lane use is allowed, the emergency vehicle tries to pass between the two travel lanes rather than use the breakdown lane. Vehicles in the left-most lane move left towards the edge/guardrail, while drivers in the right move right so that the emergency vehicle can pass.
If there are not stop-and-go conditions, the emergency vehicle will use the shoulder and expect drivers to move left to clear the lane.
I would say dangerous in NC due to the number of abandoned broken down cars frequently left on the shoulders...
Quote from: fillup420 on September 21, 2022, 05:54:13 PM
I would say dangerous in NC due to the number of abandoned broken down cars frequently left on the shoulders...
I think on roadways that use the shoulder as a lane, they actively will monitor and tow away a vehicle prior to the lane's opening.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 21, 2022, 02:59:10 PM
Back in the early 1990s, I-95 in Virginia had a part-time shoulder lane in the area roughly between somewhere around Newington (now Exit 166) and the northern exit for Woodbridge (Exit 161). It looked like any other lane except for the solid line separating it from the normal lanes, and there were periodic big white signs stating the hours during which it could be used as a lane. The result was somewhat predictable: Someone broke down and stopped there during the period when it was the shoulder (i.e., when it was not OK to be driving there). A tractor-trailer being driven illegally in the shoulder lane then smashed into the disabled car (a Mustang, as I recall) and killed the driver. VDOT wound up opening the shoulder on a 24/7 basis after that incident until they got around to widening the road. That incident was a major reason why the now-defunct I-66 shoulder lanes were painted a different color from the other lanes and had red "X"/green arrow signals overhead to indicate when it was OK to use the lane. Of course there were still violators, but it seemed to be less rampant of a problem than it was on I-95.
The problem with using the shoulder as a lane and then having designated "emergency pulloff" areas is what happens when a car breaks down at a location other than the designated emergency pulloffs. My mom had that problem once–she used I-66 in the reverse direction of prevailing traffic to get to work and in 2008 her car broke down on westbound I-66, in the morning, at a spot not near an emergency pulloff (I believe I recall the car simply died on her). Thankfully, traffic in that direction wasn't too heavy and nobody was ignoring the red "X" signals. That sort of thing has always made me suspicious of shoulder lanes as a long-term solution to traffic problems, but I do think the different-colored pavement and the lane-use signals were a definite design improvement over simply posting signs with the open/closed hours.
Quote from: skluth on September 20, 2022, 12:50:53 PM
There was one on EB I-264 in Norfolk when I lived there in the 2000s that was only open during evening rush hours. I lived in Portsmouth and worked on the Navy Base so rarely was in that area during rush hour so don't know its efficacy or whether there were problems. I'm sure it helped as long as nobody broke down as there were always backups there, hence the introduction of a shoulder lane.
I-264 still have the shoulder lanes, complete with the
red X/green arrow (before it just had VMS's stating whether or not they're open). And there are emergency pull offs at various locations along them. I've seen a vehicle break down in the shoulder lane only twice in 25 years or so, I don't think they're a big issue.
I-64 between I-564 and the HRBT will also include them when the widening project is done.
Quote from: bwana39 on September 21, 2022, 01:47:22 PM
Quote from: Georgia Guardrail on September 19, 2022, 07:48:07 PM
There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
Can you explain? Give links to streetviews, etc?
The shoulder lane on I-85 in Gwinnett County, with overhead indication of whether it is open for traffic:
https://goo.gl/maps/41Tud2koLFi3M3Y78
Quote from: spooky on September 21, 2022, 03:08:06 PM
Quote from: Ga293 on September 20, 2022, 03:37:50 PM
Even ignoring breakdowns, I wonder how they affect emergency vehicle response times?
In my experience on MA 3, during congested times when breakdown lane use is allowed, the emergency vehicle tries to pass between the two travel lanes rather than use the breakdown lane. Vehicles in the left-most lane move left towards the edge/guardrail, while drivers in the right move right so that the emergency vehicle can pass.
If there are not stop-and-go conditions, the emergency vehicle will use the shoulder and expect drivers to move left to clear the lane.
There is shoulder use on a roadway which only has two lanes in each direction? Why was it never widened to three lanes first?
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 21, 2022, 06:27:36 PM
Quote from: fillup420 on September 21, 2022, 05:54:13 PM
I would say dangerous in NC due to the number of abandoned broken down cars frequently left on the shoulders...
I think on roadways that use the shoulder as a lane, they actively will monitor and tow away a vehicle prior to the lane's opening.
Which is all well and good if you assume nobody will break down
after the lane's opening.
Quote from: kphoger on September 22, 2022, 09:34:21 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 21, 2022, 06:27:36 PM
Quote from: fillup420 on September 21, 2022, 05:54:13 PM
I would say dangerous in NC due to the number of abandoned broken down cars frequently left on the shoulders...
I think on roadways that use the shoulder as a lane, they actively will monitor and tow away a vehicle prior to the lane's opening.
Which is all well and good if you assume nobody will break down after the lane's opening.
I don't think anyone assumes that. Of course it happens. And just like any other roadway that has lanes curb to curb, traffic will jam and they'll get aid and a tow out there as quickly as possible.
Back in 2016 I went to my aunt's funeral in NJ. We took I-80 from Hackettstown to Bergen County and there were no shoulders in use.. it looked they needed another lane so they just made the shoulder a lane. This was at the cut through the Watching mountains. It was probably 5 lanes each way and the right lane was yards from rock cut. I thought what happens when there's a wreck with zero shoulder???
While we're focusing on freeways, NJ took it one step further and made one of the more localized sections of US 1 that has 2 lanes per direction, driveways and cross streets, and a 55 mph speed limit, and converted the right shoulders to a part-time travel lane. Termed "Hard Shoulder Running", the lane is equipped with overhead red X's or green arrows when the lane is open or closed. Nearly every driveway and road entering US 1 has a sign installed explaining the possibility of encountering traffic on the shoulder.
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/fNARwa6U1M2A3PCN9
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/Fh4zQ59CzD2AdZmA8
Entering US 1 from a side street/parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8
Quote from: Mppheel on September 22, 2022, 08:01:32 PM
Back in 2016 I went to my aunt's funeral in NJ. We took I-80 from Hackettstown to Bergen County and there were no shoulders in use.. it looked they needed another lane so they just made the shoulder a lane. This was at the cut through the Watching mountains. It was probably 5 lanes each way and the right lane was yards from rock cut. I thought what happens when there's a wreck with zero shoulder???
You're talking a climbing lane aren't you.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 22, 2022, 10:11:14 PM
Entering US 1 from a side street/parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8 (https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8)
with a car in the right lane! :-D
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 22, 2022, 10:11:14 PM
While we're focusing on freeways, NJ took it one step further and made one of the more localized sections of US 1 that has 2 lanes per direction, driveways and cross streets, and a 55 mph speed limit, and converted the right shoulders to a part-time travel lane. Termed "Hard Shoulder Running", the lane is equipped with overhead red X's or green arrows when the lane is open or closed. Nearly every driveway and road entering US 1 has a sign installed explaining the possibility of encountering traffic on the shoulder.
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/fNARwa6U1M2A3PCN9
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/Fh4zQ59CzD2AdZmA8
Entering US 1 from a side street/parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8
Why don't they just slightly widen the pavement and turn it into a permanent travel lane? It's not a freeway facility and does not have conform to having full paved shoulders.
Quote from: sprjus4 on September 23, 2022, 12:12:37 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 22, 2022, 10:11:14 PM
While we're focusing on freeways, NJ took it one step further and made one of the more localized sections of US 1 that has 2 lanes per direction, driveways and cross streets, and a 55 mph speed limit, and converted the right shoulders to a part-time travel lane. Termed "Hard Shoulder Running", the lane is equipped with overhead red X's or green arrows when the lane is open or closed. Nearly every driveway and road entering US 1 has a sign installed explaining the possibility of encountering traffic on the shoulder.
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/fNARwa6U1M2A3PCN9 (https://goo.gl/maps/fNARwa6U1M2A3PCN9)
Mainline US 1: https://goo.gl/maps/Fh4zQ59CzD2AdZmA8 (https://goo.gl/maps/Fh4zQ59CzD2AdZmA8)
Entering US 1 from a side street/parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8 (https://goo.gl/maps/dDnGm9MZjGWLz8Vc8)
Why don't they just slightly widen the pavement and turn it into a permanent travel lane? It's not a freeway facility and does not have conform to having full paved shoulders.
Utility poles. If you touch the curbs, every single pole has to move (they've done this in a couple locations like the CR 522 intersection - basically anywhere you have 3 lanes or more each way was widened). That is hella expensive. Then you get into relocating every single driveway back 3 feet and the right of way impacts (since the edge line would be lower AND closer to the property). That is why.
I-95/MA-128 used to allow use of the breakdown lane between MA-9 in Needham and MA-24 in Randolph back when that section was six lanes before the widening was completed.
Almost forgot this is a regional board.....
Having just returned from a road trip thru the southeast, and based on my (admittedly limited) impressions, I would actually discourage the use of shoulder lane travel. The number of vehicles on the shoulder, esp. trucks, kept Waze quite busy ("vehicle stopped on shoulder ahead" ) and use of the shoulder might be quite dangerous.
I remember one particular Summer living up in NJ, when many folks would flock to Six Flags Great Adventure on weekends. One particular Saturday we went to the park and approaching Exit 7A there was stopped traffic from all feeding into the single lane ramp to patronize the theme park.
Believe it or not, when all three lanes were stopped, some rogue drivers would bypass the line on the shoulder until all three lanes plus the shoulder were clogged. About one half mile prior to the 7A split you had four lanes of stopped traffic on a three lane carriage way.
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 07:46:44 AM
I remember one particular Summer living up in NJ, when many folks would flock to Six Flags Great Adventure on weekends. One particular Saturday we went to the park and approaching Exit 7A there was stopped traffic from all feeding into the single lane ramp to patronize the theme park.
Believe it or not, when all three lanes were stopped, some rogue drivers would bypass the line on the shoulder until all three lanes plus the shoulder were clogged. About one half mile prior to the 7A split you had four lanes of stopped traffic on a three lane carriage way.
Why would anyone doubt that? I take it as more or less a given that some people will do that and that other people will straddle the line between the traffic lane and the shoulder to try to block them from doing it. The people who are really dangerous are the ones who will roar along the shoulder at relatively high speeds relative to the stopped traffic.
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 01, 2022, 08:13:01 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 07:46:44 AM
...
Believe it or not, when all three lanes were stopped, some rogue drivers would bypass the line on the shoulder until all three lanes plus the shoulder were clogged. About one half mile prior to the 7A split you had four lanes of stopped traffic on a three lane carriage way.
Why would anyone doubt that? I take it as more or less a given that some people will do that and that other people will straddle the line between the traffic lane and the shoulder to try to block them from doing it. The people who are really dangerous are the ones who will roar along the shoulder at relatively high speeds relative to the stopped traffic.
There's no reason to doubt it anywhere in the Bos-Wash corridor, but it's less common in other parts of the country, where stopped traffic more often than not means there's been an incident of some sort rather than just recurring congestion.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen the shoulder become used as a de-facto travel lane here in upstate NY, and the times I can recall have all been incident-related.
Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on November 01, 2022, 07:11:39 AM
Almost forgot this is a regional board.....
I didn't even know it was a regional topic until you said that. The thread topic doesn't have anything to do with a specific region. I ignore the board name listed next to the thread topic when I'm going through the "Show unread posts since your last visit" list.
Quote from: webny99 on November 01, 2022, 08:30:17 AM
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen the shoulder become used as a de-facto travel lane here in upstate NY, and the times I can recall have all been incident-related.
This work zone setup (https://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=losp&state=NY&file=100_2762.JPG) on the Lake Ontario State Parkway stands out to me.
The US-23 freeway north of Ann Arbor has part-time use of the left shoulder as a travel lane. There are frequent indicators (red X or green down arrow) of which lanes are open (https://goo.gl/maps/YSeEUEZxbcniRN1s6) (they don't show well in Streetview). Usually the shoulder is used only during weekday rush hours, but the indicator system allows it for other times such as before and after Michigan home football games, or an accident in a travel lane (in which case the indicators show which lane is closed ahead).
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 01, 2022, 08:13:01 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 07:46:44 AM
I remember one particular Summer living up in NJ, when many folks would flock to Six Flags Great Adventure on weekends. One particular Saturday we went to the park and approaching Exit 7A there was stopped traffic from all feeding into the single lane ramp to patronize the theme park.
Believe it or not, when all three lanes were stopped, some rogue drivers would bypass the line on the shoulder until all three lanes plus the shoulder were clogged. About one half mile prior to the 7A split you had four lanes of stopped traffic on a three lane carriage way.
Why would anyone doubt that? I take it as more or less a given that some people will do that and that other people will straddle the line between the traffic lane and the shoulder to try to block them from doing it. The people who are really dangerous are the ones who will roar along the shoulder at relatively high speeds relative to the stopped traffic.
We had an issue on I-4 when a driver did that. He sped by everyone at high speed during a routine traffic jam near Sanford, FL and encountered a disabled vehicle. Needless to say the driver on the shoulder had a gun and later ended up on trial for murder of the disabled driver.
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 03:12:25 PM
Needless to say the driver on the shoulder had a gun and later ended up on trial for murder of the disabled driver.
That wasn't needless to say. It was neither clearly implied nor a logical conclusion that people could be expected to make.
Quote from: kphoger on November 01, 2022, 03:56:44 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 03:12:25 PM
Needless to say the driver on the shoulder had a gun and later ended up on trial for murder of the disabled driver.
That wasn't needless to say. It was neither clearly implied nor a logical conclusion that people could be expected to make.
I think your statement was needless to say.
Quote from: Rothman on November 01, 2022, 09:54:57 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 01, 2022, 03:56:44 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on November 01, 2022, 03:12:25 PM
Needless to say the driver on the shoulder had a gun and later ended up on trial for murder of the disabled driver.
That wasn't needless to say. It was neither clearly implied nor a logical conclusion that people could be expected to make.
I think your statement was needless to say.
Well that's a downright dangerous mind to kill someone because they're in the way of your smooth drive past traffic. That goes beyond road rage.
Quote from: vdeane on November 01, 2022, 12:53:29 PM
Quote from: webny99 on November 01, 2022, 08:30:17 AM
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen the shoulder become used as a de-facto travel lane here in upstate NY, and the times I can recall have all been incident-related.
This work zone setup (https://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=losp&state=NY&file=100_2762.JPG) on the Lake Ontario State Parkway stands out to me.
And even here, the shoulder isn't being used to bypass stopped traffic in the through lanes (like it would be on the east coast, as 1995hoo alluded to).
(EDIT: removed second portion of quote now that thread has been moved.)
Quote from: Alps on September 22, 2022, 10:40:59 PM
Quote from: Mppheel on September 22, 2022, 08:01:32 PM
Back in 2016 I went to my aunt's funeral in NJ. We took I-80 from Hackettstown to Bergen County and there were no shoulders in use.. it looked they needed another lane so they just made the shoulder a lane. This was at the cut through the Watching mountains. It was probably 5 lanes each way and the right lane was yards from rock cut. I thought what happens when there's a wreck with zero shoulder???
You're talking a climbing lane aren't you.
Connecticut and New York have those as well.
New Jersey too. However, the one on NJ 23 south of Franklin got restriped and the lane is gone.
Also US 211 over the Blue Ridge Mountain in Virginia.
Quote from: roadman65 on November 03, 2022, 07:41:39 AM
Also US 211 over the Blue Ridge Mountain in Virginia.
That's not a "shoulder lane" ...it's an actual full lane.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 21, 2022, 06:27:36 PM
Quote from: fillup420 on September 21, 2022, 05:54:13 PM
I would say dangerous in NC due to the number of abandoned broken down cars frequently left on the shoulders...
I think on roadways that use the shoulder as a lane, they actively will monitor and tow away a vehicle prior to the lane's opening.
Here they send a truck down the shoulder about 15 minutes before opening the lane to clear debris and broken down vehicles. They are pretty good at keeping up with the cameras as well, in case there's a problem when the lane is open.
Quote from: bwana39 on September 21, 2022, 01:47:22 PM
Quote from: Georgia Guardrail on September 19, 2022, 07:48:07 PM
There seem to be quite a few of these in Atlanta. There are some on SR 400 and I-85 north of the city. Not sure about other major SE cities. I find them very dangerous. I'm surprised they are legal to be honest.
Most drivers don't expect people to be over in the shoulder unless they are having a breakdown. It makes people uneasy when they see someone pass them on the right shoulder when all the driver wants to do is get on the exit to the access road (as in my case Northridge Drive off of SR 400).
To me it seems a cheap and dangerous way to solve traffic issues without impacting precious NIMBYs. I say instead of shoulder lanes, widen the freeway or build new exclusive toll lanes, or do nothing at all. Thoughts? I don't really see any pros.
Can you explain? Give links to streetviews, etc?
This is I-670 in Columbus Ohio
Edit: the sign on the light pole says "shoulder use permitted on green arrow only" (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20221103/8c5075a2e50693b9e2a8982c72036068.jpg)
The last time I read about it, the ones on US 19 in Pasco and Pinellas Counties were still there. I haven't been a fan since I saw it on the Long Island Expressway.
In Summer 2023, Interstate 95 in both Maine and New Hampshire from Exit 2/3 in Maine to Exit 5/6 in New Hampshire thru the Piscataqua River Bridge will be getting part time breakdown lane travel, as part of rehabilitation of the Piscataqua River Bridge's smart ITS system. In Maine, when breakdown lane travel is active, all Exit 1 ramps wll be closed. Believe the lanes will be dyamically enabled and use a system similar to how the NJTP did it for the Newark Bay Bridge on Interstate 78.
I'm a bit concerned this will increase accidents along the stretch, especially since the Exit 2 onramps heading southbound (https://mdotapps.maine.gov/HCLDiagrams/HIGH%20CRASH%20LOCATION%202019%202021%2058862%2000000.pdf) and the northbound bridge approach (https://mdotapps.maine.gov/HCLDiagrams/HIGH%20CRASH%20LOCATION%202019%202021%2058846%2071373.pdf)are listed as High Crash Locations by the MaineDOT. Furthermore, I'm concerned about sideswipe accidents from drivers exiting who are not aware that the breakdown lane is active, espeically at Exit 7 in NH and Exit 2 NB in Maine.
Project Info: https://www.nh.gov/dot/projects/portsmouthyork16189b/index.htm