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"Where'd My Freeway Go?"

Started by theroadwayone, March 06, 2018, 02:30:42 AM

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theroadwayone

Are there any instances you know of where a freeway (any divided road with two or more lanes/direction, speed limit minimum 55 mph) ends abruptly at either a T-intersection or dead end, or becomes another kind of road or something else?


hotdogPi

#1
While I do think the speed limit goes below 55 when approaching the end, the Lowell Connector in Massachusetts is notorious for its abrupt end. It's so bad that it has signs with flashing lights warning you of its end in 2000 and 1000 feet.

Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Super Mateo

Interstate 65 ends at a traffic signal in Indiana.  Once it crosses US 12/20, it becomes a steel mill entrance.  It's not quite a T, but the road has no outlet north of the intersection.

oscar

Quote from: theroadwayone on March 06, 2018, 02:30:42 AM
Are there any instances you know of where a freeway (any divided road with two or more lanes/direction, speed limit minimum 55 mph) ends abruptly at either a T-intersection or dead end, or becomes another kind of road or something else?

San Diego has a few, including the west end of I-8, and the north end (as well as, for now, the south end) of CA 125.

It's such a common situation as to be hardly worth talking about.
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TheHighwayMan3561

OH 11's north end counts, I think. That one has stop signs.

There's the notorious former end of the Kansas Turnpike at the Oklahoma border that has been posted here numerous times as well.
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Henry

I believe that this is common when extensions of existing freeways get cancelled. For example, Baltimore has lots of them, with I-70 dead-ending at a Park & Ride, I-83 becoming a boulevard at a city street, and old I-170 transitioning to a one-way couplet of US 40.

In Atlanta, you see this with Langford Parkway (nee Lakewood Freeway/I-420) ending at Lakewood Avenue to the east at a stop sign. And out in L.A., the infamous I-710 gap begins at a traffic signal on Valley Boulevard and extends to another signal at California Boulevard in Pasadena.
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Buck87

In the "becomes another kind of road" category, US 20 changes over from full freeway straight to 2 lane road east of Oberlin, OH.

And while not a full freeway, the 55 mph divided highway bypass of Royston, GA has simple T intersections at both ends, with the 4 lanes dead ending at simple stop signs at the 2 lane original alignment of GA 17.

ghYHZ

The end of the most easterly freeway in North America: The end of the Trans Canada Highway (7200 km from Victoria) where it tapers to two lanes near Logy Bay Road in St. John's, Newfoundland.

https://goo.gl/maps/k4yakHTk9Zq








cbeach40

Few around Ontario, Hwys 404, 406, 407, 427, the Hwy 17 Garden River Bypass, and Allen Rd in Toronto all end at T intersections.

Many other instances where the freeway transitions to a lower class of facility, though the north end of Hwy 115 and the temporary west end to Highway 401 are the most dramatic changes.
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BrianP


Hurricane Rex

Interstate 105 in Oregon ends in a T intersection. 55 MPH limit until the last half mile.

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

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Finrod

US 71 in Kansas City gets diverted onto city streets for three stoplights and then becomes a freeway again, thanks to a boneheaded court order.
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SteveG1988

NJ route 55 just peters out at NJ47, going from what could be a 3DI of 76, into what ammounts to a typical south jersey state route.

Garden State Parkway ending at US9 and NJ109. Weird set of ramps, and then it becomes a local road. Used to have the stop lights in cape may county but those are long gone now.

Interstate 176 in PA: Ends at 422 abruptly.

Interstate 476: the weird 180 degree turn and trumpets. Reminant of a never built extension to New York, to be remedied via a Scranton Beltway.

US1 Freeway in both NJ and PA, expressways that just peter out into arterials and back again several times.


Low hanging fruit: I78 at the holland tunnel, Breezewood, I676 and if it does or does not go on the ben franklin bridge, I99 in PA... All these discussed to death elsewhere, so let's keep this for some of the odder ones that are not as well known.
Roads Clinched

I55,I82,I84(E&W)I88(W),I87(N),I81,I64,I74(W),I72,I57,I24,I65,I59,I12,I71,I77,I76(E&W),I70,I79,I85,I86(W),I27,I16,I97,I96,I43,I41,

webny99

NY 531. The link takes you to 2015 street view, as the 2017 street view shows construction underway. When said construction is complete, it will no longer end at  a "T", though it will still qualify for this thread, IMO, as it should be extended to Brockport.

MNHighwayMan

The former MN-5 segment east of MN-120. Not a freeway, but is a four-lane, 55 MPH divided road that ended at a T-intersection with two-lane MN-120. The roadway west of there (and I don't remember to where it was intended to continue, perhaps froggie or TheHighwayMan394 can fill me in) was cancelled. If you play with the date slider on GSV you can see the new MnDOT facility that's been recently constructed on the vacant land.

bzakharin


JasonOfORoads

Quote from: Finrod on March 06, 2018, 02:01:10 PM
US 71 in Kansas City gets diverted onto city streets for three stoplights and then becomes a freeway again, thanks to a boneheaded court order.

Maybe there'll be some upstanding judge who will reverse it and finally get the missing link built.
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1995hoo

#18
Quote from: theroadwayone on March 06, 2018, 02:30:42 AM
Are there any instances you know of where a freeway (any divided road with two or more lanes/direction, speed limit minimum 55 mph) ends abruptly at either a T-intersection or dead end, or becomes another kind of road or something else?

Corridor H's eastern end where it narrows down to a two-lane road and the speed limit drops over a short distance from 65 mph down to, IIRC, 25 mph as you enter Wardensville. I suppose that segment's other end is somewhat, though not quite, similar in that it narrows to a two-lane road and then comes to a T-intersection with a stop sign just south of Thomas.

Down in the Miami area, Gratigny Parkway (FL-924 toll road) transitions from a freeway to a city street. I don't remember the speed limit on Gratigny, but the last time I was on there my brother-in-law was driving and was doing around 90 mph.
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KeithE4Phx

Not an interstate, but AZ 143, the Hohokam Expressway (actually, a full freeway), has its northern terminus at the 4600E block of McDowell Rd. in Phoenix.  Its southern terminus becomes S. 48th St. at I-10 (where the state highway officially ends).  48th St. is the Phoenix/Tempe city limits between I-10 and Baseline Rd., and ends at Pecos Park in Ahwatukee, south of Chandler Blvd.
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US 89

#20
The US 40 freeway east of Salt Lake City ends at a SPUI on I-80. On the other side of 80, it continues as a small neighborhood road with a 25mph speed limit.

Same story for UT-7/Southern Parkway. It is a full 65mph freeway, but it ends at a SPUI on I-15 and becomes a neighborhood collector road.

Although it’s not a full freeway, the north end of Mountain View Corridor/UT-85 (which has a speed limit of 65) is at a T-intersection at 4100 South. The south end is similar, dead ending onto Porter Rockwell Blvd from a 55 mph expressway. The highway will be extended in both directions in the future.

The south end of Bangerter Highway (UT-154) is also similar. It goes from a 60mph expressway/freeway into a SPUI on I-15, quickly becoming a 2-lane suburban road.

Also, Summerlin Parkway in Vegas is a freeway that dead-ends at the CC 215 beltway.

jp the roadgeek

The US 7 expressway in Norwalk, CT dead ends at a traffic light where you have to turn right to continue.  The CT 72 expressway used to dead end at CT 372, but was continued as a 4 lane divided  boulevard with at-grade intersections.  CT 2 (duplexed with CT 32) ends at a traffic light where you either turn right to continue or turn left at the beginning of CT 169.

Oh, and then there's CT 11: The Ultimate dead end of a highway.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

Occidental Tourist

#22
In Southern California, the 91 and 55 freeways both end at a stoplight intersection with a surface routing continuing thereafter.  Both were freeways that were not fully built out as originally planned. The 105 freeway ends similarly on its western end, but this was its planned terminus.

The 110 freeway ends at effectively a T intersection on its southern end and a stoplight with a continued surface routing on its northern end.  The southern end was supposed to travel further south and west as originally drawn up. 

Both eastern and western ends of the Marina Freeway end at signalized T intersections.  The eastern end was suppposed to continue onward, but didn't.

The 261 Toll Road turns from a tollway into a divided limited access road that eventually turns into a conventional surface routing.  This was planned. The western stub of the 22 Freeway similarly turns into conventional surface routing that intersects with PCH.  This was not as planned, as this freeway was intended to cross the entirety of Long Beach Rather than end in East Long Beach. 

The Terminal Island Freeway ends at signalized T intersections on both ends of its short route.  The northern end was supposed to continue all the way to the San Diego Freeway.  While the southern end wasn't originally designed to end at a freeway-to-freeway interchange, upgrades ongoing to the route mean it will eventually lose the signalized intersection and be converted to a full freeway-to-freeway interchange.

The southern end of the Glendale Freeway ends with a flyover bridge that connects it to southbound Glendale Blvd.  This freeway was originally supposed to continue south and west for many more miles.

The northern end of the Long Beach Freeway ends at a signalized T intersection (albeit one created by forcing the mainline off onto what was supposed to be an offramp along the continued portion of the freeway that was never completed), while the southern end of the Long Beach Freeway turns into a surface routing heading to the eastern Long Beach port terminals and the Queen Mary.

txstateends

There are 2 in Dallas:
* US 175, where it turns from Hawn Frwy. to S.M. Wright Frwy.  From 1964-1988, US 175's terminus was there.  In 1988, US 175 was extended up S.M. Wright to I-45 after US 75 was decommissioned south of Dallas. One time, a trucker didn't make the turn very well, and overturned right underneath an overpass and caught fire so bad that TxDOT had to have the bridge replaced.  After a few decades' wait, the fix for this 'dead man's curve' is finally on the horizon.  A new west terminus for US 175 at I-45 is being built, followed by a freeway-to-parkway conversion of S.M. Wright Frwy.
* The extension of Woodall Rodgers Frwy. west from I-35E across the Trinity River provided eye candy for the downtown skyline--a new suspension bridge.  The freeway extension also was built with a surprise.  It doesn't continue as a freeway past the far side of the river bridge.  A signal light at Beckley begins a transition to Singleton Ave., an at-grade street.  This transition is marked also with a big FREEWAY ENDS sign, but that initially didn't help educate those traveling west across the bridge.  There were reports of drivers missing the Beckley signal or getting rear-ended by others who thought the freeway continued.  Now those who venture west beyond the Trinity are finding new apartments and restaurants in an area now dubbed "Trinity Groves", even though the jarring freeway-to-street transition remains.
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sparker

There are a few such instances in the Bay area; in the South Bay CA 237 terminates at El Camino Real/CA 82 at a stoplight about a half-mile after interchanging with the CA 85 freeway; the 237 alignment (called Mtn. View-Alviso Road) continues south as Grant St. in Mountain View.  Also, CA 4's eastern freeway end is currently a series of signals southeast of Brentwood; current construction will bypass the westernmost of these, but the freeway is slated to terminate (at least for the time being) at Marsh Creek Road, where CA 4 turns east toward Discovery Bay & Stockton; continuing on the freeway alignment will take one onto SB Vasco Road, which crosses the hills into Livermore.  Moving north, I-780 abruptly ends at an intersection in Vallejo after crossing under and interchanging with (via a terribly underpowered cloverleaf) I-80.  And finally, CA 12's E-W freeway through Santa Rosa ends at a stoplight (although the configuration is one of an "offramp" and grading for some future development is evident, it's highly unlikely, given the local NIMBY factor, the cost of property acquisition (suburbs + winery country), and the general regional opposition to new freeway development, that it will be extended within anyone's lifetime.   



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