State that screws up bypasses the most

[Revive 755]

(This is intended as a tangent from the US 31 Kokomo bypass thread)

So which state has the most bypasses that have had to be or need to be either upgraded or bypassed again?  I expect some debate about when a new bypass is needed, but for now I'm going with at least one of the following is met:
1) Addition of stoplights to the bypass
2) Speed limit reduction on the bypass due to new development/accidents

Illinois
* US 50 bypass of Flora
* US 50 bypass of Olney
* US 51 bypass of Clinton:  At least two stoplights and one railroad crossing
* US 34-67 bypass of Monmouth:  Many stoplights, and IDOT is too afraid of business impacts to upgrade it to a freeway or built a new bypass around the southern side of town.
* IL 3 bypass of Columbia? (I think IL 3 once ran on Main Street) many stoplights, was planned to be bypasses by the dead supplemental freeway to Marion, now planned to be bypassed some year by the Gateway Connector
* IL 3 bypass of Waterloo:  Three stoplights so far, currently under study for widening

Missouri
* US 61 around New London (there has been a push by residents to drop the speed limit on US 61 around this town)
* US 61 around Hannibal? (Can't get the old maps on the MoDOT site to open today to see if US 61 ran farther into town)  Environmental study for new bypass is stalling
* US 24-61 around Palmyra? Currently planned for intersection modifications, but I recall talk of another overpass
* US 65 bypass of Carrollton (two stoplights so far on the northern half, southern half is still Super 2)
* MO 7/MO 13 bypass of Clinton

[agentsteel53]

Montgomery, Alabama.  Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Tyler, Texas.

[froggie]

Given that highway projects are generally built with a 20-year horizon, anything that's over 20 years old can arguably be ruled out.

[huskeroadgeek]

* MO 7/MO 13 bypass of Clinton

I can agree with this one. When it was built, it may have actually bypassed the city, but there are I think 3 traffic lights on it now and all of the major businesses in town or either on or near the bypass. Those traffic lights are now the only barriers stopping traffic between Kansas City and Springfield.

[Ian]

-NY 85 Slingerlands By-Pass is an interesting one. It recently got extended about 1/2 mile or so and got equipped with 4 rotaries. It still really doesn't bypass Slingerlands at all, rather than goes directly into it.

-NY 32 Delmar bypass. Has around 4-5 traffic signals along it and turns into a small 2 lane road after Elm Avenue (where NY 32 turns) for about a 1/2 mile before coming to a T intersection with Van Dyke Road.

-Most of New Hampshire's bypasses are super-2's.

-US 1 Bel Air, MD bypass. Seems to be a part super-2, part surface arterial going on here.

-The West Chester, PA bypass. It starts off with a US 322 super-2 expressway with two traffic signals (not counting the one at the west end) then 322 merges onto the older freeway section of the West Chester bypass where US 202 comes in. There is yet one traffic signal on the US 202/US 322 portion of the bypass, which is at Matlack Street, just before the south end.

-How about the lack of a US 30 bypass/freeway between Lancaster and Coatesville, PA?  

[rte66man]

Can't speak for other states, but OK has a tendency to build a bypass that isn't limited access (see, Duncan's original bypass, Ada, McAlester, etc). By that, I mean they allow business to add driveways directly off the roadway. Also, as mentioned above, older bypasses have attracted business that is either new or moved from the CBD.  The solution is to create the bypasses with frontage roads and only allow access to the bypass from streets.  Then, when funds allow it, you can come in and add grade separations.  This is what ODOT is doing with the new Duncan bypass.

[NE2]

Florida is an interesting case in that they've built very few bypasses (except for Interstates and toll roads) since the 1940s. The Interstates carry the majority of traffic, and other corridors may be widened in towns, but rarely get bypasses. For example, much of US 17 south of Bartow has been dualed by using a former rail right-of-way for one direction.

[mukade]

How about Indiana?

• US 31 Kokomo bypass now being bypassed by a freeway bypass
• US 30 bypass in northwest Indiana which bypassed old Lincoln Highway. Maybe the Illiana Expy. will bypass this some day.
• I-465 in Indianapolis bypassed parts of the SR 100 bypass

[SSOWorld]

WI has a few cases.

Lancaster - US 61 goes through town, but a state highway - end to end - with stop signs at each ends is the recommended bypass - for trucks.

Rhinelander - US 8 bypassed to the south, then traffic lights appear at each intersection on it. - WIS 17 got rerouted (not exactly a bypass and immediately got traffic lights.

Stevens Point - One could say a bypass of US 10 around the city is being put in, but east of I-39 was forgotten - it has traffic lights and goes through a shopping district.

Wausau - US-51 was bypassed as a freeway around Wausau to the west - then all of the business went that way and the freeway got clogged as did the cross roads (rural when it was built - now urban).  everything was expanded over the last 6 years

Platteville - a 2-lane bypass was built ages ago to get around downtown, the businesses followed - and a freeway was built further out that was finished in 2005.

Michigan

Ironwood - failed with US-2 in that yes they got a bypass of downtown, but the stores flocked to the bypass and it got jammed up again

Iowa

Dubuque - the Northwest Arterial - Was it a true bypass/shortcut to 52 north?  if so, tell the big-box stores they shouldn't be there.

[Stephane Dumas]

How about Indiana?

• US 31 Kokomo bypass now being bypassed by a freeway bypass
• US 30 bypass in northwest Indiana which bypassed old Lincoln Highway. Maybe the Illiana Expy. will bypass this some day.
• I-465 in Indianapolis bypassed parts of the SR 100 bypass

I wonder if IN-67/Muncie bypass could be thrown in the mix? I think it should had gotten more interchanges and being linked to I-69 (could had been a nice I-269).

[froggie]

Most of the examples cited are not transportation problems per se, but are moreso the result of poor land use decisions.

[Revive 755]

Given that highway projects are generally built with a 20-year horizon, anything that's over 20 years old can arguably be ruled out.

Maybe, but in some cases the states have failed to maintain the bypass by adding new interchanges and/or frontage roads as necessary, or seem a little too agreeable to adding new stoplights.

[RoadWarrior56]

I think it was figured out by most highway departments by the end of the 1960's that bypasses without access control were bypasses to obselense.  As the cities grew out along these facilities, I suspect after a couple of decades you can probably make better time driving the old inner city routes than you could on the so-called bypass routes with numerous stoplights.

As far as Indiana is concerned, the US 52 bypass of Lafayette/West Lafayette is very old.  I believe it was originally constructed in the 1930's as a two-lane facility, with last segment widened to four lanes while was still a student at Purdue in the late 1970's.  Access control is virtually non-existant over many parts of it.  Drive it and you will see what I mean.  I-65 bypassed that bypass in the early 70's.

The US 31 Kokomo bypass was originally constructed in the late 40's or early 50's I believe.  I am not sure if it as first constructed as a two-lane or four-lane roadway, but it is a very old facility as well.

[jemacedo9]

-How about the lack of a US 30 bypass/freeway between Lancaster and Coatesville, PA?  

That stretch of US 30 is screaming for a by-pass, especially the truck traffic coming off PA 41 in Gap...combined with tourist traffic, Amish horse and buggies...what a mess!

[3467]

Muscatine Iowa US 61
Some background on Monmouth IL -It was mostly and expense issue, A new one or freeway conversion would have both cost over 50 million 10 years ago. The Freeway designs were really innnovative and were not seriously disruptive
IDOT didnt like the partail improvement that would have left only one light at Main because it would have been, they claimed, too dangerous......
Part of the problem was it predated supplemental freeway plan and was built over 30 years. I suspect that is the same problem elswhere.

[PAHighways]

-How about the lack of a US 30 bypass/freeway between Lancaster and Coatesville, PA?  

That stretch of US 30 is screaming for a by-pass, especially the truck traffic coming off PA 41 in Gap...combined with tourist traffic, Amish horse and buggies...what a mess!

There was a study conducted back in the early-mid 00s on this section.  The WHOIS record for the study's domain now states it is registered in Japan, so that should tell you how far it got.

[JREwing78]

Michigan

Ironwood - failed with US-2 in that yes they got a bypass of downtown, but the stores flocked to the bypass and it got jammed up again

US-2 in Ironwood is at least not overburdened with traffic or clogged with lots of stoplights.

US-41/M-28 between Ishpeming and Marquette, however, is a shining example of a screwed-up bypass. If it has a median, it's very narrow, and on some stretches it's 4 lanes without a center turn lane or median. There is no access control whatsoever except through Marquette. With all the big box stores just west of Marquette, it's rapidly becoming congested. And, even if an additional bypass is built, it's not going to be heavily used because most of the traffic is local.

US-31 through Holland and Grand Haven is another shining beacon of failed planning. At least a Grand Haven bypass is understandable. But US-31 in Holland could have been upgraded to a freeway without unreasonable expense had MDOT planned for it properly.

Also, access management follies along the M-78 corridor through Lansing between Charlotte and Perry meant MDOT had to go back and rebuild it properly to accommodate I-69 40 years later. Ditto for US-127 between Lansing and Ithaca (and 1/2 of it is still incomplete).

Another example: Adrian, MI has a nice controlled-access bypass of its SW side. Problem is, it's ONLY the SW side. Poor planning and development at the ends has rendered the bypass almost pointless.

In later years, MDOT appeared to learn its lesson - the US-127 corridor from Ithaca northward was built properly, if you excuse the left exits. Much of US-12 east of Kalamazoo was able to be converted to I-94 without much difficulty (though the section through Jackson was built without sufficient ROW to cheaply accommodate widening). US-23 south of Flint was also easily (if inelegantly) converted to freeway, as was US-127 south of Mason. MDOT at least did this early enough that it didn't have to deal with too much commercial development.

But it didn't appear to do so in others. US-127 south of Jackson could have easily been converted to freeway had MDOT closed driveway access and bought additional ROW. Now, if any freeway gets built, it'll be on new alignment. Again.

[J N Winkler]

My personal favorite example, which is being fixed slowly (contingent on funding availability), is US 70 east of Raleigh in North Carolina.

[codyg1985]

Montgomery, Alabama.  Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Tyler, Texas.

Alabama has quite a few examples:

US 78 in Jasper, bypass was bypassed with a freeway (I-22)
Alt US 72 in Madison, bypass was bypassed with a freeway (I-565)
US 431 in Albertville/Boaz, no bypass of the bypass, but the bypass is crippled with red lights, and it's often faster to take the old route (AL 205) through downtown Albertville and Boaz
US 82 in Tuscaloosa, bypass being bypassed with a freeway (Tuscaloosa Eastern Bypass)
US 231 in Dothan, AL, bypass/loop to be bypassed with a freeway (I-310?)

[RoadWarrior56]

The bypass around Dothan is horrible.  I drove that last summer.

[hbelkins]

In general, states seem too lenient in granting access permits on bypass routes, in my unscientific opinion. However, property owners do have a right to have access to their property.

And in places where there is zoning and a bypass goes through land zoned for agricultural or other rural uses, local government bodies are too eager to change zoning along new bypasses to residential or commercial. I'm not a huge fan of zoning (as most of you, knowing my political bent, would expect) but it seems to me that cities are promoting or adding to congestion when they change zoning along highways.

[elsmere241]

-How about the lack of a US 30 bypass/freeway between Lancaster and Coatesville, PA? 

That stretch of US 30 is screaming for a by-pass, especially the truck traffic coming off PA 41 in Gap...combined with tourist traffic, Amish horse and buggies...what a mess!

That truck traffic goes all the way into Delaware, mostly on two-lane roads.  In any event, my wife and I usually take PA 741 to get between PA 41 and PA 283, bypassing Lancaster to the south.

[J N Winkler]

In general, states seem too lenient in granting access permits on bypass routes, in my unscientific opinion. However, property owners do have a right to have access to their property.

What looks like leniency is really a function of cost and budgeting.  Yes, property owners do have a right of access to their property, and this is why alternative methods of providing access are typically an important component of the right-of-way acquisition process.

States are generally not held to a very high standard as to the convenience of alternative access that is provided when a new highway is built and control of access is applied along one or more sides of a given land parcel that is not acquired.  However, when there is no pre-existing option of access through the surface road system, an access road often has to be built and this has to be paid for by the state.  Even when alternative access is possible through the surface road system, the state still has to buy access rights.  A right of access is an interest in land and in theory its value is equal to the difference in the value of the parcel that would result from provision of access along the highway side.  (This is a very simplified explanation--it does not take into account, for example, the problem of floating value.)

Put simply, it is often easier to sign off on a driveway permit than to make the cash payment that is required to say No.

[mgk920]

WI has a few cases.

Lancaster - US 61 goes through town, but a state highway - end to end - with stop signs at each ends is the recommended bypass - for trucks.

Rhinelander - US 8 bypassed to the south, then traffic lights appear at each intersection on it. - WIS 17 got rerouted (not exactly a bypass and immediately got traffic lights.

Stevens Point - One could say a bypass of US 10 around the city is being put in, but east of I-39 was forgotten - it has traffic lights and goes through a shopping district.

Wausau - US-51 was bypassed as a freeway around Wausau to the west - then all of the business went that way and the freeway got clogged as did the cross roads (rural when it was built - now urban).  everything was expanded over the last 6 years

Platteville - a 2-lane bypass was built ages ago to get around downtown, the businesses followed - and a freeway was built further out that was finished in 2005.

Most of those older post-WWII Wisconsin ones (ie, US 51/Wausau) weren't poorly thought out at all, they were done two or three generations ago and the areas simply grew up around them - US 51 around both Wausau and Stevens Point were done right as full freeways from the get-go in the 1960s.  US 10/Stevens Point is simply incomplete - US 10 is still on its 1928 routing east of I-39/US 51 while the part west of the interstate was opened only a year ago (again, replacing its 1928 routing).

OTOH, over the past 10-15 years, WisDOT got into an 'on the cheap' phase that I hope is about done, giving us such disastrous bypasses as US 151/Fond du Lac, US 12/Whitewater and a few others.  WI 26/Johnson Creek, although a few years older, is another.   

Mike

[agentsteel53]

My personal favorite example, which is being fixed slowly (contingent on funding availability), is US 70 east of Raleigh in North Carolina.

I just drove several of those bypasses, and didn't think any of them were all that bad.  I did US-70 from Goldsboro nearly to the end.  Some rather old signs still exist on that stretch.

or did you mean immediately to the east of Raleigh?  If so: never been there.