Defunct Interchanges

[kkt]

In Seattle, WA-520 in Lake Washington has a bunch of ramps that were built to connect with the proposed R. H. Thomson Expressway.  That expressway was cancelled.  The lake is shallow there, people swim and use the ramps as diving boards, canoe amongst them, etc.  I suspect they'll be removed as part of the 520 widening project over the next 8 years or so.

[ctsignguy]

One i know of....

I-95 in Connecticut......old Conn Turnpike Exit 49 (Stiles Rd I think) was permanently closed due to the rebuilding of the I-95/I-91/Conn 34 interchanges....ramps are still there for now.....

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

Those closed interchanges puzzled me back in the 1990's.  Was there a zombie infestation being walled off?  LOL!  I'd love to know the story.

Rick

I believe the connecting roads, and related development, was never built. 

Without knowing the history of I-510, could the two interchanges have been part of the original traffic flow for Six Flags?  Maybe the development was tied to the amusement park's existence (future hotels, gas stations, etc)...

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_New_Orleans):
Much more development further east was envisioned during the oil boom of the 1970s, including a huge planned community called, in successive iterations "New Orleans East", "Pontchartrain", "Orlandia", and, finally, "New Orleans East" once more. This "new-town-in-town" was to have resembled Reston, Virginia or the Woodlands north of Houston, but only a few small portions were built in several bursts of activity in the twenty years prior to the Oil Bust. Both the Village de L'Est and Oak Island neighborhoods were phases of "New Orleans East". The new town development would have occupied almost all of New Orleans lying east of the present-day route of I-510. Three identical interchanges along I-10 east of Paris Road were constructed in anticipation of the new town. The Michoud Boulevard exit uses one of these interchanges, but two of the three were never used. The prominent "New Orleans East" cast-concrete sign just west of the Michoud Boulevard exit was fabricated circa 1980 during the final attempt at developing this huge tract. Much of this land later became the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, the largest urban wildlife refuge in the United States. Though the grand vision behind New Orleans East was never realized, many New Orleanians started referring to all of Eastern New Orleans by the name of the planned development.

--

So the interchanges and associated development were planned long before Six Flags was a twinkle in the eyes of civic leaders. If anything, the amusement park was a last ditch attempt to revive the fortunes of the area which had essentially ceased to grow around 1980 or so.

In retrospect, it's better that the land remained swamp. Goodness knows how much more destruction would have been wrought by Hurricane Katrina if that land had been intensively developed.

[bassoon1986]

I have a friend from college who lived off of Michoud in New Orleans East. We went with a group of friends and saw the water damaged house and it was unreal how high the water was. Check it out:  (from Spring of 2006)

[mp_quadrillion]

Monterey Street bridge connection between Broadway to Golden State Boulevard (old US-99) in Fresno: http://goo.gl/maps/lIlor  It's been closed to traffic since 2004, and it's supposed to be demolished this month.

Several onramps to San Diego's southbound CA-163 (old US-395) have been decommissioned or were never used: http://goo.gl/maps/pKxRS Keep panning south on the map to see more.

There's this: http://goo.gl/maps/v7LAl Light-rail line and stations built atop the abandoned heavy-duty pavement of a planned-and-scrapped replacement freeway for I-80 in Sacramento. The western extent is a hairpin at Winters Street; the eastern end is at the Watt Avenue overpass.

An interchange in Medford (Ore.) moved. They built a SPUI and tore out the old junction just to the north on I-5. The footprint is still pretty apparent. Some businesses don't have quite the prime location they used to have. http://goo.gl/maps/Jb32R

On I-680 in Fremont (Calif.) between Washington Boulevard and Auto Mall Parkway:http://goo.gl/maps/MGP0P  Nothing remains now, but for years a ramp led northwest across I-680. It was daylighted 10 years ago. The Mission Freeway never went any further than that ramp: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/6473

I've also visited the ghost interchanges in New Orleans, about a year or two after the hurricanes. In so many areas nearby, the signals, if they worked at all, were still timed for traffic that wasn't around anymore. Chilling. (And chilling in a different way, driving the duct-taped-together I-10 between NO and Slidell.. not saying it could've been done any differently, just that it took some nerve to drive it!)

[WNYroadgeek]

NY 96 once had a direct connection to the Thruway, rather than by way of I-490: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=43.011237,-77.44399&spn=0.004778,0.006899&t=h&z=17

Also, just to the north, you can see where a temporary ramp was when Exit 29 was reconstructed back in '02: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=43.015442,-77.441039&spn=0.004777,0.006899&t=h&z=17

[agentsteel53]

An interchange in Medford (Ore.) moved. They built a SPUI and tore out the old junction just to the north on I-5. The footprint is still pretty apparent. Some businesses don't have quite the prime location they used to have. http://goo.gl/maps/Jb32R

was that a full interchange?  I can see the ghosts of the ramps from eastbound arterial to northbound I-5, and westbound arterial to southbound I-5, but not any other connections.  that's only 2 of 8 possible transfers. 

I presume northbound I-5 to westbound arterial and southbound I-5 to eastbound arterial existed as well.  what about the other 4, or were they deemed to oblique to implement?

[NE2]

'twas a 6-ramp parclo. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.31580,-122.85494&z=17&t=O

[pctech]

I always wondered about those interchanges east of New Orleans on I-10 too.
Has the the idea of bridge across the Miss. river at I-510/Paris road been abandoned too?

Mark

[WNYroadgeek]

Here's the old Exit 56 and Exit 57 on I-86/NY 17 prior to them being reconstructed and combined into a single Exit 56: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.09246,-76.78083&z=16&t=O

[jp the roadgeek]

Couple of others that I can remember in CT that are now closed:

I-91: - Exit 29 Southbound (LH exit to the old Charter Oak Bridge, plus a connection from SB 15 to NB 91)
         
          - Exit 30 Northbound (Foounder's Bridge, plus a flyover from WB Founder's to 91S)
         
            -Exit 31 NB State St Left hand exit (?)

I 84:     - Exit 34 WB (replaced by Route 72 Exit 2)
                     
            -Old Exit 50 + 52 EB in Hartford before 84/91 interchange reconstruction.  Exit 50 was a left turn only onto Ann Ucello St. Exit
              52 was for Morgan St/91 N (the G. Fox interchange that was rerouted to the flyover). Numbers were redrawn so that today's
              exit 50 was the old 51, today's 51 replaces 52 as the flyover, and today's 52 was added to the unnumbered 91S ramp.

[intelati49]

'twas a 6-ramp parclo. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.31580,-122.85494&z=17&t=O

Is it bad (good) that I knew exactly what the configuration was?

[mp_quadrillion]

'twas a 6-ramp parclo. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.31580,-122.85494&z=17&t=O

Is it bad (good) that I knew exactly what the configuration was?

I'm glad y'all beat me to explaining it, anyway!

[NE2]

It appears exits 166 and 168 on I-80 in Wyoming have been removed. These were typical diamond ranch exits, rather redundant given that exits 165 and 170 serve the same area.

Adios cucarachas:

[Super Mateo]

My memory is a little fuzzy, but weren't there ramps to connect US 30 and US 34 in the Oswego, IL area?  The eastern split is now a stoplight, but I could have sworn there were ramps the first time I drove US 30 over there and needed to take one to stay on US 30.

[Roadsguy]

I was editing a random spot on OSM at Syracuse, and found this. Linked to from Google, though.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=43.110195,-76.266446&spn=0.009101,0.021136&t=k&z=16

It appears to be the old version of the 690 interchange, back when State Fair Blvd. ran straight through on what is now 690. (I don't know much about the area though, so you can correct me if you live around there.) It looks like there was a smaller trumpet at the State Fair Blvd, but I can't be sure.

[vdeane]

That's the old I-690/I-90 interchange all right.  It went to a traffic light on I-690.

[Roadsguy]

Was it 690 yet or still just State Fair Blvd?

[brownpelican]

I always wondered about those interchanges east of New Orleans on I-10 too.
Has the the idea of bridge across the Miss. river at I-510/Paris road been abandoned too?

Mark

There is one there now. I don't know if there were plans for another one.

From the looks of the map, it appears Michoud Boulevard was supposed to parallel I-10 to the third interchange (Bayou Savage exit). Some older maps had that road named Discovery Boulevard.

[roadman65]

The AR 254 Interchange with US 67 in Texarkana seems to be now defunct as the ramps for it have been jackhammered out.  There are no detour signs for the closure, so I am to assume that with the new freeway extension of AR 254, it will now be permanently closed.

[Stratuscaster]

My memory is a little fuzzy, but weren't there ramps to connect US 30 and US 34 in the Oswego, IL area?  The eastern split is now a stoplight, but I could have sworn there were ramps the first time I drove US 30 over there and needed to take one to stay on US 30.

There was a separated grade interchange at the eastern split - it's now - as you mentioned - an at-grade signalized intersection.

[vdeane]

Was it 690 yet or still just State Fair Blvd?

I-690.  The current interchange is relatively recent; I believe it's around my age, and if not just a little older.  I-690 got new exit numbers when it was moved.

[mgk920]

A couple more in Wisconsin:

-I-94/US 12/WI 35 (east split) - Hudson:
http://goo.gl/maps/BUqZh

The original interchange trumpet was abandoned when the new WI 35 River Falls freeway spur was built just to the west a decade or so ago.  Yes it does kind of look like a shadow/seeing double thing there.

-I-39/US 51/Marathon County 'X':
http://goo.gl/maps/Xttqu

The County 'X' interchange was removed a few years ago to make room for the US 10 Marshfield Spur/northwest split interchange ('Marshfield Interchange').

Mike

[Kacie Jane]

-I-94/US 12/WI 35 (east split) - Hudson:
http://goo.gl/maps/BUqZh

The original interchange trumpet was abandoned when the new WI 35 River Falls freeway spur was built just to the west a decade or so ago.  Yes it does kind of look like a shadow/seeing double thing there.

I'm more amused by the roundabout at the end of Old 35.  Have they built more on the other three spokes since the satellite image was taken?  Or is it still just awaiting development?

[WNYroadgeek]

Was it 690 yet or still just State Fair Blvd?

I-690.  The current interchange is relatively recent; I believe it's around my age, and if not just a little older.  I-690 got new exit numbers when it was moved.

According to here, it was opened 11/1/87.