Highways that cross state lines and change dramatically?

[Roadster]

Has anyone traveled a highway beginning in one state that (crosses the state line) leads into another and noticed a difference, whether from good to bad     or from bad to worse or from bad to good  ... etc.?

If so, more out of curiosity, share your experience? 

[hotdogPi]

I-93 in New Hampshire between the Massachusetts border and Exit 2 generally has more traffic than the Massachusetts section due to the construction in New Hampshire.

[1995hoo]

For me the #1 road on this list is I-95 crossing between South Carolina and Georgia. Big improvement southbound due to Georgia having widened their portion; also, a lot of South Carolina's southernmost portion past Ridgeland and Hardeeville feels like an older road. Going northbound, the road narrowing can often cause traffic jams.

The quality of I-83 declines almost immediately when you cross from Maryland into Pennsylvania, IMO. Pennsylvania's segment is yet another of that state's outdated Interstates with a nonexistent median, too-narrow roadway, etc. US-15, on the other hand, improves when you enter Pennsylvania, due in part to a higher speed limit (65 mph since the segment near Gettysburg has interchanges and Maryland's has at-grade intersections). Maryland's part of Route 15 isn't BAD, mind you, other than the 55-mph speed limit; on the whole I find it to be a pleasant drive whenever I use it late at night coming home from Hershey Bears games.

I-85 used to be a considerably worse road as soon as you crossed from Virginia into North Carolina, and it remained crappy all the way down to Durham, but North Carolina's been improving their portion big-time.

I suppose technically I-87 and Autoroute 15 are not the "same road." For all practical purposes, though, it's one continuous highway. I-87 is a far better road, both as to the condition of the road itself and as to the driving experience. Autoroute 15 generally has a narrow median and you don't have a buffer from oncoming headlights. I suppose I notice that more there than on some other roads because when I reach the border, I'll have been driving for eight or nine hours already, so I find oncoming headlights to be more tiring and distracting than they are in local driving.

[bzakharin]

NJ-73 is almost entirely a 4-lane divided highway, whereas PA-73 (at least immediately upon crossing the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge) is a minor, hard to follow (multiple 90 degree turns at traffic lights) road. Of course the downgrade is not exactly at the state line (midspan of the bridge), but arguably still in NJ at the entrance to the bridge itself.

[02 Park Ave]

I say, US 12 crossing over from Wisconsin into Illinois is the most dramatic of differences.  In Wisconsin it is a limited access highway; in Illinois it isn't.

[Pete from Boston]

I-93 in New Hampshire between the Massachusetts border and Exit 2 generally has more traffic than the Massachusetts section due to the construction in New Hampshire.

Also, there's been a lane drop there until recently (construction just pushed it a little further north).

[jp the roadgeek]

I say, US 12 crossing over from Wisconsin into Illinois is the most dramatic of differences.  In Wisconsin it is a limited access highway; in Illinois it isn't.

Same with US 1 from PA into MD.  PA is limited access divided highway. MD is 2 lanes and a 50MPH limit.  DE and MD 273 are quite different.  DE is suburban Newark.  Hit the MD line and it's farm country.  US 222 is kind of straight in MD.  Hit PA and its all twists and turns.

[dfwmapper]

US 45, US 84, and US 98 go from 4 lanes divided to 2 lanes undivided going from MS to AL. AL 24/MS 76 (aka Appalachian Corridor V) craps out at a 2 lane undivided road just inside MS after being 4 lanes divided, though that is just temporary. US 62/180 goes from 4 lanes divided to 2 lanes undivided going west (south) from NM into TX. US 385 goes from 4 lanes divided to 2 lanes undivided going from SD to NE.

[tidecat]

I-65 goes from 6 to 4 lanes at the KY/TN line, and it becomes noticeably more crowded as a result.

[vdeane]

ON 401/A-20

A lot of roads on PA's borders... one that's always stuck out to me is PA/NY 328.  It goes from a narrow, twisty road with no shoulders to what in NY is a road of normal width.  In a few miles it becomes a four lane divided highway.

US 301 on the MD/DE line is also very striking, with the limited access expressway narrowing down to a regular two lane road.

I-95 NY/NJ

[hbelkins]

VA/TN 70. The road seems much wider on the south side of the border than it does to the north. OTOH, there is no appreciable difference on either side of the border on VA/TN 91.

[NE2]

A lot of roads on PA's borders... one that's always stuck out to me is PA/NY 328.  It goes from a narrow, twisty road with no shoulders to what in NY is a road of normal width.  In a few miles it becomes a four lane divided highway.

Supposedly PA 328 has been build to ADHS standards? http://www.arc.gov/noindex/programs/transp/adhs_status_report_2014/ADHSFY2014StatusReportPennsylvania.pdf

[kphoger]

Highway 67, Texas/Chihuahua

The Texas side has wide, paved shoulders. The Chihuahua side has no shoulders, uses metric speed limits, and the signs are in Spanish.

[vdeane]

A lot of roads on PA's borders... one that's always stuck out to me is PA/NY 328.  It goes from a narrow, twisty road with no shoulders to what in NY is a road of normal width.  In a few miles it becomes a four lane divided highway.

Supposedly PA 328 has been build to ADHS standards? http://www.arc.gov/noindex/programs/transp/adhs_status_report_2014/ADHSFY2014StatusReportPennsylvania.pdf

It's built to whatever standards these are: http://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=pa328&state=PA

[GCrites]

A lot of roads on PA's borders...

When you go into WV on I-70 from PA it gets a lot wider.

[SteveG1988]

Going from I-276 to the NJ turnpike. 4 lanes, jersey barrier, minimal shoulders, cracked pavement, to a wide median, 6 lanes, wide shoulders, and decent pavement once you cross into NJ.

I-55 going from MO to AR, cross the state line and the right lane becomes a spine breaker with bad expansion joint placement.

[Thing 342]

On I-85 going from NC to SC, the freeway goes from a fairly modern freeway to a rather substandard one, with narrow shoulders and tight interchanges, as well as dramatically lower quality pavement.

[mrose]

I say, US 12 crossing over from Wisconsin into Illinois is the most dramatic of differences.  In Wisconsin it is a limited access highway; in Illinois it isn't.

Yep, you go from a full blown interstate-grade freeway to a congested 2-lane with very narrow shoulders. Even the landscape changes dramatically.... the Wisconsin side is very wide open farmland with some distant hills on either side of you (high enough for skiing), and then on the Illinois side you enter a more forested area with a lot of lakes around it.

Crossing from Nebraska into Colorado on I-76 is oddly weird too.... the Nebraska side is flat, but there's stands of trees around the South Platte River to break up the landscape. Once you enter CO it becomes more desolate with almost no trees at all and a sand hills kind of feel.

[SSOWorld]

US-95 NB by ssoworld, on Flickr

US-95 NB - one can tell where the Nevada state line is buy the pavement.  California's portion also looks like you're riding a roller coaster whereas Nevada's portion is smooth.  It becomes 4-lane after the junction with the Hoover Dam alternate route.

Significant differences exist on most crossings into California in how roads are constructed.

[cjk374]

US-95 NB by ssoworld, on Flickr

US-95 NB - one can tell where the Nevada state line is buy the pavement.  California's portion also looks like you're riding a roller coaster whereas Nevada's portion is smooth.  It becomes 4-lane after the junction with the Hoover Dam alternate route.

Significant differences exist on most crossings into California in how roads are constructed.

And the cattle guard looks to be at the state line also. Is that NV or CA trying to keep the cattle in?

[Mr. Matté]

I always thought it was interesting how when you're traveling from Pennsylvania into Ohio on their states' respective Turnpikes, it seems like it's right at the state line where the terrain goes from hilly and winding roads to everything being flat. Looking at the GSV on I-80, it looks similar.

[Mr_Northside]

When you go into WV on I-70 from PA it gets a lot wider.

I'm gonna have to disagree with that.  It's relatively the same (check the Satellite View)

[bassoon1986]

I-55 at the LA/MS line used to be a pretty dramatic change before Louisiana repaved their stretch. You'd hit Louisiana state line and your car would bounce in rhythm.

[cpzilliacus]

The quality of I-83 declines almost immediately when you cross from Maryland into Pennsylvania, IMO. Pennsylvania's segment is yet another of that state's outdated Interstates with a nonexistent median, too-narrow roadway, etc. US-15, on the other hand, improves when you enter Pennsylvania, due in part to a higher speed limit (65 mph since the segment near Gettysburg has interchanges and Maryland's has at-grade intersections). Maryland's part of Route 15 isn't BAD, mind you, other than the 55-mph speed limit; on the whole I find it to be a pleasant drive whenever I use it late at night coming home from Hershey Bears games.

U.S. 15 crossing between Loudoun County, Virginia and Frederick County, Maryland includes a multiple-span series of "through" truss structures over the Potomac River. 

But on the Maryland side, it is otherwise a reasonably modern two-lane arterial highway. In Loudoun County (and, for that matter Prince William County north of Va. 234) it is mostly a relatively narrow road without shoulders, signed as a Virginia Scenic Byway.

[cpzilliacus]

I-76 at the connection point between the Ohio Turnpike and the Pennsylvania Turnpike used to be yet another embarrassment for the Keystone State (for all the usual reason), but I have not driven it since PTC completed a "total reconstruction" of the westernmost section of its road.