Coolest Interchanges

[haljackey]

This one is among the coolest looking in Canada IMO:

Flyover ramps, cloverleaf loops, braided ramps... This one has everything!



Source: http://www.blogto.com/city/2007/05/looking_down_at_the_city/

(404-407 junction north of Toronto)

[BiggieJohn]

Dallas would like to think the "High 5" is pretty special.  http://goo.gl/nwJop

Austin has this one at US183 and Loop 1 http://goo.gl/maps/OtSRm

everything just has to be bigger in Texas . . .

[US81]

I loved the old Mix-master in downtown Ft. Worth. (Pre-2000)  Full of left exits, sharp curves - very hazardous, but fascinating geometry.  Elsewhere the intersections were usually generic stacks - the Mix-master was unique and fun.

[BiggieJohn]

I loved the old Mix-master in downtown Ft. Worth. (Pre-2000)  Full of left exits, sharp curves - very hazardous, but fascinating geometry.  Elsewhere the intersections were usually generic stacks - the Mix-master was unique and fun.

http://www.texasfreeway.com/dallas/construction/completed/fw_mixmaster/fw_mixmaster_map.shtml
what a mess

[NE2]

I loved the old Mix-master in downtown Ft. Worth. (Pre-2000)  Full of left exits, sharp curves - very hazardous, but fascinating geometry.  Elsewhere the intersections were usually generic stacks - the Mix-master was unique and fun.

http://www.texasfreeway.com/dallas/construction/completed/fw_mixmaster/fw_mixmaster_map.shtml
what a mess

That's the new one...

[kkt]

I like the I-280 / I-680 / US-101 interchange in San Jose, Calif.  Fast, sweeping curves, almost all directional, some effort towards attractive structures.

[kphoger]

That's the new one...

[img

Reminds me a little of the I-35W/I-820 interchange.

[MASTERNC]

I vote for Springfield as well.  I used to live in that area and moved out just before they started the project.  It is a million times better.

Some other ideas:
- The I-295 and I-95 interchange north of Richmond with the sweeping curves
- The VA 895 and I-95 interchange over the river

[triplemultiplex]

One interchange I've always thought was cool isn't some sprawling tangle of ramps in a big city.  Rather it's this little super two interchange in New London, Wisconsin (US 45 and WI 54).

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=44.40095,-88.73404&z=15&t=S

It's got the Embarrass River meandering through it in such a way that the ramp terminals for the folded diamond are on opposite banks of the river.  You can also see where US 45 and the NB exit ramp bridge over a now abandoned railroad.  It just looks cool to see such a well engineered interchange for a 2 lane highway.

[jp the roadgeek]

Three in CT:
1. The I-84/ CT 8 mixmaster in Waterbury, CT is a fun one.  Both highways double decked with a bunch of left hand exits and movements from top to lower decks and vice versa. 

2.the whole I-84/I-384/I-291/US 6/US 44/Buckland Hills area/Spencer St. complex in Manchester, CT.

3. I-91/I-95/CT 34 in New Haven.  Of course it's a bloody nightmare with the Q-Bridge reconstruction, but it'll be pretty cool when finished

[US81]

That's the new one...

Reminds me a little of the I-35W/I-820 interchange.

How so?

[kphoger]

That's the new one...

Reminds me a little of the I-35W/I-820 interchange.

How so?

The configuration.  Left and right exits.

[cpzilliacus]

805/8 interchange in San Diego, CA.  I always do freeway speeds regardless of which ramp I take.  And for some reason, I get a kick out of watching the slower cars struggle to go up 805.

That's worthy of mention, only because I-805 seems to tower so high over I-8 "down in the valley," quickly followed (when headed east) by the I-15/Ca. 15 interchange. 

It's still Ca. 15 south of I-8, right?

[national highway 1]

It's still Ca. 15 south of I-8, right?

Yes, pending the reconfiguration of left exits at the CA 94 interchange and the widening of some narrow underpasses.

[US81]

Reminds me a little of the I-35W/I-820 interchange.
[/quote]

How so?

[/quote]

The configuration.  Left and right exits.
[/quote]

Now I understand!  Yes, in that aspect I would agree.  The (old) Mix-master felt very tight, compressed laterally but using more space vertically as opposed to the more lateral, more open feel of I-35W @ I-820 - at least in the older days when that area was rather rural.  Maybe not so much now - definitely much less grass and more concrete (lots of concrete in the old Mix-master) in the views I see on-line.

Thanks.

[Bickendan]

I'm partial to the Ross Island Maze and the Fremont Stack here in Portland.

[johndoe]

I think everything mentioned so far has been system to system, so let's have something a bit different:

Here's a built-out diamond roundabout interchange in Michigan:
http://goo.gl/maps/NIr5h

[InterstateNG]

That's a parclo.  And those roundabouts are a mess, as someone who's driven them.

[johndoe]

That's a parclo.  And those roundabouts are a mess, as someone who's driven them.

Derp!  Good point.  What do you think works/doesn't work well with them?  Is there much big truck traffic, do they have to cross into multiple lanes?

[InterstateNG]

I have no problems with roundabouts generally.  Those in particular were not designed very well. 

[CentralCAroadgeek]

I like the I-280 / I-680 / US-101 interchange in San Jose, Calif.  Fast, sweeping curves, almost all directional, some effort towards attractive structures.

This.

As well as the I-28/US-101 interchange (The Alemany Maze) further up the road in San Francisco. The double-decker ramps is a reason why.

[vtk]

I'll vote for the Mound-Sandusky Interchange, version 3.  When it gets built.  Whenever that will be.


Although, version 2 is cool, and so was version 1.

P.S. Apparently the bridges and retaining walls in that drawing weren't updated after some ramp geometries were changed.

[Compulov]

Okay, so this isn't *technically* an interchange... it doesn't make it any less cooler (in my eyes). I'm referring to something that only someone who grew up in Jersey could appreciate. It's the lowly jughandle, brought to its ultimate form. Yes, I mean...

The at-grade cloverleaf.

For those who aren't aware (and honestly, I'm pretty sure you all are):

http://goo.gl/maps/4wteQ

[tradephoric]

I'm not from Jersey but i appreciate the use of innovative intersections that eliminate left turns!  I put the jughandle in the same category as the Continuous Flow Intersection in that they often only eliminate left turns from the main road but not the side street. 

[hbelkins]

I'm not from Jersey but i appreciate the use of innovative intersections that eliminate left turns!  I put the jughandle in the same category as the Continuous Flow Intersection in that they often only eliminate left turns from the main road but not the side street.

My wife's not a fan of driving in Jersey. She may kill if she ever sees another "All Turns From Right Lane" sign.

Jersey Jughandles have caused her not to hate roundabouts or Texas frontage roads quite so badly.