Favorite turnpike system in the Northeast?

[Roadgeekteen]

Which turnpike system is the best one?

[ozarkman417]

Voted PA because that's the only one of those turnpike systems I've been on, unfortunately.

[mariethefoxy]

I like the New Hampshire one because its the cheapest lol

[Alps]

I added Connecticut because they removed their tolls and confirmed (finally) that they're not coming back.

[Roadgeekteen]

I added Connecticut because they removed their tolls and confirmed (finally) that they're not coming back.

Does the turnpike really still exist in any way or is it just like any old Connecticut interstate now?

[shadyjay]

I added Connecticut because they removed their tolls and confirmed (finally) that they're not coming back.

Does the turnpike really still exist in any way or is it just like any old Connecticut interstate now?

It's still referenced as the "Gov John Davis Lodge Turnpike" with signs at each end and in the middle.  It still has its service plazas.  And it still has its narrow width median, vs the wide variable median of typical rural interstate construction.  And heck, even NY still has several signs calling it the "Conn Tpke". 

I don't believe it ever had its own "authority", just being part of then-CT Highway Dept/now-ConnDOT. 

[jeffandnicole]

You forgot Delaware even though most people, if they like it, would be that it's easy to avoid the toll.

[RobbieL2415]

I do like the Everett Turnpike.

[webny99]

Voted PA because that's the only one of those turnpike systems I've been on, unfortunately.

Yeah, I think that would be the only reason to vote for PA, since it's at the bottom of the list IMO. 
The PA Turnpike is a road with an important place in road history, no doubt, but it's unnervingly narrow and just generally sub-par design to: the Thruway, which gets my vote.

[cpzilliacus]

You forgot Delaware even though most people, if they like it, would be that it's easy to avoid the toll.

Maryland?

[sprjus4]

12 lanes on wide open, rural New Jersey Turnpike between I-95 and Newark with very little congestion and the capability to handle well over 100,000 AADT smoothly even during peak holidays.

The only pet-peeve is the 65 mph speed limit. Not that anybody actually obeys it. Also the remaining 4 lane segment south of Exit 4 that will be finally expanded to 6 lanes within the next decade.

[CtrlAltDel]

I choose Connecticut since it has no tolls.

[Rothman]

NJ.

If you expanded this beyond the Northeast, KY would be a contender in my book.

[sprjus4]

Ohio Turnpike between Cleveland and Toledo is also a contender if you're going outside the Northeast. 6 lanes across the rural plains of northern Ohio, capable of handling traffic volumes for the most part, easy to pass slower trucks, etc.

[Alps]

12 lanes on wide open, rural New Jersey Turnpike between I-95 and Newark with very little congestion and the capability to handle well over 100,000 AADT smoothly even during peak holidays.

The only pet-peeve is the 65 mph speed limit. Not that anybody actually obeys it. Also the remaining 4 lane segment south of Exit 4 that will be finally expanded to 6 lanes within the next decade.

I try not to complain about the speed limit in NJ given the enforcement. I'd rather have 65 enforced at 80-85 than 70 enforced at 75.

[GaryV]

I choose Connecticut since it has no tolls.

Me too, even though I've never been on it.

[ixnay]

Which turnpike system is the best one?

I'm with Rothman on this, one, you should have made this a nationwide question (think IL, TX etc.).  Why you did not, idk.

I voted NJTP because I've been on it quite a few times, and because of its celebrity.

ixnay

[hotdogPi]

Which turnpike system is the best one?

I'm with Rothman on this, one, you should have made this a nationwide question (think IL, TX etc.).  Why you did not, idk.

I voted NJTP because I've been on it quite a few times, and because of its celebrity.

ixnay

Many toll roads outside the Northeast, like the ones in TX and CA, are short-distance suburban connectors. They're nothing like the New Jersey Turnpike or any other long-distance through route.

There also would have been too many options to pick from.

[MASTERNC]

I vote the NY Thruway because of how wide the medians are in a lot of places.  The tolls are also a relative bargain compared to PA and NJ.

[1995hoo]

I voted for New Jersey because it's the best-quality road in my opinion (notwithstanding the narrow section south of Exit 4) and because it's one where if you've travelled it often over the years you can see the toll money being put back into road improvements that have made a real difference.

Of the ones in the poll, I think I've had the fewest trips on the Connecticut Turnpike, and I've only driven on it myself once (as opposed to being a passenger when I was a kid), but I have no real desire to drive on the portion between the New York State line and New Haven again if I can avoid doing so. I would like to clinch I-395 sometime, though. That was actually why I was on it the one time I drove on there myself–we were on our way north to Portland to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia and I had planned to take I-95 across to I-395, then use I-290 to connect to I-495, but the traffic on I-95 was so miserable I bailed at the Milford Connector and took the Wilbur Cross Parkway to I-91 to Hartford instead. We liked the scenic respite so much that we used the Wilbur Cross and the Merritt on the way home as well. The Connecticut Turnpike, at least the part southwest of New Haven, feels much more like a local commuter road than a long-distance "turnpike" in the sense of the Thruway or Florida's Turnpike or the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (I haven't been on the part of that road east of New Haven since August 1985, so I have no valid comment to make about that stretch.)

[Roadrunner75]

I try not to complain about the speed limit in NJ given the enforcement. I'd rather have 65 enforced at 80-85 than 70 enforced at 75.

Good point.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that we have it relatively good in NJ in that regard....and no speed or red light cameras.

[sprjus4]

Many toll roads outside the Northeast, like the ones in TX and CA, are short-distance suburban connectors. They're nothing like the New Jersey Turnpike or any other long-distance through route.

Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, Kansas Turnpike, Florida's Turnpike, Kentucky Turnpike, Kentucky's Parkway system, Oklahoma's Turnpike system etc.

All toll roads that serve long distance traffic.

Even the 90 mile TX-130 toll road around Austin is similar to the NJTP in the sense it provides a long-distance freeway for I-35 thru traffic that avoids Austin entirely.

[1995hoo]

Many toll roads outside the Northeast, like the ones in TX and CA, are short-distance suburban connectors. They're nothing like the New Jersey Turnpike or any other long-distance through route.

Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, Kansas Turnpike, Florida's Turnpike, Kentucky Turnpike, Kentucky's Parkway system, Oklahoma's Turnpike system etc.

All toll roads that serve long distance traffic.

Even the 90 mile TX-130 toll road around Austin is similar to the NJTP in the sense it provides a long-distance freeway for I-35 thru traffic that avoids Austin entirely.

Not necessarily disagreeing with your overall point, but I suppose it's fair to consider that while the 90-mile length of TX-130 is comparable to the Jersey Turnpike's 118-mile mainline in terms of raw distance, in terms of a "turnpike" being a major thru route serving a significant part of a state there's no real comparison between the two because New Jersey is such a small state, whereas in Texas 90 miles is a trivial distance in the overall scheme of things. (If instead TX-130 connected Dallas to Houston or Dallas to Austin or something like that, I'd probably view that as more "functionally analogous" to the turnpikes in the Northeast or to most of the other ones you cited.)

[Henry]

Easily NJ, because who can compete with the clever setup of dual carriageways per direction?

[jeffandnicole]

I voted for New Jersey because it's the best-quality road in my opinion (notwithstanding the narrow section south of Exit 4) and because it's one where if you've travelled it often over the years you can see the toll money being put back into road improvements that have made a real difference.

Unfortunately, I think that road quality has gone down a bit, especially in regards to pavement.  The NJTA used to be very quick to repave sections of roadway where there was even the slightest hint of rutting.  Over the past many years though, ruts are more common and pavement seam quality has gone down.  This has been very noticeable between Exit 4 and 6, and in some very busy older parts of the Turnpike (say, north of Exit 14).

I vote the NY Thruway because of how wide the medians are in a lot of places.  The tolls are also a relative bargain compared to PA and NJ.

Yep. While PA always wins the prize for the most expensive Turnpike in total, it has a lot to do with its length.  When you compare it on a per-mile basis, the NJ Turnpike isn't that far off.