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Cities besides Anchorage where freeways don’t connect

Started by roadman65, February 13, 2023, 08:59:58 PM

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mgk920

Would I-380 in Waterloo, IA be included in this thread?

Mike


GaryV

Quote from: mgk920 on February 25, 2023, 12:38:18 PM
Would I-380 in Waterloo, IA be included in this thread?

Mike
It's connected to I-80 on the southwest end, so no. It happens to end in Waterloo, but it's still connected to the rest of the system.

triplemultiplex

Quote from: mgk920 on February 25, 2023, 12:38:18 PM
Would I-380 in Waterloo, IA be included in this thread?

The freeways on the Cedar Falls side of the metro though; those technically don't connect to other freeways.  Not yet at least.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

zzcarp

Quote from: dgolub on February 25, 2023, 08:01:37 AM
How about Manhattan?  There are a bunch of highways (I-495, I-78, NJ 495) that enter the borough via tunnels and then promptly end on the other side without connecting to anything other than the local street grid.
Quote from: GaryV on February 25, 2023, 09:14:16 AM
^ But they connect at the other end of the tunnel, right?

To meet this challenge, the freeway would have to exist only in Manhattan (and the other boroughs, plus Long Island) and not connect with the rest of the system in NJ or the rest of NY state.

Of these three examples, I-78 could qualify. While designated an Interstate, west of the Holland tunnel I-78 has four traffic signals before it becomes a freeway again. So the only question is whether the Holland Tunnel and its terminals are considered "freeway". Considering there are signed "exits" on the Manhattan side, I'd say this counts as a low-speed freeway.
So many miles and so many roads

pianocello

Quote from: triplemultiplex on February 27, 2023, 11:26:57 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on February 25, 2023, 12:38:18 PM
Would I-380 in Waterloo, IA be included in this thread?

The freeways on the Cedar Falls side of the metro though; those technically don't connect to other freeways.  Not yet at least.

They connect to each other though. Almost qualifies, but not quite.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

TheStranger

While most of California is full of interconnected freeway networks, there are a few isolated examples of routes that do this (where a freeway does not have a free-flowing, no-stoplights junction with another freeway in the area) -

- the La Cienega Boulevard freeway in Baldwin Park that was supposed to be part of the never-completed Route 170 south segment
- former Route 118 parallel to I-210 northwest of Pasadena
- Friars Road between Route 163 and I-15 in San Diego
- Route 90 in Yorba Linda
- the Route 1 freeway in Oxnard (though I suspect a connection to the now-removed flyover interchange with US 101 was planned decades ago)
Chris Sampang

Road Hog

Quote from: TheStranger on February 27, 2023, 07:47:55 PM
While most of California is full of interconnected freeway networks, there are a few isolated examples of routes that do this (where a freeway does not have a free-flowing, no-stoplights junction with another freeway in the area) -

- the La Cienega Boulevard freeway in Baldwin Park that was supposed to be part of the never-completed Route 170 south segment
- former Route 118 parallel to I-210 northwest of Pasadena
- Friars Road between Route 163 and I-15 in San Diego
- Route 90 in Yorba Linda
- the Route 1 freeway in Oxnard (though I suspect a connection to the now-removed flyover interchange with US 101 was planned decades ago)
That little freeway that terminates right outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is top of mind.

wriddle082

Quote from: 1 on February 14, 2023, 12:13:01 PM
Quote from: davewiecking on February 14, 2023, 12:10:21 PM
Quote from: KCRoadFan on February 13, 2023, 09:14:22 PM
That US 40 “mini-freeway” in Baltimore, just west of downtown, comes to mind. Not only does it not connect to any other freeways, but it’s so short that is doesn’t even have any exits between the termini.

Not to mention that I-83 doesn’t connect with I-95.

This reminds me: I-126 and SC 277 in Columbia. Yes, they're both connected to the rest of the system, but they don't connect to each other, and it looks like a gap.

You forgot the one freeway in Greater Columbia that doesn’t directly connect to any other: SC 12, Jarvis Clapman Blvd.  From just east of SC 35 in West Columbia to just over the Congaree River in Columbia, it’s a legit freeway with two interchanges at 9th St. and US 378 Sunset Blvd.  And it has the best view of the Columbia skyline heading eastbound.

StogieGuy7

The Amstutz Expressway in Waukegan, IL doesn't connect to any other freeways. It's such an afterthought that it's often used as a set for the filming of freeway scenes in movies (famously seen in Groundhog Day), This was built as part of the same grand proposal (dream) for a lakeside expressway running from Chicago to Green Bay. This ultimately resulted in the limited access portions of Lake Shore Drive, the Amstutz Expy, and the N-S part of I-794 in Milwaukee.

hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

froggie

Quote from: hbelkins on April 21, 2023, 02:20:36 PM
Breezewood. (ducking...)

Technically, they DO connect.  At least, if one takes a very roundabout way via Morgantown or Hagerstown...

KCRoadFan

Jefferson City, MO, has a rather strange half-example: it has two freeways, US 50 and US 54, which are connected by an interchange, but there's not enough room around it for a standard cloverleaf, which means that the ramps actually intersect one another at-grade - and if that's not weird enough, US 50 just east of the interchange has its own at-grade section with traffic lights.

kphoger

Quote from: KCRoadFan on April 21, 2023, 03:26:13 PM
Jefferson City, MO, has a rather strange half-example: it has two freeways, US 50 and US 54, which are connected by an interchange, but there's not enough room around it for a standard cloverleaf, which means that the ramps actually intersect one another at-grade - and if that's not weird enough, US 50 just east of the interchange has its own at-grade section with traffic lights.

Or, alternatively:  US-50 stops being a freeway east of Dix Road.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

TheStranger

Quote from: Road Hog on April 21, 2023, 03:08:35 AM
Quote from: TheStranger on February 27, 2023, 07:47:55 PM
While most of California is full of interconnected freeway networks, there are a few isolated examples of routes that do this (where a freeway does not have a free-flowing, no-stoplights junction with another freeway in the area) -

- the La Cienega Boulevard freeway in Baldwin Park that was supposed to be part of the never-completed Route 170 south segment
- former Route 118 parallel to I-210 northwest of Pasadena
- Friars Road between Route 163 and I-15 in San Diego
- Route 90 in Yorba Linda
- the Route 1 freeway in Oxnard (though I suspect a connection to the now-removed flyover interchange with US 101 was planned decades ago)
That little freeway that terminates right outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is top of mind.

That's the segment of former Route 118 mentioned earlier (which 210 bypasses)

One example which ALMOST but doesn't quite count for this: former I-15/US 395 in San Diego along Kearny Villa Road, which does at least  have one freeflow ramp (from Kearny Villa southbound to Route 163/former US 395).
Chris Sampang

kphoger

Are there any cities with a freeway network that's split in half by a body of water that doesn't have any freeway bridges connecting them?  Even Budapest has the M0.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

pderocco

#65
Quote from: TheStranger on February 27, 2023, 07:47:55 PM
- the La Cienega Boulevard freeway in Baldwin Park that was supposed to be part of the never-completed Route 170 south segment
- former Route 118 parallel to I-210 northwest of Pasadena
- Friars Road between Route 163 and I-15 in San Diego
- Route 90 in Yorba Linda
- the Route 1 freeway in Oxnard (though I suspect a connection to the now-removed flyover interchange with US 101 was planned decades ago)

Assuming we're using the narrow definition of "freeway", with fully controlled access, I'm loathe to consider a road a freeway just because it has one grade separated interchange on it. That would include two bits of US-395, at Crowley Lake and CA-203, which I still consider expressway. It could even include Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica, where it crosses 5th St, which would be ridiculous. To be a freeway worthy of the name, it should have two or more interchanges, without any intervening at-grade intersections. That would rule out La Cienega, 118, and 90.

But Friars Road in San Diego, and 1 in Oxnard are good, although the latter is really east of Oxnard.

Anyway, here's a little one: CA-178 in Lake Isabella with two interchanges.

Another little one: US-395 in Inyokern, CA, a Super-2 with two interchanges.

And here's a big one: CA-58 from Bealville to Mojave, and then from North Edwards to a few miles west of Hinkley, with expressway segments around and between them.

TheStranger

#66
Quote from: pderocco on April 21, 2023, 05:40:01 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on February 27, 2023, 07:47:55 PM
- the La Cienega Boulevard freeway in Baldwin Park that was supposed to be part of the never-completed Route 170 south segment
- former Route 118 parallel to I-210 northwest of Pasadena
- Friars Road between Route 163 and I-15 in San Diego
- Route 90 in Yorba Linda
- the Route 1 freeway in Oxnard (though I suspect a connection to the now-removed flyover interchange with US 101 was planned decades ago)

Assuming we're using the narrow definition of "freeway", with fully controlled access, I'm loathe to consider a road a freeway just because it has one grade separated interchange on it. That would include two bits of US-395, at Crowley Lake and CA-203, which I still consider expressway. It could even include Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica, where it crosses 5th St, which would be ridiculous. To be a freeway worthy of the name, it should have two or more interchanges, without any intervening at-grade intersections. That would rule out La Cienega, 118, and 90.

Interestingly, CalTrans explicitly has installed Freeway end/begin signs for Route 35 between Westmoor Avenue in Daly City and Hickey Boulevard in Pacifica, which only has 1 interchange total (the flyover/cloverleaf with Route 1).  I totally get what you're saying though, just funny how California's own DOT even does count a one-interchange freeway as such!

I mentioned 90 and La Cienega specifically due to the thread prompt: they both are limited-access to an extent, but do not have free-flow connections to the nearby limited-access facilities around.



Quote from: pderocco on April 21, 2023, 05:40:01 PM
But Friars Road in San Diego, and 1 in Oxnard are good, although the latter is really east of Oxnard.


IIRC the Route 1 freeway used to be a bit longer before the Rice Avenue construction work ca. 2010 - there's still one exit on Oxnard Boulevard (Channel Islands Boulevard) remaining from when that was 1.

Quote from: pderocco on April 21, 2023, 05:40:01 PM

Another little one: US-395 in Inyokern, CA, a Super-2 with two interchanges.


So close to being a continuous freeway stretch to the Route 14/US 395 Y, but not quite!

Quote from: pderocco on April 21, 2023, 05:40:01 PM

And here's a big one: CA-58 from Bealville to Mojave, and then from North Edwards to a few miles west of Hinkley, with expressway segments around and between them.


Route 14 being freeway up to the Mojave city limits..while not having a freeway-to-freeway connection with the late-90s Route 58 bypass.  To quote Dan Faigin's CAHIGHWAYS page:

https://cahighways.org/ROUTE014.html

"An interchange is being built at the south end of the Mojave Bypass for WB Route 58 to SB Route 14 and NB Route 14 to EB Route 58 movements (06-Ker-14 16.026). This will create a single stop light for those most common movements at the existing Route 14/Route 58 intersection. For other movements, you will travel north on Route 14 all the way to Route 58 through Mojave. There are currently insufficient traffic volumes aren't high enough for a Route 14 freeway to the Route 58 freeway. However, according to Joe Rouse at Caltrans, there were originally plans for Route 14 to bypass Mojave on the east. A new freeway spur would have connected with the east segment of Route 58. At the north end of the town, the mainline of the freeway would become Route 58 west and a new freeway spur would have connected with Route 14 north. These would have been large interchanges and faced community opposition. Additional funding for this interchange was considered in September 2005."

Not sure if any news regarding connecting 14 and 58 on the south side of Mojave has occurred in the 18 years since that information was posted.

---

Another California example I just thought of, in Orcutt: the Route 135/Route 1 freeway that does not connect to any other freeways, but is only a few miles away from US 101.
Chris Sampang

mgk920

Quote from: KCRoadFan on April 21, 2023, 03:26:13 PM
Jefferson City, MO, has a rather strange half-example: it has two freeways, US 50 and US 54, which are connected by an interchange, but there's not enough room around it for a standard cloverleaf, which means that the ramps actually intersect one another at-grade - and if that's not weird enough, US 50 just east of the interchange has its own at-grade section with traffic lights.

In that same light, one, in a bit of a stretch, could also say this about Dubuque, IA.

Mike

Gnutella

I-579 does not connect to I-376, and has only a partial connection to I-279.

sprjus4

Quote from: Gnutella on April 23, 2023, 07:53:17 PM
I-579 does not connect to I-376, and has only a partial connection to I-279.
No, but it connects to the freeway system. This thread is about freeways that don't connect to other freeways. Areas without a truly defined freeway network.

pderocco

Quote from: TheStranger on April 21, 2023, 09:19:59 PM
IIRC the Route 1 freeway used to be a bit longer before the Rice Avenue construction work ca. 2010 - there's still one exit on Oxnard Boulevard (Channel Islands Boulevard) remaining from when that was 1.
You remember correctly. You can still see it in Google Earth.

Quote from: TheStranger on April 21, 2023, 09:19:59 PM
Route 14 being freeway up to the Mojave city limits..while not having a freeway-to-freeway connection with the late-90s Route 58 bypass.  To quote Dan Faigin's CAHIGHWAYS page:

https://cahighways.org/ROUTE014.html

"An interchange is being built at the south end of the Mojave Bypass for WB Route 58 to SB Route 14 and NB Route 14 to EB Route 58 movements (06-Ker-14 16.026). This will create a single stop light for those most common movements at the existing Route 14/Route 58 intersection. For other movements, you will travel north on Route 14 all the way to Route 58 through Mojave. There are currently insufficient traffic volumes aren't high enough for a Route 14 freeway to the Route 58 freeway. However, according to Joe Rouse at Caltrans, there were originally plans for Route 14 to bypass Mojave on the east. A new freeway spur would have connected with the east segment of Route 58. At the north end of the town, the mainline of the freeway would become Route 58 west and a new freeway spur would have connected with Route 14 north. These would have been large interchanges and faced community opposition. Additional funding for this interchange was considered in September 2005."

There's on-the-ground evidence that waaay back, they planned a 14 bypass west of Mojave. You can still see the scars where the roadbed went off to the left, before they changed their collective mind and changed it to its current alignment, leaving Sierra Hwy as a dead end.

https://goo.gl/maps/4LUqhgJTgLAMumT66

What amazes me is that no one has built anything along the miles of frontage road that the Mojave Bypass has. I get that the state needed to provide access to the abutters, and all that empty land is probably privately owned, but it almost seems that they tried to limit the value of those roads and discourage their use by only connecting them to 14 over half a mile from the interchange.

bcroadguy

BC seems to build a lot of freeways that don't connect unless you drive on surface streets:
- Highway 1 doesn't connect to Highway 99 / 91 in Vancouver.
- Highway 1 doesn't connect to Highway 17 in Victoria.

Both of these were already posted in this thread. There is another example:

Highway 5 (Coquihalla Highway) is a freeway. Highway 97C (Okanagan Connector) is also a freeway, for the most part. Highway 5 was completed in 1986, and Highway 97C was constructed soon afterwards. Highway 97C was originally supposed to connect to Highway 5 south of Merritt (Highway 5 passes through Merritt). However, people/business owners in Merritt were upset about Highway 97C not passing through their town.

Highway 97C was built as a freeway from Kelowna to an at-grade intersection with an already-existing two-lane Highway 5A (which leads to Merritt) in Aspen Grove. Currently, Highway 97C and Highway 5A are concurrent from this intersection to a parclo interchange with Highway 5 in Merritt.

Highway 97C / 5A from Aspen Grove to Merritt was two lanes with some minor at-grade intersections until 2007-ish, when it was widened to four lanes. The at-grade intersections and parclo interchange connection with Highway 5 still remain. Also, the older freeway section of 97C has a (small, perhaps useless) grass median, but the newer section has a few feet of pavement with no barrier between each direction of traffic. BC went through a "too cheap to put in barriers" phase in the late 2000s-early 2010s.

It would be nice if they upgraded the newer section to a freeway (or built a new road that leads to south of Merritt), but other than the intersections with Highway 5 and 5A, all the other intersections are very lightly used (basically driveways to ranches) and have massive turn lanes and deceleration lanes (and no acceleration lanes for some reason).

Semi-related fun fact: Highway 5 used to be a toll highway and the font Comic Sans was used on the toll booth open/closed signs.

vdeane

Given that all the development in Merritt is WEST of BC 5, did they really have grounds to complain?  It's not like the traffic was driving through town anyways.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

jdbx

There are several segments I can think of that are like this in Northern California:

CA-20/49 between Grass Valley and Nevada City, CA-29 in Lakeport as well as CA-29 in Napa.

bcroadguy

Quote from: vdeane on April 25, 2023, 12:43:43 PM
Given that all the development in Merritt is WEST of BC 5, did they really have grounds to complain?  It's not like the traffic was driving through town anyways.

I think so. There's nowhere else to get food or gas for ~120 km (Hope or Kelowna), so lots of people stop there.



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