WORST location for a traffic incident/road closure?

[thenetwork]

For Cleveland, OH, ANY closure of I-90/SR-2 between E. 55th St. and E. 185th St.

Case in point, about 7 years ago on a Friday in June, there was a chemical spill on the eastbound lanes in Bratenahl (about midway between the aforementioned streets) which closed the interstate well into the afternoon rush.

The ONLY east-west freeway alternative was I-77 to I-480 well to the south, which already is an extremely heavy corridor on a good day.  So that left the surface street alternatives (Lake Shore Blvd / St. Clair / Superior / Chester / Euclid / Carnegie) -- all of which are mostly 2 or 3 lanes in each direction with miles of poorly timed traffic lights through shady neighborhoods.

Pretty much EVERY street was gridlocked from downtown, and what would normally be a 20 minute drive from downtown to Euclid took well over 2 hours.

I happened to be visiting my hometown there on vacation the day this happened and had to get from Downtown to Mentor (far-northeast side), so the I-480 alternative wouldn't have helped me much time-wise.

Had the Clark Freeway (I-290) had been built connecting I-77 to I-271 in the 60's, there would have been a decent alternative route for I-90 thru traffic, but the hoity-toity east siders nixed that idea, so now there is a large section of the east-central side of Cleveland and it's adjoining suburbs with no real east-west free-flow connection to downtown and west.

BTW, it's even worse in the winter if the weather or resulting pile-ups shut I-90 down.

[webny99]

(Side note: I kind of want to see the Thruway closed between the ends of I-490 at least once in my lifetime. The traffic impacts on I-490 and throughout the Rochester area, which is usually almost entirely free of long-distance traffic, would be a subject of incredible fascination.)

So, I kinda sorta got my wish today. There was a temporary lane closure on the westbound Thruway near Scottsville, which had traffic backed up for a few miles from mid-morning to around 5PM, so it was variably faster to take I-490 end to end than to stay on the Thruway. I grabbed this screenshot to show a two-minute time savings via I-490:



There was not, however, any issues on I-490 generated by extra traffic. Realistically, it would take a full closure of the Thruway to generate enough additional traffic to even register on I-490 beyond the normal rush hour trouble spots, and even then, west of Exit 8 would probably still hold up fine.

[bulldog1979]

The Mackinac Bridge. When it closes, it literally divides the state of Michigan in half.

Even worse: the Nipigon River Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway. If that closes, it divides Canada in half and creates a detour through the United States.

[JustDrive]

It really sucks around here when a crash closes I-10 in San Gorgonio Pass. There is no alternative, though it would be very simple to build a two-lane road parallel to the interstate through the pass. There is a way through the middle section, but it doesn't go to either end as there is no eastbound alternative at exit 102 (Ramsey St) and no westbound alternative at exit 111 (CA 111); note that both are simple Y-interchanges. Crashes on this section of I-10 can block traffic for hours. The only way around is using the curvy highways through the mountain ranges north and south of the pass.

Similar problems happen in several places out west, including other places on I-10 between Indio and Blythe along with Cajon Pass and the Grapevine, but this is one of the worst in the country as I-10 is four lanes in each direction through the pass. These crashes also often occur due to high winds through the pass so cleanup crews can be sandblasted while trying to clean up a crash site.

When the I-10 bridge collapsed east of Coachella a few years ago, Caltrans and ADOT had the detour go through the Imperial Valley and back up through Gila Bend and Buckeye.

15 through the Cajon Pass is also a logistical nightmare whenever there's an accident or fire, very similar to the 10 through the San Gorgonio. There's a gap in Cajon Blvd between Cleghorn and the 138.

[Occidental Tourist]

An accident on I-15 south of Vegas on a Sunday anywhere between Nipton Road and Baker.

[webny99]

(Side note: I kind of want to see the Thruway closed between the ends of I-490 at least once in my lifetime. The traffic impacts on I-490 and throughout the Rochester area, which is usually almost entirely free of long-distance traffic, would be a subject of incredible fascination.)

So, I kinda sorta got my wish today. There was a temporary lane closure on the westbound Thruway near Scottsville, which had traffic backed up for a few miles from mid-morning to around 5PM, so it was variably faster to take I-490 end to end than to stay on the Thruway. I grabbed this screenshot to show a two-minute time savings via I-490:

[img snipped]http://There was not, however, any issues on I-490 generated by extra traffic. Realistically, it would take a full closure of the Thruway to generate enough additional traffic to even register on I-490 beyond the normal rush hour trouble spots, and even then, west of Exit 8 would probably still hold up fine.

Same thing again today, appears to be construction-related. It almost looks like the same screenshot unless you look closely:

[RobbieL2415]

1. I-91 at US 5, Springfield. Narrow and winding, predates Interstate designation. Any bypass would take you on surface streets.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0777412,-72.5782383,1342m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

2. I-84 at I-684, Brewster, NY. One lane ramps for all movements at an already overloaded interchange.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.390186,-73.5977464,466m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

[Flint1979]

I was in the Upper Peninsula one day in the winter I decided to drive up to my place in Cedarville for the day and hang out in the off season which is the time of the year that I love up there. It was a nice calm day as I left Saginaw and headed north along I-75 I believe it was in the 30's for temps. So I got to Gaylord which is where I usually make my last stop before the bridge if I'm going to the U.P. and it started snowing as I got off the highway at M-32 and went and filled up my gas tank and got something to eat before getting back on the highway. As I left Gaylord and headed north it started snowing harder as I got closer to the bridge I tuned into the radio channel for the Mackinac Bridge Authority and hearded them announce that the bridge was being partially closed as winds were gusting to around 40 mph in the straits. I got up to the bridge and they were only allowing you to drive at 20 mph. I drove out onto the bridge and felt fine for about the first mile, as I got on the suspension part of the bridge I could feel it rocking back and forth and thought this bridge has been here since 1957 and nothing has happened to it I think I'm ok. Got over that sucker and paid the toll, went up to Cedarville, coming back I did the same thing as when I was going tuning into the radio and listening, well this time they closed the bridge down completely and weren't sure exactly when it would re-open. I thought this sucks I can't get back to the lower peninsula. I turned around and went back to Cedarville and spent the night in my cabin. It was cold as hell for awhile. I'm sure this is a typical Michigan thing to have happen to you. If I didn't have my cabin to spend the night in I would have just got a hotel in St. Ignace. Actually when I think about it now I thought it was a lot of fun having all that happen to me.

[tmoore952]

On a quick read through this thread I did not see American Legion Bridge which crosses Potomac River northwest of DC. Due to lack of other ways across the river to the northwest of DC (no other options presently in that direction until US 15), a lot of traffic funnels through there (I-270 from Frederick/Rockville, I-495 traffic between Bethesda MD and Tysons Corner VA). I work near there on the Maryland side, and also live in Maryland, which is good because I can detour on back roads and get home without having to go on the interstate. It is not an accident that I have always minimized having to cross the river on my commutes.

If an accident occurs at the wrong time (or an "official motorcade" which also happens around here [doesn't matter who is in office]), it can cause tremendously long backups, both in miles and time.  When motorcades occur they close the road, doesn't matter what time of day.

[Rothman]

On a quick read through this thread I did not see American Legion Bridge which crosses Potomac River northwest of DC. Due to lack of other ways across the river to the northwest of DC (no other options presently in that direction until US 15), a lot of traffic funnels through there (I-270 from Frederick/Rockville, I-495 traffic between Bethesda MD and Tysons Corner VA). I work near there on the Maryland side, and also live in Maryland, which is good because I can detour on back roads and get home without having to go on the interstate. It is not an accident that I have always minimized having to cross the river on my commutes.

If an accident occurs at the wrong time (or an "official motorcade" which also happens around here [doesn't matter who is in office]), it can cause tremendously long backups, both in miles and time.  When motorcades occur they close the road, doesn't matter what time of day.

Some of us remember the jumper on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that held up traffic on the Beltway for hours (8, if memory serves).  Some time around the year 2000.

[interstate73]

An overheight truck struck an overpass right before the Tappan Zee this morning, past the merge point for any on-ramps, causing 3 of 5 lanes to be closed for most of the day. The results were predictably disastrous throughout Rockland County:

[RM42]

Probably any of the bridges across the southern part of the Mississippi River.

For example if the Natchez-Vidalia bridge was closed, it would take hours to drive between the cities - either up to Vicksburg or all the way south to almost Baton Rouge.

[Flint1979]

Probably any of the bridges across the southern part of the Mississippi River.

For example if the Natchez-Vidalia bridge was closed, it would take hours to drive between the cities - either up to Vicksburg or all the way south to almost Baton Rouge.

About 3 hours, around 170 miles. I wonder why there aren't more bridges along that part of the Mississippi.

[GaryV]

^ Too expensive to build.

[jmacswimmer]

An overheight truck struck an overpass right before the Tappan Zee this morning, past the merge point for any on-ramps, causing 3 of 5 lanes to be closed for most of the day. The results were predictably disastrous throughout Rockland County:
[img clipped]

As a follow-up to this: The southbound Thruway will be closed most of tomorrow to allow for emergency repairs to the struck overpass, which means the southbound Tappan Zee is closed by default as well. Will be interesting to see how bad the congestion is at the surrounding bridges - I'd imagine the GWB, Bear Mountain, and Newburgh-Beacon will all have varying amounts of impact.

[webny99]

An overheight truck struck an overpass right before the Tappan Zee this morning, past the merge point for any on-ramps, causing 3 of 5 lanes to be closed for most of the day. The results were predictably disastrous throughout Rockland County:
[img clipped]

As a follow-up to this: The southbound Thruway will be closed most of tomorrow to allow for emergency repairs to the struck overpass, which means the southbound Tappan Zee is closed by default as well. Will be interesting to see how bad the congestion is at the surrounding bridges - I'd imagine the GWB, Bear Mountain, and Newburgh-Beacon will all have varying amounts of impact.

Wow. Really any of the Hudson River crossings south of Albany could qualify for this thread, but the TZ is definitely the most impactful one north of NYC proper. The GWB handles so much volume that it's expected to have bad traffic, so I expect Bear Mountain to be the biggest choke point, especially on a Saturday/weekend. Will be interesting to monitor, and let's hope it doesn't last into Sunday, as that will be a nightmare for weekend traffic trying to head back east.

[JayhawkCO]

For Colorado, the worst location is, unfortunately, the one that happens most - Glenwood Canyon. 3 hour+ detour every time it happens.

Not sure if anyone saw it, but there was a crash in Eagle, CO that caused a brush fire which closed I-70 and US6 for a while yesterday. Three hour detours on CO13->US40->CO9. Both directions of I-70 are finally open but US6 remains closed.

[thenetwork]

For Colorado, the worst location is, unfortunately, the one that happens most - Glenwood Canyon. 3 hour+ detour every time it happens.

Not sure if anyone saw it, but there was a crash in Eagle, CO that caused a brush fire which closed I-70 and US6 for a while yesterday. Three hour detours on CO13->US40->CO9. Both directions of I-70 are finally open but US6 remains closed.

Once you're out of the canyon on the east, passenger and most smaller vehicles can exit at Dotsero, and follow Colorado River Road northeast (mostly a hard-packed dirt road) to CO‐131 south to rejoin I-70 at Wolcott.  Larger vehicles would likely need to do the much longer US-40 detour.

But, in general, there are a lot of choke points along key points of I-70 west of Denver.

[webny99]

...

That got me thinking: what is the worst possible location for a roadway incident or closure, in terms of the immediate impact and ripple effects on traffic within a region? It's a surprisingly interesting thought experiment, and I think there's potential for an interesting discussion for each metro area/region across the country.
...

That concludes my case that any incident occurring on or near the Bay Bridge has potential to cause greater traffic disruption than an equivalent incident at any other location in the Rochester region.
...

Today, we're finding out how the inverse situation affects traffic on the east side of the Rochester metro. That is, what happens when, instead of avoiding the Bay Bridge, everyone is relying on it? That's the case right now because of an accident near Empire Blvd/Plank Rd (news article here) that resulted in localized power outages and all three approaches to Empire/Plank have been closed since mid-morning. Congestion has already started at the usual trouble spots - namely Bay Rd approaching NY 104, the 104 EB exit at Bay, and NY 590 NB (which can be sticky even on a good day).

[oscar]

Anywhere on the Alaska Highway west of BC 37 cuts Alaska off from the rest of the world.

Not completely. The Campbell Highway (Yukon 4) is an alternative, though largely unpaved and with limited traveler services (for example, no gas between Ross River and Watson Lake). Alaska Marine Highway ferries out of Prince William Sound, Haines, and Skagway provide limited additional options. Top of the World Highway between the Alaska Highway and Dawson YT, is a summer-only alternative for some other parts of the Alaska Highway.

A more worrisome issue is that Anchorage has only two land escape routes, one north and one south of the city (no complete old alignments either, since the old roads were generally covered in key places by the new pavement). Anchorage got whacked hard by the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake in 1964 (strongest earthquake recorded in North America), when the city had much less population than it has now. The earthquake danger hasn't gone away.

[webny99]

...

That got me thinking: what is the worst possible location for a roadway incident or closure, in terms of the immediate impact and ripple effects on traffic within a region? It's a surprisingly interesting thought experiment, and I think there's potential for an interesting discussion for each metro area/region across the country.
...

That concludes my case that any incident occurring on or near the Bay Bridge has potential to cause greater traffic disruption than an equivalent incident at any other location in the Rochester region.
...

Today, we're finding out how the inverse situation affects traffic on the east side of the Rochester metro. That is, what happens when, instead of avoiding the Bay Bridge, everyone is relying on it? That's the case right now because of an accident near Empire Blvd/Plank Rd (news article here) that resulted in localized power outages and all three approaches to Empire/Plank have been closed since mid-morning. Congestion has already started at the usual trouble spots - namely Bay Rd approaching NY 104, the 104 EB exit at Bay, and NY 590 NB (which can be sticky even on a good day).

Unsurprisingly, evening rush hour was gnarly for anyone commuting between Rochester/Irondequoit and points east. By 3PM, NY 590 NB started to back up approaching NY 104, and that backup persisted through rush hour, finally clearing up around 6:30. The significant change in traffic patterns meant that northbound traffic was getting heavier at Exit 8 instead of lighter.. so instead of traffic clearing up between Exits 7 and 9 as it usually does, it backed right up to I-490 and beyond. The only other local access point to the Bay Bridge is Culver Rd at NY 104, which also backed up on both approaches. For northbound traffic, NY 286 is the next alternate around the closure (and to avoid the congestion on NY 590), so traffic poured through the valley and the overburdened left turn at Creek St backed traffic up all the way to N Landing Rd, a backup which also persisted beyond 6 PM and increased traffic along NY 286 as far east as NY 250 for anyone wanting to avoid the left turn onto Creek (and left onto Qualtrough, which subsequently backed up).

Further north, the NY 104 EB exit at Bay Rd backed up a bit but remained manageable, mostly because the single lane ramp from 590 serves to restrict how much traffic can hit it at once (also the reason why the lane drop beyond Bay Rd doesn't cause congestion, even at peak times). NB Bay Rd, however, backed up significantly due to the protected left at NY 104 WB. With the closure expected to persist, hopefully the signal timing is adjusted overnight because 6-8 cars every 2 minutes isn't going to cut it during morning rush hour (personally, I'd just turn around north of 104, and get on from Bay Rd SB).

[kphoger]

... gas ... Ross River ...

BTW, how common is that gas pump setup?  Where there are gas pumps built right into the above-ground tank?

[Fredddie]

Right at the rest area gore and you're crowning

[Rothman]

Right at the rest area gore and you're crowning

O.o