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Insane Intersections

Started by CtrlAltDel, January 11, 2018, 12:08:44 AM

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inkyatari

This intersection of US30, Taylor St, and Nicholson street in Joliet, IL is insane... to me...

https://goo.gl/maps/jCrTjEyDqf12


Here, US 30 takes an eastern turn, then one block later takes a southern turn to get to downtown Joliet IL.  Note that Nicholson St. is now a cul de sac on both sides of 30, but not on taylor.  This is a dangerous corner.

Now the reason I think this is insane, and to be fair it's pretty tame compared with others shared here, is because of an experience I had here.

First off, just to the west is University (formerly college) of St. Francis, a Catholic college.  One day I was driving SE on 30 towards the intersection, heading home from work.  Welp, on this fateful day, a car blew the stop sign on eastbound Taylor, and T-Boned my car.  I got out of my car, and who should get out of the other car but four nuns.  You see, the convent for the university was EAST of 30 there, and they were heading there.

They all piled out, kept looking at the damage to both vehicles saying "Oh, mercy!"  On the SW corner there used to be a laundromat, and several people rushed out yelling "I saw what happened!"  The whole thing was so surreal that I was laughing the whole time.

Something like this only happens to me, it seems.

Oh, the nun's insurance company was, and I am not making this up, "Sisters of Mercy Auto."  They paid me fast and fair.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.


leroy217

St.Bernard Ave, DeSaix Blvd and Gentilly Blvd in New Orleans.


leroy217


kylebnjmnross

The intersection of US 322 (Paxton Street), Grayson Road, Hilton Street, South 82nd Street, and Chambers Hill Road is pretty complex.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2616693,-76.744267,140m/data=!3m1!1e3

Perfxion

Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2018, 01:28:32 AM
Quote from: Rothman on January 13, 2018, 11:45:56 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 13, 2018, 10:11:13 PM
Quote from: Perfxion on January 13, 2018, 01:50:38 PM
The Woodlands, TX: https://www.google.com/maps/@30.155649,-95.4734911,577m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
These are two streets owned by the county. No major expressway

I must be missing something. That just looks like a standard diamond interchange with a RIRO on one ramp.

I am with you on that one.

I certainly don't see RIROs on slip ramps very often, but they're far from rare, and certainly wouldn't quality as "insane". Not in my opinion, at least.

I using insane for fact is well overbuilt for the amount of traffic it normally gets. They keep adding lanes whenever more than 10 cars are waiting at a light. Then complain they don't have the money to extend the road to SH249.
5/10/20/30/15/35/37/40/44/45/70/76/78/80/85/87/95/
(CA)405,(NJ)195/295(NY)295/495/278/678(CT)395(MD/VA)195/495/695/895

jakeroot

Quote from: Perfxion on January 20, 2018, 04:47:27 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2018, 01:28:32 AM
Quote from: Rothman on January 13, 2018, 11:45:56 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 13, 2018, 10:11:13 PM
Quote from: Perfxion on January 13, 2018, 01:50:38 PM
The Woodlands, TX: https://www.google.com/maps/@30.155649,-95.4734911,577m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
These are two streets owned by the county. No major expressway

I must be missing something. That just looks like a standard diamond interchange with a RIRO on one ramp.

I am with you on that one.

I certainly don't see RIROs on slip ramps very often, but they're far from rare, and certainly wouldn't quality as "insane". Not in my opinion, at least.

I using insane for fact is well overbuilt for the amount of traffic it normally gets. They keep adding lanes whenever more than 10 cars are waiting at a light. Then complain they don't have the money to extend the road to SH249.

I'm not 100% sure that was what CtrlAltDel meant by "insane", but I can see your point.

ftballfan

This one isn't as insane as the one I mentioned earlier, but it is insanely tricky to use: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3269306,-83.271755,17z?hl=en (Ford Rd and Telegraph Rd in Dearborn Heights)

Signage is bad, especially on EB Ford Rd (https://goo.gl/maps/ggZyucFGeSm)
Traffic from EB Ford to NB Telegraph should also be directed to use the ramp to SB Telegraph, as there is a Michigan Left turnaround a few hundred feet past where the EB -> SB ramp merges in. I was honked at yesterday for following the sign by going straight at the ramp verge then turning right on Telegraph to do a Michigan Left as there is no turnaround further down Ford (I was trying to get to Del Taco)

sparker

Quote from: SectorZ on January 12, 2018, 07:02:19 AM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 12, 2018, 12:33:15 AM
Quote from: Road Hog on January 12, 2018, 12:15:06 AM
Quote from: NE2 on January 11, 2018, 10:39:44 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on January 11, 2018, 09:53:58 PM
Since No one has shut me down, OR 18/OR 99W in Dundee OR.

Not at all strange.
Seems pointless to have a T intersection only to loop it back across with an overpass. The overpass is nothing but an added expense. Just put the intersection where the overpass is at and call it a day.

Usually that design is because there is a train track too close to the intersection, like in that photo. The highway with the overpass can't get down from the bridge over the train track in time for the intersection, so it keeps going and loops around.

Can concur with that, given this, https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shelburne,+MA+01370/@42.617474,-72.7444398,17.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e1283fded890c1:0xaca337d5ddb5f35c!8m2!3d42.5898074!4d-72.6884244, and https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shelburne,+MA+01370/@43.1874207,-72.4389383,16.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e1283fded890c1:0xaca337d5ddb5f35c!8m2!3d42.5898074!4d-72.6884244



It looks like the OR 18 bypass will continue at some point parallel to OR 99W to connect with its longstanding McMinnville bypass facility en route to the coast; the "hook" down to 99W will likely become part of an interchange between the two highways.

1995hoo

My brother reminded me this weekend of an intersection that looks harmless enough on a map but that can cause all sorts of problems when you drive through it–the intersection at the eastern end of the College of William & Mary and the western end of Colonial Williamsburg. The students call it "Confusion Corner," but local residents have traditionally called it "College Corner" and reserve "Confusion Corner" for a different intersection east of the CW area. My brother lived in the dorm just down the street from there (Taliaferro, which is pronounced like "Tolliver") during his first year at William & Mary, so we both got to know the intersection pretty well.

Regardless of its name, if you're used to this intersection it's easy to bull right through when you know you don't have the stop or yield, but the problem with that is the high volume of tourists who don't know who's supposed to yield mean you're still risking a crash: (a) North Boundary Street is one-way going away from the intersection. (b) Richmond Road coming southeast has a yield sign after you come around the corner. (c) South Boundary Street is two-way and the northbound traffic has a stop sign. (d) Jamestown Road coming northeast has neither a stop sign nor a yield sign unless you're making the right turn onto southbound South Boundary; the movement from Jamestown Road to Richmond Road or North Boundary in particular is plagued by people stopping for invisible stop signs. (e) DOG Street across the way from William & Mary is closed to vehicular traffic but is the central pedestrian artery through Colonial Williamsburg. (f) There are four crosswalks in the main intersection complex.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2707665,-76.7073974,19.54z
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barcncpt44

Here in Alabama in Alexander City, there is an intersection where two parallel roads with a railroad line in the middle meets another road.  AL-63 has to cross the railroad line, and turn onto one of the parallel roads.  To turn and cross the railroad line, left or right turn, you have a protected red.  The road crossing the railroad has standard and 3M traffic signals.  Yeah, at times people ignore the red light and turn and wait on the railroad tracks for the green light.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alexander+City,+AL/@32.9429615,-85.9567742,192m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x888c0b5b0b19fb81:0x7019d475cb03070!8m2!3d32.944012!4d-85.9538532


A bland smile is like a green light at an intersection, it feels good when you get one, but you forget it the moment you're past it. -Doug Coupland

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: barcncpt44 on January 31, 2018, 11:44:05 PM
Here in Alabama in Alexander City, there is an intersection where two parallel roads with a railroad line in the middle meets another road.  AL-63 has to cross the railroad line, and turn onto one of the parallel roads.  To turn and cross the railroad line, left or right turn, you have a protected red.  The road crossing the railroad has standard and 3M traffic signals.  Yeah, at times people ignore the red light and turn and wait on the railroad tracks for the green light.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alexander+City,+AL/@32.9429615,-85.9567742,192m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x888c0b5b0b19fb81:0x7019d475cb03070!8m2!3d32.944012!4d-85.9538532



Possibly redundant having 2 four-lane roads on each side however it could be worse (2 side by side sets of signals instead of one major one unless if I'm mistaking this image).
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

Finrod

The junction in north Lafayette of 3rd Street, 4th Street, Union Street, and Salem Street used to be your standard generic junction between two pairs of one-way streets.  Then they relocated the railroad tracks that used to run down 6th Street to a new routing that ran right through that intersection, which they had to then revamp into this horrible mess:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.425175,-86.8931154,429m/data=!3m1!1e3

When US 231 was still routed through this intersection, north 231 had to turn from 4th Street onto Fannon Drive onto Salem Street.  South 231 coming across the river on Union Street got its own ramp to 3rd Street.  Look at how Canal Road south of this intersection exists only to provide access to a power substation-- and the only way to get to Canal Road is either to come from West Lafayette across the river, or come at it from the north end where 3rd/4th Street meet 9th Street-- where 9th Street becomes 9th Street Road.  (Canal Road didn't exist at all before the interchange revamp; it was needed because 3rd Street no longer had access to that area.)
Internet member since 1987.

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Bickendan

Quote from: bing101 on February 06, 2018, 05:15:15 PM
The CA-170, CA-134@US-101 interchange in Los Angeles. The interchange was originally going to have La Cinega freeway to Ventura and Hollywood freeways.
That's not an intersection, however.

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: bing101 on February 06, 2018, 05:15:15 PM
The CA-170, CA-134@US-101 interchange in Los Angeles. The interchange was originally going to have La Cinega freeway to Ventura and Hollywood freeways.

Interchange is not the same definition as an intersection. If it is an intersection on an interchange though, that would qualify.
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

PurdueBill

#114
Quote from: Finrod on February 06, 2018, 01:51:10 PM
The junction in north Lafayette of 3rd Street, 4th Street, Union Street, and Salem Street used to be your standard generic junction between two pairs of one-way streets.  Then they relocated the railroad tracks that used to run down 6th Street to a new routing that ran right through that intersection, which they had to then revamp into this horrible mess:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.425175,-86.8931154,429m/data=!3m1!1e3

When US 231 was still routed through this intersection, north 231 had to turn from 4th Street onto Fannon Drive onto Salem Street.  South 231 coming across the river on Union Street got its own ramp to 3rd Street.  Look at how Canal Road south of this intersection exists only to provide access to a power substation-- and the only way to get to Canal Road is either to come from West Lafayette across the river, or come at it from the north end where 3rd/4th Street meet 9th Street-- where 9th Street becomes 9th Street Road.  (Canal Road didn't exist at all before the interchange revamp; it was needed because 3rd Street no longer had access to that area.)


On the plus side, that is the site of one of the very few lighted button copy overheads left in Indiana; INDOT turned off lights on overheads (usually by removing the bulbs) but only after they had ceded the Harrison Bridge and rerouted 231 down to River Road.  The button copy signs remain lighted to this day (at night only, of course).


(view from exit ramp eastbound to the aforementioned Canal Road)



paulthemapguy

This is a really strange one in Borger, Texas.  If you're starting out going north or south, and you want to make a left turn, there had better not be any east-west traffic or you're screwed out of weaving to the left lane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6615187,-101.3986367,17.17z
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SectorZ

Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 02, 2018, 07:31:08 PM
This is a really strange one in Borger, Texas.  If you're starting out going north or south, and you want to make a left turn, there had better not be any east-west traffic or you're screwed out of weaving to the left lane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6615187,-101.3986367,17.17z

Is that something like a turbine/rotary hybrid?

JKRhodes

I've always found the intersections of Hudson, Silver Heights, and 14th in Silver City to be somewhat odd. Why not shut down or narrow Silver Heights Blvd down to 14th so there's still access to the hardware store, but you can still have all US180 traffic go the extra 200 feet down Hudson then turn right.

https://goo.gl/maps/cxECL98Yb5r

jakeroot

Quote from: roadiejay on March 04, 2018, 05:28:50 PM
I've always found the intersections of Hudson, Silver Heights, and 14th in Silver City to be somewhat odd. Why not shut down or narrow Silver Heights Blvd down to 14th so there's still access to the hardware store, but you can still have all US180 traffic go the extra 200 feet down Hudson then turn right.

https://goo.gl/maps/cxECL98Yb5r

Normally, I'm not a big fan of layouts like that, because of the difficulty in timing the lights and how often drivers block one or more intersections. But, the area doesn't appear to be heavily travelled, and the signals seem far apart that changes don't seem necessary (unless the city was looking to perform some road diets).

johndoe

Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 02, 2018, 07:31:08 PM
This is a really strange one in Borger, Texas.  If you're starting out going north or south, and you want to make a left turn, there had better not be any east-west traffic or you're screwed out of weaving to the left lane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6615187,-101.3986367,17.17z

Thanks for sharing, that is different!  I always find it funny where someone goes to the trouble and expense to have a free-flowing interchange along a route (in this case both routes) with no access restrictions.  All that work and expense, and a signal gets built 1,000' to the north  :pan:

PurdueBill

Quote from: johndoe on March 04, 2018, 07:15:06 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 02, 2018, 07:31:08 PM
This is a really strange one in Borger, Texas.  If you're starting out going north or south, and you want to make a left turn, there had better not be any east-west traffic or you're screwed out of weaving to the left lane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6615187,-101.3986367,17.17z

Thanks for sharing, that is different!  I always find it funny where someone goes to the trouble and expense to have a free-flowing interchange along a route (in this case both routes) with no access restrictions.  All that work and expense, and a signal gets built 1,000' to the north  :pan:

Looks just like the US 20/Route 128(I-95) interchange, but at least there, one of the roads is limited access.  Indeed, why go to the trouble of this complex pseudo-rotary on two regular roads?

JKRhodes

Vaguely reminds me of the intersection of Clarksville St and Loop 286 in Paris, TX... The whole loop 286 is set up weird. It has interchanges with major cross roads, but many of the onramps connect directly to minor side streets and driveways, so you have to look over your shoulder to merge while being mindful of slowing traffic. Stupid design:

https://goo.gl/maps/X9Nj7CN6nZA2

hotdogPi

Quote from: RobbieL2415 on March 04, 2018, 11:07:02 PM
I nominate the approaches for the George Washington Bridge. Eight total signed routes NY 9A, NJ 4, USs 1/9/46,  Is 95 and 80 and the Palisaides Parkway)  either terminate or interface directly with it.

This thread is about intersections, not interchanges.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

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Soxfan1313

Sorry to bump this. This is my first time commenting on AARoads. I'm from Oklahoma and I was browsing through this whole thread and thought of back home.

Look at this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1586279,-95.9810899,84m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

What is happening at this intersection right off the highway (This is not an interchange, but an exit intersection)

Scott5114

What's happening there is Tulsa apparently wanting a roundabout but not wanting to commit to it. Or possibly OG&E (or whoever) being unwilling to move their power pole for the sake of the intersection.

Hello from Norman, and welcome to the forums!
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