Bypasses/Beltways that are busier/more congested than the routes they bypass

[epzik8]

Maryland Route 24 used to go straight through downtown Bel Air, Maryland, as did U.S. Route 1, which was bypassed about 1965. "New Route 24" between U.S. 1 and I-95 in Abingdon was planned before the year 1970. It was Thanksgiving week of 1987 before "New 24" opened to traffic. "Old 24" became Route 924. Initially there was a single traffic signal on "New 24", at U.S. 1 Business on the southeast side of Harford Mall. By the time 1988 arrived, a second light was present, at Boulton Street at the other Harford Mall entrance. More lights came during the next decade, the last of which, at Plumtree Road near the Festival Shopping Center, was switched on around the fall of 1998. As a result, "New 24" is much more crowded than Route 924, which was not the way it was supposed to be; "New 24" was supposed to be an express route connecting U.S. 1 with I-95 and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. This is why the south end of 924, which transitions there into Tollgate Road, and was the last signal prior to I-95, was converted from a traffic signal into a grade-separated diamond interchange, which was fully functional by the early fall of 2011.

[BigRTM]

Being a Tampa native, I do know about the history of I-75/I-275 here (the Tampa portion of I-275 originally being I-75 and so forth). And yes, technically I-75 is the bypass even though some may have not realized it.

[Roadgeekteen]

Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.

They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.

Then build another beltway.

[froggie]

It's not that easy, kid...

[US 89]

Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.

They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.

Then build another beltway.

Which will then become congested enough to be useless. When you build the new freeway, tons of stores and businesses move out to the new freeway. That sets off a chain of growth that inevitably will result in the freeway.

Also, many cities have sprawled enough for one of two things to happen:
1. The city has sprawled up right to the base of mountains, so there isn't room for a new freeway without tearing down tons of houses.
2. A new beltway would have to be placed at an excessive distance like 50 miles from the city center in order to not tear down any houses.

[Roadgeekteen]

It's not that easy, kid...

Just use earthbending to build a tunnel!

[Bruce]

That doesn't fix anything. It just lines the pockets of contractors (who in turn donate heavily into PACs).

The real fix is to heavily limit development outside of existing urban areas. Sprawl is the root cause of a lot of America's problems.

[Buffaboy]

Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.

They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.

Then build another beltway.

Where I am, it would be like 10-15 miles out from the current "beltway" because of poor planning and excessive eastward sprawl.

[SSOWorld]

Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.

They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.

Then build another beltway.

Get off my lawn!</nimby>

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Any bypass that is tolled might be an exception. Take Chicago.  The routes through the city are very packed consistently.  The Tri-State will clog, but not as often as the Kennedy/Ryan combo.  The Skyway/Indy Toll Road is almost never packed though as the mainstream cuts down to the Borman - clogging the southern end of the Tri-State combining with mainstream I-80.

St Louis qualifies as well - if you take I-255 instead of I-270.

[amroad17]

Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.

They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.

Then build another beltway.

This statement from a person that has two bypasses around Boston--near where he lives.

Louisville also has the potential to have the same issues Boston has with their two bypasses (I-264, Watterson Expy; I-265, Gene Snyder Freeway).  I-264 is pretty much an urban-type freeway with all the sprawl that has encompassed it.  I-265 has not yet reached that point although more sprawl is heading in that direction.  Because it is two lanes each way, there are traffic backups at certain points along the route during the rush periods (I-65, US 31E/150, I-64/US 60, and around the Ford plant at Exit 32).

[Bitmapped]

The I-470 Wheeling, WV bypass has higher traffic counts than mainline I-70 through Wheeling.

[Joe The Dragon]

The I-470 Wheeling, WV bypass has higher traffic counts than mainline I-70 through Wheeling.

well that is also the truck route

[JJBers]

Isn't I-95 technically a bypass of CT 15...which would mean that I-95 is wayyyy busier than CT 15.

[freebrickproductions]

Not an interstate, but the "bypass" of US 231 around downtown Dothan is much busier and more congested than Business US 231 through downtown Dothan is.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Not an interstate, but the "bypass" of US 231 around downtown Dothan is much busier and more congested than Business US 231 through downtown Dothan is.

I would expect this is the case in a lot of places; this is how a lot of small-medium cities declined because they were bypassed and the traffic no longer went through their business district.

[JKRhodes]

I'd say the Loop 101 in Scottsdale and North Phoenix, largely between Shea Blvd and I-17 is prone to heavy traffic, to the point that I've detoured on surface streets several times, or opted for the US 60 - I-10 - I-17 route when traveling from the east valley to points north of the valley.