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Ramp Stubs/Unused Highways in Washington

Started by jakeroot, April 02, 2021, 12:38:40 PM

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jakeroot

Ramp stubs and unused highways were one of my original interests when it came to road-geeking. Ramp stubs come up randomly but I've not seen a thread dedicated to it.

Wikipedia used to have a page dedicated to ramp stubs/unused highways in Washington, but it was deleted. Fortunately, EverybodyWiki still has a copy.

This page is actually somewhat out of date, so I'm creating this thread to summarize what remains of this list, as well as newer stubs if any.


Additionally, I would love to list any stubs/unused highways that existed before that list was created.


I don't mean to make this into a formal list, so just list whatever you want in any format. But if this thread grows more than I think it might, I could create a more formal list at that point.


P.S. -- I originally intended to just ask this question in the "Unbuilt Highways" thread, but I figured it was too off-topic and had the potential to hijack that thread. So, I created this thread instead.


edit: spelling.


jakeroot

To begin, here's a stub ramp that was never mentioned:

* In Everett: there is a closed ramp from Marine View Dr leading to WA-529-Snohomish River Bridge. It seems to have closed in the early 2000s.

stevashe

Here's one: a stub off the West Seattle bridge that was the offramp to S Spokane St until a new ramp replaced it around 10 years ago: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.5716946,-122.3401155,135m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

TEG24601

If we were talking about the missing links between active highways and their former routings, I would have tons, just on Whidbey Island alone.  Alas, Washington doesn't seem to have many ghost ramps, at least not since the viaduct was demolished and the subs were removed in the arboretum, not like Oregon, where it seems every 3rd interchange contains at least one ghost ramp.


That being said, the ghost loops at I-5 and SR 512 are worth mentioning.


As does the ramps on SR 518 at SW 176th St in Seatac/Burien.  Every time I drive under that bridge, I expect it to fall, given how rickedy the scaffolding looks.


Also, the dead end of the SR-7 Freeway, which always seems a bit depressing when I think about it.
They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

jakeroot

I would love to know more about the Whidbey Island examples. I've never paid much attention to the area.




I've realized that there is a thread for stub ramps. Probably best to put additional examples over there (as Bruce already has). There's just no way there's enough to have a single thread only for Washington.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=15585.0

I shall imagine that unused highways are also permitted.

TEG24601

Most of it comes down to that prior to the 1960s, there was no single roadway that spanned the length of the Island.  As a result, when they did build "the highway", as 525 and 20 are called, a lot of old routes were bypassed, and the old routes were either stubbed or turned into local roadways.  Later on, most of those, which were at angles other than 70°-120° were modified to provided better sight lines, traffic use be dammed.  Few of these are actually visible on Google Maps, but Historic Aerials helps with a lot of the information.




The little village/community of Clinton.  The highway bisects the grid in this community, and has since at least the 1940s.  The current Commercial Ave, which is currently curved, used to meet at Wilson Rd/Humphrey Rd.; Frost Ave. and Central Ave used to be a single street, in fact, until the mid-90s, it was just called Central Ave.  The section of Deer Lake Rd. used to Harding Ave, which now only exists as a short stub road (the post office's address was on Harding Rd. until around 2000), and Deer Lake Rd, was routed down Central Ave. until the late 90s.  Brighton Beach Rd., and the Highway used to merge were the current Bob Galbreath intersection is, as prior to the construction of the current ferry terminal area at Columbia Beach, the mosquito fleet dock was at the base of Brighton Beach Rd., not that there is much evidence of that any more.  There is also a vestigial road, legally one-way and lined, but no longer signed as such in the former ROW of the old Commercial Ave.


Up North, it is fascinating, to me, to look at the tree lines, and where roads exist on either side of Ault Field (NAS Whidbey), to show the former routings of Goldie Rd and Oak Harbor Road over to the other side of the valley (both carried 1-D back in the day).  Also, if you look at Oak Harbor, you will see that SR 20 heads North, then veers NE after about 8-10 blocks.  Oak Harbor Rd. continues in the Northern direction, as I said, it used to carry I-D, and was still connected to SR 20 until about 1993, when it was turned into a pedestrian only connection.


I have plenty more, mostly the roads that were used for the old routing that are still in use, the few that are no longer used for any traffic, and the others that are now trail heads and other parks.

They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

X99

Quote from: jakeroot on April 02, 2021, 12:38:40 PM
Wikipedia used to have a page dedicated to ramp stubs/unused highways in Washington, but it was deleted.

yeah... sorry about that. That was my fault.
why are there only like 5 people on this forum from south dakota

stevashe

Just stumbled across a ramp as I was browsing google maps but since it's just closed as opposed to being a stub I'll post here since it fits better.

It's at the 509 interchange with S Cloverdale St: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.5259428,-122.3334963,375m/data=!3m1!1e3

Interestingly, old streetview shows a sign in the gore identifying it as a "Restricted Ramp" but there is no indication of what the restriction was that I can see. What's more, the ramp simply merges back to 509, so it doesn't seem particularly useful. The only thing it accomplishes is a small queue jump if traffic is backed up on the mainline. Does anyone have any idea what this ramp may have been for?

Bickendan

Only thing I could think of would be for the bus lines that run on WA 509 -- OSM shows three, but all are mapped on the mainline. The ramp would make sense if any of them exited at Marginal/WA 99 south at the next exit, but the mainline is a four lane facility, making that ramp rather redundant for the upcoming aux lane, and none of the bus lines exit at Marginal anyway.

ErmineNotyours

Another now-rare stub around here is the Sea-Tac Airport freeway northbound lanes, abandoned after wrapping those lanes around Link light rail.  It also turned a former onramp into an offramp.  Gee, that's not confusing.  :confused:

jay8g

Quote from: stevashe on April 22, 2021, 06:15:47 PM
Just stumbled across a ramp as I was browsing google maps but since it's just closed as opposed to being a stub I'll post here since it fits better.

It's at the 509 interchange with S Cloverdale St: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.5259428,-122.3334963,375m/data=!3m1!1e3

Interestingly, old streetview shows a sign in the gore identifying it as a "Restricted Ramp" but there is no indication of what the restriction was that I can see. What's more, the ramp simply merges back to 509, so it doesn't seem particularly useful. The only thing it accomplishes is a small queue jump if traffic is backed up on the mainline. Does anyone have any idea what this ramp may have been for?

That was mentioned in an old Metro document I saw at some point (but which I can't find right now), and it was intended as a bus queue jump to be used when the bridge was up. I can't imagine it would have been very helpful, and there aren't even any buses using that section of SR 509 anymore as far as I can tell.

TEG24601

Quote from: ErmineNotyours on April 24, 2021, 11:33:54 PM
Another now-rare stub around here is the Sea-Tac Airport freeway northbound lanes, abandoned after wrapping those lanes around Link light rail.  It also turned a former onramp into an offramp.  Gee, that's not confusing.  :confused:


As I call it, the running of the gigantic two-level roundabout that used to be Sea-Tac.  There was literally no reason for them to do that.
There are so many lost and abandoned ramps at Sea-Tac.  Also, the "temporary" overpass/exit on the West Side of the Airport, from the 3rd Runway construction, which was never removed.
They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

bubblewhale

SR 704 is a weird stretch that was very short partially built; I think at this point it'd probably won't change and stay the same as it stands.

kurumi

Quote from: bubblewhale on May 16, 2022, 02:59:17 AM
SR 704 is a weird stretch that was very short partially built; I think at this point it'd probably won't change and stay the same as it stands.

Just noticed there's a nice US 704 reassurance sign goof: https://goo.gl/maps/SFHnVMQBwcFrvdJr5
My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

Bruce

Quote from: kurumi on May 16, 2022, 01:13:13 PM
Quote from: bubblewhale on May 16, 2022, 02:59:17 AM
SR 704 is a weird stretch that was very short partially built; I think at this point it'd probably won't change and stay the same as it stands.

Just noticed there's a nice US 704 reassurance sign goof: https://goo.gl/maps/SFHnVMQBwcFrvdJr5

Already long gone.

compdude787

I wonder if SR 704 will ever be completed? Or is the rest of the project completely dead due to environmental concerns?

jakeroot

Quote from: compdude787 on May 21, 2022, 11:41:01 PM
I wonder if SR 704 will ever be completed? Or is the rest of the project completely dead due to environmental concerns?

I'm pretty sure the project is dead. I remember someone asking about it at one of the public meetings for the interchange reconstruction projects in Tillicum (Thorne and Berkeley interchanges), and whether they were designed to accommodate an extension of SR 704. They basically just stated that they were not and that project was not going ahead. At least for the time being. They did not state specifically why, although they emphasized that there was no money for the project.

compdude787

^ Okay, that is what I thought. It's certainly not surprising to me that the rest of WA 704 will likely never be completed.

pderocco

Quote from: compdude787 on May 24, 2022, 10:40:00 PM
^ Okay, that is what I thought. It's certainly not surprising to me that the rest of WA 704 will likely never be completed.

Where was it supposed to go, originally?

stevashe

Quote from: pderocco on May 25, 2022, 09:43:42 PM
Quote from: compdude787 on May 24, 2022, 10:40:00 PM
^ Okay, that is what I thought. It's certainly not surprising to me that the rest of WA 704 will likely never be completed.

Where was it supposed to go, originally?

Across the JBLM miltary base, from SR 7 to I-5, on this general alignment:

jakeroot

The original EIS (from the mid 2000s) is available on Pierce County's website:

https://www.piercecountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/826

I94RoadRunner

WA 522 at the current eastern terminus has a stub for where 522 has been planned to extend north about another mile to meet the US 2 Monroe Bypass if that ever gets built in my lifetime.

Interstate 90 has stub ramps on both eastbound and westbound just east of Exit 27 which was for a never built rest area for both directions.

Approximately 1/2 mile east on SR 512 from the existing interchange with Pacific Ave/SR 7, there is a wooded area surrounding SR 512 on both sides which was to be where a cloverleaf would have been built for the SR 7 freeway where it would have met SR 512.

Chris Kalina

“The easiest solution to fixing the I-238 problem is to redefine I-580 as I-38

jakeroot

Quote from: I94RoadRunner on August 31, 2022, 09:00:26 PM
Interstate 90 has stub ramps on both eastbound and westbound just east of Exit 27 which was for a never built rest area for both directions.

I was familiar with the other two, but I've never heard of this one.

Are you referring to this going westbound and this going eastbound?

Very interesting if that's the case. And, truthfully, it would have been a great spot for a rest area. Disregarding the visitor center at Snoqualmie Pass, Indian John Hill is first rest area on I-90, at (oddly) 90 miles from the start of the Interstate. It does seem like something is missing there. Any idea why it wasn't built?



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