Never-built highways of the Northwest

Started by Bruce, July 29, 2020, 12:16:38 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Bickendan

That's... one way to deal with a interchange in an urban environment I suppose...


stevashe

Quote from: Bruce on November 18, 2022, 01:00:29 AM
Another short and relatively unknown project: the Michigan Street Connector. Would have linked SR 509 to I-5 via a new bridge over the Duwamish River with options to continue to the R. H. Thomson Expressway. The Seattle Times drew this map in 1967:



The article describes it as an alternative to the Connecticut Street Viaduct, another cancelled project that would have extended I-90 to the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

This sure would have come in handy during the West Seattle bridge closure!

..although dumping a bunch more traffic onto I-5 right there would likely cause excess traffic so not sure it would be worth it overall.

jakeroot

Quote from: Alps on November 18, 2022, 03:29:16 PM
That sure explains the giant long ramps right there

Funny you'd mention that, I always thought the giant ramps were just because of the elevation difference between I-5 and Michigan St. Never occurred to me there was anything more behind it.

jay8g

Quote from: Alps on November 18, 2022, 03:29:16 PM
That sure explains the giant long ramps right there

That was my first thought, but on second look it seems rather awkwardly tacked onto those ramps, so I'm not sure if that was ever intended. The current offramp ties in quite nicely to Corson Ave S and trying to connect it to a new elevated freeway would have required quite a bit of reconstruction.

Quillz

I read about a possible Anchorage freeway that would connect the two freeway segments of AK-1, to provide a full freeway connection from the southern city limits to the AK-1/AK-3 junction near the Palmer/Wasilla area, and avoiding the downtown area entirely. It has been mentioned on Wikipedia and a few other sources. Does anyone know if this is still going to be built, or was it a proposal that will never happen? Because if the latter, seems appropriate for this thread.

Bruce

#155
WSDOT has added a series of county maps to their online collections, including this 1982 sheet of Snohomish County that shows the Monroe bypass. A windmill interchange with SR 522 is quite intriguing, I would've thought a standard trumpet would have been the preference.



EDIT: Another one, with SR 509 cutting through Des Moines as mentioned earlier.




Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.