expressway interchange qwerks!

[Mergingtraffic]

What expressway interchanges do you think was designed well but have a qwerk or two to make it a "non-perfect" interchange?

Some examples:

Loop ramps that are too tight.

Well designed but that one elft-exit or entrance.

Flyover with that pesky tight loop ramp or left entrance

sharp curves.
etc

[SSOWorld]

• Mitchell Blvd in Milwaukee at I-94 has all left ramps except the exit from EB I-94.
• I-39 has a weigh station in the median
• I-70 in PA between Washington (PA) and the Turnpike has interchanges so tightly wound there are stop signs on the ramps
• Dead Man's curve in Cleveland
• Two interchanges on I-290 in Chicago have all ramps exiting/entering from the left.
• The Badger Interchange (I-90/94/39/WIS 30) in Madison and the Zoo Interchange (I-94/I-894/US 45) in Milwaukee have left exit ramps for "left turns" The Marquette (I-43/94/794) was this way until the it was rebuilt.
• Until 3 years ago, WI 29 west and US 51 - both freeways - junctioned at a traffic light controlled diamond interchange.  Only the EB->NB movement of that interchange passes over local roads now - and that's because it's flyover is still under construction.

[Revive 755]

* I-70/I-170 interchange west of St. Louis:  All left turn movements are left exits and left entrances.  However, NB I-170 has an extra left exit that enters WB I-70 on the right to provide access to the Lambert Airport exit.  With the proximity of the airport and a light rail line angling through the interchange, it might be hard to convert it into a stack.  Plus I've been told that the interchange functions fine by a MoDOT official.

* The I-170 Boeing Exit:  Pretty much a private ramp to a Boeing factory entrance, has a closed gate at the end; however, the gate is positioned so it can be used as a NB to SB u-turn ramp.

* I-55/I-44/Truman interchange in St. Louis:  Biggest problem is the 20 mph left exit that dumps traffic on the left side of I-44.  Then there's a poorly designed lane drop on a curve for the SB Truman to I-55 movement.

* I-44/I-270/MO 366 interchange:  Maybe well designed at the time, but the volume on the loops make this cloverstack in need of upgrading to a full stack.  Bigger design flaw is the narrow WB I-44 to SB I-270 ramp and the weave between traffic using that ramp and WB MO 366 traffic.

* Western I-80/US 77 interchange in Lincoln, NE:  Big flaw is given the ramp with the highest truck volume a tight loop and too short of acceleration lane.

* Planned NE 2/South Beltway/East Beltway interchange at Lincoln, NE:  Someone needs to explain how the current complicated design is better than using a rotated version of the I-680/US 6 interchange in Omaha.  If the Lincoln beltway is given a single number, it might work better, but as of now it will have left side ramps for what will become mainline NE 2.

[Scott5114]

I-240 between I-44 and I-35. Can you say "weave city"?

[Ian]

-I-676 in Philadelphia right before the Ben Franklin Bridge has traffic signals. Though thats mainly because they didn't want to interfere with Independence Park.

-I-95 at DE 1/7 in Christiana, DE has very tight ramps. Though DelDOT is trying to fix that.

[vdeane]

Here's one on NY 590: http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=r5w9978j4bxd&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&scene=8960812&encType=1

First, the deceleration lanes are tiny, forcing drivers to slow down on the freeway.  Additionally it's impossible to go faster than 20 mph on the loop ramp.  Thankfully there is a very long acceleration lane there.  This used to be a cloverleaf.  I can only imagine how it must have worked with the tight loop ramps and weaving.

[jdb1234]

The interchange between I-65 and I-20/59 in Birmingham consists of left exits and entrances that have caused many wrecks over the years leading to the name "Malfunction Junction"

The ramp from I-20 West onto I-59 South near the airport features a very sharp curve which is known as "Deadman's Curve."

A left exit and entrance exists on I-20/59 at its interchange with 22nd Street in Birmingham due to the interchange's close proximity to the Red Mountain Expressway interchange. 

[PAHighways]

-I-676 in Philadelphia right before the Ben Franklin Bridge has traffic signals. Though thats mainly because they didn't want to interfere with Independence Park.

PennDOT considers the streets through Franklin Square and the Bridge as only US 30.

[mapman]

The US 101/I-280/I-680 interchange in San Jose, California.  If it weren't for the small loop ramp from southbound I-280 to northbound US 101, it'd be a symetrical stack interchange.

[Terry Shea]

The entrance ramp from BL I-69 to westbound I-69 northeast of Lansing, MI is absolutely ridiculous.  Instead of looping it to the left and going fairly straight they looped it around to the right.  I believe the speed limit is 15 MPH (it might be 25), but even going that slowly it feels like you're going to fast.  Either way they had to cut it through a wooded area so I don't know why they chose the stupid way.  It's very hard to accelerate and merge with traffic after looping around that slowly.

[Alps]

Why would it loop to the left?  You're talking EB 69 BL to WB I-69.  That's not a high-volume movement.

[WNYroadgeek]

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.143207,-77.548671&spn=0.007625,0.013797&t=k&z=16

They don't call it the Can of Worms for nothing.

[berberry]

Hattiesburg, MS has an oddball at the junction of U.S. Highways 11 and 49:  an old, full cloverleaf that lacks merging lanes between the loop ramps.  In other words, both roadways maintain two lanes in each direction through the entire interchange; there is no extra lane for weaving movements. 

Mississippi uses cloverleaf interchanges almost exclusively in small cities and towns, and I've never noticed another one anywhere that lacks weaving lanes.  If somebody knows of another one I'd be interested to know where it is.

[jdb1234]

Although not in Mississippi, the US 31 interchange with AL 149 in Homewood, AL is a full cloverleaf without any weaving lanes.

[Terry Shea]

Why would it loop to the left?  You're talking EB 69 BL to WB I-69.  That's not a high-volume movement.

After it crosses over I-69 it could have taken a much straighter path to the left instead of cloverleafing around to the right, basically doing a 360 (or more).  I can't believe ROW acquisition could have been a problem nor could I see any difference in environmental issues unless there's a swamp back there in the woods and the environmentalists were worried about a few mosquitos getting killed.  Yeah, that's probably it.

[berberry]

Sorry, JDB, I didn't mean to imply that I was only interested in Mississippi examples, although I guess that's what it sounded like.

Since Homewood is metro Birmingham, I wonder how that interchange performs in high traffic.  Although I've been through the Hattiesburg cloverleaf many times, I've never done it at rush hour.

[Hellfighter]

The I-75/I-375/Connector M-3 interchange is bad. For those who want I-75 southbound, you have to take a two lane, sharp 25 Mph curve, which I've seen many trucks jackknife on it. For northbound I-75, you have to deal with a sharp flyover curve.

[froggie]

Mississippi uses cloverleaf interchanges almost exclusively in small cities and towns, and I've never noticed another one anywhere that lacks weaving lanes.  If somebody knows of another one I'd be interested to know where it is.

What is now the I-20/59/MS 145 interchange in Meridian was originally a full cloverleaf that lacked auxiliary lanes between the loops.  It was built ca. 1950 for what was then a US 11/80 Meridian bypass (Tom Bailey Drive...what is now I-20/59 through town) and US 45 (which ran along 22nd St in Meridian).  The upgrading to the current configuration happened in the late '70s.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

US 82 & US 61 near Leland?

[froggie]

Wouldn't count.  It's much more recent construction than the other two (mid-70s, versus mid-40s for 11/49/Hattiesburg and 1950 for 11/80/45/Meridian).  And it does have weaving lanes between the loops.

[berberry]

What is now the I-20/59/MS 145 interchange in Meridian was originally a full cloverleaf that lacked auxiliary lanes between the loops.  It was built ca. 1950 for what was then a US 11/80 Meridian bypass (Tom Bailey Drive...what is now I-20/59 through town) and US 45 (which ran along 22nd St in Meridian).  The upgrading to the current configuration happened in the late '70s.

So the current partial cloverleaf at 22nd Ave used to be a full cloverleaf?  I had no idea. 

I remember the highways of Vicksburg much better from those days.  The current I-20 originally opened as the U.S. 80 expressway route.  I remember that drivers could cross the median at several points.  I think most - if not all - of the current interchanges were first built for Hwy 80, and I seem to remember a traffic light at Wisconsin, which now crosses I-20 without access.

What is curious to me is the fact that Jackson's stretch of I-20 has been there as long as I can remember (I was born in 1960).  I don't think it was originally built as an expressway route for 80, as happened in Vicksburg.  Since both of these current I-20 segments were built in not only the same state, but the same highway commission district (which, if you know much about historical politics in Mississippi, REALLY makes a difference), I can't understand why the planners of the Vicksburg expressway didn't plan their project instead as I-20, from the very start.  Why did they ever bother to re-route U.S. 80?

Instead of one oddball interchange, Vicksburg has a matching pair on I-20:  two back-to-back half cloverleafs with (kinda sorta) flyover ramps and no left turns at Clay Street and at U.S. 61 North.  The "flyover" ramps are at left-hand exits, and at each interchange there is one motion that cannot be made. 

I say "kinda sorta" because those flyovers are only one level above grade.

[Duke87]

The Den Road "interchange" on the Merritt Parkway.

Den Road, prior to the construction of the parkway in 1936, used to go through. Now it does not, but the two ends on either side of the highway instead default onto/off of it. Right turn movements are simple. Left turn movements involve going the long way around via Riverbank Road.


Plenty of similar situations to this exist on some of the older parkways in the Hudson Valley, sure, but with highways like the Saw Mill, BRP, and Taconic... well, there are plenty of at-grade intersections, too, so it's not fully-controlled access anyway and it doesn't stand out as much. The Merritt did have a single at-grade intersection when it first opened (exit 30), but it was removed in the 50's.

[SSOWorld]

The Den Road "interchange" on the Merritt Parkway.

Den Road, prior to the construction of the parkway in 1936, used to go through. Now it does not, but the two ends on either side of the highway instead default onto/off of it. Right turn movements are simple. Left turn movements involve going the long way around via Riverbank Road.


Plenty of similar situations to this exist on some of the older parkways in the Hudson Valley, sure, but with highways like the Saw Mill, BRP, and Taconic... well, there are plenty of at-grade intersections, too, so it's not fully-controlled access anyway and it doesn't stand out as much. The Merritt did have a single at-grade intersection when it first opened (exit 30), but it was removed in the 50's.

might want to fix that link on your message

[Sykotyk]

US-24 in central Kansas has an interchange with KS-258.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=rook+county,+ks&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=0,0,13306675398284548219&ei=o4uISr_ILpGsNsST0MkE&ll=39.419652,-99.416914&spn=0.016344,0.038581&z=15

U.S. 24 is a nice road, however. But with so many other intersections and towns, it seems foolish for off-ramps to be here, where it's not built up to handle expansion for a second carriageway.

Still neat, though.

Sykotyk

[njroadhorse]

Exit 15 on I-78 in PA has the two ends of the road default onto 78.