Concrete surface roads in states where they are rare

[index]

Here in the Carolinas, surface roads that are concrete aren't exactly common (except bridges, those don't count as most of them are concrete) - you can usually only find them on freeways here. However, there are a few exceptions to this.


https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0428752,-81.4064942,3a,75y,242.21h,77.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7Tu2chtFWcEP2PTJmIlziw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7Tu2chtFWcEP2PTJmIlziw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D165.8254%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656


Here is an example - SC 97 in Smyrna, South Carolina. This one may have been re-paved. I know of another example near Siler City, NC, but I can't find it. I will have to look up my saved GSV locations when I get home...


Edit: Here's the ones in Siler City.


https://www.google.com/maps/@35.7326459,-79.4669924,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sN_4a_pW9aNWIVfY_QBk3fA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


https://www.google.com/maps/@35.73037,-79.4665858,3a,75y,332.96h,77.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLXtKDMiDU8jOHPvRc2497w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

There are also a few four lane surface roads that are paved in concrete here, such as Charlottetowne Ave in Charlotte, and University Parkway in Winston-Salem.


https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1102887,-80.2544612,3a,60y,352.29h,93.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skNVBzpA5jjESwAzP2ZHxHQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1125418,-80.2557823,3a,25y,346.37h,89.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAKqveIWCGPzZ3cxq8B64FQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


University Parkway in Winston-Salem also features yellow-on-black object markers, which are quite a rarity here, as well as black signals, although the latter is becoming more common. Charlottetowne Ave in Charlotte intersects a road with dynamic lane control, which is also extremely rare for NC.


A lot of roads in SC look like concrete, but they're actually just faded asphalt - similar to Florida.


https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3722041,-79.288491,165a,35y,344.28h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3741716,-79.2883782,3a,75y,40.69h,71.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sXQLkhXQDF94IicFhXNI6Pg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Georgetown, South Carolina had some roads repaved, and concrete was used.

[jakeroot]

I think it's quite common in most states for bridges to be concrete, right? That's definitely the case here in WA (no asphalt overlay), so I won't mention anything in that regard.

I hope this relates to your question, index:

What I do find to be unusual is intersections that are concrete. The vast majority of intersections in my area are asphalt (as are the roads leading up to them), but sometimes they're concrete.

In Puyallup, the city finally finished a widening project which included the use of permeable concrete, which allows the water to sink into the roadbed (IIRC). Street View. I'm not aware of any other road project in the area that includes this type of concrete. From what I've read, there are concerns in cold-weather climates that constant freezing/thawing could ruin the roadbed, but I have not seen this happen (despite most winter days dropping below freezing at night).

In the Port of Tacoma, several road widening projects have included the use of concrete, as it stands up better overtime to tractor/trailers.

In Seattle, despite the overwhelming majority of roads being asphalt, many new arterial roads are concrete (as is the new tunnel).

To clarify, although I just gave quite a few examples, asphalt lane-miles still far exceed those of concrete.

[index]

I think it's quite common in most states for bridges to be concrete, right? That's definitely the case here in WA (no asphalt overlay), so I won't mention anything in that regard.

I hope this relates to your question, index:

What I do find to be unusual is intersections that are concrete. The vast majority of intersections in my area are asphalt (as are the roads leading up to them), but sometimes they're concrete.

I am not sure of the reason behind the concrete intersections in the least bit, but if I were to take a wild guess I'd say that perhaps the intersection is subject to heavy wear, and because concrete is more durable in the long run than asphalt, that would be a better option. However, historical GSVs don't show that when it was asphalt, so it must not be the case.

[SSOWorld]

I-40 in NC has a concrete base - covered with an asphalt overlay - around Asheville to the west at least - one significant change I saw between 1995 and this year (yea that's over 20 years - any questions? )

[Bruce]

Even for asphalt streets in Seattle, there's concrete pads at bus stops to prevent additional damage. Also makes it easier to spot the bus stop if the sign is obscured.



This stop in particular, on 3rd Avenue, has recently been rebuilt since the street is now all concrete.

[formulanone]

Except for bridges, flyovers, culverts, and raised highways, Florida does not use concrete much for "on the surface" roads. I-95 south of Golden Glades Interchange to its terminus is all concrete. I want to say a good bit of I-95 around Jacksonville is also primarily concrete.

Some parts of US 441 around Mount Dora and Tavares did, but a curious application would be this intersection of Powerline and Sample Road. The trucks would rut the asphalt under braking for the traffic lights, so FDOT used concrete for the intersection to reduce the swelling and bumps in the road. The concrete slabs were a good idea, in my opinion.

[Mapmikey]

More from the Carolinas:

NC 32 had a short stretch southeast of Edenton that was still there as of 2014 - https://goo.gl/maps/UjCpPE1owp82

US 15's original approach into Virginia was concrete as late as 2015 - https://goo.gl/maps/V6T7VJxFDN32

US 52-78 in North Charleston between the US 52-78 split and Durant Ave (about 3 miles) has been concrete for almost 80 years.  The asphalt patches in this link (https://goo.gl/maps/rkA53bJ51CE2) used to be raised median strips (see picture from 1960s in same location - https://goo.gl/images/hE74ay)

St Johns Ave in North Charleston which was SC 525 until the late 1940s - https://goo.gl/maps/vUHTEUMFJLr

Old Lake City Hwy - https://goo.gl/maps/uXZTBizkFbz

Of course, NC still has some original brick highways left - old US 17/NC 30 near Vanceboro - https://goo.gl/maps/BYa8NLAhCBP2 and old US 70/NC 10 west of New Bern - https://goo.gl/maps/ZJZsncbvFM72

The concrete just at intersections is to prevent rutting by heavy trucks when coming to a stop or taking off.  There are some in South Carolina where the asphalt would badly rut every few years...

[froggie]

Surprised Mapmikey didn't mention the US 460 Appomattox Bypass in Virginia.

Another one:  the freeway portion of the US 82 Starkville Bypass in Mississippi.

[thenetwork]

I think it's quite common in most states for bridges to be concrete, right? That's definitely the case here in WA (no asphalt overlay), so I won't mention anything in that regard.

I hope this relates to your question, index:

What I do find to be unusual is intersections that are concrete. The vast majority of intersections in my area are asphalt (as are the roads leading up to them), but sometimes they're concrete.

I am not sure of the reason behind the concrete intersections in the least bit, but if I were to take a wild guess I'd say that perhaps the intersection is subject to heavy wear, and because concrete is more durable in the long run than asphalt, that would be a better option. However, historical GSVs don't show that when it was asphalt, so it must not be the case.

A lot of times at intersections that are concrete, it's because that heavy vehicles (buses and trucks) that are stopped on asphalt for an extended time, especially in hot weather, they do "sink" into the pavement and, over time, you will gradually see "ruts" where the asphalt is literally pushed to the sides.

[RobbieL2415]

CT has three left:
I-84 in Manchester
I-84 in Waterbury
I-691 in Southington/Meriden

[hotdogPi]

CT has three left:
I-84 in Manchester
I-84 in Waterbury
I-691 in Southington/Meriden

Those are not surface roads.

[Mapmikey]

Surprised Mapmikey didn't mention the US 460 Appomattox Bypass in Virginia.

Didn't qualify as "more from the Carolinas..."

Some ones from Virginia besides the US 460 Bypass of Appomattox...

Most of VA 316 is still concrete - https://goo.gl/maps/Z1ssW4K36zy

All of VA 272 and a lot of solo VA 189 - https://goo.gl/maps/bjkGQHc7uTo

US 60 between VA 249 and VA 33 still has long sections of concrete - https://goo.gl/maps/si3rwvETBAL2

S. Atlantic Ave in Virginia Beach (below Rudee Inlet) which was US 60 at one time - https://goo.gl/maps/tLZoJmoq6Gq

US 58 Byp Virginia Beach - https://goo.gl/maps/2eaZqvZcTUD2

VA 166 Diamond Springs Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/eCnRJbPdfrS2

Another part of VA 166 - https://goo.gl/maps/nsKoDRv4rN82

There are definitely others in the Hampton Roads region - all the original twinnings of roads were concrete.

The Colonial Pkwy and a lot of the George Washington Parkway are still concrete.

Forgot this nifty one from North carolina I found last year...this is old US 1 near the Virginia line: https://goo.gl/maps/3iat3RW4rrw

[jeffandnicole]

A number of NJ's older streets, say in the Philly suburbs, were concrete.  There's still some around; Camden County seems to have a number of concrete streets still in use.  Many others though have been paved over, only to be rediscovered briefly when the asphalt is milled and repaved.

[formulanone]

Those are not surface roads.

I can see where the thread wording could imply "concrete surface" rather than "surface roads".

[kphoger]

Even for asphalt streets in Seattle, there's concrete pads at bus stops to prevent additional damage.

That is an excellent idea!

[BrianP]

A number of NJ's older streets, say in the Philly suburbs, were concrete.  There's still some around; Camden County seems to have a number of concrete streets still in use.  Many others though have been paved over, only to be rediscovered briefly when the asphalt is milled and repaved.

I've wondered why this road from Erial to Clementon is concrete:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7735339,-75.0059834,3a,75y,69.42h,76t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1stfw62F_aMGSMJKg1NTXOsQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I'm also a fan of this concrete section of CR 561:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8082341,-74.9413793,3a,75y,143.06h,77.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s12MlWRNYkj87uzA56tMFnQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
There's more further east:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7846404,-74.9247998,3a,75y,171.13h,70.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1so6EsQFHcVb7qY8ZxpwgCnA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I also like how the old concrete road still cuts through this intersection. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7691892,-74.9192927,3a,60y,161.86h,81.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sY7vmLx6tmYvMbAY-tpUc2g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Church St in Blackwood:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8021381,-75.0665072,3a,75y,81.14h,79.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbETPcGCMPuln3qbmuW8Lfw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I miss parts of the Black Horse Pike that were concrete.

[thenetwork]

In Western Colorado, only a small section of I-70 between West Rifle and Silt is concrete.  Looks to be original from the 70's, and was diamond ground about 10 years ago and looked and drove like new.  Now it's really showing it's age as studded tires have worn off that 'new life' surface.

Otherwise, most of the miles of Colorado freeways of concrete are in the Front Range, east of the Rockies.

[cpzilliacus]

Many Maryland arterial highways in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. built in the 1950's and 1960's were concrete surface, but have since had one or more layers of asphalt applied above the concrete.

D.C. itself has a decent number of concrete-surface residential streets, though asphalt predominates around the city.   One fairly new section of New York Avenue, N.E. (U.S. 50) is concrete surface from prior to the interchange at South Dakota Avenue, N.E. to the border with  Maryland. 

[cpzilliacus]

The Colonial Pkwy and a lot of the George Washington Parkway are still concrete.

I think the Colonial Parkway is deliberately kept concrete by the National Park Service (and the mix that was used there has an unusual amount of stone, at least at the surface, to keep it a "rough" (and presumably "colonial" type of surface)).

[Beltway]

Surprised Mapmikey didn't mention the US 460 Appomattox Bypass in Virginia.

Not a surface road ... it is built to full freeway standards ... https://tinyurl.com/yct43hhp

There are many surface roads in Virginia that have a concrete base that later was overlaid with 4 to 6 inches of asphalt pavement.

[jakeroot]

The concrete just at intersections is to prevent rutting by heavy trucks when coming to a stop or taking off.  There are some in South Carolina where the asphalt would badly rut every few years...

Thank you for the explanation. As you can see in my post, I am aware of the advantage that concrete provides in terms of durability, however, I did not consider that to be likely factor in the intersection that I linked to, as it is within a couple hundred feet of a major interstate, where the vast majority of trucks are traveling.

[vdeane]

There are a few in NY, notably a piece of US 9 in North Hudson, the intersection of NY 155/Albany Shaker Road near the Airport, the intersection of NY 36/NY 408 in Mount Morris, NY 15/NY 253 in Henrietta, the central SPUI ramps at I-87 exit 6, and at least at one time (may have been paved since), Delaware Avenue in Sidney.

[index]

The concrete just at intersections is to prevent rutting by heavy trucks when coming to a stop or taking off.  There are some in South Carolina where the asphalt would badly rut every few years...

Perhaps this is why the pavement on the complex of intersections in Georgetown, SC (https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3744832,-79.288921,357m/data=!3m1!1e3) is concrete. There's also industrial facilities around that area so I suppose there could be some amount of truck traffic greater than average.

[steviep24]

There are a few in NY, notably a piece of US 9 in North Hudson, the intersection of NY 155/Albany Shaker Road near the Airport, the intersection of NY 36/NY 408 in Mount Morris, NY 15/NY 253 in Henrietta, the central SPUI ramps at I-87 exit 6, and at least at one time (may have been paved since), Delaware Avenue in Sidney.

The intersection of NY 531/NY 31/NY 36 (The recently completed NY 531 Terminus Project) is in concrete as well.

[GenExpwy]

There are a few in NY, notably a piece of US 9 in North Hudson, the intersection of NY 155/Albany Shaker Road near the Airport, the intersection of NY 36/NY 408 in Mount Morris, NY 15/NY 253 in Henrietta, the central SPUI ramps at I-87 exit 6, and at least at one time (may have been paved since), Delaware Avenue in Sidney.

The intersection of NY 531/NY 31/NY 36 (The recently completed NY 531 Terminus Project) is in concrete as well.

Also on NY 408 at I-390 Exit 7 (where the truck traffic is so heavy, especially the Buffalo-to-Corning turn, that the concrete has already been extensively redone once and still has problem spots).

And, a very short distance away, on NY 63 at the truck entrance to the salt mine (this one's just a couple of years old).