Freeways that were formerly signed Interstates but now are not in the system?

[roadman65]

I-95 Business in Fayetteville was signed as I-95 north of the Cape Fear River where it is a freeway now.  The current north terminus for the business route was constructed when the I-95 Fayetteville Bypass was completed in the mid 80's.  I-95 and I-95 Business were a continuous freeway and there was no interchange there.  I-95 shields were signed all the way along the I-95 Business & US 301 Freeway all the way to the Cape Fear River and a large warning sign was erected on an overhead bridge  southbound saying "END I-95,  Traffic Signals Ahead."

[huskeroadgeek]

I-95 Business in Fayetteville was signed as I-95 north of the Cape Fear River where it is a freeway now.  The current north terminus for the business route was constructed when the I-95 Fayetteville Bypass was completed in the mid 80's.  I-95 and I-95 Business were a continuous freeway and there was no interchange there.  I-95 shields were signed all the way along the I-95 Business & US 301 Freeway all the way to the Cape Fear River and a large warning sign was erected on an overhead bridge  southbound saying "END I-95,  Traffic Signals Ahead."

This is the same situation with I-85 from High Point to Lexington, where what is now I-85 Business was signed as I-85(and later Temp. I-85) until the bypass between Exits 87 and 118 opened. But neither of these are full freeways(except for the last few miles of the south end of I-85 Business.)

[TheStranger]

Hey, does anyone know if the former US 395 freeway in San Diego - not Route 163, but Kearny Villa Road through MCAS Miramar between Miramar Road and Route 163 - was ever signed as I-15?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Kearny+Villa+Rd+%26+Miramar+Rd,+San+Diego,+CA&hl=en&ll=32.871874,-117.118549&spn=0.04938,0.104628&sll=32.874037,-117.120609&sspn=0.02469,0.052314&vpsrc=6&hnear=Kearny+Villa+Rd+%26+Miramar+Rd,+San+Diego,+California+92126&t=h&z=14

This would absolutely count if so.

[Brian556]

Found two more possibilities in Texas:

1. In Dallas: Old maps show I-45 shields on US 75 (now SH 310), before the current I-45 was built parrallel to that route.
This 1961 TxDOT map, along with the Dallas detail section of several state maps from the time period, show it.
1961 Maphttps://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/maps/images/map5105.jpg

2. At Hillsboro, It appears that I-35 could have possibly been signed on US 77/81 (now SH 81) on the south side of town. The freeway was built all the way up to the southern edge of town, and part of it was bypassed when I-35 Hillsoboro bypass was completed.

Current Google Maphttp://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=31.980633,-97.120299&spn=0.013269,0.02738&t=h&z=16&vpsrc=6
1961 Maphttps://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/maps/images/map5174.jpg


SH 81 (Old US 77/81)(Old I-35?)south of Hillsboro.

[Ian]

It wasn't an interstate when it was built, but what is up with the short freeway section of PA 309 in Allentown between I-78 and US 22? Where it's located and how it's built (narrow freeway with a narrow Jersey barrier median) looks like it was once an alignment of the Northeast Extension.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=allentown,+pa&hl=en&ll=40.594403,-75.553064&spn=0.038388,0.077162&sll=40.638967,-75.146484&sspn=1.169204,2.469177&vpsrc=6&hnear=Allentown,+Lehigh,+Pennsylvania&t=h&z=14

[TheStranger]

Found two more possibilities in Texas:

1. In Dallas: Old maps show I-45 shields on US 75 (now SH 310), before the current I-45 was built parrallel to that route.
This 1961 TxDOT map, along with the Dallas detail section of several state maps from the time period, show it.
1961 Maphttps://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/maps/images/map5105.jpg

And that map also shows one example I had forgotten about: today's US 80 east of Dallas, which was concurrent with I-20 until the 1980s.

[Brandon]

Is it just me, or does I-85 seem to have the most section once posted as I-85 but no longer?  In Atlanta, around Greensboro, and around Spartanburg.

[Alex]

Is it just me, or does I-85 seem to have the most section once posted as I-85 but no longer?  In Atlanta, around Greensboro, and around Spartanburg.

And proposed to relocate from central Montgomery to a new bypass alignment to the south...

[roadman65]

I-95 Business in Fayetteville was signed as I-95 north of the Cape Fear River where it is a freeway now.  The current north terminus for the business route was constructed when the I-95 Fayetteville Bypass was completed in the mid 80's.  I-95 and I-95 Business were a continuous freeway and there was no interchange there.  I-95 shields were signed all the way along the I-95 Business & US 301 Freeway all the way to the Cape Fear River and a large warning sign was erected on an overhead bridge  southbound saying "END I-95,  Traffic Signals Ahead."

This is the same situation with I-85 from High Point to Lexington, where what is now I-85 Business was signed as I-85(and later Temp. I-85) until the bypass between Exits 87 and 118 opened. But neither of these are full freeways(except for the last few miles of the south end of I-85 Business.)

I believe that most of I-95 from Kenly to I-95 Business was mostly not full freeway at one time.  That might explain why there are interchanges almost every mile for that stretch.

[MDOTFanFB]

Only one I know off is M-39/Southfield Freeway which was signed as TEMP. I-75 south of M-102/8 Mile Road in the 1960's.

[bulldog1979]

I-96 was previously routed along what is now the M-5 freeway in Farmington Hills. When the Jerffries Freeway was completed, I-96 was rerouted down I-275 and east through Livonia on the Jefferies. The freeway in Farmington Hills was first an extension of M-102 and later M-5.

Of course, US 10 and US 27 (now US 127) were TEMP I-75 between Bay City and the Grayling area while M-76 was being converted to a freeway in the 1970s.

[SSOWorld]

NEW JERSEY
- Route 495 is the former (until 1989) I-495 to the Lincoln Tunnel

NYCDOT seems to think different - they still have I-495 signed - even after the most recent(?) rebuild of the West Side Hwy (don't remember how recent that was)  They're fairly new signs.

I'd point to my flickr photo, but I have to wait until I get home.

[agentsteel53]

I have this photo from April, 2008 which shows an I-495 shield clearly on the west side of Manhattan



I had always thought it was a direct replacement for an older shield that a crew had installed without thinking.

[NE2]

Yes, NY signs I-495 all the way to the state line (and at least formerly along 34th Street).

[agentsteel53]

Yes, NY signs I-495 all the way to the state line (and at least formerly along 34th Street).

I believe this one is gone.



I had also thought that one pre-dated the 1989 formal cancellation of the Cross-Manhattan Expressway.

[ftballfan]

Was the Lodge in Detroit ever signed as an interstate?

[vtk]

Hmm, I don't think anyone has brought up Kirkersville yet. 

Okay, here's a summary for those who aren't familiar.  In the 60s, a section of I-70 opened in eastern Ohio.  The east end of that section tied directly into US 40 in a town whose name I forget, where the two roads bump today.  The west end was at Kirkersville, but the alignments weren't so close at that point, so a diagonal mile of freeway was built to tie into US 40, which was already 4-laned from there west to Columbus.  The whole length of new Interstate, including this diagonal bit, was signed as both I-70 and US 40 for a few years.

The interchange at I-70 & OH 158 was rebuilt to ignore the diagonal freeway, presumably when the next section of I-70 was built, and the interchange at US 40 was downgraded back to a simple intersection years later. Today, what's left of the eastbound lanes of that diagonal portion of I-70 are carrying two-way traffic as part of OH 158.  The westbound lanes are fenced off and crumbling as vegetation takes over. 

Personally, I think OH 158 should go directly to Kirkersville the way it once did.  The former I-70 could be OH 158C, signed as TO I-70 one way, and TO US 40 WEST the other way. (If anyone wants to discuss that further, I believe there's a suitable thread or two in Fictional Highways...)

[Brian556]

Hmm, I don't think anyone has brought up Kirkersville yet. 

Okay, here's a summary for those who aren't familiar.  In the 60s, a section of I-70 opened in eastern Ohio.  The east end of that section tied directly into US 40 in a town whose name I forget, where the two roads bump today.  The west end was at Kirkersville, but the alignments weren't so close at that point, so a diagonal mile of freeway was built to tie into US 40, which was already 4-laned from there west to Columbus.  The whole length of new Interstate, including this diagonal bit, was signed as both I-70 and US 40 for a few years.

The interchange at I-70 & OH 158 was rebuilt to ignore the diagonal freeway, presumably when the next section of I-70 was built, and the interchange at US 40 was downgraded back to a simple intersection years later. Today, what's left of the eastbound lanes of that diagonal portion of I-70 are carrying two-way traffic as part of OH 158.  The westbound lanes are fenced off and crumbling as vegetation takes over. 

Personally, I think OH 158 should go directly to Kirkersville the way it once did.  The former I-70 could be OH 158C, signed as TO I-70 one way, and TO US 40 WEST the other way. (If anyone wants to discuss that further, I believe there's a suitable thread or two in Fictional Highways...)

This is an interesting situation. I looked at it on Google maps and it looks cool.

[roadfro]

US-395 between Carson City and Reno was, at one point, signed I-580.  It will be so again.  I believe the first time was an error.

The I-580 shields were posted on some intersecting side streets in Reno for a short time, to which there is still some evidence in the field here--and the I-580 shield did make it onto the Reno inset of a few official Nevada maps produced by NDOT in the mid 1980s. But any websites I've ever seen and old signs in the field (since replaced) have never given any indication that I-580 was signed on the mainline itself--the milepost panels would seem to differ, but those are erroneous in other respects... In this case, 5 miles of I-580 are officially on the books at the federal level, but the route is not signed currently.

All new BGSs on/for US 395 in Reno and Carson City are designed to accommodate an added I-580 shield once the designation becomes official.

[Brandon]

Was the Lodge in Detroit ever signed as an interstate?

No.  It was BS-696 at one time.

[roadman65]

I-895 in Baltimore, MD was signed I-95 up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in 1985.  I know this is still in the system, but the section of I-895 south of I-695 is not technically an interstate according to FHWA.  The pull through signs at US 1 SB along I-895 always showed it as I-95 proper and I believe still do to this day.

[hbelkins]

I-895 in Baltimore, MD was signed I-95 up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in 1985.  I know this is still in the system, but the section of I-895 south of I-695 is not technically an interstate according to FHWA.  The pull through signs at US 1 SB along I-895 always showed it as I-95 proper and I believe still do to this day.

Well, as of fall 2009, you have this:



Followed by this:

[1995hoo]

I-895 in Baltimore, MD was signed I-95 up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in 1985.  I know this is still in the system, but the section of I-895 south of I-695 is not technically an interstate according to FHWA.  The pull through signs at US 1 SB along I-895 always showed it as I-95 proper and I believe still do to this day.

When was it signed as I-95? I seem to remember that when I was a kid it bore no number at all, just the "Harbor Tunnel Thruway" name, and that the I-895 designation was applied a few years before the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened. 

[roadman65]

I-895 in Baltimore, MD was signed I-95 up until the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in 1985.  I know this is still in the system, but the section of I-895 south of I-695 is not technically an interstate according to FHWA.  The pull through signs at US 1 SB along I-895 always showed it as I-95 proper and I believe still do to this day.

When was it signed as I-95? I seem to remember that when I was a kid it bore no number at all, just the "Harbor Tunnel Thruway" name, and that the I-895 designation was applied a few years before the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened. 

It was actually signed in a few places. 
The former I-895 & I-95 interchange (North) had I-895 signed as "WASHINGTON VIA I-95" on the sign for Harbor Tunnel Thruway as the I-95 Freeway dead ended before the tunnel opened.  I-95 was signed for East Baltimore and no route.

The former Exit 15 guide (Balt- Wash Expwy) sign used I-95 South on the pull through sign.

The former Exit 17 (US 1) had a ground level sign that read "I-95 South" for pull through there.

The exit for I-895 North off I-95 NB (South) had "I-95 North" signed for I-895 and pull through on I-95 was "TO I-695 Beltway."

I do not know if the ramps to the Thruway were signed I-95, but the road was.  I wish I knew the signing on the MD 295 as I do know it once either had "TO I-95 North" or "I-95 North" there.  I know for sure one of these two pre 1985.

[TheStranger]

Wikipedia claims the existing segment of NC 147 in Durham, North Carolina was originally built as I-40, but has no sources for it.  Anyone know if this is the case?