Most abrupt change from rural to urban/suburban?

[jwolfer]

One thing that is noticeable is in a plane flying over Orlando, you notice the boundary between civilization and the Wekiva Wetlands as the wetlands cover many square miles of green.  You notice that real easy after seeing developments for quite a while after take off from MCO.

Yes the Everglades is the same way.  It has a distinct line that prevents the developments from going further west. 

So much for wetlands preserve, as that is one thing that keeps bulldozers away!  Heck it took years for them to get FL 429 approved north of Apopka as that is right smack in the middle of the Wekiva preserve.

And suburban subdivisions have bears all the time

[RobbieL2415]

I-15S from Victorville to San Bernardino is kinda wonky.  You go from small desert town to mountains to a major city within a span of 40 miles.

And I always found the transition into the NYC metro, ESPECIALLY coming from the N&W to be very abrupt.  But I think that has more to do with topography than anything else.

I 490 from either direction towards Rochester gets an honorable mention.

[cl94]

And I always found the transition into the NYC metro, ESPECIALLY coming from the N&W to be very abrupt.  But I think that has more to do with topography than anything else.

That's one people who aren't familiar with the area don't expect. That and the fact that the metro area is anything but flat (at least off of Long Island). The transition from the north and west is very abrupt, largely due to a mountain range known as the Taconics and the Hudson Highlands that confines development to the south.

[Takumi]

VA 28 northbound in Prince William County was pretty jarring for me.

[Jmiles32]

VA 28 northbound in Prince William County was pretty jarring for me.

Yes because of Prince William County's "rural crescent" I-66 west of Haymarket and Route 28 south of Bristow both go from urban to country roads extremely quickly. If it will stay this way only time will tell...

[JKRhodes]

Adding to the notes about Phoenix earlier, it's especially noticeable when entering/exiting the adjacent reservations. On the 101 going thru Scottsdale, you have cross streets that typically traverse about 1/4 mile of farm fields before entering the suburban tract homes west of Pima Road... with the exception of the two casino resorts, a handful of strip malls, and an office park or two, the contrast is pretty remarkable.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4965966,-111.8782905,8955m/data=!3m1!1e3

Arizona Ave is a multi-lane urban arterial surrounded by subdivisions until Hunt Highway. Proceeding straight across, the route changes to 587, a two-lane country road surrounded by fields and ranch homes.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.1944784,-111.8309062,4145m/data=!3m1!1e3

Queen Creek Road east of I-10 although it doesn't have a route number that I'm aware of, is a high speed 4 lane divided highway that connects I-10 to the southeast valley. It abruptly transitions from farm fields to industrial parks around Old Price Road. Ditto for Riggs Road at 88th Street.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.2335633,-111.8962172,7404m/data=!3m1!1e3

[roadman65]

I said it before but for you newbies out there, US 192 goes from heavy urban stoplights every half mile to very rural with miles of no stoplights at the I-95 interchange in Melbourne, FL.

I-4 does it at I-75 as its rural on the east side and then the west side of it you go right into Greater Tampa.  I-275 the same thing as you cross over US 41  north of Bearss Avenuen it goes from rural to urban right away.

[waymag]

Probably not exactly what you were thinking of, but driving on 441 out of Smoky Mountains National Park into Gatlinburg is quite jarring.

I highly agree lol!!!

[SidS1045]

I-95 at the MA-RI border.  On the MA side it's quite rural looking.  On the RI side it's a built-up suburb.  The difference is most visible going north (from RI into MA).

[plain]

I think I-10 entering New Orleans takes the cake 
https://goo.gl/maps/ktiVC9fUs512

100% agreed.

[Greybear]

How about the east side of Texarkana along I-30, coming in from the east. Once you get past Exit 2 going WB, it's urban.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Texarkana,+AR+71854/@33.4715848,-94.0045155,3219m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86346d149b77e901:0x55da205a08489d0e!8m2!3d33.4417915!4d-94.0376881?hl=en

[sparker]

Coming SB into greater L.A. from the north on I-5 is always a bit disconcerting -- after miles of valley followed by miles of sagebrush-covered mountains, you're on this straight stretch heading down the hill (on the "wrong" side of a carriageway shift) and you look to your right and there are houses heading up the hill across the canyon, followed by more houses directly in front of you in the Castaic area.  At that point, you don't get a break from urbanity until you hit Camp Pendleton! 

[Jmiles32]

I-64 entering Short Pump eastbound near Richmond is quickly becoming or already is an obvious one thanks to recently completed I-64 widening project.

[epzik8]

Ditto on the I-66 northern Virginia transition. It literally goes from suburbs to rural mountains in Haymarket in the blink of an eye. This is near the Prince William-Fauquier county line. The weirdest part is that the transition takes place when you're still in Prince William County, and the reason I say that is because I don't think of Prince William as a "mountain county" at all. Similarly I don't think of the D.C. suburbs when I think of Fauquier County, and yet Fauquier is considered part of greater D.C. these days.

[Jmiles32]

Ditto on the I-66 northern Virginia transition. It literally goes from suburbs to rural mountains in Haymarket in the blink of an eye. This is near the Prince William-Fauquier county line. The weirdest part is that the transition takes place when you're still in Prince William County, and the reason I say that is because I don't think of Prince William as a "mountain county" at all. Similarly I don't think of the D.C. suburbs when I think of Fauquier County, and yet Fauquier is considered part of greater D.C. these days.

The transition is right after the US-15 exit in Haymarket. Not sure if this was said earlier in the thread but the reason for this sudden change is because of Prince William county's "Rural Cresent" which spares just about all of the most western part of the county from residential development. There are some breaks in it though...

[noelbotevera]

I-95 north of Richmond. Going southbound you've dealt with miles of forest and then the sudden change to the Richmond area happens right around Kings Dominion, as that's probably the first dot of civilization ever since Fredericksburg. Ditto going northbound. It suddenly becomes tree lined north of I-295 and the last dot of civilization is at Kings Dominion, and then nothing up until Fredericksburg.

[TR69]

US 150 approaching Peoria from the west goes through farmland after leaving the hamlet of Kickapoo, then runs into the Shoppes at Grand Prairie (large outdoor mall), crosses IL 6, and is right into suburbia.

[cpzilliacus]

I-270 in Montgomery  County, Maryland transitions from (sub)urban to rural for a while north of Md. 121 (Clarksburg), and stays rural for about three miles north almost to Md. 80 in Frederick County.

[coatimundi]

I just drove I-5 north into Elk Grove (Sacramento) and there's a flashing warning sign before you hit the first suburban exit, "Warning: Urban area ahead. Speed reduced." The wetlands make the transition pretty dramatic.
Except for Airline Highway, any entrance into New Orleans' sphere of influence, or at least the East Bank, means seeing how canals have dictated development there. I love flying into MSY on an eastern approach.

[sparker]

Northbound on I-5 coming down from Siskiyou Summit into the Rogue valley, the change from mountain highway to suburban bypass freeway is rather abrupt at the point where the southernmost segment of OR 99 diverges to access southern Ashland.  You go quickly from a steep (and often treacherous) roadway with a deep drop-off to your right and evergreen-covered mountains to your left to a flat roadway flanked with storage facilities, warehouses, and other businesses.  You're at once relieved that you don't have to negotiate any more of the curvy downhill stretch, but a bit sad that the scenery will remain relatively boring at least through Medford (at least that's been my impression!).   

[roadman]

I-290 going west from Shrewsbury (MA) into Worcester (MA) is a fairly dramatic rural to urban transition, especially once you take the sweeping left hand curve past the I-190 interchange

[jbnv]

I think I-10 entering New Orleans takes the cake 
https://goo.gl/maps/ktiVC9fUs512

The approach from the east isn't too shabby either.

I nominate I-10 coming westbound out of Beaumont, TX. You're in the city right up to the US 69-96-287 split. Go past that split and over the bridge and you drop back into flat, rural, marshy southeast Texas. You'll pass some development at the Walden exit, a large park complex and some industrial plants, but otherwise you're done with any sort of urban landscape until you get to Houston.

[TXtoNJ]

I was struck by this phenomenon on southbound I-25 entering the Albuquerque area a few weeks ago when I was coming back from a day trip up to Santa Fe. You hit the Tramway Boulevard exit and you instantly transition from rural wide-open spaces to a well-developed suburban area. It struck me more than it does on I-66 where hbelkins mentions because I-66 has wooded areas on the north side of the road for a while due to the Manassas Battlefield park, whereas I-25 has no such thing and sees development on both sides.

Coming into Albuquerque from the east on I-40 is even more abrupt, since development stops at Sandia Peak and doesn't really build back up again until Moriarty, 25 miles away.

[Michael]

I thought of this thread while I was on NY 173 westbound between Chittenango and Onondaga Hill this past Thursday.  I was west of Jamesville, and since I'd been going through little towns I forgot that NY 173 actually enters Syracuse.  When I saw this speed limit sign then this signal ahead sign just after it, I was expecting another hamlet or small village just around the curve ahead.  After going around the curve, you're suddenly in Syracuse.