Because there were a great many roads that were never built for political or financial reasons, we have a lot of interchanges that serve a lot less traffic than they were designed for. What are some of your favorites?
The I-70 Park and Ride, of course...
And because of that, any to/from I-70 East movement in the Stack Interchange of I-70 and I-695
Do up mean the interchange leading up to the park and ride? If so, way to go for the low hanging fruit....
Quote from: MCRoads on August 05, 2018, 11:57:31 PM
Do up mean the interchange leading up to the park and ride? If so, way to go for the low hanging fruit....
It was very low hanging fruit
But the Park and Ride is the East end of a Cloverleaf itself
I do not have personal knowledge of this, though I've used the interchange in question myself on occasion, but Exit 15X on the NJ Turnpike mainly serves the train station, which only has a tiny parking facility.
I-80 / I-180, Illinois.
I-90 exit 5A in Albany, NY for Corporate Woods Boulevard. It was built for I-687, which was cancelled, and now an office park connects to it.
I-35W and Black Dog Road in Burnsville, MN. Connects to a power plant at a dead end on the east end and back-doors onto secluded streets on the west end. Little to no public use.
Exit 65 on I-840 near Nashville, TN (the exit for TN 452) seems pretty underused, as it's a SPUI and has traffic lights at it, but the traffic signals are normally in flash mode from my observation. And while TN 452 is 6 lanes at the interchange, the state route ends there and the road to the west quickly drops down to two lanes and leads to just a few houses and a park.
Though it appears to have been done for the Nashville Super Speedway, which is located just east of I-840 on TN 452.
It could be argued that this interchange is overdesigned. Does it really need 2-lane Interstate-standard collector-distributor roadways 2 miles long on each Interstate? The only high-volume leftward movement (SB I-295 to EB I-64) is now handled by a semi-directional ramp that was built over 20 years after the interchange opened.
I-64/I-295/US-60
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5176085,-77.2744439,5776m/data=!3m1!1e3
Quote from: Beltway on August 06, 2018, 02:06:38 PM
It could be argued that this interchange is overdesigned. Does it really need 2-lane Interstate-standard collector-distributor roadways 2 miles long on each Interstate? The only high-volume leftward movement (SB I-295 to EB I-64) is now handled by a semi-directional ramp that was built over 20 years after the interchange opened.
I-64/I-295/US-60
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5176085,-77.2744439,5776m/data=!3m1!1e3
On that note, I-95/VA 150/VA 895 is quite insane - although the terrain sort of left little choice in how it'd be built, and most of the movement is handled by the parts of the interchange that existed before VA 895 came along (and honestly, are very substandard and need to be completely rebuilt).
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on August 06, 2018, 03:58:33 PM
Quote from: Beltway on August 06, 2018, 02:06:38 PM
It could be argued that this interchange is overdesigned. Does it really need 2-lane Interstate-standard collector-distributor roadways 2 miles long on each Interstate? The only high-volume leftward movement (SB I-295 to EB I-64) is now handled by a semi-directional ramp that was built over 20 years after the interchange opened.
I-64/I-295/US-60
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5176085,-77.2744439,5776m/data=!3m1!1e3
On that note, I-95/VA 150/VA 895 is quite insane - although the terrain sort of left little choice in how it'd be built, and most of the movement is handled by the parts of the interchange that existed before VA 895 came along (and honestly, are very substandard and need to be completely rebuilt).
I think both of these examples would be more utilized if growth in eastern Henrico County takes off (which STILL till this day has yet to happen :crazy: ). What would also help in VA 895's case is them lowering the toll :crazy:
SH 225 West at 610 is the most prominent one in Houston.
I haven't been on it myself, but the Y interchange that I-805 has with a parallel side street (43rd Street) in San Diego would probably count - it was built for a short freeway connector to I-5/Route 15 that was never constructed (Route 252) beyond this interchange.
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on August 06, 2018, 03:58:33 PM
On that note, I-95/VA 150/VA 895 is quite insane - although the terrain sort of left little choice in how it'd be built, and most of the movement is handled by the parts of the interchange that existed before VA 895 came along (and honestly, are very substandard and need to be completely rebuilt).
The ramps between VA-150 and I-95 were built in the 1977 widening project of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike. They are semi-directional ramps and I don't see much need to upgrade them.
The original VA-150 and I-95 interchange was a small trumpet interchange.
How about Ohio Turnpike Exit 52? All the times I've been through there, I've never seen more than a car or two using the exit, looking especially lonely on the dual-lane ramps. A glance over to OH-2 makes it look like most of the airport traffic is using that highway to reach Toledo.
There are 2 on the Iowa segment of I-680 I would add. The County Road exit between the Missouri River and I-29 and the Honey Creek exit on the I-29/I-680 overlap. The Honey Creek exit became even more underused after they demolished the old gas station that used to be at the exit.
One could reasonably add any number of county road exits in rural areas, but I don't think that's what the original poster is going for.
US-23 exit 15 just south of Dundee, MI. That exit could be closed without much issue (it's a NB exit ramp onto Lloyd Rd and a SB entrance ramp from Dixon Rd; I've never seen anyone use it and there are full interchanges 1-2 miles on both sides of this)
How about this one? (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rarity+Mountain+Rd,+Newcomb,+TN+37819/@36.5347491,-84.1697401,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x885cf940dc6c3beb:0x47fc0f34db6080e1!8m2!3d36.5336407!4d-84.1673645) I don't know that my expectations are very high, but since it's essentially unused, I think it also qualifies as underused.
Quote from: bzakharin on August 06, 2018, 10:57:30 AM
I do not have personal knowledge of this, though I've used the interchange in question myself on occasion, but Exit 15X on the NJ Turnpike mainly serves the train station, which only has a tiny parking facility.
We can put this one also in the "Ridiculously Long Interchange Ramps" thread (if one exists) as well - All just to accommodate a toll booth that will probably be obsolete in a couple years.
I use this one occasionally - It provides a good shortcut to the Secaucus industrial area.
Quote from: ilpt4u on August 05, 2018, 11:54:01 PM
The I-70 Park and Ride, of course...
And because of that, any to/from I-70 East movement in the Stack Interchange of I-70 and I-695
The College Park Interchange is similar because I-95 was to cut straight through Washington until the portion north of downtown was cancelled. South of that interchange is a Park & Ride as well.
Quote from: inkyatari on August 06, 2018, 11:47:13 AM
I-80 / I-180, Illinois.
Thinking about this one, does it count if the road it's connecting is way underused as well?
Exit 13 on I-280 in Newark, NJ. It was intended to be for the never built NJ Route 75 freeway, so you have more lanes exit the freeway than stay straight through. I doubt NJDOT will ever simplify it, but it definitely does not need 3 lanes and from the left.
Quote from: inkyatari on August 09, 2018, 10:58:47 AM
Quote from: inkyatari on August 06, 2018, 11:47:13 AM
I-80 / I-180, Illinois.
Thinking about this one, does it count if the road it's connecting is way underused as well?
Well, if the interchange is underused, one road or the other kind of has to be underused as well, does it not? :D
there seem to be some in poland any know the plans for them?
https://goo.gl/maps/8RyYdnLkHyz
https://goo.gl/maps/xgyyG9sAn3S2
Quote from: theroadwayone on August 05, 2018, 11:19:03 PM
Because there were a great many roads that were never built for political or financial reasons, we have a lot of interchanges that serve a lot less traffic than they were designed for. What are some of your favorites?
I don't go by there during rush hour but Exit 87 off of I-95 in CT (The Clarence B. Sharp Highway exit) might qualify. The end of the Cold War made it less necessary. Electric Boat is doing okay now, but it was huge during the Reagan years and, I think, during the Sixities.
Quote from: webny99 on August 09, 2018, 08:29:02 PM
Quote from: inkyatari on August 09, 2018, 10:58:47 AM
Quote from: inkyatari on August 06, 2018, 11:47:13 AM
I-80 / I-180, Illinois.
Thinking about this one, does it count if the road it's connecting is way underused as well?
Well, if the interchange is underused, one road or the other kind of has to be underused as well, does it not? :D
Not necessarily, say if there's a better connector rout somewhere down the line.
Even as a kid, I never understood why this cloverleaf (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9471511,-76.9778786,17z) exists. According to the NYDSOT TDV, the busiest ramp is southbound to westbound with 1789 cars per day. The least busy ramp is the westbound to southbound ramp with 59 cars per day.
The WA-290 and I-90 interchange just east of downtown Spokane was built in the late 1960's to accommodate the original plan for the North Spokane Corridor. This was cancelled after the interchange was built, and the interchange ended in stub ramps. I wasn't until the mid-1980's that the bridge over the Spokane River was built, and the interchange connected to somewhere at least.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6531026,-117.3904615,1014m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
Quote from: Michael on August 10, 2018, 06:28:12 PM
Even as a kid, I never understood why this cloverleaf (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9471511,-76.9778786,17z) exists. According to the NYDSOT TDV, the busiest ramp is southbound to westbound with 1789 cars per day. The least busy ramp is the westbound to southbound ramp with 59 cars per day.
Really good example, and I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. Seems like it gets a lot of thru-traffic on both roads, and not as much turning traffic (except south-to-west and east-to-north). Given that, it makes sense to allow thru-traffic to flow freely, although a full cloverleaf is probably a bit extravagant.
I-96 exit 98. Surprised that interchange (a full cloverleaf) hasn't been downgraded yet (the much busier exit 93 was recently downgraded).
Quote from: webny99 on August 07, 2018, 12:13:18 PM
How about this one? (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rarity+Mountain+Rd,+Newcomb,+TN+37819/@36.5347491,-84.1697401,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x885cf940dc6c3beb:0x47fc0f34db6080e1!8m2!3d36.5336407!4d-84.1673645) I don't know that my expectations are very high, but since it's essentially unused, I think it also qualifies as underused.
It is fully used overnights as many tractor trailers use this interchange as a rest area (I even used it once just to nap 12 years ago, shortly after it opened).
Quote from: amroad17 on August 16, 2018, 11:20:18 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 07, 2018, 12:13:18 PM
How about this one? (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rarity+Mountain+Rd,+Newcomb,+TN+37819/@36.5347491,-84.1697401,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x885cf940dc6c3beb:0x47fc0f34db6080e1!8m2!3d36.5336407!4d-84.1673645) I don't know that my expectations are very high, but since it's essentially unused, I think it also qualifies as underused.
It is fully used overnights as many tractor trailers use this interchange as a rest area (I even used it once just to nap 12 years ago, shortly after it opened).
I've actually used it as well. We bypassed a major traffic jam by using the shoulder, taking that exit, and getting right back on.
Little did we know, as we found out at the end of the ramp, our plan didn't fool anyone - there's no possible way that exit could have been our destination! :-D
I-80 to I-180 in Illinois. The entire interstate is a road to nowhere.
This one here (OH-82 and US-62) northeast of Youngstown, Ohio near the Pennsylvania border:
https://goo.gl/maps/tQFJqgCJPcF2
The interchange is near an area of heavy industrial plants, and close to the once-booming Sharon Steel operations in Pennsylvania. It was obviously planned with industrial traffic in mind, and the southeastern segment could have eventually connected to the east with what is now I-376 (and PA-760) near it's intersection with I-80.
People often mention the I-696/Mound Rd. Interchange in Detroit, and that was due to a cancelled freeway.
Then again, the interchanges at I-69/475 and I-75/69 in Flint are far overbuilt for modern day traffic.
Quote from: webny99 on August 17, 2018, 01:32:27 PM
Quote from: amroad17 on August 16, 2018, 11:20:18 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 07, 2018, 12:13:18 PM
How about this one? (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rarity+Mountain+Rd,+Newcomb,+TN+37819/@36.5347491,-84.1697401,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x885cf940dc6c3beb:0x47fc0f34db6080e1!8m2!3d36.5336407!4d-84.1673645) I don't know that my expectations are very high, but since it's essentially unused, I think it also qualifies as underused.
It is fully used overnights as many tractor trailers use this interchange as a rest area (I even used it once just to nap 12 years ago, shortly after it opened).
I've actually used it as well. We bypassed a major traffic jam by using the shoulder, taking that exit, and getting right back on.
Little did we know, as we found out at the end of the ramp, our plan didn't fool anyone - there's no possible way that exit could have been our destination! :-D
There's always the back roads, if you don't mind gravel.
Quote from: vdeane on August 18, 2018, 10:09:19 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 17, 2018, 01:32:27 PM
Quote from: amroad17 on August 16, 2018, 11:20:18 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 07, 2018, 12:13:18 PM
How about this one? (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rarity+Mountain+Rd,+Newcomb,+TN+37819/@36.5347491,-84.1697401,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x885cf940dc6c3beb:0x47fc0f34db6080e1!8m2!3d36.5336407!4d-84.1673645) I don't know that my expectations are very high, but since it's essentially unused, I think it also qualifies as underused.
It is fully used overnights as many tractor trailers use this interchange as a rest area (I even used it once just to nap 12 years ago, shortly after it opened).
I've actually used it as well. We bypassed a major traffic jam by using the shoulder, taking that exit, and getting right back on.
Little did we know, as we found out at the end of the ramp, our plan didn't fool anyone - there's no possible way that exit could have been our destination! :-D
There's always the back roads, if you don't mind gravel.
From this particular exit, the remainder of the area's road network is only accessible by backtracking so far that it's basically equivalent to turning around altogether. If we'd wanted to take back roads - or forecasted the delay - getting off at TN 9 in Jellico would've been the practical choice.
Anyone familiar with the area would have known that the cars whizzing by on the shoulder to take the exit - theoretically to bypass the jam via the backroads - was going to end up getting right back on.
Quote from: webny99 on August 20, 2018, 10:06:02 PM
From this particular exit, the remainder of the area's road network is only accessible by backtracking so far that it's basically equivalent to turning around altogether. If we'd wanted to take back roads - or forecasted the delay - getting off at TN 9 in Jellico would've been the practical choice.
Anyone familiar with the area would have known that the cars whizzing by on the shoulder to take the exit - theoretically to bypass the jam via the backroads - was going to end up getting right back on.
Northbound (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/36.5335318,-84.1671241/36.5813934,-84.1087437/@36.5500031,-84.1661392,13z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-84.1473768!2d36.5445325!3s0x885cf97a310d89bd:0xc267e0fd9779548a!1m0!3e0) doesn't require any backtracking (well, except to get back on I-75). Southbound (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/36.5340215,-84.1679972/36.4120986,-84.2792325/@36.4874,-84.2800245,11.96z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-84.1391338!2d36.5429689!3s0x885cf9832fdc5c49:0x418dd148c8f05db8!1m0!3e0) has some, but still less than half the distance to the last exit.
I'm bewildered as to why this interchange has been brought up twice, but the monstrously overdesigned stack interchange to the IL-29 connector road wasn't. Good lord, why is that there lol
Quote from: mrcmc888 on August 17, 2018, 03:27:28 PM
I-80 to I-180 in Illinois. The entire interstate is a road to nowhere.