Long distance bypasses

[TheStranger]

I thought of this after looking at the I-10/I-12 threads on here a few days ago...situations where one route is bypassed for over 100 miles (even though I-12 itself in Louisiana doesn't quite reach that mark, and the parallel routes of I-70 vs. South Lawrence Traffcway/I-435/I-470 in the Kansas City area also fall short of this mark)

Examples that come to mind:

I-5 vs. Route 99 (former US 99) between Wheeler Ridge and Stockton.  Using the southern I-5/Route 99 junction and the respective routes' interchanges with Route 4 as the endpoints, I-5 is 252 miles while 99 (going through Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto) is 257 miles.

I-55 vs. I-57.  From I-57's south terminus to Canalport Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, I-55 going through St. Louis and Springfield is 437 miles, while I-57 is 391 miles.

I-35 vs. Kansas Turnpike (I-335/I-70) between Emporia and the west I-35/I-70 junction in Kansas City, MO.  112 miles via I-35, 114 miles via the Turnpike.

US 23 vs. I-75 between the Toledo and Flint areas: 108 miles via US 23, 135 miles via I-75.

[silverback1065]

i-840 is a useless bypass i-40

[jp the roadgeek]

I-91/CT 15/I-84/I-90/I-290/I-495 in CT and MA to bypass I-95 from New Haven to just short of the NH border.  The inland route is about 175 miles, while staying on I-95 adds about 20 miles, plus traffic through downtown Providence and along the 128 corridor. 

[Roadgeekteen]

AZ 85 to I-10 as a Phoenix bypass.

[ilpt4u]

I-74 and I-39 combine to make a Long Distance bypass of Chicago, to/from points South, North, or West. Just doesn't work too well for points East

[Flint1979]

I thought of this after looking at the I-10/I-12 threads on here a few days ago...situations where one route is bypassed for over 100 miles (even though I-12 itself in Louisiana doesn't quite reach that mark, and the parallel routes of I-70 vs. South Lawrence Traffcway/I-435/I-470 in the Kansas City area also fall short of this mark)

Examples that come to mind:

I-5 vs. Route 99 (former US 99) between Wheeler Ridge and Stockton.  Using the southern I-5/Route 99 junction and the respective routes' interchanges with Route 4 as the endpoints, I-5 is 252 miles while 99 (going through Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto) is 257 miles.

I-55 vs. I-57.  From I-57's south terminus to Canalport Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, I-55 going through St. Louis and Springfield is 437 miles, while I-57 is 391 miles.

I-35 vs. Kansas Turnpike (I-335/I-70) between Emporia and the west I-35/I-70 junction in Kansas City, MO.  112 miles via I-35, 114 miles via the Turnpike.

US 23 vs. I-75 between the Toledo and Flint areas: 108 miles via US 23, 135 miles via I-75.

Unless you are counting roadway in Ohio US-23 is 90 miles and I-75 is 115 miles. Toledo's city limits go up to the state line.

[TheStranger]

Unless you are counting roadway in Ohio US-23 is 90 miles and I-75 is 115 miles. Toledo's city limits go up to the state line.

I was actually counting from the southern US 23/I-75 junction in Perrysburg (Google doesn't show 23 as entering Toledo itself at all, including on the segment along I-475).

[cwf1701]

I-69 and Ontario Highway 402 between Marshall MI and London ON as a bypass for I-94 in Michigan (to Detroit) and Highway 401 in Ontario (to Windsor)  for traffic going to or from Toronto, Chicago, or Indianapolis.

[Beltway]

I-81 provides a super-bypass of the Northeast, I-95 and I-85, with 'spur connectors' to the major cities/regions, segments of I-90 (Boston), I-88 (Albany), I-84 (Hartford), I-80 (NYC), I-78 (NYC), I-76 (Philadelphia), I-70 (Baltimore), I-66 (D.C.) and I-64 (Richmond and Norfolk).

[Roadgeekteen]

I-81 provides a super-bypass of the Northeast, I-95 and I-85, with 'spur connectors' to the major cities/regions, segments of I-90 (Boston), I-88 (Albany), I-84 (Hartford), I-80 (NYC), I-78 (NYC), I-76 (Philadelphia), I-70 (Baltimore), I-66 (D.C.) and I-64 (Richmond and Norfolk).

Though with the truck traffic, how much time are you actually saving?

[Beltway]

I-81 provides a super-bypass of the Northeast, I-95 and I-85, with 'spur connectors' to the major cities/regions, segments of I-90 (Boston), I-88 (Albany), I-84 (Hartford), I-80 (NYC), I-78 (NYC), I-76 (Philadelphia), I-70 (Baltimore), I-66 (D.C.) and I-64 (Richmond and Norfolk).

Though with the truck traffic, how much time are you actually saving?

It would be slower going thru all those metros.  Also keep in mind how the Interstate system was laid out, and how traffic moved for the first 30 to 40 years; it is only the last 15 or 20 years that I-81 has been getting congested.

[webny99]

Some of these don't really function as bypasses, nor were they meant to.

Tennessee's I-840, mentioned above, is one of the most outstanding examples (of those which only bypass one metro area). The frustrating thing about I-840 is that it has created needless congestion on I-40, I-65, and I-24 where it meets them. I-65 at I-840 is especially problematic - I-65 loses a southbound lane at I-840 when it should be gaining one. It was an incredible lack of forethought to combine a lane drop with a huge influx of through traffic. Talk about solving one problem and creating another!

[Flint1979]

Unless you are counting roadway in Ohio US-23 is 90 miles and I-75 is 115 miles. Toledo's city limits go up to the state line.

I was actually counting from the southern US 23/I-75 junction in Perrysburg (Google doesn't show 23 as entering Toledo itself at all, including on the segment along I-475).

Ok that makes sense the distances looked off to me. US-23 use to enter Toledo on what is today SR-51. I think it's currently the western border of Toledo in a few areas but Toledo doesn't go west of it.

[NE2]

Tennessee's I-840, mentioned above, is one of the most outstanding examples (of those which only bypass one metro area). The frustrating thing about I-840 is that it has created needless congestion on I-40, I-65, and I-24 where it meets them. I-65 at I-840 is especially problematic - I-65 loses a southbound lane at I-840 when it should be gaining one. It was an incredible lack of forethought to combine a lane drop with a huge influx of through traffic. Talk about solving one problem and creating another!

I wonder if you've been there long enough to see congestion patterns.

[sparker]

Tennessee's I-840, mentioned above, is one of the most outstanding examples (of those which only bypass one metro area). The frustrating thing about I-840 is that it has created needless congestion on I-40, I-65, and I-24 where it meets them. I-65 at I-840 is especially problematic - I-65 loses a southbound lane at I-840 when it should be gaining one. It was an incredible lack of forethought to combine a lane drop with a huge influx of through traffic. Talk about solving one problem and creating another!

I wonder if you've been there long enough to see congestion patterns.

I-840 is a very odd duck indeed.  It essentially serves two purposes -- one is simply a Nashville outer bypass for I-40; the other connects regional exurbs.  There's not a lot of long-distance traffic that can utilize I-840 efficiently aside from the aforementioned I-40 alternate; Knoxville traffic heading to Huntsville or Birmingham would generally pass through Chattanooga and use either US 72 west or I-59 southwest to reach their destinations; a I-40/840/65 routing would be well out of the way unless there was an interim stop in the Nashville area (and that's a pretty specific itinerary).  Now -- if the old Saturn plant in Spring Hill were still functioning at its 1990's level, there might be a rationale for 6-laning I-65 down at least to TN 396 -- but since GM's only got 3K workers there right now on multiple shifts, the congestion, if any, would be minimal and sporadic.  And there's little in the way of long-distance patterns from either westward I-40 or I-24 in general that would utilize I-65 south of I-840.  If anything, the growth of Franklin north of the I-840 junction (primarily electronic manufacturing/distribution) would call for a 6+ lane I-65 north of the interchange, with traffic dispersing onto I-840 (principally east, where most of the suburban growth is occurring) toward outlying residential areas.  And unless the destination is specifically Columbia or Spring Hill, eastbound I-40 traffic from Memphis and Jackson won't turn south on I-65 from I-840 (or I-40, for that matter!); the 4-laned US 72 and I-22 address any Memphis-AL traffic.   

Often, DOT's tend to shrink lanes on freeways radiating outward from a metro center once a bypass has been reached; the I-65/840 situation is no different.  Unless there's a concerted effort to 6-lane all of I-65 in TN (like in KY), it'll probably remain "as is" for the foreseeable future.  It's pretty clear from the 65/840 interchange design (as well as the two junctions with I-40) that TNDOT designed the 840 route as a full loop, serving both I-40 and I-65 as a functional bypass.  Without the northern half, the existing bypass has limited utility, so its contribution to regional congestion is questionable -- and if it takes a significant number of through trucks off I-40 (or 440) through town, it's fulfilling its current main duty!

[Max Rockatansky]

Between Bakersfield and San Bernardino there is one route via I-5 and I-210 that skirts Los Angeles and a suburban bypass in the Mojave Desert via; I-15, CA 138, CA 14 and CA 58.  Bypassing Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert is actually a slightly shorter route and certainly is way faster the majority of time considering traffic congestion. 

[sparker]

Between Bakersfield and San Bernardino there is one route via I-5 and I-210 that skirts Los Angeles and a suburban bypass in the Mojave Desert via; I-15, CA 138, CA 14 and CA 58.  Bypassing Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert is actually a slightly shorter route and certainly is way faster the majority of time considering traffic congestion. 

Alternately, one can stay on I-15 a few miles farther and head up US 395 to CA 58 and then head west to Mojave and Bakersfield.  The problem with CA 138 is the undulating 2-lane portion just east of the LA/SBDO county line; very little line of sight and morons who try passing even with a double-yellow line!  Also speed traps in Pearblossom and Littlerock, not to mention the slog through central Palmdale.  Not quite as bad a slog on US 395 through west Victorville and Adelanto (I'll be down there in a few days myself) -- and there are a few passing lanes available between Adelanto and Kramer Jct.  Besides, you can check out progress (or possibly lack thereof; I'll report a couple of days after New Years') on the 58 Kramer bypass (maybe they've actually started grading by now!).

[webny99]

Tennessee's I-840, mentioned above, is one of the most outstanding examples (of those which only bypass one metro area). The frustrating thing about I-840 is that it has created needless congestion on I-40, I-65, and I-24 where it meets them. I-65 at I-840 is especially problematic - I-65 loses a southbound lane at I-840 when it should be gaining one. It was an incredible lack of forethought to combine a lane drop with a huge influx of through traffic. Talk about solving one problem and creating another!

I wonder if you've been there long enough to see congestion patterns.

I haven't, as you know --- but it is very obvious to anyone who browses Google Maps (with live traffic) with any frequency that there is recurring congestion on I-65 south of I-840. I-840 contributes to (if not causes) the problem by dumping traffic onto I-65 right after the lane drop.

TNDOT's 2017 counts show an AADT of 76,500 for that stretch of I-65: well into six-lane territory. Not at all surprising that slowdowns are so common.

Often, DOT's tend to shrink lanes on freeways radiating outward from a metro center once a bypass has been reached; the I-65/840 situation is no different.

True; and I find that both baffling and frustrating. Bypasses are meant to contribute to the outbound traffic flow, not the inbound. I would expect the number of lanes to increase, even if only temporarily, beyond the bypass.

[Max Rockatansky]

Between Bakersfield and San Bernardino there is one route via I-5 and I-210 that skirts Los Angeles and a suburban bypass in the Mojave Desert via; I-15, CA 138, CA 14 and CA 58.  Bypassing Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert is actually a slightly shorter route and certainly is way faster the majority of time considering traffic congestion. 

Alternately, one can stay on I-15 a few miles farther and head up US 395 to CA 58 and then head west to Mojave and Bakersfield.  The problem with CA 138 is the undulating 2-lane portion just east of the LA/SBDO county line; very little line of sight and morons who try passing even with a double-yellow line!  Also speed traps in Pearblossom and Littlerock, not to mention the slog through central Palmdale.  Not quite as bad a slog on US 395 through west Victorville and Adelanto (I'll be down there in a few days myself) -- and there are a few passing lanes available between Adelanto and Kramer Jct.  Besides, you can check out progress (or possibly lack thereof; I'll report a couple of days after New Years') on the 58 Kramer bypass (maybe they've actually started grading by now!).

I used to take US 395 route but Kramer Junction south to I-15 is something I've come to loathe over the years.  Regardless of whatever happens with the Kramer Junction bypass US 395 ought to fully fleshed out to a four lane road as well. 

[kphoger]

To bypass I-35 through Austin and most of San Antonio:

TX-130  →  I-10  →  I-410

142 miles


fixed

[frankenroad]

I-74 and I-39 combine to make a Long Distance bypass of Chicago, to/from points South, North, or West. Just doesn't work too well for points East

I've used this to travel from Cincinnati to the Wisconsin Dells area.  I know it adds miles, but I am convinced it saved time and aggravation, especially on Thanksgiving weekend.

[GaryV]

I thought of this after looking at the I-10/I-12 threads on here a few days ago...situations where one route is bypassed for over 100 miles (even though I-12 itself in Louisiana doesn't quite reach that mark, and the parallel routes of I-70 vs. South Lawrence Traffcway/I-435/I-470 in the Kansas City area also fall short of this mark)

Examples that come to mind:

//snip//

US 23 vs. I-75 between the Toledo and Flint areas: 108 miles via US 23, 135 miles via I-75.

This is an artifact from the original layout of the US Highways in Michigan.  3 highways entered MI from the Toledo area - 23, 24 and 25.  25 went up through Detroit and to Port Huron.  24 skirted the western edge of Detroit (as it still does, although it's all built up around that area now) to Pontiac.  23 continued more or less due north to Flint and Bay City, then near the Lake Huron shore (as it still does today).

In addition, US 10 went northwest out of Detroit to Pontiac, Flint, Saginaw and then curved westward to Ludington and the ferry.

25 got replaced by I-75 and I-94.  10 got replaced by I-75 to Bay City.  So 23 on it's original route (although moved to a freeway) does tend to serve as a bypass for through traffic from Ohio to "up north", but that wasn't the original intention.

[Flint1979]

Before I-75 was built US-23 use to be current day M-13 north of Saginaw. It's pretty close to it's original route in just about every area between Toledo and Flint, the old route runs right next to the freeway for a lot of it and is actually a good alternate route when the freeway gets backed up. US-10 made sense before I-75 but not since I-75 has been built. US-25 got east of US-23 and US-24 runs north and south but I don't know any other number to give US-24 at this point and it does run east and west after Toledo. Detroit is only served by two US routes (US-12 and US-24) and both end in the metro area. US-25 was deleted in Ohio as well.

US-23 can be considered a western bypass of Detroit. I-69 and I-94 meet twice in Michigan and it is actually a lot less hassle to use I-69 between Marshall/Battle Creek area and Port Huron so I-69 can also be considered a bypass of Detroit although that's not really what it's intent is.

[sparker]

Between Bakersfield and San Bernardino there is one route via I-5 and I-210 that skirts Los Angeles and a suburban bypass in the Mojave Desert via; I-15, CA 138, CA 14 and CA 58.  Bypassing Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert is actually a slightly shorter route and certainly is way faster the majority of time considering traffic congestion. 

Alternately, one can stay on I-15 a few miles farther and head up US 395 to CA 58 and then head west to Mojave and Bakersfield.  The problem with CA 138 is the undulating 2-lane portion just east of the LA/SBDO county line; very little line of sight and morons who try passing even with a double-yellow line!  Also speed traps in Pearblossom and Littlerock, not to mention the slog through central Palmdale.  Not quite as bad a slog on US 395 through west Victorville and Adelanto (I'll be down there in a few days myself) -- and there are a few passing lanes available between Adelanto and Kramer Jct.  Besides, you can check out progress (or possibly lack thereof; I'll report a couple of days after New Years') on the 58 Kramer bypass (maybe they've actually started grading by now!).

I used to take US 395 route but Kramer Junction south to I-15 is something I've come to loathe over the years.  Regardless of whatever happens with the Kramer Junction bypass US 395 ought to fully fleshed out to a four lane road as well. 

Absolutely positively concur in spades!  Interestingly, a freeway extension of the "E-220" (turns out that was the MPO file number) tolled facility connecting US 395 to I-15 north of Victorville, with an expressway extension bypass for CA 18 out past Apple Valley, was planned "quasi-independently" of the toll/multimodal facility from Adelanto to Palmdale to serve as a "cutoff" from US 395 over to I-15, which at least would have provided a freeway alternative to slogging down 395 through west Victorville (an area growing by leaps and bounds for the last decade and a half), leaving only the truck-ridden rural/open desert segment north to Kramer to be upgraded.  But in usual CA fashion, a project is touted but 6-7 years later (the peak of chatter was around 2011) seems to be nothing more than a footnote.  It was to more or less "thread the needle" between the old George AFB (now an industrial park and private airfield) and the prison complex south of Air Base Parkway.  But none of my friends in the area have heard much about this since 2013 or so; and it certainly hasn't made the STIP pages!  Still, if you can get past a few trucks on the hills south of Kramer, US 395 is doable if a bit harrowing; but IMO no more than parts of CA 138.  But damn it, 4-laning 395 from Adelanto to Kramer is long overdue; since once out of town there aren't any major crossing roads, grade separations could easily wait -- but would like to see 395 on an eastern Kramer bypass with a cloverleaf/CD with CA 58.  No word about whether the traffic light there will be eliminated once the 58 bypass is in service -- that'd help a lot -- even if they moved the lights to the 58 diamond.   

[ilpt4u]

I-74 and I-39 combine to make a Long Distance bypass of Chicago, to/from points South, North, or West. Just doesn't work too well for points East

I've used this to travel from Cincinnati to the Wisconsin Dells area.  I know it adds miles, but I am convinced it saved time and aggravation, especially on Thanksgiving weekend.

Living in Southern IL now, even if I were driving to Milwaukee or Green Bay, depending on the time of day I'm hitting Northern IL, I would seriously consider I-57->I-74->I-39->I-43 vs I-57->I-94 or I-57->I-294->I-94. To Madison or the Dells, no question I'm going up I-74/I-39, unless I just want to take US 51 right up the middle of the state from Southern IL until it combines with I-39 in Bloomington/Normal (its a fun drive, and it breaks up the endless Illinois flat Interstate miles of I-57)

Any further NW, tho, like Twin Cities and beyond, I am going to use the Avenue of the Saints

I don't remember if I read it here or elsewhere, but supposedly IDOT was a bit surprised when I-39 started becoming a decently traveled Long Distance Freight and Bypass Route - apparently that was not the intent when originally built? There was an image posted on one of these boards a few months back of Truck Traffic volumes - there is a pattern of higher than normal truck traffic going I-57->I-74->I-39 to skirt Chicagoland

On another idea/joke...Had I-41 been given an extension of I-65 into IL and WI instead of the I-41 mess...I-74->I-39->I-43 could have been given an (even)3di for I-65 - a REALLY long outer bypass of Chicago, from Indy to Milwaukee. Would have to be I-665, as I believe that is the only unused (even65) in IN