Your State's Most Difficult Highway

[Bruce]

As for most difficult non-urban highway, I think State Route 20 (specifically, the North Cascades Highway) takes the cake for Washington.

A northerly crossing of the Cascades was the first state highway ever legislated, way back in 1895 (a mere 6 years after statehood), but was not opened to traffic until 1972. Between that time, the state had to relocate their planned alignment further north, route it around new hydroelectric dams built by Seattle, and exercise delicate care in handling a brand-new national park.

[sparker]

..............that would have to be the last segment of I-5 to be constructed from Shasta Lake to Castle Crags in the Sacramento River canyon. .   

Ironically, this last section to be built is the one that is now shut down because of the huge "Delta" wildfire north of Redding; as of the last news report (an hour ago) it's burning on both sides of the freeway with flames reaching 200' height and has resulted in several abandoned (and now burned) big rigs being left in lanes.  The parallel UP main line to Oregon has also been shut down north of Redding; there is 0% containment at this time.  Although Caltrans has gone on the record and stated that they'll try to have I-5 reopened by tomorrow afternoon, it doesn't look good tonight! 

[Beltway]

Thanks for the background. I know my neighbors in Shea Terrace had given up on the second tube ever being built and were steadfastly opposed to a toll. Pinners Point was completed while I was there and thought to be something to help people getting to the Navy bases quicker at the expense of views for Point Norfolk residents. (Though they were also happy all those cars were no longer whizzing down Mt Vernon.) Personally, I would have been fine with tolls even though I had a back access to the tunnel through the east end of Point Norfolk which made my morning commute relatively simple. I'm glad the tunnel was finally built along with completing the MLK Freeway.

Retolling the tunnels was a bitter pill to swallow for many people.   There were economic studies back in the 1970s showing the regional benefits from detolling the major bridges and tunnels, and that was used to help obtain 90% FHWA Interstate funding so that this could occur while expanding and building new tunnels.

What I don't understand is why no federal funding was used on the ERT Tunnels project.  Given the direct correlation between the need for those being tunnels in the first place, and the massive Navy and military presence in the area, they should have been offered at least a billion dollars in special federal funding above and beyond normal highway allocations, to fund that project.

[SGwithADD]

For New York, I could make an argument for the then-NY 17 expressway (you can see from my avatar that I'm a bit biased).  Due to safety issues on the old road that predated the Eisenhower Interstate Program, and multiple successful attempts by the Thruway Authority to thwart the route's inclusion once the program started, the expressway had to be built without interstate funding, and was paid for primarily by the state.  As a result, while construction started in 1947, the expressway was not complete until 1997.  Along the way, the state faced a number of issues:

• steep grades and extensive mountain carving in the Catskills (admittedly nothing nearly as spectacular as projects such as I-70 in CO or I-68 in MD)
• narrow passages along the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Allegheny Rivers, resulting in creative construction solutions (e.g., the elevated expressway over old Route 17 near Exit 92) and some full closures for repairs
• legislative coordination with Pennsylvania on the section that dips into South Waverly, PA, so that PA could acquire properties and easements while NY could construct and maintain the portion of the expressway, and so that the NY and PA state police forces would be able to coordinate responses to incidents on that stretch of the highway
• off-ramps for Exits 59A and 61 that are also in PA
• decades of disputes with the Seneca Nation, including the state using the controversial construction of the Kinzua Dam in part to acquire land for the new highway along a route that would destroy the Seneca village of Red House, a 1976 agreement that governed land acquisitions through the Allegany Reservation and tax exemptions for Native American tribes (and which affects state relations with the Seneca to this day), a rift between members of the Seneca Nation over the agreement that led to a 1985 protest where the protestors set up a camp on the highway itself, and another protest and 30-mile blockage in 1992 where the Seneca Nation threatened to take back the land on which the expressway was built (lingering issues continue to lead to years of delay for the rehabilitation of the road in the area)
• multiple lawsuits with local groups and disputes with the USDOT on the environmental impact of routing the expressway over Lake Chautauqua to serve Erie vs. along the east shore of the lake to serve Mayville and Westfield, which delayed the construction and opening of the bridge until 1982
• the Corning Bypass, a tight bypass hugging the northern city border to minimize property damage while working around very hilly territory, where the geography and planning delayed opening until 1995

[6a]

I know this will be debatable for OH,  but the one that was the hardest to get.done was the completion of the link for the Jennings Freeway (SR-176) in Cleveland.  The freeway was only built in the 60s from I-71 to Denison Avenue.  It could've been connected to I-77
In the 70s via the I-480 "stub" or to I-480 when it was finally finished  in 1987.  But it took until 1998-99 until the missing link was done, despite the ROW being acquired and mostly cleared since the 70s. 

First one that popped into my head for Ohio was I-670. It sat unconnected at Grandview Ave for 30-odd years. And if I remember correctly, Columbus basically had to beg to get the airport section completed in the "˜80s. They were told it wasn't a particularly important piece of highway, or something. Seems funny now that it's the stretch getting flex lanes and variable speed limits, etc.  Honestly, though, I don't know that much about the history of freeways in the Cleveland area to say how that stack up to your suggestion.

[1995hoo]

Let's see... states I've lived in...

....

VIRGINIA: I don't know.  The Lexus Lanes on I-495?  But that happened after I moved to Maryland.

....

I assume by that you mean the HO/T lanes. Nowhere anywhere remotely close, not even a fraction of anything close, to the opposition/controversy over I-66 inside the Beltway. Most of the "opposition"  to the HO/T lanes is uneducated whiners who got dinged for a toll violation and media trolls who want to invent a scandal.

[Beltway]

VIRGINIA: I don't know.  The Lexus Lanes on I-495?  But that happened after I moved to Maryland.

I assume by that you mean the HO/T lanes. Nowhere anywhere remotely close, not even a fraction of anything close, to the opposition/controversy over I-66 inside the Beltway. Most of the "opposition"  to the HO/T lanes is uneducated whiners who got dinged for a toll violation and media trolls who want to invent a scandal.

No significant opposition to the I-495 HOT Lanes Project.  They already had enough right-of-way to where widening to 6 lanes each way had rather minimal impacts to residential areas and parklands, and extensive use of sound barriers helped to mitigate noise impacts.

The very nice upgrade to the I-66/I-495 interchange also required very little new right-of-way.

One of the studied alternates was a dual-divided design with 4-2-2-4 lane/roadway configuration.  The outer separators would have increased the cross-section width to where large impacts to residential areas and parklands would have occurred.

[Occidental Tourist]

For Southern California, I'd argue that it's Interstate 105.  It took 30 years to build, faced a ton of lawsuits, and lost some mileage on both ends.  Even after it opened, it faced issues like the threat of portions sinking for being too close to saturated ground underneath.

[Max Rockatansky]

For Southern California, I'd argue that it's Interstate 105.  It took 30 years to build, faced a ton of lawsuits, and lost some mileage on both ends.  Even after it opened, it faced issues like the threat of portions sinking for being too close to saturated ground underneath.

I'd wager in a historical context getting a viable direct route from Los Angeles to Bakersfield was a much more difficult venture.  The El Camino Viejo and Stockton-Los Angeles Road were far less direct than the Ridge Route was.  Commuter access to/from San Joaquin Valley is easy now because it literally took well over 100 years to get a true direct route built. 

[silverback1065]

the i-65/70 north split interchange reconstruction, the north split is going to be reconstructed in 5 yrs.  NIMBYS want this insane at grade blvd to replace it, this is one of the busiest interchanges in the state.  I think INDOT will win this one, it needs 0 r/w to be done.  The improvements will consist of changing all the exits from the left to exits to the right, an aux lane for each direction, and a reconfig of the split diamond interchange, as well as a slight mod to the west split at MLK st. 

[roadfro]

For Nevada, the current I-15 Project Neon is probably the most difficult highway project from a pure construction logistics perspective, but has overall gone rather smoothly in terms of design and construction.

I think the project that has given NDOT the most difficulty in getting designed and constructed would be the I-580 extension between south Reno and Washoe Valley. It faced a lot of challenges:

• Figuring out the alignment: NIMBY activity resulted in the hillside alignment chosen, as opposed to potential alignments closer to old US 395.
  
• Terrain: Given the hillside/mountain alignment chosen, it partially runs through a geothermal area. The Galena Creek crossing was also a big obstacle.
  
• Construction challenges: Construction began in 2003, but NDOT and the original contractor terminated their contract in 2006 over issues/disputes on the proposed construction method of the Galena Creek Bridge. This resulted in a stop down lasting well over a year and legal issues with the original contractor. The project was eventually re-bid to another contractor, and a new construction method used to build the bridge–temporarily filling in the creek so as to have a base on which to set falsework, which resulted in a significant material fill 140 feet tall at the greatest depth and 385 feet wide along the creek bed (with a 40-foot diameter culvert underneath the fill to allow creek flows to continue). This posed additional environmental challenges in that the hillside and creekbed vegetation had to be restored upon project completion.
  
• Timeline: Due to the contractor issue, changing construction methods, and a few change orders, the project was delayed by about 2-1/2 years. I believe original completion was expected in late 2009-early 2010, but it wasn't finished until summer 2012.
  
• Cost: At the time of completion it was the most expensive NDOT project ever ($550 million, if memory serves), due to the legal issues, changes, and a few cost overruns. (The most expensive project title now belongs to Project Neon.)

[formulanone]

Florida: Tamiami Trail from Naples to Miami. Building a road through 90 miles of virtually uninhabited swampland with 1920s technology...

[Max Rockatansky]

Florida: Tamiami Trail from Naples to Miami. Building a road through 90 miles of virtually uninhabited swampland with 1920s technology...

Even more fascinating that it ultimately yielded two roads when you consider the Everglades Loop Road.  Essentially Monroe County wanted the Tamiami Trail to dip into Mainland Monroe but they ultimately didn't really get their wish.  The Loop Road actually had a couple communities on it; most notably Pinecrest of Al Capone fame. 

[plain]

Agreed with I-66 for Virginia with VA 195 in a distant 2nd.

If there were to be a "3rd place", I'd say I-64 west of downtown Richmond.

[thenetwork]

I know this will be debatable for OH,  but the one that was the hardest to get.done was the completion of the link for the Jennings Freeway (SR-176) in Cleveland.  The freeway was only built in the 60s from I-71 to Denison Avenue.  It could've been connected to I-77
In the 70s via the I-480 "stub" or to I-480 when it was finally finished  in 1987.  But it took until 1998-99 until the missing link was done, despite the ROW being acquired and mostly cleared since the 70s. 

First one that popped into my head for Ohio was I-670. It sat unconnected at Grandview Ave for 30-odd years. And if I remember correctly, Columbus basically had to beg to get the airport section completed in the "˜80s. They were told it wasn't a particularly important piece of highway, or something. Seems funny now that it's the stretch getting flex lanes and variable speed limits, etc.  Honestly, though, I don't know that much about the history of freeways in the Cleveland area to say how that stack up to your suggestion.

If we broke it down to individual cities in Ohio, the hardest freeways to complete were:

-  Akron -- The I-76/77 connector to the SR-59 Innerbelt.
-  Cincinnati -- The Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway
-  Cleveland -- The SR-176 Jennings Freeway
-  Columbus -- I-670
-  Toledo -- The direct I-80/90 Ohio Turnpike connection to I-75/SR-795
-  Youngstown -- SR-711 between I-80 and Downtown.

[JustDrive]

For California, terrain-wise, CA 1 between Carmel and Cambria, hands down. Opposition-wise, US 101 through San Francisco. The fact that the routing from the Bayshore to the Golden Gate Bridge has changed so many times because of SF's anti-freeway stance make this one pretty difficult.

[GreenLanternCorps]

I know this will be debatable for OH,  but the one that was the hardest to get.done was the completion of the link for the Jennings Freeway (SR-176) in Cleveland.  The freeway was only built in the 60s from I-71 to Denison Avenue.  It could've been connected to I-77
In the 70s via the I-480 "stub" or to I-480 when it was finally finished  in 1987.  But it took until 1998-99 until the missing link was done, despite the ROW being acquired and mostly cleared since the 70s. 

First one that popped into my head for Ohio was I-670. It sat unconnected at Grandview Ave for 30-odd years. And if I remember correctly, Columbus basically had to beg to get the airport section completed in the "˜80s. They were told it wasn't a particularly important piece of highway, or something. Seems funny now that it's the stretch getting flex lanes and variable speed limits, etc.  Honestly, though, I don't know that much about the history of freeways in the Cleveland area to say how that stack up to your suggestion.

If we broke it down to individual cities in Ohio, the hardest freeways to complete were:

-  Akron -- The I-76/77 connector to the SR-59 Innerbelt.
-  Cincinnati -- The Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway
-  Cleveland -- The SR-176 Jennings Freeway
-  Columbus -- I-670
-  Toledo -- The direct I-80/90 Ohio Turnpike connection to I-75/SR-795
-  Youngstown -- SR-711 between I-80 and Downtown.

- Dayton - I-675  - On hold from 1973 to 1982 with only a short section running from I-70 to North Fairfield Road

[thenetwork]

I wasnt sure if it would've been the I-675 bypass or US-35 going through Dayton.