Worst Highway Ideas

[mightyace]

Oh, and Breezewood - I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet

That's because Breezewood pretty much goes without saying.  :bread:

[ComputerGuy]

SR 339 (WA) - Either sign south along the Vashon Hwy. to south end or be gone.

[corco]

SR 339 (WA) - Either sign south along the Vashon Hwy. to south end or be gone.

I'd guess it goes away since the King County Ferry Authority is "maintaining" it now

[Revive 755]

This brilliant design for the I-80/I-180/US 34 cloverleaf at Lincoln, NE:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=40.863002,-96.71527&spn=0,359.997253&t=k&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.863248,-96.715049&panoid=w9dlUPe7MImDpWQIqFpNNg&cbp=12,183.0046305075298,,0,4.296875000000003

They can sped for the extra pavement for a C-D lane, but they can't give a weaving lane between the two loops?  Or a sign warning about the lack of an acceleration lane?  Or a jersey barrier so one can easily tell if a vehicle is in the C-D lane or the right mainlane of WB I-80?  The current design is an accident waiting to happen, and I've seen a near miss there already.  Sure, it would have been due to the vehicle on the loop failing to yield, but you normally expect some sort of acceleration lane, not to be dumped right into traffic.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 100 has a SB lane drop at 77th St...then gets an auxiliary lane for I-494 West right after that drop from the 77th St on-ramp. I don't think it causes too many headaches (the interchange with I-494 generates many more), but it's silly why they would do that. I-35W had a similar drop NB at I-494 West, but that was filled in recently.

Worse though is the US 169/I-494 interchange. MnDOT upgraded US 169 onto the old Hennepin CSAH 18 alignment in the late 1990s, widened the interchange, added three loops, but KEPT THE STOPLIGHTS so people can make left turns onto frontage roads. Everything north of this interchange is freeway. There's one stoplight a bit south but generally it's all freeway south of the interchange too. The backups are revolting at any time of day. WB 494-NB 169 traffic is a left turn. Why didn't they finish this interchange?

[froggie]

Worse though is the US 169/I-494 interchange. MnDOT upgraded US 169 onto the old Hennepin CSAH 18 alignment in the late 1990s, widened the interchange, added three loops, but KEPT THE STOPLIGHTS so people can make left turns onto frontage roads. Everything north of this interchange is freeway. There's one stoplight a bit south but generally it's all freeway south of the interchange too. The backups are revolting at any time of day. WB 494-NB 169 traffic is a left turn. Why didn't they finish this interchange?

Some clarification:

Hennepin County built the 4-lane between 494 and the river, not MnDOT.  Upon completion, they then turned it over to MnDOT for the US 169 reroute.

Eden Prairie was initially opposed to a freeway.  Plus all the cities involved (EP, Bloomington, and Edina) wanted to retain local 494 frontage road access to now-169....and MnDOT didn't have the money for a full freeway-to-freeway interchange there.  This is why you not only have the 3 signals at 494 and Highwood Dr, but also initially had signals at Anderson Lakes Pkwy and Pioneer Trl.  About 5 years ago is when MnDOT built the interchanges at the latter two.

When MnDOT added the loop ramps at 169/494, that was the best they could do with the limited funding they had available for what was the PRIMARY purpose of that project:  replacing the 169 bridges over 494.  Again, the local cities wanted to retain local access to 169, so the signals remained.  The missing loop ramp (you probably meant EB 494 to NB 169, not WB 494) was not added because this movement is already largely covered by what is now US 212.  This latter bit (US 212 cutting the corner on two movements) is why MnDOT wanted to drop two flyovers at the proposed 169/494 interchange, as I already covered in another thread.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

-- Putting the Audubon Bridge across the Mississippi River on the TIMED program and keeping the US 90/I-49 South upgrade out. Unless they are planning to 4-lane LA 1/LA 10 from Alexandria to New Roads and LA 10 from St. Francisville to Franklinton, then what exactly was the point??

The Zachary Taylor Parkway interests got to the trough before the I-49 South folks. There has been an interest in upgrading LA 10 in that part of the state since at least the 1970s. I don't recall any I-49 South discussion before the late 1990s, at least.

-- Structuring the I-10/I-110 Split in Baton Rouge so that the main through traffic went between I-10 East and I-110 North, so that I-10 entering the city ends up as an exit to Washington St. Nice going, guys....way to have traffic backed up all the way across the I-10 bridge to LA 1.  (Yeah, they temporarily did a fix five years ago to relieve partially the bottleneck at the I-10 "entrance" ramp, but until they get real and totally upgrade the entire section of I-10 through BR, it's still going to be a royal PITA.

The design was writ in history, as the I-110/10 "through" route was completed about a decade before the Miss. River bridge and its approaches. I guess the highway planners felt the through town traffic headed to the refineries and the universities would constitute the primary flows.

-- Not building Clearview Parkway in NOLA as an elevated freeway from Earhart Expressway to I-10, and not building some form of controlled access onto US 90 through the Huey P. Long Bridge to the Westbank Expressway to begin with. With the recent rumors that LaDoTD wants to truncate I-49 South to run along I-310 west of Luling and abandon completing the Westbank Expy and upgrading US 90 east of Boutte, it's going to get mighty interesting when the Huey upgrade is completed.

The lack of a north-south limited access facility through East Jefferson was a major highway planning shortfall. Clearview is popular with trucks, even with I-310 as a relief route. The Elmwood business park doubtless is the destination of many freight haulers.

-- Not building a highway bridge across the Atchafalaya River for LA 10 through Melville. Come on now, folks...LA 10 goes from Leesville to Franklinton, and gets the Audubon Bridge...but you can't build a two-lane bridge through Melville???

The story goes that the civic leaders of Melville were not Huey Long supporters, so the Kingfish decided to build the Atchafalaya River bridge at Krotz Springs. LA 10 through Melville was once part of US 71/old LA 1 and earlier the Jefferson Highway, so it was actually on the main highway in those days...until the Krotz Springs bridge was constructed. Even to this day, the LA 10 approach from the Morganza end is a gravel road.

I just don't see the traffic need for a fixed crossing there. There are Atchafalaya crossings at Simmesport and Krotz Springs that serve most if not all traffic needs, and the traffic diversion to reach these bridges is not substantial given the low population of the region. Most folks are headed either to the Opelousas or Alexandria areas via US 190 or LA 1. The Audubon Bridge will feed those traffic flows as well as the cross-river commuter traffic for the industries in the Pointe Coupee-West Feliciana area.

[hm insulators]

How about Arizona 153, just east of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport? The nearby Hohokam Expressway (Arizona 143) is useful for connecting Loop 202 to I-10 and the airport, but the paralleling Arizona 153 meanders uncertainly north from University Avenue only to dump traffic onto 44th Street at Washington Avenue. Total length: maybe two miles and so close to Arizona 143 that at one point, the two highways nearly touch. A totally useless piece of freeway that could've been built in a spot elsewhere where it's sorely needed, like helping to extend the southeastern end of Loop 101 to tie into I-10 perhaps at Riggs Road.

[flowmotion]

They completely rebuilt the I-80 Bay Bridge approach in San Francisco, but left the downtown entrance/exits in the almost exact same 1950s configuration.

Admittedly this was the City of SF's decision, not Caltrans, but it's still ridiculous.

[agentsteel53]

the I-80 and I-81 interchange.  Two major truck routes intersect in the complete dead middle of nowhere... and three out of the four possible turns are extra-tight 15mph cloverleaves.

satellite image at the link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=scranton+pa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.946584,65.039063&ie=UTF8&ll=41.04735,-76.013031&spn=0.021976,0.031757&t=k&z=15

[mightyace]

the I-80 and I-81 interchange.  Two major truck routes intersect in the complete dead middle of nowhere... and three out of the four possible turns are extra-tight 15mph cloverleaves.

satellite image at the link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=scranton+pa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.946584,65.039063&ie=UTF8&ll=41.04735,-76.013031&spn=0.021976,0.031757&t=k&z=15

And, the fourth one, from I-80 East to I-81 North is a left exit that joins I-81 on a long upgrade!

[ctsignguy]

I have a few.....

1> I-670 eastbound in downtown Columbus....i dont know who at ODOT was doing what, but between Exit 3 (US 23) and Exit 6 (Leonard Dr), if you want to go straight east to the Columbus Airport, you have to jump across several lanes of traffics...and for a crucial 1/2 mile stretch, east 670 is essentially one lane (the other lane is a combined straight/left turnoff to I-71 North, which jams up traffic at rush hour as people try to merge to the straight lane and block those wanting to head north...and i drive that area 3x per week!)

2> I-95 (Connecticut Turnpike) in Connecticut from Exit 2 to Exit 70.  A road that was ok in its day, but is now badly outdated...between the load of traffic that the engineers in the 1950s did not anticipate, plus the whole idea of 70 exits in 78 miles with many of the off and on-ramps inadequate for traffic flow (and local politics would prevent closing of many of the exits).....and there is hardly any room to widen the highway west of New Haven without many years of court battles over eminent domain, environmental issues, etc..  (the parallel Conn 15 (Merritt Pkwy) isnt much better but at least heavy truck traffic is banned from there....)

3> I-84 Connecticut > As Dangermoose would say, a badly engineered road from the start, and even more outdated now given its traffic flow as I-84 is the only reasonable alternate route to Boston if you want to avoid New York City.  ConnDOT has tried to upgrade, but i suspect the best approach is to level the whole highway from Danbury to Sturbridge MA and redesign it again from scratch!

4> I-90/Ohio 2 in Downtown Cleveland > Malfunction Junction....'nuff said!

[agentsteel53]

how's the 691?  I don't remember it very well ... I just looked on my 1957 map, thinking I'd see the 84 and the 95 (Conn Turnpike) labeled, but the one I remembered as being the 84 is actually the 691 - the 84 is not yet a freeway in 1957. 

[ctsignguy]

691 wasnt terribly bad...just short, and ends all too soon....

remember, I-84 was supposed to head east to Providence, there was a lot of issues on both Connecticut and Rhody leading to the highway being scrubbed...only two parts of that road are open now....I-384 from I-84 to Rocky Hill, and what is now US 6 as it bypasses Willimantic  (Old 6 is now Conn 66)

[froggie]

691 east to 91 north is a good way to avoid the numerous lane changes on 84, provided you know which lanes on 91 to be in to avoid the backups going across the river.

[ctsignguy]

Conn 15 to I-91 is better.....you get to avoid I-84 in its western entirety!

[agentsteel53]

the "left exit only" lanes are kind of an abomination, though.  one rarely expects the option of exiting left, much less a left lane that suddenly turns into an exit lane!

[Scott5114]

the "left exit only" lanes are kind of an abomination, though.  one rarely expects the option of exiting left, much less a left lane that suddenly turns into an exit lane!

*cough*I-244*cough*

[Alex]

How about Arizona 153, just east of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport? The nearby Hohokam Expressway (Arizona 143) is useful for connecting Loop 202 to I-10 and the airport, but the paralleling Arizona 153 meanders uncertainly north from University Avenue only to dump traffic onto 44th Street at Washington Avenue. Total length: maybe two miles and so close to Arizona 143 that at one point, the two highways nearly touch. A totally useless piece of freeway that could've been built in a spot elsewhere where it's sorely needed, like helping to extend the southeastern end of Loop 101 to tie into I-10 perhaps at Riggs Road.

Arizona 153 was decommissioned in August 2007. One plan is to convert the highway into a city street with the building of a Peoplemover down the middle.

I-95 (Connecticut Turnpike) in Connecticut from Exit 2 to Exit 70.  A road that was ok in its day, but is now badly outdated...between the load of traffic that the engineers in the 1950s did not anticipate, plus the whole idea of 70 exits in 78 miles with many of the off and on-ramps inadequate for traffic flow

The glutton of interchanges along that stretch of Interstate 95 is partially was dooms it to traffic congestion. Unless you need to clinch the route, avoid it, and if you do need to clinch it and don't care about photographing it, take it at 0dark30!

[ctsignguy]

The glutton of interchanges along that stretch of Interstate 95 is partially was dooms it to traffic congestion. Unless you need to clinch the route, avoid it, and if you do need to clinch it and don't care about photographing it, take it at 0dark30!

ummm, not even o-dark-30 will do it between New York and New Haven...east of New Haven, not quite so bad....

back in those days, engineers didnt think about what traffic patterns might be a few decades ahead...but that was also before urban sprawl, plus the suburbs made possible in part by the beltways...

sadly, they do now, but too much of the highway system is laid down and not that amenable to change without excessive costs, not to mention lawsuits and other fun things (like Al Gore's dirty looks....)

[agentsteel53]

back in those days, engineers didnt think about what traffic patterns might be a few decades ahead..

oh, Robert Moses did... then he laughed maniacally as he bit the head off a melanin-enhanced species-mate.

[Hellfighter]

M-47 between Midland Road and US-10. Less than 2 miles of freeway and it doesn't even have enough traffic! Maybe MDOT should have checked it that stretch was really going to be I-75 before wasting money on a freeway that has no use anymore.

[Greybear]

-- Not completing the Inner Loop Expressway/Terry Bradshaw Passway (LA 3132) as a full southern beltway loop of I-220 in Sherveport. Or..will they wait until the Toll Fairy comes in to fund LA's portion of I-69 and build an extension there??

If I'm right, there is one major thing that currently keeping the Inner Loop Expressway from being completed as a full southern beltway of I-220 back to I-20 and that is called Barksdale Air Force Base.

One major interchange that comes to mind as a major pain in the you-know-what is the downtown Dallas Mixmaster where I-30 and I-35E meet. With its left exits off both interstates, one well-placed accident and you can basically shut down half the freeway system of downtown Dallas.

[mightyace]

A big one and a little one.

The big one: Partial Exits

It's a good thing that they are frowned upon in modern freeway design and they often cause headaches.  Especially those half diamond interchanges.

The little one: A useless exit.

On I-80 in Pennsylvania is Exit 199 Mile Run.  The road at the exit is only paved between the interstate ramps.  In 40 years of driving/riding along this road, I thing have have see someone getting on or off that exit ONCE.  (not counting truckers sleeping at night.)

[WillWeaverRVA]

Heh, I'd get off at Mile Run just to say I've used that exit. I always found that exit funny.