Incomplete Routes Deserving Completion

[jwolfer]

HOW ABOUT COMPLETING INTERSTATE 95 LOL

I think that's going on right now.

To me even when 95 is open on the new PA Turnpike connection, it will still be incomplete. Somerset freeway made more sense. Now roads like US1 and 206 as well as NJ 31 are even more stressed because the cancellation of the freeway didn't stop development

A similar argument can be made about the cancelled segments of I-95 inside of MA 128 and the MD/DC segment inside the Capital Beltway (I-495).

I can understand that.. however Somerset freeway was not breaking up densely populated urban neighborhoods.. it was wealthy influential people who didn't want freeway near their rural properties

Z981

[jeffandnicole]

HOW ABOUT COMPLETING INTERSTATE 95 LOL

I think that's going on right now.

To me even when 95 is open on the new PA Turnpike connection, it will still be incomplete. Somerset freeway made more sense. Now roads like US1 and 206 as well as NJ 31 are even more stressed because the cancellation of the freeway didn't stop development

A similar argument can be made about the cancelled segments of I-95 inside of MA 128 and the MD/DC segment inside the Capital Beltway (I-495).

I can understand that.. however Somerset freeway was not breaking up densely populated urban neighborhoods.. it was wealthy influential people who didn't want freeway near their rural properties

Z981

Again, this is hardly the first highway to have undergone alignment design changes.  It's just the most notable due to the delays.  If PennDOT and the PTC moved to build the interchange between 95 and the PA Turnpike in the early 80's when the feds approved such a change, the abandoned alignment wouldn't be talked about much at all here.  That one simple little interchange has caused a 35 year delay in finishing the mainline highway.

[bzakharin]

HOW ABOUT COMPLETING INTERSTATE 95 LOL

I think that's going on right now.

To me even when 95 is open on the new PA Turnpike connection, it will still be incomplete. Somerset freeway made more sense. Now roads like US1 and 206 as well as NJ 31 are even more stressed because the cancellation of the freeway didn't stop development

A similar argument can be made about the cancelled segments of I-95 inside of MA 128 and the MD/DC segment inside the Capital Beltway (I-495).

I can understand that.. however Somerset freeway was not breaking up densely populated urban neighborhoods.. it was wealthy influential people who didn't want freeway near their rural properties

Z981

Again, this is hardly the first highway to have undergone alignment design changes.  It's just the most notable due to the delays.  If PennDOT and the PTC moved to build the interchange between 95 and the PA Turnpike in the early 80's when the feds approved such a change, the abandoned alignment wouldn't be talked about much at all here.  That one simple little interchange has caused a 35 year delay in finishing the mainline highway.

The thing is, we really need a freeway along the US 206 corridor to connect Trenton to NYC, but also to upstate New York and Northwest NJ via 287, and the PA Turnpike interchange would not have provided that no matter when it were built.

[inkyatari]

Foothills Parkway in Tennessee.

Seconded

[epzik8]

Maryland Route 165 is a different example. It emerges from York County, Pennsylvania and winds through Harford County, and goes briefly into Baltimore County, where at Baldwin, it just stops at a point where three other county roads - Pleasantville Road, Long Green Pike and Fork Road - meet. It was planned like this all along, though, because this was the approximate point where the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad once passed through. Fork Road would have to be upgraded to State Highway Administration standards for Route 165 to be extended out to U.S. Route 1 at Kingsville, something that will happen when hell freezes over.

[jwolfer]

HOW ABOUT COMPLETING INTERSTATE 95 LOL

I think that's going on right now.

To me even when 95 is open on the new PA Turnpike connection, it will still be incomplete. Somerset freeway made more sense. Now roads like US1 and 206 as well as NJ 31 are even more stressed because the cancellation of the freeway didn't stop development

A similar argument can be made about the cancelled segments of I-95 inside of MA 128 and the MD/DC segment inside the Capital Beltway (I-495).

I can understand that.. however Somerset freeway was not breaking up densely populated urban neighborhoods.. it was wealthy influential people who didn't want freeway near their rural properties

Z981

Again, this is hardly the first highway to have undergone alignment design changes.  It's just the most notable due to the delays.  If PennDOT and the PTC moved to build the interchange between 95 and the PA Turnpike in the early 80's when the feds approved such a change, the abandoned alignment wouldn't be talked about much at all here.  That one simple little interchange has caused a 35 year delay in finishing the mainline highway.

This is a bit more than alignment change. 

Z981

[Stephane Dumas]

Does NY-135 spanning Long Island Sound count?

More closer to my neck of woods, A-50 between Mirabel and Joliette as well as A-13 between St-Eustache and Mirabel and A-19.

[Revive 755]

* I-70 in Pennsylvania around Exit 161 on the Turnpike

* I-49/Bella Vista Bypass in Missouri and Arkansas

[thenetwork]

I-70, to serve both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Delmarva Peninsula/Jersey Shore, take your pick.

i-70 was supposed to go that far?  why didnt they finish it?

It never was intended to go California, a lot of people think it should since the terrain is workable.  The problem is that almost all of US 50 across Neveda has no traffic and is perfectly adequate as is.  US 95 north of Las Vegas gets drawn into similar debates with I-11 even though the two-lane roadway is pretty damn sufficient.  Basically the big debate with I-70 was connecting it to I-15 via the San Rafael Swell versus a more direct route to Salt Lake City.

I recently had the chance to travel the US-6/191 corridor between Green River and Provo.  While there is definitely a need to 4-lane (and raise the speed limit on) US-6 between I-70 and Price/US-191 Split, anything west of Soldier Summit -- including putting in a limited access freeway -- is damn near impossible due to the terrain and the lack of available open/ROW space Between I-15 and about 10 miles east of Spanish Fork, as that area is growing like a bamboo forest.

That being said, there is enough traffic, IMHO, to warrant an interstate-grade connection between I-70 and I-15, and a completed freeway could pull a noticable chunk of DEN->SLC traffic off of I-80 and I-25, especially on good weather days/seasons.

[sbeaver44]

US 30 freeway between Lancaster (PA) and Sadsburyville/Coatesville.  Better IMHO than the PA 23 Goat Path.

PA 23 Schuylkill Parkway

I'll third the Foothills Parkway in TN.  That was a nice drive.

Nexus 6P

[sbeaver44]

US 30 freeway East of Canton OH also.  US 30 from Indiana to I-71 is great.  US 30 East of Canton to OH 11 less so.

Nexus 6P

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I-49 in AR. That and I-29 should then be renumbered together as I-45 (And I-45 in TX to something else, as it's far from major), but that is fictional territory.

One for this side of the pond: Spanish A-22. Luckily the final section to A-23 is now tendered after years of NIMBYism and budget cuts.

[Revive 755]

That being said, there is enough traffic, IMHO, to warrant an interstate-grade connection between I-70 and I-15, and a completed freeway could pull a noticable chunk of DEN->SLC traffic off of I-80 and I-25, especially on good weather days/seasons.

Would the extra traffic on I-70 through Colorado be worth pulling it off I-25 and I-80?  Assuming the traffic volumes keep growing, I-70 would be impractical to widen in many spots.  I-25 north of Denver would be easier to widen (IIRC), or relieve with a parallel corridor to the east.  I can't say about I-80 between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City - I've always been enticed by the scenery along I-70 in Colorado to take the extra travel time.

[thenetwork]

That being said, there is enough traffic, IMHO, to warrant an interstate-grade connection between I-70 and I-15, and a completed freeway could pull a noticeable chunk of DEN->SLC traffic off of I-80 and I-25, especially on good weather days/seasons.

Would the extra traffic on I-70 through Colorado be worth pulling it off I-25 and I-80?  Assuming the traffic volumes keep growing, I-70 would be impractical to widen in many spots.  I-25 north of Denver would be easier to widen (IIRC), or relieve with a parallel corridor to the east.  I can't say about I-80 between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City - I've always been enticed by the scenery along I-70 in Colorado to take the extra travel time.

The real bottlenecks on I-70 really only happen on the weekends when the urban traffic heads up into the mountains on Friday Night and return on Sunday (or a Monday holiday).  They could add a few additional stretches of truck lanes on the upgrades each way (cough cough Vail Pass cough cough) and that would satisfy normal day-to-day movements. 

Once west of Vail, the existing 2-lanes per direction is more than adequate for decades to come.  The current freeway from Vail to Green River can handle additional traffic.

[SD Mapman]

I can't say about I-80 between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City - I've always been enticed by the scenery along I-70 in Colorado to take the extra travel time.

I-80 would be relatively easy to widen through most of WY, though there are some canyon bottlenecks in places. Once you get into UT, Echo Canyon and Parley's Canyon don't have that much room for expansion.

[thenetwork]

I can't say about I-80 between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City - I've always been enticed by the scenery along I-70 in Colorado to take the extra travel time.

I-80 would be relatively easy to widen through most of WY, though there are some canyon bottlenecks in places. Once you get into UT, Echo Canyon and Parley's Canyon don't have that much room for expansion.

The real question for the I-70/US-6 vs. I-80/I-25 between Denver & Salt Lake topic is during the winter,...:

-  Which route has more road closures in the winter?

-  Which route has more bad weather in the winter?  In the case of I-70, most of the bad weather & closures run between Glenwood Springs and Denver (moreso Vail to Denver).  I rarely hear of any I-70 closures in Utah between CO and Green River due to weather.

-  Which state gets their interstate cleared and open quicker during and after bad weather?

-  Which route has more alternate routes / frontage roads?  (Both I-70 & I-80 have stretches where if there is an accident or closure, there is no nearby parallel alternative).

If Colorado has the advantage, and if there ever was an interstate to parallel/replace the US-6 corridor, then more traffic would use it.

[theroadwayone]

* I-70 in Pennsylvania around Exit 161 on the Turnpike

I had an idea on how to solve the Breezewood problem:

Build two EZ-Pass-only ramps; one from the Turnpike EB to I-70 EB, and the other one from I-70 WB to the Turnpike WB. Thought it seems kind of workable. (Though knowing PA, it'll take between now and the Second Coming, maybe more, to complete them.)

[thenetwork]

On the Breezewood, it looks like they can fit two ramps where I-70 crosses over the portion of the (original) Turnpike which is between the Exit 161 Toll Booths and US-30:   A Westbound I-70 loop ramp or 2-lane flyover from Free 70 to the original segment just before the toll gate and a simple one or two-lane off ramp EB Tolled I-70 just after the toll booths to Free I-70.  The new westbound ramp might be congested for a bit until the PTC goes ticketless, then the required stop at the toll plaza would be eliminated. 

You would still have the current roadways end at US-30 like before.

The solution is too easy, it's those damn Breezewood NIMBYs that are not.

[inkyatari]

Turn Breezewood into a giant service plaza.

[ilpt4u]

Turn Breezewood into a giant service plaza.

I thought it already was???

[plain]

^ Breezewood is ok the way it is. I actually like stopping there, and I dig the fact that it entices long distance truckers to stop for a break (well at least I-70 trucks anyway).

The Bluegrass Parkway in Kentucky from its existing terminus at US 60 to I-64.

Agreed, though I think I've read somewhere the reason why it hasn't been extended is because it would've went through some horse pastures or something and the owners of them wasn't having it. I didn't realize at the time when I went to drive it (2002 or 3) that it was going to take so long to reach it from I-64 WB, really I just wanted to check out one of those funky cloverleaf setups, which turned out unnecessary anyway as I drove through an actual toll on the Audubon Pkwy a year later lol

[D-Dey65]

Does NY-135 spanning Long Island Sound count?

It does to me. Not just that, but reaching down to the Wantagh Parkway just south of Merrick Road.

[jp the roadgeek]

Does NY-135 spanning Long Island Sound count?

It does to me. Not just that, but reaching down to the Wantagh Parkway just south of Merrick Road.

I'd rather extend I-91 across Long island Sound to the William Floyd Parkway.  Would chop 3 hours off a trip to Eastern LI for me.

[RobbieL2415]

-The US 7 Interstate, which was, IIRC, supposed to be the original I-89.  Currently exists in fragments in CT and VT.

-I-290 (MA) from Marlborough to I-95 in Waltham.  Could take slack off US 20 and provide a free alternative to get to I-95.

- I-84 (or US 6) (CT) from Bolton, CT to Providence, RI.  I say "or US 6" because it could be replaced with either a full Interstate or a Virginia-style 4-lane divided road with at-grade intersections.

- CT 2, from freeway end in Norwich to I-95 in North Stonington.

- I-284 (CT) from East Hartford to East Windsor.  Currently stubs at both ends, southern stub was actually logged as I-284 in the 70s but never signed.  IMO US 5 is due for a bypass in that area, especially in East Windsor.

- I-291 (CT) from Bloomfield to West Hartford (duh)

[jp the roadgeek]

I'll say complete CT 78 to I-95 in Stonington, but I might get another weird comment about golf courses and breasts.