Temporary fixes that just became permanent

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I was researching the "floppy green things" thread. In Minnetonka, MN where I-494 meets I-394, on the south side of the interchange along 494 the high median barrier from the 2006 rebuild just...stops, and a series of temporary construction barriers takes over and fills the gap to the bridges over 394. Since it's been like that for 15 years, I imagine there aren't any plans to fix it. So what are your favorite jury rigs and "F it that works just as well"?

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9681632,-93.4605961,3a,75y,91.02h,83.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8h40KoBTehvNH7iFTWLEyQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[SectorZ]

In Lowell, MA, a temporary bridge was put up in 1983. It's still there.

http://bridgehunter.com/ma/middlesex/rourke/

[1995hoo]

How about this street name in Reston?

https://goo.gl/maps/sbyKotA1ctQ2JRLK6

[Occidental Tourist]

On the 5 freeway in Irvine, California, they replaced the Barranca Parkway bridge to add a northbound on and off ramp for the carpool lane.  There were future plans to add a southbound on and on ramp as well.  Because of this, there's been temporary k-rail in place south of the bridge for about 20 years, which merges into the freeway's original center divider.




Edit: the bridge was built 30 years ago.  Time flies.

[Max Rockatansky]

California State Route 1 being routed from Rockport to Leggett was meant to be temporary but didn't become legislatively official until 1984. 

[SkyPesos]

dulles airport concourse c/d

[Roadrunner75]

"Temporary" Route 41 in NJ:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8769714,-75.0490863,3a,16.6y,42.27h,90.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYLTCycRvphDAfYePrtd7ZQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[TheStranger]

California examples:

In San Francisco, US 101 from South Van Ness Avenue/Duboce Avenue north to Fell Street was a temporary routing in the mid-1950s as the Central Freeway was being built to its furthest extent at Turk/Franklin Streets, but when the segment north of Fell was demolished after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, that temporary routing was permanently revived and is still in use to this day (and signed).

There's that spot Route 25 south of Hollister somewhere with a weird detour loop put in due to a landslide, which is still in place as of now:



In Oxnard, Route 232 remains on Vineyard Avenue (which connects Route 118 with the now-former Route 1/Oxnard Boulevard), even though part of the planning for Route 1's Rice Avenue realignment was to have 232 moved to Santa Clara Avenue (which directly connects Rice with Route 118).

One that is entirely on paper and not reflective of real-life signage: the portion of Route 19 north of Pico Rivera has been legislatively part of Route 164 (a designation for a planned, but never-to-be-constructed freeway) since 1964, yet has retained the same Route 19 signage in the field that it has held since 1934!

Route 262 in Fremont along Mission Boulevard is an interesting situation (and that's before getting into the many different route numbers that stretch has held) - it was supposed to be de-designated once Route 237 was built as freeway in Milpitas between 880 and 680, but with the latter pretty much a non-starter, 262 instead is now a candidate for a full freeway upgrade (which had originally been proposed in the 1960s when the route was part of I-680).

Route 12 in Santa Rosa following Farmers Lane to 4th Street was supposed to be a short-lived link between a completed freeway portion and the Sonoma Highway - but the cancellation of a freeway segment that would have bisected Spring Lake Park instead made this the permanent alignment.

[1995hoo]

PA-23 at the "Goat Path": https://goo.gl/maps/DES5g1LJ7N2hD85B9

And in Bridgeport: https://goo.gl/maps/y4qQN7rVxnPLd89E6

[formulanone]

And in Bridgeport: https://goo.gl/maps/y4qQN7rVxnPLd89E6

Looks like good fun on a fair day with no traffic, and a nightmare bottleneck in literally every other situation.

[ErmineNotyours]

On I-5 between Kent-Des Moines Road and Federal Way, the state widened bridges in anticipation of an HOV lane.  This was shortly after the state had rebuilt the rails on each bridge to make them stronger.  After the bridges were widened, an initiative passed that took away money, so the state simply paved a shoulder and narrowed the lanes, not using the extra space on the bridges.  Shame.  The bridges still bear the 1959 date even though they have been partially rebuilt.

[vdeane]

Over in Cornwall, ON, this happened to customs at the Seaway International Bridge.  Canadian customs used to be over on Cornwall Island.  After the First Nation protested a plan to have CBSA agents carry firearms (a protest that made them fear for the safety, resulting in them being evacuated through the US), customs "temporarily" moved to the mainland.  Here's the very temporary setup from 2009.  By 2012, the "temporary" customs plaza had been built on the mainland (cutting off the local street), and the toll barrier had moved to the mainland as well for some reason.
There was also a facility for secondary inspection in a nearby lot.  When the bridge itself was replaced with a much lower (and shorter) replacement, another (officially) "temporary" facility was built, looking even more permanent than the last.  I don't expect customs to move from here anytime soon - if ever.  I don't think they want to go back to the island even if they got an agreement.  The toll barrier also remains on the mainland.

[ErmineNotyours]

The Hogarth Flyover 

[wanderer2575]

"Temporary" OH-37 truck route in Delaware, Ohio.

https://goo.gl/maps/HWKU9pySoT2bvEaV9

[Occidental Tourist]

When the 55 Freeway was expanded in 2002, the Meats Avenue bridge in Orange, California was rebuilt.  There were plans to add a freeway interchange there, and thus the rebuilt bridge was wider than was necessary for traffic crossing over the freeway.  The need for a new interchange has never materialized, so 18 years later the southern side of the bridge remains unused.

[ErmineNotyours]

Washington 513 is the remnant of the canceled Thompson Expressway.  It has one trailblazing sign along the whole route.  It only connects to SR 520, and there isn't even a sign for it there.

This sign for I-90 Temp stayed up for about 30 years after the completed alignment of I-90 became permanent.

[TheGrassGuy]

COVID masks and social distancing

[sprjus4]

"Future"  I-26 north of Asheville, NC.

[hotdogPi]

COVID masks and social distancing

It's not permanent. The 1918 flu lasted until 1920, and everything went back to normal after that. It hasn't been that long yet.

[Henry]

The north end of the Stony Island Avenue expressway at 95th Street. (IIRC, that was to make up the southern terminus of I-694, which was the original I-494)

[webny99]

This?

[vdeane]

This?

It's interesting that there's one right on I-390, given how I tend to think of Québec with those things.

[kphoger]

The western outer bypass of Nuevo Laredo was twinned... ummmm... maybe ten years ago or so?  This interchange/overpass and this industrial access were never twinned as far as I know, and I'm beginning to wonder if the 'temporary' median crossovers have become permanent.

[PHLBOS]

Would this one count?  The interchange ramps, particularly on the US 1 side, were initially built as a temporary means to allow for usage of the newer Danvers stretch of I-95 that opened circa 1974. 

The original plan for this interchange only called for the opposite movement ramps (I-95 north to US 1 north & US 1 south to I-95 south) to what was actually built.  Since the plan to build I-95 south of MA 128 in this area was cancelled (I-95 ran along most of MA 128 as a result); the then-MassDPW saw no reason to convert the interim partial interchange to the originally-planned partial interchange.  The ramps at the I-95 end were modified when the Interstate was finally extended to MA 128 circa 1988. 

In the above-Google Maps Image; if one looks just south of the interchange adjacent to I-95 southbound, one sees a narrow dirt road/path that would've been where the planned US 1 south/I-95 south ramp was to go.

[Roadrunner75]

This?

It's interesting that there's one right on I-390, given how I tend to think of Québec with those things.

Probably just left in place as an emergency cross-over.   We have a few in NJ - The most obvious are the crossovers at the Delaware Memorial Bridge to allow both directions to use one of the bridges:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6821672,-75.4980044,394m/data=!3m1!1e3

Also, here's one on I-195, that could serve as an emergency crossover for evacuations from the shore using both roadways (even has the "Emergency Crossover" sign):
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1825594,-74.5611523,3a,46.7y,325.89h,92.59t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soMMBpRbKVe8cG24us6ib1A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Would this one count? 

Zoom in and see the truck that didn't handle the ramp very well....