Best metro areas for roadgeeks

[achilles765]

I'm going to suggest any of the four major cities here in Texas. Dallas-Ft Worth probably has the routes and some of the most impressive looking interchanges and stuff. But Houston has alot to offer and San Antonio has the two double decker sections. Plus they're all about 3 hours from each other. And aside from San Antonio each is relatively close enough to other states. 

[hbelkins]

Billy mentioned Cincinnati. That was my initial thought. There's always some construction going on somewhere, interesting bridges, some old infrastructure, old signage, quirks like the Lockland split on I-75, and so on.

[vdeane]

Also, a lot of responses have been in the form of "[metro area x] is good because it's in close proximity to [x, y, and z]", but isn't this thread specific to roadgeeking in the city itself and within day trip range, as opposed to driving hours away to other cities? If a city's main attraction is drivability to other cities, that doesn't speak very well for the roadgeeking opportunities in that city itself.

That being said, if you are looking for a central location for weekend road trips to other cities, Rochester NY has you covered. It's within 6 hours/400 miles of all of NY state save Long Island, plus Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, Hartford, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Detroit, just to name a few. Suffice to say that nowhere else in the US has the same breadth of coverage within a 6 hour/400 mile range.

The OP wasn't quite clear on what that meant, so I took it as mainly being "don't factor in rush hour congestion".  Also, all the places I listed were within about 3.5-4 hours, so daytrip range (although customs would probably raise an eyebrow if one tried to daytrip Montréal from Albany).  I've certainly done roadgeeking daytrips in NYC and Boston before.  Even Philly once, to see the completed I-95 ramps.

[-- US 175 --]

I'm going to suggest any of the four major cities here in Texas. Dallas-Ft Worth probably has the routes and some of the most impressive looking interchanges and stuff. But Houston has alot to offer and San Antonio has the two double decker sections. Plus they're all about 3 hours from each other. And aside from San Antonio each is relatively close enough to other states.

The DFW/north TX area has a variety of already-built roads, freeways, and interchanges, as well as a regular amount of construction projects/redos to view and gawk over.

[Sctvhound]

Charlotte would be one for me. Lots of interesting sights throughout the metro area, the lake, two states and the completely different way they treat their roads, and the main thing being how close it is to so many different parts of the country.

You're within a day's drive (6 or so hours) of all of the Carolinas, 90% of GA, the eastern half of AL, the eastern 2/3 of TN, almost all of VA, most of WV outside the Eastern Panhandle, southeast KY, and even southeast OH.

SM-G998U

[webny99]

Also, a lot of responses have been in the form of "[metro area x] is good because it's in close proximity to [x, y, and z]", but isn't this thread specific to roadgeeking in the city itself and within day trip range, as opposed to driving hours away to other cities? If a city's main attraction is drivability to other cities, that doesn't speak very well for the roadgeeking opportunities in that city itself.

That being said, if you are looking for a central location for weekend road trips to other cities, Rochester NY has you covered. It's within 6 hours/400 miles of all of NY state save Long Island, plus Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, Hartford, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Detroit, just to name a few. Suffice to say that nowhere else in the US has the same breadth of coverage within a 6 hour/400 mile range.

The OP wasn't quite clear on what that meant, so I took it as mainly being "don't factor in rush hour congestion".  Also, all the places I listed were within about 3.5-4 hours, so daytrip range (although customs would probably raise an eyebrow if one tried to daytrip Montréal from Albany).  I've certainly done roadgeeking daytrips in NYC and Boston before.  Even Philly once, to see the completed I-95 ramps.

Daytrip range can mean different things to different people. I'd certainly consider 2 hours or less to be daytrip range, but 3-5 is a gray area. 6-8 hour range is more suitable for weekend trips, and anything 8+ is a full-on road trip.

Rochester is odd in that there isn't a ton within the gray area outside of Toronto/Niagara and upstate NY itself, but there is a surprising number of large metros within 5-7 hours. There's almost a full ring, with Montreal (5 hrs northeast), Boston (6 hours east), NYC/NJ/Philly (5/6 hrs southeast) Baltimore/DC (6 hrs south), Cleveland/Pittsburgh (4.5 hrs southwest), and Detroit (6 hours west). Due north is the only direction without a significant metro area, and that's the lake anyways.

Regarding customs, I've done frequent day trips to the Toronto area from Rochester without issue (but also, having had NEXUS for the last ~10 years definitely helps). Albany to Montreal seems much further on a map, but surprisingly it's only about 50 miles longer and quite similar time-wise, and with less potential for traffic issues (Niagara to Toronto can be terrible, as I mentioned earlier).

[westerninterloper]

Toledo, Ohio - three cross-country interstates and two 3dis in the city, along with a suspension bridge, a cable-stayed bridge, two drawbridges; 

Just an hour south of the Motor City, with its outstanding freeway system;

Within a four hour radius:
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Dayton
Cincinnati
Indianapolis
Chicago
Grand Rapids
Toronto

Within six hours:
Buffalo
Louisville
Milwaukee

Just eight hours to DC, 10 to NYC

[epzik8]

Baltimore would have been good just a few years ago to get the now-removed sign with the I-70N shield.

[andrepoiy]

Take the Toronto area just as one example.. the 400 north of Toronto, 401 east of Toronto, and the QEW from Oakville to Niagara are usually not too bad from Monday to Thursday: they have their trouble spots and fair share of issues at rush hour, which is to be expected, but Friday through Sunday are another level of terrible. You'll see backups heading out of Toronto for miles on Friday afternoons and again on Saturday and Sunday, sometimes starting as early as 9-10AM and lasting to 4-5PM. And then slow traffic returning to Toronto on Sunday afternoons sometimes persists as late as 9-10PM. In fact, as I type this (9:40 ET), there's about 20 km of slow traffic on the 400 SB near Kettleby, and about 25 km slow traffic on the QEW from Grimsby to Burlington. It's becoming almost NYC-like and seems to be getting worse every year.

In fact, usually on Friday/Saturday/Sunday night, there will be consistent traffic jams leaving downtown Toronto on NB Don Valley Parkway and WB Gardiner Expressway all the way until maybe 1 AM. (Source: I have been stuck in those jams multiple times at said hours)

[Bruce]

Weekend traffic jams are not uncommon in metro areas. A lot of people leave town for weekend getaways and return Saturday afternoon (which means weird traffic jams then).

[wriddle082]

Charlotte would be one for me. Lots of interesting sights throughout the metro area, the lake, two states and the completely different way they treat their roads, and the main thing being how close it is to so many different parts of the country.

You're within a day's drive (6 or so hours) of all of the Carolinas, 90% of GA, the eastern half of AL, the eastern 2/3 of TN, almost all of VA, most of WV outside the Eastern Panhandle, southeast KY, and even southeast OH.

SM-G998U

Charlotte is a terrible city for roadgeeks.  All of I-77 between the state line and Statesville is a travesty; if there aren't enough lanes then you're paying your way out of traffic.  The scenery is mostly trees with the occasional view of the highly-perched Uptown skyline.  You can't even see the lakes due to all of the development on them.  The drivers are absolutely horrible, in some cases worse than Atlanta.  The more intricate interchanges in the area are needlessly so; the I-77 and I-85 junction doesn't need to be that complicated, and both I-77 and I-277 interchanges need to be blown up with dynamite.  The only interchange that works well is I-85 and I-485 near Concord Mills, which is a fairly new turbine that you can get through quickly in all movements, but turbines generally aren't impressive to look at from the ground.

Even though I don't live in Charlotte (I live 100ish miles away in the Columbia area), I find myself working here at least half of the year, and have been for the past 10 years.  I've witnessed the fiasco that was the I-77 HOT lanes construction, which were completed two years behind schedule.  Every night when I drive into work there's a different section of I-77 or I-85 or US 74 where the freeway lighting is not working.  Heck, speaking of freeway lighting, did you know that there are absolutely no freeway lights along I-77 in SC?  No high mast lighting at important interchanges, no lighting in urban areas, nothing.  Just a bunch of reflectors and the surprise pothole on or near a bridge.

If there is one area of the Carolinas where the roads are a lot more interesting from s roadgeeking perspective, it's the Triad, hands down.  Greensboro has a newer, well designed complete beltway which has greatly relieved the older roadways closer to the center of the city.  Winston-Salem has a lot of interesting roads as well, both old and new.  And traffic is usually not much of an issue in Greensboro, though it can get busy during rush hour in W-S.  Overall the experience is much more pleasant.  Plus NC's obsession with I-73/74, which many roadgeeks have strong opinions of, go right through the Triad, and are responsible for a good chunk of the newer roads.

[Henry]

What about Houston? Highlights include the longest in-state section of 2di (I-10), the shortest 2di that ends in 5 (I-45), the new I-69, three ring roads (I-610, Beltway 8 and TX 99), the widest freeway ever built (Katy Freeway, the western half of I-10), and high-mast lighting just about everywhere. Plus, you have the luxury of taking a day trip to the other two major metro areas in TX (Dallas-Ft. Worth and San Antonio-Austin), and the Gulf of Mexico is a short drive away (50 miles approximately).

[HighwayStar]

New York has to be about the worst. Same with Seattle and other cities that won't build roads.

Best would be the big southern cities that get things done, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc.

[Rothman]

New York has to be about the worst. Same with Seattle and other cities that won't build roads.

Best would be the big southern cities that get things done, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc.

So much for one of the biggest transportation projects in the country, which includes two freeway-to-freeway interchange reconstructions, the reconstruction of an urban viaduct and the demolition of another...

A weird perspective, indeed.

[HighwayStar]

New York has to be about the worst. Same with Seattle and other cities that won't build roads.

Best would be the big southern cities that get things done, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc.

So much for one of the biggest transportation projects in the country, which includes two freeway-to-freeway interchange reconstructions, the reconstruction of an urban viaduct and the demolition of another...

A weird perspective, indeed.

Only "biggest" because it is bloated, inefficient, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. They are replacing one road with another and when all is said and done you will still be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic because they lack the will to power to actually build anything new.

[Rothman]

New York has to be about the worst. Same with Seattle and other cities that won't build roads.

Best would be the big southern cities that get things done, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc.

So much for one of the biggest transportation projects in the country, which includes two freeway-to-freeway interchange reconstructions, the reconstruction of an urban viaduct and the demolition of another...

A weird perspective, indeed.

Only "biggest" because it is bloated, inefficient, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. They are replacing one road with another and when all is said and done you will still be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic because they lack the will to power to actually build anything new.

Bumper to bumper traffic?  In Syracuse?  "Replacing one road with another"?

I'll submit your statement for the next edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the quintessential example of the definition of ignorance.

[hotdogPi]

I don't think it was clear that it was referring to Syracuse, since "New York" mentioned prior was in reference to the metro area (per the thread title), which Syracuse is outside.

I got the "you posted within the last 15 seconds" message on this post.

[HighwayStar]

I don't think it was clear that it was referring to Syracuse, since "New York" mentioned prior was in reference to the metro area (per the thread title), which Syracuse is outside.

I got the "you posted within the last 15 seconds" message on this post.

Yes, this was the confusion. I thought it was a reference to Seattle and their bungled Alaskan Way Viaduct.

[Rothman]

I don't think it was clear that it was referring to Syracuse, since "New York" mentioned prior was in reference to the metro area (per the thread title), which Syracuse is outside.

I got the "you posted within the last 15 seconds" message on this post.

Yes, this was the confusion. I thought it was a reference to Seattle and their bungled Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Alaskan Way reconstructed two freeway interchanges and another viaduct...rather than tearing down a viaduct and tunneling it?  Confusion, indeed...

...sort of like New York state versus NYC when quickly skimming through posts...

[HighwayStar]

I don't think it was clear that it was referring to Syracuse, since "New York" mentioned prior was in reference to the metro area (per the thread title), which Syracuse is outside.

I got the "you posted within the last 15 seconds" message on this post.

Yes, this was the confusion. I thought it was a reference to Seattle and their bungled Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Alaskan Way reconstructed two freeway interchanges and another viaduct...rather than tearing down a viaduct and tunneling it?  Confusion, indeed...

...sort of like New York state versus NYC when quickly skimming through posts...

I assumed interchanges were reconstructed in order to facilitate the swap, but I've never followed Seattle construction that closely.

[Road Hog]

I'm going to suggest any of the four major cities here in Texas. Dallas-Ft Worth probably has the routes and some of the most impressive looking interchanges and stuff. But Houston has alot to offer and San Antonio has the two double decker sections. Plus they're all about 3 hours from each other. And aside from San Antonio each is relatively close enough to other states.

The DFW/north TX area has a variety of already-built roads, freeways, and interchanges, as well as a regular amount of construction projects/redos to view and gawk over.

North Texas is probably best experienced over a number of visits to see the progress made over time. The I-35E project through Oak Cliff is a quantum leap over the old freeway, for one example. Traffic is often a nightmare and there always seems to be an accident the way I go, but patience is key.

Getting from DFW to either Houston or San Antonio is more than just a quick zip, however. I-35 is mostly six-laned now to San Antonio but it's still 4 hours plus and you have Austin traffic to deal with, which is DFW times 10. I-45 is still 4-lane from MM 213 to MM 114 and that section can be a slog (thank God for Buc-ee's about halfway in between).

[JayhawkCO]

Baltimore. Because you can enjoy so much of I-70.

[Bruce]

New York has to be about the worst. Same with Seattle and other cities that won't build roads.

Best would be the big southern cities that get things done, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc.

So much for one of the biggest transportation projects in the country, which includes two freeway-to-freeway interchange reconstructions, the reconstruction of an urban viaduct and the demolition of another...

A weird perspective, indeed.

Only "biggest" because it is bloated, inefficient, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. They are replacing one road with another and when all is said and done you will still be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic because they lack the will to power to actually build anything new.

Things that are being built new in the Seattle area:



Not to mention a ton of rebuilding on SR 520 (new world's longest floating bridge with rebuilt interchanges and lids), I-405 (express toll lanes that require more than a few complete rebuilds of interchanges), I-5 in Tacoma (new HOV lanes just finished after 20+ years), and US 2 (new trestle in the works) among others. There's also going to be the ever-looming monster that is rebuilding I-5 through Seattle.

There is a lot of stuff happening here, but my complaints upthread were mostly about living here rather than merely following projects.

[BJ59]

I'm going to suggest any of the four major cities here in Texas. Dallas-Ft Worth probably has the routes and some of the most impressive looking interchanges and stuff. But Houston has alot to offer and San Antonio has the two double decker sections. Plus they're all about 3 hours from each other. And aside from San Antonio each is relatively close enough to other states. 

I agree that Texas has some of the most interesting interchanges. The new I-35W and I-820 interchange is very impressive with direct connectors to the free lanes and express lanes

Impressive to see the difference before and after:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.837766,-97.3114549,3a,75y,21.13h,94.08t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sLJjS6ZNbsMgi_icfMrFYMQ!2e0!5s20121201T000000!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8377812,-97.311459,3a,75y,8.69h,97.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sENGUzBnGWFQj4QjiNrH2IQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DENGUzBnGWFQj4QjiNrH2IQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D114.34333%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[StogieGuy7]

Southern California is a perennial hotspot for roadgeekery thanks to huge, iconic freeways and some great scenery in sports.  But any big metro in Texas will be great too, thanks to "Texas style" design (big stacks, frontage roads, etc.) as well as continuing construction of new freeways. Beyond those two regions, I'd have to add Denver, Salt Lake City and the SF Bay Area to the list. 

Why nothing in the east? Actually, there are a lot of runners up in the region.  But I would not count most northeast corridor cities among the "best", thanks to their freeways being very old and congested - and a lack of system growth works against these areas IMHO. Not that they're bad, just not best. However, some eastern cities do have pretty cool roads to see. North Carolina's growing system is one that comes to mind. Virginia's Tidewater region is another. And, Florida has some pretty cool and unique highways - in part, thanks to the recent growth of their system (that is, if you don't end up stuck on I-4 and you bring your EZPass). 

Just my $0.02 on this.