Concrete surface roads in states where they are rare

[UCFKnights]

I think it's quite common in most states for bridges to be concrete, right? That's definitely the case here in WA (no asphalt overlay), so I won't mention anything in that regard.

I hope this relates to your question, index:

What I do find to be unusual is intersections that are concrete. The vast majority of intersections in my area are asphalt (as are the roads leading up to them), but sometimes they're concrete.

I am not sure of the reason behind the concrete intersections in the least bit, but if I were to take a wild guess I'd say that perhaps the intersection is subject to heavy wear, and because concrete is more durable in the long run than asphalt, that would be a better option. However, historical GSVs don't show that when it was asphalt, so it must not be the case.

A lot of times at intersections that are concrete, it's because that heavy vehicles (buses and trucks) that are stopped on asphalt for an extended time, especially in hot weather, they do "sink" into the pavement and, over time, you will gradually see "ruts" where the asphalt is literally pushed to the sides.

Concrete intersections in Florida, where the roads are not otherwise concrete, is typically for aesthetic reasons as far as I know. Stained concrete and the "patterns" they can do with the cuts/joints make it more interesting. Stained asphalt typically doesn't seem to last as well since its not in the mixture, its more a paint.

Florida is typically uncommon for concrete but there is plenty of it around. The new I-4 express lanes are being built with concrete (although the shoulders are asphalt). I find that a bit strange as quite often Florida also does the reverse (concrete shoulders with asphalt roads). When concrete is cheaper then asphalt, FDOT has no problem just doing everything with concrete. While asphalt is far more common, I don't think there is a true consistent reason to the choice in this state.

[webny99]

I took the thread title to mean all roads in general which have a concrete surface... not specific to surface streets. Seems like most replies are including only non-freeways; would be good to get clarification.

The expressway portion of NY 441 is concrete - the
concrete portion does, however, pass through a traffic signal at Linden Ave.

[hotdogPi]

I took the thread title to mean all roads in general which have a concrete surface... not specific to surface streets. Seems like most replies are including only non-freeways; would be good to get clarification.

It's already clear. The OP has the phrase "surface roads that are concrete".

[kphoger]

I took the thread title to mean all roads in general which have a concrete surface... not specific to surface streets. Seems like most replies are including only non-freeways; would be good to get clarification.

It's already clear. The OP has the phrase "surface roads that are concrete".

  Like people can be expected to go through ALL that work of reading the OP before posting a reply to it...

[webny99]

I took the thread title to mean all roads in general which have a concrete surface... not specific to surface streets. Seems like most replies are including only non-freeways; would be good to get clarification.

It's already clear. The OP has the phrase "surface roads that are concrete".

  Like people can be expected to go through ALL that work of reading the OP before posting a reply to it...

There wasn't an obvious reason why freeways would be excluded. Combine that with multiple applications of "surface", and the result is a lack of clarity.

[kphoger]

Here in the Carolinas, surface roads that are concrete aren't exactly common (except bridges, those don't count as most of them are concrete) - you can usually only find them on freeways here.

[...]

There was a clear distinction made in the very first sentence of the OP.

[index]

Here's a few more in Lumberton:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6245574,-79.0058255,3a,75y,98.99h,83.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAHUcqiC0LJ-1u_JUPqm_Nw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6260217,-79.0057967,3a,60y,98.99h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sz4cyElr2npxVeBiOtRBqkQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6269799,-79.007436,3a,43.7y,1.97h,84.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sc0iWHGr5Z5gN-kktMw_-8Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (There's an 8 inch signal with 8 inch arrows further down)
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.625906,-79.0099398,3a,54.1y,1.38h,87.39t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKSPyWDbVvaI00zqR48tTvw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Here's one with markings


There's a few more like this in Lumberton, most of them being residential streets. On another note, Lumberton has some interesting and old signals, but I won't dive into that too much as I don't want to be going off topic.

[ftballfan]

A short portion of LaSalle Rd near Manistee, MI is concrete: https://goo.gl/maps/9BRNybGdkvj
This dates back to when this stretch of LaSalle Rd was part of US-31

[roadman]

At a couple of the rebuilt McDonalds in my area (the design that looks like a bank building), the parking lots are asphalt except for the handicap spaces, which are concrete.

[wriddle082]

Except for bridges, flyovers, culverts, and raised highways, Florida does not use concrete much for "on the surface" roads. I-95 south of Golden Glades Interchange to its terminus is all concrete. I want to say a good bit of I-95 around Jacksonville is also primarily concrete.

Some parts of US 441 around Mount Dora and Tavares did, but a curious application would be this intersection of Powerline and Sample Road. The trucks would rut the asphalt under braking for the traffic lights, so FDOT used concrete for the intersection to reduce the swelling and bumps in the road. The concrete slabs were a good idea, in my opinion.

The final stretch of I-4 to be widened, from 95 SW about 15 miles or so, was done in concrete.  I believe they finally finished this off about a year ago.  Also I think there is a concrete section near the western terminus in Tampa, and last time I was in Orlando it was too early to tell if the I-4 Ultimate project would utilize concrete for its final driving surface.  But prior to this project starting it did have concrete from downtown to at least OBT.

[formulanone]

Wilson Street in Decatur, Alabama (Alternate US 72 / AL 20) has concrete pavement for about half a mile; likely due to heavy traffic.

[thenetwork]

In Western Colorado, there is a section of US-550 going thru Durango as well as two short stretches of US-6/US-50/BL-70 in Grand Junction -- one just west of downtown and one at the DDI at I-70.

[adventurernumber1]

I took the thread title to mean all roads in general which have a concrete surface... not specific to surface streets. Seems like most replies are including only non-freeways; would be good to get clarification.

It's already clear. The OP has the phrase "surface roads that are concrete".

  Like people can be expected to go through ALL that work of reading the OP before posting a reply to it...

There wasn't an obvious reason why freeways would be excluded. Combine that with multiple applications of "surface", and the result is a lack of clarity.

To clarify, a "surface street" is a non-limited-access road. I could see where the confusion could arise, since a "surface street" could be interpreted as simply a road that is not elevated or something else (and in that definition could include freeways). But in this definition, freeways are excluded, which is why people are not mentioning them in this thread.

[adventurernumber1]

Georgia's surface roads are very rarely concrete (though when it comes to their interstates and freeways, concrete shows up very often, especially on many of the rural, four-lane stretches of interstate within the state such as I-16 and I-20). But every once in a while - usually on divided highways - you will see concrete surface roads in the state.

Georgia Highway 316, in its entirety, is mostly concrete.

In my very own home town of Dalton, GA, the great majority of the northern section of the bypass (US 41/US 76/GA 3), from I-75's Exit 336 to GA SR 52, is concrete, albeit the pavement is very old now (dates back to circa 1987, according to my grandfather). The southern section of the bypass (US 41/GA 3, then just GA 3 CONN from I-75's Exit 328 to the US 41 intersection) is all asphalt, however (except for the bridges).

Much of the new, west Rome Bypass is also concrete (though the street-view listed is a little older).

The new US 41 bypass in Barnesville, GA is not only concrete, but it is also a two-lane road, which makes it an even rarer occurrence around these parts.

Much of GA SR 515, including but not limited to both the Jasper area and west of Blairsville, is concrete.

US 278 in some of the Powder Springs and Austell area (in the western Atlanta Metro Area) is concrete.

Some of GA SR 136 near the nearly configured Exit 320 with it and I-75 in Resaca, GA is now concrete.

There are many, many more examples of that other than those, but overall, it is still a rather rare sight to see concrete surface roads around here.

However, most bridges (on both surface streets and limited-access roads) are concrete around here as well, so when it comes to that, it would be more rare for me to see asphalt covering a bridge on either a surface road or a freeway.

[ipeters61]

In Connecticut, I can think of one example (CT-322 near I-691, for a very brief period):



In Delaware, they appear more often than I'd expect in New Castle County, generally on the higher speed roads through urban areas (this is DE-9 south of I-495, others I can think of are DE-3 near I-95, DE-4 in Stanton, DE-100 near DE-48, DE-896 between the Summit Bridge and I-95):

[froggie]

A couple not yet mentioned that I traveled earlier today:

- US 5 in Springfield, MA (NOT the freeway segment across the river from downtown, but north of there near I-91)
- Eastbound US 6 for a stretch between Fall River and New Bedford, MA.

[index]

Reviving this thread with a new find:

Trenton, SC: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7420987,-81.8420289,3a,60y,196.66h,86.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sB9Hxy36hJCeXMCDeCdm6Nw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e4

[formulanone]

Except for bridges, flyovers, culverts, and raised highways, Florida does not use concrete much for "on the surface" roads. I-95 south of Golden Glades Interchange to its terminus is all concrete. I want to say a good bit of I-95 around Jacksonville is also primarily concrete.

Some parts of US 441 around Mount Dora and Tavares did, but a curious application would be this intersection of Powerline and Sample Road. The trucks would rut the asphalt under braking for the traffic lights, so FDOT used concrete for the intersection to reduce the swelling and bumps in the road. The concrete slabs were a good idea, in my opinion.

The final stretch of I-4 to be widened, from 95 SW about 15 miles or so, was done in concrete.  I believe they finally finished this off about a year ago.  Also I think there is a concrete section near the western terminus in Tampa, and last time I was in Orlando it was too early to tell if the I-4 Ultimate project would utilize concrete for its final driving surface.  But prior to this project starting it did have concrete from downtown to at least OBT.

I drove on some sections of I-4 in Orlando for the first time in many years, and there's a lot of concrete in the new construction.

(Also, a lot of of added toll lanes without any increase in non-tolled lane capacity. But that's a gripe for another thread.)

[SectorZ]

Surprised this one in Lowell, MA, MA 133, wasn't mentioned.

https://goo.gl/maps/PKsLej6KRufnzYra6

[SectorZ]

My hometown has a dead-end road made on concrete that was appropriately named "Concrete Road"

https://goo.gl/maps/2E9K575ajEJQWtfm6

[US 89]

In the Salt Lake City area, concrete is fairly common on freeways and expressways but is relatively rare on surface roads. That said, it does occur on a few arterials, most of which were reconstructed in the past 5-10 years. Portions of Redwood Rd in the south and northwest Salt Lake Valley, most of 11400 South, SR 92 in Lehi, and 2000 West in Syracuse come to mind in that department. Several minor residential streets in SLC are also paved in concrete, but these are much older and probably haven't received any sort of road treatment in many years.

[thenetwork]

There is at least two concrete stretches of CO-13 between Rifle and the Wyoming line -- both were built within the last 2-3 years as part of a total reconstruction and shoulder widening.

[froggie]

Re-resurrecting this thread as I found (and drove on) another example from New York this morning:  BUSINESS US 219 between NY 417 and I-86/Exit 23.

To add to Mapmikey's Virginia examples from 3 years ago, there's another one that used to (I don't know if it still does) exist on the Little Creek Amphibious Base.  A stretch of Amphibious Dr east of the rail spur was (is?) a 2-lane concrete road.  Because it's a military base, the closest GMSV is along westbound Shore Dr on the other side of the fence...it seems like it might have still been concrete as recently as April 2019 but I can't tell for sure.  I did not drive that road when I stayed on base 2 months ago.

[US 89]

There is at least two concrete stretches of CO-13 between Rifle and the Wyoming line -- both were built within the last 2-3 years as part of a total reconstruction and shoulder widening.

I remember noticing long stretches of concrete roadway on US 287 through eastern Colorado. I assumed that was due to the fairly heavy truck traffic on that corridor.

[bcroadguy]

BC almost NEVER uses concrete road surfaces, with the exception of bus pads (almost never done outside of the City of Vancouver, which has fairly high bus ridership, until very recently) and some bridges (NOT including the 10 lane Port Mann bridge, which has an asphalt surface).

There are a few small older residential streets (usually in poor condition) in Vancouver that are paved with concrete but I can't think of any off the top off my head.

There are two major roads I can think of that used to be concrete (Cornwall Ave in Vancouver and Gaglardi Way in Burnaby), but not anymore.

There is a small section of Pinetree Wayin Coquitlam that uses concrete (and a style of arrow markings that seems to be extremely common in most parts of the US and Canada but rarely seen in BC) that surprisingly survived the road being almost completely redone in 2016.