Mini Freeway Networks

Started by Dirt Roads, June 24, 2022, 08:54:01 AM

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Dirt Roads

Quote from: lepidopteran on June 19, 2022, 03:53:50 AM
VA: US-15/17 around Warrenton

The US-29/US-15/US-17 Bypass around Warrenton, Virginia has been mentioned several times on the "Mini Freeways" thread.  This one is interesting because it technically didn't meet the OP requirements, but I think it meets the spirit of the thread.  There is the original eastern part of the bypass along the US-29/US-15 side completed in 1987 that originally had cross-streets and has been upgraded.  Then there is the northern section of the bypass for US-17 completed as a short freeway section in 1998.  The Lee Highway interchange (US-29 Business/US-15 Business, formerly US-211) and the Meetze Road interchange were completed sometime in this same timeframe to convert the original eastern bypass into a freeway.  And now, unbeknownst to me until now, the southern interchange with US-29 Business/US-15 Business/US-17 Business was completed in October 2020, extending the freeway section slightly. 

I'm pretty sure that the central Lee Highway connector for US-29 Business/US-15 Business (formerly US-211) would not have been considered a "Mini Freeway" in that thread, but for the purposes of this thread I think it should count.  This gives Warrenton three different freeways not connected to the rest of the freeway system.

I've had someplace else in mind when I started this thread.  Perhaps someone else will beat me to it...


WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 24, 2022, 08:54:01 AM
Quote from: lepidopteran on June 19, 2022, 03:53:50 AM
VA: US-15/17 around Warrenton

The US-29/US-15/US-17 Bypass around Warrenton, Virginia has been mentioned several times on the "Mini Freeways" thread.  This one is interesting because it technically didn't meet the OP requirements, but I think it meets the spirit of the thread.  There is the original eastern part of the bypass along the US-29/US-15 side completed in 1987 that originally had cross-streets and has been upgraded.  Then there is the northern section of the bypass for US-17 completed as a short freeway section in 1998.  The Lee Highway interchange (US-29 Business/US-15 Business, formerly US-211) and the Meetze Road interchange were completed sometime in this same timeframe to convert the original eastern bypass into a freeway.  And now, unbeknownst to me until now, the southern interchange with US-29 Business/US-15 Business/US-17 Business was completed in October 2020, extending the freeway section slightly. 

I'm pretty sure that the central Lee Highway connector for US-29 Business/US-15 Business (formerly US-211) would not have been considered a "Mini Freeway" in that thread, but for the purposes of this thread I think it should count.  This gives Warrenton three different freeways not connected to the rest of the freeway system.

I've had someplace else in mind when I started this thread.  Perhaps someone else will beat me to it...

I feel like the freeway network in Lynchburg and Amherst fits the bill - it's a network of freeways that (sort of) connect to each other, but not to any other freeways. The US 29 Amherst/Lynchburg bypass is a freeway between north of Amherst and US 460, which is itself a freeway between SR 726 and the western end of US 460 BUSINESS southwest of Lynchburg. Meanwhile US 29 BUSINESS and US 501 in Lynchburg is the Lynchburg Expressway, though it has no direct freeway connections itself (it has connections to the bypass via Wards Rd and Candlers Mountain Rd, which are major arterials but not freeways).

Lynchburg also has the Northwest Expressway (US 501), which barely counts as a freeway as it only has one interchange along its length and no other intersections, and it doesn't connect to any other freeways either.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

Dirt Roads

#2
Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 24, 2022, 08:54:01 AM
I've had someplace else in mind when I started this thread.  Perhaps someone else will beat me to it...

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on June 24, 2022, 09:49:41 AM
I feel like the freeway network in Lynchburg and Amherst fits the bill - it's a network of freeways that (sort of) connect to each other, but not to any other freeways. The US 29 Amherst/Lynchburg bypass is a freeway between north of Amherst and US 460, which is itself a freeway between SR 726 and the western end of US 460 BUSINESS southwest of Lynchburg. Meanwhile US 29 BUSINESS and US 501 in Lynchburg is the Lynchburg Expressway, though it has no direct freeway connections itself (it has connections to the bypass via Wards Rd and Candlers Mountain Rd, which are major arterials but not freeways).

Lynchburg also has the Northwest Expressway (US 501), which barely counts as a freeway as it only has one interchange along its length and no other intersections, and it doesn't connect to any other freeways either.

Indeed, Lynchburg seems like the capital of Mini Freeways.  Let's hit the high notes:

(1) The Lynchburg Expressway almost makes a 3/4 loop around the city; the east side was US-29 (now the relocated US-29 Business) and the south and west sides are US-501.
(2) The US-460 Richmond Highway/Lynchburg Highway runs just south of the Lynchburg Expressway from Timberlake Road to the Tyreeanna Road connector; past of this carries US-29 and part of that also carries US-501.
(3) The Candler Mountain Road connector carries US-501 from the Lynchburg Expressway to the US-460 Richmond Highway freeway; to make the connection you get a cloverleaf move at the north end.  There's been a bunch of recent changes to this super-short freeway.

Those three freeways are interconnected.  Turns out that the newer one is not interconnected:

(3) The US-29 Madison Heights Bypass runs 12 miles from Amherst down to Richmond Highway (US-460), connecting just a short distance from the east end of that freeway.  I can't believe that these two haven't been connected yet.

Then, as WillWeaverRVA mentioned in the other thread, there is a Super Two:

(4) The US-501 Northwest Expressway runs as a Super Two from Old Forest Road to Boonsboro Road (both of which US-501 turn onto).  The south end is only a short distance from the western end of the Lynchburg Expressway.

Edit: The Candler Mountain Road connector (connecting Candler Mountain Road to US-460) is the only freeway portion. So it doesn't fully connect to the Lynchburg Expressway.  Turn that one into a Mini Freeway not connected to another freeway.  Until...

WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 24, 2022, 11:54:47 AM
Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 24, 2022, 08:54:01 AM
I've had someplace else in mind when I started this thread.  Perhaps someone else will beat me to it...

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on June 24, 2022, 09:49:41 AM
I feel like the freeway network in Lynchburg and Amherst fits the bill - it's a network of freeways that (sort of) connect to each other, but not to any other freeways. The US 29 Amherst/Lynchburg bypass is a freeway between north of Amherst and US 460, which is itself a freeway between SR 726 and the western end of US 460 BUSINESS southwest of Lynchburg. Meanwhile US 29 BUSINESS and US 501 in Lynchburg is the Lynchburg Expressway, though it has no direct freeway connections itself (it has connections to the bypass via Wards Rd and Candlers Mountain Rd, which are major arterials but not freeways).

Lynchburg also has the Northwest Expressway (US 501), which barely counts as a freeway as it only has one interchange along its length and no other intersections, and it doesn't connect to any other freeways either.

Indeed, Lynchburg seems like the capital of Mini Freeways.  Let's hit the high notes:

(1) The Lynchburg Expressway almost makes a 3/4 loop around the city; the east side was US-29 (now the relocated US-29 Business) and the south and west sides are US-501.
(2) The US-460 Richmond Highway/Lynchburg Highway runs just south of the Lynchburg Expressway from Timberlake Road to the Tyreeanna Road connector; past of this carries US-29 and part of that also carries US-501.
(3) The Candler Mountain Road connector carries US-501 from the Lynchburg Expressway to the US-460 Richmond Highway freeway; to make the connection you get a cloverleaf move at the north end.  There's been a bunch of recent changes to this super-short freeway.

Those three freeways are interconnected.  Turns out that the newer one is not interconnected:

(4) The US-29 Madison Heights Bypass runs 12 miles from Amherst down to Richmond Highway (US-460), connecting just a short distance from the east end of that freeway.  I can't believe that these two haven't been connected yet.

Then, as WillWeaverRVA mentioned in the other thread, there is a Super Two:

(5) The US-501 Northwest Expressway runs as a Super Two from Old Forest Road to Boonsboro Road (both of which US-501 turn onto).  The south end is only a short distance from the western end of the Lynchburg Expressway.

I didn't include the Candlers Mountain Rd connector because it has some at-grade signalized intersections between the bypass and Lynchburg Expressway. The segment between VA 128 and the bypass is basically a ramp since it just feeds into the bypass.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

Dirt Roads

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on June 24, 2022, 12:32:30 PM
I didn't include the Candlers Mountain Rd connector because it has some at-grade signalized intersections between the bypass and Lynchburg Expressway. The segment between VA 128 and the bypass is basically a ramp since it just feeds into the bypass.

You are correct.  VA-128 is getting displayed as an underpass beneath US-501 Candler Mountain, with what looks like a few RIROs.  Zooming in, I can see the signalized intersections.  I just got an official VDOT map last weekend and it only shows the southeastern half as a freeway.  I'll make the correction.

thspfc

What about Jefferson City MO? US-50, US-54, and MO-179.

triplemultiplex

Oahu?
It's certainly a self-contained freeway network not connected to a larger system.
Or is that cheating because it's an island? :P
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

thspfc

Quote from: triplemultiplex on June 24, 2022, 02:51:46 PM
Oahu?
It's certainly a self-contained freeway network not connected to a larger system.
Or is that cheating because it's an island? :P
Those aren't really mini-freeways. They get up to 8+ lanes in some spots.

triplemultiplex

More like 14 lanes there between H201 and H2 on H1 when they open the right shoulders for traffic. ;)
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

MATraveler128

PA 611 and US 202 in Doylestown.
Decommission 128 south of Peabody!

Lowest untraveled number: 56

RoadRebel

SC-22, SC-31, and part of US-501 in the Myrtle Beach area.

In addition, US-17 Bypass is mostly expressway with lots of interchanges and traffic signals mixed in.
Keep right (not middle) except to pass!

webny99

Indiana, PA would seem to qualify. Both US 119 and US 422 have freeway segments, and they have a full cloverleaf interchange with each other, but aside from that, neither connects to any other freeway.

jp the roadgeek

US 7 and VT 279 in Bennington
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

Dirt Roads

Arkansas almost has two:

Hot Springs
(1) Grand Avenue Expressway (US-70 turns into US-70 Business)
(2) Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (US-70//US-270, much of it multiplexed)

El Dorado*
(1) US-82 Bypass
(2) US-167/Ar-7 Bypass (part of which becomes Smackover Highway)

* the freeway portion of the US-167 Bypass ends at a diamond interchange with the US-82 Bypass, which probably ought to disqualify it, but they still get mighty close

VetteDriver16

Jacksonville, Florida with its US-1 "half loop" north, east, and southeast of downtown, US-17 (Roosevelt Blvd) feeding into I-10 on the city's westside, and the busy and always expanding Butler Blvd (FL-202) on the southside. 

Dirt Roads

Olivehurst, California (pop 13,656)

(1) CA-70 Freeway, running from Nicolaus -to- Plumas Lake -to- Olivehurst -to- Linda -to- Marysville
(2) CA-65 Freeway, ending at the CA-70 Freeway in Olivehurst

Dirt Roads

Quote from: VetteDriver16 on June 25, 2022, 10:59:05 AM
Jacksonville, Florida with its US-1 "half loop" north, east, and southeast of downtown, US-17 (Roosevelt Blvd) feeding into I-10 on the city's westside, and the busy and always expanding Butler Blvd (FL-202) on the southside.

How did I forget that one (ergo, US-1 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway)?  It connects to I-95 via a 3-leafed cloverleaf (which technically disqualifies it from this thread, but it is so interesting in so many ways it is hard to resist).  This tangled web has changed quite a bit since I lived there in mid-1980s.

Starting with the US-1 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway

(A) Partial interconnection between the US-1 MLK Half-Loop and the freeway portion of Gator Bowl Boulevard
(B) Partial interconnection between the Gator Bowl Boulevard freeway and the FL-115 Matthew Expressway/Matthews Bridge
(C) Merge/split (partial interconnection) between the US-1 MLK and the old Hart Expressway FL-228 (now Commodore Point Expressway)
which leads back to (D) a split between FL-228 (remaining) Hart Expressway and Monroe Street/Duval Street access ramps

After the merge, the US-1/FL-228 continues over the Hart Bridge as the Commodore Point Expressway

(E) Merge/split (partial interconnection) between the US-1 Hart Expressway and the FL-228 Commodore Point Expressway

I've been keeping my eyes open for some urban examples of Mini Freeway Networks that are not connected to the rest of the freeway network.  I'm certain someone will find some, but this one deserves an exception.

The JTB Beach Access Freeway certainly qualified as a Mini Freeway back when I lived there, but it lost that status back in when the interchange with FL-9A (now the eastern side of I-295) was constructed back in the early-2000s.

TheStranger

A few California examples:

Route 99/Route 149 from northwest of Oroville through Chico.  Not connected to any other freeways, though 149 is a high-speed expressway that links to the Route 70 freeway

Route 1 from Route 68 near Pacific Grove/Monterey north to Route 156/Route 183 in Castroville.  156 currently is only a short freeway into Castroville (though there is talk of upgrading the segment from Castroville to US 101 to at least four lane expressway), and 68 is only a freeway for a couple of miles east of Route 1; none of this connects to any other freeways.

US 101 in Arcata linking to Route 299 (which has a short freeway segment for a few miles).  Due to Eureka refusing a freeway bypass or upgrade decades ago, this Arcata portion of 101 doesn't have any other freeway linkages.

Chris Sampang

sprjus4

US-70 and US-17 near New Bern, NC create around 40-45 miles of connected freeway that otherwise does not reach the rest of the states freeway / interstate system.

Further upgrades down US-70 towards Havelock will expand this. All of this will become moot at some point in the future once the Kinston Bypass is finally built and converts the New Bern segment into I-42 and connects to I-795.

Dirt Roads

Quote from: sprjus4 on June 25, 2022, 03:07:07 PM
US-70 and US-17 near New Bern, NC create around 40-45 miles of connected freeway that otherwise does not reach the rest of the states freeway / interstate system.

Included in what sprjus4 just mentioned is the original piece, the US-70 Neuse River Bridge that spirals northward from the US-70 freeway section.  There are two short freeway style ramps leading to the bridge on the northeast side of the river, one to continue northward on US-17 and the other for NC-55 eastward.

The Neuse River Bridge complex was the largest highway construction project in North Carolina history when completed in 1999 (and it wouldn't surprise me if that still stands, adjusted for inflation/escalation).  An interesting twist to all of this is that NCDOT spent a huge amount to send the US-17 Bypass to the east of New Bern, only to build out a stub from the New Bern-Pollocksville bypass freeway that would eventually bypass New Bern to the west (avoiding all of the overwater route).  Seems like that would have been the cheaper alternative in the first place.

Anyhow, it shouldn't be all that long until the I-42 Kinston Bypass gets rolling and connects this to the rest of the system.

Dirt Roads

Here's one that crosses two states:

(1) US-50 Bypass from Lawrenceville, Illinois -to- Vincennes, Indiana (part of the Vincennes end is multiplexed with US-150 and US-41)
(2) US-41 Bypass around Vincennes (which merges onto the US-50/US-150 multiplexed)



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