AARoads Forum

What are the top 10 must see road geek items in your state?

Inspired by a post about stuff to see in DC.

Can't wait to see who sticks their neck out for NY.

I don't know enough about western PA to give a full list, but I'd say 5 for PA are Breezewood, The Goat Path Expressway, the abandoned corridor of the PA Turnpike east of Breezewood, the half-assed interchange (being worked on) for the Betsy Ross Bridge in Philly, and the abandoned road south of what what formerly Centralia.  Not a bad top 5 at all.

Illinois (my list, and YMMV):

* AASHO Test Loop on I-80 near Ottawa.
* Dan Ryan Expressway, 14 lane section with express and local lanes.
* The five over-the-road Illinois Tollway Oases.
* The rest areas on I-55 just north of Springfield.
* Kampsville Ferry - only ferry in Illinois to carry a state route (IL-108).
* Interstate 180.
* Old Chain Of Rocks Bridges (one is shared with Missouri).
* The drawbridges of Chicago and Joliet.
* The I-88/I-355 interchange.
* Lake Shore Drive.

Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
Illinois (my list, and YMMV):

* AASHO Test Loop on I-80 near Ottawa.

Where exactly is the Test Loop?

EDIT:Nevermind, I found it.

Quote from: TravelingBethelite on October 06, 2015, 01:43:58 PM

Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
Illinois (my list, and YMMV):

* AASHO Test Loop on I-80 near Ottawa.

Where exactly is the Test Loop?

EDIT:Nevermind, I found it.

Here's a better picture of it, from Scott Onson:

(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5158/14186613206_c3187afc30_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nBC6Rq)AASHO Test Site (https://flic.kr/p/nBC6Rq) by ssoworld (https://www.flickr.com/people/41036707@N02/)

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10545.0

My suggestions for Florida:

Sunshine Skyway Bridge
South end of Interstate 95
Dames Point Bridge (I-295)
Overseas Highway
Golden Glades Interchange
I-4 through Downtown Orlando
Selmon elevated Express Lanes
US 1 Fort Lauderdale Tunnel
Panama City colored and keys shields
Big I interchange - east end of I-10

My list for WA:
Seattle Floating Bridges
Western end of I-90
US 101's wrong way section from Port Angeles to Olympia
Northern end of I-5
North Spokane Connector
Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel
I-405/WA 520 interchange
I-82
I-5 Freeway Park in Downtown Seattle
I-90/I-405 interchange

Quote from: Chris19001 on October 06, 2015, 01:00:08 PM
I don't know enough about western PA to give a full list, but I'd say 5 for PA are Breezewood, The Goat Path Expressway, the abandoned corridor of the PA Turnpike east of Breezewood, the half-assed interchange (being worked on) for the Betsy Ross Bridge in Philly, and the abandoned road south of what what formerly Centralia.  Not a bad top 5 at all.

If you're a fan of abandoned ROWs and/or stubs of unbuilt freeways, the stub of the never completed Woodhaven Expressway (PA 63) in NE Philadelphia is also a good one as is the PA 23 Valley Forge Parkway stub in Bridgeport, PA. Both have weird movements to divert around the stubs to get to their alignments. The PA 23 one is especially good as a good 1-1.5 miles of it was built before it (although most of it is fenced off) it was abandoned.

Kentucky, in no particular order

Pikeville Cut-Thru
US 23 at Pound Gap
Cumberland Gap Tunnel
Roebling Suspension Bridge
Whitehaven Rest Area/Welcome Center
Goddard Covered Bridge
Nada Tunnel
Clays Ferry Bridge
Existing US 68 Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake bridges
Valley View Ferry

West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge
Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Philippi Covered Bridge
Corridor H from Davis to Wardensville
I-64 eastbound descending into New River Gorge
East River Mountain tunnel
Wheeling Tunnel
???
???
???

My suggestions for California, no particular order:

I-5 from Redding up to the Oregon State line, aka the Cascade Wonderland Highway.  It's truly one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate highway in the country, IMO.

CA-1 is a great way into San Francisco from Santa Cruz.  The entire stretch is beautiful, and you can then follow it across the Golden Gate, a must for any road enthusiast.

Another nod to CA-1 is Big Sur.

The infamous East LA Interchange, one of the largest freeway clusterfucks out there.

The 5 Santa Ana Freeway NB is pretty cool around 9-9:30 each night, seeing Disneyland's fireworks while driving.  Not a lot of highways that treat drivers to daily fireworks displays.

CA-17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz is a fun white knuckle experience, especially at rush hour.

CA-120 through Yosemite

CA-91, just for the sheer size of it.

I-8 near El Centro (if you want to check off the lowest point on the Interstate system)

17 mile drive near Carmel.  Great views of Monterrey Bay, and a chance to stop by Pebble Beach.

Quote from: Alex on October 06, 2015, 02:48:46 PM
My suggestions for Florida:

Sunshine Skyway Bridge
South end of Interstate 95
Dames Point Bridge (I-295)
Overseas Highway
Golden Glades Interchange
I-4 through Downtown Orlando
Selmon elevated Express Lanes
US 1 Fort Lauderdale Tunnel
Panama City colored and keys shields
Big I interchange - east end of I-10

I was trying to figure this one out as Florida is usually pretty flat and nothing much of beauty.

I would add the John Rinling Causeway in Sarasota to Florida as well as most causeways.
Miami Beach and the MacArthur Causeway leading in.  The Venetian probably is up there.
The Three Mile Bridge between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze is one and got a lot of hits on my YouTube.

Then the drive we took along US 1 from Vero Beach up to Melbourne was pretty neat.

Those are only to name a few, but you named quite a few goodies yourself.

Uh, for SD, um, uh...

The green Business 14 shields in Huron!
(and there might be an old SD 79 sign in Fairburn)

I really don't think SD has anything cool for infrastructure other than that. I guess the Meridian Bridge in Yankton, but that's a pedestrian walkway now...

Kansas is mostly kind of boring, but there are few interesting things, so let's see if I can make it to 10:

1. The Kellogg Freeway (Officially US 54/400/Kellogg Avenue).  One of the greatest examples of infrastructure as art that I've seen.
2. I-135/Canal Route Freeway.  Elevated freeway with a stream in the middle?  Check!
3. The Johnson County Gateway (I-35/435/K-10/Lackman Road interchange, currently being re-built)
4. Off-ramp "tunnels" specifically built for braiding ramps (EB I-435 to US 69, NB I-35 to 75th Street)
5. Short freeways without any state highway designation (Shawnee Mission Parkway between I-435 and Lackman Road, and the Turner Diagonal Freeway)
6. Cattle Pens on the Kansas Turnpike (I-35).  The KTA should probably re-sign this as a scenic lookout point.
7. I-70 viaduct in Topeka.  2nd Street runs underneath it for a few blocks.
8. Inverse jughandles on State Avenue, KCK.  This used to be a state highway, so maybe KDOT was experimenting.
9. Seven consecutive roundabouts on a four-lane road: https://goo.gl/maps/6bNy66pxBtt .  Seriously, what's the record for this?
10. Pick your favorite roundabout in the middle of nowhere!  Go on; I won't do it for you!

What?  I made it to 10?  I guess Kansas isn't so bad after all!

Minnesota

1. Abandoned US 61 border crossing at Grand Portage
2. I-35 cut/cover tunnels in Duluth
3. I-35W/MN 62 interchange in Richfield
4. I-35E parkway section in St. Paul
5. Old US 61/MN 61 from Wyoming to Grand Portage
6. New MN 7 interchanges near MN 100
7. US 169/CR 101 (old MN 101) interchange in Shakopee
8. I-394 reversible lanes
9. I-494/US 10/61 interchange in Newport
10. I-494/MN 5 interchange near the MSP airport

Quote from: Henry on October 06, 2015, 02:57:51 PM
My list for WA:
Seattle Floating Bridges
Western end of I-90
US 101's wrong way section from Port Angeles to Olympia
Northern end of I-5
North Spokane Connector
Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel
I-405/WA 520 interchange
I-82
I-5 Freeway Park in Downtown Seattle
I-90/I-405 interchange

Those are good, but how about:
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Hood Canal Bridge
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass, western approaches and construction on the eastern side
I-5 express lanes south of downtown Seattle, where they were squeezed into existing ROW
Convention Center I-5 lid
Mercer Island I-90 lid
Mt. Baker Tunnel
Columbia River I-5 Bridge, look quick before the next earthquake but don't risk driving over it

New Jersey:

Turnpike Exit 6 interchange, a miracalous transformation of the original configuration

Edison/Driscoll Bridges (so many lanes!)

Cape May-Lewes Ferry (Us Route on a ferry, so cool!)

NJ 324 (Awesome view of the commodore barry bridge, abandoned US route)

Ben Franklin Bridge (The multi modal bridge)

Calhoun Street Bridge (1884 Wrought Iron Pin Connected truss)

Pulaski Skyway

NJ 139/I78 Holland Tunnel Approach

NJ 29 Tunnel

Brigantine Connector Tunnel

California:
The Golden Gate Bridge
Hwy 1, Bixby Creek Bridge
Bay Bridge & Yerba Buena Island Tunnel
Caldecott Tunnel
Old Donner Pass Road
Sonora Pass
Hwy 120 from Tioga Pass to 395
I-5 through the Siskiyous
there may be some things in Socal too.

To add a few to Florida:

Old brick highways. Multiple Locations. Examples: Old US 90 near SR 87. Old US 92 west of Daytona Beach.

Old Secondary SR signs in small towns and rural areas.

US 1 abandoned bridges Florida Keys. Esp Bahia Hondo Bridge

Roundabout with railroad crossing, track splits within roundabout, in Tavares. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.8022004,-81.7244551,3a,75y,250.14h,84.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHUSQDRGbDOnsvNjXhiDc2Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHUSQDRGbDOnsvNjXhiDc2Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D346.50592%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656 (https://www.google.com/maps/@28.8022004,-81.7244551,3a,75y,250.14h,84.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHUSQDRGbDOnsvNjXhiDc2Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHUSQDRGbDOnsvNjXhiDc2Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D346.50592%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656)

Railroad crossings on driveways just a few feet from garages, Northshore Dr, in Eustis.
https://www.google.com/maps/@28.863968,-81.6885618,3a,75y,244.54h,80.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMSvcWJmX2Pzcx9UPOOwHyA!2e0!7i3328!8i1664 (https://www.google.com/maps/@28.863968,-81.6885618,3a,75y,244.54h,80.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMSvcWJmX2Pzcx9UPOOwHyA!2e0!7i3328!8i1664)

Texas:

North Texas:
1. I-635 newly-completed section with main lanes bridged over below-grade toll lanes.
2. I-35E from I-635 S to LOOP 12- Freeway at grade, toll lanes elevated on the outside.

Central Texas:
Hillsboro is an excellent road-geeking area, with a ton of interesting items.

1. I-35 split.
2. There are two old splits (US 77/81) west of the I-35 split
3. OLD I-35 (SH 81) south side of Hillsboro.
4. ALT I-35/35E/35W signage.
5. Old US 81 (CR 4281) N of Hillsboro. Old concrete highway in bad condition with grass growing in it, despite it being open to traffic. Old concrete fence rail in perfect condition at RR underpass.
6. OLD US 77 alignments NE of I-35. asphalt degenerated to gravel. Old bridges. (The old one-lane underpass on old US 77 W of I-35 has been removed.)
7. OLD US 77/81 E of OLD I-35 (SH 81)
8. OLD RR grades. Multiple around area. One along OLD US 77/81 S of town, one along OLD US 77 N of town.
9. Incorrect median signs on town square.

West Texas: I-10 median crossovers.

Quote from: SD Mapman on October 06, 2015, 09:04:58 PM
Uh, for SD, um, uh...

The green Business 14 shields in Huron!
(and there might be an old SD 79 sign in Fairburn)

I really don't think SD has anything cool for infrastructure other than that. I guess the Meridian Bridge in Yankton, but that's a pedestrian walkway now...

What about the awesome wooden interchange on US 16?  A directional Y interchange and all the support structure is made of wood.  That's extremely cool and unique.
Throw in the pigtails and one lane tunnels on 16A while we're at it.
The view from the rest area overlooking the Missouri River is pretty stunning, especially at sunrise/set.  Add to it the uncommon situation where it has it's own trumpet interchange and I think that qualifies.


I should have no problem coming up with 10 roadgeeky things for Wisconsin.

US/I-41 concurrency for starters.
A tour of the stub ends of MKE freeways.
The vacated r/w from the Park East Freeway and its gradual redevelopment.
Quadruple US highway concurrency on the Madison Beltline.
The Zoo Interchange reconstruction (if reading too late for that, I'm sure another MKE freeway will be in major rebuild)
WI 131 in the Kickapoo Valley and the effects of the aborted La Farge Dam project.
Not one, but two triple interstate concurrencies (or "triplemultiplexes" if you may ;) )
While it's not something you can really go and see, the whole "putting numbers on roads" thing started here.
Stand at the south end of the US 12 freeway in Genoa City and sigh dejectedly.
Visit the spot where NE2's avatar photo was taken and laugh like Beavis & Butthead.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 07, 2015, 03:06:16 AM

Quote from: SD Mapman on October 06, 2015, 09:04:58 PM
Uh, for SD, um, uh...

The green Business 14 shields in Huron!
(and there might be an old SD 79 sign in Fairburn)

I really don't think SD has anything cool for infrastructure other than that. I guess the Meridian Bridge in Yankton, but that's a pedestrian walkway now...

What about the awesome wooden interchange on US 16?  A directional Y interchange and all the support structure is made of wood.  That's extremely cool and unique.
Throw in the pigtails and one lane tunnels on 16A while we're at it.
The view from the rest area overlooking the Missouri River is pretty stunning, especially at sunrise/set.  Add to it the uncommon situation where it has it's own trumpet interchange and I think that qualifies.

I'm not thinking this week.
Are there any other rest areas with a trumpet interchange?

Quote from: OCGuy81 on October 06, 2015, 05:04:26 PM
My suggestions for California, no particular order:

I-5 from Redding up to the Oregon State line, aka the Cascade Wonderland Highway.  It's truly one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate highway in the country, IMO.

CA-1 is a great way into San Francisco from Santa Cruz.  The entire stretch is beautiful, and you can then follow it across the Golden Gate, a must for any road enthusiast.

Another nod to CA-1 is Big Sur.

The infamous East LA Interchange, one of the largest freeway clusterfucks out there.

The 5 Santa Ana Freeway NB is pretty cool around 9-9:30 each night, seeing Disneyland's fireworks while driving.  Not a lot of highways that treat drivers to daily fireworks displays.

CA-17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz is a fun white knuckle experience, especially at rush hour.

CA-120 through Yosemite

CA-91, just for the sheer size of it.

I-8 near El Centro (if you want to check off the lowest point on the Interstate system)

17 mile drive near Carmel.  Great views of Monterrey Bay, and a chance to stop by Pebble Beach.

Quote from: kkt on October 07, 2015, 12:58:55 AM
California:
The Golden Gate Bridge
Hwy 1, Bixby Creek Bridge
Bay Bridge & Yerba Buena Island Tunnel
Caldecott Tunnel
Old Donner Pass Road
Sonora Pass
Hwy 120 from Tioga Pass to 395
I-5 through the Siskiyous
there may be some things in Socal too.

Not sure if this is my final top 10, but I'll endorse some things mentioned already and add my own.

(not in any order)

Arroyo Seco Parkway (CA-110, Los Angeles to Pasadena)

The Four-Level Interchange (CA-110/US-101) - the first (?) stack interchange in the country, then go down a few miles to the I-110/I-105 interchange to see a modern stack on steroids.

Bixby Creek Bridge on CA-1. Iconic image on a scenic route.

Golden Gate Bridge

I-5 across the Grapevine between Santa Clarita and Wheeler Ridge, including the ability to see/drive on much of the two older alignments (the Ridge Route and the Golden State Highway)

Rim of the World Highway (CA-18, San Bernardino to Skyforest)

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

Avenue of the Giants (CA-254, old US-101)

Sonora Pass (CA-108)

Honorable mention: Caldecott Tunnel, East L.A. Interchange, National Trails Highway (Old US-66), Donner Pass, Siskiyou Pass, PCH (CA-1) from Oxnard to Santa Monica

Not one spot, but a whole drive: El Camino Real, - not the "official" route (which is inconsistent and actually skips some missions), but sticking as close as possible to the original trail.

Oh, yes, how could I have forgotten Avenue of the Giants?  And the Arroyo Seco?

I have trouble narrowing CA 1 down to one spot or one stretch.  Yes, the central coast around Bixby Creek is certainly worth seeing... but so is the San Mateo County coast and the Mendocino Coast.

CA 190 in Death Valley

Connecticut submissions:
* Merritt Parkway - late 1930s time capsule
* I-84, New Britain to Vernon - some unfortunate design, optimism ("we're totally gonna need all these freeways, and we'll have the funds and local support to do so"), righting of wrongs (84/91 interchange) and more modern design (CT 15 thru CT 83)
* CT 10, New Haven to Avon - two of CT's earliest grade separations. A corridor that was planned to be entirely freewayed but never happened.
* CT 169 - nationally recognized scenic road
* I-95, Fairfield County, rush hour - to see what people have to put up with
* Old CT 179, Barkhamsted - most of it closed to traffic, some of it underwater, with bonus ghost town
* US 7, Danbury to Mass SL - some of everything: freeway, divided highway, 4-lane, 2-lane. Passes by a covered bridge and other typical Litchfield county scenery.
* I-84/CT 8 interchange, Waterbury - the only double-decked freeways in CT. Hurry up and see it before it's torn down and rebuilt! (just kidding, that's at least 10 years away)
* Middletown and Portland - Arrigoni Bridge, CT 9 problems, CT 17/66 divided highway. This is a fun area to think up fixes for.
* CT 2, Ledyard - a rare "super 4": 4-lane undivided freeway. Built when Foxwoods was more flush with cash (2009) than it is now. Would probably not be built today.

My submissions for Delaware:

• Wilmington viaduct - Interstate 95, including the feeder ramps from DE 48 and Downtown.
• Rising Sun Bridge - truss bridge in Wilmington...the only full truss bridge in the state.
• C & D Canal Bridge for the SR 1 Turnpike and the adjacent St. Georges Bridge for US 13.
• Reedy Point Bridge - DE 9 over the C & D Canal. The only two lane crossing of the canal in Delaware.
• Charles W. Cullen Bridge - newly built cable stayed bridge for DE 1 over Indian River Inlet
• Battery Park in New Castle - affording a view of the Delaware Memorial Bridge from one of the few publicly accessible locations along the Delaware River in the First State. Some old Eagle traffic signals located in the New Castle street grid nearby too.
• The remaining DE 2 and 4 cutouts in Wilmington - the last still posted within the state.
• Abandoned sections of US 13 in New Castle County bypassed by the SR 1 Turnpike
• DE 34 through Brandywine Springs Park - the state road lowers significantly to cross over both the creek and the Wilmington & Western Railroad from between DE 41 and Centreville Road.
• The megachange where I-95/295/495 split northbound, the massive partition of traffic for those headed to New Jersey versus those heading to Wilmington and Philadelphia.

My nominees for Massachusetts (in no particular order):

Boston - O'Neill Tunnel and Zakim Bridge - the principal components of the "Big Dig" project.  Some pretty impressive engineering.  Also, at $21 billion (and still rising), most expensive highway project in country to date
Boston/Chelsea - Tobin Bridge.  One of the last 1950s/1960s era "erector set" bridges still in service
Revere - US 1 at MA 60 interchange.  Ghost ramps to unbuilt Interstate 95 alignment
Newburyport - Original Interstate 95 alignment now bypassed and abandoned
Beverly to Gloucester - MA Route 128 - original divided highway from 1940s with neat stone and concrete arch bridges
Orange to Phillipston - MA Route 2 - Unique "super two" freeway
Sterling - Interstate 190 - Unique "extra wide" shoulders - painted green - due to environmental considerations
Attleboro - I-295 and Canton - I-95 - Unique diagrammatic signs to reflect 'cloverleaf' ramp configurations
North Adams - MA Route 2 Hairpin Turn - 180 degree turn at bottom of steep downgrade on two lane road
Newton - Interstate 90 (MassPike) under Star Market building and Crowne Plaza Hotel - among first examples of 'air rights' development above highways

Stub ends are cool! You can use your imagination on where they would lead to. I-95 in MD alone has four such locations for these stubs:

• Exit 27, where I-95 was to continue south into DC instead of going around the east side of I-495
• Somewhere between Exits 50 and 51, where I-70 was to meet I-95
• Exit 57, where I-83 was to end
• Exit 60, where the western section of the Windlass Freeway was to tie into Moravia Road

Also, old I-70 inside I-695 and the inner-city US 40 expressway/old I-170 are other good places to put your imaginations to use, although (sadly) the western end of I-170 is gone now.

Same with NC, except for new construction on I-73, I-74, I-295, I-840, etc.

Quote from: kkt on October 07, 2015, 12:45:53 AM

Quote from: Henry on October 06, 2015, 02:57:51 PM
My list for WA:
Seattle Floating Bridges
Western end of I-90
US 101's wrong way section from Port Angeles to Olympia
Northern end of I-5
North Spokane Connector
Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel
I-405/WA 520 interchange
I-82
I-5 Freeway Park in Downtown Seattle
I-90/I-405 interchange

Those are good, but how about:
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Hood Canal Bridge
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass, western approaches and construction on the eastern side
I-5 express lanes south of downtown Seattle, where they were squeezed into existing ROW
Convention Center I-5 lid
Mercer Island I-90 lid
Mt. Baker Tunnel
Columbia River I-5 Bridge, look quick before the next earthquake but don't risk driving over it

I like those suggestions too!

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 07, 2015, 03:06:16 AM
I should have no problem coming up with 10 roadgeeky things for Wisconsin.

US/I-41 concurrency for starters.
A tour of the stub ends of MKE freeways.
The vacated r/w from the Park East Freeway and its gradual redevelopment.
Quadruple US highway concurrency on the Madison Beltline.
The Zoo Interchange reconstruction (if reading too late for that, I'm sure another MKE freeway will be in major rebuild)
WI 131 in the Kickapoo Valley and the effects of the aborted La Farge Dam project.
Not one, but two triple interstate concurrencies (or "triplemultiplexes" if you may ;) )
While it's not something you can really go and see, the whole "putting numbers on roads" thing started here.
Stand at the south end of the US 12 freeway in Genoa City and sigh dejectedly.
Visit the spot where NE2's avatar photo was taken and laugh like Beavis & Butthead.

That's a good list...don't know what I'd take out of your list, but my version would have to include:
-the Merrimac ferry
-the button copy corridor of I-39, north of the interchange near Portage
-the Verona Rd/beltline SPUI, when complete (could be combined with the quadruple concurrency visit)

Quote from: DaBigE on October 07, 2015, 01:38:42 PM
-the button copy corridor of I-39, north of the interchange near Portage

Oh yeah, good one.  I was pleased they didn't replace any of those signs when they redid the pavement ~15 years ago.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 07, 2015, 01:49:51 PM

Quote from: DaBigE on October 07, 2015, 01:38:42 PM
-the button copy corridor of I-39, north of the interchange near Portage

Oh yeah, good one.  I was pleased they didn't replace any of those signs when they redid the pavement ~15 years ago.

But I saw this year most of the southbound signs were replaced but most of the northbound signs still exist.

Other California thoughts:

- MacArthur Maze and Bay Bridge, due to the complexity of the junction as well as the Bridge's checkered history

- crooked section of Lombard Street in San Francisco, only a few blocks from US 101

- Cabrillo Freeway (Route 163/former US 395) through Balboa Park in San Diego, a 1940s artifact that ends in a 1960s partial stack at Interstate 5

- 101 overall between Los Angeles and the Golden Gate Bridge - while not as scenic as Route 1, the inland route has a pre-Interstate feel even where upgraded to freeway in the stretch between Santa Barbara and Gilroy.  (And the freeway segments bookending those two are themselves interesting: the historic, constrained Santa Ana and Hollywood Freeways, the tech corridor Bayshore, the surviving portion of the Central Freeway funneling drivers to trendy Hayes Valley, and the brand new Presidio Parkway/Doyle Drive).

- the Sacramento River Delta car ferries along Route 84 in Rio Vista and Route 220 near Ryer Island

- Terminal Island Freeway (Route 103) near Long Beach, unusual isolated route constructed in the 1940s that has been mostly used for movie filming due to the 710/47 junction being completed (and is being downgraded in parts)

- La Cienega Boulevard through the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles - the only portion of the Route 170 extension to have ever been built

- I-10's abrupt ending at Route 1 & Route 2 right before the beach in Santa Monica (and the historic tunnel Route 1 uses past there), not far from the historic west terminus of US 66

- Pacific Highway (former US 101) in San Diego, 1940s freeway originally built to provide access to the now-relocated Lindbergh Field terminals and the former Convair aircraft factory

- North Sacramento Freeway/Route 160 (former US 99E and US 40), late-1940s freeway with uniquely tight right-on/right-off ramp configuration.  (Honorable mention to the portion of Business 80 a few miles northeast with the substandard 1940s-era ramps at Howe Avenue and Bell Street)

- Colorado Street connector (former Route 134) in Glendale, short freeway from the 1950s.  Also related: former Route 118 (Oak Grove Drive) interchange with Woodbury Road in Pasadena

- Route 204/Business Route 99 (former US 99 & US 466) in Bakersfield, 1950s/1960s spur freeway into downtown which also leads to the old pre-1950s surface street alignment of 99 (i.e. Garces Circle, Union Avenue)

Quote from: SD Mapman on October 07, 2015, 09:58:31 AM
Are there any other rest areas with a trumpet interchange?

Sideling Hill service area on the PA Turnpike.

And, I think, the Allentown service area on the NE Extension.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2015, 03:00:18 PM

Quote from: SD Mapman on October 07, 2015, 09:58:31 AM
Are there any other rest areas with a trumpet interchange?

Sideling Hill service area on the PA Turnpike.

And, I think, the Allentown service area on the NE Extension.

DeKalb Oasis on I-88.

Funk's Grove rest area on I-55 (just south of Bloomington-Normal).

Quote from: roadman on October 07, 2015, 12:19:11 PM
My nominees for Massachusetts (in no particular order):

Boston - O'Neill Tunnel and Zakim Bridge.  At $21 billion (and still rising), most expensive highway project in country to date
Boston/Chelsea - Tobin Bridge.  One of the last 1950s/1960s era "erector set" bridges still in service
Revere - US 1 at MA 60 interchange.  Ghost ramps to unbuilt Interstate 95 alignment
Newburyport - Original Interstate 95 alignment now bypassed and abandoned
Beverly to Gloucester - MA Route 128 - original divided highway from 1940s with neat stone and concrete arch bridges
Orange to Phillipston - MA Route 2 - Unique "super two" freeway
Sterling - Interstate 190 - Unique "extra wide" shoulders - painted green - due to environmental considerations
Attleboro - I-295 and Canton - I-95 - Unique diagrammatic signs to reflect 'cloverleaf' ramp configurations
North Adams - MA Route 2 Hairpin Turn - 180 degree turn at bottom of steep downgrade on two lane road
Newton - Interstate 90 (MassPike) under Star Market building and Crowne Plaza Hotel - among first examples of 'air rights' development above highways

Would you include the "Big Dig" in this, the tunnel to Logan?  That was a pretty large scale project.

Quote from: OCGuy81 on October 07, 2015, 03:35:39 PM

Quote from: roadman on October 07, 2015, 12:19:11 PM
My nominees for Massachusetts (in no particular order):

Boston - O'Neill Tunnel and Zakim Bridge.  At $21 billion (and still rising), most expensive highway project in country to date
Boston/Chelsea - Tobin Bridge.  One of the last 1950s/1960s era "erector set" bridges still in service
Revere - US 1 at MA 60 interchange.  Ghost ramps to unbuilt Interstate 95 alignment
Newburyport - Original Interstate 95 alignment now bypassed and abandoned
Beverly to Gloucester - MA Route 128 - original divided highway from 1940s with neat stone and concrete arch bridges
Orange to Phillipston - MA Route 2 - Unique "super two" freeway
Sterling - Interstate 190 - Unique "extra wide" shoulders - painted green - due to environmental considerations
Attleboro - I-295 and Canton - I-95 - Unique diagrammatic signs to reflect 'cloverleaf' ramp configurations
North Adams - MA Route 2 Hairpin Turn - 180 degree turn at bottom of steep downgrade on two lane road
Newton - Interstate 90 (MassPike) under Star Market building and Crowne Plaza Hotel - among first examples of 'air rights' development above highways

Would you include the "Big Dig" in this, the tunnel to Logan?  That was a pretty large scale project.

The "big dig's" official name is the O'Neill Tunnel.

Quote from: kkt on October 07, 2015, 03:49:09 PM

Quote from: OCGuy81 on October 07, 2015, 03:35:39 PM

Quote from: roadman on October 07, 2015, 12:19:11 PM
My nominees for Massachusetts (in no particular order):

Boston - O'Neill Tunnel and Zakim Bridge.  At $21 billion (and still rising), most expensive highway project in country to date
Boston/Chelsea - Tobin Bridge.  One of the last 1950s/1960s era "erector set" bridges still in service
Revere - US 1 at MA 60 interchange.  Ghost ramps to unbuilt Interstate 95 alignment
Newburyport - Original Interstate 95 alignment now bypassed and abandoned
Beverly to Gloucester - MA Route 128 - original divided highway from 1940s with neat stone and concrete arch bridges
Orange to Phillipston - MA Route 2 - Unique "super two" freeway
Sterling - Interstate 190 - Unique "extra wide" shoulders - painted green - due to environmental considerations
Attleboro - I-295 and Canton - I-95 - Unique diagrammatic signs to reflect 'cloverleaf' ramp configurations
North Adams - MA Route 2 Hairpin Turn - 180 degree turn at bottom of steep downgrade on two lane road
Newton - Interstate 90 (MassPike) under Star Market building and Crowne Plaza Hotel - among first examples of 'air rights' development above highways

Would you include the "Big Dig" in this, the tunnel to Logan?  That was a pretty large scale project.

The "big dig's" official name is the O'Neill Tunnel.

Thank you! I've only been to Boston's airport, and I'm not the most up to date on the roads there. My mistake.

I'm having trouble coming up with ten for Virginia. The following came to mind, in no particular order other than the first two. I don't know Southwest Virginia (beyond Roanoke) very well at all, so there might be something down there that merits inclusion.

–Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
–Springfield Interchange
–Shirley Highway reversible roadway (HOV and HO/T lanes)
–The Varina-Enon cable-stayed bridge on I-295
–Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway
–The three closely-spaced interchanges on US-50 with (west to east) Gallows Road, I-495, and Fairview Park Drive, simply to see the tangle of ramps twisted all over the place, although in fairness this works better from the air or via a satellite view online. My father thinks the guy who designed it was drunk.
–Longtime members of this forum might appreciate the so-called "I-366" segment of VA-28, though without the forum-related aspect it's not too special

That's seven. Not sure what I might list for the other three. I thought about I-77 over Fancy Gap, but upon reflection I don't think it's necessarily interesting for road-related reasons. I also figured since one bridge-tunnel was listed there was no reason to list the other two.

An additional possibility for California:

-Shoreline Drive in Long Beach - it looks like a freeway, but is easily shut down (they do it every year for the Grand Prix), so the average television viewer probably sees it at least once a day in commercials, shows and movies. I would say it's more ubiquitous (if not as recognizable) as the 6th Street viaduct into downtown Los Angeles, or the Colorado Street bridge in Pasadena.

Here's my Top 10 for my county, Harrison, in Iowa.

1) Fulton Avenue,  yeah, it's dirt, be careful when you go.  North end also has the infamous 6 degree angle off 138th Trail

2) Medford Avenue, specifically, the bridge over Willow Creek.  Scariest bridge left in the area.  Low traffic, if you want to park and walk over it, feel free

3) Easton Trail, specifically, west bound from Pisgah to Little Sioux.  You might want to hurry, I think there is a chance it might be closed soon as there are scary cracks forming in the road surface

4) Laredo Avenue from Magnolia to Easton Trail, it's like driving thru a Grant Wood painting

5) 111th Street (F14) over Willow Creek.  Yes, IANMTU, that bridge was originally on Highway 101 in California.  REALLY.

6) 335th Street from Missouri Valley to Beebee Town, hills and curves, beautiful rural vistas, drive by an abandoned nuclear missile base too

7) Parker Trail from Orient Avenue to Highway 30, drive under a surprisingly rickety railroad overpass, and drive over a noticeably 'bent' Bailey Bridge

8) Highway 44 from highway 30 to county line.  Invariably induced vomiting in my sister, hills and curves in abundance

9) Ideal Avenue  scary dirt road, claustrophobic tree growth, steep, deeply cut into terrain, dangerous mosquitoes (West Nile Fever hotspot)

10) Kennedy Avenue, dirt road thru Sawmill Hollow.  Amazing piece of road, make sure it's passable before you go

Quote from: 1995hoo on October 07, 2015, 03:57:23 PM
I'm having trouble coming up with ten for Virginia. The following came to mind, in no particular order other than the first two. I don't know Southwest Virginia (beyond Roanoke) very well at all, so there might be something down there that merits inclusion.

–Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
–Springfield Interchange
–Shirley Highway reversible roadway (HOV and HO/T lanes)
–The Varina-Enon cable-stayed bridge on I-295
–Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway
–The three closely-spaced interchanges on US-50 with (west to east) Gallows Road, I-495, and Fairview Park Drive, simply to see the tangle of ramps twisted all over the place, although in fairness this works better from the air or via a satellite view online. My father thinks the guy who designed it was drunk.
–Longtime members of this forum might appreciate the so-called "I-366" segment of VA-28, though without the forum-related aspect it's not too special

That's seven. Not sure what I might list for the other three. I thought about I-77 over Fancy Gap, but upon reflection I don't think it's necessarily interesting for road-related reasons. I also figured since one bridge-tunnel was listed there was no reason to list the other two.

Other potential Virginia items:

unpaved VA 91
Smart Road
Snickersville Tpk
I-95 at VA 150/895
VA 16 from Marion to Tazewell
old unpaved (still) US 58 routing via SR 650 west of VA 16


Lots of niche things in Virginia if one were into cutouts or errors or state facility routes

Mike

Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2015, 03:00:18 PM

Quote from: SD Mapman on October 07, 2015, 09:58:31 AM
Are there any other rest areas with a trumpet interchange?

Sideling Hill service area on the PA Turnpike.

And, I think, the Allentown service area on the NE Extension.

Sideling Hill and Allentown (and Hickory Run further north) have the same ramp layout, but they're not trumpets. Each direction has a separate pair of ramps. This was necessary to keep the two directions of travel segregated (the parking areas are separated, too) and prevent anyone from making a U-turn at the service plaza.

An interesting side effect: the overpass serving motorists on the opposite side of the road is a wrong way configuration, although it is separated by a Jersey barrier.

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/678/21407261253_09de36b5b1_b.jpg)

If you're looking for things to add to Virginia's list from the southwest part of the state (colon)

The new US 460 bridge under construction at Breaks will be the highest bridge in the state once done.

US 460 split alignments between Glen Lyn and Narrows.

I-77 between the WV state line and Wytheville (including two tunnels). IMHO much more scenic than Fancy Gap.

Wrong-way concurrencies of I-77/I-81 and US 11/US 52 at Wytheville.

Natural Bridge that carries US 11.

My choices for Iowa, in no particular order:

• The interchange of I-74/US 6 and US 67 in Bettendorf, where I-74/US 6 run north-south but are signed east-west and US 67 runs east-west but is signed north-south. This is because of how the Mississippi River runs east-west through the Quad Cities area.
• The volleyball interchange of I-380 and IA 100, with Blairs Ferry Road, 42nd Street, and Center Point Road thrown in, in Cedar Rapids
• The three-direction concurrency of US 30, US 151, and US 218 in Cedar Rapids
• The Reed/Niland Corner in Colo -- the junction of the Lincoln Highway (old US 30) and Jefferson Highway (US 65) that happens to be Iowa's oldest interchange, dating back from the late 1930s
• The I-29/80 concurrency in Council Bluffs, which is emerging into a "dual, divided freeway" that will have Iowa's first express lanes on a freeway.
• Both of the "mixmaster" interchanges of I-35, I-80, and I-235 in the Des Moines area
• Downtown Dubuque, where you can see trailblazer shields for four US highways (20, 52, 61, and 151) at some intersections
• The Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing, a 1930s steel-grid deck bridge in the heart of the Driftless Area that also happens to be the mutual end for IA 9 and IA 26 -- with signage for WI 82 on the Iowa side
• The stretch of US 30 west of Logan where three scenic byways are signed together (Lincoln Highway, Loess Hills, and Western Skies)
• The north end of US 77 in Sioux City. The interchange itself may have been recently downgraded from a "volleyball" setup to a standard diamond, but US 77 still ends just as soon as it crosses the river.

Quote from: Brian556 on October 07, 2015, 01:26:02 AM
Texas:

North Texas:

3. High 5
4. US 75 inside of LBJ, with the frontage roads cantilevered over the main lanes

QuoteCentral Texas:

10. Double-deck portion of I-35 in Austin
11. SH 130 segments 5/6, 85mph speed limit

I couldn't come up with 10 for PA, but there's a few interesting spots I can think of:
* The famous view emerging from the Fort Pitt Tunnel in Pittsburgh
* The abandoned section of the PA Turnpike that can now be walked and bicycled
* The ruined portion of PA61 south of Centralia
* PA43 Mon-Fayette Expressway, just for the experience of one of the emptiest freeways in the northeast.
* Breezewood (grudgingly), the infamous traffic-lights-on-an-Interstate scenario
* The Millersburg Ferry


And a handful for Maryland:
* Sideling Hill road cut
* Casselman River Bridge State Park (you can see three eras of bridges from one vantage point the original Braddock's Road bridge that the State Park is centered around, the National Road U.S. 40 bridge, and the I-68 bridge).
* The whole Old National Road itself.
* The woefully below-standard portion of I-68 through Cumberland
* The weird ~1 mile pseudo-freeway part of U.S. 40 in western Baltimore.
* This is cheesy but I personally really enjoy the sign near the eastern beginning of I-70 that gives the distance to Cove Fort.
* Bay Bridge

Ahem, the CBBT is in VA! The crossing in MD is just the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Also, I would include on the MD list all three Baltimore Harbor crossings (Harbor and Fort McHenry Tunnels, and the Francis Scott Key Bridge).

Quote from: Henry on October 08, 2015, 12:55:59 PM
Ahem, the CBBT is in VA! The crossing in MD is just the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Duh! Total brain fart there.

I don't know if I can come up with ten, so I'll just start throwing things out for Michigan.

I-75 over the Mackinac Bridge
I-75 over the Zilwaukee Bridge
M-22
M-119
The Mixing Bowl - interchange of I-696, I-96, I-275 & M-5
M-1 (Woodward Ave) during Dream Cruise weekend
US-41 in Keewenaw Peninsula

Quote from: kkt on October 07, 2015, 03:49:09 PMThe "big dig's" official name is the O'Neill Tunnel.

Actually only the I-93 Tunnel is the O'Neill Tunnel.  The Big Dig network comprises of the following:

-Zakim Bridge (I-93)

-O'Neill Tunnel (I-93)

-Ted Williams Tunnel (I-90, originally known as the Third Harbor Tunnel in planning/design documents linking downtown to East Boston/Logan Airport)

-Liberty Tunnel (I-90, short tunnel segment linking the Mass Pike & Ted Williams Tunnel; this was the tunnel that had that ceiling collapse killing a passenger in a passing car circa 2006)

-Elevated viaducts between Mass Ave. & O'Neill Tunnel entrances (I-93, not sure of such has a new/current name but these structures replaced the old Pulaski Skyway viaducts)

Quote from: hbelkins on October 06, 2015, 04:38:46 PM
Kentucky, in no particular order


West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge
Wheeling Suspension Bridge
Philippi Covered Bridge
Corridor H from Davis to Wardensville
I-64 eastbound descending into New River Gorge
East River Mountain tunnel
Wheeling Tunnel
???
???
???

How about

The whole WV Turnpike, trying to spot areas where the dualization is really obvious
US 52 along the Big Sandy and Tug Rivers including the KIng Coal Hwy
Old US 60 alignments between Huntington and Charleston

Quote from: GCrites80s on October 08, 2015, 09:06:40 PM
The whole WV Turnpike, trying to spot areas where the dualization is really obvious

The old Memorial Tunnel, if the public could get in to see it, would be neat.

Quote
US 52 along the Big Sandy and Tug Rivers including the KIng Coal Hwy

Driven that a bunch of times and not really impressed, but that little new section near Kermit is interesting. Most of it is blocked off now, but I drove it when it was open. Some might find that new isolated four-lane section southeast of Williamson to be of interest, since it really doesn't connect to anything as a through route at the moment.

QuoteOld US 60 alignments between Huntington and Charleston

Didn't know there were any.

No love from Virginians for all the other submarine highway tunnels in the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area?  The density of those types of crossings is greater than even NYC.
Also you can't forget about the FHWA test facility near Blacksburg.

And for Michigan, you've gotta add the "Paulding Light"; a place on an old alignment of US 45 north of Watersmeet where the headlights of SB traffic several miles away refract in a way that obscures its source and leads to crazy ghost stories and junk.
Another good one for MI is secret I-296 in Grand Rapids; added bonus is the I-196/US 131 interchange; one of the few places where the carriageways on both intersecting freeways switch sides for a system interchange.

In California:

1) The Five Mile Grade on I-5, just north of Castaic, is I believe the longest piece of divided highway (4.5 miles) in the country where the two sides are swapped. It's actually quite spectacular, looking across the canyon from one side to the other. There are remnants of a runaway truck ramp on what is now the uphill side, but which used to be US-99 in its entirety. Also, the old Ridge Route Road runs right along a piece of the downhill side, and it feels strange driving that little road and seeing the cars whiz by you at 75mph going the "wrong" way.

2) The various attempts to connect CA-39 in Azusa up to CA-2, the Angeles Crest Highway, are interesting. The first attempt left us the famous Bridge to Nowhere (https://goo.gl/maps/GzmTaeZJbwu (https://goo.gl/maps/GzmTaeZJbwu)), which you can hike to, and swim under. The second was Shoemaker Road, the first couple of miles of which you can still drive, and the rest which you can hike, up to a couple of Tunnels to Nowhere (https://goo.gl/maps/tnPwc6j8zC12 (https://goo.gl/maps/tnPwc6j8zC12)). The third successfully connected, I believe in 1961, but closed in 1978. That stretch can be hiked or biked, and is probably still used as a fire road.

3) Kaiser Pass Road from Huntington Lake out to Florence Lake, and Edison Lake Road which branches off of it out to Edison Lake, are scary one-lane semi-paved roads which often hug the face of a cliff. Amazingly, there is an actual US Post Office off this road in Mono Hot Springs. This passes by several interesting bits of aqueduct infrastructure.

4) Rock Creek Road, out of Tom's Place, is the highest paved road in California, at about 10235 feet, which isn't that impressive compared to some Colorado Roads. But there is a dirt road, not open to the public except by foot (or perhaps by mountain bike, if you've got lungs of steel) that goes to the very top of White Mountain above Bishop, at 14246 feet, making it the highest road in the country.

5) There are remains of an old plank road across the Algodones Dunes (https://goo.gl/maps/7HBP4N86wK42 (https://goo.gl/maps/7HBP4N86wK42)) built in 1915.

6) If you drive (or hike) the 4WD road up to Rogers Peak in the Panamint Range, you can see the highest peak in the continental US (Mt. Whitney) and the lowest point (Badwater in Death Valley).

7) CA-74, the Pines to Palms Highway from Mountain Center to Palm Desert goes through a particular spaghetti-like stretch as it descends into the valley. This was the location of the extended opening sequence of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

8) State route 173 between Lake Arrowhead and Hesperia still has an unpaved section, perhaps the only unpaved state route in the California. It is now closed to traffic by gates, although I managed to drive it twice before the gates were shut. It can still be hiked or biked.

9) CA-4, going over the mountains has a 22-mile very narrow stretch that only has white lines down the edges, nothing down the middle. That's a long piece of that kind of road for a state highway.

10) One of the longest named streets in the state, Foothill Blvd. (LA and SBD counties), starts at another one of the longest named streets in the state, Sierra Highway (LA and Kern counties), about 250yds from the latter's southern end. This intersection is almost directly underneath the complicated I-5/CA-14 interchange, which has the dubious distinction of being nearly destroyed by earthquakes twice, in 1971 and 1994.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 09, 2015, 12:39:07 AM
No love from Virginians for all the other submarine highway tunnels in the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area?  The density of those types of crossings is greater than even NYC.

I was going to mention the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel.

Quote from: Rothman on October 09, 2015, 11:31:07 AM

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 09, 2015, 12:39:07 AM
No love from Virginians for all the other submarine highway tunnels in the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area?  The density of those types of crossings is greater than even NYC.

I was going to mention the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel.

I simply felt once the CBBT was on the list the others would be kind of duplicative, and I felt the CBBT is the most interesting of them.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 08, 2015, 09:33:12 PM

Quote from: GCrites80s on October 08, 2015, 09:06:40 PM
The whole WV Turnpike, trying to spot areas where the dualization is really obvious

The old Memorial Tunnel, if the public could get in to see it, would be neat.

Quote
US 52 along the Big Sandy and Tug Rivers including the KIng Coal Hwy

Driven that a bunch of times and not really impressed, but that little new section near Kermit is interesting. Most of it is blocked off now, but I drove it when it was open. Some might find that new isolated four-lane section southeast of Williamson to be of interest, since it really doesn't connect to anything as a through route at the moment.

QuoteOld US 60 alignments between Huntington and Charleston

Didn't know there were any.

[/quote]

The old US 60 stuff is very rugged and narrow. It's tough to spot a lot of times. Norway Ave. in Huntington is an example.

Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
Illinois (my list, and YMMV):

* AASHO Test Loop on I-80 near Ottawa.
* Dan Ryan Expressway, 14 lane section with express and local lanes.
* The five over-the-road Illinois Tollway Oases.
* The rest areas on I-55 just north of Springfield.
* Kampsville Ferry - only ferry in Illinois to carry a state route (IL-108).
* Interstate 180.
* Old Chain Of Rocks Bridges (one is shared with Missouri).
* The drawbridges of Chicago and Joliet.
* The I-88/I-355 interchange.
* Lake Shore Drive.

Not that I'm disagreeing, but what is it that interests you about these rest areas?

Quote from: CtrlAltDel on October 09, 2015, 04:52:30 PM

Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
Illinois (my list, and YMMV):

* AASHO Test Loop on I-80 near Ottawa.
* Dan Ryan Expressway, 14 lane section with express and local lanes.
* The five over-the-road Illinois Tollway Oases.
* The rest areas on I-55 just north of Springfield.
* Kampsville Ferry - only ferry in Illinois to carry a state route (IL-108).
* Interstate 180.
* Old Chain Of Rocks Bridges (one is shared with Missouri).
* The drawbridges of Chicago and Joliet.
* The I-88/I-355 interchange.
* Lake Shore Drive.

Not that I'm disagreeing, but what is it that interests you about these rest areas?

They are the only examples of 1950s googie-type architecture in the entire Illinois rest area system.  Very unique roofs, lights, etc.  They even retain the original tiling inside.

Here's some GSV of them:

Southbound (https://goo.gl/maps/b9v8wj31Nm62)
Northbound (https://goo.gl/maps/xUBZqyLxBTJ2)

^That is cool.

Let's take a shot at PA then, in no particular order.

1) I-76 as the Schuykill Expressway in Philadelphia

2) I-376 between MM 72 to the Turnpike

3) I-76 (PA Turnpike) from MM 115 to MM 128

4) PA 8 between I-376 and PA 28 in Aspinwall

5) PA Turnpike service plazas

6) Abandoned PA Turnpike

7) US 30 from Breezewood to Chambersburg

8) Highland Park Bridge (PA 28) in Pittsburgh/Aspinwall

9) I-676 between I-76 and the Ben Franklin Bridge

10) I-95 between exit 9 and exit 25

I guess I'll do Connecticut.

I-84/CT 8 Mixmaster Interchange in Waterbury.

CT 8 through the Naugatuck State Forest (some button copy signs left, lots of natural beauty..)

Any of the covered bridges located in NW CT.

I-95/I-91/CT 34 interchange in New Haven.

I-84 through East Hartford (lanes galore, modern interchanges)

Merritt Parkway (Nationally ranked road, lots of scenery, historic bridges)

West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway

The whole length of CT 34 due to the now dead freeway stub in New Haven, an antiquated divided highway stretch, and the scenic route along the Housatonic.

The I-291 stubs in West Hartford at the CT 9 interchange.

The new Q Bridge in New Haven.

*DISCLAIMER: These are in no particular order.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 09, 2015, 12:39:07 AM
Added bonus is the I-196/US 131 interchange; one of the few places where the carriageways on both intersecting freeways switch sides for a system interchange.

US 131 switches sides, but I-196 does not. The Interstate's two carriageways cross through the interchange and over the adjacent Grand River at different elevations, but they don't cross each other.

Alabama [feel free to amend...I've only been here two years]

George C. Wallace and Bankhead Tunnels in Mobile
Red Mountain Parkway (US 280) in Birmingham
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Loads of old bridges, infrastructure, and strange signs in Birmingham
I-22 construction / I-422 on-going things (for the next three decades)
Scattered, rare, and old white-background signs and captive-county markers
Metric kilometer-markers in odd places
Gadsden has a bunch of old bridges spanning the Coosa River
AL 176 because it winds and bends and turns around the side of a canyon
Slatted dark green overhead signs (Huntsville, Mobile) which are disappearing, rare finds elsewhere in the country.

Arizona:

Old stretches of Route 66, including the longest stretch between the California state line and Seligman.

Oak Creek Canyon (AZ 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona). Also that same road through Jerome.

US 60 where it drops into, crosses, then climbs back out of Salt River Canyon. A few years ago, when Truvelo visited Arizona, I showed it to him.

Apache Trail between Apache Junction and Roosevelt Lake. This includes about a 20-mile stretch of dirt road.

I-10 Deck Park Tunnel under downtown Phoenix.

The "Inner Loop" where I-10 and I-17 meet twice near downtown Phoenix.

The road along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River in northern Arizona (US 89).

Mt. Lemmon Highway just north of Tucson.

I-19 with its mileage signs in kilometers.

Hawaii is tough to get to for roadgeeking, but there are some worthwhile roads over there.

KAUAI: Waimea Canyon Road (HI 550) to Kokee State Park.

The Tree Tunnel (HI 520 just south of HI 50)

The one-lane bridges in the Hanalei area on the north shore, including a beautiful cantilever truss bridge over 100 years old.

OAHU: The Hawaiian interstates in and around Honolulu.

Pali Highway (HI 61) between Honolulu and Kailua, especially where it's on the edge of the cliff, or pali. Also Likelike Highway (HI 63).

MAUI: Hawaii's most famous road, the Hana Highway (HI 360), a narrow winding thing along the east coast of the island.

The road up to the top of Haleakala, a 10,000-foot volcano.

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII: HI 11 and 19, the road around the island.

Saddle Road (HI 200), much improved in recent years. Off this road, the road to the top of Mauna Kea, especially if you're into astronomy.

South Point Road, just so you can say you were on the southernmost road in the United States.

Any of the roads in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where you can drive on roads built on an erupting volcano (Kilauea)! Drive down Chain of Craters Road until the road simply disappears under a lava flow. Drive around Kilauea's caldera on Crater Rim Road.

There's one place I would add to Kansas. It's a hometown thing, so I'm probably biased. Just southeast of the Garden City Airport on U.S. 50/400, you can see two old alignments of U.S. 50.

(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12115839_10156167618605331_5496698365089144169_n.jpg?oh=df9b34e3f374ab0d9e3e5a4f0140a730&oe=56C95AA9)

The one on the far left is the original 1930's road. It's very narrow and I'm pretty sure it's concrete. The middle one is the alignment used until about four or five years ago. They're difficult to see as you go from east around the curve northeast, but they can both be seen going from northwest to east. The the current alignment has a smoother curve and links at the north end to the four-lane that was constructed that carries the highway to Garden City. A strip of one of the alignments can be seen going along the south side of U.S. 50 on the north edge of Pierceville. It seems to be the original alignment but the curve here and the straight part skirting the north side of Pierceville are no longer connected.

Even though I lived there until I was 22 and I go back to visit the family twice a year, I've never stopped for a closer look, even though I keep telling myself I will. And actually, it might be easier check them out on foot from Mansfield Road.

Edit: My dad has pointed out there are three old alignments. There's a strip of old road to the southwest of the 1930s pavement. I never noticed because you can't see that strip from the highway.

New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Curiously, why the MTA bridges but not the Port Authority or NYC ones? Myself, I'd nominate the whole stretch from the GWB to the Highbridge Interchange; and who among us shouldn't check out the Brooklyn Bridge?


iPhone

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394Minnesota

1. Abandoned US 61 border crossing at Grand Portage
2. I-35 cut/cover tunnels in Duluth
3. I-35W/MN 62 interchange in Richfield
4. I-35E parkway section in St. Paul
5. Old US 61/MN 61 from Wyoming to Grand Portage
6. New MN 7 interchanges near MN 100
7. US 169/CR 101 (old MN 101) interchange in Shakopee
8. I-394 reversible lanes
9. I-494/US 10/61 interchange in Newport
10. I-494/MN 5 interchange near the MSP airport

I don't see #6 as particularly noteworthy.  I'd drop it in favor of the MnROAD project along I-94 between Albertville and Monticello.


Vermont isn't very roadgeeky in the traditional sense, but we do have a few gems in the state.  In no particular order:

- (For now) the abandoned extension of I-189 west of US 7
- VT 289 (especially the stub ramps at each end)
- The US 7/VT 279 Bennington Bypass interchange
- VT 108 Smuggler's Notch (unless you're in a semi)
- Rock cuts at the I-89/I-91 interchange in White River Jct, especially for the SB 89 to NB 91 flyover.
- VT 58 Hazen Notch (closed in the winter)
- VT 100 Morrisville bypass (probably the last new road VTrans will ever build).

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Guess I'll do upstate:
* The "circle" interchange between I-787 and the South Mall Arterial
* The Inner Loop (what's left of it)
* I-790
* I-587
* Thousand Islands Bridge
* I-81/I-690 interchange
* Buffalo Skyway
* Kamikaze Curve
* The "Can of Worms" (I-490/I-590 interchange)
* Adirondack Northway (I-87) in Warren/Essex Counties

Quote from: empirestate on October 16, 2015, 11:31:56 AM

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Curiously, why the MTA bridges but not the Port Authority or NYC ones? Myself, I'd nominate the whole stretch from the GWB to the Highbridge Interchange; and who among us shouldn't check out the Brooklyn Bridge?


iPhone

I'd put in the outer roadway of the Queensboro Bridge.

Quote from: vdeane on October 16, 2015, 12:55:41 PM

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Guess I'll do upstate:
* The "circle" interchange between I-787 and the South Mall Arterial
* The Inner Loop (what's left of it)
* I-790
* I-587
* Thousand Islands Bridge
* I-81/I-690 interchange
* Buffalo Skyway
* Kamikaze Curve
* The "Can of Worms" (I-490/I-590 interchange)
* Adirondack Northway (I-87) in Warren/Essex Counties

Would you throw the Peace Br. and GI Bridges in?

Quote from: Buffaboy on October 16, 2015, 04:10:09 PM

Quote from: vdeane on October 16, 2015, 12:55:41 PM

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Guess I'll do upstate:
* The "circle" interchange between I-787 and the South Mall Arterial
* The Inner Loop (what's left of it)
* I-790
* I-587
* Thousand Islands Bridge
* I-81/I-690 interchange
* Buffalo Skyway
* Kamikaze Curve
* The "Can of Worms" (I-490/I-590 interchange)
* Adirondack Northway (I-87) in Warren/Essex Counties

Would you throw the Peace Br. and GI Bridges in?

I mean, we only get to pick ten spanning both upstate and downstate. There's only so many bridges we can nominate. The Triborough is also important because of its heritage as the keystone of the Moses legacy. And what about the Verrazano, our mightiest?

But the list of ten needs to also have room for less flashy, but no less interesting features like the only road under the Erie Canal, right?


iPhone

Quote from: empirestate on October 16, 2015, 11:31:56 AM

Quote from: dgolub on October 16, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
New York is a huge state, so I'll stick to downstate since it's what I know best.

* Robert Moses Causeway
* Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135) stub endings
* Montauk Point Lighthouse/eastern terminus of NY 27
* Stack interchange of the Grand Central Parkway and Clearview Expressway (I-295)
* All or almost all of the MTA bridges
* Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87/I-287)
* Bronx Parkway and Saw Mill Parkway (traffic lights on a parkway)
* Bethpage Parkway (super-2)
* Ocean Parkway
* Bruckner Interchange

Curiously, why the MTA bridges but not the Port Authority or NYC ones? Myself, I'd nominate the whole stretch from the GWB to the Highbridge Interchange; and who among us shouldn't check out the Brooklyn Bridge?


iPhone

Yeah, I suppose I'll concur with you on that.  Certainly the four to Brooklyn and Queens deserve inclusion as well, and the drive up the Harlem River Drive or I-87 past all the bridges between Manhattan and the Bronx is pretty neat.

Quote from: apeman33 on October 15, 2015, 10:16:14 PM
There's one place I would add to Kansas. It's a hometown thing, so I'm probably biased. Just southeast of the Garden City Airport on U.S. 50/400, you can see two old alignments of U.S. 50.

(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12115839_10156167618605331_5496698365089144169_n.jpg?oh=df9b34e3f374ab0d9e3e5a4f0140a730&oe=56C95AA9)

The one on the far left is the original 1930's road. It's very narrow and I'm pretty sure it's concrete. The middle one is the alignment used until about four or five years ago. They're difficult to see as you go from east around the curve northeast, but they can both be seen going from northwest to east. The the current alignment has a smoother curve and links at the north end to the four-lane that was constructed that carries the highway to Garden City. A strip of one of the alignments can be seen going along the south side of U.S. 50 on the north edge of Pierceville. It seems to be the original alignment but the curve here and the straight part skirting the north side of Pierceville are no longer connected.

Even though I lived there until I was 22 and I go back to visit the family twice a year, I've never stopped for a closer look, even though I keep telling myself I will. And actually, it might be easier check them out on foot from Mansfield Road.

Edit: My dad has pointed out there are three old alignments. There's a strip of old road to the southwest of the 1930s pavement. I never noticed because you can't see that strip from the highway.

Once you get to three old alignments things get really, really bad ass.

There are portions of US 23 and KY 15 in Kentucky that are on their third alignment.

Quote from: SteveG1988 on October 07, 2015, 12:51:58 AM
New Jersey:

Turnpike Exit 6 interchange, a miracalous transformation of the original configuration

Edison/Driscoll Bridges (so many lanes!)

Cape May-Lewes Ferry (Us Route on a ferry, so cool!)

NJ 324 (Awesome view of the commodore barry bridge, abandoned US route)

Ben Franklin Bridge (The multi modal bridge)

Calhoun Street Bridge (1884 Wrought Iron Pin Connected truss)

Pulaski Skyway

NJ 139/I78 Holland Tunnel Approach

NJ 29 Tunnel

Brigantine Connector Tunnel

New Jersey is a state necessarily heavily committed to its infrastructure.  This, for me, is most evident at the massive land area covered by the juncture(s) of 78, 95, 21, 22, 1-9, and Newark Airport.  Just looking at the aerial photos of it mesmerizes me.

Similarly, the pilgrimage of highway lanes to Fort Lee is quite a sight if you're not used to it (and even if you are).  Within that town are NJ 4, NJ 63, NJ 5, US 1/9/46, US 9W, I-95, the Palisades Interstate Parkway.  I-80 and NJ 93 are just outside.  Most of these feed majestically (or not) into the George Washington Bridge.

Quote from: kkt on October 07, 2015, 12:45:53 AM
I-5 express lanes south of downtown Seattle, where they were squeezed into existing ROW

I'm obviously missing something. Do you mean HOV lanes? The express lanes only run north of the city.

The HOV lanes do seem tight south of the city though. Lots of areas with very little shoulder. Very un-WSDOT-like.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 17, 2015, 07:49:10 PM
There are portions of US 23 and KY 15 in Kentucky that are on their third alignment.

Oh I believe it, especially with Pikeville. I'd say the National Road/I-68 through PA and western MD is the king of that.

Quote from: froggie on October 16, 2015, 12:07:38 PM

Vermont isn't very roadgeeky in the traditional sense, but we do have a few gems in the state.  In no particular order:

- (For now) the abandoned extension of I-189 west of US 7
- VT 289 (especially the stub ramps at each end)
- The US 7/VT 279 Bennington Bypass interchange
- VT 108 Smuggler's Notch (unless you're in a semi)
- Rock cuts at the I-89/I-91 interchange in White River Jct, especially for the SB 89 to NB 91 flyover.
- VT 58 Hazen Notch (closed in the winter)
- VT 100 Morrisville bypass (probably the last new road VTrans will ever build).

The only thing I would add is the recently reopened floating bridge in VT 65 in Brookfield.

My list for Texas:

1. High Five interchange (I-635 & US 75, Dallas)
2. Katy Freeway (I-10, Houston, Katy)
3. Fred Hartman Bridge (SH 146, La Porte)
4. I-10 West double-deck (I-10, San Antonio)
5. I-45 through downtown Houston (southbound tends to have better views)
6. Woodall Rodgers Freeway (SS 366, Dallas) – features tunnel with park above
7. Harbor Bridge (US 181, Corpus Christi)
8. Capitol of Texas Highway (SL 360, Austin) – features hill country views and the Pennybacker Bridge
9. Mopac Expressway (SL 1, Austin) – Missouri Pacific (MoPac) Railroad is in the median of this heavily-traveled urban freeway
10. Skirt the US/Mexico border (1-10, El Paso)

Colorado -- in no particular order:

1) I-70/Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels
2) I-70/Glenwood Canyon
3) CO-5/Mount Evans Road
4) US-34/Trail Ridge Road @ Rocky Mountain National Park
5) CO-65 over the Grand Mesa
6) US-6/Clear Creek Canyon between Idaho Springs and Golden (7 tunnels)
7) Rim Rock Drive @ Colorado National Monument

Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
* The rest areas on I-55 just north of Springfield.

YES!!

Quote from: noelbotevera on October 09, 2015, 09:20:12 PM
5) PA Turnpike service plazas

Especially the eastbound Midway plaza, which retains some of the structure from the original plaza when the Turnpike first opened.

Quote from: apeman33 on October 15, 2015, 10:16:14 PM
There's one place I would add to Kansas.

Another place in Kansas that I've always liked that I haven't seen mentioned is the spot between Dodge City and Garden City where you can see the Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts in the ground.

Quote from: formulanone on October 11, 2015, 10:06:03 AM
Alabama [feel free to amend...I've only been here two years]

George C. Wallace and Bankhead Tunnels in Mobile
Red Mountain Parkway (US 280) in Birmingham
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Loads of old bridges, infrastructure, and strange signs in Birmingham
I-22 construction / I-422 on-going things (for the next three decades)
Scattered, rare, and old white-background signs and captive-county markers
Metric kilometer-markers in odd places
Gadsden has a bunch of old bridges spanning the Coosa River
AL 176 because it winds and bends and turns around the side of a canyon
Slatted dark green overhead signs (Huntsville, Mobile) which are disappearing, rare finds elsewhere in the country.

Plenty of the "Alabama Slats" around Birmingham as well, especially near the I-20/59 and I-65 interchange.
I think Birmingham should be added to the list as well, since there's tons of button-copy and old shields around there, including the last button-copy shields in the state, as far as I'm aware.

Well, for Western PA, these are some of my 'cool things I like to see when I'm there':

The PA-356 interchange with US422 that still has the grading for the cloverleaf ramp from NB-WB but instead you make a hard 270-degree left to head back onto the old SB-WB ramp.

576 with it's backward directional signs (WB is east, EB is west..., now complete with bridges to nowhere, awaiting the completion of the road from Bridgeville, funny a bridge to nowhere will eventually lead to Bridgeville).

PA 65/Ohio River Blvd from the interchange with I-279 and ending near New Brighton. Quasi-freeway with some towns and occasional lights dictated by the surrounding environment.

Industrial Hwy east of I-79 just north of PA-60. Four-lane divided road with no intersections serving an industrial area and a concrete plant. Gives the appearance it was once supposed to be something much bigger and connect directly to PA-60.

Bay Front Connector in Erie. Just for personal reasons, I like taking this road when I can.

US-6 from Youngsville where it starts as a four-lane until Warren when it ends. Stretches of freeway, four-lane uncontrolled, divided, etc.

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

Repurposed Turnpike service plazas. Including one that was turned into a warehouse (actually that one is out East toward the Reading area).

PA-18 Freeway-tized four-lane divided road with no lefts allowed at most intersections between Hermitage and Greenville. All turns are from at-grade off-ramps.

Shenango Valley Freeway (US-62) that isn't a freeway. Runs from near Shenango Valley Mall, running along near south side of Sharon west. Has several lights and driveways, has a left turn and then a divided right curve and another light before depositing you back on the old route through town. Right near state line becomes four-lane divided with a clover-leaf interchange with OH-82.

Quote from: Sykotyk on November 02, 2015, 02:26:53 PM
Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4089043,-78.7088412,3a,18.7y,358.9h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scPJb3QNvHe8MMr4aKYlbRA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

Quote from: wphiii on November 02, 2015, 03:45:07 PM

Quote from: Sykotyk on November 02, 2015, 02:26:53 PM
Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4089043,-78.7088412,3a,18.7y,358.9h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scPJb3QNvHe8MMr4aKYlbRA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

I suspect that the general public may have difficulty reading that sign at speed, but truckers probably can take in the sign in one go, if only because they are used to looking for the (relatively) tiny restriction signs already in place in cities. A huge sign such as this may actually be a blessing in disguise (I don't know for sure).

Quote from: jakeroot on November 02, 2015, 05:55:30 PM

Quote from: wphiii on November 02, 2015, 03:45:07 PM

Quote from: Sykotyk on November 02, 2015, 02:26:53 PM
Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4089043,-78.7088412,3a,18.7y,358.9h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scPJb3QNvHe8MMr4aKYlbRA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

I suspect that the general public may have difficulty reading that sign at speed, but truckers probably can take in the sign in one go, if only because they are used to looking for the (relatively) tiny restriction signs already in place in cities. A huge sign such as this may actually be a blessing in disguise (I don't know for sure).

That sign is not meant to be read by people moving at speed, but by trucks in the brake test area.

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

Quote from: wphiii on November 02, 2015, 03:45:07 PM

Quote from: Sykotyk on November 02, 2015, 02:26:53 PM
Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4089043,-78.7088412,3a,18.7y,358.9h,87.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scPJb3QNvHe8MMr4aKYlbRA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

So there are more.  I only know the similar sign at the stop-and-read-the-instructions area here (https://goo.gl/maps/Fq7C7coEWU12) on US 30 in Laughlintown.

There's a lot of those signs. Especially in Pennsylvania with a lot of roads having 'truck stop ahead' situations at the top of long descents. US 322 has one near Philipsburg as well heading west bound. I know there's more I've seen. Most have some sort of warning of what's ahead and where the curves and runaway ramps are.

As for TRK US-219... that sign isn't the only thing, there's huge overhead warning BGSs telling truckers to take the truck route. Also signed as "Trucks Only".

for California


1. The I-105/I-110 interchange in Los Angeles Tallest Stack interchange in California
2. CA-1 Big Sur
3. The Bay Bridge
4. Golden Gate Bridge
5. I-280 from San Bruno to San Jose
6. US-101 Redwood Highway in Mendocino
7. I-210 Foothill Freeway from the I-5 Sylmar interchange to the CA-710 Gap in Pasadena
8. US-50 Lake Tahoe
9. Ridge Route/ Grapevine I-5 from Kern to Santa Clarita.
10.  Donner Pass I-80.

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

Quote from: wphiii on November 03, 2015, 03:18:13 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

Quote from: vdeane on November 03, 2015, 05:17:59 PM

Quote from: wphiii on November 03, 2015, 03:18:13 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

I have happily employed "Thank god you're here, how do I get out of here?" on a number of such occasions.  I like seeing how far I can go.

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 03, 2015, 06:13:30 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 03, 2015, 05:17:59 PM

Quote from: wphiii on November 03, 2015, 03:18:13 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

I have happily employed "Thank god you're here, how do I get out of here?" on a number of such occasions.  I like seeing how far I can go.

Hard to do when you're too honest for your own good.  I'm like Sheldon in that episode of the Big Bang Theory where he and Leonard buy helium though the black market ("you have lots of options - for example, you could kill us and run off with the money").

Quote from: vdeane on November 03, 2015, 05:17:59 PM

Quote from: wphiii on November 03, 2015, 03:18:13 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

It's possible that StreetView got permission from PennDot.

Quote from: hbelkins on November 04, 2015, 03:00:55 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 03, 2015, 05:17:59 PM

Quote from: wphiii on November 03, 2015, 03:18:13 PM

Quote from: vdeane on November 02, 2015, 06:16:52 PM
Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

It's possible that StreetView got permission from PennDot.

As a passenger, I was in a car that used the truck lanes - but that was because there was some construction going on that they closed the regular NB (downhill) lane, and all NB traffic was directed to the truck lane.
I don't see anything like that in the Streetview images the Google car produced, so maybe they did get permission in advance, or they just said "fuck it, we're the Google street view car!".  If it's just a fine (no points that would stick with the driver him/herself), Google can afford that.

I doubt anyone at Google would have asked.  Trying to get special permission from any government for any purpose probably is almost never worth the trouble.

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on November 04, 2015, 03:50:06 PM
I doubt anyone at Google would have asked.  Trying to get special permission from any government for any purpose probably is almost never worth the trouble.

That's what I was thinking. The driver's probably weren't paying attention to the signs, and just drove on down the highway. At most, we're talking about a fine (and frankly, I'd take the fine over waiting for the state to respond to a request).

Quote from: jakeroot on November 04, 2015, 08:25:16 PM

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on November 04, 2015, 03:50:06 PM
I doubt anyone at Google would have asked.  Trying to get special permission from any government for any purpose probably is almost never worth the trouble.

That's what I was thinking. The driver's probably weren't paying attention to the signs, and just drove on down the highway. At most, we're talking about a fine (and frankly, I'd take the fine over waiting for the state to respond to a request).

Might Google have mounted its camera gear on a truck for the occasion? I recall that all vehicles over 7000 lb. gross vehicle weight were directed to Truck US 219. One of the heavier full-size pickup trucks, or an H1 Hummer, might meet that requirement. And GMSV has special camera equipment to use where a standard camera car doesn't work, such as the backpack-mounted camera system it used to map Iqaluit, Nunavut on foot.

BTW, I did clinch Truck US 219, in a full-size pickup truck. It seems to be rated close to 7000 lbs. GVW (curb weight is in the low 5000s), but at the time I was unsure, and decided to give myself the benefit of the doubt. No police hassles.

Lemme take a stab at Louisiana:

* Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
* The old pony truss bridges on US 90 east of Slidell.
* Huey P. Long Bridge
* Crescent City Connection/elevated WestBank Expressway/Harvey Tunnel
* Bonnet Carre Spillway/I-55 elevated combo bridge.
* I-10 Twin Span
* Atchafalaya Basin Bridge
* US 190 between Opelousas and Baton Rouge.
* US 90 in far eastern New Orleans, east of US 11.
* US 90 and La. 182 bridges in Morgan City
* I-10 bridge at Lake Charles
* Texas Avenue Bridge in Shreveport/Bossier City.

My best stab at Nebraska, in no particular order, with a bias towards eastern Nebraska since I've yet to go west of the Kearney area
1. The old Meridian Bridge, as mentioned for South Dakota
2. The old Lincoln Highway segment in west Omaha
3. The short segment of I-76 in Nebraska
4. Spur 67C in Pawnee County
5. Nebraska Highway 66 in Louisville
6. Fort Crook Road in Bellevue
7. The whole complex of intersections as you exit US 6 (West Dodge Road) in the Westroads Mall area of Omaha
8. The Dodge Street overpass of Saddle Creek Road in Omaha
9. Salt Creek Roadway and Antelope Valley Parkway intersection in Lincoln
10. Military Road between Omaha and Fremont (also called Old Highway 8 in Fremont area)

Honorable Mention: any piece of the old Lincoln Highway, the Devil's Intersection (where US 6 and NE 66 meet in Ashland, a name I just made up now)

Quote from: DandyDan on November 09, 2015, 05:53:52 AM
My best stab at Nebraska, in no particular order, with a bias towards eastern Nebraska since I've yet to go west of the Kearney area
1. The old Meridian Bridge, as mentioned for South Dakota
2. The old Lincoln Highway segment in west Omaha
3. The short segment of I-76 in Nebraska
4. Spur 67C in Pawnee County
5. Nebraska Highway 66 in Louisville
6. Fort Crook Road in Bellevue
7. The whole complex of intersections as you exit US 6 (West Dodge Road) in the Westroads Mall area of Omaha
8. The Dodge Street overpass of Saddle Creek Road in Omaha
9. Salt Creek Roadway and Antelope Valley Parkway intersection in Lincoln
10. Military Road between Omaha and Fremont (also called Old Highway 8 in Fremont area)

Honorable Mention: any piece of the old Lincoln Highway, the Devil's Intersection (where US 6 and NE 66 meet in Ashland, a name I just made up now)

Appreciate your list.  I've driven several of your items and concur they are fun.

Also, your #7 is quite interesting.  Never gave it much thought, although I've been thru the complex in all permutations repeatedly.  Thanks for pointing it out.  As I recall, it pretty much remains in as built condition from the '70s (ignoring blacktopping, replacing pavement, re-timing traffic signals)

I'm not sure something like that would be built these days in that configuration, despite it actually working pretty well.  It's handy to scoot around the west side of the mall to go to Blondo St., it's how I go to and from Regency too.  I tend to avoid the mall on Black Friday and the last minute Christmas rush, but I can't say I've ever had much of a wait regardless of where I was getting on or off or going to, despite invariably missing the first light getting off East Bound Dodge, and the next light just north and beneath Dodge.  I always miss that light no matter from which way I approach or where I want to go.

If built today, I suppose we would have a series of traffic circles and/or some more overpasses and ramps taking advantage of the elevation difference of the mall parking lot.  I'm not sure it would work much better, but there would be several fewer traffic lights to maintain.