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National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 04:58:26 PM

Title: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 04:58:26 PM
What are the longest ramps/interchanges you know of? If you zoom out of a city or area in Goggle Maps, some of these freeway connections look like stubs. The ones I post probably aren't that long:

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9605691,-93.2030499,1846m/data=!3m1!1e3
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0708904,-75.3925358,2027m/data=!3m1!1e3
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Zeffy on November 23, 2015, 05:20:44 PM
I-189 in Burlington, VT.  :bigass:
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 05:27:25 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on November 23, 2015, 05:20:44 PM
I-189 in Burlington, VT.  :bigass:

Hahahah, too funny  :spin: :-D :D. Seriously though!
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: roadman65 on November 23, 2015, 05:31:08 PM
I-75 and I-275 to FL 56 (Exit 275) in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties of Florida.  The ramp itself is 2 miles long.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: MikeTheActuary on November 23, 2015, 05:39:49 PM
How long is the ramp from I-294 NB to I-88 WB?
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: hotdogPi on November 23, 2015, 06:10:57 PM
What about SR 641 in Indiana?
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Big John on November 23, 2015, 06:15:59 PM
I-865 NW of Indianapolis?  :spin:
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: wanderer2575 on November 23, 2015, 06:43:08 PM
I-96/I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange in Farmington Hills and Novi MI.  I can't recall the statistic but this thing takes up a lot of land.  The ramp from I-275 north (really I-96 west) to I-96 west is two miles long.  A couple other ramps are a mile or more long.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4836262,-83.4349062,3268m/data=!3m1!1e3
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: tdindy88 on November 23, 2015, 06:51:10 PM
Quote from: 1 on November 23, 2015, 06:10:57 PM
What about SR 641 in Indiana?

Right now, maybe. But once the entire highway is open it will have two exits before reaching its end.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 08:31:30 PM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on November 23, 2015, 06:43:08 PM
I-96/I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange in Farmington Hills and Novi MI.  I can't recall the statistic but this thing takes up a lot of land.  The ramp from I-275 north (really I-96 west) to I-96 west is two miles long.  A couple other ramps are a mile or more long.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4836262,-83.4349062,3268m/data=!3m1!1e3

Detroit has the population of Charlotte but has the road network of Chicago. It goes to show the impacts of the population decline might extend far out into the suburbs as the ramps seem a bit rough.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Darkchylde on November 23, 2015, 09:47:26 PM
The ramp from I-435 South to I-470 East is pretty damn long. It's got to be over a mile altogether doing that movement. It's similarly long on that ramp if you're going from I-435 South to I-49 South.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: TXtoNJ on November 23, 2015, 09:47:42 PM
The ramp from 290 East to I-10 East in Houston is ~ 3.3 miles long.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: BakoCondors on November 23, 2015, 11:18:22 PM
Not a three-miler but pretty long nonetheless. 10 East to 17 North west of downtown Phoenix.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: SteveG1988 on November 24, 2015, 12:38:35 AM
I275 at 74 in Ohio has a super sized trumpet.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: jakeroot on November 24, 2015, 01:38:54 AM
The HOV bypass ramp from the 5 freeway to the 55 freeway in Santa Ana (CA) is about 1.8 miles long. It's a treat for those going to/from John Wayne Airport/Disneyland.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: peterj920 on November 24, 2015, 07:31:40 AM
I-39 and US 10 West north of Stevens Point, WI.  The trumpet interchange was built larger than a usual trumpet so the inside loop could be signed at 45 mph.  It's the fastest I've seen a 270 degree ramp I've seen. 


https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5954084,-89.6132935,15.64z?hl=en
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: rantanamo on November 24, 2015, 08:00:54 AM
The toll ramps on I-35E to/from I-635 are pretty damned long as are those on the eastern side of the Hi-Five.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: jbnati27 on November 24, 2015, 10:59:59 AM
The ramp from KY18 to I-71/I-75 Southbound in Florence, KY is pretty long. I've been burned by that one before, LOL, because I wanted to take I-71/I-75 to US42/US127 and the ramp takes you all the way down past that exit.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: jbnati27 on November 24, 2015, 11:04:38 AM
Another couple examples I've thought of off the top of my head:

     - PA51 South (Sawmill Rd.) to I-376 West in the Pittsburgh area

     - The I-64 East / I-77 South split near Beckley WV
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Brandon on November 24, 2015, 12:12:27 PM
Quote from: Buffaboy on November 23, 2015, 08:31:30 PM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on November 23, 2015, 06:43:08 PM
I-96/I-275/I-696/M-5 interchange in Farmington Hills and Novi MI.  I can't recall the statistic but this thing takes up a lot of land.  The ramp from I-275 north (really I-96 west) to I-96 west is two miles long.  A couple other ramps are a mile or more long.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4836262,-83.4349062,3268m/data=!3m1!1e3

Detroit has the population of Charlotte but has the road network of Chicago. It goes to show the impacts of the population decline might extend far out into the suburbs as the ramps seem a bit rough.

Well, part of it isn't population decline so much as better planning than Chicago or Charlotte.  Detroit's planners intentionally built a larger (meant to be even larger - missing parts of the Davison-Mound Freeway) road network from the start.  This includes the boulevards such as 8 Mile and Telegraph.  It actually functions better on a daily basis than Chicago's pretty shitty road network.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: empirestate on November 24, 2015, 07:18:03 PM
I feel certain I've done this exact thread sometime before, but for the life of me I can't dig it up right now.

(Actually, what I think I asked about was longest interchange only; i.e., the longest span along a main route from the first exit ramp to the last related entrance ramp. But it got a lot of replies about the longest single ramp, as well.)
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Jardine on November 24, 2015, 07:39:40 PM
SW Omaha, I-80 westbound off ramp onto 144th is weirdly long.  IIRC, it was either something to do with how the interchange was rebuilt while keeping it open, or a car park for the slowly timed traffic light at 144th.  Mebbee both.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Rothman on November 24, 2015, 09:41:21 PM
Did anyone bring up that bridge that's part of the Mixing Bowl (I-95/I-495/I-395)?  At least when I toured the site when it was being constructed, it was touted as one of the longest bridges in the country that did not cross water.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: mrsman on November 25, 2015, 12:13:19 AM
Exit 15x on the NJTP near Secaucus transfer is a very long ramp.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: froggie on November 25, 2015, 07:41:33 AM
Quote from: RothmanDid anyone bring up that bridge that's part of the Mixing Bowl (I-95/I-495/I-395)?  At least when I toured the site when it was being constructed, it was touted as one of the longest bridges in the country that did not cross water.

It may not have been brought up because technically the bridge you're referring to is not a ramp.  It's the I-95 mainline.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Rothman on November 25, 2015, 08:04:43 AM
Quote from: froggie on November 25, 2015, 07:41:33 AM
Quote from: RothmanDid anyone bring up that bridge that's part of the Mixing Bowl (I-95/I-495/I-395)?  At least when I toured the site when it was being constructed, it was touted as one of the longest bridges in the country that did not cross water.

It may not have been brought up because technically the bridge you're referring to is not a ramp.  It's the I-95 mainline.

Go figure.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Brandon on November 25, 2015, 12:34:45 PM
Of course, there is the extended I-88/I-355 interchange.  While the ramps aren't as long as some, the interchange itself is as it is strung out over 2 miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/xxo3Hex22yL2
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: lepidopteran on December 02, 2015, 02:18:23 PM
At the southern/western terminus of I-675 at I-75 in Miamisburg, OH, the ramps going to SB and from NB I-75 seem quite long.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: PHLBOS on December 02, 2015, 04:36:05 PM
The ramp from I-395 South to I-95 North in Baltimore (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2688939,-76.6226614,993m/data=!3m1!1e3) is fairly long (and also fairly high).
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Pete from Boston on December 03, 2015, 09:54:59 PM

Quote from: mrsman on November 25, 2015, 12:13:19 AM
Exit 15x on the NJTP near Secaucus transfer is a very long ramp.

First one I thought of.  Something like a mile and a half long.  Seems like putting in a toll booth, crossing the railroad tracks, and turning 180° required a lot of room. 
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: kkt on December 03, 2015, 10:46:52 PM
The San Bruno I-380 eastbound to SFO entrance, parallels US 101 for a mile or so.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: TheStranger on December 04, 2015, 12:24:39 PM
Quote from: kkt on December 03, 2015, 10:46:52 PM
The San Bruno I-380 eastbound to SFO entrance, parallels US 101 for a mile or so.


Along with a parallel elevated ramp northbound connecting the SFO terminal road to 380 west!
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: roadman65 on December 04, 2015, 12:31:04 PM
The NB exit for NJ 17 in Mahwah, NJ is relatively long.  You have to travel up and around and over the road you are exiting to and it extends for probably about a half a mile before it loops around and crosses I-287 itself before merging into the opposite direction's carriageway.  Then you got to use I-287 SB for a quarter mile to exit again for NJ 17 proper.

Adding the long u turn ramp and the time you spend on I-287 SB just to get to NJ 17 would constitute a long ramp IMO.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: 2Co5_14 on December 04, 2015, 12:52:51 PM
The ramp from I-285 EB to I-75 NB on the northwest perimeter of Atlanta is almost 2 miles long
The ramp from I-285 WB to I-75 SB on the southern perimeter of Atlanta is a little over 2 miles long
(Both of these are including the portion of the C-D road that parallels I-285).
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Pete from Boston on December 04, 2015, 12:54:51 PM

Quote from: roadman65 on December 04, 2015, 12:31:04 PM
The NB exit for NJ 17 in Mahwah, NJ is relatively long.  You have to travel up and around and over the road you are exiting to and it extends for probably about a half a mile before it loops around and crosses I-287 itself before merging into the opposite direction's carriageway.  Then you got to use I-287 SB for a quarter mile to exit again for NJ 17 proper.

Adding the long u turn ramp and the time you spend on I-287 SB just to get to NJ 17 would constitute a long ramp IMO.

You're on 17 and 287 at that point.  As you no doubt recall, this was 17 when this leg of 287 was still just a fiction unlikely to ever get built.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: roadman65 on December 04, 2015, 01:03:45 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on December 04, 2015, 12:54:51 PM

Quote from: roadman65 on December 04, 2015, 12:31:04 PM
The NB exit for NJ 17 in Mahwah, NJ is relatively long.  You have to travel up and around and over the road you are exiting to and it extends for probably about a half a mile before it loops around and crosses I-287 itself before merging into the opposite direction's carriageway.  Then you got to use I-287 SB for a quarter mile to exit again for NJ 17 proper.

Adding the long u turn ramp and the time you spend on I-287 SB just to get to NJ 17 would constitute a long ramp IMO.

You're on 17 and 287 at that point.  As you no doubt recall, this was 17 when this leg of 287 was still just a fiction unlikely to ever get built.
What is that got to do with ramp?  You still have a long way to go when you diverge from NB 287 to when you finally leave the freeway which is the SB Left exit ramp.  Whether you are on NJ 17 the moment you merge into the SB 287 lanes still constitutes actual freeway driving.  Yes its not a ramp at that point, as NB you actually use one long ramp into the opposite direction travel where even after NJ 17 splits its not really a ramp because its the highway proper.  However, its still a long journey and the ramp to u turn is a long one (longer than the traditional lengths anyway) in itself.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Pete from Boston on December 04, 2015, 01:07:26 PM
Are you talking about from 287 NB or the Thruway NB?  You never did say.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: signalman on December 04, 2015, 01:58:26 PM
I believe that he was making reference to the NB 287 U-turn ramp from 287 NB to 17 SB.  I had forgotten about that ramp, but I do agree that it is quite long. Similarly, one must utilize that U-turn ramp to go from 17 NB to 287 SB.  While it may technically be NJ 17, it feels like a ramp, save for the RIRO driveway to Sharp Plaza.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: PHLBOS on December 04, 2015, 04:48:06 PM
The I-84/691 interchange near Southington, CT (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5612122,-72.915199,15.99z) has some rather long ramps; the I-691 West to I-84 West ramp and I-84 West to I-691 East ramp in particular.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Pete from Boston on December 05, 2015, 05:54:33 PM
It's well over a mile between when one exits 84 going west at Exit 59 and when one is legitimately on 384 (which I'm counting as once you're across 84 and actually going east).
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: freebrickproductions on December 07, 2015, 11:41:02 AM
A couple of the ramps at the I-565/US 231 & US 431 interchange are about a mile long:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7372097,-86.5917067,15z/data=!3m1!1e3

Not the longest out there, but I believe that they are the longest here in Huntsville.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: cl94 on December 07, 2015, 12:54:14 PM
There's one in Albany that is 1.3 miles long (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/10+Corporate+Woods+Blvd,+Albany,+NY+12211/42.6770954,-73.76368/@42.6811046,-73.7759992,14.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x89de0bea922878e3:0x89b3ab3cd6b8ecd8!2m2!1d-73.7669525!2d42.6856292!1m0!3e0) and another that may or may not be 1.6 miles (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/42.6561611,-73.719315/42.6541847,-73.6993026/@42.650978,-73.719489,14z) depending on how you classify it. Thruway Exit 26 (I-890 western terminus) has one spending up to 1.5 miles on a ramp without using NY 890. That goes up to over 2 if you count NY 890 as a long ramp (which it basically is).

The ramp connecting I-684 and the Hutch is 1.3 miles as well.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: Pete from Boston on December 07, 2015, 07:56:51 PM
Google Maps shows that ramp as the 684 mainline.  Is that not the case?
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: cl94 on December 07, 2015, 08:40:45 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on December 07, 2015, 07:56:51 PM
Google Maps shows that ramp as the 684 mainline.  Is that not the case?

Not according to Wikipedia or reference markers (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0257218,-73.7233367,3a,15y,183.11h,79.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sklfIA70jnOFAthJVcXfKOA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). NY 984J. According to reference markers, the mainline defaults onto EB I-287 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0272021,-73.7291215,3a,15y,243.86h,79.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfenlAX759j3aT0zvSouxGQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: vtk on December 08, 2015, 04:16:14 AM
Northeast side of Columbus: ramp from I-270 northbound to OH 161 eastbound, 4.6 miles; ramp from OH 161 westbound to I-270 southbound, 4.9 miles. Measure from where the traffic flow splits from one route's mainline lanes to where it joins the other's mainline lanes.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on December 08, 2015, 06:40:23 AM
Minnesota's longest ramp that I can think of is the ramp from northbound MN 15 to eastbound I-94 near St. Cloud. It's about 1.2 miles from exit to merging onto the 94 mainline, which also includes merging into the C/D lane for a stretch before entering the mainline.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: realjd on December 10, 2015, 12:12:56 PM
The interchange between I-465 and I-70 near the Indianapolis airport has what would probably classify as unusually long ramps. From I-465 SB to Ronald Reagan Parkway SB is about 5 miles, all without entering mainline I-70.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39.7206541,-86.2647371/39.6845609,-86.3289052/@39.7023574,-86.3208499,13.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: shadyjay on December 10, 2015, 03:32:07 PM
Honorable mention goes to CT 9 Exit 7.  It's about 3 miles long and there is literally "nothing" along that 3-mile stretch between CT 9 and CT 154.  It's signed as CT 82 and could be considered a "super 3" limited access highway.  But there is NOTHING on that stretch.   

For all intensive purposes, it's a 3-mile long exit ramp.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4314658,-72.4843848,15z
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: hotdogPi on December 10, 2015, 03:49:53 PM
Quote from: shadyjay on December 10, 2015, 03:32:07 PM
For all intensive purposes, it's a 3-mile long exit ramp.

See here (http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/intensive.html) for why it's not.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: noelbotevera on December 10, 2015, 04:13:47 PM
I-635 between exit 19 and exit 27. It literally is just a glorified exit ramp, those submerged lanes are, that run from US 75 to I-35E. 8 miles long.
Title: Re: Longest ramps/interchanges?
Post by: ET21 on December 10, 2015, 05:02:21 PM
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on November 23, 2015, 05:39:49 PM
How long is the ramp from I-294 NB to I-88 WB?

Maybe a mile by rough estimate