What are some examples of interchanges that have either:
A) Been updated and/or replaced not long into their life, or
B) have gone way way too long without ever being replaced or updated
To give an example of each:
A) The interchange if I-10 and Beltway 8 in Houston was replaced not long into its life. Maybe 10 years??
B) The East LA Interchange has been around for decades without getting much needed upgrades or a replacement.
US-36 at McCaslin Blvd in Louisville, Colorado was modified from a diamond, in 2006 to a parclo, and in 2014 to a DDI (8 years).
The 295 at Arundel Mills Blvd in Maryland was built in the early 2000s as a dumbbell interchange, and then converted in 2012 to a DDI (10-11 years).
I'm sure there are shorter intervals, but these stuck out to me (particularly the latter, as roundabouts are new enough that they are seldom removed, even if they're poorly designed).
The original "Cloverleaf" on the south side of Cleveland, where OH-17/Granger Road and OH-21/Brecksville Road (Old US-21) has been standing intact since the mid-to-late 40's.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Valley+View,+OH/@41.4136412,-81.6409257,314m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x8830de10af3b839d:0xddc2cb05a0f70465!6m1!1e1
A great example of instance B, one that commuters north of Boston curse every day, which should have been reconstructed decades ago: the I-95/I-93 junction in Woburn and Reading.
I hope my memory is accurate here, the Honey Creek and the Loveland overpass bridges over I-29 north of Council Bluffs Iowa are original to the Interstate. They've been resurfaced, the Loveland one has a couple replaced beams from a too tall back hoe that winged it, but the pillars, abutments, most of the structure are original.
I-29 north of CB is one of the older segments of the Interstate ever opened. 1960 as I recall. The on/off ramps are resurfaced, and the ones from the south side of the Loveland one were relocated to the north side to accomodate I-80N when it was finally built.
(Gawd, hope I remember all that right) I think 'all' of the bridges on the NB and SB lanes of that section of I-29 have been rebuilt to allow for breakdown lanes, the 2 overpasses being the last remainders of the original interstate.
The Whiting, Sloan and Salix (south of Sioux City) overpasses might be as old or older, but we rarely traveled that way so I would be less sure of that.
another oddity;
The Salix overpass has virtually no dirt hauled in for the approaches, the overpass bridges continue on and go almost down to grade level. I' don't know in my somewhat limited travels that I've ever seen another overpass like that.
Marion, IL: I-57 and Morgan Ave went from no interchange to a half-diamond in 2009-2010, and now (2015) they're working on putting a DDI there. This is based on Google Earth's history function, so it's possible the half-diamond was completed and opened even later than that.
Some of the interchanges on US-131 through Grand Rapids probably date to when the freeway was originally built through there (especially between Franklin and 36th)
I-5 at CA-14 interchange Sylmar, CA damaged twice in a 23 year gap one in the 1971 quake and the second time in the 1994 quake.
Most interchanges on I-70 and I-71 in the Columbus area are original, and parts of I-71 date to 1959 I think.
When the New Albany Bypass opened circa 2000, did it have a half diamond at Little Turtle Way? If so, it was modified circa 2007, braided with the Sunbury Rd ramps and extended I-270 ramps.
In San Francisco, several of today's freeway interchanges date back to the 1950s: Route 1 at Brotherhood Way (the north end of the Junipero Serra Freeway) and Alemany Boulevard, the 80/101 split at the eastern terminus of the Central Freeway (and the one original Central Freeway exit remaining, where US 101 now splits off onto Mission Street/South Van Ness Avenue), the ramps from I-80 east to 7th Street and 4th Street and the ramp from I-80 west to 8th Street.
However, several go back to the 1930s construction of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges! The 5th Street westbound offramp/eastbound onramp from I-80 (Exit 2A westbound) is the former US 40/50 surface street routing from 1936 (when the two routes then continued westward on Harrison Street or entered via eastbound Bryant), predating the San Francisco Skyway by nearly two decades. Though the interchange was slightly reconstructed about 2-3 years ago, the configuration remains pretty much as it was when first built, with access to Harrison Street via the left lanes.
https://goo.gl/maps/iBvjz4vHpCN2
(That interchange got in the news today - photo of a 1960s sign still in use at that junction is in there in fact - http://kron4.com/2015/11/24/chp-finds-man-on-top-of-san-francisco-freeway-sign/ )
In that vein, the ramps from the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island are original to the bridge's construction as well (though the onramp to eastbound I-80 has been slightly reconfigured with the completion of the new eastern span).
https://goo.gl/maps/SovfS36WRPy
Prior to 2012, the Y interchange between US 101 and Marina Boulevard - which was at various times slated to be a possible split between 101 and the unconstructed western portion of Interstate 480 - was the same one that had been built in 1937 as part of the original Doyle Drive approach freeway. (It has since been converted into a diamond interchange as part of the Presidio Parkway project which opened this year) While the Route 1/US 101 split has a similar configuration to the original 1937 ramps, the profile and width of the current ramps is very different.
In Connecticut:
US 5 / CT 15 (Berlin Turnpike) at CT 9/72/372: 4-ramp parclo in 1942; revamped to cloverleaf for CT 72 freeway in 1962; reconstructed again for CT 9 freeway in 1989
CT 15 (Merritt Parkway) / CT 110: constructed in 1940; replaced 7-ramp interchange in 1958; cut back to 5 ramps c. 1998
I think the Berlin Turnpike/9(72) interchange, in the 20 years between 1942 and 1962, has the shortest time between complete reconstructions of an interchange in CT.
Longest life of full interchange: any of the original ones on the 1938 segment of the Merritt Parkway. Longest life of any interchange: US 6/CT 10 or CT 322/CT 10, opening 1932 or 1933.
Quote from: vtk on November 26, 2015, 11:42:08 PM
Most interchanges on I-70 and I-71 in the Columbus area are original, and parts of I-71 date to 1959 I think.
When the New Albany Bypass opened circa 2000, did it have a half diamond at Little Turtle Way? If so, it was modified circa 2007, braided with the Sunbury Rd ramps and extended I-270 ramps.
Looks like it according to Historic Aerials. I remember it being like that.
CA-480 at bay bridge existed for 30 years until Loma Prieta Quake took that interchange out.
Don't forget CA-110 @ US-101 interchange in Downtown LA its the oldest freeway interchange in the country.
Quote from: Jardine on November 25, 2015, 09:42:29 PM
The Salix overpass has virtually no dirt hauled in for the approaches, the overpass bridges continue on and go almost down to grade level. I' don't know in my somewhat limited travels that I've ever seen another overpass like that.
S'ppose I'm off-topic here, but two or three similar overpasses exist on I-75 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, such as this one at M-48 near Rudyard. Note the additional steel structure between every other pair of support columns. Very strange.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.2297439,-84.5610373,3a,75y,6.98h,84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s245_EZpfevJ9WMTaTG64ww!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Much appreciate seeing that!
Very similar.
The Eisenhower Interchange in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eisenhower+Interchange/@40.2533039,-76.8217546,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x41986fb7a9c13ed7
This dates to the early 60's at latest, and late 40's at earliest. It has been left untouched save for repaving and patching. You can tell because I-83 NB has an unfair split to US 322 and I-283, with a single loop ramp continuing north to I-81 (which that interchange is also the same age). In the 2020's however, this will get rehabbed as part of a project to reconstruct Harrisburg's freeways.
Quote from: bing101 on November 27, 2015, 11:28:27 AM
CA-480 at bay bridge existed for 30 years until Loma Prieta Quake took that interchange out.
Technically, the Loma Prieta quake severely damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, not the interchange. When the freeway was torn down, most of the interchange went with it. The ramp stubs were taken out a few years ago when the western approach was rebuilt.
The 5-level interchange at I-10 and Beltway 8 in Houston had a life of 19 years before it was dismantled and replaced. My perception is that this was the shortest-lived large-scale interchange in the United States. It was also the first five-level interchange in Texas.
The south side of the interchange opened in 1988 and the north side opened in 1989. It was dismantled in the period 2006-2007, and its replacement (also a five-level interchange) was fully complete in 2008.
The original interchange became obsolete due to the expansion of I-10, now Houston's widest freeway.
Here are photos showing the new ramps being built and the old ramps being demolished
http://houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-08-26_i10_bw8.aspx (http://houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-08-26_i10_bw8.aspx)
This August 2007 photo shows the new ramps on the right and the old ramps on the left, which were in the process of being demolished
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oscarmail.net%2Fhoustonfreeways%2Fimages%2F2007-08-26_interchange%2FIMG_8809_i10_bw8_20070826_1000_2nd_best.jpg&hash=b485d9a88f6e086826627dcf50f001ac50cc694c)
While the I-10/Beltway 8 interchange may hold the record the shortest-lived large-scale interchange, TxDOT is developing plans for a total rebuild of the downtown Houston freeway complex.
http://www.ih45northandmore.com/ (http://www.ih45northandmore.com/)
Current plans include the demolition of the interchange at I-10 and I-69 (US 59) and removal of the associated distribution system into downtown Houston. That interchange complex was completed in 2003. So, depending on when that project moves forward, it could set the new record.
I-40 and I-77 interchange in Statesville for longest (since late 1960s). It's getting replaced right now.
I-94 (Edsel Ford) and M-10 (John Lodge) in Detroit was constructed in 1953 and opened in 1955. According to MDOT, it's the world's first freeway-to-freeway interchange. Is this really true?
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.35892,-83.0766,1165m/data=!3m1!1e3
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdetroiths.pastperfect-online.com%2F33029images%2F119%2F2004050001.JPG&hash=eeb351a80de4bb65516f182fceda06a68173fd1a)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdetroiths.pastperfect-online.com%2F33029images%2F119%2F2004050005.JPG&hash=761403e9571b1a8bdc3b8cebeb5009af4be12cc1)
Quote from: noelbotevera on November 27, 2015, 03:44:16 PM
The Eisenhower Interchange in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eisenhower+Interchange/@40.2533039,-76.8217546,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x41986fb7a9c13ed7
This dates to the early 60's at latest, and late 40's at earliest. It has been left untouched save for repaving and patching. You can tell because I-83 NB has an unfair split to US 322 and I-283, with a single loop ramp continuing north to I-81 (which that interchange is also the same age). In the 2020's however, this will get rehabbed as part of a project to reconstruct Harrisburg's freeways.
I do not know about the I-81 and I-83 interchange being that old. I remember back in 1971 when I went on I-81 for the first time south of Hershey and remembered I-81 was incomplete from I-83 to US 11 at Middlesex. You had a barricade direct you onto I-83 and then use I-83 to current PA 581. Then west on PA 581 to US 11 south and rejoin I-81 at Middlesex.
Most of I-83 was US 230 Bypass, but it ended at US 22 (Jonestown Road).
Edit: I actually meant to say most of I-83 north of the Eisenhower Interchange as west of it was not US 230 Bypass. I was in a hurry leaving the house earlier and never got the chance to write my last sentence like it should be.
Quote from: tradephoric on November 29, 2015, 08:21:33 PM
I-94 (Edsel Ford) and M-10 (John Lodge) in Detroit was constructed in 1953 and opened in 1955. According to MDOT, it's the world's first freeway-to-freeway interchange. Is this really true?
No. NYC has some from the 1930s (e.g. Cross Island/Southern/Belt).
Some of the interchanges on I-75 in northern Kentucky were around for maybe 30 years before being completely rebuilt. That is just a very, very short life for an interchange. It wasn't even necessary to rebuild them.
Quote from: MaxConcrete on November 27, 2015, 06:56:35 PM
The 5-level interchange at I-10 and Beltway 8 in Houston had a life of 19 years before it was dismantled and replaced. My perception is that this was the shortest-lived large-scale interchange in the United States. It was also the first five-level interchange in Texas.
That is so wasteful.
I think someone here previously mentioned the service interchange at Loop 375 @ Spur 601 in El Paso, TX. On Historic Aerials it looks like it was open around 2010 (as a TUDI). It was opened as a DCD on Sept 2, 2014.
Quote from: Katavia on November 29, 2015, 08:08:06 PM
I-40 and I-77 interchange in Statesville for longest (since late 1960s). It's getting replaced right now.
And then again, only part of it is getting replaced in Phase 1 since Phase 2 wasn't funded.
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on November 30, 2015, 09:39:36 PM
Quote from: Katavia on November 29, 2015, 08:08:06 PM
I-40 and I-77 interchange in Statesville for longest (since late 1960s). It's getting replaced right now.
And then again, only part of it is getting replaced in Phase 1 since Phase 2 wasn't funded.
In one of the threads for the Southeast region, they posted a link to a press release for accelerated transportation projects in North Carolina. https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18.msg2106759#msg2106759
One of the projects listed in that press release was the Statesville Interchange (Construction and ROW scheduled for '18). All of this is pending approval by the Legislature in NC, of course.
Press Release: http://governor.nc.gov/press-release/governor-mccrory-announces-accelerated-timelines-major-transportation-projects
(Draft) List of Projects: http://www.ncdot.gov/strategictransportationinvestments/download/Highway_Projects_STIP_Amendment.pdf
Thankfully it's finally being taken care of now but the I-295/I-76/NJ-42 interchange lasted way too long in its original form. There was no reason for it to be built the way it was with 295 being disjointed and having to merge onto 76/42 creating traffic bottlenecks not to mention dangerous weaving patterns. On top of all of that there are a pair of movements missing to/from 42 to/from the southern leg of 295 which means you have to improvise if you're on 42 North and need to get to 295 South or on 295 North and need to get to 42 South (both require you to utilize US-130 in some fashion which isn't a freeway or even an expressway in that area).
Quote from: ekt8750 on December 01, 2015, 02:02:43 PM
Thankfully it's finally being taken care of now but the I-295/I-76/NJ-42 interchange lasted way too long in its original form. There was no reason for it to be built the way it was with 295 being disjointed and having to merge onto 76/42 creating traffic bottlenecks not to mention dangerous weaving patterns. On top of all of that there are a pair of movements missing to/from 42 to/from the southern leg of 295 which means you have to improvise if you're on 42 North and need to get to 295 South or on 295 North and need to get to 42 South (both require you to utilize US-130 in some fashion which isn't a freeway or even an expressway in that area).
I could only imagine that they believed the population growth was going to be to the south in Gloucester County, rather than to the north in Camden & Burlington Counties.
Remember also: At the time, there was the Walt Whitman & Ben Franklin Bridges, as well as the Tacony & Burlington Bristol Bridges. There was no Commodore Barry (and Betsy Ross), so traffic coming from the south had to come up to the Walt or Ben, or use a ferry crossing into PA - either a vehicle ferry for US 322 or a passenger ferry from West Deptford to the Navy Yard.
Combine that with the perceived interstate system around Philly (much larger than just the Schuylkill Expressway and 95) and Route 42 was either not built yet or just opening, and I can kinda see what the thinking process was...a little.
Granted, it shouldn't have taken another 60 years to build the missing links between 295 & 42 either...and even that should've been built about a decade ago.
However, you don't need to use 130 at all to get between the 2 highways. Many motorists will take 295 North to 76 West (Now Exit 27) to Exit 1C, Market Street, which allows you to re-enter 76 East to 42 South. 295 North to 168 North (Exit 28) to 295 South to 42 South works also. And many will take Exit 21 to Delaware Street thru Woodbury into Deptford, and pick up 42 from there.
The "Crossroads of America" interchange of I-70 and I-75 was a cloverleaf, with tight loop ramps and no C/D lanes, for far too long, considering its importance. It was probably built in the late '50s, and was pretty much its same, underpowered self, until about the year 2000, when construction began to covert it to the wide, 3/4 mixing bowl it is today. In fact, an older sign north of the interchange might have helped show its age; instead of the control cities of Indianapolis and Columbus (OH), it listed Richmond (IN) and Springfield (OH), suggesting that I-70 didn't go as far at the time. That sign was replaced when the section of I-75 to the north underwent a major upgrade, I think sometime in the late '80s.
For a shorter life example, consider where I-670 meets I-71 in Columbus. An interchange was built there in the early '90s (to be fair, it was really sort of an extension to an earlier "innerbelt" highway, which did have a connection to I-71, but only going to/from the west). About 20 years later, the interchange was completely reconstructed.
^And was just redone again.
Quote from: GCrites80s on November 27, 2015, 02:24:14 AM
Quote from: vtk on November 26, 2015, 11:42:08 PM
Most interchanges on I-70 and I-71 in the Columbus area are original, and parts of I-71 date to 1959 I think.
When the New Albany Bypass opened circa 2000, did it have a half diamond at Little Turtle Way? If so, it was modified circa 2007, braided with the Sunbury Rd ramps and extended I-270 ramps.
Looks like it according to Historic Aerials. I remember it being like that.
Yeah, it did. That area was a nightmare between then and the new stuff opening. New Albany expanded more and a lot faster than any of the planners expected.
Elsewhere in Columbus, I-71 Exit 121. Was first built in the 1990s and was completely reconfigured in the mid-2000s. Also, I-670 at the airport. Expressway opened in the 90s and the airport ramps were reconfigured, braided, and grade-separated within the past decade.
Quote from: cl94 on December 01, 2015, 11:48:18 PM
Also, I-670 at the airport. Expressway opened in the 90s and the airport ramps were reconfigured, braided, and grade-separated within the past decade.
Actually, that stretch of I-670 had previously existed as solo US 62 since the 70s. I'm not sure when the exits at Cassady Ave and Stelzer Rd were replaced by the International Gateway interchange, though. When International Gateway was grade-separated from Stelzer Rd (a project which finished in 2009) most of the interchange with I-670 was left untouched.
The majority of Route 9 west from Boston...especially in Newton and Wellesley. Not a modern example of a limited access highway, but probably could be considered as one for the most part. am not sure of the exact dates, but most are probably from the 30s. Doubt many were improved since.
Quote from: vtk on December 03, 2015, 12:02:50 AM
Quote from: cl94 on December 01, 2015, 11:48:18 PM
Also, I-670 at the airport. Expressway opened in the 90s and the airport ramps were reconfigured, braided, and grade-separated within the past decade.
Actually, that stretch of I-670 had previously existed as solo US 62 since the 70s. I'm not sure when the exits at Cassady Ave and Stelzer Rd were replaced by the International Gateway interchange, though. When International Gateway was grade-separated from Stelzer Rd (a project which finished in 2009) most of the interchange with I-670 was left untouched.
US62 slowly worked it's way west to, then past, the airport before joining surface streets at Lenoard Ave. It was then added to the Interstate system before the connection through the railyard at I-71 was finished.
One of the shortest life for a interchange in Metro Detroit was the 11 Mile interchange at I-94. The interchange was opened with i-94 in 1965 and was similar to the interchanges at 9 Mile, 10 Mile, and 12 Mile. It was replaced in the early 1970s by the interchange that is today I-696.
I-81 and I-90. The interchange was effectively reflected about I-90 when the intersection immediately to the south was grade-separated. I don't know when the current interchange went in, but Historic Aerials from 1972 shows the current interchange with no evidence of construction. If one looks closely, grading for the old interchange can be seen from the air.
The interchange of I-70 and OH-202, a.k.a Old Troy Pike, in Huber Heights. In the mid-1980s, the overpass was modified in two ways: (a) the span was widened by placing new, taller piers on both sides of the existing ones (each had 2 columns with extending pier caps), and (b) placing rectangular blocks atop the existing pier cap, one corresponding to each column, to match the new height. Also, the ramps of the folded-diamond interchange were straightened at least a little bit, though I'm not sure if the rather tight loop ramps were modified. And where there none before, traffic signals were added to the two surface intersections on US-202. Then, about 20 years later, the whole overpass was reconstructed from scratch, with the folded-diamond converted to a conventional diamond with wider ramps (it looked like they merely turned the arrow around 180° on one of the BGS's pointing to the loop ramp when this opened). Getting rid of the folded diamond was long overdue, IMHO, for all the warehouses at that exit, along with a truckstop or two that appear to be gone now.
US-127 (north) at I-94 in Jackson, MI
https://goo.gl/maps/aLFZSiGiWYS2 (https://goo.gl/maps/aLFZSiGiWYS2)
It's been around since the 1950's, connecting two freeways (poorly), and jammed up against a major shopping area. MDOT has been putting band-aids on the overpasses over US-127 for decades. The only free-flowing movement is WBD I-94 to NBD US-127.