Obviously bypasses of small towns and villages will be omitted as their bypasses obviously carries more traffic and there would be too many examples, so let's go with places that has a population of 100k or more metro.
I'm throwing Baltimore out there as an example.
ATLANTA!!!
Myrtle Beach SC (yes, the city is only 27K, but the metro is 450K so I think it should count). From my experience, mainline US 17 (referred to on signs as Highway 17 By-Pass) is much busier than Business US 17 (the original road).
^Indeed I meant metro. Fixing it now.
I-275 (in Florida) through Tampa and St. Petersburg can definitely qualify. Unlike most, here it is the bypass that goes through the cities and not the main route (I-75).
Not sure I'd include I-275 as that route was clearly intended to serve the cities and not as a bypass. You could argue that I-75 is the "bypass" there.
I- 405.
The West Loop and West Belt in Houston tend to be more congested than I-45 and 59 (except for the 288 merge).
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 03, 2017, 09:12:25 AM
I- 405.
I presume you mean in L.A.? Because you could be thinking about Seattle too.
Quote from: Henry on August 03, 2017, 10:00:58 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 03, 2017, 09:12:25 AM
I- 405.
I presume you mean in L.A.? Because you could be thinking about Seattle too.
From my experience, I-405 in Seattle is definitely less busy than I-5.
I-295 in NJ is extremely similar to, if not more congested than, I-95 in PA. Especially in the reverse commute.
Quote from: froggie on August 03, 2017, 08:32:35 AM
Not sure I'd include I-275 as that route was clearly intended to serve the cities and not as a bypass. You could argue that I-75 is the "bypass" there.
Of course, originally I-275 was I-75 and dead ended in St. Pete.
Quote from: Life in Paradise on August 03, 2017, 12:44:52 PM
Quote from: froggie on August 03, 2017, 08:32:35 AM
Not sure I'd include I-275 as that route was clearly intended to serve the cities and not as a bypass. You could argue that I-75 is the "bypass" there.
Of course, originally I-275 was I-75 and dead ended in St. Pete.
I think 75 was routed on the bypass because the old sunshine skyway bridge was not up to interstate standards and tolled..
Was it not a 75E/W set up in original plans?
LGMS428
Many bypasses no longer function as effective bypasses...
Back in 1950s they were outside developed areas, now they connect suburbs.. Going straight thru is less miles and its a eash on time
LGMS428
In the Philly metro, I-676 from end to end is 10 times worse than the portion of I-76 that it's supposed to bypass no thanks to the traffic light at the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge that causes a lot of the gridlock. The NJ portion isn't spared either as the I-76/I-295/NJ-42 clusterfuck often causes back ups that extend into I-676 deep into Camden. Just yesterday a storm came through during the PM rush and the back up it caused went as far back as the foot of the Ben on Jersey side.
I-476 is a joke of a bypass for I-76 as well and we all know the story of why half of that road was under built.
I-276 gets an honorable mention with the standstills that road gets, though given the nature of the road, it probably should be an odd numbered 3DI.
It seems that none of I-76's children do a good job of carrying traffic away from it.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 03, 2017, 11:30:33 AM
I-295 in NJ is extremely similar to, if not more congested than, I-95 in PA. Especially in the reverse commute.
I wouldn't go that far. I'd say I-295 is congested in both directions at I-76 because that's the major entrance into / exit from Philly. The NJ 73 exit is similar, though less congested as it leads to the Northeast and not center city. It still works quite well as a general bypass compared to I-95 which is congested throughout Philly.
I would also question whether 295 is really a bypass of 95 since they don't really serve the same traffic except on a super local level. The only exception is traffic headed north to within a few miles of either side of the Scudders Falls Bridge, which can be reached using either route. The real bypass is the NJ Turnpike, and there is no comparison between that and I-95 in terms of congestion.
Quote from: ekt8750 on August 03, 2017, 02:27:24 PM
In the Philly metro, I-676 from end to end is 10 times worse than the portion of I-76 that it's supposed to bypass no thanks to the traffic light at the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge that causes a lot of the gridlock. The NJ portion isn't spared either as the I-76/I-295/NJ-42 clusterfuck often causes back ups that extend into I-676 deep into Camden. Just yesterday a storm came through during the PM rush and the back up it caused went as far back as the foot of the Ben on Jersey side.
Since I-676 was originally designed to be the thru route, and 76 the bypass, this actually makes sense.
The eastern Hampton Roads Beltway (I-64 portion) is ALWAYS congested, every time I vacation down that way.
It seems a lot of the dubious entries in this thread are a result of the incorrect assumption that 3DI = bypass.
Quote from: roadguy2 on August 03, 2017, 10:45:36 AM
Quote from: Henry on August 03, 2017, 10:00:58 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 03, 2017, 09:12:25 AM
I- 405.
I presume you mean in L.A.? Because you could be thinking about Seattle too.
From my experience, I-405 in Seattle is definitely less busy than I-5.
The 405 between I-90 and Renton (both directions) is a perpetual traffic jam. If I were going from Everett to Tacoma, I'd use the 5 any day over the 405. Once they finish the express lanes from where they end now (in downtown Bellevue) to Renton, I'll be using the 405 every time I go north. But until then, the 5 seems to flow better.
That said, there has been much debate over whether or not the 405 was ever meant to be a bypass road.
I-275 around Detroit seemed to be way more busy than I-75 was in the city. Probably has a lot to do I-96 being multiplexed and Detroit kind of being an urban corpse and everything moving to suburbs. Anyone have the traffic counts by chance? An argument could probably be made for I-275 in Florida since it was originally mainline I-75 to Tampa.
This thread almost makes me want to look up Traffic Counts on I-294 and the Bishop Ford and Edens segments of I-94 in Chicago...
Pretty sure the Dan Ryan and Kennedy segments of I-94 (multiplexed with I-90, plus feeder traffic from I-57 on the South end) will generally out-pace the I-294 segment of the Tri State, tho.
Quote from: briantroutman on August 03, 2017, 06:06:44 PM
It seems a lot of the dubious entries in this thread are a result of the incorrect assumption that 3DI = bypass.
I-290 might fight hard with I-90, tho I-290 doesn't really function as a bypass, and one could argue shouldn't even exist as a number (The Rt 53/Schaumburg segment between I-355 and I-90 could easily be a Northward extension of I-355, the segment between I-355 and I-294/I-88 an x88 or potentially x55 or x94, and the segment from I-88/I-294 into Downtown/Congress Parkway/I-90/94/Circle Interchange, an extension of I-88). But it is numbered as a Bypass (O'Hare Bypass?). Historically, I believe the Ike was the original routing of I-90
Does I-355 count as an IL 53 Bypass? Or is it simply the DuPage (and now Will) County Tollway? If it counts, I know the winner on this one =)
Quote from: briantroutman on August 03, 2017, 06:06:44 PM
It seems a lot of the dubious entries in this thread are a result of the incorrect assumption that 3DI = bypass.
Keep going the other way on this idea, you could even argue that some bypasses built for 2DIs that replaced the surface streets are bypasses with higher traffic counts than the original
I-57 and I-74 around Champaign/Urbana (combined population of around 120k, per google) bypassing US 45 and US 150, respectfully. The I-55/I-74/US 51 Multiplex bypass of Bloomington/Normal (combined population of around 130k, per google), bypassing US 66, US 150, and "Business"/Old US 51 through town, are a couple of 2DI examples
I do believe that a lot of beltways and bypasses were indeed built to bypass the cities but, as jwolfer pointed out, became commuter routes themselves when heavy development was allowed to be built along them... ESPECIALLY office parks and such (think Tysons Corner). And when companies move from a city's center to those parks it just totally changes the whole scheme of things.
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Maryland Route 24 used to go straight through downtown Bel Air, Maryland, as did U.S. Route 1, which was bypassed about 1965. "New Route 24" between U.S. 1 and I-95 in Abingdon was planned before the year 1970. It was Thanksgiving week of 1987 before "New 24" opened to traffic. "Old 24" became Route 924. Initially there was a single traffic signal on "New 24", at U.S. 1 Business on the southeast side of Harford Mall. By the time 1988 arrived, a second light was present, at Boulton Street at the other Harford Mall entrance. More lights came during the next decade, the last of which, at Plumtree Road near the Festival Shopping Center, was switched on around the fall of 1998. As a result, "New 24" is much more crowded than Route 924, which was not the way it was supposed to be; "New 24" was supposed to be an express route connecting U.S. 1 with I-95 and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. This is why the south end of 924, which transitions there into Tollgate Road, and was the last signal prior to I-95, was converted from a traffic signal into a grade-separated diamond interchange, which was fully functional by the early fall of 2011.
Being a Tampa native, I do know about the history of I-75/I-275 here (the Tampa portion of I-275 originally being I-75 and so forth). And yes, technically I-75 is the bypass even though some may have not realized it.
Quote from: jakeroot on August 03, 2017, 08:24:54 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Then build another beltway.
It's not that easy, kid...
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 04, 2017, 10:33:38 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on August 03, 2017, 08:24:54 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Then build another beltway.
Which will then become congested enough to be useless. When you build the new freeway, tons of stores and businesses move out to the new freeway. That sets off a chain of growth that inevitably will result in the freeway.
Also, many cities have sprawled enough for one of two things to happen:
1. The city has sprawled up right to the base of mountains, so there isn't room for a new freeway without tearing down tons of houses.
2. A new beltway would have to be placed at an excessive distance like 50 miles from the city center in order to not tear down any houses.
Quote from: froggie on August 04, 2017, 11:21:03 AM
It's not that easy, kid...
Just use earthbending to build a tunnel!
That doesn't fix anything. It just lines the pockets of contractors (who in turn donate heavily into PACs).
The real fix is to heavily limit development outside of existing urban areas. Sprawl is the root cause of a lot of America's problems.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 04, 2017, 10:33:38 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on August 03, 2017, 08:24:54 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Then build another beltway.
Where I am, it would be like 10-15 miles out from the current "beltway" because of poor planning and excessive eastward sprawl.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 04, 2017, 10:33:38 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on August 03, 2017, 08:24:54 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Then build another beltway.
Get off my lawn!</nimby>
----
Any bypass that is tolled
might be an exception. Take Chicago. The routes through the city are very packed consistently. The Tri-State will clog, but not as often as the Kennedy/Ryan combo. The Skyway/Indy Toll Road is almost never packed though as the mainstream cuts down to the Borman - clogging the southern end of the Tri-State combining with mainstream I-80.
St Louis qualifies as well - if you take I-255 instead of I-270.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 04, 2017, 10:33:38 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on August 03, 2017, 08:24:54 PM
Quote from: Bruce on August 03, 2017, 07:31:56 PM
Thanks to highway-oriented sprawl, almost all bypasses will eventually become congested enough to be useless. No matter how many lanes, no matter how few exits.
They are a bit ironic, aren't they? Without smart growth planning, they become futile.
Then build another beltway.
This statement from a person that has
two bypasses around Boston--near where he lives.
Louisville also has the potential to have the same issues Boston has with their two bypasses (I-264, Watterson Expy; I-265, Gene Snyder Freeway). I-264 is pretty much an urban-type freeway with all the sprawl that has encompassed it. I-265 has not yet reached that point although more sprawl is heading in that direction. Because it is two lanes each way, there are traffic backups at certain points along the route during the rush periods (I-65, US 31E/150, I-64/US 60, and around the Ford plant at Exit 32).
The I-470 Wheeling, WV bypass has higher traffic counts than mainline I-70 through Wheeling.
Quote from: Bitmapped on August 11, 2017, 10:26:34 AM
The I-470 Wheeling, WV bypass has higher traffic counts than mainline I-70 through Wheeling.
well that is also the truck route
Isn't I-95 technically a bypass of CT 15...which would mean that I-95 is wayyyy busier than CT 15.
Not an interstate, but the "bypass" of US 231 around downtown Dothan is much busier and more congested than Business US 231 through downtown Dothan is.
Quote from: freebrickproductions on August 11, 2017, 02:00:38 PM
Not an interstate, but the "bypass" of US 231 around downtown Dothan is much busier and more congested than Business US 231 through downtown Dothan is.
I would expect this is the case in a lot of places; this is how a lot of small-medium cities declined because they were bypassed and the traffic no longer went through their business district.
I'd say the Loop 101 in Scottsdale and North Phoenix, largely between Shea Blvd and I-17 is prone to heavy traffic, to the point that I've detoured on surface streets several times, or opted for the US 60 - I-10 - I-17 route when traveling from the east valley to points north of the valley.