AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: sbeaver44 on September 29, 2017, 01:34:23 PM

Title: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: sbeaver44 on September 29, 2017, 01:34:23 PM
I was driving through Lancaster, PA yesterday, sitting at the light at US 222 South waiting to turn on PA 324 South.  That intersection is the beginning of PA 324 South, but I noticed while waiting for the light that North 324 was signed on the continuation going the other way.  I did a little research latter, turns out PA 324 North proceeds a few blocks until joining US 222 North.

Likewise in Lancaster, which has a very confusing pattern of state routes with even worse signage (EB 462 and EB 23 are on separate streets, but WB 23/WB 462 are the same street), PA 72 South ends at its initial junction with US 222 on the north side at McGovern Ave.  However, PA 72 North begins when it intersects US 222 at Queen St, and proceeds up Queen St for over a mile until it gets to McGovern Ave.  So, PA 72 North is over a mile longer than PA 72 South.

What other cases are there where one cardinal direction of a road has a significantly different length than the other direction?

And the other question is, have I clinched PA 324 if I've only clinched PA 324 South?
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: epzik8 on September 29, 2017, 03:10:25 PM
Maryland Route 24 north may be longer than Route 24 south. This is due to the weird setup at the point outside of Bel Air where MD-24 splits from U.S. Route 1 (or merges onto it) as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. MD-24 south splits from U.S. 1 via a left turn at a traffic light. MD-24 north, though, merges onto U.S. 1 using a very long ramp stemming from the lane split just past the Boulton Street light. In addition, at the next interchange to the north, MD-24 north splits via a cloverleaf ramp to Rock Spring Road, but MD-24 merges on using a longer ramp.

I say you've clinched PA-324, but as you're just across the Susquehanna in York County, you could always get the other direction of 324 there in Lancaster.
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: GaryV on September 29, 2017, 07:28:06 PM
M-59 in Pontiac has a variation, not as much as a mile, but still a difference about 2 or 3 tenths of a mile.

Eastbound follows Huron St straight through downtown.  Westbound loops to the north around downtown on Woodward (formerly Wide Track Drive).
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: bulldog1979 on September 29, 2017, 08:35:01 PM
The two directions of the Capitol Loop are 2.088 and 2.398 miles in length. That third of a mile might not sound like much, but it's basically a sixth or seventh of the length of the highway.
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on October 02, 2017, 12:42:18 AM
As for the clinching question, it's whatever you feel is right for you. There's no one way to do it and everybody has their own guidelines of varying criteria from fairly lax to very stringent.
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: bzakharin on October 02, 2017, 02:27:54 PM
I-78 in NYC is longer Eastbound than Westbound, seeing as how, at the exit from the Holland Tunnel there is a loop with five discrete exits, whereas Westbound all four entrances meet at more or less the same point, right as the tunnel begins.
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: catsynth on October 02, 2017, 06:34:51 PM
NY 878 (I-878) near JFK in New York is longer in the eastbound direction than the westbound direction.  And if I recall, part of the freeway section is one way.
Title: Re: Roads with Significant Differences in Length between Directions
Post by: plain on October 02, 2017, 07:02:43 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on October 02, 2017, 02:27:54 PM
I-78 in NYC is longer Eastbound than Westbound, seeing as how, at the exit from the Holland Tunnel there is a loop with five discrete exits, whereas Westbound all four entrances meet at more or less the same point, right as the tunnel begins.

Now that you mention it, it seems that I-495, or NY 495 or whatever is a bit longer WB than it is EB, taking into account the approaches on the Manhattan side of the QMT.