With vdeane's post about cities well-served by the interstate system in mind, do you believe there are certain cities that are over-served by the system? And by the same token, do you believe there are cities under-served by the same system? If so, how would you remedy these issues?
Quote from: planxtymcgillicuddy on June 14, 2020, 02:15:57 PM
With vdeane's post about cities well-served by the interstate system in mind, do you believe there are certain cities that are over-served by the system? And by the same token, do you believe there are cities under-served by the same system? If so, how would you remedy these issues?
Austin is underserved. It needs an east west route.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27027.0
Underserved: Dubuque, Iowa.
Cedar Rapids and Waterloo probably merit more than an I-80 spur route, as well.
Underserved: Fresno, Seattle, Portland OR, Charleston SC
Overserved: All of Appalachia
For those underserved, Albuquerque comes to mind. And maybe Orlando, although it has plenty of freeways and tollways to complement its one blue shield.
iPhone
Quote from: 1 on June 14, 2020, 02:18:53 PM
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27027.0
Does not cover underserved cities.
Quote from: thspfc on June 14, 2020, 02:31:38 PM
Overserved: All of Appalachia
I disagree. The only real thoroughfare through Appalachia is I-81. Sure, you got parts of 77, 64 and 40, but there are still several places lacking major routes (eastern KY, southern OH, northern PA, southern VA come to mind.)
South Hampton Roads, VA
Internally, there's a good system of interstates and freeways - I-64, VA-164, I-264, I-464, I-564, I-664, VA-168 - though there's ultimately only one interstate leaving the area - I-64 - to the northwest towards Richmond. I-64 can be utilized as a direct connection to I-95 North, I-81 South, and obviously onto I-64 into West Virginia.
Connections to the northeast (I-95 / NJTP in Delaware), and southwest (I-95 and I-85 South) however require traversing many miles of arterial highway (60 miles to I-95 South, 100 miles to I-85 South, both along US-58, and 185 miles to DE-1 freeway along US-13) and currently have no interstate highway access, at least directly (you could theoretically connect to all of these via I-64, though would add hours onto a trip).
For the Peninsula part of Hampton Roads, it's fairly reasonable to use I-64 to connect to I-95 and I-85 South via I-295 and VA-895 in Richmond and not add on more than 5 or 10 minutes, assuming there's no bottleneck on I-64, and is why I specified South Hampton Roads for this post as it would be closer to an hour added to traverse I-64 northwest to reach I-95 and I-85 South.
There have been various proposals over the years to complete these gaps and construct additional interstate / freeways links out from the area, though only one solid proposal still stands. One of the largest schemes was to construct an interstate highway along the US-17 and US-13 corridors between Savannah, GA and Wilmington, DE. This would serve the coastal cities that were ultimately bypassed by I-95, along with providing southerly and northeastern interstate access to Hampton Roads. The latest study of this corridor was completed in 2006 by VDOT and was practically scrapped. No detailed cost estimates were provided, though would likely be over $5 billion for the entire corridor.
Another concept, recently scrapped in 2014 due to high wetland impact, though smaller down plans still linger, would've constructed a $1.4 billion 50 mile freeway / toll road along the US-460 corridor linking Suffolk and Petersburg. On a larger scale, this would allow South Hampton Roads traffic an alternate connection to Richmond, I-95 North, and I-64 West without having to traverse either the HRBT and MMMBT over the harbor. It would've also provided a freeway connection from South Hampton Roads to I-85 South, meeting at Petersburg, providing similar travel times (~5 minutes) over taking US-58 across. While the entire corridor has been scrapped, a scaled down freeway concept from Suffolk to Zuni (around 16 miles long) was studied around 2016 though has not been funded. It still remains on the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and is being considered for the 2045 LRTP upcoming.
With plans for an overall corridor dating back to 1990 with the designation of High Priority Corridor #13, the US-64 / US-17 corridor between Raleigh, NC and Chesapeake, VA was recently designated as Future Interstate 87 in 2016 by the AASHTO. Currently, this is the only standing official proposal to create another connection to South Hampton Roads. This would ultimately provide an interstate corridor linking the South Hampton Roads region to I-95 South and Raleigh. The US-64 corridor is currently built out to freeway standards, though about 60 miles of US-17 remain as non-limited-access highway. The first segment is set to begin in 2027 with a 13 mile segment between the Virginia state line and the Elizabeth City bypass, along with a 10 mile segment between Hertford and Edenton by 2029 partially allocated funding. Both projects would cost around $300 million combined. Ultimately, the corridor is projected to cost around $1 billion to complete, presumably around 2040 or 2045. In Virginia, the corridor has currently not been approved, though there is active interest from the HRTPO (Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization) and the City of Chesapeake in the potential future of the project. It has also been included as a candidate project in the 2045 LRTP.
The last potential connection would be along the US-58 corridor. While no detail study has been completed, there have been talks about conducting a further study to evaluate a potential interstate / freeway between I-64 and I-95 at Emporia. Officially, it's only been mentioned once in a recent US-58 Arterial Management Study that looked at minor upgrades, such as intersection improvements, innovative intersections, etc. and a brief analysis produced a cost estimate of between $2.3 and $3.5 billion and recommended further detail study in the future. It's unknown how the potential future of the aforementioned I-87 corridor, which would provide a similar southerly connection to I-95, may impact the decision for additional spending on upgrading US-58 in the long term. Virginia could ultimately stick with upgrading the 60 mile US-58 corridor in order to provide a shorter route, or stick with upgrading the 12 mile US-17 connector in order to keep costs low and keep the bulk of the work in North Carolina. Another option to completing the US-58 corridor could be construction of a toll facility similar to what was proposed for US-460, though this has not been an official proposal.
Houston. Ironic cause the city has a freeway in every direction, but is under-served by interstates. And before anyone mentions I-69
1. It hasn't been completed yet (and probably won't be for years)
2. Most people around here still refer to it as "59."
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
Quote from: Some one on June 14, 2020, 08:32:54 PM
Houston. Ironic cause the city has a freeway in every direction, but is under-served by interstates. And before anyone mentions I-69
1. It hasn't been completed yet (and probably won't be for years)
2. Most people around here still refer to it as "59."
Not to mention the lack of a direct Interstate connection to Austin.
Houston suffers due to Dallas being more centrally located but I-14 to Austin and I-6 to Laredo should have happened long ago.
Quote from: Konza on June 15, 2020, 01:50:24 AM
Houston suffers due to Dallas being more centrally located but I-14 to Austin and I-6 to Laredo should have happened long ago.
Houston suffers due to lack of interstate access to Austin along with the northeast and Great Lakes region, a gap to be filled with I-69.
Houston is connected with Laredo via I-10 and I-35.
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 14, 2020, 08:52:28 PM
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
I don't think it's over-served. The amount of radiating interstates seems about right given the location and size of the area. All 5 directions have a pretty clear purpose:
I-84: New England
I-380: New York City/Northern NJ
I-476: Philadelphia/Mid-Atlantic
I-81 S: Harrisburg/points South
I-81 N: Upstate New York
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 14, 2020, 08:52:28 PM
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
How busy is I-380? That's the only one that you could make an argument for eliminating.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 15, 2020, 05:12:49 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 14, 2020, 08:52:28 PM
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
How busy is I-380? That's the only one that you could make an argument for eliminating.
25,000 - 32,000 AADT.
No need to eliminate it. It serves a larger role connecting New York City to Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and other cities.
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 15, 2020, 05:19:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 15, 2020, 05:12:49 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 14, 2020, 08:52:28 PM
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
How busy is I-380? That's the only one that you could make an argument for eliminating.
25,000 - 32,000 AADT.
No need to eliminate it. It serves a larger role connecting New York City to Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and other cities.
Will that go down once I-86 is completed?
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 15, 2020, 05:24:40 PM
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 15, 2020, 05:19:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 15, 2020, 05:12:49 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 14, 2020, 08:52:28 PM
Scranton is pretty over-served, having a total of four Interstates within its immediate area: I-81, I-84, I-380, and I-476. I mean, sure, it's two 2dis, but even still.
How busy is I-380? That's the only one that you could make an argument for eliminating.
25,000 - 32,000 AADT.
No need to eliminate it. It serves a larger role connecting New York City to Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and other cities.
Will that go down once I-86 is completed?
Perhaps, though the I-380 routing is still shorter by 10 - 15 miles.
I-380 is way, way too useful to eliminate. It's one of the most important corridors serving Scranton - the NYC connection - and is way more important than, say, I-81 to Binghamton.
Northwest Arkansas metro. Only a single Interstate, partially completed, while home to over half a million residents and home to the largest private trucking fleet as well as the largest public trucking company.
Overserved: Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Each has a population of les than a quarter million, and each is served by three mainline Interstate routes, albeit in both cases the metro lies at the termination of the route.
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 15, 2020, 05:37:51 PM
I-380 is way, way too useful to eliminate. It's one of the most important corridors serving Scranton - the NYC connection - and is way more important than, say, I-81 to Binghamton.
The connection to NYC isn't necessarily the most important just because NYC is the biggest and best.
I often travel to northern NJ through Scranton, and use
both I-81 and I-380, so they're equally important to me, and to anyone else traveling from Upstate NY or Ontario to the NYC area. I-81 North connects Scranton to more of the country compared to I-380, even if the areas served by I-81 are more sparsely populated.
Quote from: Konza on June 15, 2020, 08:39:02 PM
Overserved: Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Each has a population of les than a quarter million, and each is served by three mainline Interstate routes, albeit in both cases the metro lies at the termination of the route.
Population-wise, I might agree with Bloomington-Normal. However all three interstates are currently very useful routes, with I-74 being a useful diagonal from I-80, I-39 being a very useful bypass of Chicagoland, and I-55 serving Chicagoland. Probably better to have I-39 end at Bloomington Normal than over near Lexington had a more eastern route been selected.
Champaign - Urban is also debatable, considering how much it used to be growing, Decatur used to be over 100k, and Springfield being the state capital. Definitely warrants at least a 3di for the Champaign - Decatur - Springfield corridor IMHO.
Quote from: thspfc on June 14, 2020, 02:31:38 PM
Underserved: Fresno, Seattle, Portland OR, Charleston SC
Overserved: All of Appalachia
Yep. Charleston is underserved. One 2 digit interstate, basically the lifeblood of our area (I-26), with the rest of the area connected by a web of bridges. 60+ mile drive down 17 to get to I-95 South. 17 was a 2 lane road through most of this till about 2010 or so. Major deadly accidents at least once or twice a year on that stretch.
526 has been "under construction" for 30 years. Should have been completed to James Island long ago, but NIMBYs have stopped it so many times. We might be headed toward that being built though.
Quote from: MikieTimT on June 15, 2020, 05:46:11 PM
Northwest Arkansas metro. Only a single Interstate, partially completed, while home to over half a million residents and home to the largest private trucking fleet as well as the largest public trucking company.
1956 was fifteen years before Sam Walton went public. Not that I disagree with you; my parents retired to northwest Arkansas, so I'm quite familiar with how one gets around there. But to where would you connect? Tulsa to the west. To the east: Memphis? Little Rock?
Quote from: Konza on June 16, 2020, 01:34:15 AM
Quote from: MikieTimT on June 15, 2020, 05:46:11 PM
Northwest Arkansas metro. Only a single Interstate, partially completed, while home to over half a million residents and home to the largest private trucking fleet as well as the largest public trucking company.
1956 was fifteen years before Sam Walton went public. Not that I disagree with you; my parents retired to northwest Arkansas, so I'm quite familiar with how one gets around there. But to where would you connect? Tulsa to the west. To the east: Memphis? Little Rock?
A connection to the US-65 corridor would make for easier access to Springfield/Branson.
Quote from: bassoon1986 on June 14, 2020, 02:47:04 PM
For those underserved, Albuquerque comes to mind. And maybe Orlando, although it has plenty of freeways and tollways to complement its one blue shield.
iPhone
Albuquerque is not undeserved at all. Many cities its size don't have multiple 2dis. As for the beltway that everyone seems to want, that's their own problem, not the Interstate system's problem.
New Orleans is one for the underserved pile, because only I-10 goes through it. Although I-55 (to the west) and I-59 (to the east) are the two closest north-south 2dis to it, they are too far away to actually serve it.
As for overserved, the Piedmont Triad would be one because I-40 and I-85 are already enough. The inane additions of I-73 and I-74 (to two already adequate freeway routes carrying US 220 and US 52, respectively) have ruined the area, not to mention the national grid.
Quote from: Sctvhound on June 16, 2020, 12:29:26 AM
Quote from: thspfc on June 14, 2020, 02:31:38 PM
Underserved: Fresno, Seattle, Portland OR, Charleston SC
Overserved: All of Appalachia
Yep. Charleston is underserved. One 2 digit interstate, basically the lifeblood of our area (I-26), with the rest of the area connected by a web of bridges. 60+ mile drive down 17 to get to I-95 South. 17 was a 2 lane road through most of this till about 2010 or so. Major deadly accidents at least once or twice a year on that stretch.
526 has been "under construction" for 30 years. Should have been completed to James Island long ago, but NIMBYs have stopped it so many times. We might be headed toward that being built though.
Let's hope I-99 remedies that.
Quote from: Henry on June 17, 2020, 10:45:02 AM
New Orleans is one for the underserved pile, because only I-10 goes through it. Although I-55 (to the west) and I-59 (to the east) are the two closest north-south 2dis to it, they are too far away to actually serve it.
They still provide adequate outlets from the area via I-10 to the north and northeast respectively.
Quote
As for overserved, the Piedmont Triad would be one because I-40 and I-85 are already enough. The inane additions of I-73 and I-74 (to two already adequate freeway routes carrying US 220 and US 52, respectively) have ruined the area, not to mention the national grid.
I don't think any of the additions have "ruined the area" . Sure, the I-74 number makes zero sense, but the actual freeways themselves (many segments of which were built for I-73 / I-74 after the 1990s) provide good connections.
I personally have never had an issue with the I-73 number just because of grid location. Unlike I-74, it's a logical and continuous planned corridor from Myrtle Beach to Roanoke.
I-74 should be deleted and given separate numbers -
- I-x73 or I-x77 from I-77 to I-73
- I-3x from I-26 to Wilmington
I think ultimately outside of roadgeeks, nobody could care or less what or how the numbers fit into the grid. I-74 does provide confusion otherwise, and is a pointless single routing. The southern corridor is logically used as an east-west connector from Asheville and Charlotte to Wilmington, not a north jog from Wilmington to Greensboro and Winston-Salem that's already served by I-40. The northern segment from I-73 to I-77 provides a connection from the I-73 corridor to High Point and Winston-Salem, and from High Point, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Raleigh to I-77 North.
I-73 is off-grid, but is still a logical single routing even if it won't go beyond Virginia.
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 17, 2020, 10:49:02 AM
Let's hope I-99 remedies that.
There's no "I-99" planned or that's getting built.
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 10:59:52 AM
Quote from: Henry on June 17, 2020, 10:45:02 AM
New Orleans is one for the underserved pile, because only I-10 goes through it. Although I-55 (to the west) and I-59 (to the east) are the two closest north-south 2dis to it, they are too far away to actually serve it.
They still provide adequate outlets from the area via I-10 to the north and northeast respectively.
I-49 will maybe be added soon.
Buffalo only has I-90 and three of its children. I-90 leads to Cleveland, the Northern Cities, and Boston, and I-190 leads to Niagara Falls.
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 17, 2020, 11:13:35 AM
Buffalo only has I-90 and three of its children. I-90 leads to Cleveland, the Northern Cities, and Boston, and I-190 leads to Niagara Falls.
Spoke sorely missing on the US 219 corridor.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 17, 2020, 11:17:27 AM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 17, 2020, 11:13:35 AM
Buffalo only has I-90 and three of its children. I-90 leads to Cleveland, the Northern Cities, and Boston, and I-190 leads to Niagara Falls.
Spoke sorely missing on the US 219 corridor.
A ~30 mile interstate highway along the NY-63 corridor between I-90 and I-390 would provide an adequate connection between Buffalo (via I-90 East) and I-390 South providing enhanced access to the Mid-Atlantic region. Once the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project is completed extending I-180 south of Selinsgrove, the only major gap in completing a freeway corridor would be along a 32 mile segment of US-15 between Selinsgrove and Duncannon, which is currently 4-lane divided highway. South of Harrisburg, I-83 does provide an interstate highway connection south to Baltimore than ultimately to I-95 South, though the other more direct routing, US-15 to I-270, still has another 37 mile gap that needs to be complete, though the majority of that already has limited access right of way, just needs interchanges and overpasses constructed.
My opinion is that the 32 mile US-15 segment north of Harrisburg should eventually be upgraded largely to close a small gap on a mostly all-freeway corridor. As for the US-15 segment south of Harrisburg, debatable as you could easily say I-83 provides a southerly interstate connection, but US-15 should eventually be upgraded south of Harrisburg and in Maryland at some point in the future.
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 11:33:11 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 17, 2020, 11:17:27 AM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 17, 2020, 11:13:35 AM
Buffalo only has I-90 and three of its children. I-90 leads to Cleveland, the Northern Cities, and Boston, and I-190 leads to Niagara Falls.
Spoke sorely missing on the US 219 corridor.
A ~30 mile interstate highway along the NY-63 corridor between I-90 and I-390 would provide an adequate connection between Buffalo (via I-90 East) and I-390 South providing enhanced access to the Mid-Atlantic region. Once the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project is completed extending I-180 south of Selinsgrove, the only major gap in completing a freeway corridor would be along a 32 mile segment of US-15 between Selinsgrove and Duncannon, which is currently 4-lane divided highway. South of Harrisburg, I-83 does provide an interstate highway connection south to Baltimore than ultimately to I-95 South, though the other more direct routing, US-15 to I-270, still has another 37 mile gap that needs to be complete, though the majority of that already has limited access right of way, just needs interchanges and overpasses constructed.
My opinion is that the 32 mile US-15 segment north of Harrisburg should eventually be upgraded largely to close a small gap on a mostly all-freeway corridor. As for the US-15 segment south of Harrisburg, debatable as you could easily say I-83 provides a southerly interstate connection, but US-15 should eventually be upgraded south of Harrisburg and in Maryland at some point in the future.
Yes. But I do not know what number the unified Washington-Frederick-Harrisburg corridor would have, were it to get any. And how would they handle the at-grade left turn at
I-PA581?
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 11:33:11 AM
...Once the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project is completed extending I-180 south of Selinsgrove...
I-180 isn't being extended, is it? I was under the impression that the CSVT would simply use US 15/PA 147 designations. Either way, that freeway segment will be a welcome addition for bypassing Shamokin Dam & Lewisburg.
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 11:33:11 AM
...As for the US-15 segment south of Harrisburg, debatable as you could easily say I-83 provides a southerly interstate connection, but US-15 should eventually be upgraded south of Harrisburg and in Maryland at some point in the future.
If the 4 traffic signals on 15 near Dillsburg were eliminated, that would at least allow for unimpeded traffic flow. Although I imagine there's safety concerns with the unsignalized intersections between the PA 94 interchange and Dillsburg, and throughout the Maryland stretch.
The most dangerous intersection on 15 in Maryland, with Hayward Road near Frederick, was finally closed permanently in 2018 and replaced with a diamond interchange just to the north (exit 18 for Monocacy Blvd/Christophers Crossing (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4573762,-77.3982473,893m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en)).
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 17, 2020, 11:43:20 AM
Yes. But I do not know what number the unified Washington-Frederick-Harrisburg corridor would have, were it to get any.
Likely just an extension of I-83 up to Future I-99 at Williamsport, replacing I-180.
If you wanted to get more fictional, delete Future I-99 north of Williamsport and most of I-390, and route I-83 up Future I-99, I-86, and most of I-390, then route it along that ~30 mile spur I mentioned previously to I-90 near Batavia. The section of I-390 not included in this I-83 concept would remain I-390.
I-83 would then run from Baltimore to outside of Buffalo.
Quote from: jmacswimmer on June 17, 2020, 11:57:46 AM
I-180 isn't being extended, is it? I was under the impression that the CSVT would simply use US 15/PA 147 designations. Either way, that freeway segment will be a welcome addition for bypassing Shamokin Dam & Lewisburg.
I should've worded that better, by extended I was referring extending the freeway itself. I don't think there's any plans to extend the actual designation though would be logical.
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 11:33:11 AM
A ~30 mile interstate highway along the NY-63 corridor between I-90 and I-390 would provide an adequate connection between Buffalo (via I-90 East) and I-390 South providing enhanced access to the Mid-Atlantic region.
NY 63 could work, but IMO the US 20A corridor makes more sense. It cuts a more substantial corner, lines up better with the Peace Bridge for traffic to/from Canada, and you've already got NY 400 as far as East Aurora.
Orlando, FL has no spur routes of I-4 which should be in place over the toll road system there. SR 528 should be I-104 and SR 417 should be I-204 and I-404 used for SR 429. Some have suggested SR 408 to join the I--4 family as well.
However, it does have a freeway system regardless of designation, but in this sense it is definitely under-served.
Quote from: webny99 on June 17, 2020, 03:16:29 PM
Quote from: sprjus4 on June 17, 2020, 11:33:11 AM
A ~30 mile interstate highway along the NY-63 corridor between I-90 and I-390 would provide an adequate connection between Buffalo (via I-90 East) and I-390 South providing enhanced access to the Mid-Atlantic region.
NY 63 could work, but IMO the US 20A corridor makes more sense. It cuts a more substantial corner, lines up better with the Peace Bridge for traffic to/from Canada, and you've already got NY 400 as far as East Aurora.
Could work, though would require 12-15 miles of additional construction.
Would keep that traffic off of I-90 and would provide a toll free option.
NYSDOT should evaluate options for either route. The route from Buffalo to I-390 needs to be enhanced.
Quote from: Konza on June 16, 2020, 01:34:15 AM
Quote from: MikieTimT on June 15, 2020, 05:46:11 PM
Northwest Arkansas metro. Only a single Interstate, partially completed, while home to over half a million residents and home to the largest private trucking fleet as well as the largest public trucking company.
1956 was fifteen years before Sam Walton went public. Not that I disagree with you; my parents retired to northwest Arkansas, so I'm quite familiar with how one gets around there. But to where would you connect? Tulsa to the west. To the east: Memphis? Little Rock?
Tulsa to the west for starters. Most of the route is already 4-laned expressway, although at grade crossings and no access roads, although they missed the window around Siloam Springs a few years back. The only route to make Little Rock quicker would be US-412/US-65, but there are substantial sections of that route that are still 2-lane. Memphis would likely take a US-412 upgrade as well as I-22 extension across the river on the north side of the beltway and up I-555/US-63, but that's likely getting well into Fictional territory. I don't see anything other than the Tulsa routing in my lifetime, regardless.
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2020, 05:13:50 AM
Quote from: Konza on June 16, 2020, 01:34:15 AM
Quote from: MikieTimT on June 15, 2020, 05:46:11 PM
Northwest Arkansas metro. Only a single Interstate, partially completed, while home to over half a million residents and home to the largest private trucking fleet as well as the largest public trucking company.
1956 was fifteen years before Sam Walton went public. Not that I disagree with you; my parents retired to northwest Arkansas, so I'm quite familiar with how one gets around there. But to where would you connect? Tulsa to the west. To the east: Memphis? Little Rock?
A connection to the US-65 corridor would make for easier access to Springfield/Branson.
That would be the next logical upgrade of US-412. Lots of new terrain routing through the mountains between Huntsville and Alpena (or just bypassing Alpena to the south makes more sense) remains, but what with all of the at-grade crossing on the 4-lane portions, it would take a lot of access roads and overpasses to convert to an Interstate. I would think this section would be a longer shot. I could see the section of US-412 west of I-49 and east of I-44 as a 3DI as not very far-fetched or too distant into the future. Shame that they went with 6-laning US-412 through Siloam Springs rather than bypassing to the north. They're eventually going to have to anyway, and it'll be much more developed and expensive when it happens.
Under-Served Big Cities:
- Chicago Northern Suburbs (i.e. Lake County, IL) - One Interstate in a county of around 700,000 people. *This would have been remedied had Long Grove and Hawthorn Woods not killed off the IL 53 Extension, which probably would have been either new I-594 or an extended I-355.
- Austin, TX - Nearly 1 million people in the city alone and just one Interstate (and an inadequate one to boot)
- Washington, DC proper - There really is no way to get through the area without being forced onto the nightmare that is the I-495 Beltway.
- Philadelphia, PA proper - The Schuylkill Expressway alone makes it deserving of this, but when you look at the city and see its overall lack of Interstate connections in the city proper, I feel there is a case to be made here.
- Pittsburgh, PA - Overall, lack of Interstates/Freeways especially South of the city
Under-Served Midsized and/or Fast-Growing Cities:
- Columbia, MO - 120,000 people and fast growing, I'm saying this more as an indictment on the condition of I-70 that runs through it, and the fact that the US 63 freeway on the Eastern end of the city does not even have a direct connection to I-70 (Breezewood situation). Also desperately needs a Northern or Southern Bypass (I-870).
- Jefferson City, MO - 40,000 people and the State Capital, no interstate connection.
- Bakersfield and Fresno, CA - Just for good measure, they have CA 99, but it's not an Interstate yet.
- Albuquerque, NM - Needs a beltway/bypass!!!
- Colorado Springs, CO - Also needs a bypass!
- St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL - Just one Interstate through a rapidly growing and quite developed area.
Over-Served:
- Hennepin, IL - I-180... WHY???