These questions have probably been answered by group in past, so please have patience:
(1) On I-85 several miles east of Lexington, N.C., the north bound lanes cross the south bound lanes and actually are on the left-hand side of the interstate for a while. On what other interstate sections in country does this occur?
(2) On I-24 around Monteagle, TN, the west bound lanes travel on one side of the mountain and the east bound lanes travel on the other side of the mountain. Is this the widest interstate median in the country?
If you look on Google Maps just south of Monteagle, the route labelled US 64/TN2 is actually the westbound lanes of I-24
For 2)- it gets up to similar width on I-84 near Emigrant Hill east of Pendleton, Oregon, but not for as long a stretch.
Quote from: Grzrd on September 13, 2010, 06:25:20 PM
These questions have probably been answered by group in past, so please have patience:
(1) On I-85 several miles east of Lexington, N.C., the north bound lanes cross the south bound lanes and actually are on the left-hand side of the interstate for a while. On what other interstate sections in country does this occur?
Interstate 5 just north of Castaic in the Grapevine pass has a section of cross-over carriageway for about 2-3 miles.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Castaic,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.324283,70.576172&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Castaic,+Los+Angeles,+California&ll=34.500792,-118.62977&spn=0.020548,0.034461&z=15
The carriageways of Interstate 8 in western Arizona also cross over briefly.
In the interchange with I-85 on the north side of Charlotte, the northbound lanes and southbound lanes of I 77 switch sides and back within the interchange.
Quote from: Grzrd on September 13, 2010, 06:25:20 PM
These questions have probably been answered by group in past, so please have patience:
(1) On I-85 several miles east of Lexington, N.C., the north bound lanes cross the south bound lanes and actually are on the left-hand side of the interstate for a while. On what other interstate sections in country does this occur?
Well, US 131 does this in the interchange with I-196, so I-296 starts on its southern end with the carriageways flipped.
I believe there are/were a few instances in the Baltimore area (I-95 or x95?) I remember seeing at least 2 instances on AAA maps.
I-95 in the Baltimore MD area, the northern I-695 Interchange; I-95 used to swap through the interchange, but over the past year I believe that interchange has been reconstructed and that is no longer the case.
The obnoxiously wide valley-like medians are probably due to the fact that the Interstates were built along older routes, and the grade isn't wide enough to build 2-3 additional lanes, so they'd have to build a crossing.
For others that aren't mentioned, I-15 (US-6/US-66) gets pretty wide south of Barstow and I-8 (US-80) east of SD.
Regarding the flips, I imagine they did that due to the grades. I believe more shallow grades are required for traffic going downhill. I remember noting that on my way to Disneyland from the Bay Area, since I-5 does that north of LA (as TheStranger mapped out).
Yes, a couple come to mind. I-8 between El Cajon and El Centro in extreme southern California and AZ 87 between Scottsdale and Payson in central Arizona
One of the unusual features of I-80 in PA is the relatively large number of miles of wide median.
However, the widest I-80 gets is about 1 mile between the lanes over a reservoir near Brookville.
EDIT:
The only reverse running stretches of interstate that I have been on are:
1) The now gone weave at the I-95/695 junction northeast of the city.
2) The I-65/I-20&59 junction in Birmingham, AL
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Birmingham,+AL&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.472848,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Birmingham,+Jefferson,+Alabama&ll=33.52129,-86.824822&spn=0.008336,0.01929&t=k&z=16
Quote from: KEK Inc. on September 13, 2010, 10:00:22 PM
Regarding the flips, I imagine they did that due to the grades. I believe more shallow grades are required for traffic going downhill. I remember noting that on my way to Disneyland from the Bay Area, since I-5 does that north of LA (as TheStranger mapped out).
that is correct for I-5. The old Five Mile Grade (US-99 four-lane expressway) is now the uphill lanes. The downhill lanes are a much gentler grade, but the only way to fit it in is to cross it over to the right of the uphill ones for a few miles, thus the switch.
The old MTR FAQ was perfect for topics like these, but it looks like that's down for the count. I grabbed a bunch of definitions off there and updated it into my own FAQ, but I never grabbed the random miscellaneous trivia bits. Maybe someone else (maybe even AARoads?) wants to grab roadfan.com/faq (or faq.html, I forget) and preserve it?
Quote from: AlpsROADS on September 13, 2010, 11:08:41 PM
The old MTR FAQ was perfect for topics like these, but it looks like that's down for the count. I grabbed a bunch of definitions off there and updated it into my own FAQ, but I never grabbed the random miscellaneous trivia bits. Maybe someone else (maybe even AARoads?) wants to grab roadfan.com/faq (or faq.html, I forget) and preserve it?
Roadfan is back up, I have no problem with copying parts (Steve, you and I spoke about the "future" of Roadfan at the Canton meet), though the FAQ is Marc Fannin's pride and joy so speak to him about that part of the site.
Quote from: Adam Smith on September 14, 2010, 01:10:04 AM
Quote from: AlpsROADS on September 13, 2010, 11:08:41 PM
The old MTR FAQ was perfect for topics like these, but it looks like that's down for the count. I grabbed a bunch of definitions off there and updated it into my own FAQ, but I never grabbed the random miscellaneous trivia bits. Maybe someone else (maybe even AARoads?) wants to grab roadfan.com/faq (or faq.html, I forget) and preserve it?
Roadfan is back up, I have no problem with copying parts (Steve, you and I spoke about the "future" of Roadfan at the Canton meet), though the FAQ is Marc Fannin's pride and joy so speak to him about that part of the site.
That was fast! It was just down yesterday. I'm gonna keep my FAQ because it expands greatly upon what Roadfan has, but I'll throw a link to you guys back up.
Quote from: AlpsROADS on September 14, 2010, 01:16:51 AM
Quote from: Adam Smith on September 14, 2010, 01:10:04 AM
Quote from: AlpsROADS on September 13, 2010, 11:08:41 PM
The old MTR FAQ was perfect for topics like these, but it looks like that's down for the count. I grabbed a bunch of definitions off there and updated it into my own FAQ, but I never grabbed the random miscellaneous trivia bits. Maybe someone else (maybe even AARoads?) wants to grab roadfan.com/faq (or faq.html, I forget) and preserve it?
Roadfan is back up, I have no problem with copying parts (Steve, you and I spoke about the "future" of Roadfan at the Canton meet), though the FAQ is Marc Fannin's pride and joy so speak to him about that part of the site.
That was fast! It was just down yesterday. I'm gonna keep my FAQ because it expands greatly upon what Roadfan has, but I'll throw a link to you guys back up.
The site had been down (again) for a month. It just came back up this afternoon. Though from what emails Marc shared with me, it appears Aplus net's service was slow this time around.
I-8 in eastern San Diego County has some very wide medians, up to 1.8 miles in width IIRC.
I'm pretty sure we had a thread on question #2 here in the past...
There's a stretch of I-95 in VA(I think I-95-I've seen it from the air, however) where the carrigeways cross-over and there is a Rest Area situated in-between. Never understood the logic, but C'est la vie.
Nothing like that in Virginia. You're probably thinking of the section of I-85 east of Lexington, NC that the original poster already mentioned.
Quote from: froggie on September 14, 2010, 09:23:22 AM
Nothing like that in Virginia. You're probably thinking of the section of I-85 east of Lexington, NC that the original poster already mentioned.
I guess it could be NC.... I've seen it from the air like 3-4 times flying ATL-BOS. Guess I'll get to experience first hand next March making the drive instead.
Quote from: jemacedo9 on September 13, 2010, 09:54:57 PM
I-95 in the Baltimore MD area, the northern I-695 Interchange; I-95 used to swap through the interchange, but over the past year I believe that interchange has been reconstructed and that is no longer the case.
It has indeed been rebuilt, and that doesn't happen any more.
There's also a crossover on A-20 in Montréal between Route 138 and A-15/A-720.
Dig OH I-75 near exits 10B - 12:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=39.218423,-84.454136&z=14
Interstate 275 in south Pinellas at 54th Avenue south sees a carriageway swap:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.southeastroads.com%2Fflorida200%2Fi-275_nb_exit_017_05.jpg&hash=96bdb6b40a73ddeb4266282d37bf75017baf10dc)
ugh, left exit/exit only. disgusting. when I am driving in the fast lane, the last thing I want to do is be shunted off the freeway.
how many other interstates have that misfeature? I remember there being an exit on I-84 westbound just west of Hartford (Trout Creek Road, I think?) that was a forced exit of the left lane.
I-490 east near downtown Rochester has one onto the Inner Loop.
On western side of Atlanta, both I-285S to I-20E and I-285N to I-20W are left lane exit only.
CORRECTION
I drove through this intersection yesterday. I-285S to I-20E is left lane, but NOT exit only. I-285S to I-20W is right lane exit only. In other words, the two I-285 ramps to I-20W are exit only.
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on October 27, 2010, 07:58:01 PM
There's also a crossover on A-20 in Montréal between Route 138 and A-15/A-720.
But after the Échangeur Turcot, there's no crossover!/Mais après L'échangeur, pus d'Angleterre!
Many of the interstate to interstate interchanges in the Atlanta area used to have left-lane exits/entrances. Most were rebuilt in the 80's to convert to right-lane operation. As per the previous post, the I-20 W interchange on I-285 and the I-285 interchange with the Stone Mtn. Freeway (US 78) also has left-lane entrances onto I-285.
I-20/59 Southbound has a left lane exit only at 22nd Street in downtown Birmingham. Also I-65 Northbound does a similar thing at the ramp to I-20/59 Southbound.
I-83 North has one where it meets I-695 to multiplex it up.....if you're not paying attention, you end up on Falls Rd.
Quote from: RoadWarrior56 on October 29, 2010, 12:31:39 PM
Many of the interstate to interstate interchanges in the Atlanta area used to have left-lane exits/entrances. Most were rebuilt in the 80's to convert to right-lane operation. As per the previous post, the I-20 W interchange on I-285 and the I-285 interchange with the Stone Mtn. Freeway (US 78) also has left-lane entrances onto I-285.
Although not "exit only", many HOV entrances and exits in metro Atlanta are left lane. In 2007, apparent confusion arising from a left lane exit at I-75S/Northside Drive led to a deadly crash involving a college baseball team (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-02-atlanta-bus-wreck_x.htm). IIRC GDOT made significant changes to the signage related to this exit after the accident.
I-376; the Parkway East section; has a couple (At least Westbound.. I think Grant. St. is the only one Eastbound. I'm also not counting the chaos on the Ft. Pitt Bridge). They're all well signed though, and have never really bothered me at all. Certainly enough warning to have never felt "shunted".
Left entrances / merges are more annoying, however (PA 65 S to I-279 N... I'm looking at you), unless they become an additional lane, then it's all right (Now I'm looking at the Blvd of the Allies ramp to the Outbound Parkway East)
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 29, 2010, 01:23:58 AM
ugh, left exit/exit only. disgusting. when I am driving in the fast lane, the last thing I want to do is be shunted off the freeway.
how many other interstates have that misfeature? I remember there being an exit on I-84 westbound just west of Hartford (Trout Creek Road, I think?) that was a forced exit of the left lane.
I-110 NB in Baton Rouge, off ramp for Convention St.
I-71 NB @ I-670 in Columbus
A-20 East Exit 312-N (A-73 North) is another one. Two dropped lanes on the left.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 29, 2010, 01:23:58 AM
ugh, left exit/exit only. disgusting. when I am driving in the fast lane, the last thing I want to do is be shunted off the freeway.
how many other interstates have that misfeature? I remember there being an exit on I-84 westbound just west of Hartford (Trout Creek Road, I think?) that was a forced exit of the left lane.
Left lane of I-405 northbound exits to westbound US 30.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on October 29, 2010, 01:23:58 AM
I remember there being an exit on I-84 westbound just west of Hartford (Trout Creek Road, I think?) that was a forced exit of the left lane.
Trout Brook Drive (exit 42) is indeed a left exit, but it is not a lane drop. None of the left exits along that stretch of highway are lane drops in the truest sense (what was previously a continuous travel lane leaving the freeway), although there are a couple cases where a lane which was just added as a left entrance drops as the following left exit, and there are a couple of left exits that have extra-long deceleration lanes which are signed as "exit only".
The 275 example shown above isn't an actual lane drop, either... although I will grant you this: 275 in Pinnellas county
does have a very bad habit of seemingly randomly picking up and dropping lanes.
The Oklahoma City has quite a few. Most of them are to other freeways, but notably the Shields Blvd and US 77 interchanges on I-35 south of the city are left lane exit only's.