What would you nominate to a list of the most dangerous and frightening highways anywhere in the US? To make it, I think, more interesting, let's assume that traffic on the road nominated is minimal. If we're talking about a city freeway, then let the danger exist even on a Sunday morning at 4. In other words, since by nature many of the threads on this forum are already about dangerously overloaded highways and freeways, let's please talk here about danger that exists even in the absence of heavy traffic.
I was fascinated by the History Channel's IRT series a couple months ago and was wondering how many roads in the US are, in any way, comparable to those Indian highways the truckers were driving. Those roads looked a lot like the infamous Yungas Road in Bolivia (and I wonder if that'll be coming up on a future IRT series. I'll bet Lisa could handle it!)
I haven't done a lot of travelling in the western states, but the scariest road I've ever seen is there: the Oatman Highway in Arizona (part of the original U.S. 66). I'm told that Utah and Nevada's Million Dollar Highway is even worse, but I haven't driven it.
US-550 (Million Dollar Highway) is up there, but the absolute most inadequate road I've ever driven in the US is called the Leesville Road and it is in northern California (look up Leesville, CA on Google Maps, then head southeast). It's shown on Rand McNally as a gray line, but it's one lane with 5mph advisory curves, no shoulders, you name it. Shockingly, there's an old alignment of that road extant across the worst of the mountain pass - I did not drive that.
Speaking of old roads, old US-97 across Blewett Pass in Washington is pretty harrowing, as is old US-10 at the Montana/Idaho state line, but those roads haven't been particularly in service in ages, so I don't think they count for the purposes of this discussion.
I've heard the Pi'ilani Highway on Maui is pretty harrowing too, but alas I've never gotten to drive it since it was washed out the one time I was there.
there are also all kinds of random dirt trails barely dug out of mountainsides that are very challenging drives... but for now let's restrict the discussion to roads that have been maintained in recent memory, and were intended for use by the general motoring public with a vehicle of no impressive clearance or traction.
for that, my vote stays with the Leesville Road.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 13, 2011, 12:12:47 PM
...for that, my vote stays with the Leesville Road.
I guess a one-lane mountain road of the type you describe would be hard to beat in terms of scariness. If I ever get to visit northern Cali I might just look that one up. Would it be possible and/or fun to ride it on a bicycle?
The only one-lane, publicly-maintained roads I'm familiar with are in Washington County, Mississippi. South of Greenville, there are one-lane sections of old MS Hwy 1 that are fun to drive, but they're not very dangerous. It's delta flatland and you can see forever.
I have looked up the Million Dollar Highway on StreetView and been unimpressed. My perennial favorite for this particular distinction is NM 159 between US 180 and Mogollon.
I just tried "driving" the Leesville Road in the Google Earth Driving Simulator (http://earth-api-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/demos/drive-simulator/index.html). Very interesting road; I'd love to drive it for real!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 13, 2011, 10:33:39 AM
I've heard the Pi'ilani Highway on Maui is pretty harrowing too, but alas I've never gotten to drive it since it was washed out the one time I was there.
It is (for the county route 31 segment through southeast Maui -- not the far tamer state highway 31 down to Wailea, which is a separate Piilani Highway segment). But the county route 340 part of the Kahekili Highway along the northwest Maui coast is even scarier. See my photo collections for both the Piiliani (http://www.hawaiihighways.com/photos-Piilani-Hwy.htm) and Kahekili (http://www.hawaiihighways.com/photos-Kahekili-Hwy.htm) highways, and decide for yourself.
the Kahekili did not seem troublesome at all to me. I drove every road on Maui except for the southeast Pi'ilani, and none were all that particularly bad, except maybe a few possible old alignments of 39 where the circle shields are, just because it's so forested and it always seemed like I'd go around the next curve and find the road had fallen off a cliff.
Quote from: berberry on January 13, 2011, 01:04:04 PM
I just tried "driving" the Leesville Road in the Google Earth Driving Simulator (http://earth-api-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/demos/drive-simulator/index.html). Very interesting road; I'd love to drive it for real!
How does that simulator decide what speed to go? I just tried it on a path that included a little side road and a major state highway, and it went faster on the little side road (23 mph) than on the state highway (10 mph).
Quote from: algorerhythms on January 13, 2011, 01:48:07 PMHow does that simulator decide what speed to go? I just tried it on a path that included a little side road and a major state highway, and it went faster on the little side road (23 mph) than on the state highway (10 mph).
Wish I knew. If you try driving the Yungas Road, you'll notice that it goes ridiculously fast. You can slow it down or speed it up x multiples/fractions of its default speed using the + and - keys.
The thing that irritates me about the simulator is that there's no easy way to control the routing. You sometimes have to take small steps of a route in turn if you want to use an alternate roadway.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 13, 2011, 12:12:47 PM
for that, my vote stays with the Leesville Road.
That's this one, right?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Leesville+,+ca&sll=28.002337,-80.608561&sspn=0.01402,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Leesville,+Colusa,+California&ll=39.168001,-122.405119&spn=0.024754,0.054932&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.169243,-122.40462&panoid=RkWibYl5UP8K_HX7b1Xc0w&cbp=12,136.7,,0,18.08
It's a good thing the Google car is small and not a big truck with those construction vehicles in the way!
While I was a passenger and not the driver in this case, I remember the Mount Washington Auto Road in NH being a challenging drive. There is no StreetView since it's a private road, but there are plenty of geotagged pictures in Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=44.289206,-71.271228&sspn=0.045711,0.077162&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=&ll=44.289206,-71.271228&spn=0.045465,0.077162&z=14&layer=c&cbll=44.289206,-71.271228&cbp=12,0,,0,5&photoid=po-35658259
The Pig Trail, AR Hwy 23 in northwest Arkansas, can get your attention quick if you let your eyes wander at the gorgeous scenery a little too long. It's worth it!
I think my vote is for the Moki Dugway in Utah, which although unpaved is part of the state highway system.
Up there in Canadaland, I've wanted to drive B.C. Highway 20 to Bella Coola, where the legend is that the occasional tourist is too afraid to drive back up the mountain. Alas, I cannot speak firsthand to that.
Quote from: Kniwt on January 14, 2011, 12:10:54 AM
I think my vote is for the Moki Dugway in Utah, which although unpaved is part of the state highway system.
Excellent choice! I found a number of youtube videos (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moki+dugway&aq=f) covering that route. It looks thrilling.
I would nominate US 250 in central West Virginia...Posted speed limit is 55, but when i was on it a year or so back, i didnt go much fast than 45 the whole way. (There were signs saying 'Speed Enforced by Radar', but i figured you exceeded the speed limit on some stretches, they wouldn't write you a ticket for speeding, but littering...as various loose pieces of your car would be littering the highway from all the guardrails and hillsides and trees you scraped....
Quote from: ctsignguy on January 14, 2011, 08:16:25 AM
I would nominate US 250 in central West Virginia...Posted speed limit is 55, but when i was on it a year or so back, i didnt go much fast than 45 the whole way. (There were signs saying 'Speed Enforced by Radar', but i figured you exceeded the speed limit on some stretches, they wouldn't write you a ticket for speeding, but littering...as various loose pieces of your car would be littering the highway from all the guardrails and hillsides and trees you scraped....
agreed. US-33 is like this as well.
there are three types of advisory curves, and they are all signed in very distinct manners.
guardrail with no signage: advisory speed is 30.
guardrail with chevrons: advisory speed is 20.
guardrail with copious chunk missing: advisory speed is 10.
^^^
I ran into some of that on US 219 head from I-64 toward Cass. I did also take US 250 to head back toward I-81 later.
My favorite is when you get to the Wyoming/Montana line on the top of the Beartooth Highway on US-212, crossing into Montana. There is a speed limit sign just after the state line that says SPEED LIMIT 70/NIGHT 65. There's no way in hell you're going more than 35 for the first 10 miles or so because of the road design, and if you do it during tourist season you're not going more than 20. There's not a stretch that's even long enough to accelerate to that speed until you're almost to Red Lodge
Quote from: corco on January 14, 2011, 12:20:52 PM
There is a speed limit sign just after the state line that says SPEED LIMIT 70/NIGHT 65. There's no way in hell you're going more than 35 for the first 10 miles or so because of the road design,
More evidence of the absence of logic in speed limits. In corco's example, that speed limit is much too high. Then we have widenings of the road that have 35mph speed limits.
re: the various US highways in WV mentioned above: portions of US 60 between I-64 and US 19 are also similar.
OR-242, the old McKenzie Pass Highway, is definitely among the craziest I've driven--had the opportunity to clinch it back in October (only the third highway I had clinched at the time). The first few miles out of Sisters are okay, but then there's about 30 miles of 15mph hairpin curves along fairly steep drops with no guardrails, and striped as 2 lanes but barely enough room for 1 vehicle. ODOT closes it down in the winter, for good reason.
Bakeoven Road (yes, that's really its name) coming out of Maupin, Oregon is pretty bad, too--it's a "shortcut" from US-197 to US-97 near Shaniko. I've not actually driven it myself, but have been in the passenger seat. Badly paved and the first few miles are nothing but sharp, unmarked curves with no guardrails, climbing up out of the canyon. They haven't even StreetViewed it yet.
-Alex (Tarkus)
I was on 242 once during tourist season- I wasn't driving but I recall there being a ton of RV traffic, making that road even scarier.
Quote from: Kniwt on January 14, 2011, 12:10:54 AM
I think my vote is for the Moki Dugway in Utah, which although unpaved is part of the state highway system.
Of the ones I've personally driven, this is probably the winner. But even so, it wasn't really scary, just interesting and unusual. Had I encountered much downhill traffic, I might have thought differently.
Here are my pictures of the experience:
http://www.teresco.org/pics/fourcorners-20030926-27/26/utah261.html (http://www.teresco.org/pics/fourcorners-20030926-27/26/utah261.html)
Quote from: berberry on January 14, 2011, 03:15:36 AM
Excellent choice! I found a number of youtube videos (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moki+dugway&aq=f) covering that route. It looks thrilling.
Dear videographers: Please ensure that your camera is capturing the road scene and not two-thirds of your car's interior. TYVM.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 15, 2011, 12:50:49 PM
Dear videographers: Please ensure that your camera is capturing the road scene and not two-thirds of your car's interior. TYVM.
This one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz05cRjO4oU)'s pretty good, and certainly conveys the scariness effectively.
From what I've been able to find about the roads mentioned so far, the Moki Dugway and the Beartooth Highway are so good they look like great vacation destinations in and of themselves. I'd love to take the Moki downhill on a bicycle. It'd be a much more affordable trip than going to Bolivia, where downhill biking on the old Yungas Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXLxszv9eCM) has become very popular (and something I'd very much love to do). Does anyone ever bike the Moki Dugway? Would it be relatively safe?
Quote from: realjd on January 13, 2011, 03:22:09 PM
While I was a passenger and not the driver in this case, I remember the Mount Washington Auto Road in NH being a challenging drive. There is no StreetView since it's a private road, but there are plenty of geotagged pictures in Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=44.289206,-71.271228&sspn=0.045711,0.077162&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=&ll=44.289206,-71.271228&spn=0.045465,0.077162&z=14&layer=c&cbll=44.289206,-71.271228&cbp=12,0,,0,5&photoid=po-35658259
My brother has done both the Moki Dugway and the Mount Washington Auto Road and he says the latter is much more scary.
Before it was rebuilt a few years ago, US 119 across Pine Mountain in Kentucky could be a bit hairy.
One I thought of just now that I remember being plenty scary is Washington SR 142. As far as a paved road goes, it's pretty bad, although for a fairly short distance (probably 5 miles of sketchiness). Here's a shot of how narrow it gets:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.davidjcorcoran.com%2Fhighways%2F142%2F14to97%2F3.JPG&hash=44cfa00b1ab5e2278e528de5d755e2efdeed66c5)
Washington 129/Oregon 3 is no picnic either, but it's not nearly as bad as the Beartooth or the Dugway look. You can see it going down the hill and then back up (the back up part is all Oregon) here:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.davidjcorcoran.com%2Fhighways%2F129%2F12toor%2F9.JPG&hash=ca2f90bd56f26056aa04d55df6735c818739f5a1)
Route 201 in Maine between Skowhegan and the Canadian border, AT NIGHT!! During the day it's allright, but at night it attracts all sorts of suicidal moose and deer. Once your in Quebec, just as scary until you get to St. Georges (I think thats the name of the town) :hmmm:
I agree with the oatman highway. Very narrow and curvy. 15 mph curves, NEVER AGAIN!
Quote from: mhallack on January 15, 2011, 07:39:08 PM
Route 201 in Maine between Skowhegan and the Canadian border, AT NIGHT!! During the day it's allright, but at night it attracts all sorts of suicidal moose and deer. Once your in Quebec, just as scary until you get to St. Georges (I think thats the name of the town) :hmmm:
We were in a heavy rain storm when we almost hit a "suicidal" moose on US 1 just south of Wiscasset!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 13, 2011, 01:25:39 PM
the Kahekili did not seem troublesome at all to me. I drove every road on Maui except for the southeast Pi'ilani, and none were all that particularly bad, except maybe a few possible old alignments of 39 where the circle shields are, just because it's so forested and it always seemed like I'd go around the next curve and find the road had fallen off a cliff.
I drove the Hana Highway as far south as Haleakala National Park. There are several articles in the local literature touting the scariness of the road, even the stories trying to convince those uncomfortable with the concept of driving it to take a van tour instead. I read Oscar's page on it (http://hawaiihighways.com/photos-Hana-Hwy.htm) a few nights before to get an idea of what to expect and appreciated his tips and description of the highway.
I had no problems either way despite the 600 or whatever hairpin turns. The road was enjoyable during the day but annoying at night due to some rain showers coinciding with being stuck in a clump of five cars from about halfway between Hana and junction Hawaii 365 westward. The lead two cars refused to use a pull-off to allow others to pass. When I caught up to the four, the last two both pulled over, including one car that I pulled over for miles back. It took until the four-lane section of Hawaii 36 for me to pass both of those lead cars. :banghead: The road is scary in the sense that there are sections where there is little to prevent you from plummeting to certain death, but shifting into low gear and having a good wherewithal worked for me. Doing the Hana Highway tour is definitely an all-day event, and we only covered a few stops due to a later start and a 615 sunset time.
I'm nominating US 129 in the Smokies for this, specifically the "Devil's Backbone" (name check?) section.
Also, Skyline Drive during a foggy, rainy day.
Quote from: njroadhorse on January 25, 2011, 01:51:10 PM
I'm nominating US 129 in the Smokies for this, specifically the "Devil's Backbone" (name check?) section.
Tail of the Dragon.
I don't think it's necessarily scary. There aren't a lot of nonexistent shoulders and sheer drop-offs along that route.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 25, 2011, 09:20:19 PM
I don't think it's necessarily scary. There aren't a lot of nonexistent shoulders and sheer drop-offs along that route.
I agree, I've been on those roads. Certainly exciting, even thrilling, but not so much scary.
Quote from: berberry on January 25, 2011, 09:56:28 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 25, 2011, 09:20:19 PM
I don't think it's necessarily scary. There aren't a lot of nonexistent shoulders and sheer drop-offs along that route.
I agree, I've been on those roads. Certainly exciting, even thrilling, but not so much scary.
Oh yeah, not discounting the sheer fun of it, but if you're not familiar with it, I could see it being intimidating.
I don't know if it's "scary" really, but 89A between Prescott Valley and Jerome, AZ through the mountains I recall being pretty uncomfortable... endless switchbacks, it really starts to get to you.. especially if you're alone..
Another place I've felt something like that kind of fatigue, is the drive south from Yosemite back to the bay area.. CA-41 I guess, toward Fresno. It's just really tiring to drive. I needed to go to sleep immediately and been really on edge every time I've made that drive. Again, not scary so much as unpleasant. The first 50 miles or so are agonizing.
QuoteAlso, Skyline Drive during a foggy, rainy day.
Can't count this one too much...at least not the Virginia version. Speed limit never gets above 35. I've been able to do most of it at that speed, even on a "foggy rainy day".
Oregon's South Coast has two dangerous narrow curvy roads that will give those who drive it all the chills and thrills they will want. The Powers Highway runs 18 miles from 42 to Powers. It starts off benignly enough for the first few miles and then it's all tough sledding after that. Add in some slides and you're good to NOT go...LOL! The other one would be in Curry County and it's an old alignment of US 101 (replaced in 1965 and that cut the trip from Gold Beach to Brookings from 40 to 27 miles) that today is called Carpenterville Road. Steep dropoffs with no guardrails mean one teensy bit of inattention will kill you. The town of Carpenterville no longer exists but when it did, it was located at what at that time was the highest point on US 101 (since superceded by the Redwood Freeway's summit in northern Humboldt County) so you could face winter snows to add to the hazards of narrow curvy highway. The one redeeming feature of that spot was you could see the Siskiyous on a clear day from there. Do not even think of driving your RV's on these roads if you are not used to driving on roads straight from before The Grapes of Wrath era!
Rick
That might explain why neither of these state highways has been marked with their route shields: the Powers Highway is designated OR 542 and the Carpenterville Highway is OR 255.
But they're not the worst highways on the Oregon state highway system. Many of the highways in the eastern part of the state, like OR 74 east of Heppner, OR 27's southern portion (which is gravel), OR 242 through McKenzie Pass, and OR 245 over Dooley Mountain, have the same problems or worse. And there are some pretty winding sections on other otherwise good roads, like OR 34 east of Mary's Peak, US 20 west of OR 126, etc.
My nomination is I-75 over the Rouge River in Detroit, MI, that extends to exit 44 to the north, in between there is a very dangerous curve. It is okay on clear days, but during storms, you may worry you will drive off the bridge. Trust me, that has happened before, a truck drove off and crashed into some houses in the Delray neighborhood below, killing the driver (I think that was 2-3 years ago). But however, it does provide you a nice view of Detroit's skyline heading NB, day or night.
Quote from: xonhulu on February 22, 2011, 12:17:37 AM
That might explain why neither of these state highways has been marked with their route shields: the Powers Highway is designated OR 542 and the Carpenterville Highway is OR 255.
But they're not the worst highways on the Oregon state highway system. Many of the highways in the eastern part of the state, like OR 74 east of Heppner, OR 27's southern portion (which is gravel), OR 242 through McKenzie Pass, and OR 245 over Dooley Mountain, have the same problems or worse. And there are some pretty winding sections on other otherwise good roads, like OR 34 east of Mary's Peak, US 20 west of OR 126, etc.
I can vouch for 242 (it was my #1 on the previous page). I haven't driven those other ones (aside from having ridden on OR-34 by Mary's Peak--talk about whiplash!) but have just checked them out on Google Maps. Compared to 242, 542 didn't look all that threatening. A bit curvy, but it has shoulders and guardrails . . . it's kind of in the vein of OR-53, which isn't all that scary but is kind of a pain.
27's gravel section looks like it's not terribly scary, but bad, definitely (they ought to consider moving the designation over to the far-nicer Millican Road). 74 does indeed look kinda hairy out of Heppner (as do nearby 206 and 207 from the looks of things). 245 looks like it's on the level of 242 . . . it's actually a good bit wider and has some gravel shoulders, but if you run off 242, you're more likely to hit a tree rather than fall off a cliff. 255 actually hasn't been StreetViewed, which to me is a sign that it must be quite gnarly.
A friend of mine from Florence also claimed that OR-36 was pretty horrific, and worse than 34 . . . maybe once the weather clears up a little bit, I'll have to check it out, since it's not that far from me right now.
The PA posters would know this better then me, but, when I was driving for a courier company back in the early 90's, I too US 30 part of the way to Altoona instead of the PA Turnpike. There is a section of RT 30 somewhere west of the Fort Loudon, (I believe), where you have to travel up the side of a mountain, and the elevation has to be around 1000ft. I was using a delivery van, and due to the incline, I could not go faster than 25 MPH on the way up, and wouldn't want to go any faster than that on the way down, as one wrong move, and off the road you go. That was the most nervous I have ever been driving in my life.
Quote from: MDOTFanFB on March 04, 2011, 10:54:35 PM
My nomination is I-75 over the Rouge River in Detroit, MI, that extends to exit 44 to the north, in between there is a very dangerous curve. It is okay on clear days, but during storms, you may worry you will drive off the bridge. Trust me, that has happened before, a truck drove off and crashed into some houses in the Delray neighborhood below, killing the driver (I think that was 2-3 years ago). But however, it does provide you a nice view of Detroit's skyline heading NB, day or night.
I-75 has a lot of these stretches, you know.
Exits 67 and 69 in Michigan are my #10. The reason? Back-to-back 90 degree turns. The Rochester and Big Beaver curves even have exits on them!
Trust me, #9 is a lot scarier.
Quote from: jas on March 06, 2011, 07:23:56 AMThe PA posters would know this better then me, but, when I was driving for a courier company back in the early 90's, I too US 30 part of the way to Altoona instead of the PA Turnpike. There is a section of RT 30 somewhere west of the Fort Loudon, (I believe), where you have to travel up the side of a mountain, and the elevation has to be around 1000ft. I was using a delivery van, and due to the incline, I could not go faster than 25 MPH on the way up, and wouldn't want to go any faster than that on the way down, as one wrong move, and off the road you go. That was the most nervous I have ever been driving in my life.
There are a couple of places along 30 where the ROW is narrow and windy like east of McConnellsburg (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=McConnellsburg,+PA&aq=0&sll=39.926523,-77.963533&sspn=0.033766,0.093641&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=McConnellsburg,+Fulton,+Pennsylvania&ll=39.925733,-77.962761&spn=0.033503,0.093641&z=14&layer=c&cbll=39.925601,-77.962445&panoid=6OzWqdUDheIGVQT0cE_OWA&cbp=12,115.55,,0,2.6) and west of Schellsburg (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Schellsburg,+PA&aq=&sll=39.925667,-77.962503&sspn=0.033766,0.093641&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Schellsburg,+Bedford,+Pennsylvania&ll=40.041598,-78.757555&spn=0.008362,0.02341&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.041598,-78.757555&panoid=47W7u0HmLdx4ptsEAqA1VQ&cbp=12,217.53,,0,5) below where the Ship Hotel stood.
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 12, 2011, 07:11:36 PMExits 67 and 69 in Michigan are my #10. The reason? Back-to-back 90 degree turns. The Rochester and Big Beaver curves even have exits on them!
Not to mention that the latter curve and exit is very inappropriate. Trust me, I drove these curves back in December when I was getting my very first freeway sign photos.
Quote from: MDOTFanFB on March 12, 2011, 07:57:21 PM
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 12, 2011, 07:11:36 PMExits 67 and 69 in Michigan are my #10. The reason? Back-to-back 90 degree turns. The Rochester and Big Beaver curves even have exits on them!
Not to mention that the latter curve and exit is very inappropriate. Trust me, I drove these curves back in December when I was getting my very first freeway sign photos.
Oh, man. It's not just the curve and the exit number that are inappropriate... It's the name of the road for the exit as well!
#9: Only 16 miles to the south of Exit 67 is the Exit 51 complex in downtown Detroit. 51C (I-375) is really bad when you realize that you need to move over THREE LANES in 1/4 of a mile, and 51A is even worse: It's a blind exit that you don't see coming from the I-75/I-375 split until it's too late!
Next up: #8, and why there's a three-way tie at this point
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 12, 2011, 08:33:47 PM#9: Only 16 miles to the south of Exit 67 is the Exit 51 complex in downtown Detroit. 51C (I-375) is really bad when you realize that you need to move over THREE LANES in 1/4 of a mile, and 51A is even worse: It's a blind exit that you don't see coming from the I-75/I-375 split until it's too late!
On that same date, I was approaching that exit on I-75 southbound, I thought that my lane would make me continue on I-75, but I ended up on I-375 and somewhat clinched all of it. But luckily after driving down Jefferson Avenue and eventually M-10, I found my way back onto I-75.
Quote from: MDOTFanFB on March 12, 2011, 09:19:16 PM
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 12, 2011, 08:33:47 PM#9: Only 16 miles to the south of Exit 67 is the Exit 51 complex in downtown Detroit. 51C (I-375) is really bad when you realize that you need to move over THREE LANES in 1/4 of a mile, and 51A is even worse: It's a blind exit that you don't see coming from the I-75/I-375 split until it's too late!
On that same date, I was approaching that exit on I-75 southbound, I thought that my lane would make me continue on I-75, but I ended up on I-375 and somewhat clinched all of it. But luckily after driving down Jefferson Avenue and eventually M-10, I found my way back onto I-75.
Only a roadgeek would see it as a good thing.
#8) Exit 13 (I-696), Exit 216A (I-94) and Exit 208 (I-75 in Ohio): All three involve bridges and their own brand of scariness.
Exit 13 on I-696, Greenfield Rd., is at the end of one of the cut-and-cover sections of I-696, and is also on a slight curve. The fact that the exit ramp begins under the cut-and-cover section makes this not only a stupid exit, but a scary one for those with tall vehicles.
Exit 216A on I-94, the I-75/94 interchange is the scene of one of the worst accidents in southeastern Michigan. The bridge in this case is the ramp from NB I-75 to EB I-94, which was destroyed by a fire due to a truck jackknifing. The ramp from WB I-94 to SB I-75 is just as bad, as it's a sharp left turn and dumps you onto I-75 just north of #9 (the Exit 51 complex).
As for Exit 208 in Ohio, the SB I-75/SB I-280 interchange, the bridge in question is I-75 itself, as like in the case of #9, it's a left exit and three lanes need to be crossed.
Coming soon: #7: Yet another I-75 interchange with a left exit and multiple lanes to cross... This one's a doozy!
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 13, 2011, 01:49:52 PMAs for Exit 208 in Ohio, the SB I-75/SB I-280 interchange, the bridge in question is I-75 itself, as like in the case of #9, it's a left exit and three lanes need to be crossed.
I travelled on that interchange back on the day after New Year's Day, though it was both between I-75 and I-280 and vice versa.
Also in Michigan, trying to get from eastbound I-96 to M-37/M-44 in Grand Rapids is scary. You have to cross two lanes of traffic merging from I-196 just to get onto the off-ramp.
None of these lane-crossing areas are as bad as I-75/85 at I-20.
Both sides of the 75/85 in downtown Atlanta are 11 lanes. The SB 75/85 - EB 20 ramp is a LEFT EXIT, so if you're on the right side, you're screwed.
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 15, 2011, 09:00:21 PM
None of these lane-crossing areas are as bad as I-75/85 at I-20.
Both sides of the 75/85 in downtown Atlanta are 11 lanes. The SB 75/85 - EB 20 ramp is a LEFT EXIT, so if you're on the right side, you're screwed.
Looked like a GDOT interchange designer was blind when he designed this!
I know this for a fact because I have to 'run the gauntlet' every time I drive to my uncle's house in Augusta, GA.
Anyone else have anything like this?
Bleh. This went from an interesting thread about mountain roads to a list of areas with bad weaving.
Quote from: NE2 on March 15, 2011, 09:53:10 PM
Bleh. This went from an interesting thread about mountain roads to a list of areas with bad weaving.
Blame it on all the left exits on I-75.
Quote from: kaothinterceptor on March 15, 2011, 09:00:21 PM
None of these lane-crossing areas are as bad as I-75/85 at I-20.
Both sides of the 75/85 in downtown Atlanta are 11 lanes. The SB 75/85 - EB 20 ramp is a LEFT EXIT, so if you're on the right side, you're screwed.
Wait...what?
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=33.7478,-84.386469&spn=0.002083,0.004812&z=18&layer=c&cbll=33.747728,-84.38657&panoid=lqZITr34iyGPyN1euw4rDQ&cbp=12,238.88,,0,5.2
Unless you meant to say the eastbound ramp branches off to the left after the exit...but that certainly doesn't require crossing the entire width of the freeway (which, while wide, isn't 11 lanes either).
Most people drive on the right-hand side of expressways, since most exits are on the right-hand side. Also, the left-most lane at that point is a HOV lane, as usually happens in major cities.
Also, the exit does branch to the left.
Quote from: relaxok on February 08, 2011, 05:35:57 AM
I don't know if it's "scary" really, but 89A between Prescott Valley and Jerome, AZ through the mountains I recall being pretty uncomfortable... endless switchbacks, it really starts to get to you.. especially if you're alone..
Speaking of 89A, I was driving to all day from LA and had to take 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona at sunset. Mind you I been on the road all day pretty much and was very very tired. That road seemed like it would never end. Switchback after switchback. It almost made me sick. I also drove 89A from Jerome to Prescott too when I was in Arizona. Didn't seem to bad. But, I did it in the daytime. The only thing about those two lane windy roads that bug the heck out of me are the drivers who come up driving up on your bumper expecting you to go 80 mph through a narrow mountain road.