AARoads Forum

Has anyone ever walked on an active interstate for any reason. Car collision, broken down, etc.

Active Interstate means that it is normally opened for vehicle traffic.

What doesn't count:
-Opening Celebrations
-Planned Closures-special events, parades, marches etc.
-Abandoned Interstates

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I have once, because of a semi collision that blocked the whole interstate.

Stopped in a massive traffic jam on I-77 a short distance south of I-81 and had to take a leak. Since the traffic wasn't moving, I set the handbrake, got out of the car, walked around the car to the shoulder, and took a leak. Most of the cars on the road were from West Virginia–UVA was playing WVU in the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte the following day and we were all heading there–and my action got a lot of celebratory horn-beeping.

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 08, 2011, 04:31:17 PM
Stopped in a massive traffic jam on I-77 a short distance south of I-81 and had to take a leak. Since the traffic wasn't moving, I set the handbrake, got out of the car, walked around the car to the shoulder, and took a leak.

I had a similar situation happen a few years ago on I-87/NY Thruway southbound about 3 miles south of Newburgh when there was a 10 mile backup (though never did find out what the cause was).

I think traffic jams shouldn't count either...

I count them. They aren't planned and there often is a legitimate* excuse to walk on the interstate.

*Legally Questionable

I rarely stop on full freeways to take photos, but I have done so on I-80 in Utah.

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/blog/photos/045675.jpg)

as you can see from the photo, people have done a lot more in this area than simply stopping by the side of the freeway!

Perhaps you want to qualify this to walking on a full-freeway section where pedestrians are prohibited. Otherwise you'll get Breezewood etc.

Many times, for photos. Most recent time that comes to mind is stopping on I-26 in Tennessee and walking over to get a shot of the "End I-26" sign for the other direction of travel.

My father has a story where he walked home down the center lane of I-95 once when it was closed due to a blizzard.

I can't say I've ever walked on an active interstate, though.

My car overheated, so I had to go to the trunk, so I suppose hard shoulder. 

Apart from that, I have natural survival instinct not to walk on the mainline of any freeway.  I have lied down in an active mainline highway to take a close-up picture of the yellow pavement markings, though.  The highway is barely traversed, though. 

In January 09 all but one of my lug nuts fell off on one wheel when the assholes who put my snow tires on forgot to tighten one of the wheels.

I was on I-80 somewhere between Echo junction and Wyoming and walked to the nearest mile marker in a snowstorm so I could tell AAA where I was. That was not fun at all.

Does surveying the edge of a freeway count?  :sombrero:

I've stopped and gotten out and walked when I've been witness to an accident (remember one with a car that flew across three lanes on I-55  -the guy was OK), or when I need to fix something on the car/truck that I can't get to and can't wait for an exit.

Does standing on the centerline taking a photo count? ;)

No, since if it has a centerline it's not a typical Interstate.

I-64 for half a mile to awake during a late night drive from Ky to Mo. It was just over the Illinois border. Wife drove ahead and I walked down centerline for kicks. Not one vehicle at 3am.

This happened when the alternator in my mom's SUV blew out on I-75 south of Tifton, GA. We were on our way home from Florida and we got out to get from the SUV to the police car that took us to the repair shop.

Quote from: NE2 on July 08, 2011, 10:17:04 PM
No, since if it has a centerline it's not a typical Interstate.

In engineering terms, every road has a centerline, and it quite often does not coincide with a yellow line painted on the pavement. 

Quote from: NE2 on July 08, 2011, 10:17:04 PM
No, since if it has a centerline it's not a typical Interstate.

I believe you are mistaken, sir. Is that not the centerline that divides the road into 2 lanes?

Usually a centerline is the line separating opposite directions. I guess it can also describe the center of one direction, but due to shoulder widths that's not likely to be the line between the two lanes. It can also, in engineering contexts, refer to the center of the entire right-of-way.

If you want to brag about standing on the centerline, baseline, profile grade line, or what have you, quote me the number of the project that built the length of road you were standing on.

My dad went on the shoulder of I-89 to take a leak at 3AM. That's about it, I think.

Had to stop to check the engine of our SUV on I-10 between Kerrville, and San Antono.. That's pretty much it. It didn't take long, but it happened.. Ha.
BigMatt

Was traveling NB on I-65 north of Nashville when traffic came to a screeching halt due to a collision involving a motorcycle that required a flight-for-life chopper, so the whole interstate was shut down.  My brothers and I jumped out the car and tossed the football around in the the vacated SB lanes for a good half hour.  I even walked off the shoulder to take a wizz in the woods.

I was also stopped by flagging operations once somewhere's out west years back and used the opportunity to jump out and snag a cold drink from the back for myself and other passengers.

Finally, I've scurried across an active ramp in the Marquette Interchange while it was under construction to snag a few photos from the median of I-43 near Wisconsin Ave.

I've walked all over the HRBT while stopped for a tunnel closure. Most recently was at about 4 AM on June 29. Even camped out sitting on the railing for lunch one day. Plus I walked a short distance down I-295 when photographing the first new Speed Limit 70 signs put up in Virginia (albeit on the shoulder because there was moderate traffic), and ran around I-64 a little bit after I lost something off the car once.

Quote from: J N Winkler on July 09, 2011, 01:17:48 AM
If you want to brag about standing on the centerline, baseline, profile grade line, or what have you, quote me the number of the project that built the length of road you were standing on.

No. That's just fucking weird. I've stood on the centerline of Storrow Drive in Boston (4' grassed median). I don't give a shit what project number built it. It's a road. I like roads. I know a lot about them.

I-64 near Mt. Vernon back about 8 years ago, trying to get my car fire extinguisher to the scene of a church bus fire but it didn't help so I called for emergency help instead

I-84/US 30 just inside the Gilliam County line heading back toward Portland. My girlfriend at the time and I were driving back from Boise when the timing belt died. Having a cell phone was a good thing -- after we got towed into Arlington, my dad borrowed my neighbor's truck, picked up a tow dolly from U-Haul and hauled us back to Portland.

I-10 somewhere in west Texas. Got pulled over for doing 90 in the 80. The trooper had us wait outside of the car as he did a search of my friend's car (as he was moving to Portland from Vermont -- we took the scenic route). Spilled my slushie on the seat, gave me a warning instead of a ticket. Fair trade.

I've biked down the length of I-405 and back across the Willamette on I-5, but the Stadium's southbound lanes and the Eastbank's northbound lanes were closed for the Bridge Pedal, so it doesn't count for the purposes of this thread. Still :bigass:

Friday, December 13th, 1985 (IIRC):  The Ohio Turnpike several miles east of then Exit 7/US-250 "going up the big hill" by Berlin Hts.

The Turnpike was the worst I had ever seen it, due to some nasty snows and I was averaging 35 MPH.  As I was going up the "big hill", I saw a car in the ditch off the left side of the Eastbound lanes.  As I passed the car, I happened to see the 2 occupants standing outside next to their car -- it just so happened to be by dorm room neighbors from 2-doors down from the University of Toledo -- about 60 miles away.

I pulled and parked on the far right (truck) lane, since it wasn't plowed nor was there much traffic.  We wound up talking in the middle of the westbound lanes since there was a jackknifed truck several miles to the east, and the entire westbound direction was blocked. 

Not only did we stand in the middle of the westbound lanes of I-80/I-90/Ohio Turnpike, but I also took a leak in the middle of the westbound lanes.    :)


On a sidenote, a few years later, I was watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and during the "Edge of Wetness" sketch (in which they would randomly put a camera on an unsuspecting audience member naming them a character in the soap opera), one of those 2 was chosen as a "character"!

Needless to say, I was never that good of friends with either of them, but the odds to see either of them randomly on the Turnpike or on a late night show or both was next to impossible.  I wish my lottery odds would be that good. 

Quote from: Bickendan on July 10, 2011, 10:25:56 PM
I-10 somewhere in west Texas. Got pulled over for doing 90 in the 80. The trooper had us wait outside of the car as he did a search of my friend's car (as he was moving to Portland from Vermont -- we took the scenic route).

please tell me this was from Portland, ME to Vermont - going via Texas would be an awesomely scenic deviation!

Stowe to Portland, Oregon -- via Burlington (VT), Albany (NY), Buffalo, Toronto, Paris, London, Sarnia, Flint, St Ignace, Marquette, Gay, Ironwood, Duluth, Bemidji, Brainerd, Mineapolis/St Paul, Des Moines, Kansas City, Neosho, Ft Smith, Texarkana, Shreveport, Monroe, Jackson, Slidel, New Orleans, Baton Rougue, Lake Charles, Houston, San Antonio, Ft Stockton, El Paso, Las Cruces, Tucson, Phoenix, Blythe, Moreno Valley, Pomona, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Madera, Tracy, Oakland, San Francisco, Cupertino, Vacaville, Redding, Medford, and Grants Pass.

Quote from: Bickendan on July 11, 2011, 10:27:11 PM
Stowe to Portland, Oregon -- via Burlington (VT), Albany (NY), Buffalo, Toronto, Paris, London, Sarnia, Flint, St Ignace, Marquette, Gay, Ironwood, Duluth, Bemidji, Brainerd, Mineapolis/St Paul, Des Moines, Kansas City, Neosho, Ft Smith, Texarkana, Shreveport, Monroe, Jackson, Slidel, New Orleans, Baton Rougue, Lake Charles, Houston, San Antonio, Ft Stockton, El Paso, Las Cruces, Tucson, Phoenix, Blythe, Moreno Valley, Pomona, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Madera, Tracy, Oakland, San Francisco, Cupertino, Vacaville, Redding, Medford, and Grants Pass.

So the states/provinces traveled through looked like this: VT NY ON MI WI MN IA MO AR LA MS LA TX NM AZ CA OR.

I walked all around I-15 near Primm back in summer 2003. At the time, I was interning with Nevada DOT, and was assisting with an overnight asphalt overlay job. Granted, where I was walking was coned off and not open to traffic at that exact time, but was reopened by the next morning...

Quote from: ftballfan on July 11, 2011, 10:51:29 PM

Quote from: Bickendan on July 11, 2011, 10:27:11 PM
Stowe to Portland, Oregon -- via Burlington (VT), Albany (NY), Buffalo, Toronto, Paris, London, Sarnia, Flint, St Ignace, Marquette, Gay, Ironwood, Duluth, Bemidji, Brainerd, Mineapolis/St Paul, Des Moines, Kansas City, Neosho, Ft Smith, Texarkana, Shreveport, Monroe, Jackson, Slidel, New Orleans, Baton Rougue, Lake Charles, Houston, San Antonio, Ft Stockton, El Paso, Las Cruces, Tucson, Phoenix, Blythe, Moreno Valley, Pomona, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Madera, Tracy, Oakland, San Francisco, Cupertino, Vacaville, Redding, Medford, and Grants Pass.

So the states/provinces traveled through looked like this: NY CT MA VT NH VT NY ON MI WI MN IA MO KS MO AR LA MS LA TX NM AZ CA OR.

With the added states, yes. I flew into NYC and took Amtrak to Waterbury, VT; we also hit the KS side of KC.

Okay, it's a bump, but it's on topic.

I once walked about a mile from where my car stalled out on I-80 just west of the Buckhorn exit #232.  (Old exit 34)  This was in the days before cell phones were common, so I couldn't call from my car.  I went to a truck stop and called AAA and my parents.

A couple of years ago, I walked up and down I-65 northbound side between Cool Springs Blvd. (Exit 68) and Moores Lane (Exit 69) when I had a tire blowout and I was looking for my hubcap.  (I never found it.)

I once walked on I-95 when the lanes were blocked. Also walked on the shoulder of I-295 when I had a flat tire.

Obviously the lanes were closed at the time, so this may not count as active, but the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon route includes the I-90 express lanes across the western half of Lake Washington (as well as the Alaskan Way viaduct and the rest of SR 99 up to Fremont).  I attempted it in 2009, but cramped up around mile 11, right at the end of the I-90 portion.

Note to self: It helps to reread the original post sometimes. "What doesn't count: Planned Closures-special events, parades, marches etc." Oops.

Crashed on I-95 in the rain many years ago: got out of the car, stood on top of the median (it was a few feet thick and raised about three feet high) and under an overpass, since it was raining at night. I then waited for a tow truck and a cop car, but thankfully the rain stopped after a few minutes, and both vehicles showed up shortly afterward.

When I worked or TxDot, we did plenty of work on interstates. When I started working for them in 2001, the traffic on I-35W south of Denton was so light that, when we were picking up road debris, we frequently stopped on the right side and walked across to he left side, and drug truck tire treads back across to our truck. The traffic is now so heavy that you probably cannot do this anymore.

During a roadtrip in 2004, I got out, stretched, walked around a bit to chat with other drivers, etc, on mainline I-285 under the Tom Moreland Interchange in the Atlanta, GA area when the anti-clockwise side was blocked for about an hour by a wreck.

Otherwise, it was a few scattered instances of the more normal breakdown stuff.

Also, many rural western interstates are open to use by pedestrians and bicycles.  Ditto the I-79 Ohio River bridge near Pittsburgh, PA.

Mike

As a kid, I walked around to do some license plate spotting during a traffic jam in Glenwood Canyon on I-70 in Colorado.  This, BTW, is probably the most beautiful spot on the interstate highway system to find yourself walking.

I briefly walked up to the mainline of I-57 in Tuscola, IL, because I wasn't catching any rides hitchhiking from the foot of the on-ramp.  I only stood on the shoulder for a couple of minutes before heading back but a guy saw me folding up my sign, pulled over, and drove halfway down the on-ramp in reverse to pick me up.

Though this is not the U.S. interstate highway system, I've stopped along the brand-new roll road from Monterrey to Saltillo in México.  I mention this because it was probably the trickiest place I've had to get out.  As you can see in the picture (link below), the shoulder is very narrow, bounded by a steep down-slope.  We were eight people in two vehicles; those on the passenger side had to step down directly onto the drainage slope (including a blind guy), while those on the driver's side had to get out in the lane of traffic.  The reason we stopped is that my then-three-year-old son told us he had to go to the bathroom right at that point exiting Monterrey where the next gas station I knew of was more than 100 km away.  I've learned not to argue when a three-year-old mentions Number Two......
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=25.68924,-100.638049&spn=0.000039,0.019205&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=25.689242,-100.642139&panoid=ocu1JZecPMvJNKDe-m3FGw&cbp=12,261.36,,1,10.05 (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=25.68924,-100.638049&spn=0.000039,0.019205&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=25.689242,-100.642139&panoid=ocu1JZecPMvJNKDe-m3FGw&cbp=12,261.36,,1,10.05)

On I-405 in L.A., when my first car (1988 Olds Calais) broke down on the way home.  Shortly after that, I replaced it with the Tahoe.

Quote from: kphoger on January 12, 2012, 11:43:54 AM
As a kid, I walked around to do some license plate spotting during a traffic jam in Glenwood Canyon on I-70 in Colorado.  This, BTW, is probably the most beautiful spot on the interstate highway system to find yourself walking.

I briefly walked up to the mainline of I-57 in Tuscola, IL, because I wasn't catching any rides hitchhiking from the foot of the on-ramp.  I only stood on the shoulder for a couple of minutes before heading back but a guy saw me folding up my sign, pulled over, and drove halfway down the on-ramp in reverse to pick me up.

Though this is not the U.S. interstate highway system, I've stopped along the brand-new roll road from Monterrey to Saltillo in México.  I mention this because it was probably the trickiest place I've had to get out.  As you can see in the picture (link below), the shoulder is very narrow, bounded by a steep down-slope.  We were eight people in two vehicles; those on the passenger side had to step down directly onto the drainage slope (including a blind guy), while those on the driver's side had to get out in the lane of traffic.  The reason we stopped is that my then-three-year-old son told us he had to go to the bathroom right at that point exiting Monterrey where the next gas station I knew of was more than 100 km away.  I've learned not to argue when a three-year-old mentions Number Two......
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=25.68924,-100.638049&spn=0.000039,0.019205&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=25.689242,-100.642139&panoid=ocu1JZecPMvJNKDe-m3FGw&cbp=12,261.36,,1,10.05 (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=25.68924,-100.638049&spn=0.000039,0.019205&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=25.689242,-100.642139&panoid=ocu1JZecPMvJNKDe-m3FGw&cbp=12,261.36,,1,10.05)

If only the three year old had to go, why did everyone get out?

The scenery is fantastic right there!  Plus, we'd been on the road for the last day and a half, a.k.a. 900+ miles.  As I recall, a couple folks did stay in the car.

Quote from: kphoger on January 12, 2012, 11:43:54 AMAs you can see in the picture (link below), the shoulder is very narrow, bounded by a steep down-slope.  We were eight people in two vehicles; those on the passenger side had to step down directly onto the drainage slope (including a blind guy), while those on the driver's side had to get out in the lane of traffic.

The "drainage slope" is called a cuneta in Spanish.  Cunetas are actually a Hispanophone thing--Spain has them too, not just Mexico--but the Spanish don't typically put theirs right at the back of the shoulder or edge stripe.  Here is an example of where a cuneta makes it completely impossible to pull out of the traveled way:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&t=m&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=29.513404,-104.757394&panoid=RS5YjbaBMnnZl7rdSMEYdA&cbp=12,27.51,,0,14.49&ie=UTF8&ll=29.512525,-104.757385&spn=0.077682,0.154324&z=13

Quote from: deanej on January 12, 2012, 12:45:49 PM]If only the three year old had to go, why did everyone get out?

Families sometimes need to provide a human shield for the little ones.

Actually, it was only by scaling the rocks and getting away from everyone else that he was able to go.  That was the first time he'd had to go outside; I ended up having him use a concrete beam as a toilet seat.  :cool:

Walking along an active insterstate highway wouldn't be too dangerous in most places.  However, I've never felt too safe about stopping a car, standing, walking, or cycling between a guardrail and a high-speed road; there just isn't any wiggle room.

Quote from: Zmapper on July 08, 2011, 04:26:00 PM
Has anyone ever walked on an active interstate for any reason. Car collision, broken down, etc.

Active Interstate means that it is normally opened for vehicle traffic.

What doesn't count:
-Opening Celebrations
-Planned Closures-special events, parades, marches etc.
-Abandoned Interstates

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I have once, because of a semi collision that blocked the whole interstate.

When I was a kid we were stuck on the Florida Turnpike between Ft Pierce and Orlando for over 2 hours because of a wreck.  We were walking around, getting to know our neighbors.  My grandparents were in their car next to us.  It was sort of fun.  There was a flashback scene on "Walking Dead" this season that reminded me of that

^ Same experience for us in late-2010 on our way to Disney World: a car fire in the northbound lane stopped everything for 45-60 minutes, while a bad rubberneck accident southbound tied up the other side. Got out, stretched my legs and said howdy...at least the weather was nice.

I walked down the mainline back to my car from the I-40 dedication ceremonies after the Secretary of Transportation said "I declare this highway open"–that counts, right? :biggrin:

Hahaha, the interstates are my playground.

About a year or so ago, I was at a friend-of-a-now-ex-bf's apartment near the I-495/I-66 interchange in northern VA. I noticed that the door in the soundwall was cracked open, and needless to say convinced the ex to follow me onto 495. We played on the guardrails and steel, took pictures of the construction, and made out to the applause of car horns.

Also, on another day in broad daylight, I "preserved" a shield from I-95 that was in a gigantic pile of construction debris.

I walked about a quarter mile from the exit ramp back onto I-12 along the shoulder to get a close-up pic of the new mile markers they've been putting in place here.

Did I mention it was in driving rain?

Quote from: Laura Bianca on February 13, 2012, 10:45:11 PM
Hahaha, the interstates are my playground.

About a year or so ago, I was at a friend-of-a-now-ex-bf's apartment near the I-495/I-66 interchange in northern VA. I noticed that the door in the soundwall was cracked open, and needless to say convinced the ex to follow me onto 495. We played on the guardrails and steel, took pictures of the construction, and made out to the applause of car horns.

Also, on another day in broad daylight, I "preserved" a shield from I-95 that was in a gigantic pile of construction debris.

It wasn't on an Interstate, but I recall a similar experience of lots of beeping horns acknowledging an activity on the shoulder on a Boy Scout trip to Prince Edward Island for the 1989 Canadian Jamboree. We were on our way across Route 9 in eastern Maine, which is in the middle of nowhere, and we all had to take a leak, so we stopped on the shoulder. Picture a line of six Boy Scouts and two adult leaders, all in full uniform, lined up pissing on the side of the road (backs to the road, of course). The truck drivers in particular seemed to take great amusement from this and were beeping their horns like mad as they sped by.

In 2005, a fatal accident stopped all traffic at the Presumpscot River. I wasn't very far back, right about here (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.711921,-70.253899&spn=0.011431,0.01929&t=h&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=43.71128,-70.254266&panoid=FyGgqfJ9DE9q_FQuenoo9w&cbp=12,20.17,,0,7.71). People shut off their cars, milled about and chatted, speculated on what was going on up ahead. I may have scampered up the hillock to the right (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=4969.msg111064#msg111064)...
Eventually, troopers directed us back south to the median crossover, to return to Portland.

Does Hitchhiking count?

I-35 at the OK/KS Line...walked from median to side to get a few pics for about 10 minutes before seeing another car.

January 2000: my car stopped on me in the middle of the night of I-55 south of Winona, MS.  I waited until sunrise to walk back to the previous exit (about a mile) to call someone to come and get me. I didn't have a cell phone at the time.

Approx. 1996, I-95 in Philadelphia was at a complete stop due to an accident for an hour.  We got out to stretch our legs and in vain hope that we'd be able to see what was the cause of the blockage.

Stopped on shoulders a few times for photos -- trains alongside I-80 in Nebraska, the views in Wyoming.  To switch drivers in rural areas where there are wide shoulders, too many times to count.