What is the most pathetic excuse for an on- or off-ramp you can think of on the Interstate highway system?
My #1 pick is this one in Von Ormy, Texas.
http://g.co/maps/5z5yh (http://g.co/maps/5z5yh)
My #2 pick is also in Texas, this one in Lewisville.
http://g.co/maps/ptqax (http://g.co/maps/ptqax)
right now, Mira Mesa Blvd to 805 southbound here in San Diego. 4 lane down to 1 merge, with a jersey barrier so you cannot see what traffic is coming in the right lane of the freeway.
the Farad exit on I-80 (first or second exit in CA coming out of Nevada) is pretty underbuilt, even by 1958 standards.
that Lewisville exit isn't bad at all. Lots of acceleration room. Though I'd shudder to imagine that thing opening up to the mainline.
I don't see the problem with the Von Ormy example - it's not like the right-angle turn is (a) busy or (b) directly onto I-35.
I submit I-10 west of Sierra Blanca: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=31.211884,-105.49716&spn=0.032666,0.066047&gl=us&t=m&layer=c&cbll=31.211812,-105.497284&panoid=G_a_MVes-meP_vHMW4CZqQ&cbp=12,77.17,,0,8.1&z=15
Though built when the Bay Bridge was just US 40/50 in the 1930s, the eastbound ramp to Treasure Island (Exit 4) off of I-80 in the Bay Area is nasty:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Treasure+Island,+San+Francisco,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.808483,-122.366924&spn=0.002907,0.0039&sll=31.21181,-105.497289&sspn=0.025326,0.031199&gl=us&hnear=Treasure+Island,+San+Francisco,+California+94130&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=37.808364,-122.367022&panoid=oU8VRog3rToudBc-YAkXjA&cbp=12,44.81,,0,4.95 (note the closed, but equally tight Exit 4B ramp on the right that used to provide direct access to Yerba Buena Island)
The westbound onramp is no better, with a stop sign before the merge:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Treasure+Island,+San+Francisco,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.808529,-122.367032&spn=0.000517,0.000487&sll=31.21181,-105.497289&sspn=0.025326,0.031199&gl=us&hnear=Treasure+Island,+San+Francisco,+California+94130&t=h&z=21
Worcester, MA - I-290 EB to Shrewsbury Street. Very sharp curve, and poorly signed.
There are some funky right-angle ramps off southbound I-75 in Cincinnati.
Quote from: NE2 on February 23, 2012, 12:55:34 PM
I don't see the problem with the Von Ormy example - it's not like the right-angle turn is (a) busy or (b) directly onto I-35.
I submit I-10 west of Sierra Blanca: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=31.211884,-105.49716&spn=0.032666,0.066047&gl=us&t=m&layer=c&cbll=31.211812,-105.497284&panoid=G_a_MVes-meP_vHMW4CZqQ&cbp=12,77.17,,0,8.1&z=15
You do realize the Von Ormy one has a U turn from the frontage road (southbound traffic) directly onto mainline pavement, right? Sure, there's a bit of a buffer between it and the through lanes, but you can easily see from the satellite image that truckers end up using all but about 2 feet of that buffer to complete the maneuver.
The I-10 one was never intended to be a ramp, but is instead a level crossing. Let's not go there, or else someone might submit I-180 in Cheyenne, WY.
Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2012, 12:06:16 PM
What is the most pathetic excuse for an on- or off-ramp you can think of on the Interstate highway system?
My #1 pick is this one in Von Ormy, Texas.
http://g.co/maps/5z5yh (http://g.co/maps/5z5yh)
My #2 pick is also in Texas, this one in Lewisville.
http://g.co/maps/ptqax (http://g.co/maps/ptqax)
#2 looks like I-35 thru Duluth, also
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 23, 2012, 12:40:43 PM
right now, Mira Mesa Blvd to 805 southbound here in San Diego. 4 lane down to 1 merge, with a jersey barrier so you cannot see what traffic is coming in the right lane of the freeway.
the Farad exit on I-80 (first or second exit in CA coming out of Nevada) is pretty underbuilt, even by 1958 standards.
that Lewisville exit isn't bad at all. Lots of acceleration room. Though I'd shudder to imagine that thing opening up to the mainline.
Farad, CA, is an excellent example! I agree there's plenty of acceleration room in my Lewisville example, but I posted it due to the lack of any barrier between the RIRO and the mainline–just white lines and little reflectors.
California Boulevard/Frontage road onto I-585 in South Carolina. It's more of a chicane (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=spartanburg,+sc&ll=34.986963,-81.962031&spn=0.002597,0.004823&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&t=h&z=18).
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2012, 01:14:21 PM
Though built when the Bay Bridge was just US 40/50 in the 1930s, the eastbound ramp to Treasure Island (Exit 4) off of I-80 in the Bay Area is nasty:
Funny thing is they're planning on building thousands of homes on Treasure Island (former Navy base) with no plans on upgrading those ramps. The traffic management plan is "don't drive".
Speaking of I-80 in CA, the downtown Auburn exit is pretty crazy:
http://g.co/maps/2wqz3
(It's hard to tell from google maps, but this is also on a pretty steep grade.)
Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2012, 02:10:06 PM
You do realize the Von Ormy one has a U turn from the frontage road (southbound traffic) directly onto mainline pavement, right? Sure, there's a bit of a buffer between it and the through lanes, but you can easily see from the satellite image that truckers end up using all but about 2 feet of that buffer to complete the maneuver.
I agree it looks bad, but that cutoff appears to serve a church and about 4 homes, so it probably isn't a terrible issue in practice.
RIRO on I-80 in the Delaware Water Gap. (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.940417,-75.104502&spn=0.007245,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.940204,-75.103914&panoid=dfTcKBwiZ5doFIRvb3M4YA&cbp=12,253.01,,0,2.51)
Random dirt road on I-90 in Wyoming. (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=44.195728,-106.266096&spn=0.006877,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=44.195405,-106.265954&panoid=peKE55uukVWAzTA8JuQ6uA&cbp=12,187.29,,0,3.57)
Quote from: flowmotion on February 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
Quote from: kphoger on February 23, 2012, 02:10:06 PM
You do realize the Von Ormy one has a U turn from the frontage road (southbound traffic) directly onto mainline pavement, right? Sure, there's a bit of a buffer between it and the through lanes, but you can easily see from the satellite image that truckers end up using all but about 2 feet of that buffer to complete the maneuver.
I agree it looks bad, but that cutoff appears to serve a church and about 4 homes, so it probably isn't a terrible issue in practice.
It also seems to be the shortest route for homes/businesses on the west side of the freeway as well -- one of which is a cafe/truck stop with four tractor-trailers in the parking lot in the satellite image. Compare this http://g.co/maps/tckzx using the substandard U-turn to this http://g.co/maps/cmksh backtracking to the previous overpass.
Quote from: NE2 on February 23, 2012, 05:12:01 PM
RIRO on I-80 in the Delaware Water Gap. (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.940417,-75.104502&spn=0.007245,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.940204,-75.103914&panoid=dfTcKBwiZ5doFIRvb3M4YA&cbp=12,253.01,,0,2.51)
Random dirt road on I-90 in Wyoming. (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=44.195728,-106.266096&spn=0.006877,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=44.195405,-106.265954&panoid=peKE55uukVWAzTA8JuQ6uA&cbp=12,187.29,,0,3.57)
Believe it or not. There are alot of those I-90 examples all over Wyoming. I-25 between Cheyenne and Casper is full of them.
Quote from: hobsini2 on February 23, 2012, 05:17:47 PM
Believe it or not. There are alot of those I-90 examples all over Wyoming. I-25 between Cheyenne and Casper is full of them.
I believe it. I just zoomed into a random place on I-90 and found one.
Do any Interstates have unpaved ramps? There are a few on SR 528 east of Orlando (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=28.451525,-81.144719&spn=0.016866,0.033023&gl=us&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=28.451528,-81.144302&panoid=a6EEXUWUIXf35RZ789gXtg&cbp=12,115.79,,0,8.01).
Quote from: flowmotion on February 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2012, 01:14:21 PM
Though built when the Bay Bridge was just US 40/50 in the 1930s, the eastbound ramp to Treasure Island (Exit 4) off of I-80 in the Bay Area is nasty:
Funny thing is they're planning on building thousands of homes on Treasure Island (former Navy base) with no plans on upgrading those ramps. The traffic management plan is "don't drive".
Which is funny as I don't think there is any practical non-road way to get to Treasure Island, I don't think it's served by ferry as far as I know. Basically, the Bay Bridge IS their lifeline.
Quote from: flowmotion on February 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
Speaking of I-80 in CA, the downtown Auburn exit is pretty crazy:
http://g.co/maps/2wqz3
(It's hard to tell from google maps, but this is also on a pretty steep grade.)
It seems that the onramp at least has a very very long acceleration lane.
While this hasn't been in the Interstate system in 3 decades, the Howe Avenue onramp for Business 80 eastbound in Sacramento is much nastier, with no merge room to speak of!!!
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Howe+Ave+%26+Auburn+Blvd,+Sacramento&hl=en&ll=38.624775,-121.415338&spn=0.002033,0.001955&sll=34.986963,-81.962031&sspn=0.003015,0.003911&hnear=Auburn+Blvd+%26+Howe+Ave,+Sacramento,+California+95821&t=k&z=19
The one on Lewisville was just improved due to the reconstruction of the rail line for commuter use. it was once a MKT mainline that had fallen into local use, then out of use in the last 5 years before being reconstructed. Here is waht it looked like before.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rxrsignals.net%2FTexas%2FG-P%2FLewisville%2FGarden%2F2.jpg&hash=d37bc45566b146c6cbcd7df6a9a241b116d11b22)
See more pics of it, and what it looked like before at :http://www.rxrsignals.net/Texas/G-P/Lewisville/Garden/ (http://www.rxrsignals.net/Texas/G-P/Lewisville/Garden/)
The thing that I think is stupid is that the railroad and highway were constructed at the same time. They were both realigned due to the construction of Lewisville Lake.
Why they would design it with a railroad crossing on a ramp is beyond me. Cheapness I guess. I think they should have routed the tracks to the east of this interchange.
The next ramp to the north is also strange. It was rebuilt to this configuration in 2006-7. There is no "EXIT" gore sign; the impact cushion get hit very frequently.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19 (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19)
Also, up I-35E in Denton are some very short on/off ramps with inadaquate length weave areas. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19 (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19)
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2012, 05:38:10 PM
Quote from: flowmotion on February 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on February 23, 2012, 01:14:21 PM
Though built when the Bay Bridge was just US 40/50 in the 1930s, the eastbound ramp to Treasure Island (Exit 4) off of I-80 in the Bay Area is nasty:
Funny thing is they're planning on building thousands of homes on Treasure Island (former Navy base) with no plans on upgrading those ramps. The traffic management plan is "don't drive".
Which is funny as I don't think there is any practical non-road way to get to Treasure Island, I don't think it's served by ferry as far as I know. Basically, the Bay Bridge IS their lifeline.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/16/MN4G1J0RGQ.DTL
Quote from: Kacie Jane on February 23, 2012, 05:15:13 PM
It also seems to be the shortest route for homes/businesses on the west side of the freeway as well -- one of which is a cafe/truck stop with four tractor-trailers in the parking lot in the satellite image. Compare this http://g.co/maps/tckzx using the substandard U-turn to this http://g.co/maps/cmksh backtracking to the previous overpass.
Gotcha - didn't see that underpass.
Quote from: NE2 on February 23, 2012, 05:31:04 PM
Do any Interstates have unpaved ramps?
not officially, but there are a few forest access routes on I-40 in the Smokies, I-5 in the Grapevine, and quite likely elsewhere, which are very much dirt paths branching on and off the freeway.
Quote from: NE2 on February 23, 2012, 05:43:44 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/16/MN4G1J0RGQ.DTL
Thanks for the link. I wonder when this ferry proposal is supposed to begin...surprised there hadn't been one before honestly given how isolated the island is otherwise.
Was trying to think of NJ examples. There are some pretty nasty left merges along US 1 in both Trenton and Newark, but unfortunately that's not an Interstate. There's a death ramp on I-44 in Tulsa, or I'm sure there are several, along the original freeway on the west side of town. It's basically a Roosevelt Blvd. (there's US 1 again) style slip ramp between the frontage road and the freeway with no ramp length or merge room.
Two suggestions from Maryland:
(1) Exit 7 off of I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway) Southbound to Md. 2 (Potee Street) Southbound in Baltimore City - Google Maps here (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=baltimore,+maryland&hl=en&ll=39.239956,-76.612065&spn=0.004695,0.007253&hnear=Baltimore,+Maryland&gl=us&t=h&z=17).
(2) Exit 31 off of I-495 (Capital Beltway) in both directions to Md. 97 (Georgia Avenue) - all three "cloverleaf" ramps (one was removed in the 1990's) - Google Maps here (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Silver+Spring,+Md&hl=en&ll=39.012698,-77.041186&spn=0.004677,0.007253&sll=39.239956,-76.612065&sspn=0.004695,0.007253&gl=us&hnear=Silver+Spring,+Montgomery,+Maryland&t=h&z=17).
All of the above are excessively sharp (and I-895 was designed in the pre-Interstate era and opened to traffic in 1957). The I-495 interchange at Md. 97 was opened to traffic a few years before the full Capital Beltway in 1964, so even though it's Interstate-era, it's very early Interstate era.
Quote from: Steve on February 23, 2012, 10:07:38 PM
Was trying to think of NJ examples.
How about I-280 in Newark, just west of Stickel Bridge? EB on ramp from Route 21 NB ends in stop sign with horrible sight distance.
The Speers exit (Pa 88) on I-70 in SW Pa.
Quote from: Steve on February 23, 2012, 10:07:38 PM
There are some pretty nasty left merges along US 1 in both Trenton and Newark, but fortunately that's not an Interstate.
FTFY. (I know you meant "unfortunately" for the purposes of this thread, but it's an interesting choice of words, especially considering US 1 in Trenton was one of the originally proposed alignments for I-95. Hopefully if it had become I-95, it would have been upgraded sometime in the past half-century.)
Quote
Also, up I-35E in Denton are some very short on/off ramps with inadaquate length weave areas. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19 (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.113287,-97.027846&spn=0.001281,0.003085&t=h&z=19)
That Denton link was the same as the Lake Dallas Exit. Did you mean the N. Texas Blvd/ Mc Cormick Street exits? Exiting McCormick southbound is probably the worst and it dumps you right onto the service road. Granted, the speed limit is actually 55 through there, but no one goes that slow unless there's traffic.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=denton,+tx&hl=en&ll=33.20361,-97.150509&spn=0.001147,0.002401&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.547176,78.662109&hnear=Denton,+Texas&t=h&z=19
I'll nominate 3 fairly infamous exits off what was constructed as US-12 in the early 1950's, but was later grandfathered into the interstate system as I-94.
I-94, Exit 130, Parma, MI:
http://g.co/maps/p23da
It doesn't look so terrible, but the ramps are barely 500' long, and you have little distance to merge safely into 70+mph traffic. Oh, did I mention the grade on those on-ramps is sharply uphill? Also, this stretch gets 30,000-40,000 vehicles per day, about 10,000 of them commercial vehicles.
I-94, Exit 133, Spring Arbor, MI:
http://g.co/maps/csywm
The ramps are just as short, but EBD used to be a real deathtrap. Up until a couple years ago, that EBD on-ramp didn't have that stretch of 3rd lane to merge from. If you didn't merge in time, you didn't have grass to run off on like you did at Exit 130. You had a Jersey barrier on a bridge to crash into instead.
I-94, Exit 137, Jackson, MI
http://g.co/maps/jbmtj
Take the two exits before, add more traffic, and put it on the outskirts of an urban area. I took a test drive in a new small economy sedan here once, and had it floored from the entrance of the EBD on-ramp. It barely reached 50 before I was forced to merge into traffic, right in front of a semi driver who easily was traveling 10-15mph faster. Impressively, neither me nor the salesperson riding shotgun needed new pants afterwards, but it was close.
Yes, there's worse in Michigan - take a drive on I-94 EBD past Telegraph into downtown Detroit for a taste. But these are striking because the rest of the highway is largely interstate standard. But this stretch between mile markers 129 and 145 is a dangerous exception.
This one gets brought up pretty often here - The I-94 / US-52 Lafayette Bridge junction in Saint Paul, MN. Some of these appear to be signed for 20MPH.
http://g.co/maps/52drk
And I-95 thru traffic on a 25MPH cloverleaf in Boston MA certainly deserves a mention.
http://g.co/maps/wzuhk
The BQE (I-278) in Brooklyn is easily the worst.
The Atlantic Ave. on-ramps both have a stop sign merge after a blind curve. Always an adventure.
NB:
http://g.co/maps/w6ndy
SB:
http://g.co/maps/3gcwr
I just mentioned that I-35 through Austin has some pretty bad ramps in another thread.
Driving through Treasure Island, yeah, those are pretty bad.
I didn't think the 290-Shrewsbury ramp was all that bad, to be honest. I do remember a giant rut or bump or something with the road that felt like I drove my car off a curb about a mile before that exit, which helped soothe my nerves after a 14 hour drive.
this is a pretty nasty on-ramp/off-ramp weave that my family and i have to travel through every thanksgiving
Van Wyck Expressway
I-678 at Exit 4
http://g.co/maps/fp6me
Driving South on what was Temp I-85 just north of Lexington, NC at US-64 interchange, you had to "exit" onto one lane ramp to stay on I-85 South. I saw a driver who was in left lane about to miss ramp and cut off drivers in the other lanes to stay on I-85
Quote from: flowmotion on February 24, 2012, 03:23:01 AM
And I-95 thru traffic on a 25MPH cloverleaf in Boston MA certainly deserves a mention.
http://g.co/maps/wzuhk
I-55 does the same thing in Memphis, and IIRC I-76 in Akron.
Quote from: flowmotion on February 24, 2012, 03:23:01 AM
And I-95 thru traffic on a 25MPH cloverleaf in Boston MA certainly deserves a mention.
http://g.co/maps/wzuhk
Yes & no. Yes, in that it is a very sharp turn for a thru-Interstate; no, in that I-95 North thru-traffic was NOT originally planned to make such a turn. I-95 was originally supposed to continue along through north of this interchange towards Boston (the interchange is actually in Canton BTW). But the I-95 extension (known as the Southwest Expressway) was killed off in the early 1970s.
Had the northern extension of the Northeast Expressway (aka I-95) through Lynn been built (that proposal was ultimately killed off circa 1973-74) sans the Southwest Expressway; 95 would've been routed along what's known as I-93 today from Canton to just north of the now-Zakim Bridge and that ramp (originally intended as an cloverleaf ramp to northbound 128) would not be a thru-traffic ramp in a sense.
It is worth noting that MassDOT does have plans to completely re-do this interchange and provide fly-over ramps for thru I-95 northbound traffic and southbound I-93/95 traffic.
http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/cantoninterchange/project_description.html (http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/cantoninterchange/project_description.html)
Another one to add to the list: I-295 in Bellmawr/Mt. Ephriam, NJ thru-traffic lanes/ramps at the I-76/NJ 42 interchange with the infamous Al-Jo curve for 295 southbounders (sharp 35 MPH left turn). Unlike the above-95/93 Canton interchange; this one was designed and built like this from the get-go.
Like the Canton interchange, NJDOT does have plans to revamp this interchange as well.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rt295/fd.shtm (http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rt295/fd.shtm)
Quote from: kendancy66 on February 24, 2012, 10:28:39 AM
Driving South on what was Temp I-85 just north of Lexington, NC at US-64 interchange, you had to "exit" onto one lane ramp to stay on I-85 South. I saw a driver who was in left lane about to miss ramp and cut off drivers in the other lanes to stay on I-85
And now, south of Lexington, the Yadkin River Bridge/exit for NC 150, which separates Davidson and Rowan Counties is very substandard and old but is being re-constructed. It will soon be 6-8 Lanes from Durham all the way to Concord (and beyond)!
Quote from: hbelkins on February 24, 2012, 10:35:09 AM
I-55 does the same thing in Memphis, and IIRC I-76 in Akron.
76 fortunately manages to take the outside of both trumpets (http://g.co/maps/6ytex) as it switches from following US 224 to following I-77 (and then taking it over futher east). In both directions, you first take the outside of a trumpet, then take one of the 90-degree ramps.
I-77 traffic using 277 and 76 as the bypass around downtown (posted as the way to go southbound on 77, not advertised as well northbound) gets to deal with an inside trumpet loop either direction.
Nearby to my above post's location, the ramps at I-76 and OH 21 (http://g.co/maps/czyyk) are very substandard. Even the outside ramps are bad, but the EB-NB loop ramp (http://g.co/maps/skdv6) takes the cake. The gore signage has to be regularly replaced or re-erected. The yellow arrow sign under the gore sign used to be posted separately to the right of the gore sign but ODOT got tired of resetting so many posts! The 20 mph advisory speed is probably still generous. That ramp, as you can see in the aerial, is much more squished than the others at the interchange due to the adjacent golf course.
For a truly bad Interstate to Interstate ramp connection, try I-295 NB to I-95 NB in Attleboro (MA) This ramp features a very sharp compound 270 degree curve that actually tightens as you go through the ramp.
I-290 EB to I-495 NB in Marlborough (MA) is a close second, with its left hand exit and reverse curve configuration.
Quote from: roadman on February 24, 2012, 03:12:18 PM
I-290 EB to I-495 NB in Marlborough (MA) is a close second, with its left hand exit and reverse curve configuration.
Is the 290 to 495 ramp the one with the lighted jersey barrier? I swear I can remember seeing a continuous small tubular lighting thing atop the barrier at least at the start of the curve.
Quote from: roadman on February 24, 2012, 03:12:18 PM
For a truly bad Interstate to Interstate ramp connection, try I-295 NB to I-95 NB in Attleboro (MA) This ramp features a very sharp compound 270 degree curve that actually tightens as you go through the ramp.
Again, like the fore-mentioned I-95/I-93 interchange in Canton; the mainline 295 corridor was originally planned to continue east as I-895 (the road would've shortly turned south and head towards Newport, RI). IIRC, there are still plans to extend the road to MA 152 in Attleboro.
Quote from: roadman on February 24, 2012, 03:12:18 PMI-290 EB to I-495 NB in Marlborough (MA) is a close second, with its left hand exit and reverse curve configuration.
Originally, the ramp from I-290 East to I-495 North was a cloverleaf ramp. As with other 'partial cloverleaf' highway interchanges in Massachusetts; that interchange was designed under the presumption that I-290 would continue further east and connect to MA 2 and possibly even I-95 (MA 128). While the road does extends further east today (it didn't used to), it only goes a mile or two goes to MA 85. I'm not positive but the opneing of that extension likely coincided with the new left-turn ramp for I-495 North. I guess a high-speed fly-over ramp would've been a bit too costly to construct.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on February 23, 2012, 11:16:08 PM
Quote from: Steve on February 23, 2012, 10:07:38 PM
There are some pretty nasty left merges along US 1 in both Trenton and Newark, but fortunately that's not an Interstate.
FTFY. (I know you meant "unfortunately" for the purposes of this thread, but it's an interesting choice of words, especially considering US 1 in Trenton was one of the originally proposed alignments for I-95. Hopefully if it had become I-95, it would have been upgraded sometime in the past half-century.)
I'd love to see US 1 redesignated I-395 from PA up to the end of the freeway. Maybe not so much the northern freeway, though the continuous route from NJ 81 through NJ 139 could be I-595.
Quote from: akotchi on February 23, 2012, 10:42:34 PM
Quote from: Steve on February 23, 2012, 10:07:38 PM
Was trying to think of NJ examples.
How about I-280 in Newark, just west of Stickel Bridge? EB on ramp from Route 21 NB ends in stop sign with horrible sight distance.
Ehh... the worst ramp is Broad Street, since it ends at a stop sign with only 2 mainline lanes. The next ramp adds a lane (I believe that's SB-EB), and then the remaining ramp just stops at that right lane - sort of a ramp junction on the mainline, as it were. I agree, it's very substandard.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 24, 2012, 10:35:09 AM
I-55 does the same thing in Memphis, and IIRC I-76 in Akron.
As well as both I-74 and I-80 in Colona, IL
The Illinois-bound on-ramps at exit 4 on I-74 in IA have sharp curves and no merging room. Map (http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.524793,-90.512726&spn=0.002751,0.006539&hnear=Davenport,+Scott,+Iowa&t=k&z=18)
Quote from: Steve on February 24, 2012, 04:43:33 PM
I'd love to see US 1 redesignated I-395 from PA up to the end of the freeway. Maybe not so much the northern freeway, though the continuous route from NJ 81 through NJ 139 could be I-595.
At the risk of continuing an off-topic tangent, I'll just say that this may have worked in the 50's or 60's. But it seems that in 2012 we live in a world where we can no longer grandfather in interstates, and roads have to be 100% up to standards before the get red, white, and blue shield. Which could not and would not ever happen on the Pulaski Skyway.
The rapid-fire ramps on the Kennedy (I-90/94) just north of the Circle Interchange (I-290). Left entries every block with right exits.
Many of the on and off ramps of I-68 in Cumberland, MD.
There was the Deathramp from 51st Street to I-44 in Tulsa but now it's gone.
Exit 10 on-ramp to I-90 (Mass Pike) WB in Auburn. Loop ramp with too tight of a radius that trucks roll on all the time. It's also two lanes, which is very sharp on the right (inside) lane.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on February 23, 2012, 10:53:38 PM
The Speers exit (Pa 88) on I-70 in SW Pa.
Or the couple with stop signs.
I would also nominate the I-376 interchange with PA 121 in Green Tree (near Pittsburgh). Two on-ramps are loop ramps with a stop sign at the end. The right most lane of the Interstate at that point is an exit only lane that exits less than 100 feet upstream.
Quote from: flowmotion on February 24, 2012, 03:09:23 AM
This one gets brought up pretty often here - The I-94 / US-52 Lafayette Bridge junction in Saint Paul, MN. Some of these appear to be signed for 20MPH.
http://g.co/maps/52drk
This at least is being reconstructed. It still won't be a high-speed ramp, but after completion exiting traffic onto I-94 west shouldn't be affected by traffic backing up from the light at 7th Street like it previously did.
Quote from: MASTERNC on February 24, 2012, 11:28:43 PM
I would also nominate the I-376 interchange with PA 121 in Green Tree (near Pittsburgh). Two on-ramps are loop ramps with a stop sign at the end. The right most lane of the Interstate at that point is an exit only lane that exits less than 100 feet upstream.
I just used this ramp about a month ago...it was a weeknight around 11PM at night and even at that time it was still pretty bad...tests your car's ability to go from 0 to 70 ASFASTASYOUCAN!!!
Quote from: jemacedo9 on February 25, 2012, 02:43:58 PM
Quote from: MASTERNC on February 24, 2012, 11:28:43 PM
I would also nominate the I-376 interchange with PA 121 in Green Tree (near Pittsburgh). Two on-ramps are loop ramps with a stop sign at the end. The right most lane of the Interstate at that point is an exit only lane that exits less than 100 feet upstream.
I just used this ramp about a month ago...it was a weeknight around 11PM at night and even at that time it was still pretty bad...tests your car's ability to go from 0 to 70 ASFASTASYOUCAN!!!
The Parkways East/West are riddled with substandard ramps.
The former Johnston Street secondary off-ramp at the Akron Central Interchange.
When it was still open, there was never any mention of it on any BGS -- just a small little gore sign as you came around the corner telling you it was Johnston Street, then another little curve and then a traffic light would be there to greet you.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=akron,+oh&hl=en&ll=41.063288,-81.505406&spn=0.002144,0.004823&sll=29.290862,-98.640803&sspn=0.00124,0.002411&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&t=k&z=18
Quote from: thenetwork on February 25, 2012, 03:44:53 PM
The former Johnston Street secondary off-ramp at the Akron Central Interchange.
When it was still open, there was never any mention of it on any BGS -- just a small little gore sign as you came around the corner telling you it was Johnston Street, then another little curve and then a traffic light would be there to greet you.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=akron,+oh&hl=en&ll=41.063288,-81.505406&spn=0.002144,0.004823&sll=29.290862,-98.640803&sspn=0.00124,0.002411&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&t=k&z=18
I thought of that one but stopped short of it since it wasn't a ramp off an Interstate. :P
I've read about that ramp that it came about from when the Central Interchange connected only expressways to the north and east, and then the ramp stayed there after the connection to the west was made. I also read that there was a corresponding, just as dangerous onramp from Lumiere St. to the WB-NB ramp at the interchange.
The highway entrance below is just before US 50/US 301 meets up with the start of I-595. From a dead stop and awkward angle, one as to catch up with 60-70 mph traffic :crazy:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Annapolis,+MD&hl=en&ll=39.016208,-76.486334&spn=0.001711,0.003315&sll=39.01409,-77.042398&sspn=0.006844,0.013261&oq=Annapolis&gl=us&hnear=Annapolis,+Anne+Arundel,+Maryland&t=h&z=19
I'll throw in the I-376 EB entrance at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel in Pittsburgh: http://g.co/maps/yjmgt
Stop sign at the bottom of a steep grade, basically zero weaving space against traffic exit 376, plus you've got to merge one lane left AND accelerate upgrade into the tunnel. Talk about a chicane! (And the lane you have to cross is exit-only, and therefore tends to be moving much faster than the two thru-lanes to the tunnel, which are frequently backed up. So then you've got to accelerate through the exit-only lane and then quickly slow for the mainline, while still making an attempt at keeping up your uphill speed, as the law specifically compels you to do. This is where examining the torque curve on prospective new vehicles comes in handy!)
The SW 6th Ave on ramp to I-405 north with the following off-ramp to SW 12th Ave and US 26 (all of it part of US 26 west). Causes some nasty weaving and the exit speed sign is posted too soon off of I-405.
It was permanently removed a few years ago, but the Neva Ave exit off I-75 just north of Downtown Dayton (old Exit 56) was terrible....heading north it was a "there it is oops you missed it' exit, with no real warning ti was there until you were on top of it....and the entrance ramp to South I-75 had no acceleration lane so it was either stop or gun it (the old Wagner-Ford Rd exit 1/2 mile beyond was no better) When I-75 was rebuilt in that area a few years ago, the Wagner Ford ramps were redone to more modern standards
Another bad one near D.C. is the ramp from the southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway to northbound I-395/U.S. 1 in Arlington County, Va. (here (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=arlington+county,+va&hl=en&ll=38.871968,-77.04331&spn=0.001171,0.001781&hnear=Arlington,+Virginia&t=h&z=19)). Almost no space to enter the freeway.
And then, speaking of the George Washington Parkway, there's the very sharp ramp at the north end of the Parkway leading to the Inner Loop (northbound) of I-495 (Capital Beltway) headed in the direction of the American Legion Bridge (here (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=langley,+va&hl=en&ll=38.964047,-77.180972&spn=0.00936,0.014248&sll=38.871968,-77.04331&sspn=0.001171,0.001781&hnear=Langley,+Virginia&t=h&z=16)), especially if the pavement is even slightly wet.
Doubt it's in the same league as the rest of these, but the west half of I-240 in OKC is Weave City.
the "Quarry Exit" on I-80 just east of I-215/Parley's Way in Utah.
two ramps - you can get off eastbound, and get on westbound. to cross over, you go through a tunnel under the freeway that is one lane.
the only sign is "Quarry Exit 1/2 mi" eastbound - no signs at the exit itself for route number, destination, etc.
http://g.co/maps/gsgeu
Quote from: empirestate on February 25, 2012, 09:17:07 PMI'll throw in the I-376 EB entrance at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel in Pittsburgh: http://g.co/maps/yjmgt
There was a plan in the 1980s to change the order of the on and off ramps so there would be no weaving issues.
That (dis)honor for Wisconsin is certainly I-94 at Mitchell Blvd, right by Miller Park.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.03131,-87.97753&z=17&t=S (http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.03131,-87.97753&z=17&t=S)
Short-ass ramps entering and leaving from the left that get surged with stadium traffic 81 days a year.
The on-ramp from the Ninth Street Tunnel to northbound I-395 (eastbound Southwest—Southeast Freeway) in DC is pretty terrible. Not because it's a left exit at the end of the tunnel or because of the other ramp that merges into it just after the left curve, nor necessarily because the railings on either side obstruct visibility, although those things certainly don't improve it. To me the worst part is the way it enters the freeway in the left lane with essentially no merge area nor acceleration lane (http://maps.google.com/?ll=38.88244,-77.023206&spn=0.003195,0.008256&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.88244,-77.023206&panoid=l71MHRfzPgSvOQ8kKU2Meg&cbp=12,88.55,,0,13.68) and the traffic tends to be moving either at very high speeds for such an obsolete road (speed limit 40 mph is universally ignored) or else stopped completely. The other left-hand entrance from Maine Avenue just west of there isn't nearly as bad because those lanes continue rather than forcing you to merge with no space.
Quote from: triplemultiplex on February 29, 2012, 05:45:35 PM
That (dis)honor for Wisconsin is certainly I-94 at Mitchell Blvd, right by Miller Park.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.03131,-87.97753&z=17&t=S (http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.03131,-87.97753&z=17&t=S)
Short-ass ramps entering and leaving from the left that get surged with stadium traffic 81 days a year.
I'm actually going to a conference in Wisconsin in the next couple days. Drove through there earlier today and noticed the left ramps...not a game day though so I can only imagine what that could be like...
I-4 Eastbound to South Street has a long exit ramp posted for 25 mph with the ramp being designed for high speeds.
Before that you have the cars exiting for FL 408 and the vehicles entering I-4 EB from Kaley Street run into each other as the ramps are too close together along with the bottleneck entering the "trumpet to trumpet" going to the toll road. What even makes matters worse is those who "cut in line" to avoid waiting in the long bottleneck cause a danger to those from Kaley Street trying to weasel in through the line to get to the straight through lanes of I-4. You have a brand new open lane as the back up from the 408 exit spills onto the merge area from Kaley then back onto the through right lane where you would think that no one could even get into the lane now empty so fast! WRONG! I almost got hit by two line cutters already who were stupid enough to change lanes so fast.
I-96 has a few:
Exit 23: Not much more than a RIRO. There is a church immediately off the EB off-ramp.
Exits 37/38: Trying to get from EB I-96 to M-37 can be almost impossible if there is any traffic coming from I-196.
I-196 has a few as well:
Exit 75: The onramp to EB I-196 is a left entrance.
Exit 76: Any onramp that has a yield sign (like the WB onramp here) is on this list.
Quote from: bugo on February 24, 2012, 09:11:33 PM
There was the Deathramp from 51st Street to I-44 in Tulsa but now it's gone.
that seems about as bad as the I-805 ramp I mentioned on the first page of this thread. a tight merge into fast traffic.
there is no time I thank my V-6 engine more than on that 805 ramp. oh, did I mention that it is a 5.5% uphill? yeah, great design, you idiots.
though it has been fixed now, I must also mention the Templin Hwy exit to I-5 southbound in the grapevine: a stop sign, a Jersey barrier obstructing all view of the right lane from the entrance - a right lane filled with cars doing 80-90mph down the hill ... and an incredible 160 feet of merging room to get up to speed.
that's the length of 3 trucks... that's maybe 2 seconds accelerating from a dead stop. and that was the time you were allotted before you were swept into yet another jersey barrier.
I did that entrance precisely once, guessing my way to a potentially survivable ingress, and resolved to never, ever do it again. it was that unconscionably bad.
This technically isn't on on interstate (yet), but the US41/(former) US151/Military Rd interchange in Fond du Lac, WI used to be terrible. It has now been rebuilt into a standard diamond since the US 151 bypass of Fond du Lac was built in the mid-2000s. Before it was rebuilt, it was a real tight cloverleaf, and had 25 mph advisory speeds on the curves, if I remember correctly. To make things worse, there was no kind of barrier separating opposing directions of traffic on the ramps, just a simple double yellow line. For example, if you were exiting from SB US 41 to SB US 151, you would have only a double yellow line separating you from the traffic taking the loop ramp from SB US 151 to SB US 41. I hated that interchange so much I would avout using it at all costs anytime I was in the area. Why it was ever built that way instead of a simple diamond in the first place is beyond me. WHen US 151 still went through the interchange, it was 2 lanes undivided, there was no reason for it to ever be a cloverleaf, let alone with the outright shitty setup it had. It was hoping there would still be images of it on Google Maps, but I can't get it to come up.
Quote from: tchafe1978 on March 09, 2012, 11:53:18 PM
It was hoping there would still be images of it on Google Maps, but I can't get it to come up.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.75860,-88.47487&z=17&t=O
Quote from: ftballfan on March 09, 2012, 10:44:28 PM
Exit 76: Any onramp that has a yield sign (like the WB onramp here) is on this list.
It's not the Yield sign. Kansas' standard practice is to post Yield signs at on-ramps, simply to say that, when push comes to shove, merging traffic doesn't get to butt through traffic out of the way. What makes that on-ramp terribly substandard is that it is BOTH missing any length of acceleration lane AND has a hard curb line.....so NO wiggle room. Exceleent example.
Quote from: Beeper1 on February 24, 2012, 10:53:02 PM
Exit 10 on-ramp to I-90 (Mass Pike) WB in Auburn. Loop ramp with too tight of a radius that trucks roll on all the time. It's also two lanes, which is very sharp on the right (inside) lane.
When that interchange was originally constructed in the 1950s, it only served MA 12; not a crossing high-speed Interstate. The I-290 corridor came about a decade later and the I-395 (former MA 52) segment was connected to I-290 during the late 70s/early 80s.
While the ramps on the I-290/395/MA 12 side were reconfigured when the 290/395 corridor was built; the trumpet interchange on I-90 itself is probably STILL its original 1950s alignment that was restriped to 2 lanes later on.
Quote from: NE2 on March 10, 2012, 12:47:00 AM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on March 09, 2012, 11:53:18 PM
It was hoping there would still be images of it on Google Maps, but I can't get it to come up.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.75860,-88.47487&z=17&t=O
Thanks! Now you can see what I'm talking about.
If you like short left-hand merges, check out the I-80/US101 Central Freeway interchange in San Francisco:
http://g.co/maps/c5bjc
Looks to be about 100 feet, and it's almost completely blind. (Fortunately there's a dedicated lane for the cowardly.)
Good grief, half the interchanges on the Schuylkill Expressway meets that criterion...if you aren't prepared to go wide open throttle on some of them it isn't going to go well with you...
Some particular egregious ones:
EB on ramp at Girard Avenue:
http://g.co/maps/9m9qd
WB on ramp at Spring Garden Street:
http://g.co/maps/gjkc3
Hell, both Gulph Mills and Conshohocken interchanges qualifies!
Let's not forget 30th Street Station, University Avenue, Broad Street and the left entrances/exits at South Street...
I don't know if it's substandard (since it's new within the last few years), but the I-90 exit to US-20 West /I-39 South near Rockford, Illinois has a very sharp curve. Who knows what the Tollway was thinking when they did that.....
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Rockford,+IL&hl=en&ll=42.247454,-88.956342&spn=0.009689,0.013797&safe=off&hnear=Rockford,+Winnebago,+Illinois&gl=us&t=h&z=16
Quote from: sandwalk on March 13, 2012, 01:14:57 PM
I don't know if it's substandard (since it's new within the last few years), but the I-90 exit to US-20 West /I-39 South near Rockford, Illinois has a very sharp curve. Who knows what the Tollway was thinking when they did that.....
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Rockford,+IL&hl=en&ll=42.247454,-88.956342&spn=0.009689,0.013797&safe=off&hnear=Rockford,+Winnebago,+Illinois&gl=us&t=h&z=16
Ex- trumpet... *Checks Google maps*
EditYep... Open in Maps and go to 1998
I-72 WB going onto I-55 SB with a single lane loop ramp at Clear Lake Ave, less than a mile from IDIOT headquarters to boot.
I-39 southbound at US 20 has a single lane mainline ramp. Northbound used to be even worse - with a 15 cent exact change toll plaza with just two lanes - and a single lane mainline loop ramp onto westbound I-90 to boot. (Most of this predated I-39) Blago, if he only did one good deed during his time as Illinois governor, was the fact he got rid of that toll plaza and made ITHA redesign the interchange. IDIOT has yet to do their part though plans are in the works.
I'd like to nominate all of I-74 in Peoria, IL before they did the massive reconstruction on it. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.75860,-88.47487&z=17&t=O
I see the awkward ramps in the linked picture...but it says Wisconsin, not Peoria. Interesting...
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on March 14, 2012, 02:58:55 PM
I see the awkward ramps in the linked picture...but it says Wisconsin, not Peoria. Interesting...
That's because he failed in getting the proper link.
Sorry, I thought the URL changed every time the map is moved. The Wisconsin ramps are from a previous post. Here's the actual link: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=40.67024,-89.57372&z=16&t=O
How about the exit 26 fiasco on I-295 in NJ, the through lanes have a sharp curve to them, droping speeds down to 35mph.
http://g.co/maps/ms2ew
also vine street expressway 676 To PA 611
http://g.co/maps/fheg7 Fairly tight curve, always backed up
Quote from: flowmotion on March 11, 2012, 01:59:43 AM
If you like short left-hand merges, check out the I-80/US101 Central Freeway interchange in San Francisco:
http://g.co/maps/c5bjc
Looks to be about 100 feet, and it's almost completely blind. (Fortunately there's a dedicated lane for the cowardly.)
My understanding is that this section of Route 80 is not technically in the Interstate system; The Interstate designation ends at the Bay Bridge touchdown. The section to the west (including the non-constructed section across the City) was deleted from the Interstate system in 1965.
How about the ramp from EB Business US 90 to LA 23 in Gretna, LA? Actually this is an interstate as it is unsigned I-910 and it has all of its ramps as slip ramps from the elevated freeway to the the surface frontage roads. This one here drops onto the service road only several hundred feet before the intersection that has a traffic signal that backs up traffic to before the ramp merge.
Therefore when you get to the end of the exit ramp you need to make an imediate right turn. You cannot accomplish this when there is when there is traffic stacked up on the merging roadway before the merge with many cars in the right lane to turn south on LA 23 from there. You have the through frontage road lanes open, but many motorists will stop and wait for the signal to turn green and get the traffic moving so they can slip real fast in between moving cars to get into the proper lane. This blocks the open lanes, but if you do not do this, you cannot do what the purpose of the exit is for.
To avoid this properly you need to exit at Manhattan Boulevard (the previous exit) and just travel the frontage road to this location!
Quote from: DTComposer on March 18, 2012, 04:11:15 PM
My understanding is that this section of Route 80 is not technically in the Interstate system;
yes, but what driver cares about that? it's signed with the red, white and blue shield; that implies a particular standard of quality.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 18, 2012, 08:41:25 PM
Quote from: DTComposer on March 18, 2012, 04:11:15 PM
My understanding is that this section of Route 80 is not technically in the Interstate system;
yes, but what driver cares about that? it's signed with the red, white and blue shield; that implies a particular standard of quality.
That's about as silly as signing the Chicago Skyway as "TO I-90/94."
I was amazed at this one (http://maps.google.com/?ll=39.096651,-94.591719&spn=0.000006,0.002401&t=k&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.096651,-94.591719&panoid=-jAWt9JsieZw61vADs3KwA&cbp=12,174.91,,0,0.6) in Kansas City yesterday, how there's absolutely no merge space for no apparent reason other than not wanting to spend extra money on the bridge.
Ramp from southbound 9th Street, S.W. in the District of Columbia to northbound [eastbound] I-395 (Southwest Freeway) is a never-ending source of wrecks. Google Maps here (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=washington+d.c.&hl=sv&ll=38.88236,-77.023199&spn=0.002334,0.004823&safe=off&hnear=Washington,+District+of+Columbia&gl=us&t=h&z=18).
On I-110 north Baton Rouge. 10th street merges into the freeway with no transition lane at all. Originally 9th and 10th (which now parallel 110) were the start of the 1950's "Baton Rouge Expressway". It was later incorporated into interstate system. This merge occurs in a hard right curve to boot!
Quote from: flowmotion on March 11, 2012, 01:59:43 AM
If you like short left-hand merges, check out the I-80/US101 Central Freeway interchange in San Francisco:
http://g.co/maps/c5bjc
Looks to be about 100 feet, and it's almost completely blind. (Fortunately there's a dedicated lane for the cowardly.)
I-80 Exits 4A & 4BTreasure Island, Yerba Buena Island Worst.!.!
Quote from: mapman1071 on November 07, 2012, 01:52:13 PM
Quote from: flowmotion on March 11, 2012, 01:59:43 AM
If you like short left-hand merges, check out the I-80/US101 Central Freeway interchange in San Francisco:
http://g.co/maps/c5bjc
Looks to be about 100 feet, and it's almost completely blind. (Fortunately there's a dedicated lane for the cowardly.)
I-80 Exits 4A & 4BTreasure Island, Yerba Buena Island Worst.!.!
I was just about to post that! Prevailing traffic on I-80 65 MPH+, a 10 MPH curve approaching the merge, and no merging space. Time to try out your car's acceleration!
I'm new to this topic. I see lots of references to bad ramps on I-80 from coast to coast, but not my least favorite.
This one-lane, steep, sharply-curved ramp carries mainline WB I-80 off of the Indiana Toll Road and onto the Borman Expressway (actually a freeway): http://goo.gl/maps/djCUn (http://goo.gl/maps/djCUn)
After negotiating this ramp and bridge (http://goo.gl/maps/04bsT (http://goo.gl/maps/04bsT)), traffic must weave through all EB Toll Road traffic that is headed for EB I-94 (http://goo.gl/maps/Y02nE (http://goo.gl/maps/Y02nE)), before taking a sharp right onto a short ramp for the Borman: http://goo.gl/maps/oUp87 (http://goo.gl/maps/oUp87). Traffic levels on these Street View pictures are typical.
The good news is that the bridge is deteriorating rapidly and must go. The bad news is the that foreign company that leases the Toll Road says they don't have the money to replace the bridge, so I-80 traffic may have to be routed farther along the Toll Road to I-65 South, through a byzantine ramp structure, adding 2 extra miles to the route: http://goo.gl/maps/BVh1w (http://goo.gl/maps/BVh1w). I suspect they are angling to have the taxpayers absorb the bridge replacement cost and I fear we may do just that.
Quote from: theline on November 07, 2012, 07:16:02 PM
I'm new to this topic. I see lots of references to bad ramps on I-80 from coast to coast, but not my least favorite.
This one-lane, steep, sharply-curved ramp carries mainline WB I-80 off of the Indiana Toll Road and onto the Borman Expressway (actually a freeway): http://goo.gl/maps/djCUn (http://goo.gl/maps/djCUn)
After negotiating this ramp and bridge (http://goo.gl/maps/04bsT (http://goo.gl/maps/04bsT)), traffic must weave through all EB Toll Road traffic that is headed for EB I-94 (http://goo.gl/maps/Y02nE (http://goo.gl/maps/Y02nE)), before taking a sharp right onto a short ramp for the Borman: http://goo.gl/maps/oUp87 (http://goo.gl/maps/oUp87). Traffic levels on these Street View pictures are typical.
The good news is that the bridge is deteriorating rapidly and must go. The bad news is the that foreign company that leases the Toll Road says they don't have the money to replace the bridge, so I-80 traffic may have to be routed farther along the Toll Road to I-65 South, through a byzantine ramp structure, adding 2 extra miles to the route: http://goo.gl/maps/BVh1w (http://goo.gl/maps/BVh1w). I suspect they are angling to have the taxpayers absorb the bridge replacement cost and I fear we may do just that.
I agree with this. That Toll Road/Borman connection is a nightmare to deal with. The I-80 ramp in question is so narrow, that I have seen truckers STOP at the crest of said ramp to make sure they have clearance to pass. With that bridge in the shape that it's in, that makes for a very precarious situation. The entire interchange is in very poor shape and needs to be restructured.
There were discussions on what to do with that ramp a few weeks ago, but I have heard nothing about it since.
Well, while we're on interchange connection ramps, I'll submit the I-235/Kellogg interchange (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.673435,-97.40147&spn=0.003513,0.003449&t=k&z=18) here in Wichita, one that is notorious for traffic backups. The eastbound-to-northbound ramp is particularly nasty for truckers. It's not unheard of for double trailers to actually get stuck on it, physically unable to continue the movement. Also keep in mind that the Turnpike, to which I-235 connects, allows triple trailers.
Here is a story and video about the last unwidened 3.5 mile stretch of Raleigh's "Beltline". The video shows some good merging mayhem:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/03/2521045/dot-will-widen-beltlines-last.html
Quote from: kphoger on November 14, 2012, 09:46:57 AMWell, while we're on interchange connection ramps, I'll submit the I-235/Kellogg interchange (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=37.673435,-97.40147&spn=0.003513,0.003449&t=k&z=18) here in Wichita, one that is notorious for traffic backups. The eastbound-to-northbound ramp is particularly nasty for truckers. It's not unheard of for double trailers to actually get stuck on it, physically unable to continue the movement. Also keep in mind that the Turnpike, to which I-235 connects, allows triple trailers.
This interchange is planned to be converted from a cloverleaf to a stack/turban hybrid, with construction to begin on the first phase (which will replace the eastbound-to-northbound movement with a flyover with a 45 MPH design speed) in 2015. This project has actually been in the news lately since, in the (vacation) absence of a county commissioner who is widely considered to be a moderate, the remaining four Sedgwick County commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on a motion to use $11.6 million of the county's federal funding allocation as the 10% local match for the $116-million first phase. This editorial cartoon, by Richard Crowson, appeared in yesterday's
Eagle and rather nicely summarizes the situation:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.kansas.com%2Fsmedia%2F2012%2F12%2F02%2F07%2F47%2F1fKSKs.SlMa.80.jpg&hash=ac4375ff51b500ef32c95998439e6c114306d49d)
(Ranzau is a conservative Republican who has argued the county should hand back a sustainability planning grant because it is a stalking horse for Agenda 21, and would presumably lead to UN control of county affairs. Peterjohn is a long-standing anti-tax activist whose campaign literature in the last election stressed his role as a budget analyst in the California finance department when Reagan was California governor: "I worked with Reagan." Hence the "tinfoil hats" reference.)
I knew the interchange plan has been in the works for a while. I was just so disappointed to see the 47th St rework tackled before 235/54 or 135/254.
Quote from: kphoger on December 03, 2012, 11:55:49 AMI knew the interchange plan has been in the works for a while. I was just so disappointed to see the 47th St rework tackled before 235/54 or 135/254.
Preliminary engineering for I-235/US 54 was proposed for the last comprehensive highway program (which was developed in the late 1990's) in a Systems Enhancement funding category. It lost out to an interchange rebuild in Kansas City (I think what eventually became the I-435/US 69 revamp). In general, we in Wichita tend to lose out to Kansas City in competition for KDOT statewide funds because (1) we have one-third the metropolitan area population, (2) we have no peak-hour spreading, and (3) as a city expands, the increment of added capacity per new driver that is necessary to maintain a given level of regional mobility increases.
I had no enthusiasm for the 47th Street project, which removed a number of free-flow movements and whose regional interest I feel has been grossly overstated. However, it was an element of a composite public-private redevelopment scheme whose major private-sector element is an attempt to turn the interchange area into a retail destination. As such, it had a lot of local political juice behind it. It is also in south Wichita, which has traditionally been neglected in transportation investment compared to other areas of the city because the main thing that would help there--conversion of the Turnpike between I-135 and Kellogg into an untolled local-service facility, or construction of untolled local lanes--is a complete nonstarter since KTA has no interest in being involved in the operation of an urban freeway.
The 47th Street bridge over I-135 needed to be replaced anyway (it was structurally deficient), so the 47th Street rebuild was not just a sop to be thrown to the underserved.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on February 23, 2012, 10:53:38 PM
The Speers exit (Pa 88) on I-70 in SW Pa.
There are lots of sub-standard interchanges on I-70 in SW Pennsylvania - They have Stop signs because there is no merge room.
This is just one example of a hard, sharp off-ramp in Texas..this is Exit 877 heading Westbound on IH 10
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=30.121336,-93.746359&spn=0.004742,0.009645&t=h&z=17
Here is another Kansas City gem. This in the Northland, Southbound I-35 at Vivion Road. No deceleration lane and it goes sharply uphill immediately. I remember when the you could continue right on the ramp, or turn a sharp left onto Brighton Place, which with a recent upgrade is now a dead end. This was a shortcut over to Brighton, thus avoiding the stoplight.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Northeast+Vivion+Road,+Kansas+City,+MO&hl=en&ll=39.187654,-94.517143&spn=0.001961,0.00327&sll=38.498779,-98.320078&sspn=5.733907,13.392334&oq=Vivion+Road&t=k&hnear=NE+Vivion+Rd,+Kansas+City,+Missouri&z=19
Quote from: rarnold on December 03, 2012, 09:42:54 PM
No deceleration lane and it goes sharply uphill immediately.
did they design it with the assumption that the uphill would provide sufficient deceleration?
I don't mind acceleration lanes going downhill, and deceleration lanes going uphill. it's the opposite that I find troublesome - especially needing to accelerate uphill when traffic is doing 80.
Quote
did they design it with the assumption that the uphill would provide sufficient deceleration?
I don't mind acceleration lanes going downhill, and deceleration lanes going uphill. it's the opposite that I find troublesome - especially needing to accelerate uphill when traffic is doing 80.
You are right, going uphill is not a problem, it is the sharpness of the ramp and the fact you immediately have to go uphill. I don't know why they didn't exit onto Oak Ridge Dr, instead of putting the ramp there. A ramp was needed, because there is not one at Brighton for SB I-35 and the next is at Chouteau Trfwy.
Fixed quote. Proper frormat:
[quote]text[/quote]
Quote from: agentsteel53 on December 04, 2012, 10:22:11 AM
Quote from: rarnold on December 03, 2012, 09:42:54 PM
No deceleration lane and it goes sharply uphill immediately.
did they design it with the assumption that the uphill would provide sufficient deceleration?
I don't mind acceleration lanes going downhill, and deceleration lanes going uphill. it's the opposite that I find troublesome - especially needing to accelerate uphill when traffic is doing 80.
one of the worst I have come across with uphill accelleration lane is from US 301 to I-10 east in Jacksonville FL. I know Florida doesnt have hills but thisone there is an overpass going over railroad and heavy truck traffic... lots of wrecks there.. a couple times a year there is someone going 70+ MPH on I 10 east who slams into the back of a truck