Unneeded Road Projects that drive you crazy

[ShawnP]

Live off a small Interstate exit in Indiana. These goobers decided to 4 lane the local road north of I-64. Other than Cows there is nothing in that area. A gas station was once there but went out of business in the 90's. The local exits in Corydon, Georgetown and Floyd Knobs all have large commercial tracks so not many business's will want to go there. What a total waste of precious road funds. Would have spent that money on IN-135 thru Corydon which is the busiest road in the county and has many accidents.

[NE2]

I-69.

[agentsteel53]

I-73/74.

[colinstu]

All the seemingly random repaving I see on long stretches of 2x2 (2 lanes in each direction) Interstates in Michigan / Ohio / Indiana.

Just because I pay tolls for these roads, doesn't mean you should rip of road that look seemingly fine and repave it some more. Christ. Do something constructive with your DOT money.

I'm sure some parts are in need of re-work, but I think they can stretch it a little longer in other parts.

[Takumi]

I-73/74.

[triplemultiplex]

Chip sealing town and county roads.
I know, let's cover this perfectly smooth road with tons of little rocks that fly around every where and make the road slippery for sudden stops.  Because we've got all this extra money laying around we need to get rid of and the local auto glass place would love to have some more business repairing stone chips.

[mcdonaat]

US 425 widening between Bastrop and the Arkansas line. Also, US 167 between Dry Prong, LA and Winnfield, and again between Ruston and Arkansas.

[Alex]

Carbon copying of signs that are not at the end of their service life. Replacing of traffic lights before the end of their service life. For instance many guide signs installed in Delaware during the late 90s through 2005 were replaced since 2008 with Clearview needlessly.

The FDOT standard operating procedure that means if a road is four laned and considered an urban arterial, gutters and sidewalks are added regardless of their need.

[mcdonaat]

Carbon copying of signs that are not at the end of their service life. Replacing of traffic lights before the end of their service life. For instance many guide signs installed in Delaware during the late 90s through 2005 were replaced since 2008 with Clearview needlessly.

The FDOT standard operating procedure that means if a road is four laned and considered an urban arterial, gutters and sidewalks are added regardless of their need.

Here in Louisiana, Baton Rouge was recently resigned with Clearview, and signs were done in different years before. I'm guessing Delaware wants to resign the whole state at once, and do it all in one trip.

I would prefer bike lanes between the travel lanes and sidewalks, and I bet the cost is minimal for gutters instead of ditches.

[mjb2002]

The western end of MAIN ST, which is S-6-147 (and US 78 Business) in Blackville, S.C., since both roads are one-way near the town's former grocery store (unknown whether it is open now or not).

They either need to move 78 Business to run opposite of SC 304 and decommission the WALKER & MAIN ST parts of it or decommission the western end of S-6-147.

On that same token, the red-yellow-green in that same area - it is NO LONGER needed since you can't turn left at the intersection where it is installed. Replace the light with a stop sign at its eastbound intersection.

Replacing mixed-case Street Name signs with either larger signs or all uppercase signs. Aiken County did the former, and the result is a sign at the intersection of JEFFERSON DAVIS HY and LANGLEY DAM RD that will now need replacing due to strong (non-severe) thunderstorms that hit the area this past spring. Barnwell and Orangeburg counties did the latter, and they must now replace the replacement signs immediately because they fail minimum letter height requirements.

[cpzilliacus]

Live off a small Interstate exit in Indiana. These goobers decided to 4 lane the local road north of I-64. Other than Cows there is nothing in that area.

Here in Maryland, we are finishing up the construction of the $2.5 billion Md. 200 (InterCounty Connector) toll road project in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. 

In spite of this gorgeous new road, the state still has an active ongoing study to upgrade the west end of parallel Md. 198 the east end of parallel Md. 28.

[InterstateNG]

All the seemingly random repaving I see on long stretches of 2x2 (2 lanes in each direction) Interstates in Michigan / Ohio / Indiana.

Just because I pay tolls for these roads, doesn't mean you should rip of road that look seemingly fine and repave it some more. Christ. Do something constructive with your DOT money.

I'm sure some parts are in need of re-work, but I think they can stretch it a little longer in other parts.

Didn't know Michigan had toll roads that weren't bridges.

I'll also wager that the 4-lane mentioned by the OP was probably needed.

[colinstu]

All the seemingly random repaving I see on long stretches of 2x2 (2 lanes in each direction) Interstates in Michigan / Ohio / Indiana.

Just because I pay tolls for these roads, doesn't mean you should rip of road that look seemingly fine and repave it some more. Christ. Do something constructive with your DOT money.

I'm sure some parts are in need of re-work, but I think they can stretch it a little longer in other parts.

Didn't know Michigan had toll roads that weren't bridges.

I'll also wager that the 4-lane mentioned by the OP was probably needed.

MI doesn't have toll roads, but it sure feels like one at times. xD

[vtk]

Two local roads near my house cross at a bit of an angle, making the quadrants about 68° and 112°.  The intersection is two-way-stop-controlled, and had a history of accidents.  The typical accident involved a car that stopped at the stop sign, didn't see any cross-traffic, entered the intersection, and was hit by a fast-moving vehicle.  You see, the specific angles at the intersection meant cross-traffic was often hidden by the pillars between the vehicle windows.  Some of the traffic that didn't have to stop was dump trucks full of rocks, by the way.

All they had to do was make it a 4-way stop.  Instead, they added an S-curve to the "lesser" of the two roads, to make the intersection perpendicular.  Effective, but more expensive than necessary, and arguably less safe when the roads are slick. 

PS – The dump trucks are gone, because the quarry down the road is now part of a park. 

[JustDrive]

The HOV lane on US 101 between La Conchita and the Santa Barbara/Ventura County line.  Unless you're extending the third lane (and opening access to everyone) all the way to the Santa Barbara city limits, it's pointless.

[ljwestmcsd]

I'll also wager that the 4-lane mentioned by the OP was probably needed.

If the OP is mentioning what I think he's mentioning, I'll bet there's some transportation official and/or state legislator who has a financial interest or a boat at Patoka Lake.
Either that, or its a route to the French Lick Casino.

Could Mr. Elkins explain why there is a four-lane highway in Spencer County, Kentucky that connects nowhere to nowhere. At one end of that highway is a winding not-quite-two lane road, and the other end is a parking lot at an intersection of a two-lane road where most of the traffic stays on.

[Roadsguy]

Chip sealing town and county roads.

Yes, yes, yes!

And, similar to what Alex said, replacing perfectly good signs with... Clearview.

[InterstateNG]

All the seemingly random repaving I see on long stretches of 2x2 (2 lanes in each direction) Interstates in Michigan / Ohio / Indiana.

Just because I pay tolls for these roads, doesn't mean you should rip of road that look seemingly fine and repave it some more. Christ. Do something constructive with your DOT money.

I'm sure some parts are in need of re-work, but I think they can stretch it a little longer in other parts.

Didn't know Michigan had toll roads that weren't bridges.

I'll also wager that the 4-lane mentioned by the OP was probably needed.

MI doesn't have toll roads, but it sure feels like one at times. xD

I don't follow.

[ShawnP]

Missouri has been chip sealing Interstate shoulders.

[vtk]

It's my understanding that chip-sealing, when done at the appropriate time in the life cycle of a pavement, extends that life cycle several more years for little expense.  The alternatives would be to mill and apply a full layer of asphalt, or just keep sealing cracks until the whole road surface is covered with squiggly tar stripes. 

On the other hand, if the pavement isn't that bad in the first place, chip sealing is unnecessary.  Maybe sometimes the county engineer determines the pavement condition is worse than it appears on the surface... but then wouldn't a complete reconstruction be in order anyway?

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

Here in Louisiana, Baton Rouge was recently resigned with Clearview, and signs were done in different years before.

And those pre-Uglyview signs were only four years old - perfectly serviceable. What a waste of money and an irritation to the eyes.

[The High Plains Traveler]

Here in Louisiana, Baton Rouge was recently resigned with Clearview, and signs were done in different years before.

And those pre-Uglyview signs were only four years old - perfectly serviceable. What a waste of money and an irritation to the eyes.

Clearview doesn't creep me out the way it does many of you, but the use of it in the route shields on those signs through Baton Rouge was over the top. 

[hbelkins]

Could Mr. Elkins explain why there is a four-lane highway in Spencer County, Kentucky that connects nowhere to nowhere. At one end of that highway is a winding not-quite-two lane road, and the other end is a parking lot at an intersection of a two-lane road where most of the traffic stays on.

That road (KY 44 and KY 248) was relocated and rebuilt when Taylorsville Lake was impounded. Maybe the Corps of Engineers had extra money to spend at the time. At the eastern end of the four-lane route, a new route has been constructed for KY 248, a section of US 62, and an extension of KY 555 to link to the Bluegrass Parkway.

[hbelkins]

The second downtown bridge in Louisville.

Taking down perfectly good traffic signals and replacing them.

Michigan's habit of removing perfectly good road signs and replacing them.

[Roadsguy]

Could Mr. Elkins explain why there is a four-lane highway in Spencer County, Kentucky that connects nowhere to nowhere. At one end of that highway is a winding not-quite-two lane road, and the other end is a parking lot at an intersection of a two-lane road where most of the traffic stays on.

Could I have a Bing link? I can't seem to find it, and Google's satellite view of there is horrible...