Worst Interstate/Toll Road/Freeway Transitions

[cl94]

US 15 and PA 581. What should be a freeway-to-freeway interchange has two traffic lights, and a left turn across (US 15 south) traffic to get on PA 581 west. At least one flyover ramp is needed, IMO. Also, another exit on US 15 is too close to the interchange.

PA has a bunch of these in general. Everything with I-76 is a mess. I-80 at the Northeast Extension is a double trumpet with a traffic light right in the middle of it. I-81 at the Northeast Extension is no better, with a triple trumpet and hairpin curve at the northern one and an indirect connection at the southern one. And every flipping interchange on the Turnpike has an insanely tight trumpet.

[Gnutella]

And I've only done it a few times, but I have bad associations with I-70 to I-79 in Washington, Pennsylvania.  The pavement was always cruddy on a tight ramp when I was through there.

The tight loop ramp has been replaced by a flyover ramp, and the I-70/I-79 multiplex is about to be reconstructed and widened to six lanes in the near future.

I also dislike the interchange of I-83, I-283, and US-322 east of Harrisburg. I think part of it is the use of one-lane ramps for the thru movement on I-83 and for the connections to I-283. The only multiple-lane thru connection there is between US-322 and I-83.

Seconded.

I've been through that interchange twice en route to Niagara Falls and for whatever reason we ended up passing through during rush hour.  This interchange is so under-capacity and awkwardly designed that it's hard to pick out any kind of thru route.

Preliminary design work has already been done on a major reconfiguration of that interchange, and it will establish I-83 as the primary right of way as it curves through. Reconstruction is expected to begin later this decade.

[02 Park Ave]

The westbound I-80 connexion between the Indiana East-West Toll Road and its concurrence with the I-94.  It has been closed.  It is being rebuilt but to the original design.  This is like buying a brand new Model T.

In addition to a ramp with a steep incline to a tight curve, there involves cross traffic with cars coming from Chicago going to Michigan.

[CentralPAGal]

US 15 and PA 581. What should be a freeway-to-freeway interchange has two traffic lights, and a left turn across (US 15 south) traffic to get on PA 581 west. At least one flyover ramp is needed, IMO. Also, another exit on US 15 is too close to the interchange.

PA has a bunch of these in general. Everything with I-76 is a mess. I-80 at the Northeast Extension is a double trumpet with a traffic light right in the middle of it. I-81 at the Northeast Extension is no better, with a triple trumpet and hairpin curve at the northern one and an indirect connection at the southern one. And every flipping interchange on the Turnpike has an insanely tight trumpet.

Turnpike interchanges are really goofy. Aside from the 2 plainly obvious connection malfunctions, the Mainline does not connect directly to I-81, I-99, or the US 219 freeway. Nor with I-176 till sometime in the last 10 years or so. It's pretty close at I-99 though... The Turnpike-US 222 interchange is odd, too (diamond at 222, trumpet at turnpike).

Double trumpets annoy the hell out of me, but especially in a situation like the I-76/I-80 interchange in eastern Ohio where the designations swap alignments..

[ET21]

Circle Interchange of I-290/90/94 in Chicago. Thankfully, this is currently being rebuilt to better and safer standards

[CentralPAGal]

I-87 and I-587 along the thruway

[roadman65]

US 15 and PA 581. What should be a freeway-to-freeway interchange has two traffic lights, and a left turn across (US 15 south) traffic to get on PA 581 west. At least one flyover ramp is needed, IMO. Also, another exit on US 15 is too close to the interchange.

PA has a bunch of these in general. Everything with I-76 is a mess. I-80 at the Northeast Extension is a double trumpet with a traffic light right in the middle of it. I-81 at the Northeast Extension is no better, with a triple trumpet and hairpin curve at the northern one and an indirect connection at the southern one. And every flipping interchange on the Turnpike has an insanely tight trumpet.

If they were smart they would utilize the stubs at the hairpin for the never built continuation of the Extension, and have a direct roadway into I-81 at a semi directional interchange there.   Leave the triple trumpet as is for connections to and from US 6 & 11 and SB I-81 which probably has hardly any connection to being the previous exit connects indirectly with I-81 further south.

[cl94]

Double trumpets annoy the hell out of me, but especially in a situation like the I-76/I-80 interchange in eastern Ohio where the designations swap alignments..

Don't get me started on that one. EB I-76 has to use both of the loops, while EB I-80 gets a pretty smooth connection.

[thenetwork]

I-71 North to I-480 West in Cleveland:  Due to the freeways being shoehorned between Brookpark Road and two sets of railroad tracks (one is part of a railyard), there is a very tight loop from I-71 to I-480 and then through-480 traffic has to weave with WB-I-480 traffic bound for SR-237 South towards the Airport.

Honorable mention is the Central Interchange in Akron (I-76/I-77/SR-8), although there are plans to (slowly) rebuild the entire 60 year old interchange.

[1995hoo]

US 15 and PA 581. What should be a freeway-to-freeway interchange has two traffic lights, and a left turn across (US 15 south) traffic to get on PA 581 west. At least one flyover ramp is needed, IMO. Also, another exit on US 15 is too close to the interchange.

PA has a bunch of these in general. Everything with I-76 is a mess. I-80 at the Northeast Extension is a double trumpet with a traffic light right in the middle of it. I-81 at the Northeast Extension is no better, with a triple trumpet and hairpin curve at the northern one and an indirect connection at the southern one. And every flipping interchange on the Turnpike has an insanely tight trumpet.

Turnpike interchanges are really goofy. Aside from the 2 plainly obvious connection malfunctions, the Mainline does not connect directly to I-81, I-99, or the US 219 freeway. Nor with I-176 till sometime in the last 10 years or so. It's pretty close at I-99 though... The Turnpike-US 222 interchange is odd, too (diamond at 222, trumpet at turnpike).

Double trumpets annoy the hell out of me, but especially in a situation like the I-76/I-80 interchange in eastern Ohio where the designations swap alignments..

Of course, it's fair to remember the Bedford interchange near I-99 was built long before US-220 was designated an Interstate.

[roadman65]

US 15 and PA 581. What should be a freeway-to-freeway interchange has two traffic lights, and a left turn across (US 15 south) traffic to get on PA 581 west. At least one flyover ramp is needed, IMO. Also, another exit on US 15 is too close to the interchange.

PA has a bunch of these in general. Everything with I-76 is a mess. I-80 at the Northeast Extension is a double trumpet with a traffic light right in the middle of it. I-81 at the Northeast Extension is no better, with a triple trumpet and hairpin curve at the northern one and an indirect connection at the southern one. And every flipping interchange on the Turnpike has an insanely tight trumpet.

Turnpike interchanges are really goofy. Aside from the 2 plainly obvious connection malfunctions, the Mainline does not connect directly to I-81, I-99, or the US 219 freeway. Nor with I-176 till sometime in the last 10 years or so. It's pretty close at I-99 though... The Turnpike-US 222 interchange is odd, too (diamond at 222, trumpet at turnpike).

Double trumpets annoy the hell out of me, but especially in a situation like the I-76/I-80 interchange in eastern Ohio where the designations swap alignments..

Of course, it's fair to remember the Bedford interchange near I-99 was built long before US-220 was designated an Interstate.

Not to also mention that it was built long before that when US 220 used the current roadway it distributes on to it as the freeway for current I-99/ US 220 was built several decades later.

[theline]

The westbound I-80 connexion between the Indiana East-West Toll Road and its concurrence with the I-94.  It has been closed.  It is being rebuilt but to the original design.  This is like buying a brand new Model T.

In addition to a ramp with a steep incline to a tight curve, there involves cross traffic with cars coming from Chicago going to Michigan.

I'm always happy to hear someone agree with me.   

Indiana Toll Road at the Borman Expressway, Lake Station, Indiana. The intersection of 3 mainline interstates, plus one US route and one state route. It's a modified double trumpet that was designed to accommodate a toll booth that's been gone for decades. I recall that it's been discussed in either the Redesigning Interchanges thread or perhaps the Great Lakes board, though I can't find the discussion. This transition stinks.

It could also be mentioned that WB ITR to WB Borman ramp, which carries the I-80 mainline, has been closed for months, forcing I-80 traffic to continue on the ITR to the I-65 exit, which is ugly also. A single lane of traffic snakes through a series of ramps. A replacement ramp at the Borman has been promised. I'll believe it when I see it, considering the bankruptcy of the concessionaire.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5862397,-87.2735991,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8811be093239b9b1:0x4b38c8094628ea42?hl=en

I appreciate your mention of the weaving problem with Chicago-Detroit traffic--yet another headache that won't be solved. We're going to have the shiniest Model T ever.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Since Cline Avenue is technically a freeway...

The transition to and from the Toll Road (near the Gary Airport) has to be up (or down?) there. An extremely tight loop ramp on the Northbound exit to the Toll Road (ramp speed is advised at 15 mph), complete with a traffic light and the base of the ramp. The other end of the interchange is met with a four-way stop, and drivers could be stopped by service trains before entering Cline Avenue southbound.

I know it was a sign of the times amid a then-growing industry, but this is still a poorly-served freeway-to-tollway transition.

[Brandon]

The westbound I-80 connexion between the Indiana East-West Toll Road and its concurrence with the I-94.  It has been closed.  It is being rebuilt but to the original design.  This is like buying a brand new Model T.

In addition to a ramp with a steep incline to a tight curve, there involves cross traffic with cars coming from Chicago going to Michigan.

Most folks going from Chicago to Michigan use I-94 straight through.  It avoids the overpriced Skyway toll and the two Indiana tolls (Westpoint and the ramp toll plaza).  It's well reflected in the traffic counts between the two routes.

[sbeaver44]

Since Cline Avenue is technically a freeway...

Cline Avenue has to be one of the weirdest freeways I can think of.  It just feels cursed considering all the bridge issues.

I'd also like to nominate the US 22-322 East to US 11-15 North movement in Duncannon, PA as very odd.  (You could technically argue that this isn't a freeway-freeway connection I suppose)

Seconded on anything I-83 in Harrisburg, and the 15-581 interchange.  It is better than it was, but that left turn light gets backed up bigtime at rush hour into the through lanes.

I-39 onto I-90 in Illinois used to be terrible, but looks like they've fixed that one.  It had been a very tight trumpet and had remainders of the tollbooth that had previously been there.

US 24 Fort-to-Port at the I-469 interchange.

US 30 at I-75 (via Ohio 696).

[robbones]

I 10/ I 110 in Baton Rouge. I 10 EB has to slow down to continue east or go on 110. 110 SB to 10 WB is horrible.

[WillWeaverRVA]

I-195 north to I-95 north in the Bryan Park Interchange near Richmond, VA is a traffic bottleneck during rush hour as it begins as a 2-lane ramp, becomes a 1-lane ramp as it crosses over eastbound I-64, then has traffic from eastbound I-64 merge in from the left, becoming 2 lanes again. Then, shortly before the ramp meets I-95 north, the left lane ends, and there is very little time to merge onto I-95 before the merge lane ends. Making matters worse is that there is no deceleration lane for the VA 161 exit about 1000 feet ahead.

[Laura]

I-695 to 695 on the northern end of the baltimore beltway, after the bridge heading towards 95, when it has to make a 90 degree turn to just stay on itself for the windlass.

Yep, because (in brief) the straight route was dropped in favor of the connection with the Windlass Freeway, which was not built beyond that section.

Another nomination is the I-695 and I-70 interchange, which becomes a bottleneck from I-70 east to I-695 north due to I-70's cancellation east.

An awkward section of highway is the rapid string of interchanges along I-70 with US 40, I-270, and US 15/US 340. The through traffic is ultimately left with one lane.


iPhone

[Alex4897]

An awkward section of highway is the rapid string of interchanges along I-70 with US 40, I-270, and US 15/US 340. The through traffic is ultimately left with one lane.

Now that you mention single lanes for through routes, I-95 south at the interchange with I-495/I-295/DE 141 had one lane continue the whole way through, then that lane exited off at DE 1/7.  The leftmost lane exiting Wilmington would bear left for I-295, the center would continue along the mainline until DE 1, and the rightmost lane would exit at DE 141.  Just recently has another lane been added as a result of I-495's closure, so there's a single lane of I-95 south traversing the whole state.

[-NCX75-]

On a similar note to what bassoon1986 said on page 1 (I 30-Loop 12 Dallas), the connection between the I-30 and SH 360 freeways is a pain! Odd movements, too much traffic and a light at Six Flags Dr. To get from SB 360 to WB 30, you need to exit for Six Flags Drive, sit at a light, go left, sit at the light with the other frontage road, continue a bit then turn, cross I-30 and make a tight loop ramp onto I-30 West itself. The area's always super-busy due to Six Flags, Rangers Ballpark etc, and the lights aren't timed too well. To add insult to injury, there is a brand-spankin-new section of freeway on I-30 just a mile to the west. Gotta love them old turnpike interchanges! 

-End Rant-

[keithvh]

81/26 interchange in NE Tennessee is ugly.  Cloverleafs, interstates with fairly heavy traffic-loads (more cross-country traffic on I-81, more local traffic on I-26).  One of those deals where each interstate direction (which is only 2-lanes across the board) has a real short lane where traffic needs to merge both left and right between the various ramps.


More local to me, the I-275/I-71 interchange in Northeast Cincinnati is MOSTLY good.  Where it's not is going from I-275 West to I-71 South, or I-71 South to I-275 East (this movement in signed horribly, in addition to its other faults).  Cloverleaf interchanges in those instance, I honestly don't get why they didn't do flyovers for those movements (as they did for others in that interchange).

[Joe The Dragon]

Since Cline Avenue is technically a freeway...

The transition to and from the Toll Road (near the Gary Airport) has to be up (or down?) there. An extremely tight loop ramp on the Northbound exit to the Toll Road (ramp speed is advised at 15 mph), complete with a traffic light and the base of the ramp. The other end of the interchange is met with a four-way stop, and drivers could be stopped by service trains before entering Cline Avenue southbound.

I know it was a sign of the times amid a then-growing industry, but this is still a poorly-served freeway-to-tollway transition.

well it was built want that part of IN tollway was still a Full ticket system.

[The Nature Boy]

How about US 23 to the Ohio Turnpike? Forcing traffic leaving out of the non-Detroit parts of Michigan to use surface streets in Maumee seems a bit weird, especially US 23 crosses the Turnpike at some point.

[Buck87]

I-71 North to I-480 West in Cleveland:  Due to the freeways being shoehorned between Brookpark Road and two sets of railroad tracks (one is part of a railyard), there is a very tight loop from I-71 to I-480 and then through-480 traffic has to weave with WB-I-480 traffic bound for SR-237 South towards the Airport.

Also right there in that area, 480 east to 237 south and 237 north to 480 west. I hate dealing with that anytime I go to or from the airport.

In both directions you get dumped on Brookpark Rd and have to deal with traffic lights and left turns, with 237 to 480 being the worse direction of the two (4 total lights, 2 left turns and 1 right turn)

[thenetwork]

How about US 23 to the Ohio Turnpike? Forcing traffic leaving out of the non-Detroit parts of Michigan to use surface streets in Maumee seems a bit weird, especially US 23 crosses the Turnpike at some point.

When the Salisbury/Dussell Drive ramp at US 23 was completed in the late 80s, it was a vast improvement  over the US 24 / OH 2 routings to US 20 and the Turnpike.  But Dussell quickly got built up with business parks, hotels and other retail and is just as slow going now as the roads it replaced as the suggested route between US 23 and the Turnpike.

Since it's been about 10 years since I was last thru there, and much of the Southwyck Mall area is now gone, anyone know if you can make better time to US 23 North via OH 2 nowadays???