Bypass Routes as Bad as or Worse Than What They Bypass

[OCGuy81]

As all us roadgeeks know, there are a great deal of 3-dis that were built to act as a bypass of a certain area. Because of suburban growth/sprawl, many of these so-called bypass routes are just as bad, and a lot of times worse, than the areas they were meant to bypass.

I thought of this on the 405 recently.  At one time, 405 was probably meant to be a bypass of downtown LA, but because of sprawl it's arguably worse than taking the 5 straight through. 

I think the same can be said of highways like 294 in Chicago, or perhaps 610 in Houston.  Routes meant to bypass an area, but have just as bad, if not worse, traffic than the routes they were meant to alleviate.

What are your picks?

[froggie]

US 13 in Exmore, VA...especially going north.

[Brandon]

As all us roadgeeks know, there are a great deal of 3-dis that were built to act as a bypass of a certain area. Because of suburban growth/sprawl, many of these so-called bypass routes are just as bad, and a lot of times worse, than the areas they were meant to bypass.

I thought of this on the 405 recently.  At one time, 405 was probably meant to be a bypass of downtown LA, but because of sprawl it's arguably worse than taking the 5 straight through. 

I think the same can be said of highways like 294 in Chicago, or perhaps 610 in Houston.  Routes meant to bypass an area, but have just as bad, if not worse, traffic than the routes they were meant to alleviate.

What are your picks?

I beg to differ on I-294 around Chicago.  If you've ever had to deal with the heel of the Circle Interchange (on-peak or off-peak), I-294 is most definitely better than what it bypasses.

[OCGuy81]

I beg to differ on I-294 around Chicago.  If you've ever had to deal with the heel of the Circle Interchange (on-peak or off-peak), I-294 is most definitely better than what it bypasses.

Just going off personal experience from a few trips there.  I think I just lucked out and made good time through Chicago recently. 

[freebrickproductions]

US 231 and US 431 were rerouted to go around downtown Dothan, AL. Unfortunately, all of the traffic and businesses moved out to the bypass so it makes it quicker to go through the downtown now.

[mtantillo]

US 15 bypassing Leesburg, VA. Definitely faster to go through town most of the time.

[Henry]

I don't think anything can top the I-495 Capital Beltway in this category! No matter how they attempt to improve it (with HOT lanes, a wider Wilson Bridge and a better-functioning Springfield Interchange), the overall situation is still the same: traffic as horrible as it is on the freeways leading into Washington itself.

[cjk374]

US 165 Bypass in Monroe has had a business explosion since it was built.  Divided 4-lane with traffic lights, 50 mph speed limit, one railroad crossing at grade...it's better than 165 BUS., but I've seen better.

US 79 & US 82 in Magnolia, AR is worse...2 lane, 3 traffic lights and all kinds of businesses (including Wal-Mart supercenter) have located where the traffic is.  It can be a headache to deal with.  But now the business routes of 79 & 82 are no longer signed to take you back to the parent route, making it worse to deal with.

[TheStranger]

The original bypass surface road for US 31 in Kokomo has to rank as one of the classic examples.

Given the perpetual rush hour congestion on the Bayshore Freeway/US 101 in San Mateo County and the Nimitz Freeway/I-880 through Oakland, there are times the original surface routes (El Camino Real, East 14th Street/International Boulevard) are way more viable.

[Roadrunner75]

The US 30 bypass around York, PA can be pretty terrible.  They dropped the ball years ago by not completing it as a freeway, even though it has freeway segments on each end.

[kkt]

I-405 through Bellevue, WA, is often as bad or worse than I-5 through Seattle.

[Zeffy]

I have no doubt the US 206 bypass in Hillsborough will fit this theme well.

[cpzilliacus]

US 15 bypassing Leesburg, VA. Definitely faster to go through town most of the time.

Though as with other municipalities in Virginia, watch out for the Town of Leesburg Police doing speed enforcement on both U.S. 15 Business and Va. 7 Business.

[OCGuy81]

I-405 through Bellevue, WA, is often as bad or worse than I-5 through Seattle.

Hmmm, that numeric designation must be cursed!  Use 405, and your well intentioned bypass will become a total cluster%#ck! 

[codyg1985]

Any non-freeway bypass built in Alabama up until the 1990's.

[cpzilliacus]

I don't think anything can top the I-495 Capital Beltway in this category! No matter how they attempt to improve it (with HOT lanes, a wider Wilson Bridge and a better-functioning Springfield Interchange), the overall situation is still the same: traffic as horrible as it is on the freeways leading into Washington itself.

As a bypass route, the Capital Beltway is vastly better than going through the District of Columbia in nearly all cases.

[realjd]

The 285 in Atlanta. If I drive through the city on I-75, I get traffic half of the way, either to or from downtown depending on the time of day. If I take the 285, I get traffic the whole way around no matter what time of day.

[dfwmapper]

I-635 in Dallas, Loop 1 in Austin, I-410 in San Antonio, I-610 in Houston, Sam Houston Tollway, especially the western and northern parts. Loop 1604 in San Antonio is getting up there too. I-435 in KC, especially the part in Johnson County. I-805 in San Diego perhaps.

[cl94]

I-270 around Columbus, notably north of I-70. Can be a nightmare at any time of day (or night) in both directions, especially in the 8-lane section.

US 17 in Myrtle Beach is on its second bypass routing and can still be a cluster, as businesses sprung up along the new route.

[mtantillo]

I don't think anything can top the I-495 Capital Beltway in this category! No matter how they attempt to improve it (with HOT lanes, a wider Wilson Bridge and a better-functioning Springfield Interchange), the overall situation is still the same: traffic as horrible as it is on the freeways leading into Washington itself.

As a bypass route, the Capital Beltway is vastly better than going through the District of Columbia in nearly all cases.

But GPS.

[Bickendan]

I-405 through Bellevue, WA, is often as bad or worse than I-5 through Seattle.

Hmmm, that numeric designation must be cursed!  Use 405, and your well intentioned bypass will become a total cluster%#ck! 

I-405 Oregon disagrees.

How about M25 around London?

[US81]

I-635 in Dallas, Loop 1 in Austin, I-410 in San Antonio, I-610 in Houston, Sam Houston Tollway, especially the western and northern parts. Loop 1604 in San Antonio is getting up there too. I-435 in KC, especially the part in Johnson County. I-805 in San Diego perhaps.

Much of the northern half of of I-820 in Ft. Worth belongs on this list, too.

[GaryV]

If we're allowing non-Interstate, the Grand Rapids belt line system.  (US-131 and US-16 bypasses)  East Belt Line and 28th Street are very developed, and Wilson Ave isn't much better.  (The north belt line was never built, probably because it would have required a new bridge over the Grand River.)  You'd probably make better time now staying on Division or Fulton / Lake Michigan Drive (depending on if you're N/S or E/W).  Of course, the traffic is less on those roads through the city today because of the freeways.

In Detroit, the nominal bypasses (I-275 and I-696) are just as busy as the freeways they are "bypassing".  They don't really serve as bypassing anything; rather they serve as suburb to suburb corridors.

[Joe The Dragon]

As all us roadgeeks know, there are a great deal of 3-dis that were built to act as a bypass of a certain area. Because of suburban growth/sprawl, many of these so-called bypass routes are just as bad, and a lot of times worse, than the areas they were meant to bypass.

I thought of this on the 405 recently.  At one time, 405 was probably meant to be a bypass of downtown LA, but because of sprawl it's arguably worse than taking the 5 straight through. 

I think the same can be said of highways like 294 in Chicago, or perhaps 610 in Houston.  Routes meant to bypass an area, but have just as bad, if not worse, traffic than the routes they were meant to alleviate.

What are your picks?

I-294 was build as Toll-US41.  Now days the traffic load is a lot higher.

[sdmichael]

As all us roadgeeks know, there are a great deal of 3-dis that were built to act as a bypass of a certain area. Because of suburban growth/sprawl, many of these so-called bypass routes are just as bad, and a lot of times worse, than the areas they were meant to bypass.

I thought of this on the 405 recently.  At one time, 405 was probably meant to be a bypass of downtown LA, but because of sprawl it's arguably worse than taking the 5 straight through. 

I think the same can be said of highways like 294 in Chicago, or perhaps 610 in Houston.  Routes meant to bypass an area, but have just as bad, if not worse, traffic than the routes they were meant to alleviate.

What are your picks?

I-405 in the Los Angeles area was built in an already built-up area. It is actually a lot better than taking I-5 through most of the day (peak time - any route is bad). Parts of I-405 were OPENED as State 7, until being signed as I-405 by about 1963.