removed freeways in North America

[Bickendan]

US 99W Harbor Drive in Portland, though whether it was a full freeway by the time it was closed or only an expressway is a matter of debate.

[hm insulators]

[updated]
 


Direct conversions into surface roads (same roadway but intersections added)

    Carlsbad: Carlsbad Boulevard (south of CR S12; bypassed by I-5)
    Chattanooga: Riverside Drive
    Phoenix: Sky Harbor Expressway (parallel SR 143 handles through traffic)
    Sacramento: West Sacramento Freeway (bypassed by the W-X Freeway)




   

The one-time original Foothill Freeway (California 118) between Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge is now an extension of Woodbury Road.

[NE2]

Fall River Route 79 (double decker section) is a direct conversion into a surface road, not a full closure.

No, it's a teardown of the existing structure with a surface road replacing it.

I thought about including 4080 (and 429 at 414) but somehow they seem different from the other rural relocations. But why not, I'll add them since there's land between the old and new alignments.

And SR 158 is more of a temporary end.

The one-time original Foothill Freeway (California 118) between Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge is now an extension of Woodbury Road.

It's still there, just no longer connected to the rest of the freeway.

[cl94]

Depending on which alternative gets selected, NY 198 may be another casualty in the near future. Alternatives range from direct conversion to (partial) surface road to complete elimination and replacement with a 2-4 lane road.

[adventurernumber1]

Depending on which alternative gets selected, NY 198 may be another casualty in the near future. Alternatives range from direct conversion to (partial) surface road to complete elimination and replacement with a 2-4 lane road.

First the inner loop in Rochester, and now NY SR 198 in Buffalo is a possibility for some down-grading? The rust belt is losing its freeways!

[Tom958]

The conversion of GA 410/unsigned I-485 in Atlanta to Freedom Parkway belongs under "Direct conversions into surface roads."

[NE2]

The conversion of GA 410/unsigned I-485 in Atlanta to Freedom Parkway belongs under "Direct conversions into surface roads."

Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd count the removal of one grade separation on what was essentially a long ramp.

[sandwalk]

The western 2 miles of the West Shoreway in Cleveland (SR-2, US 6, US 20) is being downgraded to a boulevard with intersections, allowing for better access to the Lake Erie shoreline.

ODOT Project Link:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/LakefrontWest/Pages/default.aspx

[vdeane]

Depending on which alternative gets selected, NY 198 may be another casualty in the near future. Alternatives range from direct conversion to (partial) surface road to complete elimination and replacement with a 2-4 lane road.

First the inner loop in Rochester, and now NY SR 198 in Buffalo is a possibility for some down-grading? The rust belt is losing its freeways!

Pretty much everywhere is.  The freeway revolt has shifted from stopping new construction to removing existing freeways.  Each time they increment to a more and more traveled freeway.

[briantroutman]

First the inner loop in Rochester, and now NY SR 198 in Buffalo is a possibility for some down-grading? The rust belt is losing its freeways!

And a portion of the Akron Innerbelt, according to this thread.

So after years of Building Freeways to Nowhere being the panacea of economic development, is Tearing Down Freeways going to take its place?

Rochester, Buffalo, Akron...have declined for a number of reasons, and while reduced neighborhood cohesiveness due to the presence of an urban freeway may have played a small part in that decline, it's a factor that's dwarfed by larger economic and demographic trends.

[cl94]

Buffalo uses any development between the 50s and now as a scapegoat for the city's decline. This includes all expressways in the city and the light rail system that gets a surprising amount of usage. Biggest issue with NY 198 is that it was built through the middle of a park. As it is, the expressway section (east of NY 384) has an AADT near 70,000 and congestion is frequent. If you're not familiar with the road, it's similar to the Jackie Robinson Parkway and only slightly tamer.

Buffalo and the wealthy residents surrounding the expressway want it removed, thinking that the 70,000 vehicles will miraculously disappear. Their preferred alternatives are all surface roads ranging from 2-4 lanes with a design speed of about 35 mph. The Delaware Park section, which has an AADT around 50K, hovers between LOS D and F. The 2005 corridor study actually states that LOS would only improve if traffic uses other routes and the current signalized intersection would not improve above LOS F under any considered alternative. Assuming traffic does use alternate routes, PHVs would increase significantly, more than likely making quite a few intersections outside the study area fail.

I know they didn't consider this, but I'd bury NY 198 east of Lincoln Parkway and put a parkway-style low-speed road with at-grade intersections (current Alternative 3) on top of it. If done properly, Humboldt Parkway would be restored, through traffic could continue to pass through the park, and parkland could be reconstructed. West of the park, other than ramp realignments at interchanges, little needs to be done.

[OCGuy81]

When did I-180 in Wyoming get downgraded to a surface street?

I'm sorry, couldn't help myself with that one!

[SSOWorld]

When did I-180 in Wyoming get downgraded to a surface street?

I'm sorry, couldn't help myself with that one!

You just had to say it didn't you...

[cl94]

Well, it does have 2 grade separations...

[NE2]

Damn Cheyenne NIMBYs.

And damn Hennepin NIMBYs for failing.

[Sonic99]

The SR153 in Phoenix was never really a full freeway per se, as it never had full interchanges, but it was built to be expanded into such. The intersection with University Drive is built as a half-diamond with space and grading for a future overpass. The roadway over the Salt River Bridge was built to full freeway spec, with space for 3 lanes each way. I believe at one point it even had two or three lanes striped each way. Once 153 was scrapped along with the plans for it to connect to either I-10 or the 202, it was restriped and the speed limit dropped to surface street speeds. On the north side of the river, the southbound side was converted to the SkyTrain with the northbound switched to a normal N/S surface street setup with two lanes each way without a center divider.

I gotta say, even though I'm not familiar with other places, the former 153/current 44th Street is one of the strangest roads to come across for people who don't know the story. It doesn't really start anywhere special, doesn't end anywhere special, doesn't go anywhere special, serve anything in particular, anything at all. Yet here's this road, as wide as a freeway yet it's only striped for 2 lanes each way, massive bridge over the Salt River with the travel lanes on the old NB sode, the empty SB lanes just sitti my over there, wide RoW, and a diamond interchange design at the dead end for no apparent reason. I just looked at it on Google maps and Street View, and it's just as awkward as I imagine lol.

[NE2]

The SR153 in Phoenix was never really a full freeway per se, as it never had full interchanges

Uh dude, freeways don't need full interchanges to be freeways. I just checked a 2004 aerial and it definitely was a full freeway, with no cross traffic anywhere between the ends at University and Washington.

[Bickendan]

According to Streetview, former 153 has a curb-median and is two lanes each direction, and if the maps portion is accurate, still has an exit number with Sky Harbor Dr. I'd say it's a 'traffic-calmed' freeway.

[Don'tKnowYet]

Uh dude, freeways don't need full interchanges to be freeways. I just checked a 2004 aerial and it definitely was a full freeway, with no cross traffic anywhere between the ends at University and Washington.

True dat.  It was the best (full) freeway right next to another freeway ever built.  I used to drive my girlfriend to work using the 153 Shortcut many moons ago.

[dfwmapper]

The original plans were for 153 to run down 40th Street and end at I-10 with an interchange similar to how 143 ends. That's why the 40th Street interchange has a loop ramp for SB traffic entering EB I-10 despite the very low traffic volumes actually using that interchange.

Oddly, the old 153 still has Arizona-standard 'Pedestrians/bicycles/motor-driven cycles prohibited' freeway entrance signs on it at University and Madison.

[TheStranger]

  It was the best (full) freeway right next to another freeway ever built.

Hey, there is also old US 395/I-15 right next to current I-15 at Miramar Air Force Base in San Diego - still a useful shortcut heading southbound!

[NE2]

Another direct conversion to surface road: CR 122 in Minneapolis.

[Bickendan]

Another direct conversion to surface road: CR 122 in Minneapolis.

Light rail right down the middle of the road will do that.

[NE2]

Another direct conversion to surface road: CR 122 in Minneapolis.

Light rail right down the middle of the road will do that.

Actually it won't any more than heavy rail down the middle of Chicago freeways. What did it was the place where the light rail leaves the median, necessitating the closure of the eastbound offramp to Cedar and replacement with a left turn, as well as the decision to allow peds to cross at the station (rather than requiring use of the elevator/stairs to Cedar and 19th).

[froggie]

Even before LRT, there was a plan for an at-grade where the new ramp to 35W north went.  Just happened to be that construction of the Green Line preceded the ramp.