Roadways that were underbuilt

[The Ghostbuster]

iBallasticwolf2 started a topic about overbuilt roads. What roads do you believe were underbuilt?

[Bickendan]

I-5 Eastbank Freeway
I-205 from Wanker's Corner [Stafford] to Oregon City
OR 217 I-5 to OR 8
WA 14 I-5 to at least I-205, possibly 164th Ave
US 26 OR 213 to Gresham...

A lot of these were just these roadways outliving their projected AADT counts, whether underestimated or not widened in time.

[6a]

I-485 in the Pineville area of south Charlotte comes to mind. I think the stretch between South Blvd and NC 51 opened over capacity, or reached it not long after.

[Zeffy]

I-95 in Connecticut, and I-76 in southeastern Pennsylvania.

[PHLBOS]

Warning: such a topic could literally make this one the longest threads in the forum. 

Short answer: any road that has Level Of Service F on a daily basis that's not due to construction or accident(s).

[hotdogPi]

MA 2 in and near Concord. It should be a freeway.

[SteveG1988]

Interstate 70 from WV to the Turnpike.

I-476 in the "parkway" section north of 95.

NJ route 38

NJ29 in trenton after the tunnel.

[noelbotevera]

Interstate 70 from WV to the Turnpike.

I-476 in the "parkway" section north of 95.

NJ route 38

NJ29 in trenton after the tunnel.

I disagree. North of exit 13, I-476 is a normal highway. North of exit 16, I-476 widens in order to become the NE Extension, with weaving needed to access exit 18.

[Zeffy]

NJ29 in trenton after the tunnel.

Were that a freeway just like the other portions of 29, Trenton would have no access to it's waterfront area.

[kkt]

I agree that this could be the longest thread since Alanland.  Is there a way to limit it to LOS F within 5 years of opening or early structural failure or something like that?

[lordsutch]

TN 385 east of Winchester Rd to Collierville really should have either included a third lane in each direction or at least the bridges should have been wide enough for a third lane; really this should have been known when it was built. And the elevated section between Kirby and Riverdale should have had a fourth auxiliary lane (like between the next two exits to the east) particularly westbound.

GDOT tends to underbuild suburban highways in general: GA 74 between I-85 and Peachtree City, GA 316 between I-85 and Athens, and Russell Pkwy between I-75 and US 129 in Warner Robins are all examples that should have been upgraded as freeways rather than signalized expressways, and now fixing them will cost more than doing it right in the first place. GDOT is going to repeat the same mistake again with GA 96 too.

[TheOneKEA]

The original span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge could potentially be considered underbuilt. The newer span was definitely underbuilt.

[rbt48]

The eastern portion of I-80 in Pennsylvania needs to be rebuilt.  The western-most portions of I-80 in New Jersey (along the Delaware River) also need to be reconstructed.

[Revive 755]

* US 40 in Missouri between Hampton Avenue and I-170: Should have had an extra through lane each way.

* US 40 in St. Charles County, Missouri, between Route K and I-70: Should have been built with six lanes, maybe with accommodations for gong to eight.

* I-355 between I-290 and I-55: Should have been built for easy expansion to eight lanes.

* I-55 between I-294 and I-90/I-94

[1995hoo]

Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway. It was deliberately underbuilt (two lanes per side for most of the segment) to overcome local opposition to building anything at all.

[SteveG1988]

NJ29 in trenton after the tunnel.

Were that a freeway just like the other portions of 29, Trenton would have no access to it's waterfront area.

I meant the section after the stop lights. that seems to flood relatively easily and has some odd merging.

[tribar]

Practically anything in the Chicago area, especially the IKE.

[cl94]

As stated previously, everything at LOS F on a semi-regular basis, along with most things at a bad LOS E. New York examples include, but are not limited to:

*I-278 (entire length)
*I-495 west of Ronkonkoma
*Northern and Southern State Parkways (entire length)
*I-95 (entire length), ESPECIALLY the Cross Bronx
*Most of I-87 south of Malta
*I-190 north of Exit 9
*I-490 east of downtown Rochester
*I-287/Cross Westchester Expressway
*Hutchison River Parkway
*Bronx River Parkway
*Sprain Brook Parkway
*Belt Parkway
*Grand Central Parkway
*Cross Island Parkway
*Sunrise Highway (NY 27)
*I-90 on the east side of Buffalo and through Albany
*Quickway (NY 17) east of Liberty
*I-678 (entire length)
*I-295 (entire length)

See what mess this got us into? For states like New York with a system that has parts that are 80+ years old, most of the mileage in cities is underbuilt.

[xcellntbuy]

Interstate 87, the New York State Thruway from the City of New York to Exit 23, at minimum.  Where it is 6 lanes, it needs to be 8 lanes and where it is 4 lanes it needs to be 6 lanes.  Will it happen?  Only if gold is found in the mountains.

[wxfree]

My interpretation of this topic is that it relates to roads that were underbuilt for the traffic loads existing at the time of construction or soon after.  A road that is clogged up 50 years after opening wasn't underbuilt; it was outgrown.

submitted for consideration

[jeffandnicole]

NJ29 in trenton after the tunnel.

Were that a freeway just like the other portions of 29, Trenton would have no access to it's waterfront area.

I meant the section after the stop lights. that seems to flood relatively easily and has some odd merging.

It hasn't flooded in several years. The flooding occurred during some of the wettest years on record in the area, so it was more of a fluke that it flooded a few years in a row.

The merging is due to the old design of the highway; designs which were fairly common in its era.

That said, early on before the tunnel was built there was talk to make it full freeway past Trenton Thunder and the building there, but was quickly abandoned. IMO, that was a mistake, because now people have to deal with quite a bit of traffic whether they be driving or walking. 

[SteveG1988]

One could argue that had WWII not happened, we would have had the turnpike tunnel twinnings sooner in PA. Those roads were underbuilt due to cost.

For a road that is outright underbuilt for what it was used for, or was overwhelmed soon after opening... The Great Egg Harbor Bridge which was only two lanes until the 1970s, and has been overwhelmed every summer since opening in the 50s.

[roadman65]

When John Young Parkway was widened in Southern Orange County to six lanes.  The County Commissioners knew at the time the constant growth to Southchase and Hunters Creek, yet chose that instead of 8 lanes there which is what it really needed.  They at least did it right between the FL 528 and Sand Lake Road, but from FL 528 to Kissimmee it is a nightmare.

[hbelkins]

Man O'War Boulevard in Lexington. Should have been a full freeway southern bypass of Lexington. Now it's a traffic-light-infested PITA.

[noelbotevera]

I-83 between the Northern Terminus and milepost 34. It's a slowdown full of idiots not knowing how to handle curves, extreme weaving, accidents everywhere, construction everywhere, substandard interchange geometry, and four total lanes. Topping it all off, it's so bumpy it feels like you're trying to drive over rolling boulders.