Underutilized toll roads

[Pink Jazz]

I would like to know all the examples of toll roads that are underutilized.

I know SH 130 in Texas and E-470 in the Denver area have been operating in the red for years.  Also, I heard many people in Puerto Rico are shunpiking the PR-66 expressway (preferring the old PR-3 route) due to its high toll cost per mile.

Does anyone have other examples?

[iBallasticwolf2]

Hardy Tollway is one.

[hotdogPi]

According to our member here from Spain (in other threads), most/all Spanish toll roads ("troll roads") are shunpiked.

I would also guess NY 23 and NY 199 (both across the Hudson), although those are both complete guesses from me.

[Brian556]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The non-toll roads around there have very heavy traffic.

[iBallasticwolf2]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The One non-toll road around there have very heavy traffic.

FTFY

[SignGeek101]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The One non-toll road around there have very heavy traffic.

FTFY

Makes me think of Toronto.

[iBallasticwolf2]

From the FDOT traffic count map it looks like the Selmon Expressway doesn't get alot of traffic. I once read an article saying that the I-4/Selmon Connector didn't get as much traffic as expected.

[Thing 342]

VA-895 (the Pocahontas Pkwy) and SC I-185 (the Southern Connector) have both been in the red since their construction.

[noelbotevera]

VA-895 (the Pocahontas Pkwy) and SC I-185 (the Southern Connector) have both been in the red since their construction.

VA 895 was an idiotic decision to make a tool road rather than a Richmond bypass.
I-185 was simply stupid people trying to build roads.

For PA, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Act 89 is the cause, and US 22's reconstruction shows that people are starting to use US 22 and US 30 as shunpikes.

[froggie]

People have been shunpiking the PA Turnpike since long before you were born.  That's nothing new.

As for other underutilized toll roads, not so much a toll road but a toll bridge:  the VA 337 Jordan Bridge in Chesapeake, VA is very underutilized.

[Pink Jazz]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The non-toll roads around there have very heavy traffic.

While many people do indeed shunpike the Orlando area toll roads, I don't think they are really underutilized at all.  Last time I was there they had a fairly good amount of traffic.  SR 408 seems to be the busiest of them all.

[UCFKnights]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The One non-toll road around there have very heavy traffic.

FTFY

He might have been referring to the non-highway alternatives as well. All the roads you can use to get around, for the most part, are just terrible. If its a thru road and its not terrible, they'll usually do something to make it terrible.

[Zeffy]

Do people use the Atlantic City Expressway a decent amount? Compared to the Parkway and Turnpike in New Jersey, that road gets almost no love.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

According to our member here from Spain (in other threads), most/all Spanish toll roads ("troll roads") are shunpiked.

Only the newer ones. The older ones (those that were built in the 70s) carry a good amount of traffic, but not many trucks.

[realjd]

I wonder about all the toll roads in Orlando.  I personally avoid them. The non-toll roads around there have very heavy traffic.

The toll roads in Orlando are usually really busy. The 528 and especially the 408 are usually really busy. I'm always surprised I don't see more cars on the 417. The southern portion, south of the 528, is usually pretty deserted. It makes for easy driving.

I've never heard the term shunpiking before. I had to go look it up.

[jeffandnicole]

Do people use the Atlantic City Expressway a decent amount? Compared to the Parkway and Turnpike in New Jersey, that road gets almost no love.

It's because it's in South Jersey.  Nothing in South Jersey gets any love!  But, it does get used.  A lot.  Some people will use 55 to avoid the Expressway when travelling to the shore, but 55 is the best choice to the Cape May County shore locations anyway.  And at that point, you're avoiding both Expressway and Parkway tolls.  Rts. 30 and 42/322 are parallel to the Expressway and are better options to shunpike if heading towards Atlantic City and points along the Expressway, although both roads have their own traffic issues.  322 is one of the few relatively empty 4 lane roads in NJ and thus you can maintain a fairly consistent, fast speed on that road (minus the traffic lights)...as long as you're driving the 25 miles between Williamstown and Hamilton.  Once you enter either town, traffic builds up quickly.

The Expressway several years back built the Exit 41 Cross Keys Rd interchange in Gloucester Twp, in part to help ease congestion on Rt. 42 (which I guess would be the opposite of shunpiking).

Toll stats from April, 2015: http://www.sjta.com/sjta/publish/library/Monthly%20Statistical%20Summary%204-15.pdf  You'll notice a drop-off at the Pleasantville Plaza which could be due to the issues with Atlantic City, although the casinos themselves that remain open are actually having a very good year so far.

[US 41]

I think a lot of 40D is probably underutilized in Mexico, but 2 cases really stand out to me. First off to drive from Torreon to Durango is around $30 USD. It only costs around $20 in gas. At the end of the day most Mexicans are not going to pay $30 extra to get somewhere only an hour faster. I know I wouldn't. The second case that really stands out is between Saltillo and Paila. The libre route is only 4 miles longer and there are only a couple of little tiny towns along the route. I know I wouldn't take the toll road in this case and I know of someone who doesn't take it when he goes.

As far as American toll roads go I would say that the Indiana Toll Road is probably underutilized. The state of Indiana was losing money on it and the company that runs it now, declared bankruptcy a few months ago.

Now I've never been to Delaware, so I don't really know, but I feel like it's probably pretty common take US 13 instead of DE 1.

In Oklahoma I always take OK 66 instead of I-44. I don't think that I-44 is underutilized at all, but I'm sure it loses some traffic to Route 66 travelers.

[jeffandnicole]

Now I've never been to Delaware, so I don't really know, but I feel like it's probably pretty common take US 13 instead of DE 1.

For locals and daily commuters that wouldn't be travelling very far on DE 1, that's mostly correct.  In fact, when they first built DE 1's northern tolled portion, they put in a ramp to allow people to avoid the toll so they could use US 13 instead.  But for people traveling further south, it's easier to take DE 1.  There's just too many traffic lights and small towns with low speed limits to bother with US 13.

But I wouldn't say DE 1 is underutilized.  You will find congestion on that road nearly every weekend due to beach traffic, and weekday traffic volumes are fairly decent as well.

[DeaconG]

The majority of the toll roads in Orlando get heavy use; the Beachline, East-West and the Central Florida Greeneway north of the Beachline all usually have heavy usage.  The only one I could think of that doesn't would be the John Land Apopka Expressway (SR 414), along with the southern portion of the Greeneway.

[Henry]

I like to think that I-895 in Baltimore has been underutilized since the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened 30 years ago. And the fact that you cannot exit until after you've paid the toll may have been another major factor.

[hbelkins]

I've never seen much traffic the times I've been on the Mon-Fayette in Pennsylvania.

[bzakharin]

Do people use the Atlantic City Expressway a decent amount? Compared to the Parkway and Turnpike in New Jersey, that road gets almost no love.

It's because it's in South Jersey.  Nothing in South Jersey gets any love!  But, it does get used.  A lot.  Some people will use 55 to avoid the Expressway when travelling to the shore, but 55 is the best choice to the Cape May County shore locations anyway.  And at that point, you're avoiding both Expressway and Parkway tolls.  Rts. 30 and 42/322 are parallel to the Expressway and are better options to shunpike if heading towards Atlantic City and points along the Expressway, although both roads have their own traffic issues.  322 is one of the few relatively empty 4 lane roads in NJ and thus you can maintain a fairly consistent, fast speed on that road (minus the traffic lights)...as long as you're driving the 25 miles between Williamstown and Hamilton.  Once you enter either town, traffic builds up quickly.

The Expressway several years back built the Exit 41 Cross Keys Rd interchange in Gloucester Twp, in part to help ease congestion on Rt. 42 (which I guess would be the opposite of shunpiking).

Toll stats from April, 2015: http://www.sjta.com/sjta/publish/library/Monthly%20Statistical%20Summary%204-15.pdf  You'll notice a drop-off at the Pleasantville Plaza which could be due to the issues with Atlantic City, although the casinos themselves that remain open are actually having a very good year so far.

I commute almost the entire length of the ACE on weekdays and it seems quite empty during rush hour. You only get traffic jams during certain times around weekends and holidays during shore traffic season. I also sometimes go swimming during lunch since I work relatively close to Atlantic City (exit 7) and taking 322 is not worth it in that area  based on traffic volume and lights.

As for 55, it actually takes the same amount of time to get to the Cape May area beaches from the Philly area using the ACE and the Parkway assuming no traffic (or equal traffic jams) because the southern 20 miles of 55 remain unbuilt and NJ 47, which you have to take instead, is just not built for that kind of volume.

[ekt8750]

Now I've never been to Delaware, so I don't really know, but I feel like it's probably pretty common take US 13 instead of DE 1.

For locals and daily commuters that wouldn't be travelling very far on DE 1, that's mostly correct.  In fact, when they first built DE 1's northern tolled portion, they put in a ramp to allow people to avoid the toll so they could use US 13 instead.  But for people traveling further south, it's easier to take DE 1.  There's just too many traffic lights and small towns with low speed limits to bother with US 13.

But I wouldn't say DE 1 is underutilized.  You will find congestion on that road nearly every weekend due to beach traffic, and weekday traffic volumes are fairly decent as well.

I actually drove to Ocean City MD this past Saturday and actually took 13 for most of the way between St Georges and Dover. I hopped back on DE 1 in Dover and instantly regretted it. The traffic was downright awful between Milford and Rehoboth. I still don't know why I didn't hop on 113 as it was perfectly fine. 3 hour drive ended up taking damned near 6 hours with all the backups.

(Side note what was the reasoning behind breaking up the US 13/113 connection in DE and when did they do that?)

[jeffandnicole]

Do people use the Atlantic City Expressway a decent amount? Compared to the Parkway and Turnpike in New Jersey, that road gets almost no love.

It's because it's in South Jersey.  Nothing in South Jersey gets any love!  But, it does get used.  A lot.  Some people will use 55 to avoid the Expressway when travelling to the shore, but 55 is the best choice to the Cape May County shore locations anyway.  And at that point, you're avoiding both Expressway and Parkway tolls.  Rts. 30 and 42/322 are parallel to the Expressway and are better options to shunpike if heading towards Atlantic City and points along the Expressway, although both roads have their own traffic issues.  322 is one of the few relatively empty 4 lane roads in NJ and thus you can maintain a fairly consistent, fast speed on that road (minus the traffic lights)...as long as you're driving the 25 miles between Williamstown and Hamilton.  Once you enter either town, traffic builds up quickly.

The Expressway several years back built the Exit 41 Cross Keys Rd interchange in Gloucester Twp, in part to help ease congestion on Rt. 42 (which I guess would be the opposite of shunpiking).

Toll stats from April, 2015: http://www.sjta.com/sjta/publish/library/Monthly%20Statistical%20Summary%204-15.pdf  You'll notice a drop-off at the Pleasantville Plaza which could be due to the issues with Atlantic City, although the casinos themselves that remain open are actually having a very good year so far.

I commute almost the entire length of the ACE on weekdays and it seems quite empty during rush hour. You only get traffic jams during certain times around weekends and holidays during shore traffic season. I also sometimes go swimming during lunch since I work relatively close to Atlantic City (exit 7) and taking 322 is not worth it in that area  based on traffic volume and lights.

As for 55, it actually takes the same amount of time to get to the Cape May area beaches from the Philly area using the ACE and the Parkway assuming no traffic (or equal traffic jams) because the southern 20 miles of 55 remain unbuilt and NJ 47, which you have to take instead, is just not built for that kind of volume.

Timewise: Yes, its about the same.  But using 55 saves about 8 miles and about $4.50 each direction.  Dealing with the single lane roads (47, 347, 83, etc) sucks though.

You will almost never see traffic jams on the AC Expressway during rush hour, but don't associate that with being underutilized!

[froggie]

I like to think that I-895 in Baltimore has been underutilized since the Fort McHenry Tunnel opened 30 years ago.

It's not.  The I-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel averages about 71K vehicles a day.  That's 65% more than the Chicago Skyway in your neck of the woods...