Top 10 Road Geeking Spots in your state

[hbelkins]

There are portions of US 23 and KY 15 in Kentucky that are on their third alignment.

[Pete from Boston]

New Jersey:

Turnpike Exit 6 interchange, a miracalous transformation of the original configuration

Edison/Driscoll Bridges (so many lanes!)

Cape May-Lewes Ferry (Us Route on a ferry, so cool!)

NJ 324 (Awesome view of the commodore barry bridge, abandoned US route)

Ben Franklin Bridge (The multi modal bridge)

Calhoun Street Bridge (1884 Wrought Iron Pin Connected truss)

Pulaski Skyway

NJ 139/I78 Holland Tunnel Approach

NJ 29 Tunnel

Brigantine Connector Tunnel

New Jersey is a state necessarily heavily committed to its infrastructure.  This, for me, is most evident at the massive land area covered by the juncture(s) of 78, 95, 21, 22, 1-9, and Newark Airport.  Just looking at the aerial photos of it mesmerizes me.

Similarly, the pilgrimage of highway lanes to Fort Lee is quite a sight if you're not used to it (and even if you are).  Within that town are NJ 4, NJ 63, NJ 5, US 1/9/46, US 9W, I-95, the Palisades Interstate Parkway.  I-80 and NJ 93 are just outside.  Most of these feed majestically (or not) into the George Washington Bridge.

[jakeroot]

I-5 express lanes south of downtown Seattle, where they were squeezed into existing ROW

I'm obviously missing something. Do you mean HOV lanes? The express lanes only run north of the city.

The HOV lanes do seem tight south of the city though. Lots of areas with very little shoulder. Very un-WSDOT-like.

[GCrites]

There are portions of US 23 and KY 15 in Kentucky that are on their third alignment.

Oh I believe it, especially with Pikeville. I'd say the National Road/I-68 through PA and western MD is the king of that.

[DJDBVT]

Vermont isn't very roadgeeky in the traditional sense, but we do have a few gems in the state.  In no particular order:

- (For now) the abandoned extension of I-189 west of US 7
- VT 289 (especially the stub ramps at each end)
- The US 7/VT 279 Bennington Bypass interchange
- VT 108 Smuggler's Notch (unless you're in a semi)
- Rock cuts at the I-89/I-91 interchange in White River Jct, especially for the SB 89 to NB 91 flyover.
- VT 58 Hazen Notch (closed in the winter)
- VT 100 Morrisville bypass (probably the last new road VTrans will ever build).

The only thing I would add is the recently reopened floating bridge in VT 65 in Brookfield.

[Marc]

My list for Texas:

1. High Five interchange (I-635 & US 75, Dallas)
2. Katy Freeway (I-10, Houston, Katy)
3. Fred Hartman Bridge (SH 146, La Porte)
4. I-10 West double-deck (I-10, San Antonio)
5. I-45 through downtown Houston (southbound tends to have better views)
6. Woodall Rodgers Freeway (SS 366, Dallas) – features tunnel with park above
7. Harbor Bridge (US 181, Corpus Christi)
8. Capitol of Texas Highway (SL 360, Austin) – features hill country views and the Pennybacker Bridge
9. Mopac Expressway (SL 1, Austin) – Missouri Pacific (MoPac) Railroad is in the median of this heavily-traveled urban freeway
10. Skirt the US/Mexico border (1-10, El Paso)

[thenetwork]

Colorado -- in no particular order:

1) I-70/Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels
2) I-70/Glenwood Canyon
3) CO-5/Mount Evans Road
4) US-34/Trail Ridge Road @ Rocky Mountain National Park
5) CO-65 over the Grand Mesa
6) US-6/Clear Creek Canyon between Idaho Springs and Golden (7 tunnels)
7) Rim Rock Drive @ Colorado National Monument

[jwags]

* The rest areas on I-55 just north of Springfield.

YES!!

[wphiii]

5) PA Turnpike service plazas

Especially the eastbound Midway plaza, which retains some of the structure from the original plaza when the Turnpike first opened.

There's one place I would add to Kansas.

Another place in Kansas that I've always liked that I haven't seen mentioned is the spot between Dodge City and Garden City where you can see the Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts in the ground.

[freebrickproductions]

Alabama [feel free to amend...I've only been here two years]

George C. Wallace and Bankhead Tunnels in Mobile
Red Mountain Parkway (US 280) in Birmingham
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Loads of old bridges, infrastructure, and strange signs in Birmingham
I-22 construction / I-422 on-going things (for the next three decades)
Scattered, rare, and old white-background signs and captive-county markers
Metric kilometer-markers in odd places
Gadsden has a bunch of old bridges spanning the Coosa River
AL 176 because it winds and bends and turns around the side of a canyon
Slatted dark green overhead signs (Huntsville, Mobile) which are disappearing, rare finds elsewhere in the country.

Plenty of the "Alabama Slats" around Birmingham as well, especially near the I-20/59 and I-65 interchange.
I think Birmingham should be added to the list as well, since there's tons of button-copy and old shields around there, including the last button-copy shields in the state, as far as I'm aware.

[Sykotyk]

Well, for Western PA, these are some of my 'cool things I like to see when I'm there':

The PA-356 interchange with US422 that still has the grading for the cloverleaf ramp from NB-WB but instead you make a hard 270-degree left to head back onto the old SB-WB ramp.

576 with it's backward directional signs (WB is east, EB is west..., now complete with bridges to nowhere, awaiting the completion of the road from Bridgeville, funny a bridge to nowhere will eventually lead to Bridgeville).

PA 65/Ohio River Blvd from the interchange with I-279 and ending near New Brighton. Quasi-freeway with some towns and occasional lights dictated by the surrounding environment.

Industrial Hwy east of I-79 just north of PA-60. Four-lane divided road with no intersections serving an industrial area and a concrete plant. Gives the appearance it was once supposed to be something much bigger and connect directly to PA-60.

Bay Front Connector in Erie. Just for personal reasons, I like taking this road when I can.

US-6 from Youngsville where it starts as a four-lane until Warren when it ends. Stretches of freeway, four-lane uncontrolled, divided, etc.

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

Repurposed Turnpike service plazas. Including one that was turned into a warehouse (actually that one is out East toward the Reading area).

PA-18 Freeway-tized four-lane divided road with no lefts allowed at most intersections between Hermitage and Greenville. All turns are from at-grade off-ramps.

Shenango Valley Freeway (US-62) that isn't a freeway. Runs from near Shenango Valley Mall, running along near south side of Sharon west. Has several lights and driveways, has a left turn and then a divided right curve and another light before depositing you back on the old route through town. Right near state line becomes four-lane divided with a clover-leaf interchange with OH-82.

[wphiii]

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

[jakeroot]

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

I suspect that the general public may have difficulty reading that sign at speed, but truckers probably can take in the sign in one go, if only because they are used to looking for the (relatively) tiny restriction signs already in place in cities. A huge sign such as this may actually be a blessing in disguise (I don't know for sure).

[vdeane]

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

I suspect that the general public may have difficulty reading that sign at speed, but truckers probably can take in the sign in one go, if only because they are used to looking for the (relatively) tiny restriction signs already in place in cities. A huge sign such as this may actually be a blessing in disguise (I don't know for sure).

That sign is not meant to be read by people moving at speed, but by trucks in the brake test area.

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

[Pete from Boston]

Ridgway TRK US-219. A ramp specifically just for trucks heading north into town to avoid any potential runaway truck problems.

I love this for the wild diagrammatic sign that's meant to explain all of this to truckers.

So there are more.  I only know the similar sign at the stop-and-read-the-instructions area here on US 30 in Laughlintown.

[Sykotyk]

There's a lot of those signs. Especially in Pennsylvania with a lot of roads having 'truck stop ahead' situations at the top of long descents. US 322 has one near Philipsburg as well heading west bound. I know there's more I've seen. Most have some sort of warning of what's ahead and where the curves and runaway ramps are.

As for TRK US-219... that sign isn't the only thing, there's huge overhead warning BGSs telling truckers to take the truck route. Also signed as "Trucks Only".

[bing101]

for California


1. The I-105/I-110 interchange in Los Angeles Tallest Stack interchange in California
2. CA-1 Big Sur
3. The Bay Bridge
4. Golden Gate Bridge
5. I-280 from San Bruno to San Jose
6. US-101 Redwood Highway in Mendocino
7. I-210 Foothill Freeway from the I-5 Sylmar interchange to the CA-710 Gap in Pasadena
8. US-50 Lake Tahoe
9. Ridge Route/ Grapevine I-5 from Kern to Santa Clarita.
10.  Donner Pass I-80.

[wphiii]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

[vdeane]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

[Pete from Boston]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

I have happily employed "Thank god you're here, how do I get out of here?" on a number of such occasions.  I like seeing how far I can go.

[vdeane]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

I have happily employed "Thank god you're here, how do I get out of here?" on a number of such occasions.  I like seeing how far I can go.

Hard to do when you're too honest for your own good.  I'm like Sheldon in that episode of the Big Bang Theory where he and Leonard buy helium though the black market ("you have lots of options - for example, you could kill us and run off with the money").

[hbelkins]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

It's possible that StreetView got permission from PennDot.

[Mr_Northside]

Gotta love how PA made their highway system unclinchable by banning cars from that truck route.

The Google StreetView-mobile apparently made it through there in 2008.

I wouldn't want to go through there and risk getting pulled over (which street view cars have been many times).

It's possible that StreetView got permission from PennDot.

As a passenger, I was in a car that used the truck lanes - but that was because there was some construction going on that they closed the regular NB (downhill) lane, and all NB traffic was directed to the truck lane.
I don't see anything like that in the Streetview images the Google car produced, so maybe they did get permission in advance, or they just said "fuck it, we're the Google street view car!".  If it's just a fine (no points that would stick with the driver him/herself), Google can afford that.

[AsphaltPlanet]

I doubt anyone at Google would have asked.  Trying to get special permission from any government for any purpose probably is almost never worth the trouble.

[jakeroot]

I doubt anyone at Google would have asked.  Trying to get special permission from any government for any purpose probably is almost never worth the trouble.

That's what I was thinking. The driver's probably weren't paying attention to the signs, and just drove on down the highway. At most, we're talking about a fine (and frankly, I'd take the fine over waiting for the state to respond to a request).