Essentially non-existent destinations

[empirestate]

What are some destinations shown on exit or intersection signage that, for all practical purposes, don't really exist (or barely so)?

One that I see regularly is the US 9 exit for "Senasqua Rd" in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Senasqua Rd technically exists, but it amounts to only a one-way stretch adjacent to the US 9 freeway and is barely distinguishable from part of an exit ramp or, at best, a frontage road. As far as I know there is only one address located on the road, that of the former NY Central station.

Other examples might be some of the exits from western Interstates that have names, but the name is of a vanished settlement, one that may never have existed in much form at all. I know I've found several interchange names that don't appear in the GNIS database or on USGS maps, so they can't even be said to represent localities.

Others?


iPhone

[SD Mapman]

Exit 44 on I-90 in SD is signed as Bethlehem Rd, but exits to Chimney Canyon Rd and 218th St. Other than that, SDDOT does a good job of not putting a destination for an exit if there's nothing there.

[noelbotevera]

I-278, exit 28A: Cadman Plaza West

Cadman Plaza is a basically a park which isn't far from the exit, but is not a street. You get dumped onto Fulton Street in reality if you take this exit.

[Rothman]

They exist, but the I-787 exit for "Colonie St Columbia St" bugs me.  You're really put onto Water Street.  No one cares about the two-block-long Colonie St and Columbia St, which I suppose gets you to City Hall, is more blocks down Water Street. 

[JustDrive]

Exit 87A on SB 101 in Carpinteria, CA is signed for Reynolds Avenue, but it only lasts one block south of the trumpet interchange. It's essentially an access road for Santa Ynez Avenue, which crosses the freeway.

[hotdogPi]

Does "Thru Traffic" count?

[NYhwyfan]

Does "Thru Traffic" count?

Never quite understood but has been like that since I can remember or more likely when I-990 was built
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0019504,-78.814391,3a,75y,127.76h,86.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2km91QJk4ijVjIm7DslpZg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9927104,-78.8016179,3a,75y,330.88h,82.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYHT0BYUYLJZ7fSRfr1SSww!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


I'm sure this counts as well at I-990's southern terminus
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0034644,-78.8037691,3a,75y,178.69h,88.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skFwVlX8O-KdAYr1kp99mdA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[briantroutman]

On US 15 immediately north of Williamsport, an interchange is labeled "Foy Ave" . At its peak, Foy Avenue was never more than a disconnected side street with a handful of homes on it, severed from the street grid on one end by railroad tracks.

When the freeway bypasses of US 15 and 220 were built in the early '70s, Foy Avenue become the northern terminus of the 15 freeway; the few homes that stood along that street and neighboring streets were all razed, leaving no trace of Foy except the sign.

[empirestate]

I-278, exit 28A: Cadman Plaza West

Cadman Plaza is a basically a park which isn't far from the exit, but is not a street. You get dumped onto Fulton Street in reality if you take this exit.

Cadman Plaza West certainly is a street, and a rather major one. It does connect to Fulton St. so it's not a direct connection to the BQE, but definitely not non-existent.

Does "Thru Traffic" count?

Yes, if there isn't any actual thru traffic!


iPhone

[Pete from Boston]

I-278, exit 28A: Cadman Plaza West

Cadman Plaza is a basically a park which isn't far from the exit, but is not a street. You get dumped onto Fulton Street in reality if you take this exit.

Cadman Plaza is still a place.  Otherwise where are my NYC parking fines going?

[jwolfer]

On i195 in New Jersey exit 21 and 22 have Siloam and Georgia.. Sections of townships but nobody knows them really

[Jardine]

Closest approximation of a non-existent destination in this area would be the county road exit just east of the I-680 Mormon Bridges over the Missouri River at Omaha.

The I-29 exit for Loveland Iowa is close, the community is unincorporated and the population is under 40.

[Alex]

Churchman's Crossing in Delaware. Originally named Metroform, the redevelopment of the area surrounding Delaware Park at the cross roads of Delaware 4 and 7 never came to pass. Signs along I-95 and DE 1 at DE 7 reference it consistently but Stanton is pretty much all that is recognizable as one heads north. Further more Deltech's campus nearby is still the Stanton Campus and not the Churchman's Crossing Campus.

[jeffandnicole]

Churchman's Crossing in Delaware. Originally named Metroform, the redevelopment of the area surrounding Delaware Park at the cross roads of Delaware 4 and 7 never came to pass. Signs along I-95 and DE 1 at DE 7 reference it consistently but Stanton is pretty much all that is recognizable as one heads north. Further more Deltech's campus nearby is still the Stanton Campus and not the Churchman's Crossing Campus.

It's just home to a bunch of shopping centers and restaurants now, really.  But you never hear of Christiana Hospital or the hotels in the area as being in Churchman's Crossing.  Really, they should've tied the area name into Christiana, with the mall and hospital being named after it already.  Heck, Christiana Crossing would've been better!

[TheHighwayMan3561]

6th St NE off I-90 in Austin, MN. 6th St ends at T-intersections in either direction immediately after the I-90 interchange.

[1995hoo]

Norwood, Maryland, which is listed on BGSs on the Intercounty Connector.

(Link is to a Washington Post story talking about how nobody who lives in Norwood has heard of it. The article even uses the term "control cities" but puts it in quotation marks as if to suggest it's some strange term. I note my use of quotation marks here is simply because I'm referring to the term being used as a term.)

[hbelkins]

Exit 94 on I-64 in Kentucky for KY 1958 has, for as long as I can remember, had "Van Meter Rd./Winchester" as its destinations.

The biggest problem with that is that KY 1958 is NOT Van Meter Rd. It's officially known as Bypass Road. Van Meter Road is a county road that connects with KY 2888, which intersects KY 1958 just north of the I-64 interchange, and really serves nothing of any importance. Better signage would be for "Winchester/Richmond," the way "Boonesboro/Winchester" are signed on Exit 95, KY 627, on I-75.

[Pete from Boston]

"Ramapo, NY" is indeed a place, but it is not a destination because no person ever says to themselves, "I have to go to Ramapo."  It is just a line around places people identify as such.  If they do say this, call the government or shoot them because they are an alien or a spy.

[cl94]

"Ramapo, NY" is indeed a place, but it is not a destination because no person ever says to themselves, "I have to go to Ramapo."  It is just a line around places people identify as such.  If they do say this, call the government or shoot them because they are an alien or a spy.

They could be referring to the rest area. The Ramapo Service Area is always a stop of mine heading SB on the Thruway, as it's the last rest area.

[jeffandnicole]

NJDOT used to sign all sorts of little dinky areas on small green signs all over the state.  Other than some of the more well known areas, most of those signs have disappeared thru the years, and in many cases the people living in those areas now don't even realize what the area had formerly been called. A longtime volunteer fire department's name may be the only remaining hint of the areas' identity.

[empirestate]

Exit 44 on I-90 in SD is signed as Bethlehem Rd, but exits to Chimney Canyon Rd and 218th St. Other than that, SDDOT does a good job of not putting a destination for an exit if there's nothing there.

Is there a Bethlehem Road anywhere nearby, or is it an alternate/obsolete name for one of the others?

Closest approximation of a non-existent destination in this area would be the county road exit just east of the I-680 Mormon Bridges over the Missouri River at Omaha.

Does the exit not serve a county road? Looks like it connects to 130th Street.

Norwood, Maryland, which is listed on BGSs on the Intercounty Connector.

Yeah, that's the type of place I feel like I've seen elsewhere, too. There seem to be a couple such locales around State College, for example–is it because people choose exit destinations by poring over old DOT maps and using whatever placename happens to still be shown there? (And as the article also asks, do obsolete names ever see much resurgence in use by being assigned to exits this way?)

Exit 94 on I-64 in Kentucky for KY 1958 has, for as long as I can remember, had "Van Meter Rd./Winchester" as its destinations.

The biggest problem with that is that KY 1958 is NOT Van Meter Rd. It's officially known as Bypass Road. Van Meter Road is a county road that connects with KY 2888, which intersects KY 1958 just north of the I-64 interchange, and really serves nothing of any importance. Better signage would be for "Winchester/Richmond," the way "Boonesboro/Winchester" are signed on Exit 95, KY 627, on I-75.

This seems to be a prominent sub-theme emerging: where the destination does very much exist, but connects to the interchange only circuitously or indirectly–and in a few rare cases, not at all. I feel like Texas has a thing with this, actually.

[cpzilliacus]

Norwood, Maryland, which is listed on BGSs on the Intercounty Connector.

(Link is to a Washington Post story talking about how nobody who lives in Norwood has heard of it. The article even uses the term "control cities" but puts it in quotation marks as if to suggest it's some strange term. I note my use of quotation marks here is simply because I'm referring to the term being used as a term.)

More about Norwood, Montgomery County, Maryland from the Just Up the Pike blog here.

[Pete from Boston]

"Ramapo, NY" is indeed a place, but it is not a destination because no person ever says to themselves, "I have to go to Ramapo."  It is just a line around places people identify as such.  If they do say this, call the government or shoot them because they are an alien or a spy.

They could be referring to the rest area. The Ramapo Service Area is always a stop of mine heading SB on the Thruway, as it's the last rest area.

They're not.  This is on 202 in New Jersey.

[jp the roadgeek]

Always loved the Metropark Amtrak stop, and GSP Exit 131. There is no Metropark, NJ.  It's located in Iselin, which itself is part of Woodbridge Township.

[SD Mapman]

Exit 44 on I-90 in SD is signed as Bethlehem Rd, but exits to Chimney Canyon Rd and 218th St. Other than that, SDDOT does a good job of not putting a destination for an exit if there's nothing there.

Is there a Bethlehem Road anywhere nearby, or is it an alternate/obsolete name for one of the others?

Yes, but they don't give directions to it... that might change when the exit's redone next year.