News:

While the Forum is up and running, there are still thousands of guests (bots). Downtime may occur as a result.
- Alex

Main Menu

No Merge Area

Started by Buffaboy, September 02, 2016, 05:08:25 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Roadrunner75

My favorite "Merge or Die" was getting on the Pulaski Skyway SB from Tonnele Ave (US 1/9) in Jersey City.  You would just sit in the line on the ramp until it was your turn, crane your neck all the way around to watch the 60+ mph traffic zooming up on you, hope for the best and then stomp on it.  There was sometimes a guy sitting at the top of the ramp selling stuff (can't recall what but probably mirrors, Bibles, crash helmets or something else appropriate).  As part of the current Pulaski project or work on the adjacent ramp system, they managed to put in a very small acceleration lane, which takes some of the fun out of it.  This streetview doesn't do it justice:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7393147,-74.0677368,3a,95.6y,266.42h,65.63t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1smbVZmhlcCJnFnHbi8l2hLg!2e0?
A close second would be the nearby on-ramp from Broadway, which enters from the left (but is now closed with the on-going work).


mrsman

Quote from: Roadrunner75 on September 15, 2016, 12:46:27 AM
My favorite "Merge or Die" was getting on the Pulaski Skyway SB from Tonnele Ave (US 1/9) in Jersey City.  You would just sit in the line on the ramp until it was your turn, crane your neck all the way around to watch the 60+ mph traffic zooming up on you, hope for the best and then stomp on it.  There was sometimes a guy sitting at the top of the ramp selling stuff (can't recall what but probably mirrors, Bibles, crash helmets or something else appropriate).  As part of the current Pulaski project or work on the adjacent ramp system, they managed to put in a very small acceleration lane, which takes some of the fun out of it.  This streetview doesn't do it justice:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7393147,-74.0677368,3a,95.6y,266.42h,65.63t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1smbVZmhlcCJnFnHbi8l2hLg!2e0?
A close second would be the nearby on-ramp from Broadway, which enters from the left (but is now closed with the on-going work).

Agreed regarding the Pulaski Skyway.  I've always driven in the left lane on this stretch because of the heavy merge coming in form Tonnelle.  I feel that the two lanes of Pulaski should merge just prior to the Tonnele onramp so that the onramp has its own lane going forward and avoid the dangerous merge here.  There certainly is enough traffic coming from Tonnele to justify it.

doorknob60

#27
They're all over in Idaho. Most are on rural stretches of interstate (understandable due to traffic volume, but scary at 80 MPH). But, there are some pretty bad examples on heavily trafficked urban/suburban freeway...

I-184 Eastbound and Curtis Rd. onramp, Boise, ID:


I-84 Eastbound and Eagle Rd. northbound onramp, Meridian, ID:

I deal with this one every morning. Half the time morons are only going 45-50 by the time they get to the freeway. Luckily the right lane is moving somewhat slow around there because this is just after the loop onramp from southbound Eagle. Then, I (and hundreds of other cars) have to merge over to the left to get to I-184.

I-84 Westbound and Franklin Rd. onramp, Nampa, ID:

This one is especially bad because it is right after a big freeway bottleneck where I-84 drops from 4 to 3 to 2 lanes, and it backs up for miles from 4-6 PM. Very heavy traffic. And when it's not too heavy, lots of truck traffic going 55-60 in the right lane, and people going 75 in the left lane. I-84 from Franklin Rd. to Caldwell is just awful.

All these threw me off guard when I moved here, because you don't really see this in Oregon, at least not on interstates. I've never seen yields on freeways in Idaho. Based on this thread, a lot of these examples would have yields in some states. But here, they work better than you expect. People just go and find their way in. I've never had real trouble with it. But it's still bad, especially considering they did a major reconstruction of I-84 through Meridian recently, and yet the Eagle Rd. ramps are still that way (the Meridian Rd. onramps now have very long accel lanes though). FWIW, I am totally against the concept of yield signs on a freeway. Yield implies stopping if there's no gap. Stopping on an on-ramp (assuming free-flow traffic on the freeway) will only make it worse.

slorydn1

Before the Trent River Bridge was widened to 3 lanes to accommodate the interchange for the Neuse River Bridge when it was finished in the late 90's we had one of these here: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1008466,-77.06041,3a,75y,63.55h,90.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjDomDbZ88f0j-u60m8E8pA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Now, its simple. The ramp coming from the Pembroke overpass just becomes the third lane. No merging necessary unless you want to continue on to US-70 to go to Havelock, and you have the whole bridge to get that accomplished.

Back then the only acceleration room you has was from the apex of the corner on the tight clover leaf to the point where the solid white lines meet up ahead, and you better be up to speed or you were going to get smoked. Not fun in a 1980 Chevette that smoked more than I do, lol.

If you move the streetview ahead, you can see the seam in the asphalt just to the right of the  center/right lane markers that used to be the outside edge of the shoulder of the road.
Please Note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of any governmental agency, non-governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency or wanna be governmental agency

Counties: Counties Visited

pianocello

Quote from: JREwing78 on September 05, 2016, 09:07:09 PM
This might be a better illustration of "No Merge Area". This stretch of I-94 has hardly been altered from its early 1950's (US-12) configuration. You have barely 1/4 mile to accelerate (uphill) from a dead stop to merge with 70+ mph traffic. The only thing that saves your bacon here is the paved shoulder.

MDOT could easily resolve the issue with about 1000 feet of merge lane, and in fact has with the next exit eastbound (including the necessary wider bridge). It's kinda astounding they didn't put a few thousand bucks into doing so during the last round of pavement work.

Welcome to Parma, MI.

Overhead:
https://goo.gl/maps/PZi96PSPDgu

Street view at the ramp entrance:
https://goo.gl/maps/tvVCDQtD8Yw

At the merge point:
https://goo.gl/maps/kSAx54UZpd42

On a similar note in that area: The I-69 S merge onto the CD Ramp at I-94 west has no merge area. It has pros and cons over the Parma interchange: This one's a bit more serious if you're not able to merge in time (you're gonna hit an overpass), but you're not merging with mainline traffic (yet), and the ramp geometry makes it a little easier to make it to freeway speed.

When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of the Illinois-bound (EB/SB) approaches to the I-74 bridge in Bettendorf, IA. There's two of them right in a row! https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5250372,-90.5132422,550m/data=!3m1!1e3
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

Scott5114

No religious discussion permitted.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

KEK Inc.

SR-520 and SR-513 in Seattle has a sketchy merge.

https://goo.gl/maps/QA5axq9CjGL2

There's also a ramp meter, but I've never seen it on.
Take the road less traveled.

Rothman

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 09, 2016, 02:14:50 PM
No religious discussion permitted.

Butbutbut...

*sighs*

Okay. :(
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

jakeroot

Quote from: KEK Inc. on October 15, 2016, 05:50:28 PM
There's also a ramp meter, but I've never seen it on.

Yeah, neither have I. Maybe the toll reduced the amount of traffic on the bridge to the point where the meters were no longer necessary? Or maybe the meter is so old, it doesn't work anymore? :-D



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.