Downtown freeway loops

[Revive 755]

If we are going to start listing unconstructed ones:

* St. Louis with two versions - US 40, I-70, and MO 755, and a different version where an expressway along Cole Street/Page Avenue corridor (starting at I-70 in earlier plans) would have formed the northern boundary

* Chicago with I-55, I-90/I-94, and the Ohio Feeder/Lake Shore Drive version of I-494

* Wichita, KS? With US 54/US 400, I-135, and the unbuilt Inner Loop

* Louisville, KY?  With I-64, I-65, the unbuilt Southwest Radial (9th Street), and the unbuilt Crosstown route (partial loop inside I-264).

* Minneapolis with I-94, I-35W, and the unbuilt I-335

* Milwaukee with I-43, I-794, the partially removed/partially not built Park East, and the unbuilt leg along the Lakefront

* New Orleans?  With I-10, Business 90, and the unbuilt I-310 along the river

*Atlanta?  With I-20, I-75/I-85, an unbuilt western extension of the GA 10/I-485 corridor, and an unbuilt route from the northern I-75/I-85 interchange to I-85 near the airport

[Flint1979]

If we are going to start listing unconstructed ones:

* St. Louis with two versions - US 40, I-70, and MO 755, and a different version where an expressway along Cole Street/Page Avenue corridor (starting at I-70 in earlier plans) would have formed the northern boundary

* Chicago with I-55, I-90/I-94, and the Ohio Feeder/Lake Shore Drive version of I-494

* Wichita, KS? With US 54/US 400, I-135, and the unbuilt Inner Loop

* Louisville, KY?  With I-64, I-65, the unbuilt Southwest Radial (9th Street), and the unbuilt Crosstown route (partial loop inside I-264).

* Minneapolis with I-94, I-35W, and the unbuilt I-335

* Milwaukee with I-43, I-794, the partially removed/partially not built Park East, and the unbuilt leg along the Lakefront

* New Orleans?  With I-10, Business 90, and the unbuilt I-310 along the river

*Atlanta?  With I-20, I-75/I-85, an unbuilt western extension of the GA 10/I-485 corridor, and an unbuilt route from the northern I-75/I-85 interchange to I-85 near the airport

Chicago doesn't have any freeway loop downtown. The Ohio feeder turns into surface streets well before the lake (Ontario and Ohio Streets), I-55 is too far south to be part of any downtown loop, and Lakeshore Drive barely resembles a freeway.

[kurumi]

New Haven had one planned in the 1960s: http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ringroad.html

[TXtoNJ]

Well, I wasn't restricting it to major ones, and it was intended more as "let's see how absurd of an example I can think of to make a point" than to be taken seriously.  Plus coastal cities can be impossible depending on how strict you want to be.  That said, by making the loop more complicated, we can add more:
-From I-10, I-75, I-275, I-75, I-595, I-95, FL 9B, I-295
-I-295 (Richmond)
-I-295, New Jersey Turnpike
-I-278
-I-195, MA 24, I-93, I-91 to I-90*
-I-290, I-190, ON 405, QEW, Gardiner Expy, Don Valley Pkwy, ON 401, ON 402, I-69, I-96, I-196, I-94
-I-94, I-43, I-41, I-94
-I-94, I-694, I-94
-I-405 (Portland)
-I-505, I-80, US 101, I-280, I-680, I-580
-I-405 (LA)
-I-8
-I-410 (San Antonio)
-I-610 (Houston)
-I-210 (Lake Charles)

*I wanted to go into Québec, but alas every freeway border crossing east of Niagara Falls has at least one at-grade intersection (even if A-85 were finished, the at-grade on NB 95 would prevent going that way)

Wasn't intending to contradict your major point, more that it highlights how intensive coastal urban development is relative to the hinterland.

[vdeane]

Definitely true.  Some cities aren't even possible to get in any loop for that reason (notably Miami, San Diego, and San Francisco).  Making a more complicated "loop" to net as many as possible was certainly a fun exercise, though.

[SSR_317]

465 in Indianapolis

And also, if West Street did become the freeway it was supposed to be (let's say I-270), I-65, I-70, and I-270 would have encircled Downtown.

Actually, it was SUPPOSED to be part of an extended I-69 which would've joined the "Inner Loop" from the proposed Northeast Freeway at the present-day North Split of I-65 & I-70 - which is why grade separations exist there for "ghost ramps" (these are about to be removed, nearly 40 years later). From that point there would have been a "wrong way pairing" of SB I-69 on NB I-65 (and visa versa) to the present day Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd exit at the NW corner of the loop, where I-69 would have departed to the south toward I-70 along the MLK/West Street corridor. From there, I-69 would've either gone straight across, or joined I-70 briefly until the Harding Street exit, where it would have departed to the south at least as far as I-465. But both the I-69 (later proposed I-165) Northeast Freeway and the Harding (Street) Freeway were canceled so INDOT could focus on completing I-65 & I-70 through the city, and because of political concerns (a "freeway revolt") over further dividing established inner-city neighborhoods. That left the now soon-to-be gone ghost ramps & grade separations as the only physical evidence of this failed proposal.

[vdeane]

Definitely true.  Some cities aren't even possible to get in any loop for that reason (notably Miami, San Diego, and San Francisco).  Making a more complicated "loop" to net as many as possible was certainly a fun exercise, though.

That's also true for cities with downtowns that are right up next to mountains, like Salt Lake City and Boise.

The post you're replying to was referring to a satirical "loop" of transcontinental interstates around as many cities as possible in the entire country.

[Beltway]

Definitely true.  Some cities aren't even possible to get in any loop for that reason (notably Miami, San Diego, and San Francisco).  Making a more complicated "loop" to net as many as possible was certainly a fun exercise, though.

That's also true for cities with downtowns that are right up next to mountains, like Salt Lake City and Boise.

The post you're replying to was referring to a satirical "loop" of transcontinental interstates around as many cities as possible in the entire country.

Like the Pennsylvania Beltway?   I caught heat for suggesting that on the Usenet group misc.transport.road about 15 years ago.  A beltway all the way around Pennsylvania so that you don't have to drive thru the state, you can bypass it from any direction.

[webny99]

A beltway all the way around Pennsylvania so that you don't have to drive thru the state, you can bypass it from any direction.

How do you get from Buffalo to Cleveland? 

Via Detroit is a bad option, but via NYC is even worse. A Conneaut to Ripley bridge maybe?

[Beltway]

A beltway all the way around Pennsylvania so that you don't have to drive thru the state, you can bypass it from any direction.

How do you get from Buffalo to Cleveland? 
Via Detroit is a bad option, but via NYC is even worse. A Conneaut to Ripley bridge maybe?

The Lake Erie Viaduct!   

[NE2]

Without getting into a full list of foreign cities, Nagoya's and Osaka's are special in that they're one-way.

[Brandon]

If we are going to start listing unconstructed ones:

* Chicago with I-55, I-90/I-94, and the Ohio Feeder/Lake Shore Drive version of I-494

Chicago doesn't have any freeway loop downtown. The Ohio feeder turns into surface streets well before the lake (Ontario and Ohio Streets), I-55 is too far south to be part of any downtown loop, and Lake Shore Drive barely resembles a freeway.

He was discussing unconstructed ones that were proposed at one time, but never made it to fruition.  And Lake Shore Drive is three words, not two - I corrected it.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Without getting into a full list of foreign cities, Nagoya's and Osaka's are special in that they're one-way.

So does Charleroi's in Belgium.

[mgk920]

If we are going to start listing unconstructed ones:

* St. Louis with two versions - US 40, I-70, and MO 755, and a different version where an expressway along Cole Street/Page Avenue corridor (starting at I-70 in earlier plans) would have formed the northern boundary

* Chicago with I-55, I-90/I-94, and the Ohio Feeder/Lake Shore Drive version of I-494

* Wichita, KS? With US 54/US 400, I-135, and the unbuilt Inner Loop

* Louisville, KY?  With I-64, I-65, the unbuilt Southwest Radial (9th Street), and the unbuilt Crosstown route (partial loop inside I-264).

* Minneapolis with I-94, I-35W, and the unbuilt I-335

* Milwaukee with I-43, I-794, the partially removed/partially not built Park East, and the unbuilt leg along the Lakefront

* New Orleans?  With I-10, Business 90, and the unbuilt I-310 along the river

*Atlanta?  With I-20, I-75/I-85, an unbuilt western extension of the GA 10/I-485 corridor, and an unbuilt route from the northern I-75/I-85 interchange to I-85 near the airport

Chicago doesn't have any freeway loop downtown. The Ohio feeder turns into surface streets well before the lake (Ontario and Ohio Streets), I-55 is too far south to be part of any downtown loop, and Lakeshore Drive barely resembles a freeway.

At one time, the plan was to extend the Ohio-Ontario Feeder northeastward to connect with Lakeshore Dr at Michigan Ave, then with other upgrades would have formed a loop with the Stevenson (I-55) and the Dan Ryan/Kennedy (I-90/94).

Mike

[Buffaboy]

Is there a criteria for how close to downtown it has to be?

This could determine whether, for example, I-90/I-190/I-290 can count for Buffalo. It does circle downtown, but a lot of other attractions/neighborhoods/etc. are inside the loop in addition to the CBD.

That's too big, the most immediate "loop" would actually be I-190/NY-33/NY-198 if we ignore the 1-mile at grade section and stop light on NY-198.

If the West Side arterial and Elm-Oak expressway (almost/partially built) were constructed, then there would be a full loop of downtown itself.

Not building Elm/Oak was a blunder. What's there is unsafe and the developments within are substandard.

[Kacie Jane]

Seattle was originally intended to have one. I-90 (them US 10) was originally supposed to extend the last mile or so to SR (then US) 99 along what is now Royal Brougham Way. (It's why the exits for I-5 from I-90 are "Exit 2" even though they're far less than two miles from the beginning of the freeway.)

On the north side, the Bay Freeway was planned, connecting I-5 and SR 99 along approximately Mercer Street. (Which is why the I-5/Mercer interchange might seem "overbuilt" if you're driving through it out looking at it from above; it was built as a freeway-to-freeway interchange, the traffic light at Fairview right at the foot of the ramps wasn't supposed to still be there five decades later.)

[thenetwork]

Youngstown, OH definitely has a freeway loop, though whether it is "close in" enough to count could be questioned.

I'd say Youngstown qualifies, as most downtown-bound traffic from I-680 would likely take at least one of the freeway loops (US-62, US-422, SR-193) into the CBD/YSU area.

Downtown Akron was nearly surrounded by freeways until the Akron Innerbelt was squelched. 

Toledo would come close as well, until their Riverfront Freeway proposal was '86ed in the 70s -- although the I-75 portion to the north of downtown would still be considered too far outside the CBD.

[cl94]

-Newark. Turnpike western spur, 78, Garden State Parkway, 280. You could throw US 1/9 in there as well if you so desire, but it's an awkward connection to the Turnpike heading CW.
-Harrisburg. I-81/83 and PA 581.

[bing101]

Unconstructed ones in california:

an "East Bypass" was proposed in downtown LA in the mid-1960s (Route 241 at one point) that would have connected today's 110 between the Santa Monica Freeway/I-10 and the Golden State Freeway/I-5.  It was pre-1964 LRN 222 as seen on this map
https://www.cahighways.org/maps/1963routes.jpg

Had the Central and Embarcadero Freeways been fully finished in SF, they would have formed two legs of a loop encircling downtown, with the southeast leg being today's Skyway (I-80).

Also I-280 was going to extend to CA-480 though given the maps seen in the 1970's saying that was going to happen.

[froggie]

* Minneapolis with I-94, I-35W, and the unbuilt I-335

Technically, yes.  But one would have not been able to circle around the loop as the required ramps at 94/335 were never proposed.

[briantroutman]

-Harrisburg. I-81/83 and PA 581.

Harrisburg was intended to have a much tighter loop:

- a West Shore Expressway running from the terminus of the York/Baltimore Expressway in Lemoyne to the wide spot in the median of I-81 near Enola, and...
- an East Shore Expressway running roughly parallel to/on top of Cameron Street from the I-81/US 22-322 interchange to the semi-directional 2nd Street interchange.