Favorite On-ramps and Off-ramps

[ftballfan]

The interconnected web of ramps between exits 62 and 67 on I-4.

EB I-96 to SB US-131 and NB US-131 to WB I-96.

WB I-96 to NB US-31 because if traffic is no issue, you can run 65-70 on that ramp (contrast with the SB US-31 to EB I-96 ramp which is a 25 mph advisory loop ramp with short weaves on both ends of the ramp)

[1995hoo]

In terms of ramps that are favorites for other reasons, vdeane in particular will think I'm crazy for this, but northbound Exit 24 on the Thruway comes to mind and the reason has nothing to do with the ramp itself per se. Rather, it's a favorite because it's sort of a milestone when we hit that ramp whenever we're heading north–it marks the point where we finally exit the Thruway and the "northeastern toll road complex" to head up the Northway towards Quebec. I love driving through the mountains on the Northway and hitting Exit 24 means we're nearing that part of the trip. (I guess it's sort of like how when I was a kid, my mom liked reaching the southern end of the Jersey Turnpike on the way home from New York because even though it was only the halfway point of the trip, she felt like getting out of Jersey represented a major chunk of the drive being over.)

Now that you mention it, I probably should have included that one in my list.  Sure, it's not the design one would want for an interstate mainline, but as a native of upstate NY, I tend to think more in terms of Thruway/everything else more so than I-87/I-90.  That interchange makes a great gateway, and not just because of the large "welcome to the Capital District" monument next to the toll barrier (exit B1 has one too and it doesn't feel a momentous).  It's literally the start/end of a large percentage of my roadtrips, as just about anything to the south or west will involve it (if you want to add in trips to the east, you need only move one interchange over to the Northway/free 90 junction).

....

Heh, I figured you'd say I was crazy because of the strange design and the traffic. I do sort of enjoy the reverse S-curve layout heading north on I-87, though no doubt the fact that I don't have to drive through there very often is a factor in that opinion!

[vdeane]

It will probably get more annoying when the toll booths are removed and the curve becomes the main thing requiring slowing down (though really, my car can take even the inside curve at 30-40 just fine in good weather; meanwhile, I-90 will be free-flow when that happens, and the weave will probably become more of a factor when traffic is moving at freeway speeds instead of slowing down for the toll barrier).

Of course, the fact that I only deal with it when traveling out of town helps - and living where I do, I'm generally in the off-peak direction.  I usually take I-787 when accessing the area around exit 23 (not just to shunpike but also because the portion of I-787 around downtown is interesting and because it feels weird to hop on the Thruway when staying within a metro area (though it's unavoidable to get to Schenectady)).

[jaehak]

The ramp from 28th Street to northbound I-83 in Baltimore by Druid Hill. Love it.

Good one. That whole interchange is cool.

[jaehak]

I've always been partial to the Lake Shore Drive northbound to I-55 Southbound ramp.

The Chicago Skyline ahead, Lake Michigan to the right...

That's a good one. Bonus points for being the Married... With Children interchange.

Also the National Lampoon's Vacation interchange.

Good call.

[webny99]

it feels weird to hop on the Thruway when staying within a metro area (though it's unavoidable to get to Schenectady)).

I second that. But what's wrong with taking NY 7 to Schenectady?

[plain]

Mine are the ramps on I-95 at Exit 74A (VA 195) in downtown Richmond.

[Gnutella]

In Florida, I-10 westbound to I-75 northbound, Exit 296B. You don't even have to slow down. I've taken that ramp at 80 MPH before.

[vdeane]

it feels weird to hop on the Thruway when staying within a metro area (though it's unavoidable to get to Schenectady)).

I second that. But what's wrong with taking NY 7 to Schenectady?

Lights are annoying (though they're better on the Colonie side than the Niskayuna/Schenectady side).  Plus I prefer to use the freeway system to get around metro areas where reasonable, and it's only a couple minutes longer to take the Thruway.

[webny99]

it feels weird to hop on the Thruway when staying within a metro area (though it's unavoidable to get to Schenectady)).

I second that. But what's wrong with taking NY 7 to Schenectady?

Lights are annoying (though they're better on the Colonie side than the Niskayuna/Schenectady side).  Plus I prefer to use the freeway system to get around metro areas where reasonable, and it's only a couple minutes longer to take the Thruway.

I can see that. I guess it's a bit like taking NY 104 vs NY 531 to get from the east side to the Hamlin/Clarkson areas. Just with tolls on the freeway route, obviously. 

[sparker]

Always liked the flyover from SB CA 85 to NB CA 87 in the Almaden Valley section of San Jose, since that ramp becomes the leftmost 2 lanes of CA 87, and you don't have to put up with merging traffic from both NB CA 85 and Santa Teresa Blvd. (the functional surface extension of 87) for a while (and can build up the requisite speed to negotiate your space).  Unfortunately, north of there along CA 87 the ramp situation is pretty deplorable; getting on and off is complicated by lane drops and adds plus short distances between them (particularly from the Alma on-ramp north through downtown, including the I-280 "mini-stack").

[SeriesE]

my current favorite type of interchanges is the SPUI. Relatively intuitive, no weaving and only one signal to deal with.

[fillup420]

I have a few

I-40 east to I-540 east. Raleigh NC. big swooping curve and the top of the stack of ramps. US 70 west to I-540 west is much the same.

US 74 east to I-85 north. near Charlotte NC. the ramp lanes are in between the I-85 mainline lanes. creates a unique weave interchange.

I-26 eastern terminus to US 17 north towards the Ravenel bridge. the ramp gives and epic view of downtown Charleston and the coast.

every ramp at the northern I-85/I-485 interchange. gotta love a big turbine.

[bemybear]

The I-78 East to I-287 South ramp is awesome.  And it works well going the other way too (I-287 North to I-78 West).  No advisory speed, two lanes that get their own lanes on I-287 so no merge jam and other than semi trucks, a lot of traffic maintains speed all the way through it and then you are on I-287 in what I guess would be the local lanes.  That stretch of I-287 between I-78 to just past the US-202 ramps is very odd.  Local lanes, express lanes in both directions and if you are in the express (inside lanes) going South on I-287 you have 1 opportunity to cross over to the local (outside) lanes.  The reverse is not true but except in the case of an accident there is really no point in crossing between local and express because there is exactly one exit in that stretch of road and it's a left exit from the express lanes and a right exit from the locals and there is rarely any predictable advantage to using one vs the other.  Feels like they intended to have HOV lanes but changed their mind but it works very well as it is.

Really the entirety of I-287 from Edison North to the NY state line is easily my favorite road in an area not generally known for fun fast flowing freeways.

I do hate how 78 and 287 roads are in the same area though.  Maybe I'm a little dyslexic or something. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6404591,-74.645214,1813m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[webny99]

If there's zero curvature, it hardly qualifies as a ramp. I prefer a bit of curvature and a bit of elevation change, but both gradual and smooth enough that you have good sightlines, it's still navigable at freeway speeds, and no braking is required. Decent shoulder width helps too.

[skluth]

I've always liked the ramp from EB I-64/US 40 to Market St in St Louis. It first official jumps off to Bernard St but it's really just more ramp there, then curves under the highway just as it becomes a double-decker freeway, goes over the Forest Park Parkway ramps, and becomes Market St at the intersection of Compton. The bonus is you drive two blocks and the street bends slightly so it heads directly for the Arch. It's not the best part of town, but it's actually pretty safe as it's between the two campuses of St Louis University.

The nearby ramps for the never built I-755 west of downtown are also great fun.

[Mark68]

NB I-25 to WB US 6. CDOT just rebuilt the entire interchange and this movement used to be a cloverleaf. Now they have separated the lanes that continue west from the 6th Ave arterial to the 6th Ave Freeway and the lanes from I-25 until you pass the Federal Blvd interchange. Now there is a lot less weaving than before. Probably something they should do with this stretch of I-25.

https://goo.gl/maps/3FQnXboSGh3zp8YKA

[kphoger]

If there's zero curvature, it hardly qualifies as a ramp.

When I use a box truck, I prefer that the loading ramp have no curvature whatsoever.

[TEG24601]

SR 526 to NB I-5 (The Flyover) - Everett, WA.  Built by Boeing as part of their expansion of their Paine Field facility, this left exit ramp, allows for high-speed transfers from SR 526 to I-5.

[kphoger]

My favorite on-ramp is where Lower Wacker Drive transitions onto the outbound Eisenhower here.  Having been underground for a while along an iconic stretch of road, you suddenly burst into daylight for a brief moment, then back into a tunnel again that turns you 180° and onto an expressway–then the first two things you encounter are a drawbridge and a passage through the middle of the old post office building.

[lstone19]

The I-78 East to I-287 South ramp is awesome.  And it works well going the other way too (I-287 North to I-78 West).  No advisory speed, two lanes that get their own lanes on I-287 so no merge jam and other than semi trucks, a lot of traffic maintains speed all the way through it and then you are on I-287 in what I guess would be the local lanes.  That stretch of I-287 between I-78 to just past the US-202 ramps is very odd.  Local lanes, express lanes in both directions and if you are in the express (inside lanes) going South on I-287 you have 1 opportunity to cross over to the local (outside) lanes.  The reverse is not true but except in the case of an accident there is really no point in crossing between local and express because there is exactly one exit in that stretch of road and it's a left exit from the express lanes and a right exit from the locals and there is rarely any predictable advantage to using one vs the other.  Feels like they intended to have HOV lanes but changed their mind but it works very well as it is.

Having grown up in the area, I never thought of the dual-dual section of I-287 (I-78 to the south US 202/206 interchange) as being local/express. Rather, they keep the two major flows in each direction completely separated without them using any common roadway. The two major flows are I-78 west of the dual-dual section to/from I-287 south of it and I-287 north of it to US 202/206 south of it. There's no local or express as there's no intervening interchanges.

By the same token, the arrangement at the north end of the NJ Turnpike along with I-95 through traffic being encouraged to use the western leg of the Tunrpike has the same effect of keeping two major flows completely separated there: I-95 at Newark Airport to/from the George Washington Bridge and I-80 to/from the Lincoln Tunnel.

I personally think NJDOT and the Turnpike put far more thought into the design of those extended interchanges than they're given credit for.

[Bickendan]

US 30 eastbound through the Fremont Stack; Kerby Ave to I-405 in the opposite direction
I-5 south to I-205 north in Tualatin -- sweeping ramp over a mile long going under the two higher levels of the interchange
I-205 exit 19 southbound to Powell Blvd... when I'm not stuck behind someone going 45

[cwf1701]

from I-94 west to I-75 south, start with a view of the famous total auto manufactured in the USA sign and a View of the skyline of Detroit as you turn to I-75.
From I-96 east to I-75 South. a view of the Ambassador Bridge as you switch freeways
The Lodge (M-10) at Jefferson. this is the beginnings of the Lodge and the road drop below street level and goes under Cobo Hall.

[Max Rockatansky]

My favorite on ramp to any freeway was Thunderbird Road onto AZ 51 southbound in Phoenix.  The ramp is straight as can be, had a sound barrier so nobody can see what you're up to and has virtually no traffic.  It was a lot of fun launching onto the freeway in a fast car and have plenty of time to reign back in to a reasonable traffic speed.  It probably doesn't hurt that Thunderbird probably is pretty up there for cool road name, definitely doesn't hurt to name anything after a monster bird that created thunder when it flaps it's wings.

[PHLBOS]

As a kid, one on-ramp I enjoyed was the one from MA 114 to I-95 northbound; particularly how it meandered a bit before merging onto I-95.  Back when the ramp first opened in circa 1974, there was a lot less tree coverage between I-95 and the ramps than today (GSV is from Oct. 2012).  When looking south, one could see the overpass over MA 114 and I-95 with its BGS' (backside) in the distance.

Another favorite in Baltimore, is the flyover ramp from I-395 (the Cal Ripken Expressway) to I-95 northbound just prior to the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

Closer to where I live now, the on-ramp from Front/Market Streets in Philadelphia to I-95 southbound.  I call this the warp-speed ramp because the lane doesn't end once it meets I-95.  If there's nobody in front; one can literally gun it (in terms of acceleration).