Rest areas built long after the highway was finished

[Mr. Matté]

Have there been any cases of rest areas along highways that have been built long after the highway itself was completed and opened? If so, on the land where the rest area was built, I wonder how eminent domain was handled especially if the land on which the rest area was built was not previously reserved within the public right-of-way and peoples' homes and property had to be taken.

[GaryV]

A new rest area was built on I-94 east of Chelsea, MI that replaced another one that closed.  I'm sure there was some issue in obtaining the land. Instead of a long area parallel to the freeway, it's more square-shaped.  This results in fairly sharp turns from the exit and entrance ramps.

[catch22]

The I-94 Port Huron welcome center, built a few years ago to replace the old one displaced by road construction that was located about 1 mile east at Exit 274, sticks out like an elbow.

https://goo.gl/maps/LdL6RMzABY69EyGi8

[jeffandnicole]

A service area rather than a rest area...

On the Atlantic City Expressway, a gas station (technically, 2 separate fueling areas), convenience store and Welcome Center was built in the old 'intercept lot' in the median of the Expressway just outside Atlantic City in 1999.

The Welcome Center has since closed due to infrequent use.  The gas station on the inbound side is rarely used.  The gas station on the outbound side is heavily used.

https://goo.gl/maps/fcRphthhTY24o7KV6

[jmacswimmer]

If I'm not mistaken, both rest areas on I-26/US 23 in TN (between exits 4 and 6, and at exit 46) were added after the freeway was originally built.

[sprjus4]

I-73 / I-74 Visitor Center - This segment of I-73 / I-74 opened in 1997 while the rest areas weren't built until 2010.

US-421 Northwest North Carolina Visitor Center - This segment of US-421 opened in 1967 while the rest area wasn't built until around 2009 - 2010.

[webny99]

Here, in 2017 is the beginnings of construction on a new "Western NY Welcome Center", which opened in August 2018, roughly 60 years after I-190 opened in the late '50's!

Technically, you have to get off the highway to access it, but I think it still counts?

[hobsini2]

The Illinois Turtle Creek Welcome Center on I-39/90 Southbound near Priaire Hill Rd was built sometime in the late 1980s.

[wriddle082]

I know of two examples on I-65:

In Alabama, they built one south of Cullman, on the northbound side, with ramps and bridges going over the roadway to serve the southbound side.  I think this was built in the early 90's, and there was never previously a nearby rest area.

In Kentucky, they closed down three southbound rest areas at Sonora, Horse Cave, and Bowling Green, as well as two northbound ones at Smith's Grove and Sonora, and replaced them with a pair of massive brand new ones between Horse Cave and Munfordville, just south of the Green River crossing.

[Road Hog]

TxDOT built a new one on I-30 at Mile 112 just a couple of years ago and closed one at Mile 146 (or thereabouts).

[Revive 755]

The rest areas on I-55 near Edwardsville, IL qualify.

[ftballfan]

The one on I-94 westbound near Belleville was built in the early 1970s based on topo maps and aerials from that area. It replaced a rest area between Exits 181 and 183,

The one on I-69 northbound near Potterville opened in the early 2000s, but the ramps had been built before 1998 according to satellite imagery.

The one on I-75 northbound near Clio was built sometime in the 1980s to replace one that was located just south of Bridgeport.

[hbelkins]

The rest area at Exit 33 on the Mountain Parkway was built in the late 1980s.

Also in Kentucky, rest areas on I-75 between Richmond and Berea were closed and demolished when the road was widened in the early 1990s. They were replaced by a facility at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, but it isn't open 24 hours like the rest areas were.

The comment about the welcome centers on I-26 is correct. Both of them have access from both directions of I-26. There's a full interchange at the northern one, while the southern one was built adjacent to an existing exit.

[Bitmapped]

The I-68 WV Welcome Center was added around 2000. The highway originally opened as US 48 in 1975.

Pennsylvania's I-79 northbound welcome center was built around 1995. Satellite imagery from 1993 shows just a parking lot on the side with no buildings. I'm not sure if there had been a previous building that was demolished or what happened here.

[frankenroad]

None immediately spring to mind.

However, I thought of the opposite.   When I-71 first opened there were three rest areas between Cincinnati and Columbus, at approximate mile markers 32, 68, and 92.   The one at MM 92 was closed probably 25 years ago, and the buildings and pavement were removed.   There is currently a bridge reconstruction project nearby, and the state is using the old rest area as a staging area.  It is still visible on Google Maps satellite view.

While three rest areas in a 100 mile stretch is definitely overkill, it always seemed to me that the one at MM 68 is the one that should have been removed at the time.  Both the remaining 2 have been upgraded at least once since the first one was closed.

[sprjus4]

^

VA I-85 has 3 rest areas in both directions within a 55 mile stretch - MM 1, MM 32, MM 55. The interstate between North Carolina and Petersburg only carries around 20,000 AADT.

IMO, if there's ever a shortfall in the budget and rest areas needed to be consolidated, MM 32 could go.

[SGwithADD]

This welcome center on I-81 in Broome County, NY opened in 1995, even though that stretch of interstate was opened in 1961.

[Dirt Roads]

First post since back in the old MTR days.

The "new" rest area on I-64 near mile marker 37 east of Hurricane, West Virginia was constructed sometime in mid-1980s (was not there when I worked at the Hurricane exit in 1980 and 1981).  It has an unusual history.  The property was acquired by the State of West Virginia to be a new access road interchange for the planned National Track and Field Hall of Fame.  The facility was planned to have a large stadium.  I was in attendance at the groundbreaking event in November 1976 (working to help folks park in the fields).  Newly-elected governor Jay Rockefeller killed the state funding in his first year, and the bulk of the property was transferred to Putnam County Parks and Recreation.  The county built a wave pool, and the plans for the new exit were scrapped.  When construction started on the rest area, I mistakenly thought that the temporary weigh station near mile marker 38 was finally being relocated.  For the record, this section of I-64 was opened in 1962.

[webny99]

First post since back in the old MTR days.

Cool! Welcome to the forum!

(Just an FYI, if you'd like to, you can start a thread to introduce yourself here.)

[Rick Powell]

The I-55 "Limestone"  rest area south of IL 116 near Pontiac, IL was built in the late 80's, about
10 years after the original construction. New utilities had to be run down the right of way to serve it. Not sure if the land had already been set aside, but eminent domain wouldn't be any different for a rest area than it would for, say, a roadway widening.

[roadman65]

I-4 in Polk County, FL has two (one on each side) thst replaced four rest areas previously.  Two in Lakeland and two near I Drive.

Sadly the EB Polk now is the only auto rest area heading east on I-4 now to the Seminole East area conversion to truck only.

[lepidopteran]

I have a memory from the mid to late-1980s of rest areas being constructed on an open section of I-95 in Florida.  Don't remember the exact location, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere between Jacksonville and Fort Pierce.  What I do remember was,

• there were twin rest areas under construction, either right across the freeway from each other or very close by
• each side had its own portable "concrete plant", as often found at highway construction sites
• they were putting in a newfangled, modular lighting system -- brown poles with square lights directly attached. The poles probably had a square cross section as well

This was located in a more isolated, wooded area, so acquiring real-estate wasn't likely much of an issue.


One other example, though this might not really count.  The Sideling Hill Service Plaza on the PATP

[michravera]

Have there been any cases of rest areas along highways that have been built long after the highway itself was completed and opened? If so, on the land where the rest area was built, I wonder how eminent domain was handled especially if the land on which the rest area was built was not previously reserved within the public right-of-way and peoples' homes and property had to be taken.

I am pretty sure that pretty much ALL of the Rest Area in California not on I-5 or I-280 were built after the road was constructed. This won't necessarily be true of the date of the latest upgrade of the road, but US-91, for instance, was completed WAY before I-15. I-5 and I-280 were built on completely new alignments and may have had rest areas built with the road.