4-Lane Corridors That Wouldn't Be Built Today

[Bitmapped]

I've been thinking recently about existing 4-lane corridors that would be unlikely to be built new today, at least as 2+ lanes in each direction. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm not interested in roads that were bypassed or replaced by another route serving the same corridor.

Pennsylvania has several that come to mind:
- PA 51 north of Uniontown to about I-70 would probably still be two lanes given the decline of Fayette County
- PA 51 (again) between Monaca and Aliquippa, which was built largely because of the former J&L steel mill
- PA 8 between I-80 and Franklin, which PennDOT considered downgrading to 2 lanes
- PA 18 between Sharon and Greenville following decline of area industry
- US 6/US 19 on northern part of Meadville bypass, currently in process of being downgraded to 2 lanes
- PA 56 between New Kensington and Vandergrift, built in two parts that were never connected with 4 lanes

Ohio's seem largely to be in the southwestern part of the state:
- US 42 between Xenia and Lebanon
- US 62 between Alliance and Salem, where only parts of the bypasses were built
- US 62/US 68 near Ripley
- US 52 from Cincinnati to New Richmond
- US 50 near Cleves
- US 422/OH 193 part of innerbelt in Youngstown, due to decline of Youngstown
- OH 11, at least as a freeway

[Max Rockatansky]

Much of US 50 along the south shore of Lake Tahoe.  The demand really is there anymore on US 50 and I-80 has long become the preferred Sierra crossing for most traffic. 

[Roadgeekteen]

Although PA 51 north of Uniontown to I-70 has been supplemented by PA 43 so you can argue that it has been bypassed.

[74/171FAN]

US 6/US 19 on northern part of Meadville bypass, currently in process of being downgraded to 2 lanes

Actually I believe this project is basically complete.

[Rothman]

The Delmar Bypass south of Albany, NY. 

[Bitmapped]

Although PA 51 north of Uniontown to I-70 has been supplemented by PA 43 so you can argue that it has been bypassed.

Eh, I wouldn't say PA 43 bypasses PA 51. PA 43 functions more as a collection of independent segments replacing US 40 and PA 88 than a through route replacing PA 51. PA 51 is 9 miles shorter and has comparable travel time, so it still remains the preferred route between Uniontown and Pittsburgh. When I was talking about bypassed routes, I was thinking more about situations like I-78 and US 22 east of Harrisburg.

PA 43 has probably dented PA 51's traffic count slightly, but I'd be surprised if it's more than about 1000-1500 vehicles per day.

[pderocco]

Maybe US-6 through Truro and Provincetown MA. It always seemed odd that the road would drop for four lanes in Eastham, to three lanes in northern Wellfleet back in the old days, two lanes for the last few decades, and then go back up to four lanes in northern Truro. Especially the last bit out to Herring Cove Beach, which never got that busy even on a summer weekend.

[ChiMilNet]

Interstate 180 Illinois

[Roadgeekteen]

The Delmar Bypass south of Albany, NY. 

I'm looking at that on the map, and I'm wondering why it was initially built and what purpose it was supposed to serve. Seems like a road to nowhere.

[Rothman]

The Delmar Bypass south of Albany, NY. 

I'm looking at that on the map, and I'm wondering why it was initially built and what purpose it was supposed to serve. Seems like a road to nowhere.

Part of a broader southern bypass...

[Roadgeekteen]

The Delmar Bypass south of Albany, NY. 

I'm looking at that on the map, and I'm wondering why it was initially built and what purpose it was supposed to serve. Seems like a road to nowhere.

Part of a broader southern bypass...

Yeah, I was guessing that it was incomplete when I saw it on google maps, it just abruptly ends. Wonder if there are stub ramps there.

[Great Lakes Roads]

US 41 north of Terre Haute...

[Roadgeekteen]

US 41 north of Terre Haute...

Was it built before Indiana 63 was made out to be the primary road in this corridor? I see a short 4 lane section there.

[DandyDan]

The one in Iowa I would assume fits this bill is IA 5 going southeast towards Knoxville. That was a byproduct of the era before they decided IA 163 would be the route southeast out of Des Moines. Oh, and there's also US 65 north out of my current hometown of Mason City. I believe that was built during the period when I-35 was proposed to basically parallel US 69 rather than the actual route it has today.

[froggie]

Most of US 2 across northern Minnesota.

[seicer]

US 41 north of Terre Haute...

Was it built before Indiana 63 was made out to be the primary road in this corridor? I see a short 4 lane section there.

Yes, that stub termination north of the city is being downgraded because of safety and bridge maintenance issues.

[hbelkins]

I'm not sure why the US 68/KY 80 corridor between Bowling Green and Mayfield was built as four lanes. A modern two-lane, or 2+1 configuration, would be appropriate.

Also, Corridor G between Pikeville and Charleston. Traffic volumes don't really support a four-lane. In fact, I always thought West Virgina's ARC corridors were overbuilt. Kentucky built most of its corridors as improved two-lane routes with passing lanes on the hills, similar to what Virginia just did with US 460.

[RobbieL2415]

US 113 South of Ocean City, MD

The Lake Ontario State Parkway West of NY 390


US 9W, Fort Montgomery to Newburgh, NY (though I guess it doesn't count because one could argue it was bypassed by the Thruway)

[-- US 175 --]

Would the Route 66 portion in the Hooker Cut area of MO apply?

[Roadgeekteen]

Would the Route 66 portion in the Hooker Cut area of MO apply?

Probably not, because it looks like I-44 directly replaced it.

[cockroachking]

US 113 South of Ocean City, MD

Umm, SHA just finished widening that stretch 6 years ago...

[1995hoo]

There's a fairly short four-lane section of US-50 west of Middleburg, Virginia, that would almost certainly not be constructed as such today. At some point within the past 20 years there were supposedly plans to narrow it to two lanes by severing the eastbound carriageway and making it, essentially, a two-lane frontage road to preserve access for some property owners and to a park, but nothing was ever done to follow through on the proposal.

[gonealookin]

Much of US 50 along the south shore of Lake Tahoe.  The demand really is there anymore on US 50 and I-80 has long become the preferred Sierra crossing for most traffic. 

The eight or so miles of US 50 in Nevada from the SR 207 intersection, near Stateline, to Glenbrook, where the highway turns east to cross the Carson Range at Spooner Summit, was widened to four lanes in the late 1950s.  The second Cave Rock tunnel was constructed at that time.  AADT on this segment runs about 15,000, with higher numbers in the summer and on weekends.

The road is four lanes with just a double-yellow stripe separating the directions.  There are only a few dedicated left-turn lanes, near the south end.  Shoulders are very narrow.  There have been quite a few crashes, a number of them head-ons with fatalities, since I've lived here.

Several years ago, NDOT proposed a road diet, reducing the highway to two lanes with either a center turn lane or left turn lanes as appropriate, and wider shoulders to accommodate bicycles.  The proposal was met with organized, and vehement, community opposition.  The county commissioners also formally opposed the road diet.

The road diet is dead.  We're at the end of the first summer of a major two-year project to fully rehabilitate those eight miles, but it's just a repave job, there's no realignment of the lanes as part of the work.

[SkyPesos]

Ohio's seem largely to be in the southwestern part of the state:
- US 42 between Xenia and Lebanon
- US 62 between Alliance and Salem, where only parts of the bypasses were built
- US 62/US 68 near Ripley
- US 52 from Cincinnati to New Richmond
- US 50 near Cleves
- US 422/OH 193 part of innerbelt in Youngstown, due to decline of Youngstown
- OH 11, at least as a freeway

Another one for Ohio: OH 32 east of either Winchester or Seaman. AADT drops from 11k to just below 7k east of both towns. And for Cincinnati to Athens traffic, I-71/I-270/US 33 is only 10-15 mins longer than OH 32. I was on that road a couple of years ago, and didn't see other vehicles for minutes at times.

[Bitmapped]

Ohio's seem largely to be in the southwestern part of the state:
- US 42 between Xenia and Lebanon
- US 62 between Alliance and Salem, where only parts of the bypasses were built
- US 62/US 68 near Ripley
- US 52 from Cincinnati to New Richmond
- US 50 near Cleves
- US 422/OH 193 part of innerbelt in Youngstown, due to decline of Youngstown
- OH 11, at least as a freeway

Another one for Ohio: OH 32 east of either Winchester or Seaman. AADT drops from 11k to just below 7k east of both towns. And for Cincinnati to Athens traffic, I-71/I-270/US 33 is only 10-15 mins longer than OH 32. I was on that road a couple of years ago, and didn't see other vehicles for minutes at times.

With how ODOT is currently widening US 33 to four lanes east of Athens on stretches that have about 4000 vehicles per day, I'm not so sure about that. Ohio seems to be interested in building 4-lane roads in SE Ohio in attempt to spur economic development whether or not traffic counts justify them. (Worth noting OH 32 was an ARC corridor, but US 33 is not.)

I do agree, though, that much of OH 32 between OH 73 and US 50 could have been built as two lanes with occasional passing and climbing lanes.