State that screws up bypasses the most

[yakra]

NJ is currently planning a joke of a US-206 bypass around Belle Mead (Hillsborough twp). The bypass will be a controlled access Super-2 with a few traffic lights, vs. a proper freeway. It should be interesting to note that part of that bypass will be using ROW that was originally planned for the I-95 Somerset Freeway.

[url="http://www.google.com/images?q="good+grief""]http://www.google.com/images?q="good+grief"[/url]

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

TN probably has some of the worst bypasses, and a few of the best:

WORST (reason):
US 51 around Dyersburg (development)
US 31A around Lewisburg (development)
TN 397 around Franklin (no driveways along this one, but should have been at least four lanes originally)
US 231 around Shelbyville (will be bypassed again)
US 129 around Maryville (development)
TN 66/US 441 around Sevierville (it's the Smokies, need I say more?)
I-240 (not too close at the time it was built, but development and I-40 rerouting lead to downfall)
I-440 (too close to the city, too narrow)
I-640 (too close to the city, I-75 routing defeats the purpose)
US 70/US 70A/TN 22 around Huntingdon (strange interchanges/intersections)
TN 396 around Hendersonville ONLY (was good at first, but now needs widening)
Bypass US 70S around McMinnville (development)
Bypass US 41A around Clarksville (development)
TN 374 around the SOUTH end of Clarksville (development)
Anything around Murfreesboro (development)
Bypass US 70 around Lebanon (narrow, development)
US 70 around Dickson (development, school zones)
TN 111 around Livingston (narrow, development south of it)
TN 50 around Columbia (some of the worst bypass development out there)

How in God's name did you miss the US 45 bypass of Jackson?  It's almost faster to take Old US 45 these days.

[ftballfan]

Michigan has some bad ones.
US 31 around Holland (development, stoplights at every intersection)
Chicago Dr around Zeeland (development, very narrow median; was bypassed itself by I-196 in the 70s)
M-11 around Grand Rapids (development, very heavy traffic; bypassed somewhat by M-6, which is one of the best bypasses in Michigan)
M-37 around Grand Rapids (development especially at M-11, have to cross two lanes just to get off I-96 to continue on M-37)

[v35322]

Greeley, Colorado figured out an ... interesting way to play this one. For a long time, there was a U.S. 34 Business and a U.S. 34 Bypass through Greeley, but no actual U.S. 34. Both of these streets were surface roads with plenty of at-grade crossings and lights each way. The bypass has been re-signed as just U.S. 34, but this leaves a stop-and-go U.S. 34 through town with no bypass.

There are no freeway-grade roads linking Interstate 25 to U.S. 85 between E-470 in Denver and I-80 in Cheyenne, if my memory is correct.

[yakra]

Doesn't look so bad (to someone who's never been there...) -- just a jct every mile or so, but a pretty clean road without development, businesses, driveways...

[D-Dey65]

How about the Rocky Point-Shoreham Bypass for NY 25A? NYSDOT promised it would be a limited-access highway before they built it, but you can't even consider that a super 2. And what's worse, the last I heard about it, there was talk of development along it!

As if it's not bad enough that the "Smithtown Bypass"  was referred to as "The Bypass that Doesn't," by Newsday back in the late-1980's!

[Bryant5493]

I-285 was intended to be a bypass around Atlanta, but was built so close to the city, that development came and clogged up the entire arterial.

Many cities in Metro Atlanta are connected by development-ridden divided highways, or two lane roads.


Be well,

Bryant

[roadman65]

The Bel Air Bypass in Maryland was boched from what it was intended to be.  It was designed as a super two to be upgraded to full freeway, but the MSHA did some things to change this to typical non freeway standards.

1) The new MD 24 alignment that had grading done for an interchange with the US 1 bypass was given an at grade signalized intersection.
2) The former end of the Bel Air Bypass had a stub ending with ramps to the original US 1 alignment so that a freeway could bypass Hickory as well, but when the road was extended the artificial hill where the stub ending once was was leveled for the current US 1 and US 1 Business intersection.

Talk about screwing things up.  If MSHA does decide to upgrade to full freeway, it will have more work to do and more tax dollars to spend.

What about Florida?  Do you see freeway bypasses of any towns other than the interstates and toll roads?  I am suprised to see that FDOT requested ASHTO to let US 17 now bypass Jacksonville on I-95 and I-10. However US 1 and US 90 still go through Downtown.

Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee, FL is to be a bypass of US 192, yet it now turned from expressway to surface arterial.  A new shopping center was built and now other development seemed to follow thus causing more intersections and traffic signals to be installed.