Worst Stub Ends

[Roadsguy]

First of all, don't say "All stub ends are equally intolerable."

Anyway, are there any stub ends that you hate? Not one that just permanently cuts any old expressway short. I mean ones that cause major problems.

My example: http://maps.google.com/?ll=40.109293,-74.999135&spn=0.009535,0.021136&t=k&z=16

Though PA 63 was rerouted some time ago off Byberry and instead down US 1 and over Red Lion to Philmont, the traffic on Woodhaven is still dumped into two-lane Byberry, and man does it back up.

Probably the worst stub end in the state. Maybe.

[Alps]

New Jersey: The stub end of I-280 at the NJ 75 interchange causes massive headaches as too much traffic tries to hit the old NJ 58 and fails. 75 would have helped distribute it up 21 to 3 or down to I-78, especially the latter which has more capacity in that area.

Massachusetts: The I-95 Lynn stub end is tolerable, because at least US 1 has been upgraded. It's not great, but the stub end of I-95 on the other side of Boston (Peabody) is FAR worse. That can back up for miles in the middle of the night. The SW Expressway badly needed to be built - although that would also have required I-695 to help distribute traffic.

DC: The worst stub end is finally getting treated (I-395/I-695/DC 295 combination), so that leaves the second worst. So many choices... I'll nominate I-395. Had I-95 been completed through the city, it sure would have been congested, but the Beltway would be so much happier. (This could also count for Maryland's end of I-95, because I-70 and I-83 frankly are annoying, but not as bad overall.)

Rhode Island: I think the only stub that really caused a headache was Henderson Bridge, but the I-195 rebuild went a long way to curing that. I might point to the southern RI 10 stub, but the worst problem isn't even a stub per se - the remaining uncontrolled section of RI 146.

CT: Again, SO many choices. I'd vote for I-291, which would give one more much-needed bypass to Hartford. US 7 isn't a whole lot better, though.

NYC: If I can count unfinished freeways as stubs, I-495. But since there's technically no stub there, I'll try harder and come up with Richmond Parkway. Having a completed freeway in that area would take the pressure off Todt Hill and the chronic backups there. Most of the delays in NYC come from a lack of planning for added capacity. Other planned freeways were simply never built, as opposed to being stubs.

OK, one more nomination for NYC area - the "this is almost a stub if you squint at it" west end of Cross-County Parkway, which was once planned for another Hudson River crossing.

[national highway 1]

In my opinion, I believe both stubs of I-710 in Los Angeles have a lot more to be desired.

[1995hoo]

An additional thought on Steve's point about DC: Had I-95 been completed, the Springfield Interchange project would have been far less elaborate and less expensive because there wouldn't be nearly the same volume of traffic changing directions. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge still would have required replacement, but it might not have come as soon and it wouldn't likely have had to be as elaborate either. So you could say, with some justification, that stub-ending and then re-routing I-95 proved to be a very expensive decision some 20 years later.

[cpzilliacus]

An additional thought on Steve's point about DC: Had I-95 been completed, the Springfield Interchange project would have been far less elaborate and less expensive because there wouldn't be nearly the same volume of traffic changing directions. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge still would have required replacement, but it might not have come as soon and it wouldn't likely have had to be as elaborate either. So you could say, with some justification, that stub-ending and then re-routing I-95 proved to be a very expensive decision some 20 years later.

The cost of (re)building the Springfield Interchange should be added to the  cost of building the Washington Metrorail system, and would not have been needed had not D.C. decided to "substitute" a largely ineffective rail system for building highways in D.C. and suburban Prince George's County (and Montgomery County, too).

[mgk920]

You forgot the very worst one in New York - the east end of the US 9/20 Hudson River bridge in Rensselaer.  NASTY!

In Wisconsin, most of the worst ones have actually been completed over the past few years, but a few do remain.

-Fond du Lac Freeway (WI 145) at 67th St and the Stadium North Freeway (US 41) at Appleton Ave in Milwaukee - connecting those, along with the never built Park West Freeway, would have made the pending rebuilds of the Zoo interchange and the I-94 East-West freeway, as well as the recently redone Marquette Interchange, much simpler and less expansive.

-US 2/53 Bong Bridge approach freeway at Belknap St in Superior.  US 2/53 was planned to continue through Superior as a full freeway to connect with the existing freeway to the southeast.

Mike