Roads that need more passing lanes

[thenetwork]

Colorado:

Freeways:  I-70 east of Vail

Non-Freeways:  US-6 east of Loveland Pass & US-550 south of Ouray.

[1995hoo]

I-81, at least the portion from Scranton on down to the northern end of the I-77 concurrency. (I haven't been on the other segments often enough to comment on those; if I take I-81 south, I normally turn south on I-77 towards Charlotte.) The volume of truck traffic, coupled with there generally being only two lanes on each side, makes it extremely hard to pass. There have been some improvements down beyond Roanoke with the addition of some climbing lanes for slow vehicles, but those are limited improvements. The road really needs a third lane.

There was talk by VDOT to make a separate roadway for trucks like the Garden State Parkway. I don't know what happened to that proposal

FTFY.  On a side note, I remember hearing about that too.  I'm pretty sure it died due to a lack of funds.  Just like what happened to the proposal to do the same to I-70 in Missouri.  It's also worth noting that due to the terrain, it would be difficult to build new carriageways for I-81 through Virginia, even if money wasn't an object.

Your are correct, and another sticking point was that the private companies bidding to build the project wanted noncompete clauses that could conceivably be construed as prohibiting Virginia from improving routes like US-29 and even parts of I-95. That was a non-starter for the Commonwealth.

[froggie]

As I recall, there was also argument as to whether the tolls would apply only to trucks or to all traffic.  Many of the I-81 locals were opposed to the latter.

[hbelkins]

I remember when the parallel roadway or separate trucks-only lanes for I-81 was first brought up. There are a lot of exits on I-81 that are used by locals only. It seems to me like I-81 in Virginia has a higher density of rural exits than just about any interstate I can think of. At the time, I thought the trucks-only portion should just have exits only at major intersecting routes. I even went so far as to compile a list, but I have no idea what I may have done with such a list.

[xcellntbuy]

I have traveled Interstate 81 many times and six lanes from Harrisburg, PA to Interstate 77 in Virginia would be welcomed.  The cost of widening this huge expanse of interstate would be well into the billions of dollars.

If separate toll lanes were ever considered, many sections of US 11 would have to be moved.  There are some tight spaces in places south of Ironto, VA where the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains are an integral part of the landscape.  Some three-lane sections do exist in southern VA, but not enough.  In addition, there is a very hilly section of Interstate 81 north of the Interstate 77 interchange southbound to Charlotte, NC.  The median is grass, very narrow and on an incline with no steel barrier between the two carriageways.  I believe the Elvis Church is nearby.

[1995hoo]

As I recall, there was also argument as to whether the tolls would apply only to trucks or to all traffic.  Many of the I-81 locals were opposed to the latter.

I think you're right. I think there were two proposals, one from Star Solutions and I don't remember who submitted the other. At least one of the two would have tolled only the trucks. I seem to recall one of them would have put the truck carriageways on the inside, too (reverse of the New Jersey Turnpike's normal layout). Seeing hbelkins's comment above makes me wonder whether that proposal might have given the truck lanes fewer exits or utilized occasional slip ramps (similar to I-270 in Maryland, but less frequent). I just don't remember seeing the details on that part of the proposal.

[vdeane]

I-270 is odd in that the "local" lanes are really just glorified c/d lanes.

[cl94]

I-270 is odd in that the "local" lanes are really just glorified c/d lanes.

If you're talking about Columbus, that is true. In one case, the C/D lanes skip an exit that is accessible only with the mainline/"express" lanes. I watched them rebuild Exit 30 (SR 161) and figured they'd add access between Exit 32 and SR 161. Was I wrong. At least they get slow merging traffic out of the way.

[vdeane]

I-270 is odd in that the "local" lanes are really just glorified c/d lanes.

If you're talking about Columbus, that is true. In one case, the C/D lanes skip an exit that is accessible only with the mainline/"express" lanes. I watched them rebuild Exit 30 (SR 161) and figured they'd add access between Exit 32 and SR 161. Was I wrong. At least they get slow merging traffic out of the way.

Maryland.

[JREwing78]

Pick any road in the UP.  You either get stuck behind a log truck or an RV.

20 years ago, you could argue more passing lanes were needed in the UP. Now, it's a harder case to make.

MDOT has been very aggressive about building passing lanes in the UP on the busier highways, such as US-41 between Houghton and Marquette, M-28 between Marquette and Seney, and US-2 between St. Ignace and Gladstone. About every 10-12 miles, you get a 2-mile stretch to pass slower traffic. If there's significant grades, you also generally get an adequate passing lane.

WisDOT, on the other hand, is very stingy with them. In general, when WisDOT does provide them, they tend to be so short as to almost be worthless. That's when they offer them at all. US-14 between Oregon and Darien, for example, is fairly heavily trafficked (5,000 vpd - 10,000 vpd) and features none. Neither does US-12 east of Madison. The one on Hwy 26 north of Rosendale is almost worthless since it's so short. US-141 features exactly ONE set north of where the 4-lane peters out in Pound.

In WisDOT's defense, it tends to turn the highways that need passing lanes into 4-lane highways. There are exceptions - see the aforementioned stretches of US-12 and US-14. But at least WisDOT don't pull BS like MDOT's design of US-127 south of Jackson, MI.

US-127 south of Jackson should've been converted to 4-lane expressway 60 years ago when they built the current 2-lane section. The ROW exists for it, even if it's inadequate for Interstate-compatible freeway. Instead of that, MDOT has Band-Aided US-127 with passing lanes interspersed with 2-lane stretches with a center turning lane. Oh, and it carries 15,000 vpd, except during Michigan International Speedway race days, when it carries far more traffic.

MDOT has other examples of cheaping out with passing lanes instead of 4-laning:
- M-72 between Traverse City & Grayling
- US-31 north of Ludington
- US-23 north of Standish (though that could also be partially blamed on environmentalists).
- M-115 between Clare and Cadillac
- US-223

[Interstate Trav]

Roads or Highways in California

CA 62 Climbing from Coachella Valley to Morongo Valley, that's a dangerous grade, and it is 2 lanes eachway but it would be safer to have a truck lane climbing that pass.

Also CA 247 between Yucca Valley and Lucerne Valley, it's 2 lane but could use some passing Lanes.  Traffic is moderate on it, enough to do something.

Freeways,  I'd say add a lane to Eastbound I-10 between Yucaipa and Beaumont.

[doorknob60]

OR-126 between the US-20 split and around Vida. There are no good passing opportunities in here, similar to OR-22, and there's enough traffic that it can be a problem.

US-97 between Redmond and Madras should be 4 lanes the whole way. It's currently 2 lanes with 2 or 3 sections of passing lanes.

US-101 in Oregon. Probably all of it. But my recent pain was between Florence and Newport. We made a round trip to Newport once, and then headed up from Florence to Waldport the next day to take OR-34. Each and every time, we consistently got stuck behind cars that refused to go above 45 MPH, even on the straight sections. The speed limit is of course 55, and should be about 60 here. It was painful, and there are no places to pass.

[NWI_Irish96]

All of I-65 and I-70 in Indiana that isn't already 6+ lanes.

[Sonic99]

AZ64 from Williams to the Grand Canyon terribly needs to be 4 laned. It is currently only two lanes with NB/SB each only have two passing lanes for the entire 65 mile stretch, one between Williams and Valle, and one between Valle and the Canyon. Its a stupidly heavily trafficked road, with loads of motor homes and international drivers. There are numerous fatal head on collisions from tourists (usually internationals) pushing it and passing in No Passing zones on blind hills. All of the locals know how dangerous it is, yet ADOT lets it fall on deaf ears because I guess there aren't "enough" fatalities, despite dozens of close calls each day.

[roadman65]

I-95 in Jasper County, SC.  It gets congested after US 17 merges into the freeway as it now has two corridors together the remainder of the route into Florida.

I-10 east of Houston all the way into Louisiana.  Plus in LA from the Texas border to Lake Charles area.
I-30 from Texarkana to Dallas needs to be six lanes.

IMAO, I think passing lanes are band aids rather than a solution.  If you build just a small area for passing you might as well do a whole segment unless it is a truck climb lane which is due to short distance truck slowdowns.

[OCGuy81]

These are all good ideas, though I was thinking of getting more a list of roads that once you're stuck behind slow moving traffic, you're stuck for a long while, single file.

At least with 4 lane or more roads, you DO have the option to pass, provided you don't have a slow poke in the left lane.

I've noticed it's mostly mountain roads that have sparse passing lanes.  Get behind a semi, or a truck hauling a camper, and you're going slow for a long time.  :-)

[NWI_Irish96]

These are all good ideas, though I was thinking of getting more a list of roads that once you're stuck behind slow moving traffic, you're stuck for a long while, single file.

At least with 4 lane or more roads, you DO have the option to pass, provided you don't have a slow poke in the left lane.

I've noticed it's mostly mountain roads that have sparse passing lanes.  Get behind a semi, or a truck hauling a camper, and you're going slow for a long time.  :-)

Well, even though I-65 is 4 lanes, I have been stuck going below the speed limit in the left lane for as much as 15 miles at a time before.

[thenetwork]

I've noticed it's mostly mountain roads that have sparse passing lanes.  Get behind a semi, or a truck hauling a camper, and you're going slow for a long time.  :-)

...or a big ass RV driven by a retired couple that don't mind if it takes 8 hours to go 50 miles -- they have all the time in the world.  The rest of us, however....

[The High Plains Traveler]

Colorado:

Freeways:  I-70 east of Vail

Non-Freeways:  US-6 east of Loveland Pass & US-550 south of Ouray.

U.S. 550 south of Ouray is kind of geologically limited as to locations for passing lanes. Having one side of the road drop off into an abyss, with no guard rail, kind of limits my inclination to pass.

U.S. 24 between Falcon (east of Colorado Springs) and Limon needs a few more passing opportunities.

[OCGuy81]

...or a big ass RV driven by a retired couple that don't mind if it takes 8 hours to go 50 miles -- they have all the time in the world.  The rest of us, however....

Couldn't agree more, and it's those types that really inspired me to post this topic! 

[GaryV]

Pick any road in the UP.  You either get stuck behind a log truck or an RV.

20 years ago, you could argue more passing lanes were needed in the UP. Now, it's a harder case to make.

MDOT has been very aggressive about building passing lanes in the UP on the busier highways, such as US-41 between Houghton and Marquette, M-28 between Marquette and Seney, and US-2 between St. Ignace and Gladstone. About every 10-12 miles, you get a 2-mile stretch to pass slower traffic. If there's significant grades, you also generally get an adequate passing lane.

I will admit that US-2 has gotten better, at least the eastern half.  But most times in the summer, US-2 is busy enough that it would warrant 4 lanes all the way from Escanaba to St Ignace.  M-28 could use a few more.

But you get west of US-41 or certainly US-141, and they are still a lot more needed.

[hm insulators]

Eastbound I-10 up the long grade from Indio could surely use a truck lane, or at least make it a "no passing" zone for trucks and have strict CHP enforcement.

[cl94]

In response to another thread, the entire Staten Island Expressway. Thing is at capacity and one idiot slowing down at the hill will create nasty traffic.

[Road Hog]

This is probably most prevalent in the mountains.  What roads can you think of that need more (or better/longer) passing lanes?

A few that come to mind in Louisiana:

- LA 1 between Alexandria and US 190, excepting Marksville-Mansura (especially from New Roads south along False River)
- LA 42 in Ascension Parish (this road is slated to be widened soon)
- LA 25 between Covington and Folsom
- LA 70 between Sorrento and the Sunshine Bridge (this section needs to be 4 lanes)
- LA 30 (Nicholson Drive) between the LSU campus and St. Gabriel

Unfortunately, Louisiana does not really do passing lanes. When I first encountered them in other states I was impressed, then as always wondered why DOTD had not thought to implement them.

They are definitely necessary in Texas with its 75 MPH two lane roads. A slow semi would ruin the fun without them.

And in Texas, most 2-lane state highways have paved shoulders, so adding a passing lane is just a matter of restriping. Don't know why we don't see it more often. It's a cheap solution.

[Arkansastravelguy]

To use Agentsteel's idea... Make I-95 a 800 lane highway from Richmond to Boston


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