Freeways that obliterated the previous route

[getemngo]

I didn't put this in General Highway Talk, because they're a dime a dozen in the western half of the US. Edit: Apparently the mods thought otherwise, which is fine!

But in the land of the survey township, this is a pretty rare phenomenon. Generally original highways follow section lines, and even if they don't, there's too many houses, private drives, and intersecting roads to build a freeway directly over them. So the original US or state route is built in one place, and the freeway that replaces it is built somewhere else, running parallel, and you can drive whichever one you like.

I've found two examples in Michigan of a freeway being built directly over the highway it replaced.

• US 131's northbound lanes, just north of Reed City, obliterated about 4 miles of the original US 131 between 7 Mile and 11 Mile roads.
• I-75's southbound lanes were built on top of US 27 between exit 249 (US 127) and exit 254 (BL I-75 Grayling).

Any others?

[NE2]

This is more common on non-Interstates that were gradually upgraded rather than as part of a nationwide plan.

[roadman65]

I-64 between Toano, VA and Williamsburg, VA displaced VA 168.  In fact the frontage road is the original two lane highway for VA 168 that later became the EB lanes, in which the current EB lanes of I-64 is the former WB VA 168 lanes.

Then I-95 stole the original NB Lanes of US 301 from Jarrat, VA to Carson, VA making a four lane rural arterial into a two lane road.

[Mapmikey]

I-77/81 did this with US 11-52 for a lot of its duplex east of Wytheville.

most of I-77 from Rocky Gap south to SR 606 was built on top of US 21-52.

Mapmikey

[Brandon]

I-55 in Chicago.  The Stevenson Expressway (1964) from LaGrange Road to about Damen was built directly on top of and obliterated the Illinois & Michigan Canal (1848).

[Pete from Boston]

I believe the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) in the Bronx pretty much replaced Bruckner Boulevard where they coincide.  The boulevard was relocated to a service road under or around the road.

Also, I-84 entirely replaced CT/MA-15 east of Hartford, but it was a gradual process.

[1995hoo]

Portions of I-295 in New Jersey did this as to US-130. When I was a kid, part of the road designated as I-295 still had some driveway and car park access in West Deptford Township. When they finally upgraded the highway through that area, they built frontage roads. There are still some extremely sharp turns on some of the ramps through there.

The Fairfax County Parkway (VA-286) is partly a freeway but mostly an expressway with at-grade intersections. It replaced a substantial portion of old two-lane Pohick Road (secondary route 641), a small segment of Rolling Road (secondary route 638), and a portion of Backlick Road (secondary route 617).

[NE2]

I didn't put this in General Highway Talk, because they're a dime a dozen in the western half of the US.

But in the land of the survey township

???

[oscar]

A western example but still noteworthy:  part of the Glenn Highway freeway northeast of Anchorage obliterated a few miles of the old road.

What stings about that is, there is now no alternate highway route of any kind for that stretch, not counting the super-long ferry detour via Whittier and Valdez.  That means huge delays from construction on that stretch, which in one case almost made me miss my flight back home.  It also means only two ontinuous roads out of Anchorage (the Glenn Highway freeway northeast to Palmer, and the Seward Highway to the southeast) available as evacuation routes.

[getemngo]

I didn't put this in General Highway Talk, because they're a dime a dozen in the western half of the US.

But in the land of the survey township

???

Dammit, now I want to rewrite my whole post and move it elsewhere. What I meant was,

Generally original highways follow section lines,

...states where roads generally conform to survey lines instead of the geography. In much of the Midwest, you see a grid of roads everywhere, even in very rural areas. In Wyoming or Nevada, not so much. Or,

and even if they don't, there's too many houses, private drives, and intersecting roads to build a freeway directly over them.

...east coast states that are way too dense for this to happen often, since we've already more or less abandoned the Great Lakes area restriction.

So I was looking for examples primarily from the Great Plains east, where it's less common, I just phrased it poorly. Never mind that everyone else in this topic seems to understand what I meant. 

[mhh]

Many of the freeways in the Detroit area replaced old roads. Much of I-94 was built where Harper Avenue used to be. Much of I-696 was built where 10 Mile Road (in Oakland County) or 11 Mile Road (in Macomb County) used to be. Much of I-75 was built where Stephenson Highway (in southern Oakland County) or Vernor Highway (in Downtown Detroit) used to be. Much of M-10 was built where James Couzens Highway used to be. The service drives were often given the same names as the roads that the freeways replaced.

[froggie]

...east coast states that are way too dense for this to happen often

There's some Mid-Atlantic and Northeast examples already mentioned.

Add to that:  I-93 through the Franconia Notch area.  Yeah, basically a parkway and not all 4 lanes, but still fully-controlled access.

[NE2]

It's never happened in Florida, except for places where the surface route was kept as frontage roads (very rare on Interstates). The only direct upgrades without frontage roads have been the Sunshine Skyway and Alligator Alley, which were both already toll roads with partial access control.

[Bitmapped]

I-68 destroyed part of the old WV 73 routing east of Exit #10 near Cheat Lake, West Virginia. 

[theline]

I-75 from around Bluffton to Fort Shawnee in Ohio was upgraded from US-25. Forgive me for any inaccuracy caused by relying on memory, rather than checking vintage maps.

In the future, I-69 will absorb most of the current SR-37 route from the Bloomington bypass nearly to I-465, if current plans hold.

[roadman65]

I-55 in Chicago.  The Stevenson Expressway (1964) from LaGrange Road to about Damen was built directly on top of and obliterated the Illinois & Michigan Canal (1848).

Yeah, also that I-55 took over part of old US 66 from west of the I-294 Tollway to the Joliet Road split.  Hence why Joliet Road exists for US 66 in two places.

Also, IL 126 was longer before I-55 was constructed as I-55 took away Plainfield Road between current Exits 261 and 268. I am to even assume that IL 59 which terminates at I-55 at its southern terminus continued as an arterial as well where I-55 lies south of Exit 251 to some point south of there.  Most likely where US 66 joined I-55 south of Joliet.

[Brandon]

I-55 in Chicago.  The Stevenson Expressway (1964) from LaGrange Road to about Damen was built directly on top of and obliterated the Illinois & Michigan Canal (1848).

Yeah, also that I-55 took over part of old US 66 from west of the I-294 Tollway to the Joliet Road split.  Hence why Joliet Road exists for US 66 in two places.

Also, IL 126 was longer before I-55 was constructed as I-55 took away Plainfield Road between current Exits 261 and 268. I am to even assume that IL 59 which terminates at I-55 at its southern terminus continued as an arterial as well where I-55 lies south of Exit 251 to some point south of there.  Most likely where US 66 joined I-55 south of Joliet.

Almost.  It was IL-66 prior to being taken over by US-66 instead of IL-126, and IL-59 actually ended in Plainfield at US-30.

[NE2]

Almost.  It was IL-66 prior to being taken over by US-66 instead of IL-126, and IL-59 actually ended in Plainfield at US-30.

Believe it or not, roadman65 is correct. IL 66 was renumbered 126 in 1933-34, and IL 59 was extended south from IL 69 (now US 52) west of Joliet (not Plainfield) to southwest of Wilmington in 1937-38, but US 66 didn't move to Plainfield until 1939-40.

[DandyDan]

Wasn't much of I-70 in Missouri built on top of the original US 40?  It seems like for several towns in MO, I-70 is headed straight thru the middle of town until it curves around, plus on the state map, it appears some secondary routes end at the interstate, but not at the interchange, and I have to assume the secondary routes were in existence before the interstates there.

[pianocello]

Another Michigan example: I-69 between Charlotte and Lansing was built alongside US-27. The old alignment of 27 still exists as Lansing Rd, but it was converted from 4 lanes divided to 2 undivided with the construction of 69. One of the carriageways was torn up and rebuilt (I think, otherwise it was just repainted) as the interstate.

A similar case exists with I-69 northeast of Lansing where 69 was built right next to the old road (In this case, it's old M-78), but I'm not sure if 78 was ever four lanes.

[jemacedo9]

The portion of US 15 (future I-99) between PA 14 Trout Run and PA 284 Buttonwood fit this.  Originally, two new lanes (the uphill lanes in both directions) were built as new parallel lanes.  In the past 5 years, the original road, which served as the downhill lanes, were built over top of the old road. 

[roadman65]

Would not most of the US 50 & US 301 overlap qualify east of Annapolis?

[amroad17]

I-74 from Greensburg, IN to east of Indianapolis in some places took out portions of original US 421.
I-95 in SC from exit 33 to exit 22 was built over the top of the northbound lanes of US 17.
Q:  Was I-65 in northern Alabama (near the Tennessee line) built on top of US 31 or right beside it?
Another Q:  Was I-70 from Hancock MD to exit 168 in PA (Warfordsburg exit) built on top of US 522?

[NE2]

Q:  Was I-65 in northern Alabama (near the Tennessee line) built on top of US 31 or right beside it?

Goat. SR 251 is original US 31, but it was moved west before I-65 was built and upgraded on the spot.

Another Q:  Was I-70 from Hancock MD to exit 168 in PA (Warfordsburg exit) built on top of US 522?

No. Warfordsburg Road was US 522 (duh).

[amroad17]

Thanks, wasn't sure about the last two items.  Just asking based on my observations (which are probably different than someone else's).