Longest stretch of no accessibility in an urban area

Started by OCGuy81, April 16, 2015, 11:23:40 AM

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OCGuy81

This is sort of an obscure topic, but what is the longest stretch of freeway, in an urban area, that is not accessible?

Usually, in an urban area, ramps to and from the freeway are plentiful, however I've returned from a recent trip up to Portland and I think I may have found the longest stretch of freeway not accessible in an urban area.

Interstate 5 SB.  From just south of downtown, milepost 299, there is NO access to the southbound freeway for 4 miles, when there is finally a SB access ramp at milepost 295.  4 miles seems like a very long stretch for an urban area.



pianocello

The Chicago Skyway is similar to that, where there is about 4.5 miles between the Dan Ryan and the first eastbound exit/westbound entrance.
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PHLBOS

#2
From when it first opened in 1979 through 1991 (when I-676/Vine Expressway fully opened); I-95 in Philadelphia through Penns Landing (between Callowhill St. and I-76 East) nearly had no access in that area.

During the above timeframe, northbounders exited off onto a side street (south of current Exit 20) and had to turn right to get on Columbus Blvd. (then-Delaware Ave.) and proceed north to get to Old & Center City.  The next northbound exit ramp from there wasn't until the Girard Ave. exit (current Exit 23).  For southbounders, the next exit after Callowhill (pre I-676 & Current Exit 22) wasn't until I-76 East (Exit 19).  The southbound exit for Penns Landing (Exit 20) didn't open until 1991.

In Boston, I-90/Mass Pike westbound between I-93 and the Allston/Brighton toll plaza; many entrance ramps but no exit ramps.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

NE2

There are probably some tunnels with no access for miles in any direction. If you only care about one direction, I-895 (MD) northbound is 8 miles from the beginning at I-95 to the first exit (due to the toll structure).
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doorknob60

#4
I-84 in Boise/Meridian from Eagle Rd (MP 46) to Cole Rd/Overland Rd. (MP 50), 4.0 miles according to Google Maps.

I-5 in Medford from Garfield St (MP 27) to OR-62 (MP 30), 3.1 miles. This segment also goes right past downtown Medford, offering no good access to downtown from the freeway.

Also not quite Urban, but enough development that you'd expect there to be an exit, but nothing between Nampa and Caldwell on I-84 between ID-55 in Nampa (MP 33) and US-20/26 in Caldwell (MP 28), 4.8 miles. And before they built the ID-55 interchange in Nampa (it's less than 10 years old AFAIK), the gap would have been all the way to Northside Blvd (MP 35).

Pete from Boston


Quote from: PHLBOS on April 16, 2015, 12:05:37 PMIn Boston, I-90/Mass Pike westbound between I-93 and the Allston/Brighton toll plaza.

Entrances at Columbus Ave., Copley Sq., and Newbury St., no exits. 

Eastbound, however, has only one exit through that stretch, no entrances.

oscar

Quote from: NE2 on April 16, 2015, 12:06:47 PM
If you only care about one direction, I-895 (MD) northbound is 8 miles from the beginning at I-95 to the first exit (due to the toll structure).

Similar, but longer, the toll-free Dulles Airport Access Road freeway (not a state highway, but in the median of the VA 267 toll road), for about 12 miles between VA 28 and VA 123, has no westbound exits or eastbound entrances except for a pair of bus-only slip ramps in Reston. This is just to reserve the DAAR for airport traffic and public transit; everyone else has to use the toll road, which has lots of exits in both directions.
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PHLBOS

#7
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 16, 2015, 12:17:20 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on April 16, 2015, 12:05:37 PMIn Boston, I-90/Mass Pike westbound between I-93 and the Allston/Brighton toll plaza; many entrance ramps but no exit ramps.

Entrances at Columbus Ave., Copley Sq., and Newbury St., no exits. 

Eastbound, however, has only one exit through that stretch, no entrances.
Thanks for the correction/clarification.  I've since corrected my earlier post per above.  I had just thought of such when I went on break for lunch and wasn't near a computer.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

froggie

Two other examples in the DC area (not counting HOV or HO/T lanes), both involving the Express Lanes across the Wilson Bridge:

- If you enter the Outer Loop Express Lanes at their beginning, you cannot exit until MD 210...just over 4 miles.
- If you enter the Inner Loop Express Lanes at their beginning, you cannot exit until Mill Rd (which goes into the Carlyle area of Alexandria).

hotdogPi

Is I-95 in New Hampshire urban enough? There are 6.5 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 (this segment has a toll).

Other numbers above 3 miles:

I-93 (NH), exits 3 to 4: 5.5 miles
I-95 (NH), exits 1 to 2: 4.5 miles (toll)
I-495 (MA), exits 32 to 33: 4.25 miles
I-93 (NH), exits 4 to 5: 3.5 miles
US 3 (MA), exits 26 to 27: 3.5 miles
I-495 (MA), exits 52 to 53: 3.5 miles
I-93 (MA), exits 41 to 42: 3 miles (may be slightly under)

These might not be urban enough, but they are definitely not rural.
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PHLBOS

Quote from: 1 on April 16, 2015, 03:04:00 PM
Is I-95 in New Hampshire urban enough? There are 6.5 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 (this segment has a toll).
I would not call that stretch urban by any stretch of the imagination.

Quote from: 1 on April 16, 2015, 03:04:00 PM
Other numbers above 3 miles:

I-93 (NH), exits 3 to 4: 5.5 miles
I-95 (NH), exits 1 to 2: 4.5 miles (toll)
I-495 (MA), exits 32 to 33: 4.25 miles
I-93 (NH), exits 4 to 5: 3.5 miles
US 3 (MA), exits 26 to 27: 3.5 miles
I-495 (MA), exits 52 to 53: 3.5 miles
I-93 (MA), exits 41 to 42: 3 miles (may be slightly under)

These might not be urban enough, but they are definitely not rural.
I believe that the OP defines urban as actual cities, not surrounding suburbs.  Most of your listed examples fall in the suburbs category.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Sam

I-476 (PA), exits 122 to 131 in Scranton: 9 miles. Not inner-city urban, maybe, but still mostly city.

Super Mateo

I-74/280 on the IL side of the Quad Cities has a 9 mile stretch between exits.

ftballfan

I-696 has only one exit between I-96 and the M-10/US-24 complex, a stretch of about 7.5 miles, at Orchard Lake Rd (exit 5)

vdeane

For Albany, it's I-87 (Thruway), with six miles between I-787 and I-90.  In the suburbs in the same area, you have NY 7 from US 9 to I-787 (3 miles) and I-87 (Northway) between NY 7 and Vischers Ferry (4 miles).
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

cpzilliacus

Entering I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway) northbound  from I-95 in Howard County, Maryland (Exit 46), the first opportunity to exit is after the toll plaza (but before the northbound tunnel portal) at Childs Street (Exit 9), a distance of about 8 miles.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

empirestate

In NYC, I always feel that the Harlem River Drive north of the I-95 ramps is a pretty long stretch. But honestly, it's probably not more than the Henry Hudson Parkway through Fort Tryon Park; and the Belt Parkway between Flatbush and Rockaway Pkwy. is longer still.

Beyond city limits, it'll be hard to beat the Palisades Parkway between exits 1 and 2, about six miles.

JustDrive

I-5 SB between Calgrove Blvd and CA 14, about four miles.

roadman65

If you count the whole state of New Jersey as a city, the Garden State Parkway in many sections LOL!  However the section heading Southbound from the NYS Thruway has a long exit less stretch from Schoolhouse Road in Rockland County, NY to Linwood Avenue in Bergen County, NJ. 

The population of this part of New Jersey is that equivalent to a city.
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Sheryl Crowe

Sub-Urbanite

Similarly, there's no westbound exit on I-84 in Portland for four miles, from I-205 to 43rd/Hollywood.

cpzilliacus

#20
Quote from: 1 on April 16, 2015, 03:04:00 PM
Is I-95 in New Hampshire urban enough? There are 6.5 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 (this segment has a toll).

About 1/3 to 1/2 of I-95 across New Hampshire is within or bordering an urbanized area, according to the Federal Highway Administration's map of NHS routes in the Portsmouth vicinity here (.pdf).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

PHLBOS

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 17, 2015, 12:59:08 PM
Quote from: 1 on April 16, 2015, 03:04:00 PM
Is I-95 in New Hampshire urban enough? There are 6.5 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 (this segment has a toll).

About 1/3 to 1/2 of I-95 across New Hampshire is within or bordering an urbanized area, according to the Federal Highway Administration's map of NHS routes in the Portsmouth vicinity here (.pdf).
The stretch of I-95 that 1 is referring to (Exit 2 being NH 101, Exit 3 being NH 33) has shading along the northern half.  However, when one looks at an actual aerial photograph of the area; it clearly doesn't become more densely developed until one gets north of Exit 3/NH 33 and closer to the center of Portsmouth.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Pete from Boston

#22
The elevated Gowanus south/westbound has no entrance something like 4-5 miles from the Battery Tunnel to the Belt Parkway, and no exit from the Prospect to the Belt.  This comes as no surprise to anyone who has driven it even a few times, because it is a very frustrating place when traffic (frequently) stops.

Pete from Boston


Quote from: roadman65 on April 17, 2015, 11:57:02 AM
If you count the whole state of New Jersey as a city, the Garden State Parkway in many sections LOL!  However the section heading Southbound from the NYS Thruway has a long exit less stretch from Schoolhouse Road in Rockland County, NY to Linwood Avenue in Bergen County, NJ. 

The population of this part of New Jersey is that equivalent to a city.

It is urban by definition.

This arrangement ensures the unawares are forced to pay the toll in Washington Township.  For the rest of us, there's the unsigned exit through Montvale Rest Area.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: PHLBOS on April 17, 2015, 01:28:49 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 17, 2015, 12:59:08 PM
Quote from: 1 on April 16, 2015, 03:04:00 PM
Is I-95 in New Hampshire urban enough? There are 6.5 miles between Exit 2 and Exit 3 (this segment has a toll).

About 1/3 to 1/2 of I-95 across New Hampshire is within or bordering an urbanized area, according to the Federal Highway Administration's map of NHS routes in the Portsmouth vicinity here (.pdf).
The stretch of I-95 that 1 is referring to (Exit 2 being NH 101, Exit 3 being NH 33) has shading along the northern half.  However, when one looks at an actual aerial photograph of the area; it clearly doesn't become more densely developed until one gets north of Exit 3/NH 33 and closer to the center of Portsmouth.

I do not dispute that at all, having driven it rather recently, it has plenty of open space.

It is possible that the urbanized areas along I-95 were drawn that way in anticipation of development to come in the relatively near future.
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