The most infuriating roads in your state (or area)

[Zeffy]

While most roads are enjoyable to drive, some roads are just infamous for their ability to piss people off. Whether it's traffic, horrible design, or just the mentality of drivers (or all three!), which roads in your state (or area) are simply more of a pain to put up with that you wish there were alternatives?

For (central) New Jersey:

1. US 206 - As a Hillsborough resident, you won't ever understand the hatred of this road, oft congested with semi trucks, like I do. It's my only way OUT of Hillsborough, minus taking some county roads. South of Hillsborough, it's all one lane, with very few spots to pass. Add the fact you pass through Princeton and their ticket-happy police officers, and you can understand why this road just truly sucks.

2. NJ 31 - South of Flemington, this road turns real shitty real quick, with plenty of semi trucks, congestion, and lots of those wonderful hiding spots you'll find a cop in.

3. US 22 - Bridgewater's section of US 22 is just horrible, with RIROs out of the ass and plenty of bad driving to boot. A rather high amount of fatalities have occurred on that stretch of 22 because of how it's designed - and of course the shitty drivers that plague our state.

4. NJ 18 - Going Down The Shore™ usually involves taking this highway - which, at rush hour, or with shore traffic, is just a slog filled journey through the Brunswicks, and it doesn't get much better even when you reach the freeway portion near Marlboro. The recent construction on the interchange with US 1 creates even more backups as of late.

5. US 202 - In the northern section of the state, US 202 roughly parallels I-287 and provides access to the downstate New York area. In the central part, it forms a corridor linking much of the smaller, yet more major towns throughout the north and central part of the state. In my neck of the woods, however, it's a usually congested road that includes two destructive creations, the Flemington Circle as well as the Somerville Circle.

So, which roads are you fed up with? 

[hotdogPi]

MA 128, between exits 33 and 37 northbound (actually east), 4 PM to 6 PM.

[iBallasticwolf2]

All of I-75 between the Brent Spence Bridge and I-275 is quite a mess in rush hour especially with the construction. Hopefully when it is done it will be easier to get through.

[Rothman]

I-87 between the Thruway and the Twin Bridges (Capital Region of NY).  There's no escaping rush hour/Adirondack-bound traffic, even if you jump off onto US 9 (blech).

[SSOWorld]

Before the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange (Milwaukee) began its approaches became hell because of 1) Left-hand exits in a compact setting with no lead lane for many of the exits left-and-right.  EB I-94 traffic exiting to I-894 often backed up because of the short on-ramp. same for WB traffic.  The roads approaching the interchange had no shoulders due to auxiliary lane additions.  through traffic was reduced to two lanes in all directions.

The Stadium Interchange also suffers from this though not as bad due to the crossway being less used outside ballgames.  The traffic going westbound from downtown always hangs in rush hour.

SB I-43 in downtown milwaukee has a reputation for clogging up because of close-quarters interchanges.

name a freeway in Chicago that's not a nightmare.  Particularly those approaching the Circle (a substandard interchange since day one)

[froggie]

What's infuriating around here isn't the roads...it's the idiotic tourist drivers from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts...

I-87 between the Thruway and the Twin Bridges (Capital Region of NY).  There's no escaping rush hour/Adirondack-bound traffic, even if you jump off onto US 9 (blech).

I did this one around 5pm last Wednesday.  While slow, I wouldn't call it crushing.  The bridge construction zones around Exit 4 were far worse.

[roadman65]

I am fed up with John Young Parkway, Orange Blossom Trail, and everyone in Orlando's favorite game in town I-4. 

Too many stoplights that are timed poorly plague our area.  I-4 needs widening several decades ago not now with the ultimate I-4 project that will screw up traffic for six full years more than it has ever until the new widened facility is done.

Sure all of Orlando and its surrounding area is terrible, but those are the top three infuriating roads that irk me everyday.

[Rothman]

What's infuriating around here isn't the roads...it's the idiotic tourist drivers from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts...

I-87 between the Thruway and the Twin Bridges (Capital Region of NY).  There's no escaping rush hour/Adirondack-bound traffic, even if you jump off onto US 9 (blech).

I did this one around 5pm last Wednesday.  While slow, I wouldn't call it crushing.  The bridge construction zones around Exit 4 were far worse.

Yep, the construction adds to the frustration.

All I know is that I can see the traffic back up on the Northway from my office, especially on Fridays in the summer. 

I'm just happy that I've been able to deflect my wife from pursuing plans to move to Clifton Park.  Anyone who lives up there and commutes into Albany is a dummy.  Might as well live in Colonie -- where taxes are low in any matter and the schools are decent -- rather than drive through that crap on I-87 twice a day.

[ekt8750]

Being from the Philadelphia area, I think required to use my #1 for the Schuylkill Expressway. Its left exits, and stupid traffic patterns are just the worst.

#2 is the Blue Route portion of I-476 specifically the portion south of PA 3. Road drops to 4 lanes cause a bunch of rich NIMBYs complained about road noise back in the planning phase. That now leads to horrible bottlenecks heading south of PA 3 during the evening rush and going north from 95 is always bad, including weekends.

#3 (caution. rant coming) The DRPA and its silly 45 MPH speed limit on its bridges and the few roads it maintains. The Walt Whitman Bridge is the most frustrating cause there are full fledged freeways on either end of the bridge. If you want to drop down to 55 or 50 on the bridge that's fine but the western approach to the bridge (which they own and their cops patrol and strictly enforce their speed limit) is also limited to 45 and imo is the best built portion of 76 in the area. Plus it's a straight road. There's no reason it shouldn't at least be 55. You can make cases for their other bridges esp the Ben Franklin which probably shouldn't be any more than 50 given its apporoaches.

[JCinSummerfield]

US-23 between OH-229 and Columbus, OH.  Absolutely hate to drive that stretch if there is any traffic at all.  If I have to go that way, I try to go through Columbus after 10:00 pm.

[JakeFromNewEngland]

I-95 from the NY border to New Haven. It's constant stop and go traffic due to a mix of many construction projects, lots of bad drivers, ancient freeways, and NYC bound traffic.

[Buffaboy]

Well as of recently in the Buffalo area it's the Scajaquada Expressway (NY 198). It's possible it will have 3 speed limit changes (50-40s-30) in the span of 3 miles in a few months, along with crosswalks and speed bumps. That's with two high speed interchanges on each end by the way, one to I-190.

Another thing, is it just me, or does North Carolina have some really narrow roads 8-9ft with no shoulder at all, all over the state? It certainly seems like it in the Charlotte area. Going at 50 mph on some I did feel uneasy.

[Alex4897]

Delaware (in the Newark / Churchmans Crossing area):

-DE 273

Between DE 4 and I-95 the road consists of a narrow two lanes in each direction, a pathetic right shoulder lacking room for right turn lanes, and two poorly timed traffic signals.  Traffic is almost guaranteed to be a mess headed towards I-95 during both rush hours, and the other direction has to deal with a horrible weave between the ramp from I-95 and the right turn for Harmony Road.  Luckily, the improvements they're considering actually have potential to fix the problems here.

-DE 1 / DE 7 / DE 273

The interchange between DE 1 / DE 273, coupled with the intersection between DE 273 and DE 7 not 500 feet away results in massive problems on both DE 1 and DE 273 during the PM rush.  The current diamond configuration plus the light at DE 7 means there's three traffic lights along DE 273 within not even a quarter mile, and because this is Delaware we're talking about they are never synced.  On top of this, the DE 1 SB offramp to DE 273 has only a left turn lane and a right turn lane, as opposed to dual turn lanes.  The ramp constantly backs up onto the mainline, and the new configuration at the mall / I-95 means traffic weaving between there and DE 273.  The "fixes" they have in store for this location might help DE 273 traffic because of the elimination of the center signal, but the ramp from DE 1 SB is going to suffer because all the traffic will have to slog through on additional roundabout.

[ekt8750]

-DE 1 / DE 7 / DE 273

The interchange between DE 1 / DE 273, coupled with the intersection between DE 273 and DE 7 not 500 feet away results in massive problems on both DE 1 and DE 273 during the PM rush.  The current diamond configuration plus the light at DE 7 means there's three traffic lights along DE 273 within not even a quarter mile, and because this is Delaware we're talking about they are never synced.  On top of this, the DE 1 SB offramp to DE 273 has only a left turn lane and a right turn lane, as opposed to dual turn lanes.  The ramp constantly backs up onto the mainline, and the new configuration at the mall / I-95 means traffic weaving between there and DE 273.  The "fixes" they have in store for this location might help DE 273 traffic because of the elimination of the center signal, but the ramp from DE 1 SB is going to suffer because all the traffic will have to slog through on additional roundabout.

Yeah and that interchange gets really fun with the Christmas shopping season.

[doorknob60]

ID-55 from Nampa to almost Marsing. 2 lanes, pavement is in awful condition, traffic is bad and can back up at intersection with roads like Middleton. Luckily there are plans to fix this (construction is happening now at the Middleton intersection, which while it is needed, is making the traffic at that point horrible).

ID-55 from I-84 to Eagle (AKA Eagle Rd.). What was once a semi-rural 55 MPH highway is now suburban hell with strip malls and big box stores. The Speed Limit is still 55, but good luck reaching that speed anywhere from 8 AM to 7 PM. When heading from Nampa to Eagle I prefer to use Can-Ada Rd. and the new freeway segment of ID-16 to ID-44.

For now, I-84 from Meridian Rd. to I-184. There is major construction going on here, so the originally 4 lane road drops down to 3 (and in one place right now practically drops down to 2 as the right lane becomes exit only, and then another lane appears on the left near the gore point). It can back up really bad, especially westbound on the evening commute. Luckily, I'm always going against the flow of traffic, but I've seen how bad it gets. The Speed Limit also drops to 55 through this section which is annoying. When the construction is done and it is 4 through lanes the whole way (it looks like it might be possible to add a 5th in some spots but I can't tell if they're doing that; the overpass at Cloverdale could be a problem with that) it will be much better.

EDIT: US-20/26 from ID-55 (Eagle Rd.) to somewhere around Ten Mile Rd. This road is quickly being engulfed by suburban neighborhoods and other developments (like a new Fred Meyer shopping center), and it's only 2 lanes and is only going to get worse.

[akotchi]

Philadelphia and northeast . . . where do I start?

I-95 through the city -- perpetual construction, can't see the markings at night through the slalom-like work areas.

U.S. 1, between PA 213 and the Penn Turnpike -- a mosaic of concrete and asphalt patchwork, two narrow lanes, no shoulders, slow traffic.

Street Road, I-95 to PA 611 -- five lanes of hell . . . poorly timed traffic signals, too many of them (and more to come), and heavy traffic seemingly all day.

U.S. 1/Bakers Basin Road (Lawrenceville, NJ) -- the only traffic signal in New Jersey on my ride to work.  Chronic NB backups in the morning, so that I shift to a 25-mph roadway to bypass it.

The mess known as Oxford Valley Road between U.S. 1 Business and Bristol-Oxford Valley Road -- The signal is begging to be a grade separation (all movements -- turns and throughs -- are heavy and green time is short).  The unsignalized intersection to the south has to be approached from the right direction to avoid lengthy delays.

Woodbourne Road at U.S. 1 Business and PA 213 -- Two signals that have not talked to each other since they were built.  Full 4-phase traffic signals close together that are very overworked and never coordinated.

That'll do for now . . . I already feel my blodd pressure rising.

[ekt8750]

Philadelphia and northeast . . . where do I start?

I-95 through the city -- perpetual construction, can't see the markings at night through the slalom-like work areas.

U.S. 1, between PA 213 and the Penn Turnpike -- a mosaic of concrete and asphalt patchwork, two narrow lanes, no shoulders, slow traffic.

Street Road, I-95 to PA 611 -- five lanes of hell . . . poorly timed traffic signals, too many of them (and more to come), and heavy traffic seemingly all day.

U.S. 1/Bakers Basin Road (Lawrenceville, NJ) -- the only traffic signal in New Jersey on my ride to work.  Chronic NB backups in the morning, so that I shift to a 25-mph roadway to bypass it.

The mess known as Oxford Valley Road between U.S. 1 Business and Bristol-Oxford Valley Road -- The signal is begging to be a grade separation (all movements -- turns and throughs -- are heavy and green time is short).  The unsignalized intersection to the south has to be approached from the right direction to avoid lengthy delays.

Woodbourne Road at U.S. 1 Business and PA 213 -- Two signals that have not talked to each other since they were built.  Full 4-phase traffic signals close together that are very overworked and never coordinated.

That'll do for now . . . I already feel my blodd pressure rising.

And that's a list of why I don't visit Lower Bucks very often lol

[kkt]

I-5 in Seattle, esp. between Lake City and the Brewery.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

In the Twin Cities it's parts of both 494 and 694:

494: MN 100 to MN 77. Always stop and go even at 12 PM on Saturday afternoon.

694: I-35W to I-35E. While not as bad as 494, this section desperately needs widening to six lanes.

[thenetwork]

One of my dislikes is on US-491, south of Cortez, CO.   As soon as you cross into New Mexico, it becomes a 55-MPH zone, despite it being relatively flat, barren desert / Indian land along a low-volume 2-lane road.   And the times I've driven through that stretch, I have seen cops patrolling this no-mans-land regularly. And it's a looooooooooong trip from there to Gallup / I-40.

In Colorado proper, I would have to say I-70 over Vail Pass when you have semis or larger vehicles move into the left-lane going uphill at 36 MPH, because they want to pass a slower vehicle going 35 MPH.  Meanwhile, the smaller, faster vehicles that were going 45 MPH+ up the hill are now screwed, and by the time dumb-ass semi driver either passes, or tries to retreat back into their original position behind the slower vehicle, you have 20-30 cars jammed together.  To those morons, I regularly give the single-finger salute as I drive by.

[vdeane]

Another one to add is the Thruway west of Syracuse on a holiday weekend.  Traffic tends to move in slow moving wolf packs where it's difficult to pass anyone because of someone micropassing an entire line of cars at 10 mph below the speed limit.  Of course, due to the speed differentials on that road, you either have to be that guy or be stuck behind him.  Judging by the traffic advisory radio, south of Albany is even worse.

What's infuriating around here isn't the roads...it's the idiotic tourist drivers from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts...

I-87 between the Thruway and the Twin Bridges (Capital Region of NY).  There's no escaping rush hour/Adirondack-bound traffic, even if you jump off onto US 9 (blech).

I did this one around 5pm last Wednesday.  While slow, I wouldn't call it crushing.  The bridge construction zones around Exit 4 were far worse.

The worst traffic is Thrursdays/Fridays in August, late September/early October, and before holidays.  The day after you went through, traffic was so gridlocked that I took surface streets all the way home; as I was approaching the Northway from Wolf Rd, sitting at the light with Albany-Shaker, the traffic on the on ramp didn't even move an inch during the entire light cycle.

The construction is messing with the traffic patterns too, largely because people are timid of the lane shifts and narrow lanes.  It affects the morning now too.  There's no reason why traffic can't flow at 45 through there, but people are scared.  Maybe they should drive through Thruway reconstruction zones (where the same conditions persist for miles with a speed limit of 55 and fewer lanes) and learn how it's done.  The slower traffic is actually having the effect of making the exit 4 merge work smoother, and the effect is actually a net increase in speed in the evening rush, even though it feels like a decrease at the shifts.  Back before the merge was realigned onto the new pavement it was even better because it was physically impossible for people to compete to be the car in front (which is what causes the backups there and at exits 6 and 7). The legendary backups at the twin bridges are just that, legendary, as they don't actually exist but people think they do because traffic takes a while to get back up to speed from the merges before the bridges in each direction and they're a convenient shorthand for the traffic reporters.  While during free flow conditions there is some slowdown due to the curves and the "OMG BRIDGE" factor, during rush hour when traffic is still accelerating from being at a complete standstill from the merge with either NY 7 or Crescent Rd (depending on which direction you're going), it's negligible.

Anyone who lives up there and commutes into Albany is a dummy.  Might as well live in Colonie -- where taxes are low in any matter and the schools are decent -- rather than drive through that crap on I-87 twice a day.

Agreed.  When I moved here I had a few criteria, and "NOT north of the Mohawk river" was second only to "must have off street parking".  It even beat out things like "must have room for my furniture" and "must be affordable".  My favorite part of my evening commute is getting into the exit only lane for exit 6 and zipping by the stopped cars at full speed.

Of course, Sonic has been making Latham traffic a mess right now, but the novelty is FINALLY wearing off and Forts Ferry and NY 7 are once again moving (at least as well as Forts Ferry can... it was awfully stupid of Colonie to not put in a left turn lane on the NB/WB side of the intersection with Wade Rd!).

[freebrickproductions]

Memorial Parkway (US 231 and partially US 431, US 72, and AL 53), University Drive (US 72), and Airport Road here in Huntsville, AL come to mind. Memorial Parkway and Airport Road are really only terrible during rush hour, but University Drive is almost always a nightmare to drive on IMO.

[DJStephens]

One of my dislikes is on US-491, south of Cortez, CO.   As soon as you cross into New Mexico, it becomes a 55-MPH zone, despite it being relatively flat, barren desert / Indian land along a low-volume 2-lane road.   And the times I've driven through that stretch, I have seen cops patrolling this no-mans-land regularly. And it's a looooooooooong trip from there to Gallup / I-40.

Have not been in the NW corner of the state (NM) in a long time.  Did they "finish" the 491 (666) four lane all the way to Gallup?  Is is of half decent design, or is it like the two abortions - US 550 and US 70 "projects" which had no appreicable median, and lousy shoulders, not to mention inadequate straightening of horizontal and vertical curves??

[thenetwork]

One of my dislikes is on US-491, south of Cortez, CO.   As soon as you cross into New Mexico, it becomes a 55-MPH zone, despite it being relatively flat, barren desert / Indian land along a low-volume 2-lane road.   And the times I've driven through that stretch, I have seen cops patrolling this no-mans-land regularly. And it's a looooooooooong trip from there to Gallup / I-40.

Have not been in the NW corner of the state (NM) in a long time.  Did they "finish" the 491 (666) four lane all the way to Gallup?  Is is of half decent design, or is it like the two abortions - US 550 and US 70 "projects" which had no appreicable median, and lousy shoulders, not to mention inadequate straightening of horizontal and vertical curves??

It's been about 5 years since I was last down there. US-491 was two-lanes at the border then, and the latest GSV still shows 2 lanes (and the 55 MPH signs) at the CO/NM Border now.
It looks like 491 is 65 MPH north of the border in Colorado until closer to Cortez.

[theFXexpert]

The southeast section of I-295 in Jacksonville. Only 4 lanes of though lanes that get frequently clogged. The 295 ramps merging onto southbound I-95 also get backed up. I eagerly await the completion of SR9B and these express lanes.