2 lane conversion to 4 lane

[Buffaboy]

What roads do you know of that were given a "road fattening" instead of a road diet?

[Joe The Dragon]

parts of IL-22

IL-83 From just past palatine road to near McHenry road

I think randall rd was 2 lanes each way near IL-72 in the 90's

IL-120 McHenry to IL-60

[jakeroot]

You may want to be more specific, Buffaboy. Do you mean single-carriageway? Dual-carriageway? Most roads inevitably "grow out" as AADT numbers grow.

[froggie]

Didn't we have a thread on this recently?

[Buffaboy]

You may want to be more specific, Buffaboy. Do you mean single-carriageway? Dual-carriageway? Most roads inevitably "grow out" as AADT numbers grow.

I was on a flip phone when I made this post, I'm referring to single carriageway.

I'm also referring to roads that were dieted, but reverted back to four lanes.

[jeffandnicole]

You may want to be more specific, Buffaboy. Do you mean single-carriageway? Dual-carriageway? Most roads inevitably "grow out" as AADT numbers grow.

I was on a flip phone when I made this post, I'm referring to single carriageway.

I'm also referring to roads that were dieted, but reverted back to four lanes.

At least for the first part, widening roads are way too common.  Heck, many roads start out as horse and cart paths before they become paved with a lane each way, then widened (and widened again, in some cases).

The latter part is a better question...Road Diets that didn't work!

[froggie]

The latter part is a better question...Road Diets that didn't work!

Or worked, but were opposed for political reasons, as happened on US 4 in Rutland, VT.

[noelbotevera]

Would US 22/US 322 through the Lewistown Narrows count? It started off as a two lane road, then became a freeway after 2007.

[1995hoo]

I can think of lots of two-lane roads that have been widened over the years. Perhaps the most extreme example is VA-28 north of I-66. When I was a kid it was a two-lane country road; it's now a six-lane suburban freeway. (This is indeed the famous I-366 with the 85-mph speed limit often mentioned on this forum.)

Many other roads come to mind, including suburban arterials (Pickett Road in Fairfax City is an example of that), to the point where it's not worth trying to think of them all.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Hammond Avenue in Superior, WI was 4 lanes between the end of I-535 and Broadway Street until the 1980s, then road-dieted to 2 lanes with a center turn lane until last year when it was restored to 4 lanes between 535 and Winter Street due to ongoing congestion issues.

[Rothman]

Hammond Avenue in Superior, WI was 4 lanes between the end of I-535 and Broadway Street until the 1980s, then road-dieted to 2 lanes with a center turn lane until last year when it was restored to 4 lanes between 535 and Winter Street due to ongoing congestion issues.

Heh.  I sat on a jury in Douglas County during the dieted years and the lawyers and judge asked if everyone remembered when it was four lanes.

[Buffaboy]

You may want to be more specific, Buffaboy. Do you mean single-carriageway? Dual-carriageway? Most roads inevitably "grow out" as AADT numbers grow.

I was on a flip phone when I made this post, I'm referring to single carriageway.

I'm also referring to roads that were dieted, but reverted back to four lanes.

At least for the first part, widening roads are way too common.  Heck, many roads start out as horse and cart paths before they become paved with a lane each way, then widened (and widened again, in some cases).

The latter part is a better question...Road Diets that didn't work!

Yeah, the roads surrounding my neighborhood were pretty much dirt roads in the 1920s according to Historic Aerials, now they're full 5 lane highways.

[hbelkins]

Too many widenings/relocations to mention in Kentucky.

[iowahighways]

Hubbell Avenue on the east side of Des Moines was road-dieted from four lanes to three (two travel lanes, one center-turn lane, plus a bicycle lane in each direction) a few years ago. However, it didn't last, and it was restriped as a four-lane street again within a year.

[cbeach40]

Block Line Road in Kitchener, ON was four lanes, reduced to two lanes plus bike lanes (just via re-striping), then upon reconstruction it was rebuilt as four lanes with a cycle track.

[cpzilliacus]

Perhaps the most-interesting of these is I-95 from a point north of Jarratt, Virginia (Exit 20) to Exit 41 south of Petersburg.

No, I-95 was never a Super-2 highway in Virginia, but the way that it was built there is rather relevant. 

U.S. 301 was a four-lane divided arterial highway into the 1970's (I believe this is the newest section of I-95 in the Commonwealth), and it was built by taking the northbound lanes of U.S. 301 and making them the southbound lanes of I-95.  A new roadway was built to carry northbound I-95 traffic.  The southbound lanes of U.S. 301 became a two lane undivided arterial that runs next to I-95 on its west side.

[jwolfer]

Perhaps the most-interesting of these is I-95 from a point north of Jarratt, Virginia (Exit 20) to Exit 41 south of Petersburg.

No, I-95 was never a Super-2 highway in Virginia, but the way that it was built there is rather relevant. 

U.S. 301 was a four-lane divided arterial highway into the 1970's (I believe this is the newest section of I-95 in the Commonwealth), and it was built by taking the northbound lanes of U.S. 301 and making them the southbound lanes of I-95.  A new roadway was built to carry northbound I-95 traffic.  The southbound lanes of U.S. 301 became a two lane undivided arterial that runs next to I-95 on its west side.

I remember when I was a kid driving on 301. This month I was driving alone from Maryland to Jacksonville.. I took the portion of divided 301 north of Emporia.. Brought back memories

[jfs1988]

A few years ago, Caltrans added an extra lane in each direction to California State Route 71 in Riverside County. That section between its terminus at the 91 Freeway & the San Bernardino County Line was an expressway with a K-rail in the median. There is a gated road (for Chino Hills State Park or the Santa Ana River) that intersects near the 91 Fwy. I think there was also a parking area or vista point on the northbound side.

[US 81]

Not sure if this is the case you're thinking of, but I've been on segments of the US highways in Texas where the road had clearly been one lane with a wide shoulder in either direction and was re-striped to convert the shoulder into a second travel lane.

[ChiMilNet]

State Street in Chicago is a great example. In the 1970s, it was essentially closed off to where only pedestrian and bus traffic could use it (essentially, a pedestrian mall). In the mid to late 1990s, the city of Chicago realized the mistake and reverted it back to a full surface street (with 4 lanes).

[NE2]

Dog bites man.

[Max Rockatansky]

California 58 East of Boron to the outskirts of Barstow has a bunch of two lane sections still around.  The stretch from Boron where 58 goes over a railroad right as it drops from an Expressway to a two lane road backs up miles or more to Kramer Junction at US 395 all the time and is just a plain pain in the a$$ to get through.  My understanding is that CALTRANs is trying to upgrade 58 from I-5 to I-15 to Interstate standards to be an extension of I-40, so maybe one day in the far flung future it will be.  US 395 from Kramer Junction south to Hesperia could use two extra lanes also.

[myosh_tino]

My understanding is that CALTRANs is trying to upgrade 58 from I-5 to I-15 to Interstate standards to be an extension of I-40, so maybe one day in the far flung future it will be.  US 395 from Kramer Junction south to Hesperia could use two extra lanes also.

The currently under construction Hinkley Bypass will replace the eastern 2-lane section of CA-58 and is being built to California's expressway standards.  There will be one at-grade intersection at the west end of the bypass that will provide access to the current 2-lane highway.  Interchanges at Hinkley Blvd and Lenwood Rd will be the other two access points of the bypass.

[Max Rockatansky]

My understanding is that CALTRANs is trying to upgrade 58 from I-5 to I-15 to Interstate standards to be an extension of I-40, so maybe one day in the far flung future it will be.  US 395 from Kramer Junction south to Hesperia could use two extra lanes also.

The currently under construction Hinkley Bypass will replace the eastern 2-lane section of CA-58 and is being built to California's expressway standards.  There will be one at-grade intersection at the west end of the bypass that will provide access to the current 2-lane highway.  Interchanges at Hinkley Blvd and Lenwood Rd will be the other two access points of the bypass.

Any idea what CALTRANs ETA for project completion is? 

[kkt]

California 58 East of Boron to the outskirts of Barstow has a bunch of two lane sections still around.  The stretch from Boron where 58 goes over a railroad right as it drops from an Expressway to a two lane road backs up miles or more to Kramer Junction at US 395 all the time and is just a plain pain in the a$$ to get through.  My understanding is that CALTRANs is trying to upgrade 58 from I-5 to I-15 to Interstate standards to be an extension of I-40, so maybe one day in the far flung future it will be.  US 395 from Kramer Junction south to Hesperia could use two extra lanes also.

I thought Caltrans was aiming for four lanes, limited access.  If they've said anywhere that they're hoping for I-40 to be extended, even as a someday aspiration, I'd like to hear it.