Worst Designed Expressways/Roads

[Mergingtraffic]

What are the worst designed expressways or roads you have been on?

For me:
I-84 Downtown Hartford, CT....too many left exits/entrances and tight curves.
I-93 Central Artery Boston..before the Big Dig.  Left exits and tight curves galore.
Haven't been on the Central Artery since the construction ended.

[agentsteel53]

I-278 in New York City.  We all know which section.

[Bryant5493]

S.R. 166/Langford Parkway - There are several short freeway entrance ramps and its interchange with I-285 on its western end is "weaving central," if you will.

I-20 @ I-285 (Westside) - To access I-20 West on I-285 North, one must exit left. To access I-20 East on I-285 South, one must exit left as well. The ramp to I-20 West on I-285 South is an exit-only lane from U.S. 78/278, which becomes hectic in afternoon rush hour, with people merging in and out of that lane. Additionally, I-285 South and S.R. 139 is a left exit on I-20 West.

I-75/85 @ I-20 (Grady Curve) - This is a crazy, dangerous interchange. There are several entrances and exits in this one mile curve.


Be well,

Bryant

[74/171FAN]

I-264 EB in Norfolk on the Berkley Bridge where traffic coming from the Downtown Tunnel has to merge to the right in about 1/3 mile to stay on I-264 instead of exiting into Downtown Norfolk and traffic coming from I-464 having to merge to the left to enter Downtown Norflk makes that a weaving disaster during rush hour.  Add to that the Berkley Bridge is also a drawbridge.

[Ian]

In the Philadelphia, the I-76 Schuykill Expressway. Of course, there is not much you can do about it, but it is only 2 lanes (on a highway which should be 4 lanes), narrow, against a cliff overlooking the Schuykill River, and sharp curves, including the infamous Conshohocken curve.

[realjd]

I'd have to say the worst I've seen is the brief I-65/I-70 concurrency in downtown Indianapolis. North/Eastbound, I-65 merges in from the right and I-70 from the left. They split 1/2 mile later, with I-65 exiting on the left and I-70 on the right. Through traffic on both roads must weave over to the other side in a very short space.

I also get annoyed with the I-5/I-805 merge north of San Diego. Northbound, they merge together, and then all 6 lanes that had carried I-5 traffic promptly end. You can't continue on I-5 without changing across multiple lanes.

[agentsteel53]

I also get annoyed with the I-5/I-805 merge north of San Diego. Northbound, they merge together, and then all 6 lanes that had carried I-5 traffic promptly end. You can't continue on I-5 without changing across multiple lanes.

southbound, you also have to merge hard right (four lanes, I think?) to stay on 5.  The new collector/distributor lanes that allow you to access the 56 freeway make staying on the 5 a bit easier, in that you only have to merge over one lane to the left after merging one lane to the right to get on the c/d road.  But nonetheless, there is no single lane that allows you to, without merging, stay on 5 SB throughout the entire intersection.

[bugo]

Any of the 'first generation' Oklahoma turnpikes with the raised grassy median (later Jersey barrier) and I-44 (Skelly Drive) in Tulsa.  All terrible roads.

[Bickendan]

I-5 between the two I-405 junctions in Portland. I-84 in Portland for lack of exits westbound.

[hbelkins]

I-70 in Pennsylvania from the Turnpike west to I-79. Also the Breezewood interchange.

[Chris]

Yungas Road in Bolivia. Nicknamed the most dangerous road in the world.



300 people were killed on this road every year.

The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. It is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rainforest region of northern Bolivia, or Yungas, to its capital city. Upon leaving La Paz, the road first ascends to around 4,650 metres (15,300 ft) at La Cumbre Pass, before descending to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) at the town of Coroico, transiting quickly from cool Altiplano  terrain to rainforest as it winds through very steep hillsides and atop cliffs.

[shoptb1]

Yungas Road in Bolivia. Nicknamed the most dangerous road in the world.

Looks like fun...especially during a rainstorm!   

[corco]

US-151 east of Cedar Rapids.  4 Way stops along a divided highway?  

Also, Washington SR 16 pre-2009 coming from I-5 north to 16 west. The distance the merge lanes had to get on the mainline before it split off as an exit only lane was preposterously short

[mightyace]

Before they were reworked:

I-76 and Ohio 8 in Akron, OH

Very short exit ramps and "suicide"entrance ramps.  Many partial exits.  No direct exits on Route 8 to Market St. (main drag) in Akron.

Most of this has been corrected in the last 15 years, though there are still no direct exits to Market St. but you can get there now on frontage roads.

Malfunction Junction in Nashville, TN.  (I-24, I-40, I-65)

I-65 North to I-40 East (old I-65 north) - two lanes but one is exit only to 2nd-4th ave and traffic on I-40 East must weave two lanes over to get off here.
I-40 East to I-24 West (old I-65 north) - in old alignment both I-65 and I-40 traffic had to weave across each other in less than 1/2 mile - still an issue even without official I-65 designation.
Ramp from 2-4th Ave. to I-24/40 East - "No entrance to I-24 West (old 65 north)" - there is a jersey barrier to attempt to restrict movements to I-24 West but it doesn't go far enough and the movements are more desperate.

The setup from I-24 East to I-40 West (old I-65) south, 2-4th avenue and ramps to I-65 south are identically messed up in this direction as well.

Moving I-65 to the west side of the downtown loop has reduced it some, but many locals, including myself, still use the old I-65 routing.  Plus, LP Field where the Tennessee Titans play is on I-24 West (compass north of Malfunction Junction).

[joseph1723]

For me:

ON 400 the section between Vaughan and Barrie because of it's lack of left shoulders, bow beam median barrier that does nothing to stop trucks from going through it. There is also a RIRO interchange and lots of narrow overpasses.

QEW the St Catharines section before the currently ongoing reconstruction, the ramps and acceleration lanes are so short that the MTO puts signs advising drivers in the right lane to leave gaps for merging traffic also the roadway is really narrow in that section. 

The original Toronto built section of the Gardiner Expressway, it has really short ramps and de/acceleration lanes at some interchanges. At one interchage the on ramps are even closed to traffic during rush hour the one leading into the city in the morning and the one leaving the city in the afternoon, and also it's lack of full width shoulders on the elevated section.   

[realjd]

southbound, you also have to merge hard right (four lanes, I think?) to stay on 5.  The new collector/distributor lanes that allow you to access the 56 freeway make staying on the 5 a bit easier, in that you only have to merge over one lane to the left after merging one lane to the right to get on the c/d road.  But nonetheless, there is no single lane that allows you to, without merging, stay on 5 SB throughout the entire intersection.

I would agree about the c/d roads, except they're marked "Local Bypass". The signs give no indication that they can be used as thru lanes. There's not even one of those "Through Traffic OK" signs like they have up in Orange County. They do make a good shortcut though, especially if traffic is heavy!

[Riverside Frwy]

Easily has to be California 110 in LA.

[Revive 755]

US-151 east of Cedar Rapids.  4 Way stops along a divided highway?  

There's another one of those irritating set ups on US 30 at Boone, IA:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=42.034544,-93.87989&spn=0,359.986267&t=k&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.034543,-93.88001&panoid=Xn1AT8nZ4vqZb_MzG8ctGw&cbp=12,63.2,,0,11.26

While I wouldn't call this worst designed expressway, the Iowa DOT really should have at least had an easement to reserve space for an interchange or used a median u-turn.

[Sykotyk]

US 82 from Alabama to I-55 in Mississippi. This road is an expressway or freeway the entire length, EXCEPT a four-way stop at an intersection. Horrible placement, limited warning. Really needs to remove it or put in an interchange. No reason a 65mph road should have a four-way stop (sans Texas).

Sykotyk

[corco]

While I wouldn't call this worst designed expressway, the Iowa DOT really should have at least had an easement to reserve space for an interchange or used a median u-turn.

Or..  a stoplight!

[Bickendan]

Yungas Road in Bolivia. Nicknamed the most dangerous road in the world.



300 people were killed on this road every year.

The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. It is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rainforest region of northern Bolivia, or Yungas, to its capital city. Upon leaving La Paz, the road first ascends to around 4,650 metres (15,300 ft) at La Cumbre Pass, before descending to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) at the town of Coroico, transiting quickly from cool Altiplano  terrain to rainforest as it winds through very steep hillsides and atop cliffs.

I'm putting that on my 'To Clinch' list. Gotta wait for the PanAm Highway to get through the Darrian Gap first...

[leifvanderwall]

M-39 The Southfield Freeway

[Bryant5493]

US 82 from Alabama to I-55 in Mississippi. This road is an expressway or freeway the entire length, EXCEPT a four-way stop at an intersection. Horrible placement, limited warning. Really needs to remove it or put in an interchange. No reason a 65mph road should have a four-way stop (sans Texas).

Sykotyk

If you're talking about U.S. 82 at S.R. 15 in Mathiston, I agree. That all-way stop is crazy on a wide four-lane like that.


---

Additionally, I-75 North/85 North at the Brookwood Interchange is always an adventure. Three lanes split right for 75 North, while three lanes fork left for 85 North. 85 North then flies over 75, while 75 goes underneath 85.


Be well,

Bryant

[Scott5114]

I-240 between I-35 and I-44. Onramps add a new lane, which persists for about 50 feet or so and then becomes the exit-only lane for the next exit. World Capital of weaving.

[froggie]

To be fair, US 82/MS 15 in Mathison is a 4-way stop (as are the US 45/MS 14 and US 45/MS 16 intersections), because the intersections have long been 4-way stops dating to before the US routes were four-laned.  And for whatever reason, MDOT decided to maintain the status quo when it came to traffic control at those intersections when the US routes were widened.  And they don't really have the traffic to warrant signals, let alone an interchange.

As for Mathison...as I recall you have to slow down to 35 MPH to go through town anyway.