Abandoned/proposed roads

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Who here is curious to roads that were abandoned, or ones that never left the proposal stage? For here in NC, the stretch of I-77 north of Elkin has always intrigued me, for it was not supposed to go through Fancy Gap en route to Fort Chiswell. I've seen a Rand McNally from 1962 that had 77 going farther west, through Lowgap, NC and the eastern side of Galax, VA. Another proposed route for 77 north of Elkin, though I've never seen maps of it, was to take 77 and have it go through State Road, NC, and follow U.S. 21 through Thurmond, Roaring Gap, Glade Valley and Sparta, NC, before turning north at Twin Oaks and going into VA, through Independence and going around Point Lookout Mountain, through Elk Creek and Speedwell, VA before meeting I-81 at Wytheville and continuing on the path 77 follows on up to Beckley/Charleston/etc.

[jp the roadgeek]

Too many to count here in CT.  Among the heavy hitters:

Most of the I-291 belt (save for the northeast portion and the northern part of CT 9)
CT 11 between Waterford and Salem
Assorted I-84 left exits between Southington and Hartford that are stubs of abandoned freeway ideas
CT/MA 8 to I-90
I-84 to Providence
CT 66 expressway to Willimantic (only part built was I-691 and the piece to Middlefield)
I-491/I-86 (CT 3 extension from CT 2 to Manchester)
CT 78 connection to I-95
I-284 and I-484 (latter partially built as Whitehead Highway)

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Too many to count here in CT.  Among the heavy hitters:

Most of the I-291 belt (save for the northeast portion and the northern part of CT 9)
CT 11 between Waterford and Salem
Assorted I-84 left exits between Southington and Hartford that are stubs of abandoned freeway ideas
CT/MA 8 to I-90
I-84 to Providence
CT 66 expressway to Willimantic (only part built was I-691 and the piece to Middlefield)
I-491/I-86 (CT 3 extension from CT 2 to Manchester)
CT 78 connection to I-95
I-284 and I-484 (latter partially built as Whitehead Highway)

Going through Google Earth looking at this....God, all those abandoned parts is an UrbExer's dream!

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

The Goat Path in PA is another one that piques my interest. I like that they gave the proposed route to farmers to graze, instead of letting it turn into a jungle. I remember reading somewhere that they wanted to turn it into a walking trail.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Forgot to mention the abandoned sections of U.S. 301...This man did a wonderful write-up on them a few years back. I'm still kicking myself for not exploring some of those abandoned sections when I came back from Florida two years ago. I could see in some sections where 301 was a four-lane at one time. We took 301 from my grandmother's place at Sorrento, FL to Jesup, GA. Was a wonderful ride

http://www.theantidj.net/archives/175

[Henry]

I-95 is riddled with connections to roads that have never come to be. The most notable ones include:

Sections between downtown Washington, DC and College Park, MD, and through Boston
At least three I-695s, including Inner Belt in Boston, Cobbs Creek Expressway in Philadelphia and short Somerset connector in NJ
Somerset Freeway
At least two I-895, including from Bristol, PA to Burlington, NJ, and east of Providence, RI
I-295/Anacostia Freeway Extension
Interchanges with I-70, I-83 and the Windlass Freeway in Baltimore, plus I-70's connection with I-170 (though I-170 was also proposed as I-595 at one point, using the southernmost part of I-70 extension)

[3467]

Parts of the Illinois supplementary freeway system . Though many are alive as possible expressways. In Chicago the idea of an outer belts. The crosstown route 53 and Illiana still exists as possibilities in onto 2050 plan.
The possible expressways are 67 2 in the Peoria area and us 20.

[TheStranger]

The section of 380 west of I-280 in San Bruno (towards Pacifica) has not been seriously proposed in decades, though still remains on the books.  The blocked off freeway mainline from the current 380/280 offramp/onramp pair out towards the C/D roads is the primary vestige of this (and I have always felt that extending this as an arterial to Skyline Boulevard/Route 35 is still a reasonable concept).

The offramp stub that is now blocked off from the exit from I-280 north to Cesar Chavez (Army) Street has been variously proposed as part of the original Route 87 plan to connect San Jose and San Francisco via a bayfront route, and as part of a connection to a Southern Crossing bridge to Alameda (and eventually to Route 61 and what is now I-980).

I've seen it mentioned before on the forums, but the wide spot right before I-680 makes a bend north from Fremont to Sunol would have been the southern terminus of the never-built Route 238 freeway.

The wide spot along the Hollywood Freeway/US 101 west of Alvarado Street in Los Angeles would have been the eastern terminus of the Beverly Hills Freeway (variously proposed along the US 66/Route 2 corridor of Santa Monica Boulevard).

The Pershing interchange with I-5/San Diego Freeway was originally slated for the Route 171 connector to I-805/Route 15 (which frankly would have been redundant as drivers from either route could take Route 94 to get to the same area in much the same distance) and the large Y interchange I-805 has with 52nd Street was constructed as the only portion of the Route 252 connector to ever exist.  (252 would have connected the I-5/Route 15 interchange in Barrio Logan with 805)

The road that carries the Sacramento light rail system between the Roseville Road station and the Watt/I-80 station in northeast Sacramento was built to be the I-80 realignment to replace what is now Business 80; that project was halted ca. 1979 when the city opted to move the funding towards the light rail project instead.

[Mapmikey]

Who here is curious to roads that were abandoned, or ones that never left the proposal stage? For here in NC, the stretch of I-77 north of Elkin has always intrigued me, for it was not supposed to go through Fancy Gap en route to Fort Chiswell. I've seen a Rand McNally from 1962 that had 77 going farther west, through Lowgap, NC and the eastern side of Galax, VA. Another proposed route for 77 north of Elkin, though I've never seen maps of it, was to take 77 and have it go through State Road, NC, and follow U.S. 21 through Thurmond, Roaring Gap, Glade Valley and Sparta, NC, before turning north at Twin Oaks and going into VA, through Independence and going around Point Lookout Mountain, through Elk Creek and Speedwell, VA before meeting I-81 at Wytheville and continuing on the path 77 follows on up to Beckley/Charleston/etc.

I do not recall any evidence of I-77 having a potential routing further west than that shown in the '62 RMcN, but there was a potential routing much further east north of I-81 as shown in this VDOH diagram.


Aug 1960 Virginia Highways Bulletin

Virginia actually approved the western route on the '62 RMcN in 1960 but changed their mind in 1965 after North Carolina approved the eastern route via Mt. Airy a little earlier.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Who here is curious to roads that were abandoned, or ones that never left the proposal stage? For here in NC, the stretch of I-77 north of Elkin has always intrigued me, for it was not supposed to go through Fancy Gap en route to Fort Chiswell. I've seen a Rand McNally from 1962 that had 77 going farther west, through Lowgap, NC and the eastern side of Galax, VA. Another proposed route for 77 north of Elkin, though I've never seen maps of it, was to take 77 and have it go through State Road, NC, and follow U.S. 21 through Thurmond, Roaring Gap, Glade Valley and Sparta, NC, before turning north at Twin Oaks and going into VA, through Independence and going around Point Lookout Mountain, through Elk Creek and Speedwell, VA before meeting I-81 at Wytheville and continuing on the path 77 follows on up to Beckley/Charleston/etc.

I do not recall any evidence of I-77 having a potential routing further west than that shown in the '62 RMcN, but there was a potential routing much further east north of I-81 as shown in this VDOH diagram.


Aug 1960 Virginia Highways Bulletin

Virginia actually approved the western route on the '62 RMcN in 1960 but changed their mind in 1965 after North Carolina approved the eastern route via Mt. Airy a little earlier.

Wooooooooow. So by the looks of that, 77 would either multiplex or parallel 81 to Dublin. Never seen or even heard of that potential route. Very cool!

And the 77 through Sparta thing is basically just word of mouth, more or less. Though the ones I know who mention it swear by it. Maybe someday, I'll run across a map of said route, if such a thing even exists.

[hbelkins]

Interesting that most of the eastern route for I-77 ended up being four-laned (VA 100) after all.

[Revive 755]

For alternate alignments that were not built, IIRC:

Illinois
* A few older atlases have I-55 going around Lincoln to the south and east, compared to the current north and west alignment that was built.
* I-64 is shown in a couple older maps not having a multiplex with I-57, but instead continuing westward from the southern I-57 interchange before rejoining the current route.
* I-255 was originally planned to intersect I-55/I-70 further west of the present day location.
* I-70 was originally planned to split from I-55 south of IL 162, much closer to the US 40 interchange.  Can't recall the alignment for sure east of there, but I think it was steeply angled to rejoin the as-built alignment.  I-270 was going to have a slight southward bend east of I-55 to connect to I-70 IIRC.

Indiana
* The 1962 Chicago Area Transportation Study Map 3 shows I-65 staying west of US 52 between Lebanon and Lafayette, and proceeding around Lafayette on the west side.
* The same map shows I-69 tying into I-70 east of the eastern I-465 interchange.

Missouri
* I-55 was going to cross US 61 near today's Route O interchange (Exit 154) in Ste. Genevieve County, then have an interchange where it would cross US 61 again.  I recall reading in a book (on geologic features of Missouri?) that there was an issue with the terrain resulting in the present day alignment.

[ilpt4u]

For alternate alignments that were not built, IIRC:

Illinois
* A few older atlases have I-55 going around Lincoln to the south and east, compared to the current north and west alignment that was built.
* I-64 is shown in a couple older maps not having a multiplex with I-57, but instead continuing westward from the southern I-57 interchange before rejoining the current route.
* I-255 was originally planned to intersect I-55/I-70 further west of the present day location.
* I-70 was originally planned to split from I-55 south of IL 162, much closer to the US 40 interchange.  Can't recall the alignment for sure east of there, but I think it was steeply angled to rejoin the as-built alignment.  I-270 was going to have a slight southward bend east of I-55 to connect to I-70 IIRC.

Indiana
* The 1962 Chicago Area Transportation Study Map 3 shows I-65 staying west of US 52 between Lebanon and Lafayette, and proceeding around Lafayette on the west side.
* The same map shows I-69 tying into I-70 east of the eastern I-465 interchange.

Missouri
* I-55 was going to cross US 61 near today's Route O interchange (Exit 154) in Ste. Genevieve County, then have an interchange where it would cross US 61 again.  I recall reading in a book (on geologic features of Missouri?) that there was an issue with the terrain resulting in the present day alignment.

No mention of the US 50 (IL)/US 150 (IN) route for I-64? One might say that was the original alignment, and the Mt Vernon/Evansville current route is the alternate alignment

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

Sort of a question within the question:

Which roads in your area diverged the most from their proposed routes?

[ilpt4u]

Sort of a question within the question:

Which roads in your area diverged the most from their proposed routes?

I kinda already answered that in the post above...but I-64

[Max Rockatansky]

Rather than list all the unbuilt State Highways in California I'll simply refer to the 2005 State Highway Map and all the unconstructed routes that have been limbo for decades:

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~238640~5511601:-California--State-Highway-Map-2005?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans%202005;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=0&trs=2

My personal favorite (or number one on the wish list) is CA 190 over the Sierras.

[kurumi]

Among the non-heavy hitters in CT (see JP's post above)
* CT 180, from Durham to Higganum. One of the few never-built two-lane roads with a number assigned. Also mentioned as an extension to CT 68.
* CT 73 freeway
* CT 110 freeway (or 34, or 35): east-west Fairfield County, north of Merritt Parkway
* CT 2A extension
* CT 10
* US 44
* US 7 in Canaan to Mass line
* only on the "lines on a regional planning map" stage: portions of 42, 68, 83, 159, 20, 190, 313, 17, 79, 117/164, 82, the rest of 78; unnamed parallel to CT 171

[NWI_Irish96]

For alternate alignments that were not built, IIRC:

Indiana
* The 1962 Chicago Area Transportation Study Map 3 shows I-65 staying west of US 52 between Lebanon and Lafayette, and proceeding around Lafayette on the west side.
* The same map shows I-69 tying into I-70 east of the eastern I-465 interchange.

Others for Indiana:

The original interstate plan had Interstate 67 running along what is now US 131 from the Toll Road to Kalamazoo

I-69 was originally planned to continue from it's end at I-465 on the NE side of Indianapolis through the city to the I-65/70 north split downtown

South Bend had a plan to create an inner loop with limited at-grade intersections, using Eddy, Sample, Chapin and Marion streets.  The Sample/Eddy bridge and interchange was fully completed, but the rest never got done.

[cwf1701]

Sort of a question within the question:

Which roads in your area diverged the most from their proposed routes?

In Detroit, that would be I-96, it was to be built originally alongside Grand River Ave. It ended up heading to I-275 via Schoolcraft rd.

[TheStranger]

Sort of a question within the question:

Which roads in your area diverged the most from their proposed routes?

If reroutings count:

- The original I-5 proposal would have followed what is now Route 99 (what was back then US 99) between Wheeler Ridge and Sacramento, a road that has been proposed since as a future I-7 or I-9.  The eventual route instead parallels much more of Route 33 (the West Side Highway) and is itself called the West Side Freeway.

- I-15 originally followed what is now I-215 between Devore and Colton and in fact was first signed as I-15/US 66/91/395 through that stretch.  ca. 1969, the segment of modern day 215 south of there was slated to be part of I-15's extension towards San Diego, but in 1974 15 was instead shifted to a corridor that incorporated Route 31 and a portion of Route 71 (including a segment that itself was once US 395 from Lake Elsinore to Temecula).

- I-280 in San Francisco was originally proposed to continue up the Junipero Serra Freeway into Golden Gate Park, and then follow the Route 1 corridor into the Presidio.  Due to the freeway revolts, the Junipero Serra Freeway's final north terminus ended up at Font Boulevard barely a mile into the city, so in 1968, 280 was instead shifted to the Southern Freeway which had been built as US 101 originally and later became Route 82, as well as a portion of freeway between Army (Cesar Chavez) Street in Potrero Hill and the Transbay Terminal that was originally proposed as part of a Route 87 extension from San Jose.  In the end, even that rerouting has its own gap of uncompleted freeway, from the 6th Street/King Street split northeast to I-80 at the now-removed Route 480 junction.  (The 280 viaduct did continue past 6th up to 3rd Street from the late 1970s until 2000)

- I-80's current western terminus at US 101 is about 3 miles east of where it was planned to end; the most controversial of the SF highway proposals had it following Fell/Oak Street corridor on the Western Freeway past Haight-Ashbury and into Golden Gate Park. 

- One could argue that today's 680/280 loop into downtown San Jose is a divergence from the original Interstate numbering in the area, where 280 south went up Route 17 (now I-880) north to end at US 101, while I-680 south followed what is now Route 262 south (at the time Route 9 and 21 south) to 17 south (also now I-880 south) to end at 280/101.  The loop was proposed originally from 1964-1965 as a Route 17 realignment between San Jose and Fremont.

- I-80's current alignment through Natomas in Sacramento has only been in place since 1982, as it originally ran through town along former US 40/99W in West Sacramento, a new-build freeway in downtown and midtown Sacramento, and US 99E from the Oak Park neighborhood northeast towards Citrus Heights.  When a realignment of 80 in the Arden/North Sacramento area got blocked in 1979 by local officials, 80 was then shifted to the northern belt route that had been I-880.

[KeithE4Phx]

Arizona
I-710, north from I-10 through east-central Tucson, proposed circa 1970:  Tucson hates freeways, then and now, even more than Phoenix did at the time, plus it was going to be a monster, so it was abandoned.

AZ 50, Paradise Pkwy, east-west between (future) Loop 101 and AZ 51, through north central Phoenix at about 4300N, proposed circa 1970:  This one finally died in the late 1990s after many properties was condemned for it.  The number could very well be resurrected for Northern Pkwy, once it's finished to the Loop 101 and turned over to ADOT.  No decision on that as yet.

AZ 153, the Sky Harbor Fwy, north-south between I-10 and the Loop 202, proposed circa 1985:  One section was built between University Dr. and Washington St. in the early 1990s.  ADOT decertified the route number and gave the road to the City of Phoenix in 2008.  It is now S. 44th St.  The northernmost and southern most sections were never scheduled for building.

AZ Loop 404 + AZ 174, Hassayampa Freeway, from north of Wickenburg to Tucson, proposed circa 2000:  This, in some form, is now to be part of I-11.  Route not finalized.

AZ 989, Tangerine Rd.  Proposed as Tangerine Fwy in the late '80s, abandoned in 2012:  This route did exist, unsigned, between 1st Ave. and AZ 77 in Oro Valley, between 1991 and 2012.  The idea was to upgrade it to a freeway in time, but since Tucson hates freeways...

AZ 87, Country Club Dr. in Mesa, and Arizona Ave. in Chandler.  Abandoned sometime in the early 2000s:  ADOT turned over the portion of AZ 87 within the city limits of Chandler, and inside Mesa south of McKellips Rd., several years ago.  The north (Beeline Hwy) leg starts at McKellips, and the southern portion starts at the junction with AZ 587 on the border with the Gila River Indian Community.  It is signed as being on Country Club on the Superstition Fwy (US 60), and on Arizona Ave. on the Santan Fwy (Loop 202).  Exit signs at both interchanges show AZ 87.  It is neither.

[1995hoo]

How about a road that was built and never opened to traffic? Arlington County has an elevated structure I've seen referred to as the Loop Road Bridge. It was intended to connect Wilson Boulevard to Key Bridge so traffic headed to DC could pass through Rosslyn without stopping for all the red lights. But after it was built it was apparently found to contain structural deficiencies that made it unable to bear the weight of the anticipated traffic load and it never opened for vehicular use and instead became a strange pedestrian park. The Newseum used to be located along the park.

Street View has been weird lately when I've used the Google Maps app, so I'll just provide a map link to one end and you can enter Street View if you want. There is no Street View along the actual overpass.

https://goo.gl/maps/M83urBX2Yf39Q6fYA

[Ben114]

Massachusetts has a little more than a few

- MA/CT 8 to the Pike
- I-290 east of I-495
- I-190 north of MA 2
- Lowell Connector north of exit 5
- I-895
- I-695
- I-95 through Boston
- MA 240
- MA 57 west of MA 187

[bing101]

Here is More from California CA-77 Freeway would have been near the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Southern Crossing Bridge 1 would have gone from Oakland to Old Candlestick park.

Southern Crossing Bridge 2 to go from I-238 to I-380 at SFO/San Bruno Area.

CA-244 would have been an extension of Beltline Freeway in the Sacramento Area.

CA-480 would have to be an extension of the Bay Area Beltway from I-280 to Golden Gate Bridge if Loma Prieta Quake never happened.

CA-27 was going to be a freeway from San Fernando Valley to Malibu but that never went through Possible extension of CA-14?

CA-47 and CA-103 were going to be alternate routes for the i-710 freeway in Long Beach.

CA-90 was going to the the imperial freeway but that got called off due to the I-105 debates. 

San Francisco was going to have a Geary Freeway and a Panhandle freeway too.


Vallejo Was going to have the Mare Island  Waterfront Freeway CA-141 from I-780 to Mare Island way.

[RobbieL2415]

Everyone mentions the mainstream cancelled freeways for CT. Here's a couple of obscure ones.

CT 83 freeway from I-84 vic. Exit 64 to proposed CT 20 freeway. Would have roughly parallel current CT 83.

CT 9 freeway extension from Farmington to proposed CT 20 freeway (and eventually probably proposed MA 57). All that was built was a short freeway section of CT 189 in Bloomfield.
US 44 freeway roughly from Hartford to Litchfield County, possibly CT 8
CT 40 from I-91 in Hamden to CT 8 in Waterbury.
Proposed Beltway around New London. Thought of as a defense highway.
CT 10/US 202 freeway, Granby to West Haven
Numerous loose proposals for a freeway parallel to I-95