The "Ugly Red-Headed Stepchild" Highway...

[The Premier]

Prior to the big rebuilding a few years ago, SR 8 through downtown Akron was also in the same boat, with some overhead BGs dating back to the mid-late 50's -- possibly 1st generation -- though the rebuilding took them all down.

And same with SR-8 between SR-303 and SR-82, although the current rebuilding of that stretch into interstate standards is also taking away the "early 60's look" of that section, too!!!

ODOT has already used exit numbers for SR 8; staring with Exits 1A-B (Carroll St/Buchtel Ave) and going up to Exit 14 (SR 303). Most of the older signs have been replaced.

Unfortunately, there are a few BGSs that are in dire need of replacement, especially when you are traveling north. The biggest example is before the Cuyahoga Falls Ave exit. Even though they replaced the sign gantry, the two signs on the right, Cuyahoga Falls Ave exit sign and the Howe Ave exit sign, despite the removal of the light fixtures, those old signs are still there.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.11141,-81.496657&spn=0,359.993101&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.111684,-81.496495&panoid=Zq7BgJ4jBrvBDg242egqUQ&cbp=12,25.85,,0,-5.36

The others include the Howe Ave exit sign near the actual exit as well as the Downtown Cuyahoga Falls: Next 2 Exits sign on that same gantry.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.117108,-81.490531&spn=0,359.993101&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.117178,-81.490451&panoid=fRY1Ylmf42pK3i7GCQMoHA&cbp=12,48.64,,0,2.97

But the most disturbing of all of the BGSs while traveling on SR 8 northbound. The Tallmadge Ave exit sign originally did not have the SR 261 shield on it prior to the assignment of exit numbers. While that has been replaced, the Glenwood Ave exit sign was still there; it had 1960s written all on it, and it STILL has not be replaced!  

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.091061,-81.499736&spn=0,359.986203&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.090974,-81.499793&panoid=stJMrE5gyMCSzz9v1GaxHA&cbp=12,22.87,,0,-4.94

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.095532,-81.499876&spn=0,359.993101&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.095599,-81.499676&panoid=oufN9m3uQIDYb0ruvwmUtg&cbp=12,14.96,,0,-7.74


http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.099534,-81.499887&spn=0,359.993101&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.099631,-81.499888&panoid=jSCWAG1PtPi8VRRocDlRQQ&cbp=12,13.72,,0,-2.14

Finally, the exit gore signs on the Glenwood Ave, Tallmadge Ave, and Cuyahoga Falls Ave need to be replaced.

But don't take my word for it; drive on this strech of SR 8 and you'll know what I mean. No wonder some people will say Route 8 sucks. There's even a song about this.

[thenetwork]

But don't take my word for it; drive on this strech of SR 8 and you'll know what I mean. No wonder some people will say Route 8 sucks. There's even a song about this.

Ah, memories!  The ol' construction update radio station -- forgot about that.   And how many different colored detours did they use when the downtown reconstruction of SR-8 was at it's peak???

Akron is running out of freeways to rebuild!! Nearly every freeway in the Akron area has been rebuilt (not just resurfaced) over the last 10-15 years.

[SidS1045]

Just about any road in the Boston metro area formerly under the jurisdiction of the now-defunct Metropolitan District Commission.  Talk about clueless!  Narrow lanes, sharp (often blind) curves, lane merges with warnings that might have been sufficient in 1910 when cars moved at a maximum of 20mph, signage bearing no relationship whatsoever to reality (for example, showing a left turn for a certain road, when the intersection is a traffic circle...what the locals call a rotary...and all exits from the traffic circle are right turns) and most certainly not in compliance with the MUTCD, free-running traffic signals (no vehicle-detection grids) and drastically under-posted speed limits (often used, of course, by cops needing to fill their non-existent quotas).

A few of these dinosaurs have been upgraded where possible, but most remain in the dark ages.

[The Premier]

Ah, memories!  The ol' construction update radio station -- forgot about that.   And how many different colored detours did they use when the downtown reconstruction of SR-8 was at it's peak???

Akron is running out of freeways to rebuild!! Nearly every freeway in the Akron area has been rebuilt (not just resurfaced) over the last 10-15 years.

For the SR 8 reconstruction, they used blue and green detours, especially at on point in which access to SR 8 NB from I-76 EB was closed. I don't remember which one is which, however.

In regards to rebuilding freeways, that is somewhat an understatement. SR 59 (the Innerbelt) was the last freeway that was built before it ran out of money in the 1980s. And ODOT was planning to redo the Central Interchange and the West leg before it was scrapped due to the economy. I do agree with you that they are running out of freeways to rebuild and they need to go back to the drawing board and build new freeways, especially the Innerbelt.

[thenetwork]

In regards to rebuilding freeways, that is somewhat an understatement. SR 59 (the Innerbelt) was the last freeway that was built before it ran out of money in the 1980s. And ODOT was planning to redo the Central Interchange and the West leg before it was scrapped due to the economy. I do agree with you that they are running out of freeways to rebuild and they need to go back to the drawing board and build new freeways, especially the Innerbelt.

As of the time of the last google map update, the first-gen "covered" signs were still up:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080183,-81.529585&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080215,-81.529448&panoid=mc4GVDIDdojeSsJNqa17Ag&cbp=12,68.71,,0,-7.01

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080533,-81.530328&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080566,-81.530206&panoid=GIH3jyR6nnmj4UO-MY4hCw&cbp=12,72.9,,0,3.8

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.081629,-81.524052&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.081658,-81.523947&panoid=xEJyLI0ulEKqynmrU2ijXA&cbp=12,68.18,,0,4.9

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.08509,-81.519787&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.085045,-81.519694&panoid=IIXQsuMNmBV-C3J9DPU2Xg&cbp=12,304.45,,0,1.4

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080371,-81.53236&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080431,-81.53244&panoid=1uyxaE7ZnO9QoHP6_h40-A&cbp=12,136.66,,0,-10.98

Quality is not the best, but it's obvious on most signage that these were temporary overlays.

[The Premier]

In regards to rebuilding freeways, that is somewhat an understatement. SR 59 (the Innerbelt) was the last freeway that was built before it ran out of money in the 1980s. And ODOT was planning to redo the Central Interchange and the West leg before it was scrapped due to the economy. I do agree with you that they are running out of freeways to rebuild and they need to go back to the drawing board and build new freeways, especially the Innerbelt.

As of the time of the last google map update, the first-gen "covered" signs were still up:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080183,-81.529585&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080215,-81.529448&panoid=mc4GVDIDdojeSsJNqa17Ag&cbp=12,68.71,,0,-7.01

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080533,-81.530328&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080566,-81.530206&panoid=GIH3jyR6nnmj4UO-MY4hCw&cbp=12,72.9,,0,3.8

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.081629,-81.524052&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.081658,-81.523947&panoid=xEJyLI0ulEKqynmrU2ijXA&cbp=12,68.18,,0,4.9

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.08509,-81.519787&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.085045,-81.519694&panoid=IIXQsuMNmBV-C3J9DPU2Xg&cbp=12,304.45,,0,1.4

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=akron,+oh&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.176059,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Akron,+Summit,+Ohio&ll=41.080371,-81.53236&spn=0.0005,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.080431,-81.53244&panoid=1uyxaE7ZnO9QoHP6_h40-A&cbp=12,136.66,,0,-10.98

Quality is not the best, but it's obvious on most signage that these were temporary overlays.

Needless to point out, sometimes the Google map pictures don't do you justice. In this case, those signs were from the Innerbelt. Some of those signs were recently replaced.

For the new signs, this should be on the Clearview thread, but I am posting this here to prove my point.



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My apologies for the dirty windshield.

[mightyace]

^^^
Who on earth is/was Vernon Odom? 

[The Premier]

^^^
Who on earth is/was Vernon Odom? 

Vernon Odom was a civil rights leader in Akron.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Odom,_Sr.

[mightyace]

Thanks.  I probably would have heard of him if I'd stayed in Akron.  His death was a little over 6 months after I left.

It's interesting to me that he got a surface street named after him.  I remember the debate on what to name after Martin Luther King and they didn't want to rename a surface street because allegedly they didn't want people and businesses to have to go through a change of address.  Obviously something changed in the intervening years.

[agentsteel53]

^^^
Who on earth is/was Vernon Odom? 

the poor man, they gave him a Clearview sign. 

[The Premier]

Prior to the naming of Vernon Odom Blvd, SR 261 in Akron from the Innerbelt to Romig Rd, not far from I-77, it was known as Wooster Ave.

[thenetwork]

Prior to the naming of Vernon Odom Blvd, SR 261 in Akron from the Innerbelt to Romig Rd, not far from I-77, it was known as Wooster Ave.

One of the reasons why V. Odom Blvd. MIGHT have come to fruition so easily is because there were two Wooster thoroughfares within as many miles from each other and the name change from Wooster to V.Odom may have been done to reduce the confusion between the Avenue and the Road. (Oddly enough, the Romig Road/State Street combo "connected" the 2 Woosters).

-- Wooster AVENUE was SR-261 between Romig Road and SR-59, as The Premier had stated -- All within the Akron City Limits.
-- Wooster ROAD is Old SR-5 and the northernmost section of SR-619 between I-76/US-224 and SR-21 --  All within either the city limits of Barberton or Norton.

[The Premier]

The Kenmore Leg IMO should also be listed as a Red-Headed Stepchild freeway because it has only two lanes each way. Not to mention that you have to deal with congestion because I-76 traffic in both directions must exit its respective freeways.

[national highway 1]

How about the Farrington Hwy around Ka'ena Point in NW Oahu? There were plans to connect 93 & 930 together, but all Hawaii DOT did was let the dirt track wash into the ocean!!!

[elsmere241]

^^^
Who on earth is/was Vernon Odom? 

Vernon Odom was a civil rights leader in Akron.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Odom,_Sr.

That makes sense.  I saw the name on the sign and thought of the Philadelphia TV reporter - his son.

[achilles765]

Without a doubt here in Houston it's US 290.  Major widening and improvements have happened on US 59 both ways, and IH 10 west, but US 290 still looks like something from the 1970's.  It is the only major Houston area freeway that is still six overall lanes through most of its run.  Traffic is always backed up, and everytime they plan to do anything about it, it seems it never happens.  There are finally plans to rebuild and fix the route, including building a parallel tollway, but it remains to be seen if any of it will come to light.

[sp_redelectric]

OR 217. I-5 Eastbank Freeway.

Both are on ODOT's 'We want to fix' list.

I-5 got a pretty substantial rebuild back in the 1980s or early 1990s between the Marquam Bridge and I-84 (at least northbound did, not so sure about southbound) that relocated the I-84 exit further to the south.

217 was for many years the ugly-headed stepchild; it was one of the last places to consistently see the 1950s/1960s-era highway shields (sadly since removed) and button-copy signs (I believe the last one, the Walker Road advance sign northbound, was FINALLY replaced recently).

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Georgia State Route 166 - The segment between I-285 near Ben Hill and I-75/85 on the southside of Downtown Atlanta is the most substandard freeway in Metro Atlanta. Just recently, about three or four years ago, the grass median was converted to a jersey barrier/concrete median. The entrance/exit lanes are very short. I've nearly been run off of the road trying to merge.

Here are some examples of how short Langford Parkway's merges are.

U.S. 29 to S.R. 166 East

DeLowe Dr. to S.R. 166 West

I-285 North to S.R. 166 West


Be well,

Bryant

Those are generous.  Check out the Spaulding Turnpike in Dover, NH for some short merges.  MA 128 heading toward Gloucester as well.

[bugo]

Anything in Tulsa County

The new I-44 is nice.  6 lanes, 8 lanes in between entrances and exits, wide shoulders, smooth concrete pavement.  I'm sure it will be falling apart in 10 years, but it's nice now.

[DTComposer]

California 110 from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena. Narrow, lots of sharp turns, 1940s-era on- and offramps.

I don't know if that would qualify, since it's still in that condition more due to historical preservation as opposed to neglect or lack of funds.

For L.A., I'd nominate I-5 between the East L.A. Interchange and the Orange County line...particularly when you compare it to the upgraded section in O.C.

[agentsteel53]

For L.A., I'd nominate I-5 between the East L.A. Interchange and the Orange County line...particularly when you compare it to the upgraded section in O.C.

that road does get fairly slow sometimes, but it is a miracle dream shiny pony compared to I-710 between Valley Boulevard and Pasadena.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I-25 through Pueblo, especially on the south end, is the worst piece of that highway in the state. It was constructed in segments beginning in the mid-50s, so it obviously was badged as U.S. 85/87 for a while. There have been spot improvements to take out some of the worst aspects of it, but it's posted at 50 mph through that area. CDOT is taking comments on the EIS for a $750 million project to rebuild all of it from 29th Street to the south city limits, but where that money will ever come from I don't know.

[agentsteel53]

I-25 through Pueblo, especially on the south end, is the worst piece of that highway in the state.

negative.  I-25 through Trinidad.  there is a billboard southbound in Walsenburg advertising "Trinidad: the best Colorado has to offer", or something similar.  As of Jan 2010, it had, scrawled on it, graffiti noting "25 mph speed trap".

[Scott5114]

With the advent of the new I-40, the worst link in the Oklahoma City freeway system is undoubtedly I-35 between I-40 and I-44. It was obviously built as a depressed highway before anyone knew how to build such things. Four lanes, grass median–they're adding a cable barrier but really the whole thing needs a reconstruction.

[twinsfan87]

The Twin Cities definitely has a few candidates, but I think my vote goes to the Crosstown Highway (State Highway 62). Not enough lanes for the traffic, really short merge areas. Mn/DOT did do a fairly good job with the 35W-Crosstown Commons project though.

Honorable mentions include MN 36 and US 169.