Substandard Interchanges

[kphoger]

The ramps between I-80 and I-215 at their interchange east of Salt Lake City are an undivided 2-lane roadway that directly replaced the old SR 171. That interchange has a bunch of other outdated features including some very tight curves and narrow merges, but I'm not sure anything else in there is technically "substandard".

Cool!  Thanks for pointing that interchange out.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The ramps between I-80 and I-215 at their interchange east of Salt Lake City are an undivided 2-lane roadway that directly replaced the old SR 171. That interchange has a bunch of other outdated features including some very tight curves and narrow merges, but I'm not sure anything else in there is technically "substandard".

Cool!  Thanks for pointing that interchange out.

What I don't get is why there's a ramp back to westbound 80.

[Flint1979]

Another one in Michigan:  I-75 to I-75 in Detroit.  Slow 2-lane ramps to/from the Chrysler and Fisher Freeways, for thru traffic.

Suggested speed is 25 mph, safely you can do 40-45 around it. I hate that curve.

[US 89]

The ramps between I-80 and I-215 at their interchange east of Salt Lake City are an undivided 2-lane roadway that directly replaced the old SR 171. That interchange has a bunch of other outdated features including some very tight curves and narrow merges, but I'm not sure anything else in there is technically "substandard".

Cool!  Thanks for pointing that interchange out.

What I don't get is why there's a ramp back to westbound 80.

I believe it's left over from when that interchange was first constructed, based on this 1965 historic imagery where the exit ramp from 80 to Foothill hasn't been finished yet. I have no idea why it wasn't removed after that ramp was built. I guess it's good to have redundancy in case that mile of I-80 ever has to close for whatever reason.

[GaryV]

Another one in Michigan:  I-75 to I-75 in Detroit.  Slow 2-lane ramps to/from the Chrysler and Fisher Freeways, for thru traffic.

Suggested speed is 25 mph, safely you can do 40-45 around it. I hate that curve.

The semis can't - and they've proved it multiple times.

[Flint1979]

Another one in Michigan:  I-75 to I-75 in Detroit.  Slow 2-lane ramps to/from the Chrysler and Fisher Freeways, for thru traffic.

Suggested speed is 25 mph, safely you can do 40-45 around it. I hate that curve.

The semis can't - and they've proved it multiple times.

Yeah I wouldn't suggest a semi do it.

[X99]

I-90 exit 63 with CR 1416 in Box Elder, South Dakota. Standards say it should serve both directions, and upgrades are planned for sometime in the next decade. As for 1416 itself, it looks like they may have wanted I-90 to run Texas-style down the median, but instead it was built further north.

[TEG24601]

I-405/SR 525 and I-5 in Lynnwood, WA.  The newly updated ramps from NB 405/SB 525 to SB 5 has ramp metering.  It is a freeway to freeway interchange... METERING SHOULD NEVER EXIST ON FREEWAY-TO-FREEWAY INTERCHANGES.  Prior to the redesign, only SB 525 to I-5 had metering, which was a relic from when 525 was a Super 2 between SR 99 and I-5.


I-99 and I-70 - A literal Breezewood Interchange, according to Google Maps


I-405/SR 518 and I-5 in Burien/Tukwilla, WA.  The EB 518 to NB 405 through lanes drop to a single lane.  There is plenty of space for two+ lanes, however, there is a 2-lane ramp from SB 5 to NB 405, which stole one of the lanes under the NB 5 bridge.  The NB 5 bridge would have to be replaced to correct this issue.



I-75 and M-59 near Pontiac, MI.  Full Cloverleaf, with much more traffic that any Cloverleaf could handle safely or effectively.

[SteveG1988]

i76 Schuylkill Expressway in Philly, too many to count along the entire road. One exit is merely a cut into a wall.

[ClaytonCarte]

Interstate 75 at state route 155 / mile 216 in McDonough, Georgia.

Worst. Exit. In. Metro. Atlanta. (Did I mention it's my exit?)

https://goo.gl/maps/XKBZuBt6aWFpeHnK7


iPhone

[jakeroot]

I-405/SR 525 and I-5 in Lynnwood, WA.  The newly updated ramps from NB 405/SB 525 to SB 5 has ramp metering.  It is a freeway to freeway interchange... METERING SHOULD NEVER EXIST ON FREEWAY-TO-FREEWAY INTERCHANGES.  Prior to the redesign, only SB 525 to I-5 had metering, which was a relic from when 525 was a Super 2 between SR 99 and I-5.

Northbound 167 freeway onto the 405, and eastbound 518 freeway onto the southbound 5 freeway has a ramp meter. The former is brand new, but the latter has been in place for a long time. I don't really see any issues with ramp metering for freeway-to-freeway interchanges, assuming it's done properly and not abused. If freeways are meant to be the top-tier of roads, backing up traffic along one freeway, to avoid backups on another freeway, entirely misses the point of ramp meters.

Not sure I agree on the 5/405/525 interchange. Compared to crap like the 512/5 "freeway" interchange, at least the ramps are free-flowing (if only 3/4 of an interchange). No left turn to contend with!

[kphoger]

One exit is merely a cut into a wall.

What does this mean?

[TheOneKEA]

Did they ever get the "no merge area" issues corrected at the I-70/I-81 interchange?

Not all of the "no merge area"  portions of the interchange have been corrected. There are still lots of areas within the interchange with very little room to merge. The SHA has finished rebuilding the westbound bridges through the interchange but has yet to do any work on the eastbound bridges.

[silverback1065]

i76 Schuylkill Expressway in Philly, too many to count along the entire road. One exit is merely a cut into a wall.

almost every urban interstate in pennsylvania is hot garbage.  the rural ones arent much better either.

[SteveG1988]

One exit is merely a cut into a wall.

What does this mean?

There is a wall on the right side....and there is basically an exit carved into it. minimal decel lane

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9277125,-75.1956089,3a,75y,333.52h,77.8t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGve0lX4EaD_BNIy2NRBPXw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DGve0lX4EaD_BNIy2NRBPXw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D25.907606%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

[TheGrassGuy]

The ramps between I-80 and I-215 at their interchange east of Salt Lake City are an undivided 2-lane roadway that directly replaced the old SR 171. That interchange has a bunch of other outdated features including some very tight curves and narrow merges, but I'm not sure anything else in there is technically "substandard".

Come on, even the road nameplate says "3000 South" instead of "I-80 Ramp" or something like that.

[vdeane]

One exit is merely a cut into a wall.

What does this mean?

There is a wall on the right side....and there is basically an exit carved into it. minimal decel lane

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9277125,-75.1956089,3a,75y,333.52h,77.8t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGve0lX4EaD_BNIy2NRBPXw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DGve0lX4EaD_BNIy2NRBPXw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D25.907606%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

On NY 198 in Buffalo, there's one where one could hardly even call it a ramp... they basically merged the service road and mainline for a block by taking out the wall.

[sprjus4]

On NY 198 in Buffalo, there's one where one could hardly even call it a ramp... they basically merged the service road and mainline for a block by taking out the wall.

Are you legally permitted to enter the highway there?

[vdeane]

On NY 198 in Buffalo, there's one where one could hardly even call it a ramp... they basically merged the service road and mainline for a block by taking out the wall.

Are you legally permitted to enter the highway there?

Signage on the service road treats it as a merge and the shape of the barrier on the far end implies that you can, though there isn't signage definitively saying such as there is for exiting the highway.

[TheGrassGuy]

On NY 198 in Buffalo, there's one where one could hardly even call it a ramp... they basically merged the service road and mainline for a block by taking out the wall.

Are you legally permitted to enter the highway there?

Signage on the service road treats it as a merge and the shape of the barrier on the far end implies that you can, though there isn't signage definitively saying such as there is for exiting the highway.

According to Google Maps you can't.

Also, the intersection between Sea Breeze Dr and Pearl Ave in Rochester used to be pretty funky. See for yourself.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Wip6ifdRuA6opqbd6 (on mobile, no access to wayback tool)

[sprjus4]

On NY 198 in Buffalo, there's one where one could hardly even call it a ramp... they basically merged the service road and mainline for a block by taking out the wall.

Are you legally permitted to enter the highway there?

Signage on the service road treats it as a merge and the shape of the barrier on the far end implies that you can, though there isn't signage definitively saying such as there is for exiting the highway.

Looking at new imagery from the other side, and aerial, I actually see now that they restriped it to be an exit only.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9263195,-78.8484121,3a,75y,97.05h,84.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shCBykxczbEzNh3LCbdCUDA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Brandon]

I-57 and IL-17, Kankakee, Illinois: Tight entry ramps, including one that could be considered suicidal.
https://goo.gl/maps/pcKcL6DcCKmGpZSo9
https://goo.gl/maps/7EcJaTiuf9GJi3EX9

I-55 and IL-53, Bolingbrook, Illinois: Old, small diamond, but substandard due to the considerable volume of truck traffic using the interchange.
https://goo.gl/maps/fmJAkhFxmrP5GKvm9

IL-56 and Golf View Road, Sugar Grove, Illinois: A freaking RIRO on a freeway segment.
https://goo.gl/maps/oAavY9bra3fMUg3R8
https://goo.gl/maps/TrCMEZbe5S2pRpZN8

Burns Harbor Interchange (I-80, 90, & 94), Lake Station, Indiana: A trumpet next to a cloverleaf carrying a major interstate through its loops.
https://goo.gl/maps/MLS9zeXGpreANH6o8

Lake Shore Drive and 47th Street, Chicago: Basically a set of left turns for northbound traffic.  Used to be worse when it was not divided from the main northbound lanes.
https://goo.gl/maps/PL5Quqc7Ye8WfNSf8
https://goo.gl/maps/tM2KKaMKMBaEZU3AA

Mannheim Road (US-12/20/45) and North Avenue (IL-64), Stone Park, Illinois: A strange RIRO cloverleaf.
https://goo.gl/maps/j4oRkV6N6zQfV1ym9
https://goo.gl/maps/oPZTMtJgEhDtPFqn7

[wanderer2575]

I-75 at M-21 in Flint.  Guess which side of the interchange had a problem with ROW acquisition.  Very dangerous going southbound; the speed limit is 70 while the acceleration lane is nowhere near long enough, considering the slow speed at which vehicles are forced to enter.

https://goo.gl/maps/qVtzq7u7M1vp8qDLA

[xcellntbuy]

NY 7 and NY 5 in Schenectady, NY. 

[paulthemapguy]

The I-55 northbound cloverleaf in Memphis.

In the same vein is the I-74/I-80 interchange in Illinois, where you need to navigate a cloverleaf to continue on your interstate of choice (74 or 80).