Worst interstate pavement in America?

[STLmapboy]

There's a good example on I-29 in Council Bluffs:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@41.2773487,-95.8752044,3a,75y,76.02h,69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgVT3yXUmDqKA7PUChBcK0w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Any other examples, past or present?

[Brandon]

Nice.

I'll add I-55 around Joliet, Illinois: https://goo.gl/maps/tAbzRAWr4cWK7LEc8
Rebuilt and widened in 2007, started falling apart almost immediately.  I think IDOT has more patches on it than actual pavement now.

Then, may I add I-80 through Joliet, Illinois (aren't we doubly blessed?): https://goo.gl/maps/AE753cz1HRsn3q5N6
Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.  Did I mention that I-55 gets them too? https://goo.gl/maps/dghmhTwrhrR1oKct8

[1995hoo]

I couldn't pick out the exact portions using Street View, but on June 20, 2019, we drove the length of New York's I-88 eastbound and we both thought large sections of it were extremely bumpy and were among the worst Interstate Highway pavement conditions we'd encountered in quite some time other than in work zones. (US-219 from I-86 south to the Pennsylvania state line was worse when we encountered that five days later on our way home, but that's not an Interstate.)

[DRMan]

Having just driven a U-Haul truck from New Hampshire to Arizona, I'm going to nominate I-84 from Connecticut through Pennsylvania, especially the Newburgh—Beacon Bridge. https://goo.gl/maps/iyeb7Eay4vgMSDkb8, but Google Street View doesn't really do it justice.

[STLmapboy]

Nice.

I'll add I-55 around Joliet, Illinois: https://goo.gl/maps/tAbzRAWr4cWK7LEc8
Rebuilt and widened in 2007, started falling apart almost immediately.  I think IDOT has more patches on it than actual pavement now.

Then, may I add I-80 through Joliet, Illinois (aren't we doubly blessed?): https://goo.gl/maps/AE753cz1HRsn3q5N6
Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.  Did I mention that I-55 gets them too? https://goo.gl/maps/dghmhTwrhrR1oKct8

Driving across the Poplar Street Bridge from MO to IL, the pavement always gets crappy once you get to East St Louis (travelling through the incredibly overbuilt I-70/64/55/IL-3 interchange). See here, here, and here. Check out the 2007 imagery on the last one; it had already developed a reddish hue by 2009 and gone to shit by 2013, receiving only minor patching since then. It may be a symptom of doing jobs on the cheap, but some of IL's asphalt pavement quality is really, really poor. At least they usually do concrete right.

[Brandon]

Nice.

I'll add I-55 around Joliet, Illinois: https://goo.gl/maps/tAbzRAWr4cWK7LEc8
Rebuilt and widened in 2007, started falling apart almost immediately.  I think IDOT has more patches on it than actual pavement now.

Then, may I add I-80 through Joliet, Illinois (aren't we doubly blessed?): https://goo.gl/maps/AE753cz1HRsn3q5N6
Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.  Did I mention that I-55 gets them too? https://goo.gl/maps/dghmhTwrhrR1oKct8

Driving across the Poplar Street Bridge from MO to IL, the pavement always gets crappy once you get to East St Louis (travelling through the incredibly overbuilt I-70/64/55/IL-3 interchange). See here, here, and here. Check out the 2007 imagery on the last one; it had already developed a reddish hue by 2009 and gone to shit by 2013, receiving only minor patching since then. It may be a symptom of doing jobs on the cheap, but some of IL's asphalt pavement quality is really, really poor. At least they usually do concrete right.

That last one is ISTHA, not IDOT though.  ISTHA usually does a far better job than IDOT.

[texaskdog]

head north from OKC you'll think you have a flat tire.  and every year I go that way, it never gets fixed.

[jeffandnicole]

There's a good example on I-29 in Council Bluffs:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@41.2773487,-95.8752044,3a,75y,76.02h,69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgVT3yXUmDqKA7PUChBcK0w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Any other examples, past or present?

If you go back a year in the GSV, you can see how quickly it deteriorated.

I-295 in NJ has had spats of bad pavement.  Between Interchanges 1 - 11 (Del. Mem. Br. to around US 322), it had some bad pavement a few decades ago, almost as if there was an encouragement to use the NJ Turnpike instead.  But after a good reconstruction project, the State has kept it in good condition since with some regular maintenance and repavings.

Also on I-295 about 10-15 years ago, the concrete between Exits 45 and 57 was in bad condition.  NJDOT had a plan to use the summer when traffic is lighter to shift NB traffic to the SB roadway, reduce each direction from 3 lanes to 2 lanes, and do a full depth reconstruction.  The SB direction would be completed the following summer.  The SB roadway, already in bad shape, deteriorated even faster with the extra traffic on that side of the highway.  NJDOT sped up the construction on the NB side, finished it early, immediately moved both directions of traffic to the NB side, and reconstructed the SB side from August to early October.  Congestion was much more extensive after Labor Day when summer vacations were over, but the alternative was going to be a axle bending, tire chewing pavement thru the winter, so the month or so of pain was well worth the inconvenience.

[ilpt4u]

Nice.

I'll add I-55 around Joliet, Illinois: https://goo.gl/maps/tAbzRAWr4cWK7LEc8
Rebuilt and widened in 2007, started falling apart almost immediately.  I think IDOT has more patches on it than actual pavement now.

Then, may I add I-80 through Joliet, Illinois (aren't we doubly blessed?): https://goo.gl/maps/AE753cz1HRsn3q5N6
Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.  Did I mention that I-55 gets them too? https://goo.gl/maps/dghmhTwrhrR1oKct8

Driving across the Poplar Street Bridge from MO to IL, the pavement always gets crappy once you get to East St Louis (travelling through the incredibly overbuilt I-70/64/55/IL-3 interchange). See here, here, and here. Check out the 2007 imagery on the last one; it had already developed a reddish hue by 2009 and gone to shit by 2013, receiving only minor patching since then. It may be a symptom of doing jobs on the cheap, but some of IL's asphalt pavement quality is really, really poor. At least they usually do concrete right.

Part of me wonders how the 3rd laning on I-57 between Mt Vernon/I-64 and Marion/I-24 will ultimately hold up, as that project slowly progresses over the next decade+. Hopefully D9 does a much better job with it than D1 did with the I-55 Bolingbrook-Joliet poop show job

So far the segment in Marion is doing ok, but it is only a couple years old at this point

The Concrete 6-laning jobs around Effingham, Mt Vernon, and Bloomington/Normal are in pretty good shape. I-74 to the west out of Downtown Peoria is done well, also

[tman]

There's a good example on I-29 in Council Bluffs:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@41.2773487,-95.8752044,3a,75y,76.02h,69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgVT3yXUmDqKA7PUChBcK0w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Any other examples, past or present?

That was a genuinely terrible stretch, and has been for years, but I believe it was repaved (asphalt overlay?) this year. It'd always wake up any sleeping passengers in the car. Iowa's good roads are very good, but when they get old they can get terrible.

[Scott5114]

Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.

OkDOT got a bit of public shaming for using a disused warning sign to patch a hole in a bridge deck on I-40 in Del City.

[ibthebigd]

I-74 between Cincinnati and Indianapolis seams to always be bad.

SM-G950U

[Flint1979]

I-94 in Detroit. From what I can remember it's bad on the west side around Central especially. The whole highway in Detroit for I-94 is an obsolete joke.

[kphoger]

Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.

OkDOT got a bit of public shaming for using a disused warning sign to patch a hole in a bridge deck on I-40 in Del City.

Sounds like them.

I tell you what, guys:  I-35 has gone through some terrible years in both Oklahoma and Iowa.  Most of the awful parts have now been repaved and are doing well but, back nine years ago or so, it wasn't pretty.

[Tonytone]

I-95 through Delco & Chester Pa is very bad, however they have started repaving & doing other construction projects to bring the road to 2020.

Google streetview has already updated I-95 through the area but it used to look like this in almost all 3 lanes

On NB & SB




iPhone

[Crown Victoria]

Interstate 90/New York State Thruway through the Seneca Nation is bad enough, there's a Rough Road sign posted with an advisory speed of 45 mph:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5723138,-79.0828934,3a,75y,49.1h,90.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZuAcqJdE_GUUWP-CBPgFYw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

[ilpt4u]

I-39/US 51 just south of the Rockford US 20 Freeway is pretty awful, if memory serves. IDOT even has a permanent Yellow "Rough Road"  sign SB

https://goo.gl/maps/WWwuHWuZo58iBgRp8

[Brian556]

Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.

OkDOT got a bit of public shaming for using a disused warning sign to patch a hole in a bridge deck on I-40 in Del City.

I've worked on many bridge deck hole repairs. We would use a large piece of steel. Theoretically, you could remove the metal after the concrete dried, however, we never did.

[vdeane]

Interstate 90/New York State Thruway through the Seneca Nation is bad enough, there's a Rough Road sign posted with an advisory speed of 45 mph:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5723138,-79.0828934,3a,75y,49.1h,90.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZuAcqJdE_GUUWP-CBPgFYw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

Fortunately, that one was just fixed.

[Revive 755]

The Concrete 6-laning jobs around Effingham, Mt Vernon, and Bloomington/Normal are in pretty good shape. I-74 to the west out of Downtown Peoria is done well, also

Except the southbound section through Bloomington wasn't holding up near the southern I-74 interchange, and has a decent maintenance project going on right now.

[ilpt4u]

The Concrete 6-laning jobs around Effingham, Mt Vernon, and Bloomington/Normal are in pretty good shape. I-74 to the west out of Downtown Peoria is done well, also

Except the southbound section through Bloomington wasn't holding up near the southern I-74 interchange, and has a decent maintenance project going on right now.

It hasn't been that long since driving thru there for me, but I simply did not remember that section. Good clarification!

[Crown Victoria]

Interstate 90/New York State Thruway through the Seneca Nation is bad enough, there's a Rough Road sign posted with an advisory speed of 45 mph:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5723138,-79.0828934,3a,75y,49.1h,90.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZuAcqJdE_GUUWP-CBPgFYw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

Fortunately, that one was just fixed.

Well it's about time! That stretch was awful!

[dcharlie]

Yes, that is indeed a metal plate covering a hole in the bridge deck.

OkDOT got a bit of public shaming for using a disused warning sign to patch a hole in a bridge deck on I-40 in Del City.

I've worked on many bridge deck hole repairs. We would use a large piece of steel. Theoretically, you could remove the metal after the concrete dried, however, we never did.

I-39/US51 is being repaved as we speak!

[kphoger]

Really, other than the OP, none of these look particularly terrible to me.

[Flint1979]

Until it was rebuilt this summer and last summer I-475 along the east-west segment (the northern 3 or 4 miles of the highway) in Mount Morris Township could have qualified but that section has been rebuilt now.

You can probably still go on Google Street view and see the old Highway.