Unnecessary large interchanges in small towns?

[STLmapboy]

West Texas seems to be a main offender here. I'm not just talking about a diamond on a recent bypass like this or this, I mean complicated ones in small towns like this, this, or this. Any other slightly overbuilt interchanges between non-expressway routes in small towns?

[Scott5114]

All of those are in the Texas Panhandle, not West Texas.

From the looks of these, most of them were built before the interstates, and so they were probably halfway necessary at some point.

[kphoger]

All of those are in the Texas Panhandle, not West Texas.

As I understand the terms, "The Texas Panhandle" is a sub-region within "West Texas".

[Scott5114]

All of those are in the Texas Panhandle, not West Texas.

As I understand the terms, "The Texas Panhandle" is a sub-region within "West Texas".

I think they're separate. Let me contact a librarian from Lubbock and see what she says.

Edit: According to the librarian, apparently I'm wrong, and the panhandle is considered West Texas. Whoops.

[Finrod]

Originally, where Union and Salem Streets (east-west one-ways) intersected 3rd and 4th Street (north-south one-ways) north of downtown Lafayette, Indiana, it was a simple straightforward intersection of pairs of one-ways like you might expect to find anywhere.  North US 231 came north on 4th Street and turned west on Salem and over the bridge into West Lafayette, while South US 231 came across the bridge from West Lafayette onto Union and turned south onto 3rd Street.

Then railroad relocation happened, taking the tracks out of 5th Street and relocating them closer to the river.  Unfortunately, the relocated railroad went right through this intersection, so this mess was constructed to replace it:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.424931,-86.8936108,532m/data=!3m1!1e3

Nowadays US 231 has been rerouted around the west side and no longer goes through downtown Lafayette, leaving this intersection artifact behind.

[djlynch]

All of those are in the Texas Panhandle, not West Texas.

As I understand the terms, "The Texas Panhandle" is a sub-region within "West Texas".

I think they're separate. Let me contact a librarian from Lubbock and see what she says.

Edit: According to the librarian, apparently I'm wrong, and the panhandle is considered West Texas. Whoops.

Just to complicate it even more, I'd say, as a Texan, that you're both right and both wrong. If I'm trying to describe where in the state a location is, I wouldn't use "West Texas" when I could use "The Panhandle" because they describe different areas. But if I'm talking about the western third of Texas in general, particularly if it's in contrast to the other 2/3, then the Panhandle is a part of West Texas.

[paulthemapguy]

I was going to bring up that odd interchange in Borger when I found it was the first one you linked to...heheh.
That interchange always mystified me, because with the design it has, it can only really exist in a situation with low traffic volumes, which defeats the point of it being an interchange.  I bet Texas has the market cornered on oversized interchanges in small towns.