Worst Interstate drive you have experienced

[kphoger]

I 35 between San Antonio, TX and Laredo, TX 

What???  That stretch of highway freaking rocks!  Little traffic, lots of great license plate spotting, 75 mph limit......  Unless you were the car in front of us on our trip down to México on the 3rd.  We saw her whole passenger side front wheel come off her car at highway speed, roll along the ground, bounce high enough to hit tree branches, go through a barbed wire fence, and come to rest in a field.  It was her spare, and I'm guessing they didn't do a second torque when it was installed.  Somehow, by the grace of God, she managed to keep control of the vehicle, even with metal scraping the pavement, and come to a stop–not in the travel lane, not in the grass (man, that would have spelled disaster), but actually parallel parked on the shoulder.  I'll bet that's probably her worst Interstate drive!

(We found the wheel and brought it back, not that it could have been remounted.)

[agentsteel53]

she kept control after losing a front wheel?  that is very impressive driving indeed.

[kphoger]

I know, we couldn't believe it.  And managed to stop between the shoulder line and the edge of the pavement.  Mad skills The grace of God indeed.

[allniter89]

I 35 between San Antonio, TX and Laredo, TX 

What???  That stretch of highway freaking rocks!  Little traffic, lots of great license plate spotting, 75 mph limit......  Unless you were the car in front of us on our trip down to México on the 3rd.  We saw her whole passenger side front wheel come off her car at highway speed, roll along the ground, bounce high enough to hit tree branches, go through a barbed wire fence, and come to rest in a field.  It was her spare, and I'm guessing they didn't do a second torque when it was installed.  Somehow, by the grace of God, she managed to keep control of the vehicle, even with metal scraping the pavement, and come to a stop–not in the travel lane, not in the grass (man, that would have spelled disaster), but actually parallel parked on the shoulder.  I'll bet that's probably her worst Interstate drive!

(We found the wheel and brought it back, not that it could have been remounted.)

My problem with I 35 was that I was in a 18wheeler with a 65mph speed governor. It seemed like it was a lot longer than 152? miles from San Antonio to Laredo and the scenery was bore...ring!!. 
I suppose if I could have driven it at 75+mph, it might have been tolerable, if for no other reason than just to get the trip over-with sooner.
I once saw a 18 wheeler lose a wheel off her trailer, it rolled & bounced across the median and into the front of a car traveling the opposite direction . The damage was similar to the car hitting a tree, lucky nobody was seriously hurt but there were a lot of dirty drawers in that car  ! The stoopid truck driver didn't even stop, not sure if she didn't know what happened or if she was running.
I stopped to see if I could help and called 911, gave a description of the truck but there was no company name on the trailer, don't know if they ever caught her.

[the49erfan15]

Heh, I guess I could add my trip down 85 from Rock Hill, SC to Athens, GA for a basketball game.

Running on 85 south in my Jeep Cherokee with 4 good friends, doing a solid 70mph near the town of Cowpens... and my sunroof blows off. The whole thing. I have no idea where it went, there were cars behind us but none of them swerved and there weren't any accidents when we went back through the area after we turned around. I had to duct-tape a trash bag over the big hole in my roof. Terrifying! 

[roadman65]

I-287 in Middlesex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.  The road is over capcitated and has on going jams or slow moving conditions.  It will probably take decades before anything is done to relieve this as NJ has many other projects that need done as well.

[Alps]

I-287 in Middlesex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.  The road is over capcitated and has on going jams or slow moving conditions.  It will probably take decades before anything is done to relieve this as NJ has many other projects that need done as well.

I drive that all the time. Just avoid it during rush hour and it's actually a pretty drive through Somerset. Middlesex is a bit more utilitarian, flat and straight like I-565.

[roadman65]

I-287 in Middlesex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.  The road is over capcitated and has on going jams or slow moving conditions.  It will probably take decades before anything is done to relieve this as NJ has many other projects that need done as well.

I drive that all the time. Just avoid it during rush hour and it's actually a pretty drive through Somerset. Middlesex is a bit more utilitarian, flat and straight like I-565.

You know the construction contractors who repaved the Exit 13 ramp to WB US 22 from 287 NB, did not have the decency to put up a warning sign letting the motorists know to use an alternate route like exit at NJ 28 or US 22 EB.  I was returning to the Days Inn in Bridgewater late at night, and would have taken NJ 28 to Adamsville Road if I had known, but as you know the next u turn is at Exit 22 in Bedminster and there you have to make another u turn on US 202 & US 206 at River Road.  I wasted time an energy going miles out of the way as it is almost 9 miles one way and back. 

Then more construction had the I-78 Westbound closed at the same time, so I returned on US 202 & US 206 back to US 22 after dealing with slow pokes and the many signals that were added between Pluckemin and Somerville over than all the extra traffic going through the jughandle at River Road for those trying to get to I-78 that were displaced.

[roadman]

The worst Interstate drive I've ever encountered in my 35 years of driving happened about three years ago.  Had gone up to Deerfield NH for the bi-annual ham radio swap meet they hold at the fairgrounds.

After I had made the rounds three times to check out the deals and see some people I usually don't get a chance to see, I decided to head up to Maine to browse some of the antique shops along US 1 north of Kennebukport.

Got on I-95 in Hampton and headed north.  As I passed the Kittery rest area, the flashers on the "Tune To" highway advisory radio sign were illuminated.  The HAR message indicated in a very matter-of-fact manner that there was a vehicle fire just south of MM 17, but that state police and maintenance crews were on scene addressing the issue.  Based on this, and the fact that the overhead CMS just south of the York tolls was blank, I figured I would encounter a minor slowdown as I approached MM 17, but otherwise would be OK.  So I stayed on the Turnpike.

Just over a half-mile north of the York tolls, traffic in all three lanes ground to a halt.  I flipped on Channel 19 on the CB and discovered that the "vehicle fire" that the HAR  message implied was under control was a 18 wheeler with a box trailer that was carrying a load of pallets, was fully engulfed in flames because the engine had caught fire, and that the state police had completely closed the road.  We sat there north of York for about 3 1/2 hours before traffic started moving again.  And, once the road was re-opened, it took us another 1 1/2 hours to clear the scene.  And what a scene it was.  Save for a small part of the chassis, the truck tractor was completely destroyed, and the sides and top of the box trailer were mostly gone as well.

Needless to say, I had lost all interest in shopping for antiques at this point (plus the stores were about to close).  So, I got off at the Biddeford exit (which gives me quicker access to US 1 than the Kennebukport exit does), pulled into a gas station and refueled, and got back on I-95 south and headed back home.

[roadman]

You know the construction contractors who repaved the Exit 13 ramp to WB US 22 from 287 NB, did not have the decency to put up a warning sign letting the motorists know to use an alternate route like exit at NJ 28 or US 22 EB.

To be fair, do you know if the traffic control plans for the project called for providing such an advisory sign?  I've had issues with contractors over the years, but I know two things for certain.  They aren't mind readers, and they won't do something that's not specified in the contract unless they are told to do so by the DOT.

[roadman65]

You know the construction contractors who repaved the Exit 13 ramp to WB US 22 from 287 NB, did not have the decency to put up a warning sign letting the motorists know to use an alternate route like exit at NJ 28 or US 22 EB.

To be fair, do you know if the traffic control plans for the project called for providing such an advisory sign?  I've had issues with contractors over the years, but I know two things for certain.  They aren't mind readers, and they won't do something that's not specified in the contract unless they are told to do so by the DOT.

I see your point, as they are not going to go out of their way.  However, someone screwed up, whether DOT or whomever.  Being it is miles to the next exit, it should have been addressed.   When permission was granted to close the road, it should have been an issue.  Even a portable VMS would have been nice.

[JREwing78]

I-80/94 along the south side of Chicago during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Wife and I were driving to Michigan from Madison, WI, and found that the highway was flooded out just past the Indiana line headed east. We dropped down to US-30, which also was underwater but passible into Indiana (not to mention jammed with traffic). It, however, was blocked east of US-41.

So, we backtracked south on US-41, then cut across through Lowell, IN (which was maybe an hour or two from becoming impassible). We tried coming back up I-65, got detoured onto US-30 again, then diverted through Valpariso around the flooded out stretches of US-30. All in all, it took us nearly 8 hours just to traverse the 50 miles between the Illinois line and the Michigan line.

[cpzilliacus]

About 10-15 years ago, I was heading south along I-95 from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia.  It was probably only 1 or 2 on an ordinary (non-holiday) Friday Afternoon, and I-95 south of DC was a parking lot for over 20 miles.  I tried to parallel I-95 via US-1, and it was just as bad.

Needless to say, I gave up, bailed at Fredericksburg and headed west into the Blue Ridge Mountains to I-81.  I wanted to go to VA Beach for a getaway weekend, but after that mess, I wanted nothing more to do with traffic.

The better bail route in that case (to reach Virginia Beach) would have been either Va. 3 east  (at Exit 130) across Fredericksburg to U.S. 301 south in King George County to U.S. 17 south at Port Royal, Caroline County - or I-95 south to U.S. 17/U.S. 1 south (at Exit 126), then left on U.S. 17 south. 

In either case, then follow U.S. 17 south all the way to I-64 at Newport News (entering I-64 at Exit 258), but being careful to respect the speed limit, mostly 55 MPH.

Google maps says between 96 and 97 miles from Port Royal to Newport News, and I have never found that stretch of U.S. 17 to be congested.

Additionally, I think it's a good idea to avoid all of southbound I-95 between Springfield, Va. and I-295 at Henrico County on Friday afternoons and other "getaway" days. A better route (even with the signalized intersections and the two-lane Gov. Nice Bridge) is Md. 5 south from the Capital Beltway (Exit 7) to U.S. 301 in Brandywine, then south on 301 across the Gov. Nice Bridge to Bowling Green, Va. (where 301 "exits" from itself), then south on 301 (even though it is only one lane each way) all the way to I-295 south of Hanover Court House.

[ftballfan]

About 10-15 years ago, I was heading south along I-95 from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia.  It was probably only 1 or 2 on an ordinary (non-holiday) Friday Afternoon, and I-95 south of DC was a parking lot for over 20 miles.  I tried to parallel I-95 via US-1, and it was just as bad.

Needless to say, I gave up, bailed at Fredericksburg and headed west into the Blue Ridge Mountains to I-81.  I wanted to go to VA Beach for a getaway weekend, but after that mess, I wanted nothing more to do with traffic.

The better bail route in that case (to reach Virginia Beach) would have been either Va. 3 east  (at Exit 130) across Fredericksburg to U.S. 301 south in King George County to U.S. 17 south at Port Royal, Caroline County - or I-95 south to U.S. 17/U.S. 1 south (at Exit 126), then left on U.S. 17 south. 

In either case, then follow U.S. 17 south all the way to I-64 at Newport News (entering I-64 at Exit 258), but being careful to respect the speed limit, mostly 55 MPH.

Google maps says between 96 and 97 miles from Port Royal to Newport News, and I have never found that stretch of U.S. 17 to be congested.

Additionally, I think it's a good idea to avoid all of southbound I-95 between Springfield, Va. and I-295 at Henrico County on Friday afternoons and other "getaway" days. A better route (even with the signalized intersections and the two-lane Gov. Nice Bridge) is Md. 5 south from the Capital Beltway (Exit 7) to U.S. 301 in Brandywine, then south on 301 across the Gov. Nice Bridge to Bowling Green, Va. (where 301 "exits" from itself), then south on 301 (even though it is only one lane each way) all the way to I-295 south of Hanover Court House.

According to Google Maps, US-17 looks to be mostly four-lane divided between Fredericksburg and the Hampton Roads area.

[adt1982]

I think the worst drive I can remember was going across I-70 in Missouri one summer on our way back from vacation.  There was construction from Kansas City to St. Louis.  There was heavy traffic, lots of lane closures, and there was fog once it got dark. Talk about a nightmare.

[cpzilliacus]

About 10-15 years ago, I was heading south along I-95 from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia.  It was probably only 1 or 2 on an ordinary (non-holiday) Friday Afternoon, and I-95 south of DC was a parking lot for over 20 miles.  I tried to parallel I-95 via US-1, and it was just as bad.

Needless to say, I gave up, bailed at Fredericksburg and headed west into the Blue Ridge Mountains to I-81.  I wanted to go to VA Beach for a getaway weekend, but after that mess, I wanted nothing more to do with traffic.

The better bail route in that case (to reach Virginia Beach) would have been either Va. 3 east  (at Exit 130) across Fredericksburg to U.S. 301 south in King George County to U.S. 17 south at Port Royal, Caroline County - or I-95 south to U.S. 17/U.S. 1 south (at Exit 126), then left on U.S. 17 south. 

In either case, then follow U.S. 17 south all the way to I-64 at Newport News (entering I-64 at Exit 258), but being careful to respect the speed limit, mostly 55 MPH.

Google maps says between 96 and 97 miles from Port Royal to Newport News, and I have never found that stretch of U.S. 17 to be congested.

Additionally, I think it's a good idea to avoid all of southbound I-95 between Springfield, Va. and I-295 at Henrico County on Friday afternoons and other "getaway" days. A better route (even with the signalized intersections and the two-lane Gov. Nice Bridge) is Md. 5 south from the Capital Beltway (Exit 7) to U.S. 301 in Brandywine, then south on 301 across the Gov. Nice Bridge to Bowling Green, Va. (where 301 "exits" from itself), then south on 301 (even though it is only one lane each way) all the way to I-295 south of Hanover Court House.

According to Google Maps, US-17 looks to be mostly four-lane divided between Fredericksburg and the Hampton Roads area.

It is from Port Royal (U.S. 301) to I-64 at Newport News.

But between Fredericksburg and Port Royal there is a long segment of U.S. 17 that's two lane undivided.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

I-80/94 along the south side of Chicago during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Wife and I were driving to Michigan from Madison, WI, and found that the highway was flooded out just past the Indiana line headed east. We dropped down to US-30, which also was underwater but passible into Indiana (not to mention jammed with traffic). It, however, was blocked east of US-41.

So, we backtracked south on US-41, then cut across through Lowell, IN (which was maybe an hour or two from becoming impassible). We tried coming back up I-65, got detoured onto US-30 again, then diverted through Valparaiso around the flooded out stretches of US-30. All in all, it took us nearly 8 hours just to traverse the 50 miles between the Illinois line and the Michigan line.

I remember all of this. While I didn't drive on the interstates during that time, the side effects were disastrous. I had to use U.S. 30, Indiana 49, and U.S. 20 just to get to my old house in Gary. A simple nine-mile jaunt down I-65* became a 30-mile nightmare; never mind the fact that work crews decided to keep a lane closed for resurfacing work that was obviously delayed because of the fact, making it a lesson in patience.

*What made it even worse was the fact that I-65 was closed north of I-80/94 for reconstruction. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for that. Because of that sick coincidence, INDOT warned Chicago-bound drivers coming from Indianapolis to use U.S. 24 (Exit 201, almost 60 miles south of I-80/94) and pick up I-57 in Illinois to continue into the city.

[KEVIN_224]

Just over a half-mile north of the York tolls, traffic in all three lanes ground to a halt.  I flipped on Channel 19 on the CB and discovered that the "vehicle fire" that the HAR  message implied was under control was a 18 wheeler with a box trailer that was carrying a load of pallets, was fully engulfed in flames because the engine had caught fire, and that the state police had completely closed the road.  We sat there north of York for about 3 1/2 hours before traffic started moving again.  And, once the road was re-opened, it took us another 1 1/2 hours to clear the scene.  And what a scene it was.  Save for a small part of the chassis, the truck tractor was completely destroyed, and the sides and top of the box trailer were mostly gone as well.

I've been stuck on the Maine Turnpike myself a few times as a passenger, but know a lot about the grief. What they don't tell you in York is that the next Exit is at mile 19 in Wells (ME Routes 9 and 109). I don't know of any overhead VMS signs on I-95 between the New Hampshire line and the toll plaza after MM 7 in York.

There was one time when a burned out tractor trailer was on the side of the Turnpike northbound in the Biddeford area. (Sadly, I think there was a fatality.) I was stuck in that massive backup, to where we bailed at (I believe) Exit 25 in Kennebunk. We were on US Route 1 for a lot longer than we planned for. I was heading to the Concord Coach bus terminal in Portland.

[OCGuy81]

Been posted here a few times already, but I'd have to go with I-5 from the Grapevine until Sacramento.  That is a long, monotonous drive.  Given the option and if I have time, I love heading north on the 101.

I'd also nominate I-10 from Tucson to San Antonio.  Long and monotonous....then traffic come El Paso, and then nearly 500 miles of sleep inducing highway again.

Lastly, I'd nominate the 505.  A short, but boring, stretch of rural northern CA interstate.

[blawp]

I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Hellacious traffic, lots of trucks, dust storms, and idiots.

[tdindy88]

I-80/94 along the south side of Chicago during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Wife and I were driving to Michigan from Madison, WI, and found that the highway was flooded out just past the Indiana line headed east. We dropped down to US-30, which also was underwater but passible into Indiana (not to mention jammed with traffic). It, however, was blocked east of US-41.

So, we backtracked south on US-41, then cut across through Lowell, IN (which was maybe an hour or two from becoming impassible). We tried coming back up I-65, got detoured onto US-30 again, then diverted through Valpariso around the flooded out stretches of US-30. All in all, it took us nearly 8 hours just to traverse the 50 miles between the Illinois line and the Michigan line.

Man, what some of us in Indiana would do for that kind of rain right about now, nothing that floods roads of course, but something more than 0.05 inches for the month. Off that topic however, I remember when the interchange there at Illinois 394 and Interstates 80 and 94 was under construction and we had to continue south to U.S. 30, and then that had traffic (this was just simply rush hour traffic) and ultimately cut across some of the local roads that took us out to Cedar Lake where we picked up SR 2 onto Interstate 65.

[JREwing78]

It's no better in southern Wisconsin, that's for sure. Different story north of Madison - they certainly have had their share.

[deathtopumpkins]

About 10-15 years ago, I was heading south along I-95 from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia.  It was probably only 1 or 2 on an ordinary (non-holiday) Friday Afternoon, and I-95 south of DC was a parking lot for over 20 miles.  I tried to parallel I-95 via US-1, and it was just as bad.

Needless to say, I gave up, bailed at Fredericksburg and headed west into the Blue Ridge Mountains to I-81.  I wanted to go to VA Beach for a getaway weekend, but after that mess, I wanted nothing more to do with traffic.

The better bail route in that case (to reach Virginia Beach) would have been either Va. 3 east  (at Exit 130) across Fredericksburg to U.S. 301 south in King George County to U.S. 17 south at Port Royal, Caroline County - or I-95 south to U.S. 17/U.S. 1 south (at Exit 126), then left on U.S. 17 south. 

In either case, then follow U.S. 17 south all the way to I-64 at Newport News (entering I-64 at Exit 258), but being careful to respect the speed limit, mostly 55 MPH.

Google maps says between 96 and 97 miles from Port Royal to Newport News, and I have never found that stretch of U.S. 17 to be congested.

Additionally, I think it's a good idea to avoid all of southbound I-95 between Springfield, Va. and I-295 at Henrico County on Friday afternoons and other "getaway" days. A better route (even with the signalized intersections and the two-lane Gov. Nice Bridge) is Md. 5 south from the Capital Beltway (Exit 7) to U.S. 301 in Brandywine, then south on 301 across the Gov. Nice Bridge to Bowling Green, Va. (where 301 "exits" from itself), then south on 301 (even though it is only one lane each way) all the way to I-295 south of Hanover Court House.

According to Google Maps, US-17 looks to be mostly four-lane divided between Fredericksburg and the Hampton Roads area.

It is from Port Royal (U.S. 301) to I-64 at Newport News.

But between Fredericksburg and Port Royal there is a long segment of U.S. 17 that's two lane undivided.

There is, but the speed limit between Saluda and Port Royal is 60 mph, and it's very lightly traveled, so it more than makes up for the time spent sitting in traffic on 95. On my visit to Hampton Roads this weekend I took 17 both to and from DC to avoid traffic, and even on the 2-lane portion I could easily do 70+ mph just following the cars in front of me.

[cpzilliacus]

About 10-15 years ago, I was heading south along I-95 from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia.  It was probably only 1 or 2 on an ordinary (non-holiday) Friday Afternoon, and I-95 south of DC was a parking lot for over 20 miles.  I tried to parallel I-95 via US-1, and it was just as bad.

Needless to say, I gave up, bailed at Fredericksburg and headed west into the Blue Ridge Mountains to I-81.  I wanted to go to VA Beach for a getaway weekend, but after that mess, I wanted nothing more to do with traffic.

The better bail route in that case (to reach Virginia Beach) would have been either Va. 3 east  (at Exit 130) across Fredericksburg to U.S. 301 south in King George County to U.S. 17 south at Port Royal, Caroline County - or I-95 south to U.S. 17/U.S. 1 south (at Exit 126), then left on U.S. 17 south. 

In either case, then follow U.S. 17 south all the way to I-64 at Newport News (entering I-64 at Exit 258), but being careful to respect the speed limit, mostly 55 MPH.

Google maps says between 96 and 97 miles from Port Royal to Newport News, and I have never found that stretch of U.S. 17 to be congested.

Additionally, I think it's a good idea to avoid all of southbound I-95 between Springfield, Va. and I-295 at Henrico County on Friday afternoons and other "getaway" days. A better route (even with the signalized intersections and the two-lane Gov. Nice Bridge) is Md. 5 south from the Capital Beltway (Exit 7) to U.S. 301 in Brandywine, then south on 301 across the Gov. Nice Bridge to Bowling Green, Va. (where 301 "exits" from itself), then south on 301 (even though it is only one lane each way) all the way to I-295 south of Hanover Court House.

According to Google Maps, US-17 looks to be mostly four-lane divided between Fredericksburg and the Hampton Roads area.

It is from Port Royal (U.S. 301) to I-64 at Newport News.

But between Fredericksburg and Port Royal there is a long segment of U.S. 17 that's two lane undivided.

There is, but the speed limit between Saluda and Port Royal is 60 mph, and it's very lightly traveled, so it more than makes up for the time spent sitting in traffic on 95.

I strongly agree.

On my visit to Hampton Roads this weekend I took 17 both to and from DC to avoid traffic, and even on the 2-lane portion I could easily do 70+ mph just following the cars in front of me.

Though as you correctly point out above, traffic volumes on U.S. 17 are generally low, and it isn't always possible to use other traffic ahead to check for speed limit enforcement beyond what can be seen.

[wphiii]

This technically doesn't count since it's not a U.S. Interstate, but I find Quebec Autoroute 20 going from Montreal to Quebec City to be just absolutely dreary once you get past Mont Saint-Hilaire. For a three-hour drive, it seems almost interminable. And I've only ever driven it during the summer, so I can't even imagine what it'd be like when the weather isn't pleasant.