On the Mackinac Bridge you can look down through the grating and see the water several hundred feet below. Or look sideways from the high elevation and see miles into Lake Michigan on one side and Huron on the other, usually with freighter traffic plowing the water. An awe-inspiring view no matter which way you look.
That might have something to do with where the money goes. The toll collected goes to bridge maintenance alone, whereas I think EZPass tolls go to the state for transportation in general
@@warriyorcatthere’s also just no reason to. Tolls are rare in Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge is the only toll road of note in the state. Switching the MacPass to E-ZPass doesn’t really make sense given that there are few MacPass users, who are mostly residents of the area who cross the bridge frequently, who would benefit from using an E-ZPass instead given that the other E-ZPass facilities are far to the south. Liberty Bridge in Bay City accepts E-ZPass but it’s merely because the BC-Pass transponder uses the same technology as E-ZPass. Liberty Bridge being tolled is also very controversial as it was previously a free crossing until the city sold a lease to a private company to repair both it and Independence Bridge, both drawbridges that the city owns but could no longer afford to maintain.
@@calvinsmith6681I don’t think it would necessarily have to be a full replacement though, just cross-compatibility. Sort of like I-Pass did years back.
@@ztl2505 perhaps, but again there’s not really a reason to. If there was a significant slice of MacPass users who also frequented the Ohio Turnpike or what have you then perhaps there would be a case, but since the bridge is so isolated from other toll roads that use E-ZPass, there’s not really a compelling reason to invest in the infrastructure to make it happen. I’m speaking as a MacPass user who could theoretically be using an E-ZPass since I live close to that aforementioned Liberty Bridge, but I have no reason to cross that bridge so I have no reason to have an E-ZPass at the moment .
93 in Franconia New Hampshire's single lane section (0:03) was really put to the test following the 2024 solar eclipse when half of New England was traveling south back home. Stop and go traffic lasted until 4:00 AM, in a town with a population density of 17 persons/square mile.
I-180 in Cheyenne has to be the stupidest one mentioned. At least all the others covered are interstate standard for most of their route. 180 has no excuse to exist.
The Mackinac Bridge was started in the mid 1950s, but planning for it started long before that. They proposed a floating bridge, like the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Washington. However, unlike the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the place where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet can have 25 foot waves, making a floating Bridge impossible. On top of that there are countless boats, including sail boats, ferries, tankers and more. Because the planning of the bridge happened before the Interstate System started and finished a year and a half after it was signed it doesn't have a median barrier. Since it was already started in it's current format they didn't change it. it's still four lanes, which the middle lanes are steel grating which you can look down into the lakes. Part of the reason they don't have Jersey Barriers is that while it doesn't sway, it does move up and down with traffic, and can move side by side moved by winds, which can exceed 60 MPH, at which point the bridge closes. Any Barriers would crumble under those conditions, or could break apart and end up in the lanes of travel.
Yeah. Now that PA turnpike tolls are an easy hundred bucks west of Harrisburg, 30 minutes longer on I-68/79/64 is no big deal. Though looking at the map just now I notice I-79 also goes north and reconnects back to I-79. Not sure why I never noticed that route, I'll have to give that a look next time I'm heading northwest.
Driving DC to Detroit the PA Turnpike is just much more convenient, even with Breezeway. But the turnpike tolls have gotten so high now I'm starting to consider taking the extra time. With gas and the high tolls now, flying is actually starting to get cost competitive.
Michigan has some interesting quirks: Since we're part of the eastern border of the US, I-69 turns east-west and I-94 turns north-south towards Port Huron. I-75 goes east-west in Metro Detroit in two places. I-275 doesn't rejoin I-75 like it was supposed to, and it never will: Too many lakes, wetlands, and wealthy people killed that idea forever. I-275 has a bike path along its entire length, although it is closed in Monroe County due to lack of maintenance. In the nouveau riche northern section, the bike path is downright luxurious.
Thanks Mike. I have driven through just about all of these sections except the Mackinac Bridge and I-10 in west Texas. As a Philadelphian I can agree that I-676 traffic light is rough but understandably I-676 was only completed in the 1990s and uses a suspension bridge that was built in 1920s; As you mentioned, the Chinatown section will soon become covered and made into a park to reconnect the halves of a split neighborhood.
It is very minor, but this one section of i81 South in Syracuse just after exit 18. It turns into one lane for a TINY bit, but is slightly wider than one lane to allow tight merges. It becomes 2 lanes again once the i690 west ramp to 81 south joins in.
Somewhat soon that whole section of I-81 will cease to exist when they take it all down to street level. One of the biggest projects New York State has ever done.
As a lifelong New Hampshireite I have driven the single lane near Franconia Notch many times. One other violation in NH is the traffic lights on I-393 East. It also has to be one of the shortest Interstates in the country.
The good thing about ending up at US 30 is that it is easy to shunpike the PA Turnpike between Bedford and Breezewood as it is a high speed four-lane highway with direct access to I-99/US 220 (which of course the PA Turnpike does not directly access I-99/US 220).
There are quite a few interchanges between the PA Turnpike (& Northeast Extension) & other interstates that go thru "local" roads. The interchange w/I-81 in Carlisle PA is one that I remember when I went to college at West VA Univ & commuted from the Philly area, I had to x-fer highways at that juncture, & often stopped for lunch at the plethora of trucker diners in between. I-68 didn't exist then, it was US-48 I believe, but I did use it to avoid the tolls on the PA Turnpike. The end of the Northeast Extension at Scranton is another example.
Right on time. I was just thinking about a video like this throughout this week. Probably due to my work commute being changed to I-76 through the Schuylkill Expressway, which as you mentioned in a previous video dedicated to the highway is full of oddities and violations. So many of the merge or die lanes here is what keeps traffic constantly backed up through the day.
I used to love going through Breezewood when I was younger. Family would stop at Pizza Hut or Perkins (fake Dennys) before continuing our drive to Ohio. My grandmother used to also stop at the Gateway Plaza (I believe that is the name of that building near the turnpike entrance/exit) and buy we rare Coins. Now that I’m older I do not even stop in Breezewood - outside of the traffic lights. I breeze through and get back on the highway. Great video Mike.
I-690 in Syracuse did have a traffic light on it that was used for one of the parking lots for the state fair. They eventually built an on ramp and removed the light a few years ago.
Hey Mike, been really liking the content on the channel, you should do a video on stretch of 95 in CT starting in Stamford going all the way to Bridgeport it’s a literal parking lot and has been rated one of the top 5 worst traffic corridors in the country for a few years
A great example of a freeway getting upgraded to interstate standards is NY 17 being upgraded to I-86 (put aside the different segments and how long it's taken for this work to be done).
As a long haul trucker i had the pleasure of saying i have driven through everything he has mention, even the Big Mac ( that's the Mackinac Bridge) especially since i grew up around the bridge. when i was a kid I never found it odd that there wasn't any Jersey dividers on that bridge. Also you forgot to mention I-69 in MI from Lansing to Port Huron is labeled as an east / west when it fact being an odd number it should be north / south no matter what the actual directions the highway is facing then you got the New York Through Way. that highway which is part of the I-90 highway is backwards. from the PA state line its start at the highest number (MM 496 I think) and goes down as you head east. Now every other highway in America the numbers start high and goes low the feather west / south you go but not this highway nope it the backward cousin we don't want to talk about of the family
I know what you mean about the NYS Thruway mile numbers! Of course, that brings up another pet peeve of mine - I grew up in the Midwest, so I'm used to exit numbers that (mostly) correspond to mile markers. NY meanwhile is still stubbornly like "nope, not for us!" - although I *do* have to admit I like the N/S/E/W designators they use in places. Makes way more sense than having A/B labeling to figure out...
@@matthewryan9323 there quite a few NYS highways that uses the mile markers, but there quite a few that uses the exit numbers instead so it a mix thing, but most of NE uses exit numbers instead of mile markets, CT, RI ME, NH and VT. But MA has switched from exit number to mile markers finally in the last few years. YAY
I-69 turns north/ south, West of Lansing. The majority of the road is north/south. Likewise, in Detroit, I-94 turns north/south, running to Port Huron.
@@garyszewc3339 I-94 is always signed as East-West though, isn't it? I-69 is signed as east-west from Lansing to Port Huron in violation of the convention.
The infamous (not famous) Breezewood was the only traffic light I knew of on the Interstate system until a few years ago I hit a red light at the Eisenhour Tunnels on I-70 in Colorado. It wasn't for traffic, there was some ice on the other side and there had been an accident. And thanks, I wondered what that weird thing was along I-80 in Utah!
Great video! In the one-laners club -- I would think of I-395 in DC -- where it leaves the Southwest Freeway and heads into the Third Street Tunnel. The way it's configured now has I-395 continuing in the very right exit lane, with the "exit" being the three thru lanes going straight onto I-695! Someday in the far future apparently they'll change this -- where the entire freeway becomes I-395., and the Third Street Tunnel becomes I-195. We'll see....
Drove a big rig for years, I went through Breezewood a zillion times. It’s always been a head scratcher to me; I should have known it was about money. And if I remember correctly trucks could not go west on US-30, so to go to northern Ohio from Baltimore forced you onto the turnpike. Glad the company paid the tolls. Interesting video series, I’m retired from trucking but still like to travel so it’s informative.
I-83 in PA from the PA Turnpike to the MD line used to have many "slip ramps" that were unsigned and led to service roads creating defacto service plazas. The median was also just a pair of guard rails like the PA Turnpike and many other freeways in PA back in the 1970s-80s. I went on that many times while I was in grad school at Johns Hopkins. Most of this was because the highway was built as US 111 before the interstate act was enacted. A stub of the old route into York as BR 83 only had a narrow grass median (3-6 feet, if that) with reflectors marking the middle. (This was also the way the PA Turnpike was in the beginning. The model was the German Autobahns and early on they had the same useless center barriers. Also, at the beginning, the PA Turnpike had no speed limit like the autobahns. As time went on and the state rebuilt I-83 it was brought up to interstate standards with Jersey barriers replacing the guardrail median and the grass one on BR 83. Most of the ad-hoc ramps were closed as well. I'm not sure if there aren't still some questionable ramps, but it's oodles better than it was in the mid 1980s.
Thats a good point, until very recently a most of the PA turnpike wasn't to interstate standards for bridge clearance or lane width. Its problem with the road being a limited access highway longer than the interstate system has existed.
I believe I-70 through West Virginia was reconfigured after I-470 was built. It's definitely wide enough for 4 lanes but it would require the ramps to be very short with no merge lane. I-70 has large sub par sections, especially west of the PA turnpike.
The violation that immediately comes to mind for us in the Portland/Vancouver area is the Interstate Bridge that completely stops the flow of I-5 to allow river traffic to cross.
I-435 drops to 1 lane up by the airport when you get to I-29/US 71. That area you mentioned with I-35, thank goodness it was widened to two lanes with the Buck O'Neil Bridge construction as before then that interchange with I-70 sucked.
Also in Pennsylvania: I-476 to I-80 in the Pocono Mountains, there is a traffic light on SR-940; similarly, I-76 to I-81 near Carlisle goes through a bunch of traffic lights on US-11.
I never thought about the entrance of the Holland Tunnel to still be part of the highway. Once I hit that first light I figure that's the end of it right there. Because the tunnel entrance doesn't exactly scream interstate. You're pretty much just downtown then. I always liked how when the tunnel entrance sign gets wet you can't read it anymore. They're magical disappearing letters.
When I was stationed in MA (03-07), I drove on 93 in NH to check out Franconia Park and when it went down to one lane each side I was a bit confused for several minutes, thinking I had somehow made a wrong turn without making a turn...lol.
I’ve been through Breezewood many, many times! I think there will come a time in the not so distant future where constructing a proper interchange will be possible as the little town continues to shrink.
I've traveled through Breezewood countless times, and I can say with the utmost confidence that, that Junction is a welcoming sight after traveling non-stop along I-76 & I-70 (and vice-versa)
Of these violations, I have personally driven on the Jersey City I-78 violation and I have also driven on the I-676 violation in Philadelphia. Other than that, practically every toll booth has a parking lot and entrances that directly go up to the highway.
@@edwardrasmussen3465 Mackinac can be spelled with either a c or w. Mackinaw City is spelled with a w while Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Island, and the Straits of Mackinac are spelled with a c. You can blame the French for the -ac spelling and the British for the -aw spelling.
@@calvinsmith6681His map shows Mackinaw City which is spelled with a w unlike the bridge and Mackinac Island. This is because the British founded Mackinaw City and decided to use the phonetic spelling instead from what I understand.
Construction of the Mackinac Bridge was started a couple years before the Interstate Highway Act was made into law...For the first few years after opening, the bridge was part of US 27
@@garyszewc3339 South of Lansing or north of Grayling I have driven Old 27 from where it enters Michigan from Indiana to Mt. Pleasant...Have yet to drive the north part Also driven the entire non-freeway route of US 10 from Ludington to Detroit, and Old US 23 from Toledo to Standish
@@garyszewc3339 US-27 is still US-27 in Florida but Florida-27 is now FL-997. In Ohio and WV, US-21 has become State roads thanks to I-77. In Ohio it is now OH-821. In WV it became WV-21.
After seeing all the folks doing so great on the left hand side all the time we just figured out how to use 1&9 It takes a bit of nerve to drive on the Skyway but it's not too bad. Just so long as you don't have to use any of the exits off of it. Because those exits are absolute insanity.
I dont know if its a direct violations but in Allentown pa turnpike i476 passes right over i78 and instead the 2 are linked by going through route 22 or 309 with both merging into i78. Its not a horrific design from a sky view but between the congestion in that area, accidents, and a lack of signage in spots and e cessive signage in others it's very confusing if you dont know where you're going and you are likely to miss an exit.
I moved to Richmond , VA in 1966 and the interchange between I 64 westbound and I 95 southbound has always frustrated me. Traffic has to slow down to 25 mph and make a sharp left turn from the left lane at end of a local street to a one lane ramp to I95. I don't think they will ever be able to change that. At least i 64 west bound to I 95 northbound at the same location is a smoother transition from the right and center lanes to2 lanes that eventually merge.
Nice video! the stop-controlled on-ramp on I-81 in NY would probably be the easiest to fix, they could simply adjust the ramp to have a smoother curve and a merge lane
Breezewood is never going away. The PA Turnpike doesn’t seem to want direct access to other highways. The intersection between I-81 and the Turnpike also forces you onto a local highway for a mile or so before you can get into the other highway. I don’t know if that is a Turnpike-wide policy, but it certainly pertains to the western section of the turnpike.
There is a deep seated problem with Breezewood. The late Bud Shuster was a powerful US Representative from Bedford County. He was powerful enough to block any direct connection between I70 and I76. Since Covid, and even before, most of the hotels, motels, restaurants and gas stations have closed and they will not come back. People won't stop there anymore unless they absolutely have to.
In Massachusetts, the interchange between the Mass Pike/I90 and I291 is signalized. It was recently reconstructed and resembles a single-point-urban-interchange, retaining both the signalization and uncontrolled access to a tractor-trailer lot.
I-75 used to have a drawbridge over the Saginaw River (the Zilwaukee Bridge). Every time a freighter came down the river, they had to raise it, which was a long drawn out process, wait for the freighter to clear it, then lower the bridge back down. Traffic would be at a complete standstill for at least a half hour and would be backed up in both directions for miles.
@@garyszewc3339 it went clear up to the Mackinaw Bridge unless it was called something other than I-75 at the time. I could be wrong because I was just a kid stuck in the backseat of Dad’s Oldsmobile
Pennsylvania also has I-76 to I-81 which you have to get off in Carlisle, PA to get onto the other. Every time they attempted to build a direct interchange, local businesses that get pass by it objected.
Last time I was there, I-25 in Wyoming far north of Cheyenne had grade intersections on it, with gravel roads similar to the ones you showed in Texas. IIRC, some of them even crossed the interstate, either to continue on or to allow turning left onto the highway. The interstate itself is very lightly used, and it would never make sense to have a full interchange for roads that might be used just a few times a day.
Decades ago, there was an unsignaled railroad grade crossing on I 20 just west of Minden, Louisiana. It was on a spur track into an army ammunition plant. It long predated the highway and existed only as a contingency to give the plant alternate rail access in case its primary rail service from a different railway company was shut down by a strike. In 1994, both rail lines were acquired by the same company and the ammunition plant closed, so the track was taken out. Subsequent repaving of I 20 has removed all evidence.
The Lover's Lane "exit" on I-520 in Augusta is odd. The portion within the highway ROW is unpaved; the portion outside it is paved. There are no signs on either end. It looks like it was gated at one point and probably intended for emergency access, but at some point the gate got left open and it was forgotten about.
I 81 and I76 in where else PA. It is the Carlise interchange on the PATPK, Just like Breezewood no interconnection because of the not sole access to a toll facility rule. Also love your assessment of NJ, while we are weird in many ways our DOT is one of the best is not the best. The Jersey City extension is schedule to be widened to 6 lanes and so I suspect some areas are not up to standards.
drove through Breezewood for a few years on way out to Baltimore. always was a hell of a thing to see epspecially with the abandoned interstate right at the end of the ramp to US-30. other things ive experienced are the very short ramps that just dump you into traffic without any ability to get up to speed in the mountains over Raton pass.
What is often forgotten is that I-68, the main alternate route to going through Breezewood on I-70, also has a section that there's no way is up to current interstate standards, that being pretty much all through Cumberland MD, especially with regards to "Moose Curve". Speed limit drops to 40 and even at that speed the curve feels like a kamikaze curve.
@@truckercowboyed2638sorry for the late response, I never got a notification for this reply. Anyway, I'll be honest, I've only been down I-68 all the way through once, so I don't remember it all too well. Really, Cumberland and moose curve were the most memorable parts of the route for me, and still stick out in my mind
@@truckercowboyed2638 Even in the pickup it felt a bit tippy. But I agree with RealBlueony that the section in Cumberland is worse. And don't take Google's advice to use MD 51 and other roads to avoid Frostburg if going to Winchester. VA. It may be faster and shorter than going thru Hancock and down 522 but you will be on and off the brakes more.
My first trip out west I was surprised to see the at-grade intersections with what appeared to be ranches along I-40 in and around Texas. In these areas, the interstate directly overlaid the predecessor US 66, so I figured they needed to leave some way for locals to access their properties. In other places out west, there are "controlled access intersections" with the parallel service roads where the ramps on and and off are very short. There are stop signs on the service roads at these intersection where you have to look up the short ramp to make sure a semi isn't coming off at interstate speed as they have no real deceleration lanes to work with.
The cross bronx was obsolete when it opened. It should have been completely rebuilt 45 years ago, before the run up of costs in just about every thing. Absent planning.
In PA, you missed another short one; I-83, where I-283 splits off in Harrisburg, goes down to one lane bridge ramps for the main highway. Don't know if that will be upgraded but it's a dangerous spot with several accidents over the years.
I-278 in the Bronx, NY has a drawbridge and signal lights! Though I've never seen it used. The surrounding area is being rebuilt too, but no changes to the bridge design.
for I-78, wouldn't it make more sense to truncate the interstate designation after the last toll plaza? it's not like it goes through NYC like it was once intended.
The whole time, I was thinking, “Breezewood has to be on here, or you didn’t do your research.” Mike, I don’t see us yinzers changing that any time soon.
The shoulders over time became the defacto "overflow" parking when the parking lots for the hiking trails in the area got full. Parking on an interstate isn't allowed given the dangers. A lot of effort was put into getting them to park in the alternative lots nearby.
I275 in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL has multiple left hand exits, and also the mainline I75 bypasses the downtown areas to the east which seems backwards from the usual interstate standard.
In Canada, specifically the province of Quebec, where the Interstate equivalent is called the Autoroute (or A series). There is one Autoroute called the A20 going eastbound to Montreal where it becomes a boulevard with traffic lights for about 5 miles before it resumes as an Autoroute. Been like that since its creation over 60 years ago and only now are they talking about widening it.
I am a trucker and I drive through Breezewood PA at least twice a week. I've stayed at the TA and Flying Js, depending on which side of the road I am on. I absolutely refuse to make any left turn as it can get pretty congested during the day.
I had a chuckle over two of the names for highways in the video because I drive on the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway and the Purple Heart Trail every time I go to Montgomery on I-85 and never leave Alabama.
when it was originally built, I-35 in Austin had an at grade rail crossing near airport boulevard. as far as i know, it’s the only rail crossing on an interstate highway ever
Why don't they just take away the Interstate designation? US highways don't have the same restrictions as Interstates, why aren't these highways demoted?
Probably state DOT's throwing a fit for losing federal funding. If the Feds say it's okay, then they're gonna take the money every time because on interstate highways the feds fund 90% of it and the state would take the rest. DOT's like getting 90% off the cost
Because the states want those sweet Federal highway funds. It's the same argument I made with I-238 in California. If it is tied to a state route, why not just use the state route number instead of the Interstate number? With the first one, you could simply decommission I-676 in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania to not include the Benjamin Franklin bridge and that plaza as part of the decommission. US-30 is already signed on that road, just keep that designation. For I-78, you have it merging into a state route in New Jersey. Just decommission it at the point where both I-78 and the state route meet. As for New York, decommission I-78 in its entirety. It's not like New York is ever going to connect any of the x78 routes to it, so why bother?
Considering that I-180 through Cheyenne also has a business route as well as two concurrent US highways, they could easily just drop the interstate designation, especially if there are no plans to upgrade it to proper interstate standards.
For the at grade crossings for cattle ranching, you missed I-35 in Kansas. You'll find a handfull between Emporia and El Dorado, and I find it especially odd as that section is a toll road. I'm not sure if they're full access roads or pulloffs that only land owners can use.
Been on the Mackinaw bridge and I was so happy to get off of it you would not believe and I have been in breezeway pa and used to turn right into a truck stop
I live in western NC just off I-40 at the start of "the gorge" section through the Smokies. I've been down that Hurricane Creek road once back in my old truck a long time ago. There are a couple people actually living way out there but it is otherwise just miles of dirt/gravel roads that are only accessible in a 4x4!
The closest instances Arizona has to interstate violations that I know of are along I-17 in Flagstaff. Just south of the first at-grade intersection along Milton Rd, the road I-17 becomes after the McConnell Dr interchange, there’s a driveway leading into Milton Rd southbound, which only allows you to turn right. I’m not sure how far south of Forest Meadows St Milton Rd becomes I-17, but for all intents and purposes, it is an interstate. Just south of that, there are 2 ridiculously close interchanges. The on-ramp from McConnell Dr merges with I-17 around 500 ft before the off-ramp for I-40 westbound, and on I-17 northbound, the on-ramp from from I-40 westbound merges with I-17 around 350 feet before the off-ramp for McConnell Dr. I’m not sure if there are any minimum distance rules between on- and off-ramps, or if so, what they are. Also, on I-17 northbound, the on-ramp from I-40 eastbound has a yield sign where it merges with I-17 northbound. That’s almost certainly an interstate violation.
I don't know why there hasn't been a direct connector to and from the PA Turnpike toll plaza from and to the I-70 to DC and Baltimore. It can be done without eliminating any access to Breezewood in any way. In fact the existing route can be posted BR I-70 once the PennDOT and PA Turnpike Authority build the connector!
"Future I-86" in NY is another fun one. The state and feds seem to go back and forth about the signs being up or not. Plus, NY State has a bunch of signs that violate Interstate standards, I think.
There is also a short stretch of I-40 westbound in Tennessee where it meets the start of I-81 north. 40 has 2 lanes at first, and then the travel lane becomes an exit only lane for exit 421 (81). Thus, for about 1000 feet, 40 westbound is down to 1 lane until 2 lanes coming from the end of 81 southbound join 40.
No mention of I-95 in Canton, MA? Northbound traffic has just one lane with a 25 mph speed limit at the interchange with I-93. Southbound traffic was also a single lane here until 2004 when a second lane was added and speed limit raised to 45 mph. This creates one of the worst rush-hour bottlenecks in the country.
Mike, I90 in the western half of South Dakota is FULL of what I call “stop sign” interchanges. And the speed limit is 80mph. Not sure I’d want to be pulling out onto that highway very often.
For those grade intersections, I can think of a good way to solve the problem of "We need to have the road be controlled access, but these cross roads are too underused to warrant a dedicated interchange.". Build 2 frontage roads parallel to the interstate, one on each side, connect those roads to the frontage roads, then bring them to the nearest crossroads that have enough use to warrant a dedicated interchange. I'm honestly surprised Texas didn't do this, considering they're so frontage road happy.
They’ve wasted literally billions cumulatively on architectural frills and Clearview over the last 25 years. So yes good point. Build the necessary diamond interchanges for compliance.
The entire aerial portion of I-695 near Sparrows Point, MD (which is now shut down because someone crashed a ship into a bridge) was built as a single lane each way on a single causeway-style bridge. But it is technically MD 695. Wikipedia says the project to upgrade to two lanes each way was completed in 2000, but I don't remember ever driving on the single lane portion myself, and I've been licensed since 1993.
Although it’s not a violation, the wrong way concurrency of I-77 and I-81 in Virginia is unique in it’s own right. It’s the only time you have 2 interstates running in opposite directions like this
Here's a fun one. In Queens, NY, from westbound I-495 the signed exit for I-678 North takes you to the I-495 service drive and then an Immediate right on Rodman St which then merges with College Point Blvd. Then after 3 traffic lights, you can turn left and enter I-678 North. There is no signed exit for I-678 south but you take 22A exit for Grand Central Parkway which eventually splits and merges with I-678 South. Not sure if it's a violation but it's certainly an inconvenience.
Boston's _Central Artery/Tunnel_ completely revolutionized that city's freeway system. If it weren't so expensive, we could see something like that built in N.Y., Phila., and Baltimore.
In Detroit, the through route of I-75 goes down to one lane at the split-off of I-375. This is because the north part of I-75 and the south part of I-75 were originally separate freeways that had a typical freeway interchange where only one lane was needed. Once the Interstate system came into being, this one lane ramp between freeways became the way you needed to go to stay on I-75. Given the geography of the area though, it's not like there's tons of traffic wanting to take this route. If you're headed north from Toledo to Flint you'll take US-23 instead of taking I-75 as it turns and goes through Detroit. If you're headed from the northern suburbs to the southern suburbs, there are alternate routes that don't require you to head into the heart of the city. It's only really people that have destinations very close by the interchange that need to use it, so it's fine from a traffic flow perspective, but I think it might count as a violation of Interstate regulations.
The narrowest portion of Franconia Notch, NH, just couldn't fit a full interstate there with a lake and the side of the mountain right there. One proposal was to build a tunnel thru that narrow area, but they were concerned that doing that blasting would have damaged the Old Man of the Mountains rock formation, so they opted for the parkway. It went from a scenic roadway with stops and turn-outs, to a 45MPH road with a guard rail along the middle. It was a compromise, but at least there's no wide swath of interstate there.
In 1970s when driving LA to NYC as more Interstates were completed I took I15 to I40 to I44 to I70 to I71 to I76 to I80. This avoided the Pennsylvania Turnpike which was always horrible. The last time I used the route was about 2011 and it is still superior to going through Buttonwood.
A violation (in one direction) can be found on I-794 from downtown Milwaukee, WI south of the Hoan Bridge going out to Cudahy and the airport. As a compromise to southsiders, they put a traffic signal at Oklahoma Ave. for northbound traffic since the access points did not line up with a rail route within just a few feet running parallel to the highway.
I will note that there are many sections of original interstate still in use that were built in the 60s and do not meet today's standards, especially without breakdown lanes on over passes, very narrow medians, narrow lanes, etc. Due to the haste states had to design and build these roads before Federal $$$ ran out. Some of that is because toll roads already built (like the Pa, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago Skyway) were built pre interstate act and just absorbed into the system since these states were not going to build FREE alternate routes (like I 295 in NJ) and take away toll revenue.
Massachusetts has 2: I-291, between I-90 and I-91, has a traffic light on the I-90 end. I-391, from I-91 to the center of Holyoke, has a traffic light at the Holyoke end.
On the Mackinac Bridge you can look down through the grating and see the water several hundred feet below. Or look sideways from the high elevation and see miles into Lake Michigan on one side and Huron on the other, usually with freighter traffic plowing the water. An awe-inspiring view no matter which way you look.
I love that bridge just wish they would update there tollbooth and accept EZPass
That might have something to do with where the money goes. The toll collected goes to bridge maintenance alone, whereas I think EZPass tolls go to the state for transportation in general
@@warriyorcatthere’s also just no reason to. Tolls are rare in Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge is the only toll road of note in the state. Switching the MacPass to E-ZPass doesn’t really make sense given that there are few MacPass users, who are mostly residents of the area who cross the bridge frequently, who would benefit from using an E-ZPass instead given that the other E-ZPass facilities are far to the south.
Liberty Bridge in Bay City accepts E-ZPass but it’s merely because the BC-Pass transponder uses the same technology as E-ZPass. Liberty Bridge being tolled is also very controversial as it was previously a free crossing until the city sold a lease to a private company to repair both it and Independence Bridge, both drawbridges that the city owns but could no longer afford to maintain.
@@calvinsmith6681I don’t think it would necessarily have to be a full replacement though, just cross-compatibility. Sort of like I-Pass did years back.
@@ztl2505 perhaps, but again there’s not really a reason to. If there was a significant slice of MacPass users who also frequented the Ohio Turnpike or what have you then perhaps there would be a case, but since the bridge is so isolated from other toll roads that use E-ZPass, there’s not really a compelling reason to invest in the infrastructure to make it happen.
I’m speaking as a MacPass user who could theoretically be using an E-ZPass since I live close to that aforementioned Liberty Bridge, but I have no reason to cross that bridge so I have no reason to have an E-ZPass at the moment .
93 in Franconia New Hampshire's single lane section (0:03) was really put to the test following the 2024 solar eclipse when half of New England was traveling south back home. Stop and go traffic lasted until 4:00 AM, in a town with a population density of 17 persons/square mile.
I was in it.
@@njdevilku1340 Same here, it put the usual leaf-peeping delays to shame
It's a lot more than just leaf peeping.😂
My family got a few hours of traffic going north but actually managed to beat the traffic going south
Woah. I'm so happy I used i89 for that. Traffic back to Canada: 0. Traffic back to Boston: 60 miles of standstill
I-180 in Cheyenne has to be the stupidest one mentioned. At least all the others covered are interstate standard for most of their route. 180 has no excuse to exist.
Obvious money laundering is obvious.
Yeah, it should be one of those "green" Interstate "connector" routes. WTH!
@@jovetjbecause there is one already, but it doesn’t stop them from calling it I-80B Business
But it's okay, because the Thai restaurant right off of it is amazing.
@@downskated lol
The Mackinac Bridge was started in the mid 1950s, but planning for it started long before that. They proposed a floating bridge, like the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Washington. However, unlike the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the place where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet can have 25 foot waves, making a floating Bridge impossible. On top of that there are countless boats, including sail boats, ferries, tankers and more.
Because the planning of the bridge happened before the Interstate System started and finished a year and a half after it was signed it doesn't have a median barrier. Since it was already started in it's current format they didn't change it. it's still four lanes, which the middle lanes are steel grating which you can look down into the lakes. Part of the reason they don't have Jersey Barriers is that while it doesn't sway, it does move up and down with traffic, and can move side by side moved by winds, which can exceed 60 MPH, at which point the bridge closes. Any Barriers would crumble under those conditions, or could break apart and end up in the lanes of travel.
I've been through Breezewood way too many times. Now I take I-68 and avoid that mess, as well as the PA Turnpike.
Yeah. Now that PA turnpike tolls are an easy hundred bucks west of Harrisburg, 30 minutes longer on I-68/79/64 is no big deal. Though looking at the map just now I notice I-79 also goes north and reconnects back to I-79. Not sure why I never noticed that route, I'll have to give that a look next time I'm heading northwest.
Driving DC to Detroit the PA Turnpike is just much more convenient, even with Breezeway. But the turnpike tolls have gotten so high now I'm starting to consider taking the extra time. With gas and the high tolls now, flying is actually starting to get cost competitive.
I hate hate that highway especially that steep downgrade coming into that town
Michigan has some interesting quirks: Since we're part of the eastern border of the US, I-69 turns east-west and I-94 turns north-south towards Port Huron. I-75 goes east-west in Metro Detroit in two places. I-275 doesn't rejoin I-75 like it was supposed to, and it never will: Too many lakes, wetlands, and wealthy people killed that idea forever. I-275 has a bike path along its entire length, although it is closed in Monroe County due to lack of maintenance. In the nouveau riche northern section, the bike path is downright luxurious.
Thanks Mike. I have driven through just about all of these sections except the Mackinac Bridge and I-10 in west Texas.
As a Philadelphian I can agree that I-676 traffic light is rough but understandably I-676 was only completed in the 1990s and uses a suspension bridge that was built in 1920s; As you mentioned, the Chinatown section will soon become covered and made into a park to reconnect the halves of a split neighborhood.
I-676 is just US 30 with an Interstate sign slapped on it to get funding.
It is very minor, but this one section of i81 South in Syracuse just after exit 18. It turns into one lane for a TINY bit, but is slightly wider than one lane to allow tight merges. It becomes 2 lanes again once the i690 west ramp to 81 south joins in.
Somewhat soon that whole section of I-81 will cease to exist when they take it all down to street level. One of the biggest projects New York State has ever done.
As a lifelong New Hampshireite I have driven the single lane near Franconia Notch many times.
One other violation in NH is the traffic lights on I-393 East. It also has to be one of the shortest Interstates in the country.
I am from the Concord area myself, it is definitely strange seeing traffic lights there
New Hampshire is a weird state.
@@Duckcalculator it's not that weird
it's not one of the shortest. I-345 in dallas is only 1.6 miles long😂
@@nywiigshachristian8922 it's definitely a shorter one
What about Dead Man's Curve in Cleveland, OH? There's no way that can be up to current interstate standards.
Yeah that’s a good one
Piss on that Curve
I believe there are plans to remedy Dead Man's Curve. Date TBD.
Growing up there, I actually thought that was normal. The rumble strips were fun when I was 5.
You mean I-90 East leaving Downtown Cleveland? I wondered why that was
The good thing about ending up at US 30 is that it is easy to shunpike the PA Turnpike between Bedford and Breezewood as it is a high speed four-lane highway with direct access to I-99/US 220 (which of course the PA Turnpike does not directly access I-99/US 220).
Ah, a very rare and correct use of the word "shunpike". Cheers!
Us 30 is famous
There are quite a few interchanges between the PA Turnpike (& Northeast Extension) & other interstates that go thru "local" roads. The interchange w/I-81 in Carlisle PA is one that I remember when I went to college at West VA Univ & commuted from the Philly area, I had to x-fer highways at that juncture, & often stopped for lunch at the plethora of trucker diners in between. I-68 didn't exist then, it was US-48 I believe, but I did use it to avoid the tolls on the PA Turnpike.
The end of the Northeast Extension at Scranton is another example.
Right on time. I was just thinking about a video like this throughout this week. Probably due to my work commute being changed to I-76 through the Schuylkill Expressway, which as you mentioned in a previous video dedicated to the highway is full of oddities and violations. So many of the merge or die lanes here is what keeps traffic constantly backed up through the day.
Great video! This made me want go back and watch your driving videos of Interstate 676 and Interstate 78.
Good move
I used to love going through Breezewood when I was younger. Family would stop at Pizza Hut or Perkins (fake Dennys) before continuing our drive to Ohio. My grandmother used to also stop at the Gateway Plaza (I believe that is the name of that building near the turnpike entrance/exit) and buy we rare Coins. Now that I’m older I do not even stop in Breezewood - outside of the traffic lights. I breeze through and get back on the highway.
Great video Mike.
Hey, Perkins is a fine family restaurant!
Perkins has been around since 1958. Denny's didn't become Denny's until 1959.
Perkins is FAR better than Denny's. How dare you, sir!
I-690 in Syracuse did have a traffic light on it that was used for one of the parking lots for the state fair. They eventually built an on ramp and removed the light a few years ago.
oh I helped do that, fun time!
Hey Mike, been really liking the content on the channel, you should do a video on stretch of 95 in CT starting in Stamford going all the way to Bridgeport it’s a literal parking lot and has been rated one of the top 5 worst traffic corridors in the country for a few years
I don't even know how I-180 in Wyoming is even an interstate.
To get federal funding for our fancy viaducts. lol
@@TowWyo that's it. It's all about that sweet federal nectar.
A great example of a freeway getting upgraded to interstate standards is NY 17 being upgraded to I-86 (put aside the different segments and how long it's taken for this work to be done).
Love your videos Mike! Never knew I had an interest in interstates/civil engineering until I found your videos.
As a long haul trucker i had the pleasure of saying i have driven through everything he has mention, even the Big Mac ( that's the Mackinac Bridge) especially since i grew up around the bridge. when i was a kid I never found it odd that there wasn't any Jersey dividers on that bridge.
Also you forgot to mention I-69 in MI from Lansing to Port Huron is labeled as an east / west when it fact being an odd number it should be north / south no matter what the actual directions the highway is facing
then you got the New York Through Way. that highway which is part of the I-90 highway is backwards. from the PA state line its start at the highest number (MM 496 I think) and goes down as you head east. Now every other highway in America the numbers start high and goes low the feather west / south you go but not this highway nope it the backward cousin we don't want to talk about of the family
I know what you mean about the NYS Thruway mile numbers! Of course, that brings up another pet peeve of mine - I grew up in the Midwest, so I'm used to exit numbers that (mostly) correspond to mile markers. NY meanwhile is still stubbornly like "nope, not for us!" - although I *do* have to admit I like the N/S/E/W designators they use in places. Makes way more sense than having A/B labeling to figure out...
@@matthewryan9323 there quite a few NYS highways that uses the mile markers, but there quite a few that uses the exit numbers instead so it a mix thing, but most of NE uses exit numbers instead of mile markets, CT, RI ME, NH and VT. But MA has switched from exit number to mile markers finally in the last few years. YAY
I-69 turns north/ south, West of Lansing. The majority of the road is north/south. Likewise, in Detroit, I-94 turns north/south, running to Port Huron.
@@garyszewc3339 I-94 is always signed as East-West though, isn't it? I-69 is signed as east-west from Lansing to Port Huron in violation of the convention.
The infamous (not famous) Breezewood was the only traffic light I knew of on the Interstate system until a few years ago I hit a red light at the Eisenhour Tunnels on I-70 in Colorado. It wasn't for traffic, there was some ice on the other side and there had been an accident.
And thanks, I wondered what that weird thing was along I-80 in Utah!
Great video! In the one-laners club -- I would think of I-395 in DC -- where it leaves the Southwest Freeway and heads into the Third Street Tunnel. The way it's configured now has I-395 continuing in the very right exit lane, with the "exit" being the three thru lanes going straight onto I-695! Someday in the far future apparently they'll change this -- where the entire freeway becomes I-395., and the Third Street Tunnel becomes I-195. We'll see....
Drove a big rig for years, I went through Breezewood a zillion times. It’s always been a head scratcher to me; I should have known it was about money. And if I remember correctly trucks could not go west on US-30, so to go to northern Ohio from Baltimore forced you onto the turnpike. Glad the company paid the tolls. Interesting video series, I’m retired from trucking but still like to travel so it’s informative.
Thank you for pronouncing Mackinac correctly. 👍
I-83 in PA from the PA Turnpike to the MD line used to have many "slip ramps" that were unsigned and led to service roads creating defacto service plazas. The median was also just a pair of guard rails like the PA Turnpike and many other freeways in PA back in the 1970s-80s. I went on that many times while I was in grad school at Johns Hopkins. Most of this was because the highway was built as US 111 before the interstate act was enacted. A stub of the old route into York as BR 83 only had a narrow grass median (3-6 feet, if that) with reflectors marking the middle. (This was also the way the PA Turnpike was in the beginning. The model was the German Autobahns and early on they had the same useless center barriers. Also, at the beginning, the PA Turnpike had no speed limit like the autobahns.
As time went on and the state rebuilt I-83 it was brought up to interstate standards with Jersey barriers replacing the guardrail median and the grass one on BR 83. Most of the ad-hoc ramps were closed as well. I'm not sure if there aren't still some questionable ramps, but it's oodles better than it was in the mid 1980s.
Thats a good point, until very recently a most of the PA turnpike wasn't to interstate standards for bridge clearance or lane width. Its problem with the road being a limited access highway longer than the interstate system has existed.
I believe I-70 through West Virginia was reconfigured after I-470 was built. It's definitely wide enough for 4 lanes but it would require the ramps to be very short with no merge lane. I-70 has large sub par sections, especially west of the PA turnpike.
You are omitting the ongoing reconstruction of the section of I-70 between New Stanton and Washington. Most of it has been upgraded.
Could a “fix” for this not be changing I-470 to I-70 and removing the interstate designation for current I-70 or re-designating it as Business 70?
The violation that immediately comes to mind for us in the Portland/Vancouver area is the Interstate Bridge that completely stops the flow of I-5 to allow river traffic to cross.
There were/are two violations in downtown Kansas City. Both I-35 and I-670 drop down to one lane in the downtown area.
Also, I-70 does the same in downtown Kansas City, Kansas at the James Street exit.
I-435 drops to 1 lane up by the airport when you get to I-29/US 71. That area you mentioned with I-35, thank goodness it was widened to two lanes with the Buck O'Neil Bridge construction as before then that interchange with I-70 sucked.
Also in Pennsylvania: I-476 to I-80 in the Pocono Mountains, there is a traffic light on SR-940; similarly, I-76 to I-81 near Carlisle goes through a bunch of traffic lights on US-11.
Great video! I did have a chuckle, though, when you described each of the last three or four entries as “and finally, [this]”. Not very final, lol!
I never thought about the entrance of the Holland Tunnel to still be part of the highway. Once I hit that first light I figure that's the end of it right there. Because the tunnel entrance doesn't exactly scream interstate. You're pretty much just downtown then. I always liked how when the tunnel entrance sign gets wet you can't read it anymore. They're magical disappearing letters.
Many years ago when I drove over the road I spent a night in Breezewood. It's an interesting place when you consider the road design.
When I was stationed in MA (03-07), I drove on 93 in NH to check out Franconia Park and when it went down to one lane each side I was a bit confused for several minutes, thinking I had somehow made a wrong turn without making a turn...lol.
I’ve been through Breezewood many, many times! I think there will come a time in the not so distant future where constructing a proper interchange will be possible as the little town continues to shrink.
I've traveled through Breezewood countless times, and I can say with the utmost confidence that, that Junction is a welcoming sight after traveling non-stop along I-76 & I-70 (and vice-versa)
Of these violations, I have personally driven on the Jersey City I-78 violation and I have also driven on the I-676 violation in Philadelphia. Other than that, practically every toll booth has a parking lot and entrances that directly go up to the highway.
Thank you for pronouncing Mackinac correctly!
But if you look on his map it's misspelled with a w at the end.
@@edwardrasmussen3465 Mackinac can be spelled with either a c or w. Mackinaw City is spelled with a w while Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Island, and the Straits of Mackinac are spelled with a c. You can blame the French for the -ac spelling and the British for the -aw spelling.
@@calvinsmith6681His map shows Mackinaw City which is spelled with a w unlike the bridge and Mackinac Island. This is because the British founded Mackinaw City and decided to use the phonetic spelling instead from what I understand.
Construction of the Mackinac Bridge was started a couple years before the Interstate Highway Act was made into law...For the first few years after opening, the bridge was part of US 27
Which is now US127. Drives me nuts, because for close to fifty years, it was 27. I live a block, from Old 27, which is still Old 27.
@@garyszewc3339 South of Lansing or north of Grayling
I have driven Old 27 from where it enters Michigan from Indiana to Mt. Pleasant...Have yet to drive the north part
Also driven the entire non-freeway route of US 10 from Ludington to Detroit, and Old US 23 from Toledo to Standish
@@garyszewc3339 US-27 is still US-27 in Florida but Florida-27 is now FL-997. In Ohio and WV, US-21 has become State roads thanks to I-77. In Ohio it is now OH-821. In WV it became WV-21.
Excellemt video. My personal experience is of 78 into the Holland Tunnel. You get used to it.
After seeing all the folks doing so great on the left hand side all the time we just figured out how to use 1&9 It takes a bit of nerve to drive on the Skyway but it's not too bad. Just so long as you don't have to use any of the exits off of it. Because those exits are absolute insanity.
I dont know if its a direct violations but in Allentown pa turnpike i476 passes right over i78 and instead the 2 are linked by going through route 22 or 309 with both merging into i78. Its not a horrific design from a sky view but between the congestion in that area, accidents, and a lack of signage in spots and e cessive signage in others it's very confusing if you dont know where you're going and you are likely to miss an exit.
“The locals have decided to display their artistic designs on them” is way better then calling it grafiti! Long live the local art!
But non of it was good art :/
@@CouchPotator You simply need to lower your standards and now it is great art!
I crossed the Mackinac Bridge yesterday, and will be crossing again today.
I moved to Richmond , VA in 1966 and the interchange between I 64 westbound and I 95 southbound has always frustrated me. Traffic has to slow down to 25 mph and make a sharp left turn from the left lane at end of a local street to a one lane ramp to I95. I don't think they will ever be able to change that. At least i 64 west bound to I 95 northbound at the same location is a smoother transition from the right and center lanes to2 lanes that eventually merge.
"Of course you have to pay to leave New Jersey" :)
erm actually from pennsville nj to delaware u dont gotta pay
Sadly, the I-690 signal during the state fair in Syracuse, NY is no more.
Informative and educational! Thanks!
Nice video! the stop-controlled on-ramp on I-81 in NY would probably be the easiest to fix, they could simply adjust the ramp to have a smoother curve and a merge lane
Breezewood is never going away. The PA Turnpike doesn’t seem to want direct access to other highways. The intersection between I-81 and the Turnpike also forces you onto a local highway for a mile or so before you can get into the other highway. I don’t know if that is a Turnpike-wide policy, but it certainly pertains to the western section of the turnpike.
There is a deep seated problem with Breezewood. The late Bud Shuster was a powerful US Representative from Bedford County. He was powerful enough to block any direct connection between I70 and I76.
Since Covid, and even before, most of the hotels, motels, restaurants and gas stations have closed and they will not come back. People won't stop there anymore unless they absolutely have to.
But I-70 in New Stanton is directly connected.
@@coldpepper3175Yes, it is. That stretch of I-70 was originally PA 71 and it was started before the Interstate System became law
Why are they so opposed to access from other highways?
In Massachusetts, the interchange between the Mass Pike/I90 and I291 is signalized. It was recently reconstructed and resembles a single-point-urban-interchange, retaining both the signalization and uncontrolled access to a tractor-trailer lot.
I-110 in Biloxi has a red light for the draw bridge.
Several Interstates have that, even the newish 8-lane I-95/I-495 Wilson Bridge over the Potomac.
That is, at least kinda, understandable. Almost all of these other things are just ridiculous.
I-75 used to have a drawbridge over the Saginaw River (the Zilwaukee Bridge). Every time a freighter came down the river, they had to raise it, which was a long drawn out process, wait for the freighter to clear it, then lower the bridge back down. Traffic would be at a complete standstill for at least a half hour and would be backed up in both directions for miles.
@@vmj255 Holiday weekends, and deer season, it could take 2 hours, to start moving. That was when I-75 only went as far north, as West Branch.
@@garyszewc3339 it went clear up to the Mackinaw Bridge unless it was called something other than I-75 at the time. I could be wrong because I was just a kid stuck in the backseat of Dad’s Oldsmobile
Pennsylvania also has I-76 to I-81 which you have to get off in Carlisle, PA to get onto the other. Every time they attempted to build a direct interchange, local businesses that get pass by it objected.
Last time I was there, I-25 in Wyoming far north of Cheyenne had grade intersections on it, with gravel roads similar to the ones you showed in Texas. IIRC, some of them even crossed the interstate, either to continue on or to allow turning left onto the highway. The interstate itself is very lightly used, and it would never make sense to have a full interchange for roads that might be used just a few times a day.
Decades ago, there was an unsignaled railroad grade crossing on I 20 just west of Minden, Louisiana. It was on a spur track into an army ammunition plant. It long predated the highway and existed only as a contingency to give the plant alternate rail access in case its primary rail service from a different railway company was shut down by a strike. In 1994, both rail lines were acquired by the same company and the ammunition plant closed, so the track was taken out. Subsequent repaving of I 20 has removed all evidence.
The Lover's Lane "exit" on I-520 in Augusta is odd. The portion within the highway ROW is unpaved; the portion outside it is paved. There are no signs on either end. It looks like it was gated at one point and probably intended for emergency access, but at some point the gate got left open and it was forgotten about.
New subscriber here catching up on your videos...Love the content. You didn't mention the drawbridge crossing the Potomac on I-95/495.
I 81 and I76 in where else PA. It is the Carlise interchange on the PATPK, Just like Breezewood no interconnection because of the not sole access to a toll facility rule.
Also love your assessment of NJ, while we are weird in many ways our DOT is one of the best is not the best. The Jersey City extension is schedule to be widened to 6 lanes and so I suspect some areas are not up to standards.
drove through Breezewood for a few years on way out to Baltimore. always was a hell of a thing to see epspecially with the abandoned interstate right at the end of the ramp to US-30.
other things ive experienced are the very short ramps that just dump you into traffic without any ability to get up to speed in the mountains over Raton pass.
What is often forgotten is that I-68, the main alternate route to going through Breezewood on I-70, also has a section that there's no way is up to current interstate standards, that being pretty much all through Cumberland MD, especially with regards to "Moose Curve". Speed limit drops to 40 and even at that speed the curve feels like a kamikaze curve.
What about the section through Frostburg, trucks are limited to under 40 mph and sometimes have to be down to 25 to safely make the curves...
@@truckercowboyed2638sorry for the late response, I never got a notification for this reply. Anyway, I'll be honest, I've only been down I-68 all the way through once, so I don't remember it all too well. Really, Cumberland and moose curve were the most memorable parts of the route for me, and still stick out in my mind
@@truckercowboyed2638 Even in the pickup it felt a bit tippy. But I agree with RealBlueony that the section in Cumberland is worse. And don't take Google's advice to use MD 51 and other roads to avoid Frostburg if going to Winchester. VA. It may be faster and shorter than going thru Hancock and down 522 but you will be on and off the brakes more.
My first trip out west I was surprised to see the at-grade intersections with what appeared to be ranches along I-40 in and around Texas. In these areas, the interstate directly overlaid the predecessor US 66, so I figured they needed to leave some way for locals to access their properties. In other places out west, there are "controlled access intersections" with the parallel service roads where the ramps on and and off are very short. There are stop signs on the service roads at these intersection where you have to look up the short ramp to make sure a semi isn't coming off at interstate speed as they have no real deceleration lanes to work with.
another banger video mike! 🎉🎉🎉
The congested Bronx is another one with lack of Shoulder space & 4 hours to go 6 miles.
The cross bronx was obsolete when it opened. It should have been completely rebuilt 45 years ago, before the run up of costs in just about every thing. Absent planning.
In PA, you missed another short one; I-83, where I-283 splits off in Harrisburg, goes down to one lane bridge ramps for the main highway. Don't know if that will be upgraded but it's a dangerous spot with several accidents over the years.
I-278 in the Bronx, NY has a drawbridge and signal lights! Though I've never seen it used. The surrounding area is being rebuilt too, but no changes to the bridge design.
for I-78, wouldn't it make more sense to truncate the interstate designation after the last toll plaza? it's not like it goes through NYC like it was once intended.
I always thought 78 started at the 1-9 skyway / turnpike divide.
@@jamesl8928 nope. it goes into Manhattan. there's quite a large Wikipedia article for it considering it's only 1/2 mile long.
The whole time, I was thinking, “Breezewood has to be on here, or you didn’t do your research.” Mike, I don’t see us yinzers changing that any time soon.
Until 2019, parking along parts of I-93 through Franconia Notch was allowed (or at least not enforced) as long as tires were "not on the pavement".
The shoulders over time became the defacto "overflow" parking when the parking lots for the hiking trails in the area got full. Parking on an interstate isn't allowed given the dangers.
A lot of effort was put into getting them to park in the alternative lots nearby.
I275 in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL has multiple left hand exits, and also the mainline I75 bypasses the downtown areas to the east which seems backwards from the usual interstate standard.
In Canada, specifically the province of Quebec, where the Interstate equivalent is called the Autoroute (or A series). There is one Autoroute called the A20 going eastbound to Montreal where it becomes a boulevard with traffic lights for about 5 miles before it resumes as an Autoroute. Been like that since its creation over 60 years ago and only now are they talking about widening it.
I am a trucker and I drive through Breezewood PA at least twice a week. I've stayed at the TA and Flying Js, depending on which side of the road I am on. I absolutely refuse to make any left turn as it can get pretty congested during the day.
The big Utah violation is the 215-E 80 interchange
I had a chuckle over two of the names for highways in the video because I drive on the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway and the Purple Heart Trail every time I go to Montgomery on I-85 and never leave Alabama.
when it was originally built, I-35 in Austin had an at grade rail crossing near airport boulevard. as far as i know, it’s the only rail crossing on an interstate highway ever
Why don't they just take away the Interstate designation? US highways don't have the same restrictions as Interstates, why aren't these highways demoted?
Exactly my thinking
Probably state DOT's throwing a fit for losing federal funding. If the Feds say it's okay, then they're gonna take the money every time because on interstate highways the feds fund 90% of it and the state would take the rest. DOT's like getting 90% off the cost
Because the states want those sweet Federal highway funds. It's the same argument I made with I-238 in California. If it is tied to a state route, why not just use the state route number instead of the Interstate number? With the first one, you could simply decommission I-676 in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania to not include the Benjamin Franklin bridge and that plaza as part of the decommission. US-30 is already signed on that road, just keep that designation.
For I-78, you have it merging into a state route in New Jersey. Just decommission it at the point where both I-78 and the state route meet. As for New York, decommission I-78 in its entirety. It's not like New York is ever going to connect any of the x78 routes to it, so why bother?
Considering that I-180 through Cheyenne also has a business route as well as two concurrent US highways, they could easily just drop the interstate designation, especially if there are no plans to upgrade it to proper interstate standards.
@@djmoch1001 I think it must have something to do with the federal funding. He mentioned that in the video about another interchange.
Look at I-270 from Frederick MD to the I-495 beltway in DC
On the way back from a kayaking trip, we took I-520 for a little bit and did pass that one side road, I just didn’t notice it until now lol
For the at grade crossings for cattle ranching, you missed I-35 in Kansas. You'll find a handfull between Emporia and El Dorado, and I find it especially odd as that section is a toll road. I'm not sure if they're full access roads or pulloffs that only land owners can use.
Been on the Mackinaw bridge and I was so happy to get off of it you would not believe and I have been in breezeway pa and used to turn right into a truck stop
I live in western NC just off I-40 at the start of "the gorge" section through the Smokies. I've been down that Hurricane Creek road once back in my old truck a long time ago. There are a couple people actually living way out there but it is otherwise just miles of dirt/gravel roads that are only accessible in a 4x4!
First 2 on the list both giving me flashbacks. Those moments when you are driving and the road feels unsafe and you think the problem is YOU lol...
The closest instances Arizona has to interstate violations that I know of are along I-17 in Flagstaff. Just south of the first at-grade intersection along Milton Rd, the road I-17 becomes after the McConnell Dr interchange, there’s a driveway leading into Milton Rd southbound, which only allows you to turn right. I’m not sure how far south of Forest Meadows St Milton Rd becomes I-17, but for all intents and purposes, it is an interstate. Just south of that, there are 2 ridiculously close interchanges. The on-ramp from McConnell Dr merges with I-17 around 500 ft before the off-ramp for I-40 westbound, and on I-17 northbound, the on-ramp from from I-40 westbound merges with I-17 around 350 feet before the off-ramp for McConnell Dr. I’m not sure if there are any minimum distance rules between on- and off-ramps, or if so, what they are. Also, on I-17 northbound, the on-ramp from I-40 eastbound has a yield sign where it merges with I-17 northbound. That’s almost certainly an interstate violation.
In PA, the Turnpike Commission announced this week they will design a bypass for Breezewood just this week!
I don't know why there hasn't been a direct connector to and from the PA Turnpike toll plaza from and to the I-70 to DC and Baltimore. It can be done without eliminating any access to Breezewood in any way. In fact the existing route can be posted BR I-70 once the PennDOT and PA Turnpike Authority build the connector!
"Future I-86" in NY is another fun one. The state and feds seem to go back and forth about the signs being up or not. Plus, NY State has a bunch of signs that violate Interstate standards, I think.
There is also a short stretch of I-40 westbound in Tennessee where it meets the start of I-81 north. 40 has 2 lanes at first, and then the travel lane becomes an exit only lane for exit 421 (81). Thus, for about 1000 feet, 40 westbound is down to 1 lane until 2 lanes coming from the end of 81 southbound join 40.
No mention of I-95 in Canton, MA?
Northbound traffic has just one lane with a 25 mph speed limit at the interchange with I-93.
Southbound traffic was also a single lane here until 2004 when a second lane was added and speed limit raised to 45 mph.
This creates one of the worst rush-hour bottlenecks in the country.
Mike, I90 in the western half of South Dakota is FULL of what I call “stop sign” interchanges. And the speed limit is 80mph. Not sure I’d want to be pulling out onto that highway very often.
For those grade intersections, I can think of a good way to solve the problem of "We need to have the road be controlled access, but these cross roads are too underused to warrant a dedicated interchange.". Build 2 frontage roads parallel to the interstate, one on each side, connect those roads to the frontage roads, then bring them to the nearest crossroads that have enough use to warrant a dedicated interchange. I'm honestly surprised Texas didn't do this, considering they're so frontage road happy.
They’ve wasted literally billions cumulatively on architectural frills and Clearview over the last 25 years. So yes good point. Build the necessary diamond interchanges for compliance.
The entire aerial portion of I-695 near Sparrows Point, MD (which is now shut down because someone crashed a ship into a bridge) was built as a single lane each way on a single causeway-style bridge. But it is technically MD 695.
Wikipedia says the project to upgrade to two lanes each way was completed in 2000, but I don't remember ever driving on the single lane portion myself, and I've been licensed since 1993.
Although it’s not a violation, the wrong way concurrency of I-77 and I-81 in Virginia is unique in it’s own right. It’s the only time you have 2 interstates running in opposite directions like this
I-73 and I-85 in Greensboro do too.
I-80 and I-580 between Oakland & Richmond also has this status.
An interstate violation I heard about in Texas is I-69E. I-69E in south Texas has an at grade intersection with traffic lights before entering Mexico
Here's a fun one. In Queens, NY, from westbound I-495 the signed exit for I-678 North takes you to the I-495 service drive and then an Immediate right on Rodman St which then merges with College Point Blvd. Then after 3 traffic lights, you can turn left and enter I-678 North. There is no signed exit for I-678 south but you take 22A exit for Grand Central Parkway which eventually splits and merges with I-678 South. Not sure if it's a violation but it's certainly an inconvenience.
Highways in the NYC area in general need a redesign. Too many cars trying to squeeze into an city not meant for cars
New York interstates had to get lots of waivers and exceptions to qualify.
Boston's _Central Artery/Tunnel_ completely revolutionized that city's freeway system.
If it weren't so expensive, we could see something like that built in N.Y., Phila., and Baltimore.
In Detroit, the through route of I-75 goes down to one lane at the split-off of I-375. This is because the north part of I-75 and the south part of I-75 were originally separate freeways that had a typical freeway interchange where only one lane was needed. Once the Interstate system came into being, this one lane ramp between freeways became the way you needed to go to stay on I-75. Given the geography of the area though, it's not like there's tons of traffic wanting to take this route. If you're headed north from Toledo to Flint you'll take US-23 instead of taking I-75 as it turns and goes through Detroit. If you're headed from the northern suburbs to the southern suburbs, there are alternate routes that don't require you to head into the heart of the city. It's only really people that have destinations very close by the interchange that need to use it, so it's fine from a traffic flow perspective, but I think it might count as a violation of Interstate regulations.
Great video, but you forgot abou I35 in Dallas Texas where the lanes are too narrow
The narrowest portion of Franconia Notch, NH, just couldn't fit a full interstate there with a lake and the side of the mountain right there. One proposal was to build a tunnel thru that narrow area, but they were concerned that doing that blasting would have damaged the Old Man of the Mountains rock formation, so they opted for the parkway. It went from a scenic roadway with stops and turn-outs, to a 45MPH road with a guard rail along the middle. It was a compromise, but at least there's no wide swath of interstate there.
In 1970s when driving LA to NYC as more Interstates were completed I took I15 to I40 to I44 to I70 to I71 to I76 to I80. This avoided the Pennsylvania Turnpike which was always horrible. The last time I used the route was about 2011 and it is still superior to going through Buttonwood.
A violation (in one direction) can be found on I-794 from downtown Milwaukee, WI south of the Hoan Bridge going out to Cudahy and the airport. As a compromise to southsiders, they put a traffic signal at Oklahoma Ave. for northbound traffic since the access points did not line up with a rail route within just a few feet running parallel to the highway.
Thank you for another great presentation!
I will note that there are many sections of original interstate still in use that were built in the 60s and do not meet today's standards, especially without breakdown lanes on over passes, very narrow medians, narrow lanes, etc. Due to the haste states had to design and build these roads before Federal $$$ ran out. Some of that is because toll roads already built (like the Pa, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago Skyway) were built pre interstate act and just absorbed into the system since these states were not going to build FREE alternate routes (like I 295 in NJ) and take away toll revenue.
Massachusetts has 2:
I-291, between I-90 and I-91, has a traffic light on the I-90 end.
I-391, from I-91 to the center of Holyoke, has a traffic light at the Holyoke end.
One tiny section of I-83 in Harrisburg is also one lane in each direction. It is at the intersection with I-283