Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I disagree here. Houston has a pretty good grid arterial road setup. I'd say even better than DFW. You say pick your poison between Westheimer or I-10 into the 610 Loop, but you can also pick Briar Forest/San Felipe, Richmond, Bellaire, Beechnut, or Bissonnett. So, there are a lot of options to choose from. There are plenty of other examples on other sides of town, too.
The top five freeway systems to me are Houston, LA, DFW, Chicago, and Atlanta.
Houston's freeway is a simple hub-and-spoke system. It's very easy to learn. Each side of town usually has one major freeway, with another freeway (or tollway) close by. All roads lead to central Houston pretty much (a big small town indeed). The only thing you have to remember is that there are two loops. Most freeways are named in the direction they go to (Katy Freeway goes west to the suburb of Katy, North Freeway goes North, Southwest Freeways heads.....southwest, Eastex Freeway heads up to East Texas, etc.). In class last week, my professor started talking about his recent trip to Houston, and said he was scared driving on the Loop. Several people in the class agreed and said Houston drivers drive too fast and the Loop is so damn big. Here is the Loop:
LA just has a bunch of freeways. A lot of them are wide though, and some of the interchanges, especially going in and around the huge hills in the area, look really nice. LA's freeways are freaking huge though. Take a look at this video:
DFW has some nice freeways, too. Though, I'd say it's system can be a little confusing. Though DFW has some nice and wide freeways (75N, I-20), a lot of DFW's freeways seem small and outdated, though there is a lot of construction going on here. There are a lot of twists and turns with some of DFW's freeways, so they end up going in different directions than what you would think. But, take a look at I-20. Wide freeway on its entire length through DFW.
For Atlanta, it has a nicely designed freeway system and nicely maintained freeways. They would work a lot better if the arterial road system in Atlanta wasn't so inadequate. Atlanta and LA easily have the nicest looking freeways of the bunch (and by that, I don't mean the actual freeways, just the drive in general).
Yeah, Dallas & LA's freeway layout is very similar. Its a cluster **** of arteries going every which way while in Houston & Atlanta its relatively easy to navigate with the hub & spoke setup. You can hardly get lost in H-town even though the monsterously wide freeways & 200' tall 5 stack interchanges can intimidate even the most skilled of drivers.
Minneapolis' is the best. It's so slow and crowded, it's awesome! Even better, MnDot said that there will be no major expansions or additions in the next 30 years! YAY!
There are four key segments of Interstate highway in Pennsylvania that were grandfathered into the system:
1. The Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) between Irwin and Carlisle
2. The Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) into Philadelphia
3. I-376 through Pittsburgh
4. I-70 from the West Virginia state line to New Stanton
These segments were all built before the establishment of Interstate design and engineering standards, which is why parts of them are substandard. The Pennsylvania Turnpike has enough right of way to expand its footprint, though, but the other three do not, and purchasing the right of way will be expensive. The Turnpike is gradually being reconstructed, and they've done a good job of it between Irwin and the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, but the part between the Allegheny Mountain and Blue Mountain Tunnels is really showing its age, and will be the most difficult segment to reconstruct.
I imagine the next-easiest to do will be I-70 south of Pittsburgh because it passes through a generally rural area, although there are buildings that squeeze up against it in the mid-Monongahela River valley.
Eventually, I'd like to see PennDOT tell the rest of the state to stuff it, and that the majority of their annual budgets over a period of a few years will be spent purchasing right of way, expanding two pairs of tunnels, redesigning some interchanges, and widening both I-376 and the Schuylkill Expressway to eight lanes. It'll cost a lot, but it needs to be done.
DC has 395 (tunnel) and freeway that runs into 295. It's not that big but it is an interstate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
