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The theme here is original bypass freeways are no longer acting as such, instead they have become suburban carrier freeways. And that won’t be reversed.
Nashville doesn't really have a bypass, but it's one of just a few cities with 3 major interstate highways coming into the city. (Atlanta is another.) And building roads are difficult due to the limestone cap requiring every foot of every road to be drilled and blasted.
It's turned into a little Atlanta in the traffic congestion.
I think Nashville outgrew it's bypasses. The Briley can work as a half-a-bypass to connect north to east and west. Traffic never seems terrible on it. East to west, they encourage motorists to use I-840. Problem is, you can sit through rush hour traffic in downtown and get to the other side just as quick. It is good for connecting traffic to and from the south to points east and west.
Philadelphia has no real beltway (though could string some highways together to almost make one of sorts) or bypass - though 295 or the NJT turnpike might qualify in a way of sorts of a bypass N/S to avoid the city and most populated parts.
Strange nomination here. LA has no bypass truly anymore. Technically freeways like the 405 were supposed to be, but the 405 doesn't really have you "avoid the city" and you definitely have to drive through the city if you take it. If anything, a drive up the 5 is quicker to just take the 5 straight through DTLA rather than branch off the 405 in OC and reconnect in the SFV. The 605 isn't helpful either. The 110 and the 710 don't function as bypasses at all. Completely different destinations than the 10. The 105 is just kinda there. The only ones that could possibly be bypasses are the 210 connecting the SGV to the SFV without going through DTLA and the 215.
It's pretty easy to bypass most of LA city and definitely the "city center", it's just not necessarily any faster.
Some cities have a bypass but it doesn't have a complete circle meaning depending on which direction you are going, you may have no choice. For example Las Vegas has a "bypass", the 215, but if you need to go NE you have to get on the 15 you have no other choice, because the 215 is C-shaped. Are we including these?
However more pure examples are:
Tucson, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
New Orleans, LA
In contrast, cities that wrote the book on highway bypasses:
The entire state of Texas
Interstate 12 runs along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and connects Slidell to Baton Rouge, LA. It serves as a bypass around New Orleans, for traffic following the coast to coast Interstate 10. Interstate 12 is the shortest and most direct route for east-west traffic on I-10.
We had them, but the suburban sprawl turned them into just as congested freeways. Really 287 is the most obvious one. Since 95 is the main N/S interstate, 287 sends you around NYC, instead of straight through it to allegedly avoid traffic. But now, 287 is just as bad in some parts. When it comes to NYC, the geography makes it really hard to determine what's a bypass and what's just another auxiliary interstate. I'd say 287 is the classic. It starts in Edison NJ where it branches off from the 95 and does a massive loop around to the NW, N, and then NE to cross the Tappan Zee and reconnect with the 87 in Westchester near Tarrytown. In doing so, it has successfully sent the driver away from the urban center on a *bypass* of the urban city center.
As for within NY and especially NYC, 278 is the most obvious. It starts at the 95 in Elizabeth NJ, then goes through SI as the SIE, over the Verrazzano, into BK and continues as the BQE before it goes over the Triborough and into the BX where it connects back with the 95. In doing so. you've completely avoided Manhattan. I'm sure when it was though up, nobody realized that the BQE would become the hell that it is today, but theoretically, it was supposed to help the movement of cars through the NYC metro by avoiding the main route straight through Manhattan.
The Van Wyck is the 678 and gets you from JFK through Queens onto the 95 without having to take surface streets or go into Manhattan. But I would say this is auxiliary because it doesn't connect interstate to interstate.
The LIE as the 495 is more auxiliary also, but that's likely due to the geography. If the LIE ever crossed the LI Sound as proposed, it would be a bypass I believe because at that point it would allow LI residents to *bypass* going into the city and back out again to get into New England.
There could be argument made for the 295 being a bypass because it technically allows LIE drivers to bypass the city center by going north from Queens into the BX to connect to the 95 that way. But the 695 is likely just auxiliary.
In NJ, 280 is just an auxiliary I believe. Doesn't really bypass anything. Just an auxiliary to connect he 95 to the 80.
I think one of the best examples an auxiliary for our region, though are the 287 in North Jersey and the 295 in South Jersey. The 295 starts well south of Philly in Delaware and sends drivers well out of the ay of Philly urban city traffic by staying entirely in suburban Jersey. But then it does this weird double backing on itself when it hits Trenton. It loops around Trenton (which IMO shows the reason Trenton should be considered always part of the Philly region but whatever besides the point). On the west side of Trenton, it turns back in on itself in a way, reconnecting with the 95 in Levittown PA.
Another good example that you've maybe driven through (I'm mentioning Philly ones since they're close to us so maybe you've done them and they function more as actual bypasses than ours) is 276. Whereas 76 sends drivers straight through CC Philly, 276 allows a driver to bypass north of the urban area and connect with the 95/295 in Levittown as well.
Informative, thanks. All roads in this area are horrible, ha.
It wasnt the LIE that was going to go across the sound, i believe it was to be an extension off the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway.
Kansas City has bypasses, but if you are coming through on I35, it's often quicker to just pass through downtown.
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