[amor de cosmos]

post the craziest intersections & interchanges here!

Confusion Corner in Stuart, Florida:
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4172/confusioncornerstuartgs5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/confusioncornerstuartgs5.jpg/1/w1028.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/confusioncornerstuartgs5.jpg/1/)

Confusion Corner in Winnipeg:
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6956/confusioncornerwinnipegcg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/confusioncornerwinnipegcg2.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/confusioncornerwinnipegcg2.jpg/1/)

& 5 corners in downtown Victoria BC:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9013/5cornersdowntownvictorixg6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5cornersdowntownvictorixg6.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img100/5cornersdowntownvictorixg6.jpg/1/)

5-level stack interchange where the I-105 meets the I-110 in LA:
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6489/5levelstack105110inlaox2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5levelstack105110inlaox2.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/5levelstack105110inlaox2.jpg/1/)

the high-five in dallas:
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/72/high5interchangedallasmv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/high5interchangedallasmv3.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/high5interchangedallasmv3.jpg/1/)

[TheMeltyMan]

The soon to be dismantled Turcot Interchange in Montreal.

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/Hokutosucks/turcot.jpg

[Evergrey]

Pittsburgh... due to its intense geography... has about 7,000,000 crazy intersections and interchanges... and I love it

[texcolo]

A five point intersection in Dallas with a railroad crossing through the middle...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r112/texcolo/WebbDenton.jpg

[amor de cosmos]

A five point intersection in Dallas with a railroad crossing through the middle...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r112/texcolo/WebbDenton.jpg

that confusion corner in stuart (above) used to be like that, then it shrank so the tracks didn't go through the middle, and part of it got turned into the roundabout.

[Thundertubs]

I spend my workdays editing the data used as the roads layer in those maps. We see some wacky, wacky stuff. We have modeling specs up the wazoo but still find situations that defy them every day. Massachusetts and New Jersey are the most challenging (when it comes to surface streets, not neccesarily interstates).

[urbanfan89]

Get a load of this:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=51.562833,-1.771472&ie=UTF8&ll=51.562844,-1.771386&spn=0.000734,0.001982&t=h&z=20

[amor de cosmos]

I spend my workdays editing the data used as the roads layer in those maps. We see some wacky, wacky stuff. We have modeling specs up the wazoo but still find situations that defy them every day. Massachusetts and New Jersey are the most challenging (when it comes to surface streets, not neccesarily interstates).
must be because those cities are relatively old & were planned out before cars took over? I've read that Boston has fewer streets now than it had 100 years ago, which make it easier for drivers to get around.

Get a load of this:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=51.562833,-1.771472&ie=UTF8&ll=51.562844,-1.771386&spn=0.000734,0.001982&t=h&z=20
aha, a magic circle! I'm sure people got used to it though :P There are two circles, people drive clockwise (in England) on on the outer circle, and counter-clockwise on the inner one, right? That's what the 5 mini-circles are for.


here's another one in the Victoria area. Currently the two streets are being extended across the tracks to the other side, so there will be a 5-way, (possible) commuter rail, 8-bay bus station, cycling (etc) trail parallel to the tracks, & all at one intersection. it will be a party
:upload_71700:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7615/meafordetcyc2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/meafordetcyc2.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img20/meafordetcyc2.jpg/1/)

the western end of the Nanpu Bridge in Shanghai:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2377/nanpubridgeshanghaiks0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/nanpubridgeshanghaiks0.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img20/nanpubridgeshanghaiks0.jpg/1/)

[MonkeyRonin]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/307/interchangemv1.jpg

[brickell]

From personal experience, this is the worst I've been on. The Golden Glades in Miami
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=miami,+fl&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=25.92833,-80.207233&spn=0.016982,0.043945&t=h&z=15

[amor de cosmos]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/307/interchangemv1.jpg

wow where's that?

[The Chemist]

Xinzhuang Interchange, South Shanghai

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2219/shanghai1kv2.jpg

[MonkeyRonin]

wow where's that?

Highway 409 & Airport Rd. in Toronto.

[ChicagoChicago]

I-85 and 285 in Atlanta.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/SpaghettiJunctionGA.jpg

[PHX31]

In Phoenix, a flyover, a state route, railroad tracks, an arterial, collector, and local/residential streets all coming together:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn20/azstate29/int.jpg

[Kngkyle©]

amor, that first one you posted is not Confusion Corner, this is:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/396/scr1225131504yl1.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5812/scr1225131809bj5.jpg

What you posted is a few blocks north of Confusion Corner.

[amor de cosmos]

In Phoenix, a flyover, a state route, railroad tracks, an arterial, collector, and local/residential streets all coming together:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn20/azstate29/int.jpg
I think I see some power lines also :tup:

amor, that first one you posted is not Confusion Corner, this is:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/396/scr1225131504yl1.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5812/scr1225131809bj5.jpg

What you posted is a few blocks north of Confusion Corner.
thx for clearing that up. :) that's much more confusing than mine :haha:

here's a 7-way in East Longmeadow, Mass:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1157/eastlongmeadowmass7waykl6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/eastlongmeadowmass7waykl6.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img258/eastlongmeadowmass7waykl6.jpg/1/)

St Kilda Junction in Melbourne; I think it was all at-grade originally:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8849/stkildajunctionmelbourneq6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/stkildajunctionmelbourneq6.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img223/stkildajunctionmelbourneq6.jpg/1/)

[salaverryo]

that confusion corner in stuart (above) used to be like that, then it shrank so the tracks didn't go through the middle, and part of it got turned into the roundabout.

Say what? :shrug:

[NYC4Life]

Bruckner Interchange

Bronx, New York City

http://www.empirestateroads.com/week/bruckner-full.jpg

http://www.northeastroads.com/new_york200/i-278_eb_exit_035c_01.jpg

[borgo100]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/I-90_and_I-5_cloverleaf_seattle_washington.jpg/250px-I-90_and_I-5_cloverleaf_seattle_washington.jpg
where I-90 and I 5 meet in Seattle

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8499/int2cr7.jpg
This is between the 401, 427 (southbound), 409 (northbound),

as well as all these..... http://www.dailycognition.com/index.php/2007/06/19/pictures-of-insanely-complex-intersections.html

[amor de cosmos]

as well as all these..... http://www.dailycognition.com/index.php/2007/06/19/pictures-of-insanely-complex-intersections.html

that blog has a link to this page:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/11/incomprehensible-intersections.html
& some good traffic jams :haha:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/03/worlds-worst-intersections-traffic-jams.html

[amor de cosmos]

Tonnele Circle in Jersey City, NJ:
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/8581/tonnelecirclejerseycityep1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/tonnelecirclejerseycityep1.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img234/tonnelecirclejerseycityep1.jpg/1/)

[initiald]

Osaka, Japan. The road that goes through a skyscraper.
http://www.pbase.com/bz3rk/image/105274129.jpg

My favorite; Shibuya crossing, Tokyo. Very crazy intersection pedestrian-wise.
http://www.pbase.com/bz3rk/image/105274147.jpg

[WonderlandPark]

http://www.pixelmap.com/images/Nav/hk.jpg

It may not be large as some sprawling Texas interchange, but this interchange is one of the most interesting in the world: this loop, inside a loop, inside a loop is designed to take left hand side Hong Kong drivers over into China, where they drive on the right, and vice versa. There are very few places in the world where this is done on the "freeway" level. Most places where a switch occurs, like the Thai/Cambodian border are in dusty rural areas, where the road is a two lane. But between HK and Shenzen they have had to engineer a way for the many tens of thousands of crossings of cars and trucks every day, thus these looping highways.

[amor de cosmos]

now THAT is wacky!! :tup:

[amor de cosmos]

a couple in paris

avenue marceau (a boulevard with an access lane for local traffic) @ rue galilee & rue newton:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1367/parisavenuemarceauruegacr6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/parisavenuemarceauruegacr6.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img88/parisavenuemarceauruegacr6.jpg/1/)

place de l'etoile (I don't see any lines here...):
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8396/parisplacedeletoilenv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/parisplacedeletoilenv1.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img518/parisplacedeletoilenv1.jpg/1/)

[amor de cosmos]

Avenida 9 de Julio (110m-wide, 20-lane boulevard) at El Obelisco & Plaza de la Republica in Buenos Aires:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6871/avenida9dejulioplazadelxl1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/avenida9dejulioplazadelxl1.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img205/avenida9dejulioplazadelxl1.jpg/1/)

[arkhitektor]

http://www.pixelmap.com/images/Nav/hk.jpg

It may not be large as some sprawling Texas interchange, but this interchange is one of the most interesting in the world: this loop, inside a loop, inside a loop is designed to take left hand side Hong Kong drivers over into China, where they drive on the right, and vice versa. There are very few places in the world where this is done on the "freeway" level. Most places where a switch occurs, like the Thai/Cambodian border are in dusty rural areas, where the road is a two lane. But between HK and Shenzen they have had to engineer a way for the many tens of thousands of crossings of cars and trucks every day, thus these looping highways.

You beat me to it, but here is a similar interchange that I was going to post:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/jtylerlloyd/Untitled-61.jpg

It was built at the border between Macao and mainland China to change between left/right hand driving in the two places.

[Biff]

^^^ Very neat...however I'm not sure i understand why the need for elaborate loops when a simple flyover of one set of lanes over the other would accomplish the same thing of reversing the sides of the road you drive on with one bridge.

Am i missing something here?

[alexjon]

In Seattle, you access I-5's express lanes from downtown by driving into the Seattle Municipal Tower.

[arkhitektor]

^^^ Very neat...however I'm not sure i understand why the need for elaborate loops when a simple flyover of one set of lanes over the other would accomplish the same thing of reversing the sides of the road you drive on with one bridge.

Am i missing something here?

I think it may be because there is a bridge over water as well, so the road is at a pretty high elevation and the loops add more distance over which to come down from the height of the bridge.

[bbeliko]

Taganskaya Square, Moscow
http://lh6.google.ca/abramsv/R9WRsatLerI/AAAAAAAALNo/V97xmHvmuGg/car_photo_223811_5.jpg?imgmax=512

[ThreeHundred]

Here are some from SoCal

The East LA Interchange
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/ELA_COMPLEX.jpg

The Orange Crush
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Orangecrush.jpg

Kellogg Interchange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kellogg_int_12252005.jpg

[CGII]

Grand Army Plaza, in Brooklyn, NYC:

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/5200/grandarmyplazahe3.jpg

Absolute hellhole for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike.

[Upward]

The East LA Interchange, where the 5, 10, 60, and 101 freeways (and some surface streets) come together. It's a mess, and it's so large (though it lacks any particularly high ramps) that it's hard to reconcile the way it looks in an aerial photo with the actual experience of driving through it.

http://webfiles.uci.edu/cfagan/ssp/misc/east_la_1.jpg

Its complexity can be best appreciated by zooming in and scrolling around: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=34.032994,-118.220809&spn=0.013159,0.019312&t=k&z=16

[Lecom]

Is porn allowed on the boards? Cause a number of these pictures display brutal rape of traditional cities by freeway fetishists.

[amor de cosmos]

Is porn allowed on the boards? Cause a number of these pictures display brutal rape of traditional cities by freeway fetishists.

you mean like the downtown interchanges in Kansas City? :P This is probably the best example of that:
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/4238/kansascitydowntowninterha6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/kansascitydowntowninterha6.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img377/kansascitydowntowninterha6.jpg/1/)


& now some humongous roundabouts, although they probably don't drive like roundabouts, & people don't even think of them as intersections

roundabout on Al-Khaleej St, Dammam (~250m diameter):
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4133/alkhaleejstdammammn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/alkhaleejstdammammn4.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img98/alkhaleejstdammammn4.jpg/1/)

ring rd around the University of Victoria, Canada (~600m diameter):
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/4360/uvicrc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/uvicrc5.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img112/uvicrc5.jpg/1/)

concentric roundabouts around Parliament House, Canberra (~600m & ~900m diameters):
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/4096/parliamenthousecanberrazb9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/parliamenthousecanberrazb9.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img112/parliamenthousecanberrazb9.jpg/1/)

[jcchii]

wow. cool thread

[Labtec]

Atlanta:

I-85/I-75/I-20 Downtown:
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/9620/atlanta1bw5.jpg

I-85/I-75 Midtown:
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/2098/atlanta2fr6.jpg

I-285/I-85 North (Spaghetti Junction) :
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/3349/atlanta3we0.jpg

I-285/I-20 East:
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/9254/atlanta4hi5.jpg

I-285/I-85 South:
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/4328/atlanta5yp1.jpg

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3085/atlanta6wz7.jpg

I-285/I-75 North:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3874/atlanta7rr3.jpg

[909]

Magic rondabout, Swindon (UK) :D


http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/9876/maroblt7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Google Maps (http://maps.google.de/maps?ll=51.562778,-1.771389&spn=0.0025,0.0025&t=k&q=51.562778,-1.771389)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Swindon_Magic_Roundabout_eng.svg
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon))

[ThreeHundred]

^ Wtf is that? It looks like a crop circle.

[anyiliang]

WOW, that one confuses me....

[amor de cosmos]

Hangar Lane Gyratory in West London:
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/2443/hangarlanegyratoryuh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/hangarlanegyratoryuh0.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img230/hangarlanegyratoryuh0.jpg/1/)

Kinsdale Rd roundabout, Cork:
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/2046/kinsdalerdroundaboutcoryw7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/kinsdalerdroundaboutcoryw7.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img230/kinsdalerdroundaboutcoryw7.jpg/1/)

[MolsonExport]

Imagine the cost of some of those elaborate, sprawling interchanges in LA and elsewhere. Imagine if similar sums were spent on rapid transit systems...

[cnmark]

Outer Ring Road, Yan'An Elevated Road, Hongqiao Road and more. I've been drivin' this hundreds of times - actually it's easier to drive than it looks like from the air (if you can read Chinese that is - because the English text on the direction indicators is way too small...).

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t102/cnmark/Image1-1.jpg
(Google Earth image)

(digging for some ground level shots in my photo archive....)

[amor de cosmos]

astounding japanese highways & bridges:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/12/astounding-japanese-highways-bridges.html

[theWatusi]

Not a roadway intersection, but this is a diagram of the Pennsylvania Rail
Road's "Zoo Interlocking" (Intersection of the Northeast Corridor and the
Harrisburg line, along with an interchange with the Reading Railroad)

Diagram was made in 1971 after simplification and removal of some
tracks.

http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/rail/prr/Maps/Itlk/zoo.gif
http://broadway.pennsyrr.com

[MolsonExport]

astounding japanese highways & bridges:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/12/astounding-japanese-highways-bridges.html

Insanity. Thanks for the great link!

[jtk1519]

The Dallas Mixmaster where I-30, I-35E and the Woodall Rodgers collide downtown...

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5844/52016739xa9.jpg

The Dallas High Five really has to be seen to appreciate it's size. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before.

Some pictures from the construction...

http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/images/2004-04-11_high_five_aerial/high_five_07_looking_e_along_635_2005-04-11_7_1000.jpg

http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/images/2004-04-11_high_five_aerial/high_five_12_looking_ne_2005-04-11_12_1000.jpg

http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/images/2004-04-11_high_five_aerial/high_five_19_looking_s_along_75_2005-04-11_19_500.jpg
http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2005-04-11_high_five_aerial.aspx

[muppet]

Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham UK

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/images/richardwinskill/2005/08/12/spaghetti_junction.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/12_02/SpagettiJuncREX_468x344.jpg http://davidbarrie.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/17/scan0004_copy.jpg

more Swindon magic roundabout:

note: yellow van in the wrong

http://reinout.vanrees.org/thesis/swindon.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Swindon_Magic_Roundabout_eng.svg/300px-Swindon_Magic_Roundabout_eng.svg.png

http://www.strum.co.uk/pix/mrs.jpg

poor f*ckin bastards
http://www.strum.co.uk/pix/mr.jpg

http://www.armin-grewe.com/holiday/wiltshire/magic-adac.jpg

good idea at the time ;):
http://www.roundabout.net/swindonRAB.jpg

[MayDay]

Although the Cleveland area has a few roundabouts, this is possibly the stupidest location for one - the Steelyard Commons traffic circle. It's been nicknamed the "Vortex of Death" - not for the fact that it's a traffic circle but it serves TWO highway off-ramps (aka people going way faster than they should) along with the entrance to a major retail center:

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/steelyardcircle.jpg

[Buckeye Native 001]

In Phoenix, a flyover, a state route, railroad tracks, an arterial, collector, and local/residential streets all coming together:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn20/azstate29/int.jpg

Ugh, I was just about to post any road that has the misfortune of intersecting with Grand Avenue...

I-75 through the Mill Creek Valley in Cincinnati is another bad one. Due to the odd topography and antiquated roadways (the expressway was built in the 1950s and 60s), there's no one exit that's similar to any others until you get north of the city...

More info on I-75 from Cincinnati Transit (http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/):
http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/75-westernhills2.jpg
Source (http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/75-westernhills2.jpg)

[muppet]

a gem from Moscow:

http://chistoprudov.ru/livejournal/roofs/mirax-plaza/64.jpg

http://chistoprudov.ru/livejournal/roofs/mirax-plaza/06.jpg

[matguy7070]

The spaghetti exchange over St. Louis
Downtown skyline is just to the left (west)
These are the entry ramps on the east side into the city with I-64, I-70, I-55, and Route 3.

http://photos.imageevent.com/kcphotos/stlouis/large/stlouis_8933.jpg

Overview satellite photo (Google Maps):

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=gateway+arch&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=38.6163,-90.167627&spn=0.010177,0.022659&z=16

[i-215]

Portland, Oregon does continuity right!

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l183/utradioguide/pdx.jpg
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&q=39th+and+broadway,+portland,+oregon&ll=45.53389,-122.622678&spn=0.003637,0.009656&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr

You should see how that area backs up during rush hour!

[SpongeG]

hwy 91a interchange - new westminster (Vancouver)

before:

http://www.bip.gov.bc.ca/hwy91/QBIC_rendering/nwx2003_existing.jpg

its actually more confusing afterwards but the traffic flows better as there are less stops and no more long backups

http://www.bip.gov.bc.ca/hwy91/QBIC_rendering/nwx2003_proposed.jpg

the airport interchange

small pic:
http://www.bramcon.ca/connector.jpg

in one alignement you almost face the way opposite way you were just facing - kinda crazy and very slow corners - there is a traffic light and traffic in rush hours backs up pretty bad

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/richmondairportinter.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/richmondairportinter2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/richmondairportinter3copy.jpg

[HooverDam]

It was (thankfully) never built, but Phoenix once had an insane plan that probably would've taken the cake in this thread. The I-10 was incomplete and it needed to link through Phoenix as the final east-west link. As Phoenix is always fearful of becoming 'another LA' there was much resistance to building any freeways (which is hard to imagine nowadays). So a plan was hatched to put the I-10 on stilts, 100 feet above the ground, with giant 'heliocoils' to serve as on and off ramps, cars would have to loop 270 degrees to get to ground level. This plan looked like it was going to pass, but powerful newspaperman Walter Bimson used his paper, the Arizona Republic, to help kill it.

Anyway here's some pictures:

http://www.arizonaroads.com/pics/papagobook.jpg
http://www.arizonaroads.com/pics/papagoheli2.jpg
http://www.arizonaroads.com/pics/papagoheli.jpg
http://www.arizonaroads.com/pics/papagolegs.jpg
http://www.arizonaroads.com/pics/papagoheli1.jpg
http://www.rockymountainroads.com/arizona010/i-010_papago_model.jpg
http://www.rockymountainroads.com/arizona010/i-010_papago_helicoil.jpg

In a somewhat ironic twist, instead of putting the highway up in the sky, we ended up burying it, putting a tunnel under the city, dividing down and midtown Phoenix. Above it sits a (now crappy) park and the Central library:
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9777/deckparkad8.jpg

Edit: ooooh and a video of someone driving through the tunnel, fancy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x07j5lqWsQ8

[Nowhereman1280]

There is only one horrible interchange in Milwaukee and it has been mostly fixed. The original was built in the 50's and was probably designed by a moron. Some of its wonderful features included tunnels built under the courthouse (great idea right?), random on ramps that fed right into the heart of the interchange and made it possible (though signs were posted prohibiting it) to cross 5 lanes of traffic and jump from on on ramp on one freeway (say 94 east) to an off ramp on another (say 43 north).

Another great feature was the genius ramp from 43 south to 94 west which consisted of a single exit only lane that only contacted 43 south for about 500 feet and began with an on ramp. You see ramps like this all the time, however they serve quiet side streets, they should not be used to CONNECT THE TWO BUSIEST FREEWAYS IN THE CITY. Due to traffic entering the lane on the on ramp and trying to get out of the exit only lane and traffic trying to get into the lane to use the ramp to 94 there were always massive traffic jams in the morning. As soon as they closed the onramp the jams all but disappeared, now that there is a proper dedicated ramp lane there is never any traffic at all..

Anyhow they tore it all down and rebuilt it an its great now!

The Old:
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/jan05/marquette010105.jpg
jsonline.com

The New:
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/05nov/images/mar5.jpg
tfhrc.gov

In both cases its definitely a classic "Spaghetti Bowl" interchange. Notice how the main ramps have been widened and split from their trunk highways sooner. Also notice the removal of the double circle onramp/offramp on the bottom left in the old picture, that alone freed up almost two blocks of wasted space downtown. Another major change is the increase in spacing of the local onramps and off ramps so that people no longer can fly across multiple lanes of traffic to access these ramps...

[muppet]

London is a nightmare to drive by, especially with the thousands of lanes, alleys and winding streets
preserved from the medieval streetplan. Impose on this a one way system and you've got a monster:

The West End:

http://www.rec.uk.com/_uploads/imgpool/london-map-full.jpg http://www.delanelea.com/_img/map.png http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ATrMk7tZ_Xk/SLXQANcNUAI/AAAAAAAAALw/ejeG4dY1Cgg/s400/london_soho.jpg

note the one way systems
http://www.halyon.com/images/sohomap2.jpg http://www.gefabbri.co.uk/images/location-map.gif

http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/IMAGES/Map_Soho.jpg

http://cindex.camden.gov.uk/inform/images/maps/Wards_Holborn_Covent_Garden_level_1.gif

brilliant 3D map of a slice of the West End here:

http://www.vistagram.co.uk/map.cfm?x=2106.00&y=884.00&id=210

http://www.covent-garden.co.uk/images/lndscpTube.jpg

The City

http://www.keyscorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/map.gif

http://www.esllondon.com/images/1liv-map-b.jpg http://www.natalie-peter.com/images/538_stgilescripplegatemap.jpg

Photos:

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/2839TheBishopsgateTower_pic7.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/7586/londonthecityaerialyp4.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/dllb/Above%20London/PA180045-1.jpg

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8567/img1730az9.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_E6CwHhnBEq0/SH7vXxgaX4I/AAAAAAAAC3A/fYcjFG7d8HI/IMG_3424.JPG

http://www.mapseeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/map-c7bd9d4c299b.jpg

[Buckeye Native 001]

You couldn't pay me to drive in London. Those streets look infuriating to navigate.

[muppet]

yep, getting around from home to main street is fine thanks to signage, getting around from one small place to another small place without knowing the route is a complete nightmare - not just the one way roads, alleyways, roundabouts, square-abouts, constant bus, bicycle and taxi lanes, and congestion charging zones, but the different lanes you'll need to know to get into. I was 'trapped' in a one way system once for over an hour, whichever turning we took we always managed to get back onto the main loop. In the end my mate jumped a light and cut across 3 lanes of traffic to get out :D

Also the roads are all individually named, as opposed to a 3rd, 4th, 5th system. Not only that many are multiply named, with up to 3 or 4 different names for the same road depending on the stretch. Also there are numerous streets with the same name too, for example 10 High Sts and 6 High Rds.

[muppet]

another sweet find, Shanghai

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shanghai&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.424342,99.052734&ie=UTF8&ll=31.120705,121.383176&spn=0.013428,0.024183&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

[amor de cosmos]

another from london, at the corner with the old stock exchange, mansion house, bank of england, etc a couple blocks east of st paul's

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9857/londonmansionhouseetclj8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/londonmansionhouseetclj8.jpg/1/w1048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img89/londonmansionhouseetclj8.jpg/1/)

[The Chemist]

another sweet find, Shanghai

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shanghai&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.424342,99.052734&ie=UTF8&ll=31.120705,121.383176&spn=0.013428,0.024183&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

I posted that one earlier in the thread. That's the Xinzhuang Interchange in south Shanghai. It has 3 expressways meeting (A20 - Outer Ring Road; A4; and A8 - Shanghai-Hangzhou) plus Humin Road, which is an expressway on the north side and a surface arterial on the south, plus it has to pass over Shanghai Metro AND mainline rail services on the east side of the interchange. So it's a big mother.

[Scruffy]

[QUOTE=NYC4Life;3881637]Bruckner Interchange

Bronx, New York City

http://www.empirestateroads.com/week/bruckner-full.jpg
QUOTE]

Hey Cool, my apartment building is right there on the left

[muppet]

Hyde Park Corner, notorious roundabout into Central London, especially with predicting lanes:

where two segments of the central city meet over a strip of royal parkland:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/images/2005/08/25/007_430x314.jpg

http://www.jmi.org.uk/ashkenazimusic/imgs/klezfest/2007/KlezFestHydeParkLocation.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_VJT_Ggru7S8/RxpZSDqSjAI/AAAAAAAAAXs/5QBw088nQX4/PA190032.JPG

http://www.westminstercyclists.org.uk/HPC.gif



note the tunnel entrance:

http://www.kensington.net/hydeparkcorner.jpg

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7807/gunkri1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/gunkri1.jpg/1/w664.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img210/gunkri1.jpg/1/)


This has always been the busiest intersection in the country:

http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/2672977.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=0A260859576A0997A9629606AF5A3C60A55A1E4F32AD3138 http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/3263668.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=10276273D480F6D85B388AB59B966BEDA55A1E4F32AD3138

http://www.londonschoolofmotoring.co.uk/assets/images/knightsbridge2.jpg http://azschmidts.net/images/Near%20Harrods.jpg

[Paul in S.A TX]

I-410 @ U.S. 281 San Antonio


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2300/2147683806_892305d51e_b.jpg



http://i2.tinypic.com/8dwmt6f.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/8g9gehw.jpg

http://i16.tinypic.com/853u7oy.jpg

[MolsonExport]

^how horrid.

[Jasonhouse]

Damn, that last pic... What an utterly miserable streetscape.

[staff]

Is that some faux neo-classical pillar below the freeway in the lower right? Horrid is the word...

[WonderlandPark]

And for some reason people just loooooooove Texas. :shrug:

Looks like San Antonio is trying to compete with the I-635 strip in Dallas.

[mersar]

Wow... that last picture actually made me feel slightly nauseated just looking at it thanks to the lens distortion.

[scalziand]

Lincoln Square-Worcester
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6603/lincolnsquareor1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It doesn't look too bad, but the queue area for the bottom traffic light is only about 3 cars long, so it gets gridlocked fairly easily.

Here's an unpleasent spot in Naugatuck. A highway, 2 arterials and collector come together in an ackward combination.
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5586/messcz6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[niwell]

The London pics from Muppet are a mess, but compared to the SA they are downright amazing. Maybe not for traffic, but at least they aren't soul-destroying.

[ardecila]

Am I the only one who thinks that the freeways in the San Antonio picture have an attractive sort of dynamism? I love the way the freeways and ramps wave up and down to weave under and over hills and surface roads.

Also, stack interchanges are gorgeous; like other pieces of massive, highly-engineered infrastructure, they have a certain grace that is all their own.

[Minato Ku]

If you want crazy, messy, dangerous, interchange Paris is a very good city.
Paris traffic planner know the best way to change a normal intersection as a mess. :haha:

I added the road sign of wikipedia but I don't know if it is a good idea because it also add tunnel.

Porte de Bercy (Peripherique, A4, Quai de Bercy) and Porte d'Ivry
If you understand something. :crazy:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PortedeBercyPortedIvry.jpg


Porte de Bagnolet (Peripherique, A3),
They build a mall inside, so less space for the interchange and who say more compact say mess.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PortedeBagnolet.jpg


Porte de la Chapelle (Peripherique, A1)
They should rebuild it for the Olympic game that we didn't win.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PortedelaChapelle.jpg


Porte Maillot. (Peripherique, Avenue du General de Gaulle (N13), Avenue de la Grande Armee)
Car unfriendly, pedestrian unfriendly. the best is to take the subway.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PorteMaillot.jpg

To be continued...

[Minato Ku]

Some others intersection in Paris

Place de la Bastille
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PlacedelaBastille.jpg

Place du 18 Juin 1940
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/Placedu18Juin1940.jpg

Place Denfert Rochereau
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PlaceDenfertRochereau.jpg

Place de Clichy
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PlacedeClichy.jpg

Place Valhubert
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PlaceValhubert.jpg

Place de L'Alma
Diana died in the tunnel under this place.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d107/Vincentthomas/PlacedelAlma.jpg

[Paul in S.A TX]

Am I the only one who thinks that the freeways in the San Antonio picture have an attractive sort of dynamism? I love the way the freeways and ramps wave up and down to weave under and over hills and surface roads.

Also, stack interchanges are gorgeous; like other pieces of massive, highly-engineered infrastructure, they have a certain grace that is all their own.

They serve their purpose ugly or not, love the bustling aspect to the pic. The signs eveywhere might be a eyesore to some, but, how would they get by without them?

[JMancuso]

looks like "san pedro crossing" will be desperate for new tenants soon with linens and things gone and circuit city on its way out...better hope barnes and noble sticks around.

these things maybe horrid to look at...and they are...but there is no other realistic alternative to handling massive amount of traffic in a city like that at the moment.

[Rail Claimore]

Am I the only one who thinks that the freeways in the San Antonio picture have an attractive sort of dynamism? I love the way the freeways and ramps wave up and down to weave under and over hills and surface roads.

Also, stack interchanges are gorgeous; like other pieces of massive, highly-engineered infrastructure, they have a certain grace that is all their own.

No, you're not the only one.

And there's a benefit to having such clutter along freeways... it keeps them out of neighborhoods.

[Metro-One]

:previous: This is how i feel too, i actually love the look of "clean" viaducts and elevated train guide-ways, more so in areas like Japan where they are directly woven into the urban landscape and at one point, actually goes through the middle of a high-rise tower.

[muppet]

guys I need to show you something:

India

_Yj36G9ukDc

St Petersburg

5P5Az7AKD4Y


or this little street corner...
d39s3FidkNo

[amor de cosmos]

design of new trade centre intersection in dubai

http://archive.gulfnews.com/images/09/04/25/interchange_tradecentre2_5.gif
http://archive.gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_and_Transport/10307790.html

[Swede]

Here's one right by the Old Town in Stockholm, that's now in such bad shape it's crumbling. After over 20 years of indecision they've finally adopted a plan for tearing it all down and building something smarter.
http://i43.tinypic.com/29mmy6s.jpg

[muppet]

that is prime real estate. Imagine how any buildings you can fit on there, in the centre of the city ...

[Swede]

That's one thing some people are upset about! :P
How DARE you propse building any new buildings there! You'll ruin the view!
Here's what it's gonna look like in the future (hopefully):
http://www.dn.se/polopoly_fs/1.846444!images/2412688637.jpg
source (http://www.dn.se/sthlm/vinnare-korad-i-arkitekttavling-om-slussen-1.846367)

Actual real sizeable developments with highrises seem to be getting lined up for right by the Central Station tho. :)

[muppet]

that's one thing I noticed about Stockholm such a beautiful city spread over so many islands and bridges and styles of architecture and eminently liveable, but so much space dedicated to road surface, and often cutting off the waterside. Is traffic a problem there?


edit* just noticed, that road by the water could easily be narrowed there

[Swede]

Traffic is problem - especially since the part you describe and we locals call the Inner City (Innerstan) is home to just 15% of the metro pop. Rowhouses, near-sprawlburbs and commieblocks? spread so far out in the forest along the subway, rail lines and esp. the freeways the metro is officially less dense than LAs metro and less dense than even the Netherlands as a whole. So traffic is bad, and PLANNED to get worse.

[muppet]

Doesnt Stockholm have a great metro, the T-bana? Although I suppose London has a very comprehensive system too but loads of people still use their cars (before the ban anyway).

[Swede]

We do. But it's not like it goes to most suburbs, in fact only a handful of stations reach outside City limits. We have a big rail transit system (an almost pure hub-and-spokes system) but since the regional planning is based around the idea of suburbs as enclaves in the forest spread out for miles and miles and miles...

[orulz]

Do you have any more information on the redesign of Slussen? (more detailed drawings, etc?) What are they going to do with that big road Stadsgardsleden that runs along the base of the cliff? That rendering apparently shows it being 100% given over to pedestrians and new development.

Stockholm is one of two cities I have visited in Europe (the other being London, both in 2006.) I thought it was a very nice place. The weather in mid-June was incredible and I loved how the sun didn't set until very late in the evening. I watched Sweden play England in the world cup at a pub in Medborgarplatsen. Went for a walk and found the views overlooking the city from the cliffs above Slussen to be incredible.

Anyway Slussen really is a fascinating piece of infrastructure, like six or seven roads and three transit lines all converge there right on top of the locks for the waterway. Looked to me like many of the cloverleaf loop ramps were closed, presumably due to poor condition. It struck me as incongruous to have such a huge amount of space dedicated to cars in an urban area with so much pedestrian traffic. (Something I would expect to see in the US, but perhaps not in Europe). Notably, though, pedestrians did not seem to be deterred by the cars- and there were a lot of people walking about.

[orulz]

What are they going to do with that big road Stadsgardsleden that runs along the base of the cliff? That rendering apparently shows it being 100% given over to pedestrians and new development.
Looking at that rendering again it's pretty clear what they want to do: they want deck over Stadsgardsleden. It's an interesting concept.

I remember the traffic was fairly heavy around there and this new minimalized design will probably accommodate somewhat less traffic. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[vegeta_skyline]

Feast your eyes upon this!

A 27 lane interchange!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/3645620396_6ac368533e_o.jpg

or if thats not enough how about an interchange with 18 individual road ways! (through the center)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3645633160_d22a954bba_o.jpg

just try and top that! :D

[theWatusi]

where are these at?

[vegeta_skyline]

Toronto & Kobe respectively.

[MolsonExport]

tarana again. that damned 401. the world's busiest highway, perhaps the world's most engineered roadway, but congested all the fucking time nevertheless.

[texcolo]

I'm a big fan of the inter modal clusterf___

Here's the busiest intersection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Please note the commuter rail tracks and the angle that they cross the intersection. There's also a commuter station at the southwest corner of the intersection.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r112/texcolo/SantaFe.jpg

Here's two interstates in Chicago that are parallel and fifteen feet from each other. (294 is a tollway/290 is a freeway).

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r112/texcolo/Chicago.jpg

[Jasonhouse]

or this little street corner...
d39s3FidkNo
wow... My 'favorite' is the asshole at 1:00 who wrecks his car in a wipeout and instead of stopping, clearly floors his car with the intent of continuing right on down the road, no matter how many cars he has to bounce off of to get back in a straight line... Like WTF, is the guy that drunk, or is he running from an axe murderer?

[Jasonhouse]

Traffic is problem - especially since the part you describe and we locals call the Inner City (Innerstan) is home to just 15% of the metro pop. Rowhouses, near-sprawlburbs and commieblocks? spread so far out in the forest along the subway, rail lines and esp. the freeways the metro is officially less dense than LAs metro and less dense than even the Netherlands as a whole. So traffic is bad, and PLANNED to get worse.

Sounds like Tampa here in America... Our leaders consistently make the worst infrastructure decisions, so that instead of our region building the projects we need to move ahead, we're constantly building projects that are 20 years behind schedule (literally), and even then, the projects are seemingly screwed up by the developers on purpose, so that they can double their profits while 'fixing' the mistake that only they know how to fix. (It's happened so many times that screwing up is the norm. When a project turns out for the better, everyone is shocked)

[FREKI]

A couple of the more complicated ones from Copenhagen

http://i42.tinypic.com/i50t3k.png

http://i41.tinypic.com/mt8saq.png

http://i44.tinypic.com/j9li7b.png

http://i39.tinypic.com/qq7tiq.png

http://i39.tinypic.com/atrbk5.png

http://i41.tinypic.com/suzj2f.png