# Abandoned highways and other corpses of infrastructure **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364 "2006-06-12T01:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/61 "2006-06-13T17:15:31Z")
Around Schenectady, there are some old, abandoned Erie Canal locks. They are pretty much just a granite box set in the ground and filled with water. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/62 "2006-06-13T22:02:09Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] One famous temporarily-abandoned highway was the [“Bridge to Nowhere”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoan_Bridge) in Milwaukee, now known as the Hoan Bridge, and immortalized in the film _Blues Brothers_ as the unfinished bridge that the car chase goes over. The bridge had gone unfinished due to public dispute over their freeway system. [/QUOTE] That’s the second reference to a _Blues Brothers_ location in this thread. The first was **Niedhart’s** Dixie Square Mall, which was the mall that Elwood Blues drove into when he was escaping the highway patrol the first time. > [@lieu](#): > > Turns out her account of speeding through Chernobyl on a hot bike was “crafted.” I was not aware of that. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/63 "2006-06-13T22:23:07Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] I should also mention that it’s common to see abandoned railbeds used as ATV tracks in the summer and snowmobile tracks in the winter up here. Why not, they’re perfect for it. But the most jarring sights you’ll see in the northern New England woods may be stone walls running through the middle of the woods. Those were the borders of old farm fields that were abandoned decades or even centuries ago, and have gone back to forest. Oddly, what had been nearly-homogeneous pine forests before being cleared tend to refill as mixed conifer/hardwood forests, with plenty of maples and beeches mixed in with pines. [/QUOTE] And in the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the _current_ New York State railbeds have bridges that seem like they were laid in the 19th century – stone rather than concrete, with only enough space for a wagon to safely fit through. I’ve seen several of those on the Binghamton-Albany corridor and they look old enough to be abandoned (and the towns look dead enough that abandonedness would not seem out of place,) but by all other appearances that railroad is still used (unless I’m wrong. But there is there really a better rail route from south-central NY to NYC?) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/64 "2006-06-13T22:32:17Z")
The [Portage Canal](http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/geolwisc/geostops/PortageCanal.HTM) in Portage, Wisconsin once connected the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, allowing one to sail from Green Bay to The Mississippi (if you had a really, really tiny boat). Now it’s an interesting relic and a lovely hike. Great thread!! ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/65 "2006-06-13T22:58:04Z")
Apparently, Underground Atlanta occupies only a small part of the portion of that city’s downtown street network that was covered by viaducts in the early 20th century. There should be many more miles of abandoned subsurface roads in downtown Atlanta, but I’ve never found anything about them on urban exploration sites. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/66 "2006-06-13T23:21:22Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] I should also mention that it’s common to see abandoned railbeds used as ATV tracks in the summer and snowmobile tracks in the winter up here. Why not, they’re perfect for it. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure whether it’s a federal program or just a state one that’s spread across several states, but there is a Rails-to-Trails program that funds trail development along the rights-of-way of abandoned rail lines. The long linear parcels are perfect for trails and nearly useless for any other significant use. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/67 "2006-06-13T23:37:43Z")
On New York State Route 12, between, roughly Boonville and Lyons Falls, there are a number of locks of the old Black River Canal, part of the state’s canal system which linked the Lowville-Carthage stretch of the Black River (and the forest products wealth shipped up it) with the Erie Canal at Rome. Additional sections of lock are on Route 46 running south from Boonville, but not as easily observed as the ones on 12. Further south, there are a number of short linear areas that together comprise Old Erie Canal State Park, running from Rome southwest towards Syracuse. The official map of the Town of Montague, west of Lowville, includes a number of town highways, at least one of which is under substantial water at the bottom of a beaver dam pond for most of its length. ---
**Author:** ![volvelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e0b2c6/32.png) [@volvelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/volvelle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/68 "2006-06-13T23:57:51Z")
I seem to remember reading (in a Clifford Stoll book, I think) about a group of people that keeps track of rail lines that are no longer in use. They would build person powered pedal cars that could fit onto the rails and made a point of keeping the tracks free of growth so they could still be used like this. Always sounded like a really cool idea, though I’m not turning up anything in google. ---
**Author:** ![volvelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e0b2c6/32.png) [@volvelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/volvelle)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/69 "2006-06-14T00:00:32Z")
Ooh, found one. > **[Railriders.net ™](https://www.railriders.net/)** ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/70 "2006-06-14T00:00:52Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] \ Do the underground streets, and first floor entrances to houses still exist in San Francisco under the current level? [/QUOTE] I don’t know about San Francisco but there are plenty in Sacramento. The city is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and for many years was extremely prone to flooding. The downtown streets were eventually built up so that the current ground floors are actually the original second story of the building. And in some places, the old storefronts and sidewalks are still present, but are now underground. If you drive around any of the downtown streets, many of the alleys running between them dip down to the original ground level. Here is a [link](http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A15424) to a story with some pics. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/71 "2006-06-14T00:25:42Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] North of Toronto, near a town called Newmarket, there are some old locks that were part of a canal that was never completed. The canal was planned in the 19th century and the locks were built in the early part of the 20th. But by the time the locks were completed, railroads had negated the need for a canal there, so the project was never finished. The lock structures still stand though, and can be interesting to explore. (Those who visit are advised to be careful; the concrete is crumbling, and missteps can be dangerous.) [/QUOTE] I had no idea! I knew that there was once a connection off the Trent Canal to Lake Scugog (hence the name of the town of Port Perry, which without the canal could send barges to nowhere by water), but I never knew about this. Was this also part of the Trent? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/72 "2006-06-14T00:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] The [Portage Canal](http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/geolwisc/geostops/PortageCanal.HTM) in Portage, Wisconsin once connected the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, allowing one to sail from Green Bay to The Mississippi (if you had a really, really tiny boat). Now it’s an interesting relic and a lovely hike. Great thread!! [/QUOTE] It’s very funny that you mention it. I live very close to the Fox River end. I didn’t post it , because of the frequently used trails along it. They drained it in the 70’s to do some work at the Wisconsin River end. Many of the stolen bikes apparently ended up in the canal. They found an iron boat within a 100 feet of the highway 33 bridge. It was from the time right after the canal was built. My great grandma baby sat for the owner’s of the Indian Agency House around 1900. One Great Grandma was the last to cross the highway 33 covered bridge over the Wisconisn River. I believe that bridge came down in 1904 during a high water condition. I believe one of the incarnations of that bridge went down when the river ice broke up and piled against it, but I not sure. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/73 "2006-06-14T02:17:15Z")
Great links. Here is my [contribution.](http://www.undergroundozarks.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/74 "2006-06-14T12:34:53Z")
Not exactly abandoned, but certainly not the hub of activity it used to be; [League Park](http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/league.htm) (at the intersection of East 66th Street and Lexington Avenue) was the home of the Cleveland Indians from 1910 until about World War II. Before that, it was home to the Cleveland Spiders, a defunct National League team. All that remains of the structure is the ticket office that has been converted into a rec center, and a small section of concrete stands. The interesting thing is that the original diamond is still there. Just about anyone who played in the American League between the two world wars played there. Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak ended there. The 1920 World Series was played there. Cy Young pitched for the Spiders on opening day in 1891. And now it just looks like any other park you see in every city. I’ve never even been to Cleveland, but if I ever make it there I have to go see this, although I hear it’s in a pretty crappy area. If you have Google Earth, here are the coordinants: 41º 30’41.75" N 81º 38’34.94" W The diamond in the northwest corner of the lot is the one the Indians played on. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/75 "2006-06-14T14:13:25Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Great links. Here is my [contribution.](http://www.undergroundozarks.com/) [/QUOTE] Oh, man, the Dogpatch one is depressing! I went there as a kid a number of times, as it was maybe 80 miles north on 7 from Dardanelle. I know, it was a stupid theme park, but for a small boy, it was a great place! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/76 "2006-06-14T14:26:25Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] Oh, man, the Dogpatch one is depressing! [/QUOTE] Did you have Dogpatch listed as your location? I googled Dogpatch some time ago and found those guys. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/77 "2006-06-14T14:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=Harvey The Heavy] Not exactly abandoned, but certainly not the hub of activity it used to be; [League Park](http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/league.htm) (at the intersection of East 66th Street and Lexington Avenue) was the home of the Cleveland Indians from 1910 until about World War II. [/QUOTE] If we’re including old ballparks, there’s Braves Field in Boston - the former right-field grandstand and the ticket arcade are still used, as part of what is now Boston University’s Nickerson Field (soccer, lacrosse, formerly football). The main grandstand has been replaced by three dormitory buildings, though, and there’s no other suggestion of the former diamond shape of the playing surface. Shibe Park in Philadelphia has been torn down, but the vacant lot that replaced it still may have some remnants the bulldozers left. Cincinnati’s Crosley Field had some major sections retrieved from the demolition yard and has been largely reconstructed in Kentucky, for use by youth leagues. Houston’s Colt Stadium was dismantled and moved to Mexico (Guadalajara, IIRC) as the home for that city’s Mexican League team. Detroit’s Tiger Stadium, having been given historical landmark status, still stands, but is neglected and crumbling away. Even the Google Earth view of it is depressing. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/78 "2006-06-14T15:08:48Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Did you have Dogpatch listed as your location? I googled Dogpatch some time ago and found those guys. [/QUOTE] No, but I remember somebody having that location. I remember when there was a “ski resort” called Marble Falls there. I also remember catching fish at the pond with kernels of corn and thinking I was Roland Martin or something, and drinking my Kickapoo Joy Juice. Later, I used to ogle Daisy Mae and her friends as a middle school punk. Used to stop at Booger Hollow on the way and back, too; lovely place, that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/79 "2006-06-14T15:53:34Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I also remember catching fish at the pond with kernels of corn [/QUOTE] Yeah, that was big for trout on the White River around Mountain Home and Cotter. Even as a child I thought the bait should be flies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364/80 "2006-06-14T16:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Do the underground streets, and first floor entrances to houses still exist in San Francisco under the current level? [/QUOTE] Can’t say I’ve ever heard of this. We do often dig up remains of old ships when we’re building the foundation of a new building, though. [This](http://www-geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/BainCalif/CAL400/EMBFWY.HTML) ugly piece of crap was damaged in the Loma Prieta (1989) earthquake and stood there unused for a decade before we finally took the [damn thing down](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jay_que/131238454/). Things like that really make me appreciate the Freeway Revolt, else we probably wouldn’t have an inch of open shoreline along the north coast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abandoned-highways-and-other-corpses-of-infrastructure/360364.md?page=5)