There is a thread about New Jersey in this same board, and the post about the New Jersey Turnpike going through the ugliest parts of the state got me thinking. I have several maps that depict scenic routes. Can some of you list regularly-used streets, highways and train routes that go through the most unflattering parts of the Earth? Not surprisingly, many city routes and routes cutting through industrial zones will be listed. My list so far include:
I-95 through Northern Philadelphia
Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn
Northern part of the New Jersey Turnpike–although I did like seeing the track roadbed cutting through the middle of one of the lakes.
Cross-Bronx Expressway–not only one of the worst highways on Earth, the highway design and scenery is such that you want to get off at the first exit.
435 North in Kansas City from about 70 hwy to the river is some dang nabbed ugly territory. All industrial, ghetto, junkyards, and old commercial brick that’s falling down.
You might consider adjusting the question slightly to read, “why do so many major throughways go through unflattering sections of the country?”
That’s a question I can’t answer, but it would be interesting to see some facts about highway placement. Some, I am convinced, is based on the “other side of the tracks” sort of practice that seems to have been used from at least the late-1800’s. Who decides today?
I-80, through Gary, Indiana. Heavily industrialized. I’ve only been through there twice, but both times the air was thick with smog which only added to the depressing visuals.
Perhaps some neighborhoods change after major highways come through. Noise and dirt may prompt many to leave. Higher crime rates might be associated with the easy access of a highway. I don’t have a cite for the latter, but kiffa, when searching for a place to live in the States, found that Jacksonville, FL was a good choice. The only oddity she could discern was a high crime rate to which an epidemiologist friend attributed to the easy access of I-95 and drug trafficking. Just a SWAG, I guess.
Any of the major roads through the industrial part of Tallinn, Estonia. Last time i was there, about a month ago, they were trying to clean up this exact problem because it looked so bad they couldnt get into the European Union, so if you wanna see just what an eyesore it is, hurry up
Well Denver is one example of this. In reality it is one of the cleanest cities of it size I have seen. Most people on the way through only pass through on I-25, or I-70. But the areas next to the interstate are covered by the ugly heavy industries. The easy access to the interstates is obviously why they are located there, but it gives people the false impression that all of Denver is a bunch of smokey and grimy buildings. I’d imagine a lot of cities have this same problem though. And the smog is well under control too.
One reason for planning a major road through shitty areas is because any property taken must be justly compensated for by the governmental authority building the road. So naturally, the worst parts of town are sought.
State Highway 90 in Val Verde County (Texas) as it passes through Langtry.
This lonely strip takes you through Judge Roy Bean’s area (The Only Law West of the Pecos). And it justifies a nickname that appears on more than one map: “Hell’s Half Acre.”
But it’s more than an half acre.
Much, much more.
Parts of the Major Deegan (car carcasses) and going under the apartments on the George Washington Bridge (gives me the creeps, feels like I’m driving into a building). And I remember the Skuylkill Highway, while not going through a terribly ugly area, was so full of potholes that driving was not fun at all. Called it the Surekill.
I’m sure the government takes the cheapest route into consideration when building a new highway. The house I was born in is now part of the 605 freeway in LA and it was certainly not in a pricey area like BelAir. Other considerations might be access to industrial areas and airports, which tend to be sited (at least at one point in time) in the outskirts.
I always feel sorry for anybody whose only experience of South Carolina is I-95. Given “South of the Border,” Florence, and the outskirts of Walterboro, they are truly seeing the worst side of the Palmetto State. I am sure that hundreds of thousands of suspicions get confirmed per year on I-95.
The A40 coming into west London is a real nightmare of a road, curling past industrial wasteland, brownfields and boarded-up houses. “It’s not ugly, it’s UGLY,” as my high school history teacher used to say.
The M4 past Port Talbot goes through a petrochemical tour of industry. Wales at its worst.
I’d go so far as to toss in 70, 29, 35, 470…shoot, just about ANY highway that passes through KC.
But I’ll second Homer on this one - I’ve had to drive that route dozens of times to get up to KCI airport, and it’s one of the ugliest strips of road I’ve come across. Usually smells bad, too.
My personal winner: I-17 as it winds through the south side of Phoenix. Highlights include more run-down warehouses and ‘auto salvage yards’ than you can shake a stick at, some very seedy neighborhoods, and a dry, barren river bed scattered with trash, all accompanied by the malevolent odors of a sewage treatment plant.
I’ve been on this stretch of road several times, and it doesn’t get a whole lot better on the Illinois side of the border. It’s urban blight to the nth degree. And the SMELLS are indescribable.
My vote for the most BORING stretch of road is I-80 through Nebraska. Alllllll the way through Nebraska. Oh my god boring. You start wishing for a curve. You consider driving on the rumble strips just because it’s a little bit different… Ugh.
On my way to California, I took I-10. Between Needles, California and Pamona, California lies the most god-foraken scrap of desert that would even depress a vulture.
I’m in the highway biz…the reason highways don’t go through nice areas is because the people who live in nice areas can afford to fight the highway plans, and also have the political clout to kill projects. Interstate 710 in South Pasadena and Pasadena is a perfect example.
Staten Island Expressway, western side, near Goethal’s Bridge–guess what it is near? The Fresh Kills Landfill, the largest on Earth. When the wind blows from the south…well, hope that you are not in a traffic jam at the time.
Well, ya know… I can’t add much to this except one recent travel experience:
Mrs. O and I were on the way to Delaware to meet her sister and the Tzeroling at a CW reenactment. We decided that taking Rte 40 (don’t remember if it’s US or state) along the banks of the Chesapeake might be a nicer alternative than I-95.
I don’t think we’d gotten maybe 30 miles out of Baltimore when we were scrambling for the atlas, looking for the next connector to I-95. It wasn’t stinky or smelly or anything like the finest Jersey or the SIE can throw at you. It was more like the I-17 outside Phoenix. Run-down, plenty of B-grade businesses, one “gentleman’s club” that looked like the same ladies had been dancing there since the US pulled out of Vietnam. Depressing and nasty. I really didn’t want to stick around and see if it got nicer on the Delaware side.
You beat me to it. It’s not ugly, per se. But sooooo maannnnnyyyyy hooooouuuuurrrrs of straight road, corn fields, and cows makes you want to just stop the car and beg God to make it please go away…
