GSP flyer

My vote: I-95 from Fredricksburg through the Northern VA suburbs into DC.

Honorable Mentions: I-280 from San Jose to San Francisco, I-95 in Southwest Connecticut, and from what Orange County Molly on my sister hall has told me, the I-405.

chalf

I nominate I-95 / Cross Bronx Expressway. It features New York drivers, a very poorly maintained road surface (that suspiciously gets remarkably better when one gets out of the Bronx), large quantities of entering and exiting local traffic, a narrow urban right-of-way cut directly through/under/between local streets, abandoned cars and tires scattered on the shoulders, heavy traffic at all hours and numerous other features that make it difficult and nerve-wracking to drive. Having driven the nominated strecth of I-95 in VA, there is no competition. The mentioned part of I-95 in Connecticut is hardly my favorite, but again no competition. I have not driven I-280 from San Jose to SF, but from being a passenger on numerous occasions on this route it did not seem to be particularly bad, excepting rush hour traffic (which to me is frustrating but otherwise not particularly bad).

This is the perspective of an ex-Boston driver.

rkkwan

I believe you're talking about heavy traffic throughout the day, and not just rush hours; and for a pretty significant distance.

For that I nominate I-80/94 in SE Illinois and NW Indiana.

sapman986

I'll second the CBE - I point blank refuse to use it. It doesn't matter what time of the day or night that you drive it, it's always congested. If you are ever driving from NJ north seek an alternate route. The Tappan Zee is one way, but I prefer the Hutch and Cross County.

I-95 in S. Connecticut is not the best either, especially since the fire last week, but it's not a patch on the CBE.

I lived out in SF 5 years ago and I-280 was in far better repair than either of the two roadways mentioned above back then.

Nuitari

The roundabout between the Decarie Highway and Acadie blvd. in Montreal.

cordelli

I'll second the I-95's. I love right off I-95 in SW Connecticut and drive it every day and hate it. I never ever take the Cross Bronx unless there is no other alternative, but without a doubt the absolute worst road I've ever seen is the ramp from the Degan southbound to the Cross Bronx Westbound towards jersey. There are currently holed in that that are large enough for a small wagon to fall through. We were on it Sunday, and all the patches they have been doing all winter came loose when the temperatures got below freezing again.

Canarsie

This is an excellent discussion!

I will have to think about what my vote would be.

In the meantime, please also see The FlyerTalk Road Network Forum for other information about roads worldwide.

BearX220

Hmmm... great question... I'll give you ten answers:

I-95 between Springfield, VA and Richmond, VA. 90 miles of congestion, speed traps, and frequent fatal accidents.
The NW quadrant of the Capitol Beltway, from the Dulles Toll Road to I-270 to Silver Spring. Jammed solid day and night.
Storrow Drive in Boston. Know when to change lanes, or else.
I-405/San Diego Freeway. Free involuntary parking.
Dan Ryan Expwy in Chicago. Ditto.
US1 in coastal Maine in summer, especially the Bath-Rockland stretch. Sit and simmer.
I-95 again between Greenwich and New Haven, CT. Fast and scary or dead slow and maddening.
US101 from SFO down through Silicon Valley. Plagued by mystery backups.
I-5 through Seattle and the I-90 interchange. What do these people have against road signs?
I-80, Omaha to the Wyoming border. 500+ miles of nothing. SO boring.


I kind of like the CBX actually... makes me think of Dante's Inferno.

colourmix

Mmmmm....CBE ! Was once actually stupid enough to drive from Jersey City to Boston the evening before thanksgiving. Oh the humanity !

I-280 is an autobahn compared to US 101, IMHO. The bay area has other fun places though - I can think of the maze (I-80/I-880/I-580/bay bridge), among other places.

Not a bit fan of the I-10/I-5 interchange outside downtown LA - traffic from I-5 merges on one side and exits a stone's throw away on the other side. Same goes for I-70/I-71 in downtown columbus.

Just out of curiosity, is "worst" defined in terms of traffic, road quality, acts of god, any other criteria ? I think that CBE still takes the cake on all fronts.

eric_packer

I will second the I-95 and I-405 corridor statements; they are among the worst I've seen for roadway condition, traffic congestion, and driver stupidity/hostility.

But I must disagree with the criticism of I-280, perhaps the most beautiful and fastest stretch of Interstate highway in a major metropolitan area in the country. Forget the fact you're straddling the San Andreas fault rift zone and it's among the most relaxing places in the world to drive at speeds that are both legally and morally wrong.

GradGirl

For sheer traffic congestion, I've got to nominate the Sepulveda Pass. This is a topographically gorgeous stretch of the 405 from the 101 in the San Fernando Valley into Westwood / Santa Monica, but it always moves at a crawl. The pass is really only about 6 miles but takes between 30 and 75 minutes to drive through. I think it's at least six lanes in each direction, but that's never enough for the volume of traffic.

Anyway, it's a pleasant enough delay if you're on vacation in a rented convertible...

PresRDC

I-95 between Stamford and Fairfield in SW Connecticut is a nightmare during rush hour. It can easily take an hour to reach Norwalk from Stamford, a distance of well under ten miles.

Worse is the Van Wyck Expressway either going to, or coming from JFK. Simply a parking lot all the time. Even worse is coming off the Van Wyck onto the road (I forget its name) that leads to the Whitestone Bridge. After making the merge and navigating over some construction plates with bolts sticking out of them (doinf untold damage to my car), the lanes dissappear. That's right, the lanes just dissappear. It becomes a free for all and is the only time I am ever scared while driving.

Fermat

define "worst".

I'd say if traffic is your cup of tea, the MacDonald-Cartier (aka 401) between the 427 and 404 interchanges in Toronto, Ontario rules as a parking lot during peak periods (which is pretty much all day!)

If worst means lousiest pavement structure with tight corners, reduced visibility and non-existent shoulders for a primary highway, then i'd nominate the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) through the Kicking Horse Pass on the Alberta-BC border. This sucker is supposed to be Canada's national highway, but at the pass it dribbles down into a single lane, undivided highway with rockfall strewn all over the road from landslides and no shoulders through tight blind corners. Try driving that in the middle of a wintry night with the 18-wheel tractor trailers in both directions.

For honorable mention, i'd nominate the I-70 west of Denver when the idiots are returning from the ski hills on a Sunday evening...

Canarsie

That would be the Whitestone Expressway!

BillMorrow

I'll go along with the Cross-Bronx Expressway for my choice. The thought of breaking down at night on that road sends shivers down my spine.