User:Xninetynine/List of abandoned highways in the United States

An abandoned highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was fully constructed and used at one point, but is now unused or closed to mainstream traffic. An abandoned ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp, stub street, stub-out, or simply stub. Entries in this list are not just abandoned roads, but major national or state highways that are no longer used.

Alabama

 * Birmingham
 * Between exits 121 and 123 along Interstate 20/Interstate 59 (I-20/I-59) is an abandoned stretch of mainline Interstate along the southbound lanes. These lanes were utilized in 1977 as temporary lanes while the mainlines were being repaired as a result of sinkhole formation. (33.51949°N, -86.85761°W)
 * Seale
 * U.S. Route 431 was formerly a two lane highway but upgraded to a divided four lane highway by the Alabama Department of Transportation after many head-on crashes due to poor visibility. A section south from Seale alone had 31 fatalities between 1992 and 2006, which led Readers Digest to proclaim it one of "America's Deadliest Highways" in 2000. The Seale bypass left a small stretch of pavement on the south end, with the double yellow lines still on the road. 32.28347°N, -85.1685°W The former road is now CR 137.

Arkansas

 * North Little Rock
 * The grading and underpass for the previous left exit/entrance ramp from U.S. 67 southbound to I-40 eastbound are still visible. A new ramp was built to connect to and from the right to eliminate weaving.(34.77994°N, -92.23074°W)


 * West Memphis
 * On the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, next to the approach to the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge which carries I-55 between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, a ramp stub and roadway extends near the current roadway. (35.13514°N, -90.08537°W) Prior to the construction and opening of the new bridge, the Harahan Bridge, one of the railroad bridges that cross the Mississippi at Memphis, also carried automobile and truck traffic on separate platforms from the rail traffic; the ramp stub connected the Arkansas approach road (now I-55) to these platforms. One platform carried traffic eastbound into Memphis. The other platform carried traffic westbound into Arkansas. Each platform only carried one lane of traffic.

Colorado

 * Denver
 * The interchange of Interstate 25 (I-25) and Interstate 76 (I-76) just north of downtown formerly had a loop ramp in the southwestern quadrant serving southbound to eastbound traffic. The ramp was removed as the movement was redundant: the extension of Interstate 270 from its former terminus at I-76 to I-25 now serves this movement with a much higher speed and capacity ramp. (39.81625°N, -104.98386°W) There is also a unused bridge that used to take traffic from I-76 westbound to I-25 northbound.

Delaware

 * Newark
 * Interstate 95 (I-95) at exit 1 with DE 896 contains grading for a removed ramp from northbound DE 896 to southbound I-95. The ramp, which was a loop, was replaced with a left turn to join the southbound DE 896 ramp. There is also tree clearing for a loop ramp from I-95 Northbound to DE 896 Northbound at the same interchange. (39.64758°N, -75.74525°W) The ramp was removed sometime after 1970.
 * Red Lion
 * Labeled South Dupont Highway by some maps, obsolete pavement exists as the old alignment of US 13. The newer DE 1 has taken the place of what was once US 13. The southbound lanes are still in use but the northbound lanes sit unused. (39.59991°N, -75.65758°W)

Georgia

 * Atlanta
 * Near Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, two ramp stubs exist at the Virginia Avenue overpass above Hartsfield Drive. Hartsfield Drive carried traffic into the Atlanta Municipal Airport Terminal before the construction of the present terminals. These ramps were part of four ramps leading to and from Virginia Avenue, which linked the terminal to I-85 south and to the local communities. Originally, the four ramps consisted of a diamond ramp that linked northbound Hartsfield Drive to eastbound Virginia Avenue (still visible), a diamond ramp that linked eastbound Virginia Avenue to southbound Hartsfield Drive (still visible), a cloverleaf ramp that linked northbound Hartsfield Drive to westbound Virginia Avenue (destroyed), and a cloverleaf ramp that linked westbound Virginia Avenue to southbound Hartsfield Drive (destroyed).(33.65834°N, -84.42694°W)
 * The western end of the freeway portion of SR 14 Spur was relocated as part of the construction of the South Fulton Parkway. This realignment closed what had been the western end of the freeway. This alignment exists as ramp stubs from Roosevelt Highway at its intersection with Welcome All Road. The ramps depart the intersection to the north and curve toward the east but stop short of intersecting South Fulton Parkway at its Roosevelt Highway interchange. A look at the old configuration.
 * State Route 139 used to travel north from its interchange with I-285 on the grounds that the runway 10/28 of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport now sits on. There is an unused slab of pavement at this site. (33.61889°N, -84.43833°W) Forest Parkway was also originally routed to the northwest from its intersection of Derrick Jones Rd and intersected with 139 at what's now a parking lot south of a Gate Gourmet inside the airport.

Illinois

 * Chicago:
 * Downtown, the ramps onto northbound and southbound Interstate 90/Interstate 94 (Kennedy Expressway) from Washington Boulevard were disconnected, leaving stubs descending onto the expressway. The same was done to the Monroe Street ramps.
 * East St. Louis:
 * The approach to the former MacArthur Bridge crossing has been removed- but not completely. A large abandoned bridge over trees exists just east of the MacArthur Bridge, between Illinois Route 3 and the Tudor Avenue ramps. (38.61294°N, -90.16851°W)
 * Fall Creek:
 * Interstate 72 once temporarily ended just southeast of its interchange with Interstate 172. This was due to the substandard Mississippi River crossing that U.S. Route 36 used to enter Missouri. Once the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was constructed north of the old bridge, the old U.S. 36 was decommissioned. Much of the old road is still in use but dead-ends at the river. An on-ramp from Illinois 106 headed east more or less now lies on the former roadbed.(39.7249°N, -91.33803°W)
 * Wilmington:
 * Exit 238 on Interstate 55 for Illinois Route 129 was formerly an interchange with full access until 2012 when the deteriorated overpass for the southbound exit was closed and removed, leaving only a northbound exit and entrance (a U-turn ramp, also demolished, helped northbound IL 129 access southbound I-55). The southbound exit ramp and U-turn ramp gradings still remain and the latest Google map shows the overpass supports are still standing. There are plans to make the interchange full access once again, most likely coinciding with the Illiana Corridor Project. (41.31387°N, -88.19164°W)

Indiana

 * Indianapolis:
 * South of the city, at the I-465/I-65 interchange, there is a stub ramp on I-65 southbound after the off-ramp to I-465. This was a one-lane loop ramp from I-465 Westbound to I-65 southbound, and was replaced with a two-lane flyover in late 2014 to simplify the Indianapolis bypass route for I-65. (39.70444°N, -86.10861°W)
 * Southeast of the city, there are many stubs and grading for former roads at Interstate 465 exit 48. There is grading for the former northbound exit and southbound entrance from Brookville Road to Shadeland Avenue. There is also grading for the former southbound I-465 for a flyover ramp over Shadeland Avenue. The bridge has been removed. There are also stubs for the former southbound ramp from Shadeland Avenue to I-465 via an access road to the west of Shadeland Avenue.
 * Plymouth:
 * South of the US 6 / US 31 interchange, there is grading for where US 31 formerly ran until the section between Plymouth and South Bend was bypassed.(41.41516°N, -86.30023°W) Former interchange with Michigan Road at 41.43131°N, -86.31102°W.

Kentucky

 * Louisville:
 * Kentucky Route 841 (KY 841), which also carries the designation Interstate 265 (I-265) between I-71 and I-65, had two stubs:
 * Northwest of I-71, I-265 becomes solely KY 841 and use to narrow from four-lanes divided to an undivided as a super-two. The highway ended at a stub diamond interchange with U.S. Route 42 (US 42). As part of the Ohio River Bridges Project, this interchange was rebuilt as a half-diamond interchange with Kentucky Route 841 continuing northwestward to Indiana via a tunnel and the Lewis and Clark Bridge. (38.32346°N, -85.62071°W)
 * Southwest of the city past I-65, where I-265 becomes KY 841, the highway formerly dead-ended at US 31W and US 60. The interchange was reconstructed as part of an extension of KY 1934, otherwise known as the Greenbelt Highway.  The original grading is still present. (38.09238°N, -85.87567°W)


 * Middlesboro
 * The Cumberland Gap Tunnel replaced the two lane US 25E over the Cumberland Gap to allow four lanes of traffic to travel the route. The existing road was closed except for a short section used by The National Park Service. The pavement was removed in 2002 to restore the former route of the road to its historic appearance. (36.6034°N, -83.67059°W)


 * Nortonville
 * At the Pennyrile Parkway, Western Kentucky Parkway, and Intestate 69 (I-69) interchange, there is grading for former ramps. The first was a loop ramp from the eastbound Western Kentucky Parkway to the northbound Pennyrile Parkway. Another was from the southbound Pennyrile Parkway to the westbound Western Kentucky Parkway. Both of these ramps were removed when I-69 was designated, and new ramps were built to keep the I-69 mainline.

Louisiana

 * New Orleans:
 * On I-10, in the easternmost part of Orleans Parish, between exits 248 (Michoud Boulevard) and 256 (Irish Bayou) are two abandoned exits. One is abandoned exit 250, complete with overpass, whose ramps were overgrown with vegetation and (at least before Hurricane Katrina) barricaded from use by travelers on the highway. (30.09216°N, -89.90885°W)
 * The other is exit 251 (Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge) which was closed after Katrina.

Maine

 * Saco
 * Interstate 195 (I-195) has an interchange with the I-95 (Maine Turnpike) at its western terminus. As originally constructed, both ramps were cloverleaf ramps, but subsequently, the cloverleaf ramp handling traffic exiting the turnpike was replaced between 1988 and 1998, turning the interchange into a trumpet. The grade for the original cloverleaf ramp remains. Also, the eastbound ramp from the turnpike crosses a bridge meant for two lanes, but only has one and shifts over to the left. This two-lane bridge was originally meant to carry an extension of I-195 west of I-95, but there are no plans to construct this extension in the near future. (43.52754°N, -70.45257°W)


 * Gardiner
 * Where I-295 meets I-95 (Maine Turnpike) at its northern terminus, several ramps were replaced, between 1991 and 1996, with simpler diamond and half trumpet interchanges with Maine State Route 9 (SR 9) and SR 126. As can be seen from the Google map aerial, the gradings for these ramps are clearly visible. There is also an old overpass bridge that is now a toll plaza on I-295. This is at exits 102 (Lewiston Road) and 103 (I-295 south). (44.21234°N, -69.82608°W)

Michigan

 * Port Huron
 * There is a short unused flyover ramp between the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-94/I-69 near the Blue Water Bridge toll plaza. The ramp was used after the second span of the bridge was constructed, during rehabilitation of the original bridge, to divert westbound traffic back to the westbound toll plaza.

Mississippi

 * Vicksburg
 * The railroad bridge that formerly carried US 80 across the Mississippi River is now closed to automobiles. There is also an abandoned toll house on the Mississippi side. (32.31321°N, -90.90152°W )
 * Several highways were destroyed when the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway was built through east Mississippi. These roads were either bypassed with new spans or deemed too unimportant to bridge across the waterway. Sections of MS 364 (34.72802°N, -88.30648°W), MS 178 (34.27284°N, -88.42658°W), MS 182 (33.48666°N, -88.45227°W), and old alignments of US 45 and MS 50 (31.24°N, -89.32016°W) are discontinuous at the waterway.

Missouri

 * Arlington
 * The alignment of I-44 was shifted north in 2005 to straighten out curves in the previous alignment. The previous alignment is clearly visible from the air and from Arlington Outer Road, a former outer road of the interstate. (37.93418°N, -91.95184°W)


 * Hannibal
 * I-72 once temporarily ended near Fall Creek, Illinois, just southeast of its interchange with I-172. This was because of the substandard Mississippi River crossing that US 36 used to enter Missouri. Once the new Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was constructed north of the old bridge, I-72 and US 36 were designated on the new crossing, with I-72 ending at US 61. Route 79 took over the former US 36. While the former Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was destroyed, the approach is still visible. (39.71358°N, -91.35912°W)


 * Kansas City
 * An abandoned on-ramp can be seen at Interstate 70 (I-70) and East Truman Road. The roadbed is still visible, and a bridge over East Truman Road remains unused. (39.09446°N, -94.54387°W)
 * There used to be an on-ramp to westbound I-70 from Norton Avenue. It was removed after 1995, eliminating a left-hand merge. (39.07364°N, -94.53491°W)


 * St. Louis
 * The MacArthur Bridge formerly carried traffic across the Mississippi River starting 1917, carrying US 66 and US 460 at times. Due to deterioration, the bridge was closed to automobile traffic in 1981, though trains still use the bridge today. Some of the connections were demolished, including the approach in Illinois, though an unused bridge frame and wide supports still stand. Remnants of approaches are used as a parking lot on the west side or are just shut off from traffic by jersey barriers. (Note that as of March 2012 the parking area was rebuilt and the remnant removed, the image herein has not been updated). Pavement still exists on the bridge, though only up to the Illinois side.
 * A former ramp from southbound I-55/westbound I-64 to southbound I-55 was demolished and reconstructed further east with another lane and a safer radius, but a stub of the former ramp remains connected to the mainline.


 * Sunset Hills
 * The I-270/I-44 interchange used to be a full cloverleaf with collector-distributor ramps. Two of the loops were replaced with flyovers; the eastbound I-44 ramp to northbound I-270 and the westbound I-44 ramp to southbound I-270. (38.5482°N, -90.42701°W) Grading for the demolished loop ramps is still visible from above.

Nebraska

 * Box Butte County
 * US-385 bypasses Berea to the east. North of an intersection with N-2 south of the city, US-385 curves around and over N-2, but the former alignment is still visible with some unused pavement now orphaned as a stub. (42.19707°N, -102.9636°W) This is probably a result of the rerouting of U.S. 385 in 2000.

Nevada

 * Enterprise
 * In 2007, State Route 160 was realigned slightly over I-15 in southern Las Vegas. The highway was moved a short distance to the south between Valley View Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard, realigning the southeastern terminus with East Windmill Lane at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard. The old alignment formerly continued northeast and ended at Las Vegas Boulevard between East Robindale Road and East Moberly Avenue. Abandoned, marked pavement and exit ramps from the old alignment still exist, a billboard still stands alongside the old, unused highway. (36.04625°N, -115.17733°W)

North Dakota

 * Fargo
 * The interchange of Interstate 94 (I-94) and Interstate 29 (I-29) was formerly a full cloverleaf interchange but has been modified. The southbound I-29 to eastbound I-94 ramp was removed and replaced with a flyover, sometime prior to 2000. The only visible remains of the old cloverleaf is a very small stub on the I-94 mainline. (46.84627°N, -96.84214°W)

Oklahoma

 * Tulsa
 * A ramp from eastbound I-44 to southbound U.S. Route 169 (US 169) was eliminated due to safety concerns as a result of the proximity of US 169's ramp to 21st Street. This occurred in 2003.

Rhode Island

 * Providence
 * There is a stub on-ramp from Route 1A (Allens Avenue) north to I-95 north at exit 19. The ramp from Route 1A interfered with the hurricane barrier's west dike, so it was demolished. The original ramp went over Route 1A's southbound lanes as seen in an old satellite image. (41.81168°N, -71.4059°W)
 * Just to the west of the previously listed stub, there is a old off-ramp from I-95 southbound. This ramp had a right turn to Dudley Avenue and Eddy Street. It also had a straight to Backstone Street. The right turn now facilitates as a parking lot.
 * There is a stub off ramp from I-195 westbound where exit 1 used to be. It used to carry traffic into the heart of the financial/court district in 2002. As of November 2008, there were still signs posted for it. It is being used occasionally for staging of construction vehicles working on the new I-195/I-95 connection realignment project.

South Carolina

 * Andrews
 * A shift in the routing of South Carolina Highway 41 Business (SC 41 Business) during the construction of the U.S. Route 521 Bypass (US 521 Byp.) left an unused portion of roadway near the location of the current route. The signs signifying a sharper curve can still be seen. (33.43402°N, -79.56702°W)


 * Charleston
 * Ramp stubs exist where US 17 formerly connected to the southern end of Interstate 26 (I-26). The ramps connected to the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge and the Silas N. Pearman Bridge over the Cooper River. When the bridges were replaced by the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in 2005, the old roadways were demolished, and a new interchange was built north of the terminus of I-26. (32.79652°N, -79.94262°W) A bridge support, from the Pearman span, still remains near the East Bay Street northbound on-ramp. (32.80026°N, -79.93529°W)


 * Georgetown
 * The former Lafayette Bridge can be found at 33.3696°N, -79.26481°W). When the new bridges were built in the 1960s, the old bridges were decommissioned. The Lafayette Bridge was left standing for use as a fishing pier. However, the roads that carried US 17 to the bridges can still be seen on all sides of the Black and PeeDee rivers.
 * The stubs of the bridge that once carried US 17 (Frasier Street) across the Sampit River can be found at 33.35708°N, -79.29455°W)


 * Myrtle Beach
 * A strip of pavement used by the Myrtle Beach International Airport running between runways was originally the original alignment of U.S. Route 501 before the current highway was opened in the 1950s. The former alignment of U.S. 501 still exists west of the airport as Emory Road and Highway 15 to the east. 33.68827°N, -78.92739°W)
 * A piece of stub grading which was once a road that connected US 17 to the Myrtle Beach International Airport can be found at 33.70129°N, -78.93284°W. The road was removed during the construction of the Coastal Grand Mall and is now used as a barrier between two retention ponds.


 * Santee
 * The US 15/US 301 bridge over Lake Marion is closed to traffic because of unstable foundations and is now used as a fishing pier. It also forms a piece of the Palmetto Trail. (33.50148°N, -80.45868°W)

South Dakota

 * Rapid City
 * There used to be an exit 66 on Interstate 90 (I-90) east of Rapid City for Box Elder and the Ellsworth Air Force Base. This exit was closed on October 1, 2003, and the pavement ripped up. A new interchange (exit 67) opened a few months earlier that supplanted it. This exit is for Liberty Boulevard, which leads right to the gates of the Air Force Base. Local officials feared the potential closing of the base and successfully lobbied the state and federal government to construct a new interchange. The exit change will also help keep commercial development away from the runways. While the pavement is gone, one can see grading outlining the old ramps. (44.11783°N, -103.06974°W)
 * There is also visible grading for the former directional-T interchange at I-90 exit 57 leading to I-190. This ramp was reconfigured into a trumpet interchange to eliminate a left exit.


 * Wasta
 * U.S. Route 16 used to extend from Yellowstone to Detroit, Michigan. Former highway 14-16, beginning in Box Elder, travels eastward to just west of Wasta, where it followed what is now the right-of-way of I-90 for about 3 miles before taking a different path from the current highway. West end stub 44.09928°N, -102.50889°W and east end stub 44.07267°N, -102.46606°W. US 16 ran north of Wasta, then east, then back south to meet up with the current routing of I-90 again at 44.06632°N, -102.37425°W, where it now connects to another road.

Tennessee

 * Memphis:
 * I-40 was planned to go through the city's Overton Park, but public opposition, combined with a court victory by opponents, forced abandonment of the plans. The eastern portion of the road had already been built inside the I-240 loop; the extant highway is in use and is now named Sam Cooper Boulevard (with no route number assigned to it), while the northern portion of the I-240 loop was redesignated as I-40. (35.1493°N, -90.0204°W)
 * At the intersection of I-55 and US-51 (Elvis Presley Boulevard), a loop ramp has been eliminated. The ramp ran from northbound I-55 to southbound US-51 and was eliminated during the widening of I-55 in 2001 due to weaving conflicts with an on-ramp from Brooks Road immediately before the loop. (35.06402°N, -90.0234°W)
 * Similarly, a loop ramp from northbound I-55 to westbound SR-17/Shelby Drive was eliminated as part of the widening.


 * Cumberland Gap
 * The Cumberland Gap Tunnel replaced the two-lane US-25E over the Cumberland Gap to allow four lanes of traffic to travel the route. The existing road was closed except for a short section used by the National Park Service. The pavement was recently removed for more of a historic look. (36.6034°N, -83.67059°W)

Vermont

 * Guilford:
 * There is a short roadway that once connected I-91 to US 5 before the section in Massachusetts was completed. (42.73086°N, -72.57154°W)

Wisconsin

 * Wausau
 * WIS 29 interchanges with I-39/US 51 south of the city and had a westbound stub as the highway transitioned into a loop ramp to southbound I-39/US 51. The interchange has since been upgraded, but the grading for the former loop ramp is still visible.(44.89674°N, -89.63951°W)

Wyoming

 * Cheyenne
 * At the I-25/Missile Drive interchange, near the entrance to the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, there is grading for a former cloverleaf interchange. At this location, there are two former loops and one abandoned lane connecting northbound I-25 to eastbound Missile Drive, heading into downtown Cheyenne. Additionally, on westbound Missle Drive, there is a stub that formerly led to southbound I-25. Today, the interchange has become a diamond interchange. (41.13691°N, -104.84056°W)