The US 281/I-410 non-interchange on the north side of San Antonio, TX is one of the major traffic choke points in the southern USA. US 281 runs north-south through here, I-410 east-west. Both are 6 lane freeways through the area and have *no* direct connection between them. The only way for traffic to go from one to the other (and to and from the main access road for the San Antonio International Airport terminal) is via 'access' frontage roads and surface streets. If you look closely at the overcrossing area, you will note that the US 281 'access' roads do *not* cross I-410, and are thus *not* useful for making the to-from I-410 left turns (there is a westbound on-ramp to I-410 directly under US 281).
The lack of any direct connection between US 281 and I-410 is the result of many years of 'NIMBY' related delays and funding changes regarding the original construction of US 281 southward from here to downtown San Antonio. Brian Purcell has an excellent thesis on the history of this situation and the current plans to correct it. The history can be found at his US 281 site, and the current and future plans are at his I-410/US 281 site. Preliminary construction work for this ten year interchange installation project began in late 1997.
If this isn't enough, the connection between the US 281 freeway and TX Loop 1604 (the 'C.W. Anderson' Loop freeway, an 'outer beltline' in the northern San Antonio metro area) is a similar 'non-interchange' using a 3 level design incorporating the access frontage roads in the form of a 'double diamond' (and so it goes...).
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Just follow this sign to make your OWN great signs!!!! |
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This page © Michael G. Koerner |
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