# Your city's urban expressways



## Danger! 50000 volts (Jul 14, 2005)

Show the urban road systems running thru your towns!

I've seen some good'uns such as Bangkok with its eleveated roads and Hong Kong where they run thru builings!
Anyone got any pics?

Also Madrid - some massive construction going on there at the moment, infact Spain is motorway mad!


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## SE9 (Apr 26, 2005)

*London*

*the Westway*

Starts at Marylebone, Central London.

















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## Epi (Jul 21, 2006)

When I was in England 2 years ago, I took a bus from Oxford to London (one of those 6 pound bus rides) and I distinctly remember the bus going on some highway then transferring to another highway in London's suburbs. Instead of the normal North American 'spaghetti junction', this was actually an elevated traffic circle (I believe it was sandwiched between the two highways). It was nighttime so I didn't get that great a look.

Any idea where that may be, and have any pics?


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## nothingman (Jul 3, 2005)

Epi said:


> When I was in England 2 years ago, I took a bus from Oxford to London (one of those 6 pound bus rides) and I distinctly remember the bus going on some highway then transferring to another highway in London's suburbs. Instead of the normal North American 'spaghetti junction', this was actually an elevated traffic circle (I believe it was sandwiched between the two highways). It was nighttime so I didn't get that great a look.
> 
> Any idea where that may be, and have any pics?


There are plenty like that in London, but I'm guessing your bus took you on the A40 then M40 to Oxford? The traffic circle you speak of may have been Hanger Lane?

Many other big British cities also have the whole 'spaghetti' thing going on too, especially in Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham (Birmingham has the famous Spaghetti Junction).


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## elkram (Apr 1, 2006)

Montreal's Décarie expressway:


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## Epi (Jul 21, 2006)

nothingman said:


> There are plenty like that in London, but I'm guessing your bus took you on the A40 then M40 to Oxford? The traffic circle you speak of may have been Hanger Lane?
> 
> Many other big British cities also have the whole 'spaghetti' thing going on too, especially in Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham (Birmingham has the famous Spaghetti Junction).


Oooo yes I googled it and it was where the A40 meets the A320 I believe, right near Hyde Park... the traffic circle was elevated (squashed between two elevated highways) and I thought that was just really awesome... And space saving too!


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Not my pics, but this is I-91 which goes north-south through Downtown Hartford


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

A few of Chicago...





































The new Dan Ryan Expressway they're in the middle of rebuilding:



























(not expressway, but cool)


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Chicagoago said:


>


Huh, are you kidding me? That's really cool!




Chicagoago said:


>


Very nice! R u sure it's not a drawing?


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

^ It is a rendering, i forgot to mark that. They're right in the middle of the reconstruction right now - but that's the final project that will be finished in a year or two.


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## Sinjin P. (Jul 17, 2005)

Cool infrastructure facilities you have there.


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## Melbourne Vic (Aug 21, 2006)

* MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA *

M79/Route 43








































































M1








































































Model of an interchange under construction on the M1 in Melbourne.





















































































































Route 83














































M80


















































































































































Route 11










Route 43




























M1































































M31













































M79 




































Some interchanges


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## yako (Oct 27, 2005)

Stockholm's newest expressway -* Södra Länken* (the Southern Link) - runs mainly through tunnels, and opened October 2004. It's a part of the as of yet incomplete Stockholm Ring Road.













































Rush hour:











*Essingeleden* (the Essinge Link) is an island hopping expressway west of the downtown area. It was the first part of the proposed ring road, and opened in the 1960's





































*Norra Länken* (the Northern Link) is a part of the ring road, that is to be extended eastwards beginning this year.



















A render:


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## lpioe (May 6, 2006)

the new stockholm tunnel looks amazing


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## Nouvellecosse (Jun 4, 2005)

Amazing yes... and also expensive!

Any idea of how much it'll cost and where the funding is comming from (municipal/federal/tolls etc)?


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## tritown (Aug 25, 2004)

Big Dig, anyone? ^^


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## yako (Oct 27, 2005)

Yes, Södra Länken was ridiculously expensive, but nowhere near 'the Big Dig', appr. 1 billion USD vs 14.6 billion. We had the advantage of drilling thru bedrock.

I can't find any exact figures for Norra Länken but it seems to be pretty much the same. Funding is something like 30% municipal, 70% federal...


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

Helsinki:


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

*ABOUT MADRID*



*"MADRID CALLE 30" *

*Budget: €3.9 billion
Start: September 2004 
End: April 2007* 

Madrid's first/inner freeway round ring of its 4 ones is called M-30 and carries over 330.000 cars/day.
M-30 is 30km long and it was started to built in the late sixties. 
Now a days M-30 is changing completely, is being rebuilt to improve those areas of Madrid near it, especially the west side, close to the Manzanares river, the total cost of the proyect is 3.900.000.000 euros and when finished most of the highway will be a tunnel and its capacity will be extended in 100.000 more cars/day.
The name of the project is "Madrid Calle 30" which means "Madrid 30th Street"




*1 New "La paloma" interchange (done).
May 2005:








December 2005:








2 New "Costa Rica" interchange (done).
December 2005:








3 New "Avenida de América" (A-2) interchange (done).
March 2005:








July 2005:








September 2005:








4 New "O'Donnell" (M-23) interchange (done).
May 2005:








September 2005:








5 New "Avenida del Mediterraneo" (A-3) interchange (end: september 2006).
May 2005:

May 2006:


7.1 New south by pass inner tunnel (end: march 2007).
April 2005:

July 2005:

October 2005:








December 2005:
















January 2006:
















March 2006:








May 2006:

7.2 New south by pass outer tunnel (end: march 2007).
April 2006:








8 New "South" interchange (A-4) (end: october 2006).
October 2005:








November 2005:
















March 2006:
















April 2006:








10.1 New tunnel from "Marques de Monistrol" to "Segovia's Bridge" and new underground "Puente del Rey" interchange (A-5) (end: april 2007).
Before:








Project (new underground "Puente del Rey" interchange):

Project (new tunnel from "Marques de Monistrol" to "Segovia's Bridge):

Project under Segovia's Bridge:

October 2005:








December 2005:
















January 2006:
















Abril 2006:








10.2 New tunnel from "Segovia's Bridge" to "San Isidro's Bridge" (end: april 2007).
Before:








July 2005:








October 2005:








November 2005:
























January 2006:
















11.1 New tunnel from "San Isidro's Bridge" to "Prague's Bridge" (End: April 2007).
Before:








Project:

July 2005:








September 2005:
















October 2005:
















December 2005:
















March 2006:
















May 2006:








11.2 New tunnel from "Prague's Bridge" to "South interchange (end: april 2007).
Before:








Project:

October 2005:
















November 2005:








December 2005:








April 2006:








May 2006:








12 New lanes (end: september 2006).
January 2006:








February 2006:








March 2006:








May 2006:
























14 New "Colmenar" interchange (M-607) (done).*
July 2005:








September 2005:








November 2005:
















December 2005:








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March 2006:








Mayy 2006:

















GREAT VIDEOS OF THE FREEWAY: 
http://www.munimadrid.es/Principal/EnlacesHome/Calle30/Pres1/calle30.htm


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

The Stockholm ones look great! The Melbourne ones seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Are those just connecting interstate?


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## staff (Oct 23, 2004)

I can't find any pics (gotta take some soon), but the Yan'An Expressway in Shanghai is argubly the one that offers the coolest views of any urban expressway on the planet.

Inre Ringvagen is the most famous urban expressway in Malmo, however I don't have any pics of that one either.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The next photo's are from Zwolle, The Netherlands (NL).
This 113.000 inhabitants, middle-sized city is the entrance to the north of the country.
There is only 1 motorway,the A28, which is only 2x2 lanes wide, but handles over 120.000 vehicles a day. Every day, over 100.000 persons commute into the city. 

1. The bridge over the river "IJssel". This is just after the interchange with the A50/N50 motorway/National Road. Note the first real "skyscraper" of Zwolle (100m) in the background. 


2. Exit Zwolle-Zuid, the first exit from the south. 









3. Exit Zwolle-Centrum, the exit to downtown. This 4lane motorway still handles over 110.000 vehicles a day.









4. Now from the North: Exit Zwolle-Noord. (Zwolle-North). The N35 is one of the most congested road in Zwolle. It will be widened from 2x2 to 2x3 lanes, and the speed limit will raise from 50 to 70 by 2010. 
That red sign says the extra lane is not opened for traffic. Now, the limit is 100km/h, when the lane is opened the limit is 80km/h, because that lane is not wide enough to support higher speeds.









5. Exit Zwolle-Centrum (Downtown). From the ONLY 3 exits in Zwolle, this is the less congested one. The sign says Utrecht 89km. For Dutch standards, that's quite far. (only 50 miles). 









6. Exit Zwolle-Zuid (South). This is the last exit in Zwolle. The entire A28 near Zwolle is heavily congested at most times, because its way not wide enough.


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

*MADRID TRAFFIC LIVE (some 24 hours traffic cameras, picture update every 2 minutes):*









































































































































































































































Refresh to update the images!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Are there any stats on Madrilan motorways? I heard the M30 is the second busiest motorway from Europe, only second to the Moscow Ringroad.


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

I could not find any updated map of traffic, the last official one, is dated in 2004 and says that M-30 carried 311.156 cars/day between Puente Ramon y Cajal and Puente de America (15 lanes now a days between these points), km 4 (this was the part with more cars/day of M-30 in 2004). 



This camera is located in the A-2 (Puente de America), just over this part of the M-30, sometimes shows A-2 and other times shows M-30:
















Refresh to update the image!


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

I found something about the "IMD,intensidad media diaria" (dont know how to call this in english), this means the number of cars a day (24hours) which go through the most crowded point in a freeway or road. So I found that the IMD in 2006 for the M-30 never has been under 400.000 cars/day for the East Side, 200.000 for the West Side and 150.000 for the North Side in a work day.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

400.000 vehicles/day? That is extremely much, even more than the busiest stretch of road in LA's I-405 (390.000). :runaway:


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

I know it is extremely much, in that area M-30 has between 14 and 17 lanes, and I know traffic is completely stopped during rush hours and most part of the working days but 400.000 I think is pretty much, I mean I am sure sometimes has reached that number of cars/day but "never under"... ¿? 
I will be searching for this info very seriously, I'll ask for official statistics in the city hall, I really would like to know about it, so I promise more info will be coming soon.


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## Martin Ferraro (Jan 6, 2003)

Buenos Aires - Argentina

Acceso Norte (Panamericana)









































































































































































Ramal Pilar

























Acceso Oeste

















Autopista Richieri

































Autopista General Paz









































































































































General Paz - Perito Moreno intersection









Perito Moreno









Buenos Aires - La Plata









Autopista Illia

























25 de Mayo - 9 de Julio intersection









25 de Mayo

















Lugones

















Project


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## Martin Ferraro (Jan 6, 2003)

Doble Post


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

torke said:


> I think there are no similar highways, could you please show us any 17 lanes highway in Paris????



Ok 

It is not 17 lanes but 14 (Not a big diference )

*A1* motorway 14 lanes 









A6 motorway 14 lanes 









A86 motorway 10 lanes ( Small but it is similar )









Paris freeways system traffic









Green : traffic normal
Red : traffic jam
Grey : inalienable information


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

14 lanes - 3 exit lanes = thru 11 lanes. 

But the widest part of road, without parallelroads is in Buenos Aires i think.


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## torke (Jan 25, 2006)

Great pictures!! I love Buenos Aires


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## Alejandro_MEX (Aug 23, 2005)

*Mexico City*​
*Mexican expressways are not very special, but because of the traffic, some in Mexico City are double-decker freeways. This is the Periferico expressway. The film "En el hoyo" is about its construction.*


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

Copenhagen - Bispeengbuen

Pic NOT by me


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

Those broad expressways cutting through the cities are ugly! They should transform them into tunnels and place greenery onto them.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

DiggerD21 said:


> Those broad expressways cutting through the cities are ugly! They should transform them into tunnels and place greenery onto them.


Bad idea.

Because, in most countries, trucks with dangerous loads like chemicals, fuel, and other non-healthy products aren't allowed in every tunnel.

So when you tunnel most expressways, that traffic has to drive right trough the city, which is much more dangerous. (relatively, non-motorways have a much higher accident-rate).

Think of what would happen if a chemical-loaded truck get's an accident near a school!


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

I think that shouldn't be such a problem if the tunnels are cut&cover-style and therefore close under the surface (with more possibilities for ventilation). 
There are plans to transform a long stretch of the expressway north of the Elbtunnel into a cut&cover-style tunnel in order to raise the living quality of the neighbourhoods directly affected by the expressway. And the Elbtunnel is one of the heaviest-used tunnels in Germany, with 150.000 vehicles per day, among them a lot of trucks transporting various goods.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I don't know how they qualify in Germany to tunnels, but with a certain distance, cut&cover tunnels are qualified as tunnels in The Netherlands, so trucks with dangerous goods are not allowed to use them, and have to take a ferry or bridge to cross a river or waterway. We have various tunnels like that here. 

And besides that, it is extremely expensive to reconstruct or widen such a tunnel. So you have to build the right capacity for, say, the next 40 years. 
They didn't did that near Amsterdam, with the Coentunnel. They have to construct a second tube, which costs more than a billlion euro's. 

But in areas with very large ships (like Rotterdam, Antwerp or Hamburg), you just have to use tunnels, because you don't want a "viaduc de Millau" in flat landscape


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

So next, the busiest motorway in The Netherlands: The A16 on the eastside of Rotterdam. With over 230.000 vehicles a day, the road is busier than any country near NL. 

1. Some miles south of Rotterdam









2. Here starts the road with the most lanes: 18 in total









3. Near Rotterdam-Feijenoord. The lane on the right is a truck-lane.









4. The Van Brienenoordbridge; this is the busiest stretch.









5. Near Rotterdam-Centrum; 14 lanes across









6. End (or better: start) of the A16 which run from Rotterdam to the Belgium border near Breda.


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