Katy: (
Satellite)
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Nicky.com posted
The Katy Freeway, is the widest highway in the world. See More:
https://nickeyscircle.com/widest-road-in-the-world/
Joseph Geegan: Where, exactly is I-10 a full 26 lanes wide, excluding frontage roads which by their very name are NOT part of the Interstate, and for what distance does the 26 lane wide portion actually cover? By what measure, that would be an actual measurable metric, makes this highway the "wildest highway in the world"? |
Whenever you claim the "est" of something, you have to pay attention to how it is measured. I think I have already discussed the largest steam locomotive. In this case, we are talking "widest." My first encounter with "oh my, how many lanes are there?" was the Dan Ryan. It has five traffic lanes and light-rail down the middle.
Here is a cross section of the Katy. The eastbound (inbound) direction seems to have 8 free lanes and 2 tow lanes, whereas the other direction seems to have "just" 5 free lanes and 2 tow lanes. Is this because the evening rush hour is longer than the morning rush hour? My brother, who lives near Katy, TX, mentioned that their rush hour was long. If I remember correctly, he said from 4-7 pm.
The above measure was traffic lanes. Another measure would be land consumed or total width. In this case one would have to add six lanes of shoulders and sometimes some ramp lanes. I don't think one should count the frontage roads because you have to consume land anyhow for a major local road if the expressway did not exist.
The Katy is a good argument for using federal money to buy equipment for Metra, the commuter service in Chicagoland. Putting money in passenger rail cars instead of concrete is probably less money per commuter, and it is definitely better for the environment.
Fortunately, the ramps for both Katy and Dan Ryan are always on the right side. This gives an out-of-towner the option of creeping along in the slow lane until they find their exit. I remember my first surprise on a Detroit expressway when the ramp I needed was all the way over on the left side. Crossing multiple lanes into faster traffic in the short distance between the signs and the ramp is an excitement I can do without. If I want excitement, I'll ride a roller coaster in an amusement park.
And when they got out in the country, the Katy consumes a lot of land. I counted 24 lanes on just the right side!
This also is another example of Texas does a better job of getting Federal money than does Illinois or Indiana. Most of I-65 between Chicagoland and Indianapolis is still just two lanes even though the traffic is almost always heavy in both lanes. And it carries plenty of 18-wheelers. When one semi decides to go around another but it is going just 1mph faster than the semi it is passing, there is a lot of pent up road rage in the "fast" (left) lane. Years ago, I started taking I-57 down to US-52 instead of using I-65 to avoid the slow "fast" lane.
