Unused highway

An unused highway is a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed, but went unused or was later closed or part of a future expansion. An unused roadway or ramp may often be referred to as an abandoned road, ghost road, highway to nowhere, stub ramp, ghost ramp, ski jump, stub street, stub-out, or simply stub.^[2]

A now-unused ramp in Portland, Oregon at the western terminus of I-84 on the east bank of the Willamette River^[1] formerly a connection to US99W/Steel Bridge

An unused section of divided highway approaching Interstate 189 in Burlington, Vermont (looking southward from: 44°26′57″N 73°13′3″W); some lanes are now blocked by discarded electronics; VTDOT has since begun work to make this segment part of Champlain Parkway.

The 1956 span of the Gandy Bridge between Tampa and St. Petersburg was closed to traffic in 1997 and used as a recreational trail from 1999 until 2008, when it was closed for safety reasons. It remained in place as officials decided between demolition or renovation. In 2015, demolition of the unused bridge began.

Examples

A section of the 1915 Ridge Route in Lebec, abandoned when US 99 (later upgraded to I-5) was constructed over the Tejon Pass in order to make the travel straighter and safer

Some examples of reasons for unused highways include:

• An older portion of roadway being left unused by a highway realignment.
• A road which existed to serve a bridge becomes a dead-end once the bridge is demolished or left to deteriorate to the point where it can no longer be safely used.
• A road becomes a dead end once a railway level crossing is closed and replaced by an overpass/underpass some distance away from the former level crossing.
• A highway being closed and demolished, where stubs remain on intersecting roads.
• Highway construction begins but is cancelled, possibly because of a freeway revolt.
• Stubs are built to connect to a highway that is not yet constructed.
• When a divided highway ends, sometimes a stub exists where more of the highway could become a divided highway and tie into the stub.
• A part of the highway can become unused due to changes in national borders.
• The highway has unused lanes but may be used when lanes are added when traffic demands warrant.

Abandoned section of Pennsylvania Route 61 covered in graffiti, which was abandoned due to the Centralia mine fire. In 2020, it was covered over with dirt.

See also

• Bridge to nowhere