Malfunction Junction

This article is about a problematic highway interchange. For the comic, see Malcolm Hancock.

Malfunction Junction is a derisive nickname given by motorists to a confusing, dangerous, or otherwise problematic interchange.

Alabama

• Interstates (65/20/59) in Birmingham. This interchange is the busiest in Alabama, and has been the site of many accidents, including roadway punctures and two fiery explosions, one of a gasoline truck on January 5, 2002. Map and Aerial photo
• Interstate 565/Memorial Parkway (U.S. Route 231/431) in Huntsville, because of its seemingly endless maze of ramps and exits going to at least 6 different roadways. Map and Aerial photo

California

• The intersection of Interstates 5/10, U.S. Route 101, and State Route 60 is known as the East Los Angeles Interchange. Complexity due to shifting of alignments of the highways and changes in direction. Map and Aerial Photo

Colorado

• Interstates (270/76/25) and U.S. Route 36 Denver-Boulder Turnpike in Denver. Prior planning is essential here as congestion will often make lane changes nearly impossible, so drivers are prone to miss their desired exits. Map and Aerial Photo
• "The Mousetrap" interchange in Denver, between Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 where motorists feel like mice lost in a maze. This name turned from humorous to serious on August 1, 1984 when a truck carrying six torpedoes for the U. S. Navy overturned there. Map and Aerial Photo

Florida

• Interstates (95/10-terminus) in Jacksonville. Due to construction at the interchange this merger is quickly becoming known as "Malfunction Junction". During rush hour on any given day this merger experiences heavy traffic for miles on Interstate 10 as far West as Interstate 295. Map and Aerial Photo
• Interstates (4/275) in Tampa, due to extended construction and dangerous curves causing traffic jams in every direction during the rush hour.^[1] Map and Aerial photo
• Golden Glades Interchange (I 95/Florida's Turnpike/US-441/Palmetto Expressway/SR 9) in Miami. The interchange often comes up in traffic reports due to its heavy volume. Map and Aerial Photo

Georgia

• Interstates (75/85) and Interstate 20 in Atlanta. Map and Aerial photo

Kentucky

• Interstates (71/75) and 275 near Erlanger. Map and Aerial photo
• Interstates 64, 65 and 71 in Louisville. Map and Aerial photo

Michigan

• Interstate 96 (Jeffries Freeway)/M-39 (Southfield Freeway) in Detroit. Map and Aerial photo

Missouri

• The loop that consists of Interstates (70/35/29/670) and US 24/40/71/169 in Kansas City. In this loop there are twenty-three exits, labeled exits 2A to 2Y. Staying on 70 if one comes east from Kansas requires being in the left lane as several highways splice off to the right and then a hard merge to the right as several lanes enter from the left, and only the rightmost remains 70. Map and Aerial Photo See also Downtown freeway loop (Kansas City).

New Jersey

• Interstate 80/US Route 46/State Route 23 in Wayne. This interchange has several challenging aspects. Of particular difficulty is the route from Route 23 south to I-80 west which is one of several routes which require multiple loops. Combined with confusing or missing signs this interchange can be very difficult to navigate. Map and Aerial Photo

• Interstate 78/Interstate 95/U.S. Route 1/9/New Jersey Route 21/U.S. Route 22 near Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark (Newark Airport Interchange). Map and Aerial Photo

New York

• U.S. Route 9 and New York State Route 73 intersect about 10 miles south of Elizabethtown and 10 miles south of Keene.
• The Bruckner Interchange between I-95, I-295, I-678, I-278 and the Hutchinson River Parkway in The Bronx.

North Carolina

• Interstates 40/240/26 in Asheville^[2], which causes traffic at times to come to a standstill up to 5–7 miles east of the junction on I-26, beyond the crossing of the Blue Ridge Parkway, as well as lesser delays in other directions. Map and Aerial photo

Ohio

• Interstate 75/State Route 4/Main Street/State Route 48/Grand Avenue in Dayton.^[3] Map, Aerial photo

South Carolina

• Interstates (26/126/20) and Bush River Rd. in Columbia, South Carolina. Map and Aerial Photo

Tennessee

• Interstates (40/275 (originally Interstate 75)) in Knoxville, which caused traffic snarls before diversion of I-75 west of Knoxville and reconfiguration of the interchange.^[4]Map and Aerial photo
• Interstates (240/55) in Memphis. Interstate 55 assumes the southbound (from Mississippi) and westbound (from the Mississippi River and Arkansas) routes of this interchange, while Interstate 240, formerly Interstate 255, consists of the northbound and eastbound. Due to the irregular exchange of route markers, expressway exits have been extensively modified to handle the excess amount of traffic (compared to driving from east-to-west or north-to-south). Accidents frequently occurred not only to the confusion caused by route changes, but by trucks unprepared for the low clearances used on the Arkansas-bound stretch of Interstate 55. (Although not part of the interchange, tractor trailers and tractor tankers would frequently get lodged under the low bridges found on I-55 west of this junction.) Map and Aerial photo

Virginia

• Interstates (95/495/395)/Virginia 644 in Springfield. The Springfield Interchange, informally known as the "Mixing Bowl", was once rated one of the most dangerous interchanges in the country. A reconstruction project began in 1999 and was completed in 2007. Map and Aerial Photo

See also

• Death Valley (North Carolina)
• Magic Roundabout (Swindon)
• Spaghetti Junction

References

1. ^ St. Petersburg Times Online article on the Malfunction Junction
2. ^ CITIZEN-TIMES.com article mentioning "Malfunction Junction"^{[dead link]}
3. ^ TRAC 2005-2010 Projects List (PDF). URL accessed at 14:48, 2 April 2006 (UTC).^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Knoxville drivers have dealt with traffic woes for 50 years. URL accessed at 10:55, 2 April 2006 (UTC).^{[dead link]}

External links

• misc.transport.road FAQ 3.6.4 on interchange names
• Pictures of insanely complex intersections (DailyCognition.com)