Lane widths on interstate - law or what?
richard
ten feet wide from Arkansas to I-65.
I thought it was law that says the lanes had to be 12 feet wide.
Is that actually a law or is it just a request?
Marc Fannin
"A Policy on Design Standards---Interstate System, 5th Edition, Single
User Digital Publication" ISBN 1560512911
https://bookstore.transportation.org/item_details.aspx?ID=1175
Analysis/synopsis at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_standards
(Includes a link to a post from here from years ago; Mr. Lansford, if
you don't wish to be identified that way, I'll alter it, or you can
remove it yourself; it's only there to lend credibility to the
reference.)
_________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musxf579 @hotmail.com|http://roadfan.com/ (m.t.r FAQ, etc.)
John Lansford
Interstate lane widths are set down in the Interstate Design Guide,
published by the FHWA. Any reduction below 12' per lane requires a
design exception, but the lanes can be reduced below this during
construction as long as it's temporary. It's not a "law", but FHWA
will not approve a reduction (or authorize Federal funds) if the lanes
are below 12' without a valid reason. Saying "it costs too much" to
make the lanes 12' is not a valid reason, either.
John Lansford, PE
--
John's Shop of Wood
http://wood.jlansford.net/
John Lansford
>richard wrote:
>
>> Coming across I-40 in Tennessee today I realized that the lanes were a mere
>> ten feet wide from Arkansas to I-65.
>> I thought it was law that says the lanes had to be 12 feet wide.
>> Is that actually a law or is it just a request?
>
>"A Policy on Design Standards---Interstate System, 5th Edition, Single
>User Digital Publication" ISBN 1560512911
>https://bookstore.transportation.org/item_details.aspx?ID=1175
>
>Analysis/synopsis at
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_standards
>(Includes a link to a post from here from years ago; Mr. Lansford, if
>you don't wish to be identified that way, I'll alter it, or you can
>remove it yourself; it's only there to lend credibility to the
>reference.)
>
Nah, it's all accurate, although I did forget the minimum lane width
of 12' when I listed the requirements. Never thought I'd show up as a
wiki reference, though...
Scott M. Kozel
How do you know that they were 10 feet wide? Did you lay a tape measure
across the lanes?
My interest in the subject has led me occasionally to measure a roadway
on a nonlimited-access road that had low enough traffic to make it safe,
but I have never measured an active freeway roadway.
--
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Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
Larry Sheldon
> How do you know that they were 10 feet wide? Did you lay a tape measure
> across the lanes?
I know a large vehilce (bus, Winnabago, semi) is 100 inches wide unless
it has "wide Load" banners showing.
A ten foot lane is 120 inches in this time zone, so if it looks to be
about a foot on each side, I am boing to guess "10 feet".
--
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michael e dziatkowicz
feet wide because of this?
"John Lansford" <jlns...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:48m2b5l348l3t85ci...@4ax.com...
richard
> richard <mem...@newsguy.com> wrote:
>>
>> Coming across I-40 in Tennessee today I realized that the lanes were a mere
>> ten feet wide from Arkansas to I-65.
>> I thought it was law that says the lanes had to be 12 feet wide.
>> Is that actually a law or is it just a request?
>
> How do you know that they were 10 feet wide? Did you lay a tape measure
> across the lanes?
>
> My interest in the subject has led me occasionally to measure a roadway
> on a nonlimited-access road that had low enough traffic to make it safe,
> but I have never measured an active freeway roadway.
Educated guess with experience. When the right side of my trailer is over
the white line, and there is barely 2 feet between the dotted line and
trailer, that's 10 feet.
As an experienced trucker,I know that truckstops mark their stalls at 10
feet. So comparing that to where I see a truck in the road lane, I know
it's 10 feet wide.
If they were 12 ft lanes, trucks would not need to move practically onto
the left shoulder in order to pass the truck in the right lane.
Golf1hog
I have never measured this roadway either, but I have driven this
highway many times, and the roadway did not seem unusually narrow
Scott M. Kozel
>
> Scott M. Kozel wrote:
>
>> How do you know that they were 10 feet wide? Did you lay a tape measure
>> across the lanes?
>>
>> My interest in the subject has led me occasionally to measure a roadway
>> on a nonlimited-access road that had low enough traffic to make it safe,
>> but I have never measured an active freeway roadway.
>
> Educated guess with experience. When the right side of my trailer is over
> the white line, and there is barely 2 feet between the dotted line and
> trailer, that's 10 feet.
> As an experienced trucker,I know that truckstops mark their stalls at 10
> feet. So comparing that to where I see a truck in the road lane, I know
> it's 10 feet wide.
> If they were 12 ft lanes, trucks would not need to move practically onto
> the left shoulder in order to pass the truck in the right lane.
That seems like a logical way to estimate ... having worked in roadway
design I can pretty well 'eyeball' whether a lane is 10', 11' or 12'.
People in other vehicles can also observe the trucks and estimate that way.
Ten feet is very narrow for an Interstate highway lane, and I would
surmise that it was a roadway that was part of a pre-Interstate highway
that hasn't been widened.
Sancho Panza
"Scott M. Kozel" <koz...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:h8s15u$9en$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> richard <mem...@newsguy.com> wrote:
>>
>> Scott M. Kozel wrote:
>>
>>> How do you know that they were 10 feet wide? Did you lay a tape measure
>>> across the lanes?
>>>
>>> My interest in the subject has led me occasionally to measure a roadway
>>> on a nonlimited-access road that had low enough traffic to make it safe,
>>> but I have never measured an active freeway roadway.
>>
>> Educated guess with experience. When the right side of my trailer is over
>> the white line, and there is barely 2 feet between the dotted line and
>> trailer, that's 10 feet.
>> As an experienced trucker,I know that truckstops mark their stalls at 10
>> feet. So comparing that to where I see a truck in the road lane, I know
>> it's 10 feet wide.
>> If they were 12 ft lanes, trucks would not need to move practically onto
>> the left shoulder in order to pass the truck in the right lane.
>
> That seems like a logical way to estimate ... having worked in roadway
> design I can pretty well 'eyeball' whether a lane is 10', 11' or 12'.
>
> People in other vehicles can also observe the trucks and estimate that
> way.
>
> Ten feet is very narrow for an Interstate highway lane, and I would
> surmise that it was a roadway that was part of a pre-Interstate highway
> that hasn't been widened.
And does not really have wherewithall for the 120-inch-wide buses that are
incrreasingly typical on the highways.
richard
Not on US highways. Max width is 102" for any vehicle.
Scott M. Kozel
>
> Sancho Panza wrote:
>
>> And does not really have wherewithall for the 120-inch-wide buses that are
>> incrreasingly typical on the highways.
>
> Not on US highways. Max width is 102" for any vehicle.
Yes, that is the federal standard. Anything wider would take a special
permit for the vehicle.
richard
> richard <mem...@newsguy.com> wrote:
>>
>> Sancho Panza wrote:
>>
>>> And does not really have wherewithall for the 120-inch-wide buses that are
>>> incrreasingly typical on the highways.
>>
>> Not on US highways. Max width is 102" for any vehicle.
>
> Yes, that is the federal standard. Anything wider would take a special
> permit for the vehicle.
Permits are for temporary movement of objects that are wider than allowed
standard allowances. A motorized vehicle can not obtain those permits and
be plated for use. The only exceptions are those of farm machinery being
moved to and from farms.
So if you should happen to see a 120 inch wide bus, it ain't ever gonna be
on the interstate because it don't meet the law.
CAHighway99
> Capital Beltway Projects http://www.capital-beltway.com
> Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
I believe this area is under construction, IIRC.
John Lansford
>what if the road was designed pre-interstate and the lanes are only 10 or 11
>feet wide because of this?
FHWA would review the existing conditions and make recommendations to
the state on what would be necessary to get their approval for the
road to be named as an interstate. Anything considered substandard
(lane width, paved shoulder width, clearance under bridges, etc) would
be required to be brought to the minimum standards before the
interstate designation could be added. I'd be very surprised if any
state FHWA office allowed a road with 10' lanes to be named an
interstate, though. They may be able to get a "Future I-xx" label put
on it if a project was on the TIP to upgrade the road to interstate
standards, though.
Rich Piehl
Which direction were you traveling? I've driven from Nashville to
Jackson, TV WB and I don't remember the lanes being narrow.
--
"One thing I've learned after all this road
Is that you don't know as much as you thought you know."
--The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Rich Piehl
> richard wrote:
>> Coming across I-40 in Tennessee today I realized that the lanes were a
>> mere
>> ten feet wide from Arkansas to I-65.
>> I thought it was law that says the lanes had to be 12 feet wide.
>> Is that actually a law or is it just a request?
>
> Which direction were you traveling? I've driven from Nashville to
> Jackson, TV WB and I don't remember the lanes being narrow.
>
>
>
Obviously that's Jackson TN.
Freewayjim
In Atlanta to make room for the HOV lanes in the 1990's on I-75 and
I-85 (and the Downtown Connector) the regular travel lanes were
squeezed to 11 feet wide so that the HOV lane could be added without
losing a regular lane. That being said the shoulders are a bit on the
skinny side.
Jim K. Georges
Freewayjim
Pete Jenior
Standards---Interstate System"?
Pete
John Lansford
Yes, I don't have it in front of me but that's the document I was
talking about. It's a tiny little thing, about 10 pages in length and
about the size of a paperback book.