Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#114715 10/29/03 06:15 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Faldage Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Last weekend on Weekend Radio, the bard of Plano, TX, Richard Howland Bolton ranted about various highway peculiarities, naming the Can of Worms, Spaghetti Junction and the Octopus. The lovely AnnaS and I could think of an example of each of these from our joint experience and it occurred to us that these names must be very common. Can any of y'all think of examples? I know of the Can of Worms in Rochester, NY and the Octopus in Ithaca, NY; AnnaS contributed Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta, GA, and I'm sure I've heard of one elsewhere.


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
The mass (mess?) of motorways outside Birmingham, UK, is usually referred to as spaghetti junction. Can't help you with the others.

Of course, this may not be authoritative, since I've heard from different sources, all speaking 'authoritatively' that Chris Rea's 'Road to Hell' is

1) the M25 (London Orbital)
2) the M4 (London to Bristol and further)
3) the M6 (London to the North)

and I'm sure Rea did not speak to Roads to Hell, unless London was Hell for him (which is also possible, I suppose, given that the most affectionate nick-names for it are the Smoke, and the Wen)...

cheer

the sunshine "not quite Cockney" warrior


Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788

The Schuykill Expressway between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Walt Whitman Bridge is known to locals as the Sure Kill Crawl-Way, in honour of the number of fatalities which occur there.





Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
well i know the 'can of worms' in Rochester, but TripleA (american automobile ass.) rates the intersection of I-91 and I-95 in Hartford Ct. as one of the worst bits of roadway in america-- but i don't know if it has a name.

the 'bruckner interchange'* (were bruckner expressway, cross bronx expressway/(I-95)/New England thruway and the two access roads to the queens bridges(ThroggsNeck and Whitestone) all come together doesn't have a name, but its triple A's 'hot spot #2'.

none of NYC interchanges/trouble spots have a name (like can of worm) that i can think of...but there are some doozies.
(another that come to mind in NYS is the 'the hawthorn traffic circle' in putnam county--a well know trouble spot!)

*the bruckner interchange is notorious enough to have been the subject of a best selling book back in the 1980's--Will They Ever Complete Bruckner Blvd?

Most interesting in NYC is the problems caused by out of state truckers who mistakenly get on a parkway (no truck permitted on Parkways) many parkways have low bridges.. this morning there was a major tie-up when a truck going along at a clip (speed limit/55PMH or so) hit a 9ft overpass, and turned over, and managed to block all 3 lanes of traffic!(it made the news, needless to say!)


Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
There is an area about three miles from downtown El Paso, Texas [visible from my hospital room while I was in isolation for 3 weeks with nothing else to do but watch the cars go by] informally called the Spaghetti Bowl. Several highways come together there and go all cattiwampus. Not much fun for those going through for the first time. See map
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/refreshmap.adp?z=6&rand=7707


Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Spaghetti Junction outside Birmingham, West Midlands, has gotta be one of the worst. Here're some piccies:

http://images.google.com/images?q=Birmingham+"Spaghetti+Junction"&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search

Look at 'em and weep. I did when I had to use it ...


Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475
D
addict
Offline
addict
D
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 475
must be my browser or sumfink, I got 65,000 pictures of Birmingham, in case anyone else has the same problems here's another link to the same thing (probably)http://snurl.com/2skc


Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Boy, how lucky can you get?



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 397 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5