Here's a very effective picture of a modern Texas landscape (in this case in San Antonio) via a link from a link from a comment by Dano.
This isn't unusual. If you spend any time here in Texas you will end up somewhere that looks very much like this.
The only way to avoid it is to drive in on a back road and never enter a big city, or to stay at an airport for a few hours and fly out. Funny you never see scenes like this in the postcards. It's both very typical and very striking, actually.
Most Texans will pass through a spot like this today and many of them will stop. I only have an 8 minute commute to work but much of it looks rather like that.
Update: The morbidly fascinated can find lots more like this at the unofficial Texas Freeway site, including my commute (US 183 through Austin) viewed mostly from below. Another very striking image is image A on the I-10 and Loop 375 intersection (El Paso) page.
Oh ugh!
ReplyDeleteThe urban ecology guy recoils in disgust.
ReplyDeleteBest,
D
What do you mean? There's definitely a few trees by the Holiday Inn back there.
ReplyDeleteThey're stunted from O3 and SOx emissions. They don't count.
ReplyDeleteBest,
D
I think that's I-410, but it appears that there are only 14-16 lanes of roadway in the picture. Must be a school zone. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnother example of our great state's roadway behemoths:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Five_Interchange