The AARoads Blog

Without any fanfare or even a mentioning to my recollection, Alabama 158 (Industrial Parkway) is now open between U.S. 45 and the Schillinger Road extension (Newburn Road). We took an opportunity to travel the new road this past weekend, and sure enough, everything is completed. Some highlights from the road include a 65 mph speed limit, four overall lanes with a shoulder, and extended rights of way at the Schillinger Road extension for what appears to be a trumpet interchange.

Facts about Alabama 158 (from an email with ALDOT):

• The extension opened on January 25, 2008
• Signage along the route will not be freeway grade
• Alabama 158 is not intended to be a controlled access route
• Interchanges with Schillinger, McCrary/Alabama 217 (Lott Road) remained planned

Alabama 158’s extension will eventually become part of a new alignment of U.S. 98 to the north of Mobile. Initial work commenced in 2006 on the new U.S. 98 north of Wilmer, from Big Creek northwest to U.S. 98 near the county line. Construction got as far as tree removal and grading before problems arose. Work was halted after rains caused detrimental sediment run-off into Big Creek Lake, the main source of water for the city of Mobile. ALDOT is still working on a solution to the problem, including redesigning U.S. 98 with the potential of additional bridges over area wetlands.

Rights of way along the new U.S. 98 include provisions of what may be a split-diamond interchange at McCrary Road and Alabama 217 (Lott Road). Work has yet to begin on this stretch of the four-lane highway and likely is several years off due to the environmental stoppage of work to the west.

Alabama 158 leading west from the now complete diamond interchange with U.S. 45 near Kushla. The road is very expressway like on this stretch, but 900 acres of land abutting both sides of the new four-lane roadway are already on sale for potential development.

Alabama 158 abruptly ends at the Schillinger Road Extension (Newburn Road). All traffic is slowed to 25 mph and forced to turn left. Right-of-way is already purchased for the westward extension, which will eventually carry a relocated U.S. 98 around Semmes and Wilmer. However as is visible with the lack of construction here, road work has yet to begin.

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My home state has had a busy year with opening new stretches of major roadway. A large section of the new tolled SH 121 freeway north of Dallas opened in August. The new 16-mile stretch from Frisco to the southwest forms a partial loop of northern Dallas. San Antonio’s newest behemoth opened in August as well, at the junction of the US 281 freeway and Interstate 410. The two busiest roadways in the city were connected in 1978 but there was no interchange there, only traffic lights and long waits for motorists. The reasoning was that the US 281 freeway had one of the most tumultuous openings for a freeway in US history, with years of delays caused by lawsuits from various parties. By the time the roadway was finished, there was no remaining money for an interchange at the interstate. The new stack is huge, and has extensive collector-distributor lanes. It is tall enough to fit all the ramps in the allotted (small) space but not tall enough to interfere with the adjacent airport. The view below is from January, 2008 – new photos from September will be up soon. Click any of the photos for larger versions.

In April, SH 130 opened as a tolled freeway from SH 71 east of Austin south to US 183. SH 130 is a bypass of the freakishly scary double-decker IH 35 through downtown Austin, and can shave as much as 2 hours off a trip from the north end of the city to the south end (no, seriously, two hours). SH 130 will hook up with SH 45 south of this view and will carry traffic back to IH 35. Currently, motorists trying to bypass Austin on SH 130 have to take a two-lane FM road to get back to the interstate. A small price to pay for all the time savings. SH 45 is set to open early next year, including a large stack at IH 35 south of Austin. The view below looks at the current southern end of the toll freeway.

Speaking of places that aaroads does not cover in too much detail, we’d like to introduce a new Kentucky page. So far, only I-64 and Lexington’s New Circle Road are posted but all Louisville area freeways, and a few other roadways in the “Golden Triangle” area of the state are coming soon Edit: They’re all up now! I’d like to especially thank the Louisville Courier-Journal for the use of their extensive archives. I really enjoyed seeing the interstates of the Bluegrass State, and I hope to get some more time in there soon.
Arkansas is also forthcoming!

One of my recent mapping projects involved updating a wall map for Albuquerque and Sandoval County, New Mexico. My only experience with the area was a brief touchdown on a flight to Portland, Oregon in 2006, so updating the map pretty much involved getting familiar with the area.

There is not too much on the internet covering Albuquerque’s highway network. One site that does exist however, is Steve Riner’s New Mexico Highways page, which covers every Interstate, U.S., and state highway within the state. I used his site often when updating the main arterial routes in Albuquerque, as many appeared to be state highways or represented former routes. But as I went along, I noticed that most of the area highways were truncated or decommissioned, despite being shown on many paper and digital mapping sources. Instead the main area of growth in Albuquerque’s roads involves the building of new arterials and boulevards, especially the two-county Paseo del Volcan and Northwest Loop Road.

After several weeks of research and in conjunction with Andy’s summer trip through the area, we now have a Albuquerque focus page and highway guides covering Interstate 25, Interstate 40, and a part of former U.S. 66 (Central Avenue) in the area. Using Riner’s website, I created an Albuquerque/Rio Rancho map to show the current state highway network and have referenced many of the current and former routes on the new guide.

The first sighting of Clearview font used on highway signs was reported to us recently along Interstate 95 in Delaware. New signs are being installed along the southbound (westbound) stretch of the freeway in conjunction with the “5th Lane Project”. Widening of the freeway is underway between Exit 4 (Delaware 1 & 7) and Exit 5 (U.S. 202 south & Delaware 141).

A new overhead features Clearview font for the destinations and cardinal directions, but Highway Gothic for the “Exit Only” placard and state route shields. Photo taken June 27, 2008 by I.C. Ligget.

We’re map freaks, here at aaroads.com. Unabashedly. We have big boxes full of old ones, we stop to get new ones at state lines, and several of us work in the mapping industry. I work at Mapsco, in Dallas, myself. So it is with a sense of extreme excitement that I’d like to point out the release of the first ever Cartography Design Annual. Most design industries have annual books that are published to showcase the newest in design, whether it be industrial or graphic or artistic. The map world has needed something like that for while, and it’s finally come out.