The AARoads Blog

Some notes and photos from a holiday drive northward from the Gulf Coast area to Iowa. Day 1 focused on the Interstate 55 corridor northward to Sikeston, Missouri. The day started out foggy, with lots of standing water from recent floodwaters over southern Mississippi. The the sun shined northward to Grenada, where murky skies set in and remained in place throughout the week

U.S. 84 shifted from its Main Street alignment through Collins onto a new four-lane bypass north of town. The old alignment was redesignated Mississippi 184. A new partial-cloverleaf interchange joins U.S. 49 with the relocated U.S. 84.

U.S. 49’s approach to Interstates 20 and 55 at Richland was upgraded to an expressway recently. The controlled-access route bypasses some of the businesses, now served by frontage roads, from the split with Old Highway 49 north to U.S. 49’s merge onto Interstate 20 west & 55 south.

Interstates 20 & 55 westbound near their split in south Jackson. Road work is underway presently to replace the westbound bridge over U.S. 51 / State Street.

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Day 5 – Cincinnati to the Gulf Coast

A few highlights from the final day of traveling from the Cincinnati area back south toward the Gulf Coast of Florida…

The start of the morning has us heading north from the Covington area back into Cincinnati over the Brent Spence Bridge. Opened to traffic in 1963, this double-deck cantilever bridge carries Interstate 71 and Interstate 75 traffic from Kentucky into the western downtown area of Cincinnati, where the two interstates depart for Columbus (Interstate 71) and Dayton (Interstate 75), respectively. A study is currently underway to improve traffic flow and to replace the existing Brent Spence bridge. More than likely, a new structure will be built to replace the almost 47 year old bridge spanning the Ohio River.

Heading north on the lower deck of the Brent Spence Bridge toward the downtown area of Cincinnati. Photo taken 11/08/09.

Part of the trek around the Cincinnati area involved traveling Interstate 471. The short 5.75 mile expressway connects Interstate 71 in downtown Cincinnati with Interstate 275 and U.S. Highway 27 in Kentucky east of Covington and Newport. Originally planned in the 1960’s to connect Covington and Newport as the Riverside Expressway, Interstate 471 saw several changes in its controversial routing before being built in its current location. An interesting note about the expressway, the portion south of the Interstate 275 interchange is actually signed as Interstate 471, and not as Kentucky 471, its hidden route designation south of the greater Cincinnati beltway. So, the question must be asked, exactly where does Interstate 471 end? Most would say at the interchange with Interstate 275 but signs show otherwise…

This guide sign warns motorists that Interstate 471 ends 1/2 mile ahead. This sign is actually found just south of the interchange with Interstate 275 before the at-grade intersection with U.S. Highway 27. Photo taken 11/08/09.

Approaching the intersection with Alexandria Pike (U.S. Highway 27) and the beginning of northbound Interstate 471. Photo taken 11/08/09.

First northbound reassurance shield for Interstate 471 just north of the Alexandria Pike intersection and south of the interchange with Interstate 275. Photo taken 11/08/09.

The Smart Fix project along Interstate 40 between exits 388A (James White Parkway) and 389 (Hall of Fame Drive)in Knoxville, Tennessee is now complete and opened to traffic, as of June 12, 2009, 18 days ahead of schedule. The 14-month closure resulted in mainline Interstate 40 through traffic being rerouted onto Interstate 640 to avoid the construction area. The project included the widening of Interstate 40 into a six-lane urban arterial with four auxiliary lanes, rehabilitation and reconstruction of 13 bridges and other improvements, and a complete renovation of the interchange with Tennessee 158 (James White Parkway) at Exit 388A.

Traveling east along Interstate 40 after Exit 388A in Knoxville. This stretch of interstate was closed for 14 months as part of the Smart Fix project, a project at making a 40 year plus old section of Interstate 40 safer to traffic. Photo taken 11/08/09.

Newly reconstructed overpass for Hall of Fame Drive over Interstate 40 at Exit 389. This aesthetically pleasing overpass was reconstructed as part of the Smart Fix project along the interstate between exits 388A and 389. Photo taken 11/08/09.

Some notes from a recent five-day road trip from the Gulf Coast northward to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Widening is currently underway along Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama. This project totals 4.613 miles in length and focuses on replacing the original concrete surface with asphalt while expanding the previous four-lane freeway into six lanes overall. Work exists between U.S. 80 (Exit 167) and the Alabama River bridge. Overhead highway signs along the stretch were replaced during the project. See Progress65 for more details.

New diagrammatical overhead for the split of Interstate 85 north from Interstate 65 north in Montgomery.

Continuing north along Interstate 65, widening is also underway between Exits 262A and 264 in north Birmingham, with additional work slated for next year from Exit 265 to 267. Construction focuses on the building of new collector/distributor roadways that will eventually serve the eastern terminus of Interstate 22 (Corridor X). No work has commenced on the interchange itself, but some land clearing of for the eventual path of the new highway has already occurred.

A look at the ongoing road work along Interstate 65 through northern reaches of Birmingham.

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Most of our Tennessee coverage is now online, including more photos of Interstate 40 east of Knoxville and Interstate 75 north of Knoxville, all courtesy of Carter Buchanan in 2005. Also for those unaware, Interstate 40 is set to close for 14 months near downtown Knoxville as part of the SmartFix project. Smartfix is a complete reconstruction of an almost two-mile stretch of freeway and viaduct. Some information regarding that project and an associated redesign of three full-cloverleaf interchanges on Interstate 275 in the city was added.

…And for those unaware, the closing of an entire freeway to rebuild it is a concept gaining steam. The concept was proven to be efficient and cost-effective when one direction of Interstate 95 in northern Delaware was closed for three months at a time in 2000. This resulted in the removal of 1961-concrete, replacement of it with new asphalt, and a lowering of the roadway under several key bridges. Presently a portion of Interstate 64 in St. Louis is closed, and so is a 1.5-mile section of Interstate 75 at junction Interstate 96 in Detroit…

A recent request made of us was to create guides for the Garden State Parkway. It is one phenominal road that deserves attention, and we’ve been sitting on photos of the road for almost three years now. Thanks to the urging of one of our viewers, I have created three of four pages covering the road northbound between I-195 and I-78 and southbound between I-87/287 and I-280, with further coverage continuing the tour southbound to I-95.

Finally, a project Matt Strieby has been working off and on for many months, has finally come together enough to debut on WestCoastRoads – a Portland, Oregon focus page. Matt plans on adding more detailed histories of the many cancelled freeways in the Rose City, and new and expanded guides of the existing roads over the coming months.