US 460/Corridor Q meet recap

[hbelkins]

This is depressing. If everyone in the forum not attending posted to the meet, it would never happen.

We have around 14 now, give or take a couple. That reminds me; I need to call Reno's and see when they need a reasonably firm head count.

[hbelkins]

I called the restaurant. They should be able to accommodate the expected size of our group without a problem. So I would like to have firm RSVP's from those of you who plan to attend by noon on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Preferred methods of RSVPing are on the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/515404668537952/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming or by email to rsvp@millenniumhwy.net. You can also RSVP here if you prefer.

[jpi]

I am still in, Steph is 50/ 50 and Cody G may come with me but I still have to get a definent answer on that. I am looking forward to this, never been to a road meet this far east in to KY and has been about 5 years since I have been in the Pikeville area and Grundy, VA :-)

[hbelkins]

If anyone wants a sneak peek at some of the attractions on the tour, here's a new Flickr set of photos I took during scouting trips.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/sets/72157636361735366/

[jpi]

It's official, Steph can't make it but Cody and I will be car pooling to the meet on Friday and checking out some construction projects along the way in TN and southern KY :-)

[hbelkins]

Going to bring him up US 127 in Clinton County? Seems like I heard that a new section of the Albany bypass was going to open sometime in the near future.

[jpi]

HB- That is what I was planning, plus checking out the TN 141 (Hartsville Pike) construction just northeast of my house and some TN 52 4 widening east of Celina, TN

[hbelkins]

The full length of the US 127 Albany bypass opened last Monday, and another new stretch of 127 between Albany and the Tennessee state line is supposed to open next Monday. The entire stretch from the state line to Albany is supposed to be done by Nov. 30. They will have made great progress since I drove that way to Chattanooga in July, but it's easier to get the grade complete when you don't have all the mountains to blast through like they do up here.

My counterpart in the Somerset office is going to post a notice to Facebook tomorrow and I will post the link when she does.



In other news, I located my wayward "Send Help" sign. I had misplaced it when I did the vehicle transfer after my breakdown on the way to Kansas, but I found it this week. I still need someone with a tripod to bring it to Pikeville for the group photo, since I broke both of my tripods and don't want to bring the one from work.

[jpi]

Sorry guys, no tripod, I will see if Cody has one.

[hbelkins]

I posted the Facebook link to my page. The through movement is now going to be TN 111 to US 127, and I will be very curious to see how that short new section of TN 111 is signed and inventoried in Kentucky.

Had two people drop out so the head count is now 13. Hope the weather is as good as it has been this week. Supposed to get some rain in this area the middle part of next week, so I also hope that doesn't destroy the fall foliage.

[hbelkins]

We're now at 14 15, 16, including myself, and the weather is supposed to be pretty with a high in the 60s. If anyone's still on the fence about coming, please let me know by Thursday afternoon so I can let the restaurant know on Friday how many to expect. I will be getting in touch with everyone privately with my contact info.

Just to let everyone know, we are dealing with a sick elderly dog and I don't know what this week will bring. She wouldn't eat Saturday, but she did eat last night. I have no plans to cancel the meet. I would ask everyone to download and print a copy of the meet itinerary in case something happens Friday night or Saturday morning that requires my attention.

Also, we need to be thinking about the tour arrangements. I will be driving my truck and can take one other person with me. If you think there's a possibility you'll be driving on the tour, please have enough gas in your tank to do a tour of approximately 140 miles. There are gas stations along the way, and gas will probably be cheaper in Grundy than in Pikeville, but it would probably be a good idea for the drivers to have plenty of fuel to eliminate any unnecessary stops along the route.

[Alps]

I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.

[hbelkins]

I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.

What route do you have chosen to get from NC to Pikeville?

[Alps]

I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.

What route do you have chosen to get from NC to Pikeville?

I-40, US 52, US 119.

[hbelkins]

How much of 52? All the way from where I-74 splits off near Mt. Airy to Williamson, or are you going to use I-74 and I-77 to get to Bluefield?

[hbelkins]

Final call for RSVPs.

[jpi]

Me and Cody! :-)

[Alps]

How much of 52? All the way from where I-74 splits off near Mt. Airy to Williamson, or are you going to use I-74 and I-77 to get to Bluefield?

Already done 74, but in the interest of time I'm going to shoot up the freeway to Mt. Airy once again instead of following the old road that far.

[hbelkins]

I drove US 52 from downtown Hillsville north to where it rejoins I-77 south of the VA/WV state line. It's a pretty drive but you won't make very good time on it. And the route from Welch to Williamson is agonizing.

I'll be interested to know if US 52 is signed along the new WV 44 extension to the Coalfields Expressway, or if they still have it signed along the old road.

[Alps]

I drove US 52 from downtown Hillsville north to where it rejoins I-77 south of the VA/WV state line. It's a pretty drive but you won't make very good time on it. And the route from Welch to Williamson is agonizing.

I'll be interested to know if US 52 is signed along the new WV 44 extension to the Coalfields Expressway, or if they still have it signed along the old road.

AFAIK it follows the old road for now. Remind me Saturday and I'll let you know what I saw.

[hbelkins]

The appearance of three goats on a hillside at one of the tour stops made this also an Alanland meet.

[hbelkins]

We had 16 attendees at Pikeville yesterday. Michael Summa showed off some of his handmade replica signs, two different types of button copy reflectors, and other goodies which were a big hit. Everyone arrived in time to eat and after lunch we got our caravan together for the meet tour. The weather was overcast and cool with occasional rain sprinkles.

First stop was the Pikeville Cut-Through Overlook at the top of Peach Orchard Mountain, where photos of the massive flood-control project that moved a river, a road and a railroad were taken.

Next we drove south on US 23, passed through the interchange where the new US 460 route will tie in, then doubled back on KY 122 (old US 23) to the existing US 460 route, then up KY 3226 (Greasy Creek Road) to see where a couple of new bridges are under construction, along with what will be a grade-separated interchange. While there, we took the group photo and saw the aforementioned goats on a hillside, bringing a little touch of Alanland to the Appalachian Mountains.

Then we trekked up a hill on Gardiner Fork Road and down the other side on Wolfpit Branch Road, passing by another grade-separated interchange, then on KY 195 in the Marrowbone community to where the new stretch of highway will temporarily end at a connector route. We stopped to get photos of the bridge piers where US 460 will pass over KY 195, then headed toward Elkhorn City.

Just outside of town, on KY 1373, we saw where two new bridges have been built and are waiting for a road. We drove up the blacktopped road that climbs the waste area for the project for a view above the finished bridges, then crossed the state line into Virginia.

The next stop was the spot where new US 460 will cross VA Secondary 610, and the bridges under construction there. These bridges are being built in the same manner as the new I-64 span over the Kanawha River in West Virginia. This is said to be the tallest bridge in Virginia when it's completed.

After that, we (well, most of us) followed VA Secondary 609 and US 460 to Grundy, passing under a new bridge for what will be a relocated VA 80 to provide access to Breaks Interstate Park. The driver of one car got distracted by the wide VA 80 and oval/elliptical VA Secondary 609 signage and missed the turn, which had been relocated in the few weeks since I was last there to scout. We drove through the old Business US 460 alignment through Grundy and saw the construction where the remaining two-lane portion of US 460/VA 83 is being widened to four lanes between Grundy and Vansant. The other car ended up taking VA 80 and VA 83 to Grundy by way of Haysi (pronounced Hay-Sigh) and we all stopped at the Dairy Queen there. Most used the facilities, a few got ice cream, and there the caravan broke up. Those who would have been backtracking by going back to Pikeville ended up departing from there, while the rest of us headed back to Pikeville, taking the new bypass route carrying US 460 and VA 83 around what remains of the old downtown Grundy area. It rained for a part of that drive, but the rain gave way to overcast, windy and cool conditions when we got back to the restaurant to go our separate ways. The weather forecast had originally been for good weather, but we only had a few sprinkles at our stops and no steady rain until we got to Grundy.

States represented were Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, plus the District of Columbia.

For a meet planned and scheduled on relatively short notice (six weeks from conception to completion), we had a good turnout from a numbers standpoint and an enthusiastic group of attendees, including a couple of first-time attendees and at least one attendee who'd never been to Kentucky before. My heartfelt thanks to everybody who came. I enjoyed it and hope you did too.

[wriddle082]

Glad to see that everybody had a good time!  Work has been ridiculous for me this year since I took the supervisor position, and since I'm basically only home on weekends and have a new baby, it would have been impossible for me to have made it up there, or to any meet for that matter.

[Takumi]

Sounds fun. I'd love to see pics.

[hbelkins]

That's me kneeling.
Standing are, from left, Mike Tantillo, Jason Ilyes, Eric Near, Cody Goodman, Brian Powell, Laura Bianca Pruett, Mark David Moore, Mike Pruett, C. Patrick Zilliacus, Michael Summa's ladyfriend, Chris Curley (only partially visible), Michael Summa, Steve Alpert, Anthony Costanzo and Christy Curley.

Photo courtesy of Chris and Christy. Steve Alpert has another one in which some of the partially visible folks may be more visible.