Recent posts

#1

Weather / Re: What's your weather curren...

Last post by ZLoth - Today at 07:11:15 AM

Nothing says "Good morning" then waking up to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. The warning is for the northern half of the county that I live in, but because SAME codes operate at a county level, I get the warning even though I'm a half mile away from the southern border.

Today's weather is predicted to be very active.

#2

General Highway Talk / Re: Pretentious street names

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 06:50:18 AM

fort collins has this area with all these nautical-themed streets ... that surround a smallish pond. things like whaler's way, landings drive, etc.

Las Vegas has nautical streets here and there... in the freaking desert. There's also a neighborhood that has a whole bunch of precipitation-themed streets: Raincloud Dr., Tempest Place, Hurricane Way. And one of them is Blizzard Lane. I would be surprised if Blizzard Lane has ever had more than an inch of snow since it was built.

Can't forget about the Pokémon streets in Henderson. Pretty sure none of those streets ever saw a Pokémon on them.

Those go in "awesome street names", thank you very much.

Well, okay, Squirtle Lane is sort of pretentious, because Henderson is no place for a water type.

#3

General Highway Talk / Re: Pretentious street names

Last post by LilianaUwU - Today at 06:29:09 AM

fort collins has this area with all these nautical-themed streets ... that surround a smallish pond. things like whaler's way, landings drive, etc.

Las Vegas has nautical streets here and there... in the freaking desert. There's also a neighborhood that has a whole bunch of precipitation-themed streets: Raincloud Dr., Tempest Place, Hurricane Way. And one of them is Blizzard Lane. I would be surprised if Blizzard Lane has ever had more than an inch of snow since it was built.

Can't forget about the Pokémon streets in Henderson. Pretty sure none of those streets ever saw a Pokémon on them.

#4

General Highway Talk / Re: Pretentious street names

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 06:12:42 AM

fort collins has this area with all these nautical-themed streets ... that surround a smallish pond. things like whaler's way, landings drive, etc.

Las Vegas has nautical streets here and there... in the freaking desert. There's also a neighborhood that has a whole bunch of precipitation-themed streets: Raincloud Dr., Tempest Place, Hurricane Way. And one of them is Blizzard Lane. I would be surprised if Blizzard Lane has ever had more than an inch of snow since it was built.

#5

Pacific Southwest / Re: Nevada

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 06:02:52 AM

Yeah, I'm not really sure why some of the streets in the valley were state highways to begin with. Why is Rainbow maintained by NDOT and, say, Buffalo isn't?

(not that I'm complaining, NDOT has done a very nice job with the streets they're responsible for in my experience)

Politics. It is worth noting that NDOT has been trying to get rid of anything that isn't of regional significance for quite some time, but not gonna happen at this point without a mileage swap.

Right, I know that you can't just drop a road on a government that isn't ready or willing to maintain it. But my question is more what caused these to become state highways in the first place. Were they originally constructed as such through some sort of state program intended to spur development of the valley or something? (Which sort of seems laughable these days, but I could see it being a bright idea in the 80s or something.) Or was it more of a "the state wants Clark County to do something so we'll have NDOT take over Rainbow/Jones/Charleston/Nellis/whatever" kind of arrangement? And how was it determined which arterials the state would take over?

Re: maintenance, NDOT roads in the Reno area are not in great shape. Parts of 580/395 are in worse shape than most local surface streets because we're still dealing with original concrete, while surface streets tend to be chip/slurry sealed every few years. NDOT plowing this year was horrendous compared to local agencies. And don't get me started on the condition of US 50.

I'm sorry to hear that. One of the most difficult parts of managing a state that's laid out the way Nevada is would be the natural tendency to focus on the most heavily populated (and thus politically powerful) part of the state...but you can't just neglect the needs of the other metropolitan areas. It should be our responsibility in the south to make sure the north is getting taken care of too, since we're all really in the same boat when it comes down to it.

#6

Mid-South / Re: Texas

Last post by Road Hog - Today at 02:27:52 AM

I don't know what the advantage is of a turbine as opposed to a 4-level stack. You need lots more real estate for it and more piers to install since piers aren't being shared. It's "innovative" and "looks purty" but that's about it.

From what I've noticed, it allows faster driving speeds which can prevent unnecessary braking and slowdowns in heavier volumes. I've driven the turbine at I-485 / I-85 in Charlotte, NC and you can easily take those ramps at 55 mph, and they're 2 lanes throughout. No significant change in grade and sharper corners.

If it's rural then yes, but I've driven the High 5 in Dallas hundreds of times and you can keep your speed. The problem is when you get down to South Central and encounter the three on-ramps in short order ... the biggest design flaw in Texas.

#7

General Highway Talk / Re: License Plate News

Last post by Road Hog - Today at 02:06:04 AM

Here is my plate redesign entry based on available images, bad Photoshop and bad resolution, so apologies in advance.

But I hope this gets taken up because it would be the state's first major plate redesign since 1978 (!!!):

#8

Pacific Southwest / Re: Nevada

Last post by cl94 - Today at 02:01:56 AM

Yeah, I'm not really sure why some of the streets in the valley were state highways to begin with. Why is Rainbow maintained by NDOT and, say, Buffalo isn't?

(not that I'm complaining, NDOT has done a very nice job with the streets they're responsible for in my experience)

Politics. It is worth noting that NDOT has been trying to get rid of anything that isn't of regional significance for quite some time, but not gonna happen at this point without a mileage swap.

Re: maintenance, NDOT roads in the Reno area are not in great shape. Parts of 580/395 are in worse shape than most local surface streets because we're still dealing with original concrete, while surface streets tend to be chip/slurry sealed every few years. NDOT plowing this year was horrendous compared to local agencies. And don't get me started on the condition of US 50.

#9

Pacific Southwest / Re: Nevada

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 01:19:56 AM

Yeah, I'm not really sure why some of the streets in the valley were state highways to begin with. Why is Rainbow maintained by NDOT and, say, Buffalo isn't?

(not that I'm complaining, NDOT has done a very nice job with the streets they're responsible for in my experience)

#10

Mid-South / Re: Texas

Last post by sprjus4 - Today at 01:17:03 AM

I don't know what the advantage is of a turbine as opposed to a 4-level stack. You need lots more real estate for it and more piers to install since piers aren't being shared. It's "innovative" and "looks purty" but that's about it.

From what I've noticed, it allows faster driving speeds which can prevent unnecessary braking and slowdowns in heavier volumes. I've driven the turbine at I-485 / I-85 in Charlotte, NC and you can easily take those ramps at 55 mph, and they're 2 lanes throughout. No significant change in grade and sharper corners.