Started the final day of the trip in Cayce, South Carolina. Began by poking around downtown Columbia briefly before heading west to Saluda, SC and Athens, GA. Ended up back in Atlanta and took Interstate 20 west to Birmingham and then south on I-65. Counter-intuitive shield assembly posted for South Carolina 12 along U.S. 21-176-321 (Huger Street) northbound in Columbia. South Carolina 12 follows a one-way street [...]
Rounding out the northern component of our trip, covering Interstate 64 east through eastern Kentucky to Charleston and a rehash of the West Virginia Turnpike south among other revisits of roads previously driven. Several more projects worth mentioning on this drive and we cover some in detail below I-64 trailblazer on Kentucky 686 west We begin our day at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky and discover one of a [...]
Day 4 focuses on Interstate 76 west, the Columbus Beltway, and completing Interstate 71 in Kentucky among other roads. Interstate 80 west at Ohio 711. Ohio 711 was completed on October 24, 2005 after three years of construction. The 3.35-mile state route links Interstate 80 and Ohio 11 with Interstate 680. For years ramp stubs sat unused at Interstate 80 and Ohio 711 existed as a short [...]
Day 3 of the trip focused on documenting the Cleveland area Interstates, walking around Public Square in downtown, heading east to Pennsylvania to redrive the extended Interstate 376, and revisiting the city of Pittsburgh. Orange cones, barriers and signs were omnipresent throughout northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania related to numerous resurfacing and bridge rehabilitation projects. Some of the more major road projects we encountered are highlighted below. Sign [...]
Road news and notes from the drive between Travelers Rest, South Carolina and Canton, Ohio. Signs of construction along U.S. 25 northbound near East Flat Rock south of Hendersonville Ccompare this scene with this 2007 view. Widening of the two-lane highway is underway to bring it up to four-lane Interstate standards. At-grade intersections with Kay Road and other residential roads will be handled by a new frontage [...]
Road news and notes from the first day of a six-day drive from the Gulf Coast to Cleveland and back. Traveling the Ross Clark Circle around Dothan, pictured here is the approach of the U.S. 84 west and U.S. 431 northbound split. The city of Dothan has sought a freeway for years, but none remains planned. The circle is typical of an older bypass around an Alabaman [...]
the eighth day of my trip across the Rockies. Here, having survived Million Dollar Highway, we head west across Utah on I-70, to get to I-15 and scour Salt Lake City for old signs. The very, very first rays of sunrise. An old, abandoned alignment of US-6 and US-50 near Thompson, Utah. A two-minute exposure at earliest dawn, with Venus tracking steadily across the skies on the left. Sunrise over [...]
We pick up in Colorado, December 2007 – where a snowstorm has just subsided, and we thus prepare to cross the Rockies, crossing our fingers hoping that it does not pick up again and render unto us blinding whiteout conditions. Of course, it does. Red rocks in winter. Colorado state highway 149 – just barely on the western side of the Rockies, after we cross on US-50 across Monarch Pass. [...]
South Dakota. US-16 and interstate 90. And a wee bit of Wyoming and Colorado in the evening. December 2007. Grim winter. 18×18 I-90 shield. 1957 specs. And, more interestingly, an embossed arrow to point the way. Since the 1957 specification called for white, not blue, arrows, they took a 1948-spec arrow that they had lying around and used it to point to the new freeway. This is the sign find [...]
East along I-80 in Nebraska, then north along I-29 into South Dakota, then westbound on I-90 – all the while looking for old signs. First thing in the morning. US highway 30 eastbound in western Nebraska. We follow 30 for a while because it’s a mile or two away from I-80 and more likely to have old signs. It may or may not be rather cold. Catch of the day! [...]
