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Weird Routes

Started by Mike2357, August 12, 2021, 08:56:00 PM

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mrcmc888

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 13, 2021, 01:52:04 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on September 13, 2021, 01:49:06 PM
The graveyard one in Texas

TX 165 in Texas State Cemetery.
To be fair to that one, it used to go to US 290 before it was rerouted through Austin.  Even with that in mind, it still counted as a weird, short route that was kind of a dead end.


Max Rockatansky

Quote from: mrcmc888 on September 13, 2021, 05:13:48 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 13, 2021, 01:52:04 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on September 13, 2021, 01:49:06 PM
The graveyard one in Texas

TX 165 in Texas State Cemetery.
To be fair to that one, it used to go to US 290 before it was rerouted through Austin.  Even with that in mind, it still counted as a weird, short route that was kind of a dead end.

One of the few times a highway "dead end"  had more than one meaning.

US20IL64

#177
IL-137, some say shaped like a 'J'

Goes E-W and then N-S. But, nearby, are two separate IL State highways doing similar, IL-176 east bound ends at IL-131, which starts its northbound trek.
History is that the N-S 137 used to be IL-32 which used to go to Evanston from Lake Co.

BTW: I-90 and 94 are "backbones" of upper Midwest. Don't mess with them.  :biggrin:

bwana39

US-190 across from Temple TX to Huntsville. ESPECIALLY from Bryan to Huntsville.
Let's build what we need as economically as possible.

Flint1979

Quote from: bwana39 on September 13, 2021, 09:33:15 PM
US-190 across from Temple TX to Huntsville. ESPECIALLY from Bryan to Huntsville.
You would think it'd follow TX-30 through there.

Occidental Tourist

Quote from: Quillz on September 13, 2021, 07:54:27 AM
Quote from: sparker on August 14, 2021, 04:59:46 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:08:40 PM
Quote from: Mike2357 on August 12, 2021, 09:06:24 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:03:54 PM
CA 77 and it's tiny half mile freeway lacking a full interchange.

LOL only 1/2 a mile? That's literally just a long stretch of an avenue without a traffic light! Yeah over here we have a road called the "Prospect Expressway" that's only like 1.7 miles long, but half a mile LMAO

Shortest field signed State Highway in California.  Grander ambition would have had it much larger in scale than it turned out.

Even at full length it would have qualified as a "weird route", taking a convoluted path through the Oakland hills and ending up at I-680 in Pleasant Hill.  Trouble was it went through a lot of ultra-pricey property in Moraga and Lafayette along the route, so its prospects were pretty dim from the beginning (it was cut back in the '70's to Lafayette) -- and once the urban freeway revolt was in full swing circa the '70's, the entire alignment was pretty much toast. 

Nevertheless, if one wants weird-shaped routes, you can't do much better than CA 18: from its southern terminus at CA 210 it goes north for several miles, east for several more, winding through mountains (after all, it's labeled the "Rim of the World" highway) before crossing between two lakes (one mostly dry) and then heading nortwest out of the mountains before striking out west across the desert.  And it has one of the few "mutual terminations" in the state:  CA 138 terminates at CA 18 near Crestline, while CA 18 terminates at CA 138 out in the desert near the L.A./San Bernardino county line between Phelan and Pearblossom. 
Came in to see if anyone had mentioned CA-18. And don't forget its historical alignment had it extend southwest down to around Long Beach, using the alignment that is today CA-91. This is actually why it was numbered "18," because the number made sense relative to the other routes of the era (original CA-14, CA-22 (still exists) and CA-26, for example). That kind of made it even weirder: a relatively straightforward urban route, then does a northeast swing and basically completely inverts itself coming down the north side of the mountains. Even Caltrans doesn't really post directional signage on this route for the most part.

One that I don't think got mentioned yet is CA-169. It's not really "weird" per se, but unrealized. Has an unconstructed 30-mile gap between its two pieces. So you've got the western piece that basically runs for about 2 miles and just ends. The eastern piece is a fairly conventional highway, except roughly half of its route is narrow, maybe 1.5 lanes wide. Similar to the dreaded CA-236. So you've got an unrealized route that isn't very wide in a very remote part of the state. It's one of those routes that is fairly well signed but is completely forgettable.

Was about to bring up CA-18.  Even as originally laid out, it went from near Long Beach all the way up in the mountains and then on to Victorville.  It was not the most direct routing from Long Beach to Victorville, so I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the route was back then other than maybe as an auto-tour route.

Now it's even weirder with its "eastern"  (northern?) terminus at CA-138.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Occidental Tourist on September 15, 2021, 01:31:22 AM
Quote from: Quillz on September 13, 2021, 07:54:27 AM
Quote from: sparker on August 14, 2021, 04:59:46 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:08:40 PM
Quote from: Mike2357 on August 12, 2021, 09:06:24 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:03:54 PM
CA 77 and it's tiny half mile freeway lacking a full interchange.

LOL only 1/2 a mile? That's literally just a long stretch of an avenue without a traffic light! Yeah over here we have a road called the "Prospect Expressway" that's only like 1.7 miles long, but half a mile LMAO

Shortest field signed State Highway in California.  Grander ambition would have had it much larger in scale than it turned out.

Even at full length it would have qualified as a "weird route", taking a convoluted path through the Oakland hills and ending up at I-680 in Pleasant Hill.  Trouble was it went through a lot of ultra-pricey property in Moraga and Lafayette along the route, so its prospects were pretty dim from the beginning (it was cut back in the '70's to Lafayette) -- and once the urban freeway revolt was in full swing circa the '70's, the entire alignment was pretty much toast. 

Nevertheless, if one wants weird-shaped routes, you can't do much better than CA 18: from its southern terminus at CA 210 it goes north for several miles, east for several more, winding through mountains (after all, it's labeled the "Rim of the World" highway) before crossing between two lakes (one mostly dry) and then heading nortwest out of the mountains before striking out west across the desert.  And it has one of the few "mutual terminations" in the state:  CA 138 terminates at CA 18 near Crestline, while CA 18 terminates at CA 138 out in the desert near the L.A./San Bernardino county line between Phelan and Pearblossom. 
Came in to see if anyone had mentioned CA-18. And don't forget its historical alignment had it extend southwest down to around Long Beach, using the alignment that is today CA-91. This is actually why it was numbered "18," because the number made sense relative to the other routes of the era (original CA-14, CA-22 (still exists) and CA-26, for example). That kind of made it even weirder: a relatively straightforward urban route, then does a northeast swing and basically completely inverts itself coming down the north side of the mountains. Even Caltrans doesn't really post directional signage on this route for the most part.

One that I don't think got mentioned yet is CA-169. It's not really "weird" per se, but unrealized. Has an unconstructed 30-mile gap between its two pieces. So you've got the western piece that basically runs for about 2 miles and just ends. The eastern piece is a fairly conventional highway, except roughly half of its route is narrow, maybe 1.5 lanes wide. Similar to the dreaded CA-236. So you've got an unrealized route that isn't very wide in a very remote part of the state. It's one of those routes that is fairly well signed but is completely forgettable.

Was about to bring up CA-18.  Even as originally laid out, it went from near Long Beach all the way up in the mountains and then on to Victorville.  It was not the most direct routing from Long Beach to Victorville, so I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the route was back then other than maybe as an auto-tour route.

Now it's even weirder with its "eastern"  (northern?) terminus at CA-138.

Really when you think about it, how else was one supposed to get to Big Bear from both sides of the San Bernardino Mountains in the early 1930s?  The Rim of the World Highway specifically has origins all the way back to the 1850s during the California Gold Rush.  The state didn't even designate LRN 207 (future CA 30 and 330) until 1937.  LRN 190/future CA 38 was designated in 1933 but took decades to build.  Given the context I don't see having a single highway assigned over a mountain range as particularly odd given it was the only real infrastructure available. 

Occidental Tourist

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 15, 2021, 08:06:00 AM
Quote from: Occidental Tourist on September 15, 2021, 01:31:22 AM
Quote from: Quillz on September 13, 2021, 07:54:27 AM
Quote from: sparker on August 14, 2021, 04:59:46 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:08:40 PM
Quote from: Mike2357 on August 12, 2021, 09:06:24 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2021, 09:03:54 PM
CA 77 and it's tiny half mile freeway lacking a full interchange.

LOL only 1/2 a mile? That's literally just a long stretch of an avenue without a traffic light! Yeah over here we have a road called the "Prospect Expressway" that's only like 1.7 miles long, but half a mile LMAO

Shortest field signed State Highway in California.  Grander ambition would have had it much larger in scale than it turned out.

Even at full length it would have qualified as a "weird route", taking a convoluted path through the Oakland hills and ending up at I-680 in Pleasant Hill.  Trouble was it went through a lot of ultra-pricey property in Moraga and Lafayette along the route, so its prospects were pretty dim from the beginning (it was cut back in the '70's to Lafayette) -- and once the urban freeway revolt was in full swing circa the '70's, the entire alignment was pretty much toast. 

Nevertheless, if one wants weird-shaped routes, you can't do much better than CA 18: from its southern terminus at CA 210 it goes north for several miles, east for several more, winding through mountains (after all, it's labeled the "Rim of the World" highway) before crossing between two lakes (one mostly dry) and then heading nortwest out of the mountains before striking out west across the desert.  And it has one of the few "mutual terminations" in the state:  CA 138 terminates at CA 18 near Crestline, while CA 18 terminates at CA 138 out in the desert near the L.A./San Bernardino county line between Phelan and Pearblossom. 
Came in to see if anyone had mentioned CA-18. And don't forget its historical alignment had it extend southwest down to around Long Beach, using the alignment that is today CA-91. This is actually why it was numbered "18," because the number made sense relative to the other routes of the era (original CA-14, CA-22 (still exists) and CA-26, for example). That kind of made it even weirder: a relatively straightforward urban route, then does a northeast swing and basically completely inverts itself coming down the north side of the mountains. Even Caltrans doesn't really post directional signage on this route for the most part.

One that I don't think got mentioned yet is CA-169. It's not really "weird" per se, but unrealized. Has an unconstructed 30-mile gap between its two pieces. So you've got the western piece that basically runs for about 2 miles and just ends. The eastern piece is a fairly conventional highway, except roughly half of its route is narrow, maybe 1.5 lanes wide. Similar to the dreaded CA-236. So you've got an unrealized route that isn't very wide in a very remote part of the state. It's one of those routes that is fairly well signed but is completely forgettable.

Was about to bring up CA-18.  Even as originally laid out, it went from near Long Beach all the way up in the mountains and then on to Victorville.  It was not the most direct routing from Long Beach to Victorville, so I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the route was back then other than maybe as an auto-tour route.

Now it's even weirder with its "eastern"  (northern?) terminus at CA-138.

Really when you think about it, how else was one supposed to get to Big Bear from both sides of the San Bernardino Mountains in the early 1930s?  The Rim of the World Highway specifically has origins all the way back to the 1850s during the California Gold Rush.  The state didn't even designate LRN 207 (future CA 30 and 330) until 1937.  LRN 190/future CA 38 was designated in 1933 but took decades to build.  Given the context I don't see having a single highway assigned over a mountain range as particularly odd given it was the only real infrastructure available. 

I get assigning it over the mountains and having it be the route you travel into or through the mountains from the north and south.  I don't get having it then run all the way to Long Beach. Victorville to San Bernardino via the mountain resorts makes sense; Victorville to Long Beach via an indirect route doesn't, particularly in the age of navigating by map or trip-tik. 

And in the post-64 signing era, I don't get the point of having 18 run out west to 138 to terminate.  Other than making sure a state-maintained road has a number assigned to it, what does that leg serve?  It causes 18 to intersect 138 twice, which could create driver confusion.  It locates the eastern terminus further west than the western terminus and makes consistent cardinal direction signing nearly impossible. 

If I am at the 210/18 ("western" ) terminus, and I want to travel to the 138/18 ("eastern" ) terminus, I don't take 18 all the way.  I almost immediately get off of 18 and get on 138 and take that west to the eastern terminus.  If I'm in San Bernardino, and I'd like a nice day in the mountains and then want to end up at the other end of 18 when I'm done, I don't keep following 18 all the way up and through Victorville after I've stopped off in Arrowhead or Big Bear.  I turn around and go the way I came to get on 138, which is the vastly shorter route to the other end of 18 than taking 18 itself.

Truncating 2 made sense, because why have it run across one mountain range, but then terminate in the middle of another.  So now 2 is the route up into and through the San Gabriels only.  Having 18 be the route up into and through the San Bernardinos would have made total sense.  The added leg to 18 so it could terminate further west in the middle of nowhere seems to be the exact opposite of that the CTC was trying to accomplish with truncating 2.

Max Rockatansky

18 to a Long Beach probably was just a place holder for US 91 until it was extended.  The former "should"  have been truncated but long multiplexes weren't viewed by the CHC as a problem back then.  Agreed 18 west of Victorville is silly, it should have been assigned something else.

SMoon

M-185 in Michigan.

No start, no finish, it's a loop.
And the only state highway to forbid traffic.

It encircles Mackinac Island.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: SMoon on September 27, 2021, 04:22:04 AM
M-185 in Michigan.

No start, no finish, it's a loop.
And the only state highway to forbid traffic.

It encircles Mackinac Island.

It does have a Mile Marker 0 though.  Traffic is permitted, just not of the regular passenger automobile variety.  Emergency vehicles and even snow mobiles are permitted on M-185.

zachary_amaryllis

Quote from: MCRoads on August 18, 2021, 02:07:21 PM
Quote from: jayhawkco on August 18, 2021, 02:03:05 PM
Quote from: kphoger on August 18, 2021, 01:59:38 PM
Quote from: MCRoads on August 18, 2021, 01:53:47 PM
CO115 ... dipping south to fluoresce ...

Now, that's something I'd like to see!   :awesomeface:

We can't get the reflectors on our lane lines here unlike Arizona and others.  Maybe this is our way?

Chris
I was really confused until I realized there was a typo.

That would be really cool, however, my damn phone refuses to acknowledge that "Florence"  is a word. (to type it, I have to actively stop it from "correcting"  the name. Thanks apple!)

iirc, 115 touches us 50 twice, once at canon, and east at .. what is it, penrose? and the florence - canon run seems more east-west.. but thats a whole 'nother ballgame.

co-392 seems like a weird route to me just because of that dogleg somewhere east of greeley that runs it up to the exciting metropolis of ... briggsdale.
clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)

zachary_amaryllis

how about co-82 in glenwood springs, co?

maybe its not the route itself that feels weird, but the town. you get off i-70, and immediately cross a sharp-turned-bridge back over i-70.

82 has a distinct east-west feel to it through the town of glenwood, even though its actually going more or less south at that point. every time i go there, i feel like my directions are all twisted around because of that.
clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)

TheGrassGuy

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 27, 2021, 08:19:24 AM
Quote from: SMoon on September 27, 2021, 04:22:04 AM
M-185 in Michigan.

No start, no finish, it's a loop.
And the only state highway to forbid traffic.

It encircles Mackinac Island.

It does have a Mile Marker 0 though.  Traffic is permitted, just not of the regular passenger automobile variety.  Emergency vehicles and even snow mobiles are permitted on M-185.

I've always been skeptical of the claim that M-185 is the only state highway where regular traffic is generally forbidden. I swear, there has got to be other state "highways" that are closed to traffic in their entirety, or pedestrianized. Think CA-39 or CA-2, or WA-165, but the closed section is the entire highway. At least one more!
If you ever feel useless, remember that CR 504 exists.

TheGrassGuy

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on September 27, 2021, 10:26:53 AM
how about co-82 in glenwood springs, co?

maybe its not the route itself that feels weird, but the town. you get off i-70, and immediately cross a sharp-turned-bridge back over i-70.

82 has a distinct east-west feel to it through the town of glenwood, even though its actually going more or less south at that point. every time i go there, i feel like my directions are all twisted around because of that.

Walked it over through GSV, and it literally just feels like a tight trumpet interchange but with traffic lights and side roads. If you think that Glenwood Springs and CO-82 are unique in this respect, I got bad news for you...
If you ever feel useless, remember that CR 504 exists.

hbelkins

Kentucky has a bunch besides KY 620. Check out the meanderings of KY 646 in Montgomery County.

VA 102 is another good candidate, even without all the odd signs. It starts at the WV/VA state line in Bluefield, follows city streets and makes two 90-degree turns to change streets, then crosses the state line a couple of times before coming to an end at some arbitrary point in Pocahontas.

I'd like to see a detailed map of Bluefield, Va., from before the US 460 bypass was built to see how it was routed.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:39:04 AM
Kentucky has a bunch besides KY 620. Check out the meanderings of KY 646 in Montgomery County.

VA 102 is another good candidate, even without all the odd signs. It starts at the WV/VA state line in Bluefield, follows city streets and makes two 90-degree turns to change streets, then crosses the state line a couple of times before coming to an end at some arbitrary point in Pocahontas.

I'd like to see a detailed map of Bluefield, Va., from before the US 460 bypass was built to see how it was routed.

Not exactly the most detailed but this topo map from (likely before) 1983 shows US 460 duplexed with US 19 through Bluefield.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

hbelkins

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on December 28, 2021, 11:50:38 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:39:04 AM
Kentucky has a bunch besides KY 620. Check out the meanderings of KY 646 in Montgomery County.

VA 102 is another good candidate, even without all the odd signs. It starts at the WV/VA state line in Bluefield, follows city streets and makes two 90-degree turns to change streets, then crosses the state line a couple of times before coming to an end at some arbitrary point in Pocahontas.

I'd like to see a detailed map of Bluefield, Va., from before the US 460 bypass was built to see how it was routed.

There are a handful of snippets on the Virginia Highways Project page that I took a look at.
Not exactly the most detailed but this topo map from (likely before) 1983 shows US 460 duplexed with US 19 through Bluefield.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

TheGrassGuy

Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:59:45 AM
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on December 28, 2021, 11:50:38 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:39:04 AM
Kentucky has a bunch besides KY 620. Check out the meanderings of KY 646 in Montgomery County.

VA 102 is another good candidate, even without all the odd signs. It starts at the WV/VA state line in Bluefield, follows city streets and makes two 90-degree turns to change streets, then crosses the state line a couple of times before coming to an end at some arbitrary point in Pocahontas.

I'd like to see a detailed map of Bluefield, Va., from before the US 460 bypass was built to see how it was routed.

There are a handful of snippets on the Virginia Highways Project page that I took a look at.
Not exactly the most detailed but this topo map from (likely before) 1983 shows US 460 duplexed with US 19 through Bluefield.

uh
If you ever feel useless, remember that CR 504 exists.

hbelkins

Quote from: TheGrassGuy on December 29, 2021, 03:03:28 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:59:45 AM
Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on December 28, 2021, 11:50:38 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on December 28, 2021, 11:39:04 AM
Kentucky has a bunch besides KY 620. Check out the meanderings of KY 646 in Montgomery County.

VA 102 is another good candidate, even without all the odd signs. It starts at the WV/VA state line in Bluefield, follows city streets and makes two 90-degree turns to change streets, then crosses the state line a couple of times before coming to an end at some arbitrary point in Pocahontas.

I'd like to see a detailed map of Bluefield, Va., from before the US 460 bypass was built to see how it was routed.

There are a handful of snippets on the Virginia Highways Project page that I took a look at.
Not exactly the most detailed but this topo map from (likely before) 1983 shows US 460 duplexed with US 19 through Bluefield.

uh

I think that got posted when I was trying to update my post to say I had seen the Virginia Highway Project's maps for VA 102.

I remember when maps showed the four-lane bypass of the Bluefields as proposed or under construction, and the US 19 route through town marked as US 19 and TEMP US 460. I can't remember when the bypass was completed, or if there were gaps between when the two states got their portions finished. My first time to drive it was 1988 or 1989, and I remember that Virginia's section looks older and less modern than West Virginia's.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Dirt Roads

Quote from: hbelkins on December 29, 2021, 04:35:17 PM
I remember when maps showed the four-lane bypass of the Bluefields as proposed or under construction, and the US 19 route through town marked as US 19 and TEMP US 460. I can't remember when the bypass was completed, or if there were gaps between when the two states got their portions finished. My first time to drive it was 1988 or 1989, and I remember that Virginia's section looks older and less modern than West Virginia's.

The section of the Bluefield Southern Bypass in West Virginia was opened in 1977 and posted as US-460.  I remember a short time where the Virginia side was not signed whatsoever, but VDOT had signed a connector with VA-102 as TEMP US-460 by 1979.  When I was in college, I missed the TEMP US-460 and kept going straight on Graham Road (SR-650).  I knew I wasn't lost once I got to Graham High School.  When I got to a friend's place in Tazewell, they told me that locals always used Graham Road (which was originally CR-21/1 on the West Virginia side) as an informal bypass to avoid downtown Bluefield. 

Anyhow, I used Graham Road so much that I eventually realized that I had not clinched US-19 in West Virginia or Virginia because of avoiding downtown Bluefield.  I probably didn't pick up that stretch until the mid-1990s.

Avalanchez71

US 40 through Lawrence, KS.

Avalanchez71

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 17, 2021, 10:21:21 AM
Quote from: kphoger on August 17, 2021, 10:19:56 AM
Like, moral value?  Or financial value?  Or political value?

All of the above I believe.  He'll have to chime in to fully explain his reasoning
It is a good way to bring back a nostalgic number.  It could infuse tourism on a the route.

woodpusher

Quote from: dlsterner on August 14, 2021, 08:41:36 PM
Quote from: 1 on August 14, 2021, 08:07:11 PM
Regarding a route that is all four directions:

Quote from: Mapmikey on August 08, 2020, 03:15:01 PM
This is in eastern Knoxville TN - https://goo.gl/maps/cj9wGmvQSussrjeo6

You are on US 11E south, US 25W north, US 70 west, and unsigned TN 9 north.  The sign says TN 168 west is to the left.

TN 168 east is also (unsigned) straight ahead.

TN 168 was extended over US 11E-70 when US 25W was moved to I-40 and 640.  Though not necessary, TN 9 was also moved with it.  Thus there was no state designation on US 11E-70 west of I-40.  They put TN 168 on it.  Maps show this and there is a TN 168 mile posting at the US 11E-11W split - https://goo.gl/maps/whkXNQMejqRuBz4U9

So while not posted, it does exist on a 0.9 mile stretch of highway in Tennessee.

I still feel that some intrepid forum member should ninja-post the proper TN 9 sign at that location and photograph it.  Said member would become an instant forum celebrity
I don't recall ever seeing a TN-9 sign - I see it on maps though.
There is a TN-1 sign concurrent with US 11 and US 70. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8829719,-84.1565884,3a,15y,67.88h,89.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGFLXLA70MDd-p2a4smdtHQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192



MATraveler128

I-295's extension to Pennsylvania comes across as weird. I know it was the most direct route during the I-95 reroute, but it still looks weird. Especially because it's signed east west on the PA side.
Decommission 128 south of Peabody!

Lowest untraveled number: 56



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