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California

Started by andy3175, July 20, 2016, 12:17:21 AM

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sparker

Back in the late '80's, after some cross-median commercial-vehicle smash-throughs on the portion of CA 99 featuring closely spaced oleander bushes as a median barrier -- pretty during floral season, but not terribly effective safety-wise -- Caltrans started putting cable barriers alongside the bushes' base; the cables were about 3 1/2 feet (42") off the ground.  While effective for smaller vehicles such as vans or small buses, it was less so for anything of bobtail size or larger; those would simply ride up the cables, bending them down with their weight, and still cross over (with the vehicle often leaning over at an angle!).  By the early 2000's most had been replaced by much taller (about 5 ft. or slightly higher) dual thrie-beam assemblies with very closely spaced support risers (one on each side of the bushes and slightly closer to the lane itself).  This seems to have done the job; reportedly median crossings in the affected area (between Delano and Tulare) were reduced considerably (I don't have the stats in front of me, but IIRC, the reduction figure exceeded 70%). 

It would be interesting to determine if the major factor in the lessening of crossover incidents was due to the properties of the thrie-beam barrier or simply the height difference;  I can't recall any studies being commissioned on this particular subject.


coatimundi

I remember seeing the cable barrier surrounded by plants, but I can't remember where. Maybe it was 99. I remember it being really hot, so I think that's what it was. Personally, I think it would be great if they put in some oleander or, better yet, something native but still capable of totaling a Range Rover. Like maybe oak trees that grew up instead of out.
I recall, as a kid, being enthralled with the aesthetics of So Cal highways. The median flora just makes things so much nicer.

It just surprised me to see that Caltrans was going to use cable barriers since they seem to love their sheet metal.
The one place I used to see it the most was in Phoenix, on Loop 101. And, as you may expect, there were always sections that were broken and not repaired. The thrice-daily wrecks on that road likely caused the state to give up.

jeffe

Quote from: compdude787 on July 23, 2016, 05:27:49 PM
However, the cable median barriers weren't tall enough, so they weren't all that effective in stopping big cars like SUVs and trucks. So finally, WSDOT put in a tall jersey barrier in the median (as seen here) and that solved the problem. The cable median barriers are still there, but the jersey barrier has made them pretty much redundant.

It looks like there are two types of cable barrier systems -- a three cable and a four cable system.  The one shown there on I-5 looks like a three cable system and is rather short.  Single Slope concrete barriers are are normally 36 inches tall to prevent headlight glare, but must be at least 32 inches tall to meet crash standards.  This cable barrier looks like it is at most half the height of the concrete barrier, say 18 inches.

The ones used in California are four cable systems from the following companies:

Quote
The allowable HTCB must consist of one of the following or a Department-authorized equal:

  • 1. TYPE BRIFEN - Type Brifen 4-Rope TL-4 Wire Rope Safety Fence System (WRSF) manufactured by
    Brifen USA, Inc
  • 2. TYPE GIBRALTAR - Type Gibraltar TL-4-4 manufactured by Gibraltar Cable Barrier Systems
  • 3. TYPE CASS - Type CASS TL-4 Cable Safety System manufactured by Trinity Industries
Source

The specification for the first manufacturer has the top cable 36.5 inches high and the bottom cable 18 inches high.  This means the cable barrier is taller than the standard 36 inch concrete barrier used in California as well as being taller than the 32 inch tall thrie beam.




Max Rockatansky

Quote from: coatimundi on July 24, 2016, 02:27:22 AM
I remember seeing the cable barrier surrounded by plants, but I can't remember where. Maybe it was 99. I remember it being really hot, so I think that's what it was. Personally, I think it would be great if they put in some oleander or, better yet, something native but still capable of totaling a Range Rover. Like maybe oak trees that grew up instead of out.
I recall, as a kid, being enthralled with the aesthetics of So Cal highways. The median flora just makes things so much nicer.

It just surprised me to see that Caltrans was going to use cable barriers since they seem to love their sheet metal.
The one place I used to see it the most was in Phoenix, on Loop 101. And, as you may expect, there were always sections that were broken and not repaired. The thrice-daily wrecks on that road likely caused the state to give up.

Yeah those cable barriers went by the wayside on AZ 101 especially in the Salt River Tribal land.  There was actually a dispute going when the freeway opened up between DPS and the Tribe on who would actually patrol the road.  The consequence was that really nobody patrolled the freeway and if you didn't drive 90 MPH you would get run over, suffice to say it added to the wrecks big time....I remember watching a car careen into one of those cable barriers just north of Frank Lloyd Wright going south bound and just catching it perfect that the car pretty much shredded on impact.

I've seen that section of 99 before, I want to say it was between Fresno and Stockton.  I'm fairly certain that's where a dog was found living in the trees after falling out of a truck.

sparker

Besides the Delano-Tulare section, oleander was a median feature on 99 along the former expressway section between Chowchilla and Merced that's just been bypassed by a freeway.  Further north, other expressway sections -- between Atwater and Livingston, and between Delhi and Turlock -- were also the sites of oleander.  There was some in and around Manteca (incidentally, the oldest CA 99 freeway section in the Valley, dating from about 1951-52), but that's gone since the widening of the last 5 years.  The farthest north section of current 99 freeway with some oleander is around Galt.  Although I haven't been on these "Business 99" sections in well over a decade, IIRC there's some in the segment around Kingsburg/Selma, as well as south of Turlock.  They're certainly hardy plants, tolerating 60+ years of hydrocarbon exhaust!  (they're also toxic to humans!)

TheStranger

Saw this posted on the Freeways of LA facebook page: a 1960 map of the area, complete with the infamous Long Beach Freeway gap in South Pasadena marked with dashed lines!

http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/see-l-eyes-newcomer-1960s-map/
Chris Sampang

coatimundi

Quote
Norman describes the old and the new with the eye of a man visiting a bewildering foreign country.

I don't see that here. I see descriptions of tourist attractions.
And don't you people in the Southland actually say "Cali"? I mean, people here roll their eyes at that, but I had always thought it was just one of many differences.

For a wide-eyed newcomer, as they seem to see him, the guy certainly had an obsession with freeways. Maybe that was just more reflective of the time. I love the "Freeway Information" up top. That's pretty useful, but obviously not overly reliable.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on July 24, 2016, 10:27:19 AM
Besides the Delano-Tulare section, oleander was a median feature on 99 along the former expressway section between Chowchilla and Merced that's just been bypassed by a freeway.  Further north, other expressway sections -- between Atwater and Livingston, and between Delhi and Turlock -- were also the sites of oleander.  There was some in and around Manteca (incidentally, the oldest CA 99 freeway section in the Valley, dating from about 1951-52), but that's gone since the widening of the last 5 years.  The farthest north section of current 99 freeway with some oleander is around Galt.  Although I haven't been on these "Business 99" sections in well over a decade, IIRC there's some in the segment around Kingsburg/Selma, as well as south of Turlock.  They're certainly hardy plants, tolerating 60+ years of hydrocarbon exhaust!  (they're also toxic to humans!)

Galt is where that dog was found.  Apparently the coverage was thick enough for a dog to chill out there for several weeks with a broken leg....I want to say CHP called her Freeway Frida?  I posted a thread in off-topic about awhile back that had a decent video that showed the plants in the median....and of course dog.

cahwyguy

Quote from: coatimundi on July 25, 2016, 09:37:07 AM
And don't you people in the Southland actually say "Cali"? I mean, people here roll their eyes at that, but I had always thought it was just one of many differences.

No, we don't. I'm native Southern California: born here, lived all my life here. We do "the" in front of the freeway numbers, a holdover from the named days (e.g., the San Diego to the Harbor became the 405 to the 110).

Cali? I"ve only see that on T-shirts made by non-locals.
Daniel - California Highway Guy ● Highway Site: http://www.cahighways.org/ ●  Blog: http://blog.cahighways.org/ ● Podcast (CA Route by Route): http://caroutebyroute.org/ ● Follow California Highways on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cahighways

sdmichael

Quote from: coatimundi on July 25, 2016, 09:37:07 AM
And don't you people in the Southland actually say "Cali"? I mean, people here roll their eyes at that, but I had always thought it was just one of many differences.

No, we don't say "Cali" unless referring to a city in Columbia.

sparker

Up here in NorCal, you don't hear the term "Cali" unless it's uttered by a tourist -- or even an newbie.  Since we get a regular influx of kids (at my age, I can refer to anyone under 35 as a "kid"!!!!) in the tech industry, there seems to be a smattering of "Cali" talk early in their residency; it generally gets "whipped" out of them by their senior associates in short order!

coatimundi

When I hear "Cali" my mind goes to "douchebag".
It's the same with the people who insist on saying "Frisco" or "San Fran". I don't know what they're trying to prove, but it just sounds dumb.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: coatimundi on July 25, 2016, 03:02:54 PM
When I hear "Cali" my mind goes to "douchebag".
It's the same with the people who insist on saying "Frisco" or "San Fran". I don't know what they're trying to prove, but it just sounds dumb.

A lot of yuppies in Arizona use that term when talking about California.  I imagine they think the whole state is like a giant Los Angeles, makes me roll my eyes in disgust everytime I hear my brother's wife say that or surfer slang.  Speaking of surfer slang I have yet to ever encounter anyone who was actually from here that spoke like that. 

flowmotion

The only people in NorCal I've heard use "Cali" are the same sort who say "hella". I think it's a dying subculture.

Although they say "Nobody calls it Frisco", but there are San Francisco old timers who call it that, particularly African-americans. It's the new arrivals who quickly learn not to from other arrivals.

Quillz

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2016, 08:30:17 PM
Quote from: coatimundi on July 25, 2016, 03:02:54 PM
When I hear "Cali" my mind goes to "douchebag".
It's the same with the people who insist on saying "Frisco" or "San Fran". I don't know what they're trying to prove, but it just sounds dumb.

A lot of yuppies in Arizona use that term when talking about California.  I imagine they think the whole state is like a giant Los Angeles, makes me roll my eyes in disgust everytime I hear my brother's wife say that or surfer slang.  Speaking of surfer slang I have yet to ever encounter anyone who was actually from here that spoke like that. 
Reminds me of people (I know a few) who think New York state is just a giant city, even though the vast majority of the state has forests, mountains, lakes, etc. Just like California.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: flowmotion on July 25, 2016, 10:50:32 PM
The only people in NorCal I've heard use "Cali" are the same sort who say "hella". I think it's a dying subculture.

Although they say "Nobody calls it Frisco", but there are San Francisco old timers who call it that, particularly African-americans. It's the new arrivals who quickly learn not to from other arrivals.

This is the only time I've ever heard "hella" ever be a thing:


flowmotion

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2016, 11:17:58 PM
This is the only time I've ever heard "hella" ever be a thing:



There's an argument to made that Cartman killed "hella". It was a word, but I really don't think I've heard it unironically in the 21st century.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: flowmotion on July 26, 2016, 03:01:41 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 25, 2016, 11:17:58 PM
This is the only time I've ever heard "hella" ever be a thing:



There's an argument to made that Cartman killed "hella". It was a word, but I really don't think I've heard it unironically in the 21st century.

"Hella" must've been hella lame.  :rolleyes:  I wanted the clip where Stan tells him to stop saying hella but couldn't find it.

AsphaltPlanet

This might be more of a routine thing for the California folks, but I-5 through Orange County has long been one of my favourite sections of freeway in California.  With that said, I've uploaded a number of photos of the highway taken during various visits over the past few years.

Some I-5 SoCal goodness:















I've put together a bunch of these photos on my website.  Some of my I-5 photos are older and not very good, but I think some of them are all right, despite the rather dreary day a lot of them were taken on.
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/CA/I/5/Page4.html
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/CA/I/5/index.html
AsphaltPlanet.ca  Youtube -- Opinions expressed reflect the viewpoints of others.

djsekani

Orange County tends to have nice-looking freeways in general. I think the 5 looks actually inviting after slogging through the East L.A. Interchange, Commerce, and Norwalk.

sparker

It'll be interesting to see how the presently under-construction segment between Buena Park and Downey looks when they're finally done with it; IIRC, there were some unique design features necessary to squeeze the expanded facility between existing businesses, rail lines, and the like.  If anyone down there has some recent pictures or can get their hands on plans, posting those would be greatly appreciated!

Occidental Tourist

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on August 16, 2016, 10:24:16 AM
This might be more of a routine thing for the California folks, but I-5 through Orange County has long been one of my favourite sections of freeway in California.  With that said, I've uploaded a number of photos of the highway taken during various visits over the past few years.

Ever critical that I am, I can find some flaws.

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on August 16, 2016, 10:24:16 AM
Some I-5 SoCal goodness:


So the advance sign has an unnecessary slash between State College and The City Drive, and the placement of the mileage indicator for the 22 interchange is too far right.  Also the mileage indicator for State College/The City Drive/Chapman doesn't conform to the sign manual requirements because it has the numerator and denominator on the same line and is the same size as the whole number mileage indicator below and as the rest of the sign text when it should be about half that size.


Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on August 16, 2016, 10:24:16 AM

The "West" on the advance sign is not capitalized and La Palma is missing its Ave.

Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on August 16, 2016, 10:24:16 AM

The infamous "Artesia" (population 14,000 with two offramps off the 91) as a control city for the 91 West.


MarkF

Quote from: sparker on August 18, 2016, 01:57:05 PM
It'll be interesting to see how the presently under-construction segment between Buena Park and Downey looks when they're finally done with it; IIRC, there were some unique design features necessary to squeeze the expanded facility between existing businesses, rail lines, and the like.  If anyone down there has some recent pictures or can get their hands on plans, posting those would be greatly appreciated!
Check out https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11848.0
I just updated it with a video of the construction zone from late June.

Here's some stills from the video:

At Alondra Blvd:


At Carmenita Rd, all traffic (3 lanes each way) on the future northbound lanes:


At Norwalk Blvd, transitioning to the original northbound lanes:


Much below the future roadway level near Imperial Hwy:

sparker

It certainly amazes me that Caltrans is managing to keep 3 lanes of traffic going in both directions during this expansion process, particularly the section through Norwalk!  No surprise that this section was the last to be addressed between 605 and 22/57; the lack of easement area on either side of the original 1956-57 alignment would render it the most difficult to expand in both political and fiscal terms.  It looks like most of the properties taken for the expansion are along the south side of the alignment (which makes sense considering the array of large-scale businesses and related facilities on the north side of the original freeway).

Thanks for the pix -- it'll be a while before I can get back down to the L.A. area to see all this for myself. 

AsphaltPlanet

I get the sense that CalTrans was really hoping to have the 710 debacle figured out before it came time to widen the 5 Freeway any further north into LA County.  An extension of the 710 Freeway would obviously have huge implications as to what form the interchange between the 5 and the 710 takes shape as.

I know this is a ways down the road... but i for one can't wait to see the East LA Interchange replaced with something modern.
AsphaltPlanet.ca  Youtube -- Opinions expressed reflect the viewpoints of others.



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