Recent posts

#1

Mid-Atlantic / Re: Francis Scott Key Bridge (...

Last post by Road Hog - Today at 11:06:08 PM

The Edgar Allen Poe Bridge.

Murder out the trusses.

#2

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Illinois: Round Mile Mark...

Last post by Rothman - Today at 11:01:24 PM

State maintained =/= state route.

Wat.

It's state-maintained and it's a route. It's a state route.  It may not be a State Route, but it's a state route. The adjective "state" and the noun "route" are both correct.

IDOT maintains plenty of roads that are not signed routes. Besides signed numerical designations, there is a separate internal set of numerical designations for various roads across Illinois, state-maintained and otherwise (shown as "FAP", "FAU", etc.). But I don't think that's even what appears at the top of these mile markers.  The process of deciding these numbers for the top of these mile markers has always been a mystery to me. Such numbers are usually in the 8000s or 900s (though 316 is an oddball).

Bill Burmaster's (rmsandw) site has covered a plethora of these unsigned state highways: https://www.billburmaster.com/rmsandw/illinois/misc/il900.html

And these are just the ones IDOT marks in the wild.  District 1 has a number of unmarked state routes that lack any sort of signage whatsoever to denote them as state routes, including the circular postmiles.  The spur of the IL-53 freeway between Dundee Road and Lake-Cook Road comes to mind as just one example.

This is actually a great example, since it gets at what I was saying before about inventory key routes just being a tool to denote functional class.

IL-53 is shown as a marked route in IROADS up to Dundee Road.  Beyond Dundee Road, there is no entry in the marked route field for the spur (IL-53, of course, splits off).

Some would then point to the inventory key route and say, "A ha!  I have found the secret hidden route number!  It's 0342!"  However, this inventory key route matches what the 5-year classification maps indicate as simply the non-Interstate freeway/expressway functional class of the spur and the portion of IL-53 itself from the northern terminus to the spur.  The inventory key route is simply an identifier for functional class rather than "unmarked marked routes" that other States have.  Definitely not on the same level as a NYSDOT reference route.  Sure, the spur is a state-maintained road, but it doesn't have a route number on par with IDOT's marked routes.  If so, the inventory key route would be marked as a concurrency and it is not.

On a tangent, what is even more interesting is IROADS shows I-290 ending "far" beyond it's end signage in the field, ending north of Algonquin Road before transitioning to IL-53.  Actually makes sense since it's the end of the C-D ramp system and should all be considered I-290 up to that point, despite the placement of signage in the field.  Would be 90% reimbursable NHPP funding per its functional class...

(And, have to say again...Illinois is a mess data-wise...)

#3

Traffic Control / Re: The road sign city name ph...

Last post by formulanone - Today at 10:55:44 PM

Madoc -> Canal Point (FL)

#4

Traffic Control / Re: Guess the State Route Chal...

Last post by Hunty2022 - Today at 10:37:05 PM

NC-53

#5

Off-Topic / Re: The GPT thread

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 10:32:11 PM

[gigantic image]

"cookie monster expressway"

 

Please just hit the like button next time.

#6

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Michigan Notes

Last post by rhen_var - Today at 10:32:10 PM

I think that's actually pretty neat.  It's funded by Cavenue, not taxes, and regular cars can still use the lane (except for dedicated testing times, which, as noted in the video, only happens when the loss of the third lane isn't an issue).  It's also now a unique little stretch of freeway which is cool to see.

It's still less versatile, though, since you can't just move into that lane to pass people.  It's basically a separate one-lane carriageway, so you're stuck behind whoever the slowest driver in it is.

It's only a couple of miles though.  Not really a big issue.

#7

Mountain West / Re: New Mexico

Last post by abqtraveler - Today at 10:22:37 PM

It's a 16-mile drive from Cloudcroft to Alamogrodo on US-82. In that span of distance one will descend more than 4,300 feet in elevation from the crest of Sacramento Mountains to the bottom of the Tularosa Basin.

#8

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Illinois: Round Mile Mark...

Last post by Revive 755 - Today at 10:12:26 PM

And these are just the ones IDOT marks in the wild.  District 1 has a number of unmarked state routes that lack any sort of signage whatsoever to denote them as state routes, including the circular postmiles.  The spur of the IL-53 freeway between Dundee Road and Lake-Cook Road comes to mind as just one example.

District 1 doesn't even seem to use the circular postmiles on marked routes that often.

#9

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: I-70/71 Columbus Crossroad...

Last post by vtk - Today at 10:08:52 PM

I-70 EB will probably be shifted to the new Fulton St exit ramp to cross over 315 and the river, reportedly May 11. As it was apparently supposed to happen this weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if the traffic shift happens any time between now and then.

#10

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by thenetwork - Today at 10:02:42 PM

A couple money-related ones.  One is the short expiration cycle for rewards points at Price Chopper/Market32/Market Bistro.  The checkouts only give the option to use them when you have more than 500.  You can use them before, but have to specifically request it, so I usually wait until then unless I see that some are expiring.  Well, I somehow missed the thing on my receipts mentioning points expiring (either it's gotten less obvious or I got so used to hitting 500 before this happens that I've stopped checking as vigorously as I should) until I finished checking out today, and now I have a few points expiring by the end of the month with no way to use them in time.

Well, yeah, the purpose of loyalty points is not to give you stuff for free, it's to keep you coming back.  Putting limitations in the way of redeeming the points keeps the program from costing them too much.

On that note.  I hate when loyalty point programs take their good sweet time in merging/converting loyalty points when companies merge or when one acquires another.

1) Speedway speedy points can be used at/for 7-Eleven deals IF the 7-11 was a Speedway...but at last check, the 7-rewards still cannot be redeemed at Speedway/7 Eleven stores.

2) Same with loyalty Kum and Go reward points at Maveriks and vice versa (at last check), although the offers and deals are now exactly the same as of a few weeks ago. Our K&G stores will soon get the rebranding soon area so it may happen at that time (???)

Will they ever merge the accounts?  Who knows.