Leaking a few autumn road meet ideas

[Dougtone]

I know it's quite early, but meets are being talked about much further in advance these days.  I'm not announcing details, but this is what I have in mind for this fall.

Watertown, NY, likely in mid-September: This meet will include Fort Drum Connector construction, plus I'm trying to come up with a few other ideas for the area that would work for a meet (Thousand Islands Bridge is neat, but it's a distance from Watertown).

Bennington, VT, sometime after the leaf peepers go home, but before the snow falls: This meet would include Bennington Bypass construction, covered bridges and other items of note in the area.  I pass through Bennington quite a bit, and more often than not, I'm thinking, Bennington would make a good location for the first road meet in Vermont.

[froggie]

I'd think a Bennington meet would have more utility *AFTER* the northeast leg of the bypass opens.  I'd rather drive it, not look at construction.  Granted, I've done enough of the latter on my pass-throughs.

Same thing with Watertown.  With the added benefit of, being that I'm active duty, I can take people on the last leg of it INTO the base.  In point of reference, I will insist that any Watertown meet wait until after I-781 is completed and open.

[Alps]

I prefer construction to open roadways, myself. To the point that I don't take photos on new roads (I might do a video), but I certainly do take them of construction. So I'd rather go before they open.

[Dougtone]

It's a matter of personal preference regarding whether to attend a meet during construction vs. after the road/bridge/etc. is open.  I tend to plan a meet based on a general time frame that I want host the meet vs. anything else.  That may sound selfish, but it works for me.

Regarding the Fort Drum Connector, my understanding is that construction will be ongoing throughout this year.  As for the Bennington Bypass, that northern segment may be open or pretty close to be opened by the end of 2011.  I've seen both 2011 and 2012 as completion dates (not sure if the construction of a new Vermont welcome center in Bennington is part of that schedule).

[agentsteel53]

I like roads neither while under construction nor when just opened.  give them 50 years, then I will find them interesting! 

[vdeane]

Either's fine for me, though Watertown is closer.  However, I don't know if there is much to see with I-781.  Since it's on a new alignment, there's not really much there so far except bridge supports that can be seen from open roads.  Might be better to wait until it's opened (especially since froggie can make it so we can clinch it properly).

The Thousand Islands Bridge is always interesting, though I hope to see it this summer if I go to the Montreal meet.

EDIT: Fixed typo

[cu2010]

I-787 is nowhere near Watertown...

There have been a few other major construction projects in Watertown over the past few years (Arsenal Street, the Public Square, US11 near Fort Drum), so there are a few other things to see now...but otherwise, there isn't much. There isn't much in the way of old signs anymore, though...

There is a ton of cool stuff in the North Country, but most of it is a good distance away from Watertown...but there are plenty of opportunities for those particularly adventurous folks who want to go explore on their own.  NY12/37 between Alex Bay and the Three Nations Crossing past Massena is a pretty nice 85-mile drive, fairly scenic and relatively empty...along with three bridges along the route, there are also a bunch of old alignments of 37 between Waddington and Massena (some of which are underwater!), including one old alignment in Coles Creek State Park with remnants of white paint still on it!

[Roadgeek Adam]

Having a meet reserved for September and November will provide good time for me to host a mini-meet in March 2012, possibly full if I can find enough to see for Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania and such. (Besides the to be near-complete bypass)

Getting to both meets, Watertown especially, will require a long trip in some form. Bennington might be a good excuse to stay at a friend's and we'll all go, Watertown..we'll see.

[Alps]

I like roads neither while under construction nor when just opened.  give them 50 years, then I will find them interesting! 

You'd love Rhode Island, with 150 year old turnpikes only traversable by hiking, mountain bike, or ATV. But they go in straight lines!

[yanksfan6129]

I'd be in for Watertown if I could get a ride. I'll be in the Finger Lakes at Hobart and William Smith (Geneva), so it'd be great if I could hitch a ride with someone else that lives in western New York. I'd certainly pitch in with gas money, if it makes a difference.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Both would work with me.

[oscar]

Same thing with Watertown.  With the added benefit of, being that I'm active duty, I can take people on the last leg of it INTO the base.  In point of reference, I will insist that any Watertown meet wait until after I-781 is completed and open.

Do we know already for sure whether we'd need to enter the base. and clear base security, to clinch I-781?  Will it be like the east end of Interstate H-3, which is just before a crossover in front of the sentries (for people who apply for but are denied a vistor's pass to enter the base, or just want to visit the replica Iwo Jima memorial at the base entrance, but it can also be used for a legal U-turn)?  Or is it more like the west end of HI 92, when the state highway technically ends right at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base guard station and there's no U-turn opportunity before reaching the station?  If the latter, I agree that's a reason for a Watertown meet after the freeway is completed.

BTW, the Pearl Harbor sentries were nice enough to let me do a quick U-turn just past the sentries and inside the base.  That seems to happen a lot at Pearl Harbor, especially with no warning signs for lost tourists of the "point of no return" before entering the base.  But the ones at Fort Drum might feel differently.  

[vdeane]

My guess would be the latter.  NY doesn't put U-turns at the Canadian border either (I didn't even know those existed until reading posts here), and the existing road to the base just goes straight to the gate with no visible U-turn place.  Plus U-turns are illegal in NY unless explicitly allowed by signage (such as on NY 332).

[Dougtone]

I haven't found anything that mentions a u-turn before the base.

Also, here's a project website for the Fort Drum Connector
https://www.nysdot.gov/regional-offices/region7/projects/fort-drum-connector

[oscar]

I haven't found anything that mentions a u-turn before the base.

It wouldn't necessarily be a U-turn, just an at-grade crossing just before the sentries for people who need to get a visitor pass, and back out again for those not getting permission to enter the base.  Even if a U-turn is not allowed at the crossover, you can still get off the highway after the freeway ends, and return, without having to clear base security.

[vdeane]

Bennington would also allow me to clinch most of the Adirondack Northway.