I-95/PA Turnpike Golden Spike Meet - September 2018

[PHLBOS]

Off-topic-ish... I got an email from my homeowner's insurance provider that Maryland has declared a State of Emergency.  Has Pennsylvania?

To my knowledge & at present, Pennsylvania has not issued such.

[briantroutman]

The must-attend meeting for the 13th was cancelled because many of the attendees will be dealing with the pending hurricane impacts in Virginia and Maryland.  So I will be there.

Glad to hear it!



Hi everyone-

I just sent out a final email to everyone who's registered; it includes my contact information, the location addresses, an itinerary, and some additional checklist items. If you could take a look through the email–and also make sure that your name tag is correct–I'd appreciate it. If you haven't yet responded to the question about hard hats and vests, please either post to the thread or send me a quick email.

This morning, I met with my PTC contact in person at the project field office, and everything is on track for Thursday. We'll have multiple engineers on hand from both the PTC and the lead contractor, and some of these people have been attached to the project for 20+ years. In addition to the wealth of probing questions (25+, some a paragraph long!) that have been submitted so far, it should be a terrific opportunity to ask whatever questions are on your mind and, hopefully, get insightful answers.

I also visited the Golden Dawn Diner thus morning and confirmed our reservation for Thursday. I'll arrive there before noon on the event date, probably will be waiting outside the front door until noon, then I'll head in with whoever has arrived by that point and get seated. I'd certainly encourage you to arrive as early as possible so that we can take a leisurely pace for lunch and conversation.

Regarding weather, it doesn't appear it will be an issue for Thursday. Florence will still be a hundred miles or more off the coast of the Carolinas by the time we have our meet, and if Pennsylvania experiences any significant effects from the storm, it won't be until the weekend. The current forecast for Thursday is much like today's: 70s, cloudy, with an occasional drip possible. It's perhaps not ideal, but we won't have a washout.

I'm glad to see everything coming together so nicely!

[jeffandnicole]

Off-topic-ish... I got an email from my homeowner's insurance provider that Maryland has declared a State of Emergency.  Has Pennsylvania?  How will we find out if the meet is cancelled due to weather (which I'm not expecting)?  I'll just stay at work anyway since I'm already worried about making up the hours I'm taking off for the meet.

At present time, the hurricane shouldn't hit the coastline off of the Carolinas until late Thursday night or early Friday morning.  Thus, the storm won't have any affect on the meet in the afternoon other than some possible cloud cover (which the area is experiencing all week anyway).

Also, once the storm hits land, it's very unknown which way the storm will go.  Turning North is a low percentage probability at this time.  Current forecasts show it is more likely to stall out over NC or VA, or continue on a W or NW movement.

(Ha...also see Brian's response above!)

[briantroutman]

By the way–does anyone coming have a SEND HELP sign for the group photo?

[qguy]

I have two hard hats (one each for myself and my son, who registered us both) and one reflective vest.

[Compulov]

I have a hard hat but no vest.
Also, are there any other dress code issues we need to be aware of? Like I assume no open-toed shoes, but I assume sneakers are okay? How about shorts or are jeans/long pants required? I'm aware this is still technically a construction zone, so I want to ensure we don't get caught by surprise.

Edit: Correction, I now have a hard hat *and* a vest.

[briantroutman]

When I met with the PTC representative this morning, she admitted that the hard hat and vest requirement was perhaps a touch of overkill. There won't be any active construction work going on in while we're there, but she said they just wanted to play it safe with regard to OSHA regulations for visitors, etc.

She didn't say anything about footwear, but just as a practical matter, I'd recommend wearing reasonably sturdy shoes–nothing open. I think sneakers would be OK. I don't think shorts would be expressly prohibited, but it might be a good idea to wear pants just in case. The temp should be in the upper 70s, so even though it wouldn't be too cool for shorts, I don't think it's going to be so warm that we'll really need them either.

Otherwise, I wasn't given any guidelines regarding a dress code, per se. But keep in mind that senior project engineers are taking half a day to meet with us, answer questions, and escort us on a tour, so as long as we look reasonably presentable, that should be fine. Considering the chance for some light rain, it would probably be a good idea to bring a lightweight rain jacket.

[tckma]

By the way–does anyone coming have a SEND HELP sign for the group photo?

Okay... can someone tell me what the heck is up with roadgeek meetup photos ALWAYS having a SEND HELP sign?  I don't get it.  Then again, I've only been to one previous roadmeet -- this will be my second, ever, and the last one I went to was about two years ago.

[tckma]

I have a hard hat but no vest.
Also, are there any other dress code issues we need to be aware of? Like I assume no open-toed shoes, but I assume sneakers are okay? How about shorts or are jeans/long pants required? I'm aware this is still technically a construction zone, so I want to ensure we don't get caught by surprise.

I'll likely be coming straight from work in K of P, so I'll have on work clothes, i.e. Dockers-style pants and dress shoes.  Not exactly "active construction site" wardrobe elements.  If that's a problem, I can bring a pair of jeans and sneakers and change in a men's room, either at work before I leave, or at the diner shortly after I arrive.

[briantroutman]

^ The outfit you describe should be fine. Only possible issue would be if the shoes are particularly slick (as some dress shoes are) you might want to change into sneakers or something with a bit more tread. But otherwise, you should be alright.

[PHLBOS]

By the way–does anyone coming have a SEND HELP sign for the group photo?

Okay... can someone tell me what the heck is up with roadgeek meetup photos ALWAYS having a SEND HELP sign?

   

[oscar]

Okay... can someone tell me what the heck is up with roadgeek meetup photos ALWAYS having a SEND HELP sign?  I don't get it.  Then again, I've only been to one previous roadmeet -- this will be my second, ever, and the last one I went to was about two years ago.

Some road meet group photos don't have SEND HELP signs, because either nobody brought one, or the meet host objected. I recall at least one meet where two versions of the group photo were done, one with the SEND HELP sign and the other without.

I've heard that at one road meet I didn't attend, a bystander mistakenly thought the SEND HELP sign meant that we actually needed help. That might explain why the SEND HELP tradition isn't universal.

[vdeane]

I remember the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic contingent thought the tradition had run its course and were trying to phase it out, only for the Midwest contingent to revive it.

[Rothman]

Controversy has crept into issues that now consider it as having overstayed its welcome.

[briantroutman]

I'm not committed to the idea of having the sign. I just suggested it since it's been a fixture at most of the meets I've attended (or seen photos of), so I just accepted it as customary. But if the consensus is that it's hackneyed, tired, played out...we can do without it.

Either way, we have a few surprises in store for tomorrow's group photo...

[hbelkins]

Controversy has crept into issues that now consider it as having overstayed its welcome.

Is there other controversy besides a few got tired of it?

(Not that I'll be attending tomorrow, but I've lost my sign again and have no idea where it went.)

[Roadsguy]

Maybe someone should bring a "We're okay" sign.

[tckma]

My forecast only says mostly cloudy for Philadelphia, though for where I am it says thunderstorms that day.

Then the TV lied to us.  It is not, in fact, always sunny in Philadelphia.

[tckma]

Maybe someone should bring a "We're okay" sign.

"We're okay -- We Promise!"

[signalman]

Thanks for hosting this meet, Brian. You did a great job putting everything together and I had a good time.

[briantroutman]

^ Thanks! I'm glad you had a good time–and happy that everybody else seemed to as well.

Thanks to everyone who turned out and made this event the success that it was! I had a terrific time hosting and look forward to the next time I get to put a meet together. Hope everyone is having safe travels either home or to wherever they're headed next.

I'll post a link to more photos later, but at least for now, here's the official group photo. (Special thanks to the PTC's lead engineer for this project, Mike Phillips, for climbing up on top of a water truck to take it for us!)



By the way, for anyone who's interested in the actual opening of the ramps, here's a recap of what we were told during the meet. Next Friday (the 21st) at 11 a.m., the PTC will be holding a press event and an official dedication ceremony at Bristol Plaza with Gov. Wolf in attendance. The following evening–overnight into Saturday morning–the PTC will uncover the signs and remove the concrete barriers currently blocking off the new I-95 through lanes so that as of roughly 6 a.m., the flyovers will be open to the public. This is dependent on weather conditions and barring any issues in the final inspection.

[Gerns106]

Really enjoyed this meet!  Thanks Brian for the great job organizing. Also much appreciation to the PTC for permitting this meet to happen.

[qguy]

Great meet, Brian! Well planned, coordinated, and executed.

The Turnpike folks pulled out all the stops, truly setting the bar high for project tours. They lavished time and their own planning on us. Thorough yet concise, friendly, enthusiastic. For road geeks, by road geeks (by their own admission).

Also gotta make special mention of the custom buttons Brian had made for participants. I don't have time this morning to link to a photo--perhaps someone else can do that.

All around a superb meet. Top marks.

[jpi]

Nice group pic!  In 2 weeks it will be my turn to check this out, I plan on getting pics but not as good as what you guys took

[jeffandnicole]

Glad you all had a great time!  I told Brian earlier this week I was unfortunately asked to go to a meeting on Thursday at 3pm, a meeting that is normally 50/50 on being cancelled.  Sure enough, about 1pm, it was cancelled, but I was unable to leave work at that point as well. 

So my big question: Are they your cars on the ramp?  Did they let you drive it???