Chattanooga meet Sat., July 6

[hbelkins]

What is the unsigned routing of US 127 after its signed ending at US 27? I need to drive it in order to get a clinch of that route in Tennessee.

Basically east then south into downtown Chattanooga.  Dayton Blvd to Market St to MLK Blvd.

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/Maps/city/Chattanooga_SW.PDF

Looks as if US 127 ends and US 76 begins as Market crosses MLK.

Why US 76 exists in Tennessee at all, and why US 72 doesn't end out west of Chattanooga at US 41/64 is beyond me.

Looks like the end of US 72 may be different than we've been thinking as well.

[codyg1985]

^I wonder if US 72 ends at MLK as well?

[oscar]

Heading out from home soon.  See ya in Chattanooga tomorrow morning.

[froggie]

I wonder if US 72 ends at MLK as well?

It doesn't.  I went back through the AASHTO SCOH minutes/approvals.  The US 11/64 reroute and the US 76 extension were approved by AASHTO in 2002.  No application submitted (or mention at all) of US 72.  So US 72 still ends at Main and Broad.

That said, I agree with HB in that it should be truncated back to Kimball.

[Avalanchez71]

Why does US 74 end at the state line on I-75?  It is not even marked in the field if I can recall.

[codyg1985]

Why does US 74 end at the state line on I-75?  It is not even marked in the field if I can recall.

That is a mystery to me. US 74 is a red-headed step-child in Tennessee, anyway. There is no mention of it west of Cleveland, TN.

[hbelkins]

Why does US 74 end at the state line on I-75?  It is not even marked in the field if I can recall.

It doesn't. It ends at I-24.



Might need to adjust the tour itinerary a little. W Road is closed, according to signs at both ends along US 127.

[Avalanchez71]

Was there ever a US 27 BUSINESS through Chattanooga?  I seem to recall seeing something like that in the 90s.

[codyg1985]

Might need to adjust the tour itinerary a little. W Road is closed, according to signs at both ends along US 127.

That explains why when I tried to use Google to route myself along W Road it wouldn't let me.

[NE2]

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/03/photo-exactly-why-w-road-closed-traffic/
Holy crap. I can see why it's closed.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/6/26/254031/W-Road-Expected-To-Reopen-On-July-15.aspx

[Laura]

Thats ok Laura, we will see you guys in August!

Thanks! Mike did end up getting off but we went north for the 4th.

[hbelkins]

Enjoyable meet, but it rained constantly all day, which eliminated photo opportunities. I'm sure the views from Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain would have been more scenic if not for the rain and fog.

Tennessee DOT signage sets an example for FAIL in Chattanooga, for sure.

[Brian556]

Tennessee DOT signage sets an example for FAIL in Chattanooga, for sure.

Agree. On SB US 27 at I-24, the overheads fail to show you how to continue south on US 27.; The overheads for US highway multiplexes leave off some of the designations at exits on I-24, I-75, and SR 153.

The route markers on Broad at Cummings are confusing/misleading also. A short distance later there is a JCT US 11 sign when you are already on 11.

[froggie]

The route markers on Broad at Cummings are confusing/misleading also. A short distance later there is a JCT US 11 sign when you are already on 11.

That would be the city of Chattanooga, not TDOT, in this instance.

[hbelkins]

There is at least one stray US 27 sign left in downtown Chattanooga (northbound on Market at Main), and the proper routing of US 76 is not marked at all. Plus, there's lots of signage on Broad indicating that US 11 and US 64 are still on that route.

The route markers on Broad at Cummings are confusing/misleading also. A short distance later there is a JCT US 11 sign when you are already on 11.

That would be the city of Chattanooga, not TDOT, in this instance.

Does the city do its own signage?

[froggie]

Yes...Tennessee cities do their own signage, not unlike what happens in Virginia with its independent cities.  Hence why local route signage within those cities is usually crap.

[hbelkins]

Yes...Tennessee cities do their own signage, not unlike what happens in Virginia with its independent cities.  Hence why local route signage within those cities is usually crap.

They must get their signage from TDOT, however, because there's a unique type of US shield shape that I've seen only in Tennessee that is used on a lot of Chattanooga sign assemblies.

[Avalanchez71]

Yes...Tennessee cities do their own signage, not unlike what happens in Virginia with its independent cities.  Hence why local route signage within those cities is usually crap.

I don't think that is quite right.  I have never seen that as an agenda item on some city budgets that I have monitored.  That may be the case if there is a private act (law of local application).  However, I know that in most cases the cities are pretty keen on stating that they cannot do this or that as the road is a state road.

[froggie]

You likely wouldn't see road signs as an agenda item on city budgets anyway, as (depending on the situation) it usually falls under road maintenance.  The main exception being when signs are replaced en masse, where you'll usually see a contract.

[oscar]

Here's the meet photo.  It rained during most of our tour, but at least at this spot we had partial cover from some train tracks overhead.  I think this was on the North Access Road shortcut we took between TN 153 and TNs319, northeast of downtown Chattanooga.



From left to right:  Oscar Voss, Mike Tantillo, Cody Goodman, Jason Ilyes, and (with "SEND HELP" sign) H.B. Elkins. 

It was a great meet, and revisit to a favorite city.  The tour itinerary was pretty ambitious, covering most or all of Chattanooga's tunnels, a lot of winding roads on the west side of the city, and even quick dives into Georgia and Alabama.  The early start (11am lunch), small group (most of us were in Cody's car), and few stops due to the rain helped.

As is customary, even though Mike and I live only a few miles away from each other, we traveled separately and had completely different itineraries before and after the meet (Mike's was Atlanta-centric; mine was US 11-centric, extending my clinch of US 11 including its 11W and 11E branches from Bristol VA south to the GA/TN state line). 

[Brian556]

Yes...Tennessee cities do their own signage

Is it just cities of a certain population or greater?

There is some substandard signage in Kimball, including a NO PASSING ZONE sign that is rectangular; it replaced a normal one that was faded.

I too have though that US 72 should end at Kimball.

[codyg1985]

I think US 72 and US 76 should be one route number instead of how it is set up now. It would free up the other number for use elsewhere if needed.