AARoads Forum

This meet will be on Saturday, September 30, with a retail meet on Sunday, October 1. We'll meet at 101 Beer Kitchen (http://www.101beerkitchen.com/) in Westerville at 11:30.

I've created a map of the potential routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing Feedback on the route is welcome.
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

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Hi, I'm Nikolai Nolan. I've attended a few road meets in Michigan, and my current home is Columbus. Here in central Ohio, there have been plenty of interesting road upgrades over the last few years, so I think it would be cool to host a meet here this fall.

Highlights would include:

• The northbound US-23 trench through Flint
• Ikea Way, the extension of Gemini Place in Polaris
• The Sawmill Parkway extension to Delaware
• The rebuilt I-270/US-33 west interchange

If you're interested in attending, vote in the above poll to help me choose a date. I selected weekends that don't conflict with Ohio State football games, to avoid the potential traffic caused by them.

Since I'm also a fan of malls and retail, I might try holding a retail meet the day before or after the road meet, touring historic, endangered, and innovative retail sights around Columbus. I'll do the planning for that on the prominent retail Facebook groups.

Quote from: Nikolai on March 25, 2017, 04:51:50 PM
Hi, I'm Nikolai Nolan. I've attended a few road meets in Michigan, and my current home is Columbus. Here in central Ohio, there have been plenty of interesting road upgrades over the last few years, so I think it would be cool to host a meet here this fall.

Highlights would include:

• The northbound US-23 trench through Flint
• Ikea Way, the extension of Gemini Place in Polaris
• The Sawmill Parkway extension to Delaware
• The rebuilt I-270/US-33 west interchange

If you're interested in attending, vote in the above poll to help me choose a date. I selected weekends that don't conflict with Ohio State football games, to avoid the potential traffic caused by them.

Since I'm also a fan of malls and retail, I might try holding a retail meet the day before or after the road meet, touring historic, endangered, and innovative retail sights around Columbus. I'll do the planning for that on the prominent retail Facebook groups.

Any date works for me, since I live a mile from the U.S. 23 trench and within 10-15 minutes of everything else on the list. :D I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

Quote from: okroads on March 25, 2017, 06:09:41 PM
I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

I remember seeing that as a kid, kinda surprised it's still there

There have been at least two Columbus meets in the past, neither of which I attended (overslept and was sick for one of them, and attended a conflicting meet in Kansas the other). Columbus is a four-hour drive from me and I would like to attend one at some point in the future. I'm not picking a date this far out, but would definitely be interested in attending. This would be an easy one. I could conceivably do it as a single-day trip if necessary, but probably would stay at least one night somewhere.

Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

I'll be on co-op for the fall, so I might be able to make this meet (though Ashtabula would be closer for me). I'm happy that Canadian Thanksgiving isn't on the list of choices :).

More highlights...
670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

Quote from: Dougtone on March 25, 2017, 10:05:06 PM
Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

No go. If it was a 2018 meet I could tie this in with a Cedar Point road trip (Mean Streak rehab).

Quote from: vdeane on March 26, 2017, 06:52:00 PM

Quote from: Dougtone on March 25, 2017, 10:05:06 PM
Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

Is Toledo a done deal?

Quote from: hbelkins on March 26, 2017, 07:34:10 PM

Quote from: vdeane on March 26, 2017, 06:52:00 PM

Quote from: Dougtone on March 25, 2017, 10:05:06 PM
Looks like there will be a couple of Ohio meets this fall. I'm looking at hosting a meet in Ashtabula in the first half of November.

Plus Toledo.  Three Ohio meets within that many months.

Is Toledo a done deal?

First I've heard about Toledo.

That being said, Columbus would definitely be best for Columbus Day weekend if you want to maximize attendance. I don't think there's a meet scheduled for that weekend yet. I'll probably make it regardless.

Quote from: okroads on March 25, 2017, 06:09:41 PMI'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 25, 2017, 11:46:46 PM670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

Thanks, all of those are probable too. Feel free to suggest other sights, especially if it's on the south side, which I'm less familiar with.

Quote from: hbelkins on March 26, 2017, 07:34:10 PMIs Toledo a done deal?

It was mentioned in the 2017 Meets thread (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18933.msg2186632#msg2186632), but I haven't heard anything else about it since. If both Toledo and Ashtabula end up making the fall too crowded, I can pass on holding this one.

Quote from: cl94 on March 26, 2017, 08:50:49 PMThat being said, Columbus would definitely be best for Columbus Day weekend if you want to maximize attendance. I don't think there's a meet scheduled for that weekend yet.

It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Quote from: Nikolai on March 26, 2017, 09:59:51 PM
It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

Quote from: cl94 on March 26, 2017, 10:16:33 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on March 26, 2017, 09:59:51 PM
It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

So, just 3 hours for a road meet? 

Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 26, 2017, 10:23:24 PM

Quote from: cl94 on March 26, 2017, 10:16:33 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on March 26, 2017, 09:59:51 PM
It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

So, just 3 hours for a road meet?

No, do stuff in the relatively-small impacted area during the 3 hours. Most of the new stuff is far from what would be affected by game traffic.

You don't understand Ohio, then.  It's far more than just the game-itself traffic...

Possible, but only if poo.

Columbus would be doable for me, especially if a toy show is in the area, on a side note, when is this Toledo meet?

I was thinking that doing both Columbus and Ashtabula might be too much Ohio in one year, but maybe not.  I can sufficiently differentiate the drives to each and make it worthwhile to do both in the same season (and clinch the rest of the keystone interstates in the process).  Given that I haven't heard anything about Milwaukee (I suspect many of the meets mentioned in the 2017 meets thread won't actually happen), I think I'll start looking at this one as a possibility.

Quote from: Nikolai on March 26, 2017, 09:59:51 PM

Quote from: okroads on March 25, 2017, 06:09:41 PMI'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on March 25, 2017, 11:46:46 PM670-71 redux
315 -270 (on going construction)
Roberts Rd - 270

Thanks, all of those are probable too. Feel free to suggest other sights, especially if it's on the south side, which I'm less familiar with.

Southside....?
I'm not sure whats become of the Rickenbacker Pkwy (but that was mostly in Pickaway Co, so that might be too far south)
665-71 SPUI interchange
Shadeville By-pass
Old US 23 between Shadeville and Oh 762 (bypassed sections of two lane road with houses)
Groveport Rd - Alum Creek Dr intersection (bridge and double roundabout that doesn't seem that unusual 5 years later)
Bergstresser Covered Bridge (south of Canal Winchester)
Maybe an abandoned bridge/culvert over in Big Darby Metro Park, near Georgesville (uncorporated crossroads, not the actual road)
Old 3-C road around Harrisburg (SW Franklin Co)
Abandoned Truss Bridge near Oh 762 (just south of Harrisburg)
Maybe abutements for old bridge for White Rd over the Scioto
(Mind you, these are all located south of I-270)
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As for having the meet during an OSU (home) football game; the majority of the games nowadays are 3/4 PM starts or later. Beside avoiding traffic along 315, 71, High St, and especially the OSU campus, there will be the issue of finding somewhere to meet for lunch, before the meet. Most restaurants/bars will be booked with folks there to watch OSU on the Television.
If it is a late start for OSU, lunch seating won't be an issue, but evening activities will be affected, as well as parking (since tours usually consolidate into 2-4 vehicles).  The further away the start/end point is away from Columbus the lesser an issue this becomes, but that too will effect which "landmarks" the tour would be enabled to encompass.

Most of the interesting things close to the Outerbelt and that thing doesn't take that long to drive around. You have the north side from 33 to 23, the Rickenbacker area, 71/665, the DDI and the Carroll interchange. Only thing inside the outerbelt that is really worth seeing (and hasn't been coverered ad infinitum in the past) is 71 from 70 to 670.

I'd say the south side is definitely more interesting, if only because it hasn't become as suburbanized and there's more old stuff kicking about. Other than a couple recent projects along 270, north side is bland suburbia.

Quote from: cl94 on March 27, 2017, 01:12:58 PM
I'd say the south side is definitely more interesting, if only because it hasn't become as suburbanized and there's more old stuff kicking about. Other than a couple recent projects along 270, north side is bland suburbia.

On the northside....
Westerville has street name signs, still on the sides of the buildings, along State St. and there is the old Brown Rd Truss bridge over Alum Creek.
Worthington has the oddball oval 161 shield (as mentioned by the OP), Village of Riverlea signs, and the original US 23 "in the valley" next to Camp Mary Orton (north end of the trench)
Clintonville has its ravines, some stone pillars, and some of the original Columbus Zoo
OSU campus has a painted yellow stop sign, and the oval used to be encompassed by roadway
Upper Arlington has Wyandot Hill/Bill Moose monument, and a bunch of stone pillars
Dublin has its old bridge over the Scioto, and the (now more) oddball intersection for Riverside Dr-Dublin Granville Rd (US 33, Oh 161, Oh 257)
And I haven't gotten into Delaware County (nor mentioned anything covered in the two previous Columbus meets [2006 & 2011])
Its not all bland suburbia on the northside of Columbus

Quote from: cl94 on March 26, 2017, 10:16:33 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on March 26, 2017, 09:59:51 PM
It's one of the local football weekends, so I chose not to include it in the options to avoid potential traffic.

Having lived in Columbus, that would probably be the PERFECT time to be on the roads because nobody will be out from ~30 minutes beforehand until after the game ends.

Hm, possibly. The existing date options don't seem to be too problematic though, so I'll just keep it as-is instead of restarting the poll.

Quote from: jpi on March 27, 2017, 12:12:26 PMon a side note, when is this Toledo meet?

The most specific date I've found is "late summer or early fall".

I'm a maybe. It would depend on when this gets scheduled and what other stuff I would have going on at the time.

Quote from: Buck87 on March 25, 2017, 08:03:42 PM

Quote from: okroads on March 25, 2017, 06:09:41 PM
I'd also suggest adding the oval OH 161 shield in Worthington, maybe as a drive-by.

I remember seeing that as a kid, kinda surprised it's still there

It was there in the late 70's, when I was a student at OSU.   I would assume that it's been replaced intentionally by another oval at least once since then.  From what I read somewhere on this site, it is installed by the city of Worthington and not by the state.

I might be up for the Columbus meet - an excuse to visit my grandson!

Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2017, 09:38:09 PM
There have been at least two Columbus meets in the past, neither of which I attended (overslept and was sick for one of them, and attended a conflicting meet in Kansas the other). Columbus is a four-hour drive from me and I would like to attend one at some point in the future. I'm not picking a date this far out, but would definitely be interested in attending. This would be an easy one. I could conceivably do it as a single-day trip if necessary, but probably would stay at least one night somewhere.

was the one you said you were sick for connected to the time you almost died?

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 25, 2017, 04:12:50 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on March 25, 2017, 09:38:09 PM
There have been at least two Columbus meets in the past, neither of which I attended (overslept and was sick for one of them, and attended a conflicting meet in Kansas the other). Columbus is a four-hour drive from me and I would like to attend one at some point in the future. I'm not picking a date this far out, but would definitely be interested in attending. This would be an easy one. I could conceivably do it as a single-day trip if necessary, but probably would stay at least one night somewhere.

was the one you said you were sick for connected to the time you almost died?

No. The Columbus meet I missed a few years ago was just because of a really bad cold.

The meet I missed was the New River Gorge meet in West Virginia that I had planned for earlier this month. I missed it because I was having hip pain that made it agonizing to try to walk, but then the medicine I was given for the pain ended up causing kidney failure.

All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Should be able to get to this one, even if it means driving in late Friday night. Road network has changed so much that it's almost unrecognizable since I moved back to NY 10 years ago.

Unless anything comes up unexpectedly, I should be able to make this meet, considering part of the meet is within five minutes of where I live.

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Even though Ohio State is away that Saturday, if Rutgers is a noon kickoff, we'll be hard-pressed to find a table for us.

There's a very real chance I might attend. But only if poo.

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 20, 2017, 11:19:29 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Even though Ohio State is away that Saturday, if Rutgers is a noon kickoff, we'll be hard-pressed to find a table for us.

Doubtful. No reason to waste time watching that.

Quote from: Alps on June 20, 2017, 11:54:04 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 20, 2017, 11:19:29 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Even though Ohio State is away that Saturday, if Rutgers is a noon kickoff, we'll be hard-pressed to find a table for us.

Doubtful. No reason to waste time watching that.

This is Columbus we're talking about. City shuts down during all college football games.

Quote from: cl94 on June 21, 2017, 12:00:18 AM

Quote from: Alps on June 20, 2017, 11:54:04 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 20, 2017, 11:19:29 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Even though Ohio State is away that Saturday, if Rutgers is a noon kickoff, we'll be hard-pressed to find a table for us.

Doubtful. No reason to waste time watching that.

This is Columbus we're talking about. City shuts down during all college football games.

Rutgers is not college football.

Quote from: Alps on June 21, 2017, 12:10:27 AM

Quote from: cl94 on June 21, 2017, 12:00:18 AM

Quote from: Alps on June 20, 2017, 11:54:04 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 20, 2017, 11:19:29 PM

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Even though Ohio State is away that Saturday, if Rutgers is a noon kickoff, we'll be hard-pressed to find a table for us.

Doubtful. No reason to waste time watching that.

This is Columbus we're talking about. City shuts down during all college football games.

Rutgers is not college football.

But, this is Columbus, and Ohio State is playing somebody.

75% chance I can make both dates, the Hershey, PA toy show is the weekend before so I may stay in central PA through the week then Friday head west to Columbus.

Quote from: Brandon on June 21, 2017, 06:14:13 AM

Quote from: Alps on June 21, 2017, 12:10:27 AM

Quote from: cl94 on June 21, 2017, 12:00:18 AM

This is Columbus we're talking about. City shuts down during all college football games.

Rutgers is not college football.

But, this is Columbus, and Ohio State is playing somebody.

101 isn't really a place people go to watch sports. Just two TVs at the bar and plenty of tables that don't have a view of them. Shouldn't be a problem.

Definitely on my radar screen. An easy up-and-back if I so choose.

Thanks for posting a date. That definitely takes away any possibility of me doing a Portsmouth meet, or a potential western Kentucky I-69 meet, that weekend. In fact, it pushes me closer to pulling the trigger on July 22 for Portsmouth, which is short notice these days, but with an Ashtabula meet also planned for the fall, three Ohio meets in short order might be a bit too much.

Quote from: hbelkins on June 21, 2017, 10:41:35 AM
Definitely on my radar screen. An easy up-and-back if I so choose.

Thanks for posting a date. That definitely takes away any possibility of me doing a Portsmouth meet, or a potential western Kentucky I-69 meet, that weekend. In fact, it pushes me closer to pulling the trigger on July 22 for Portsmouth, which is short notice these days, but with an Ashtabula meet also planned for the fall, three Ohio meets in short order might be a bit too much.

If Portsmouth is 7/22 then I will have to pass, Steph, her mom and I will be in Albuquerque, NM that weekend, any dates in mind for Western KY? I did travel the Purchase pkwy this past Sunday and they are moving right along well with I-69 upgrades.

Quote from: jpi on June 21, 2017, 12:15:26 PM
If Portsmouth is 7/22 then I will have to pass, Steph, her mom and I will be in Albuquerque, NM that weekend, any dates in mind for Western KY? I did travel the Purchase pkwy this past Sunday and they are moving right along well with I-69 upgrades.

No dates in mind for WKY, except sometiime in the fall. I plan to scout it the first weekend of July. My August is full of work-related stuff, and I'm not sure about September yet, so most likely time for WKY would be October.

Quote from: jpi on June 21, 2017, 12:15:26 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on June 21, 2017, 10:41:35 AM
Definitely on my radar screen. An easy up-and-back if I so choose.

Thanks for posting a date. That definitely takes away any possibility of me doing a Portsmouth meet, or a potential western Kentucky I-69 meet, that weekend. In fact, it pushes me closer to pulling the trigger on July 22 for Portsmouth, which is short notice these days, but with an Ashtabula meet also planned for the fall, three Ohio meets in short order might be a bit too much.

If Portsmouth is 7/22 then I will have to pass, Steph, her mom and I will be in Albuquerque, NM that weekend, any dates in mind for Western KY? I did travel the Purchase pkwy this past Sunday and they are moving right along well with I-69 upgrades.

If Portsmouth is July 22, I will unfortunately have to pass too. This summer is turning out to be crazy busy with lots of travel for me. I will need to be home that weekend.

I'll have to pass on this one.  I will be doing my own roadtrip that day, having just stepped off a cruise ship in Baltimore that morning and driving home.

Very iffy. That's a couple weeks after the RMCA meet, so not sure if I'll have the time.

Looks like I am out, will be in Knoxville for a toy show that day and spending the week in PA prior to it, have fun guys

I'm out as well, have a conflict here in New York. Have a good time!

All right, I scouted the meet destinations today and finalized the map. Our stops look pretty exciting. I'll print out some directions to use at the meet. Looking forward to it!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to this one. I'm going to Montreal that weekend to visit family. Good luck with the meet!

Quote from: Nikolai on June 20, 2017, 08:07:33 PM
All right, I'm going to go with the poll leader of Saturday, September 30 for the date, with my retail meet on Sunday, October 1.

I've created a map of my proposed routes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nlOJZV9f6FJ3VYkgRmYqkPF1gF0&usp=sharing
And here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/

Feedback on the route is welcome. I'll be scouting it in mid-September to verify all the roads and destinations are feasible.

Quote from: Nikolai on September 09, 2017, 10:22:18 PM
All right, I scouted the meet destinations today and finalized the map. Our stops look pretty exciting. I'll print out some directions to use at the meet. Looking forward to it!

Are those scouting results reflected in this map link? If so, I'll check it out and see at what point I'll want to depart the tour to reach East Liverpool before dark.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 10, 2017, 04:59:54 PM
Are those scouting results reflected in this map link? If so, I'll check it out and see at what point I'll want to depart the tour to reach East Liverpool before dark.

Yeah, it's current. Uncheck the retail layers to see the road meet route.

I will be attending this meet.  It'll be the first one I've attended in almost 2 years.

I'll be flying in that morning (scheduled arrival time 8:35 AM) & will rent a car.

I'll be staying overnight and will fly back early Sunday afternoon (scheduled departure time 2:10 PM)

For those that are wondering: I'm flying rather than driving due to distance & the fact that I took more time off from work this year (due to 2 recent deaths in the family, those on FB already know); plus I had some Rapid Rewards Points (on Southwest) to use.

I'm looking forward to this meet.

Trying to figure out if I want to stay in the Grove City area on Friday night and then drive across town to the meet Saturday morning, or stay on the north side of town and be closer to the meet.

The fact that I'll be driving up Friday afternoon and will want to avoid evening rush across town will play a role in my decision unless someone can offer a good suggestion on how to get from the US 23 area on the south side of town to the Worthington area in the afternoon without encountering a traffic nightmare.

Going to have to decline this one.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2017, 10:06:05 AM
Trying to figure out if I want to stay in the Grove City area on Friday night and then drive across town to the meet Saturday morning, or stay on the north side of town and be closer to the meet.

The fact that I'll be driving up Friday afternoon and will want to avoid evening rush across town will play a role in my decision unless someone can offer a good suggestion on how to get from the US 23 area on the south side of town to the Worthington area in the afternoon without encountering a traffic nightmare.

Depends entirely on the time of the afternoon. If you're getting to Columbus between 3:30 and 5:30, there is no good way up there, as both 315 and 71 will be messed up, while 270 is a mess on the north side. Get there before then and you'll be fine taking 270 around either side, while you can just shoot up 315 after 5:30-6. From my experience driving through there in recent years, traffic patterns haven't changed much since I lived there (they're just fixing the major choke points now).

Quote from: cl94 on September 14, 2017, 12:12:38 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2017, 10:06:05 AM
Trying to figure out if I want to stay in the Grove City area on Friday night and then drive across town to the meet Saturday morning, or stay on the north side of town and be closer to the meet.

The fact that I'll be driving up Friday afternoon and will want to avoid evening rush across town will play a role in my decision unless someone can offer a good suggestion on how to get from the US 23 area on the south side of town to the Worthington area in the afternoon without encountering a traffic nightmare.

Depends entirely on the time of the afternoon. If you're getting to Columbus between 3:30 and 5:30, there is no good way up there, as both 315 and 71 will be messed up, while 270 is a mess on the north side. Get there before then and you'll be fine taking 270 around either side, while you can just shoot up 315 after 5:30-6. From my experience driving through there in recent years, traffic patterns haven't changed much since I lived there (they're just fixing the major choke points now).

I suspect it'll be right at the heart of rush hour.

I have a doctor's appointment that morning, so I expect I'll be leaving my hometown about 11 a.m. My planned route is US 23 once I reach Greenup County, Ky., by taking the direct route involving KY 7, I-64 and KY 67. I want to avoid Cincinnati at all costs because I have not been there in recent years when traffic wasn't a cluster foxtrot.

I'm not opposed to taking some wild out-of-the-way route involving US 22 east out of Circleville, then north on some unknown route and then west on another unknown route, if I opt for Worthington or something else on the north side and not Grove City for my overnight stop. Yes, I'll drive 100 miles out of the way, especially if it's on routes that are new to me, to avoid sitting in gridlock.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2017, 01:58:18 PM
I'm not opposed to taking some wild out-of-the-way route involving US 22 east out of Circleville, then north on some unknown route and then west on another unknown route, if I opt for Worthington or something else on the north side and not Grove City for my overnight stop. Yes, I'll drive 100 miles out of the way, especially if it's on routes that are new to me, to avoid sitting in gridlock.

In that case, I have a few options. I'll divide this into sections of the route:

US 23-Lancaster

1. US 22. The simplest option.
2. SR 159. Crosses US 23 just north of Chillicothe and cuts the corner over to Lancaster, ending at US 22 just west of US 33. Little-used route through rural farm country.

Lancaster-Newark

The best way to head north is SR 37 (signed WB). First through route east of the Columbus metro. Intersects US 22 in downtown Lancaster.

Newark-Worthington

West of Newark, SR 37 hops onto a freeway. A few options from here.

1. If after 5:30-6, stay on the freeway, which becomes SR 161. Take SR 161 straight to Worthington or bail onto I-270.
2. Exit the freeway with SR 37, take SR 37/US 36 to US 23 in Delaware and south to Worthington
3. Same as 2, but turn onto SR 3 in Sunbury and take that south. Use Schrock Rd (partially SR 710), I-270 or a combination to get to Worthington.

A route around the west of Columbus
1. Get on SR 56 WB in Circleville, take to US 42 EB. Use SR 161, US 33, SR 745, SR 257 or US 23 to get to the Columbus metro

Quote from: cl94 on September 14, 2017, 02:24:57 PM
1. If after 5:30-6, stay on the freeway, which becomes SR 161. Take SR 161 straight to Worthington or bail onto I-270.

Westbound (inbound) on 161 wouldn't be bad during rush, would it? I'd be going against the flow.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2017, 03:27:33 PM

Quote from: cl94 on September 14, 2017, 02:24:57 PM
1. If after 5:30-6, stay on the freeway, which becomes SR 161. Take SR 161 straight to Worthington or bail onto I-270.

Westbound (inbound) on 161 wouldn't be bad during rush, would it? I'd be going against the flow.

You'd be fine until you're inside 270. 270-1/2 mile west of 71 is 4-lane divided with frontage roads and signals every 1/5 mile or so, won't be too bad except for volume. West of there is 2 lane and can get congested. You could cut up Busch Blvd (SR 710) and use back roads if your hotel is near 270/23 on the north side. 270 is generally congested on the north side and will be until the projects north of 161 are finished. If you stay somewhere in Westerville, you'd be exiting 161 or 270 before the trouble spots.

Google maps has a "typical traffic" layer on it's maps that might be of assistance to you in planning your trip.  you can access it by clicking the "live traffic" button on the legend on the lower part of the screen.  Here is typical traffic at 5:20 on a friday:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asphaltplanet.ca%2FON%2FOntroads%2Fcolumbustraffic.JPG&hash=5ce281f665e8c2d632372fc092ecc6b786be3e2f)

Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2017, 10:06:05 AM
Trying to figure out if I want to stay in the Grove City area on Friday night and then drive across town to the meet Saturday morning, or stay on the north side of town and be closer to the meet.

The fact that I'll be driving up Friday afternoon and will want to avoid evening rush across town will play a role in my decision unless someone can offer a good suggestion on how to get from the US 23 area on the south side of town to the Worthington area in the afternoon without encountering a traffic nightmare.

I'll keep it simple for you. Just follow US 23/High St. north through Columbus.

I don't think I can make it, because I'm not this big ball of energy.

I'll be there, driving in and out Saturday.

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 15, 2017, 06:40:38 PM
I'll keep it simple for you. Just follow US 23/High St. north through Columbus.

It won't be dog-knotted with traffic, especially downtown?

Quote from: hbelkins on September 16, 2017, 04:08:17 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 15, 2017, 06:40:38 PM
I'll keep it simple for you. Just follow US 23/High St. north through Columbus.

It won't be dog-knotted with traffic, especially downtown?

It will be, hence why I didn't suggest you go that way. US 23 is better than High Street (it's a couple blocks east from I-70 to Morse Rd), but it's still miserable.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 16, 2017, 04:08:17 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 15, 2017, 06:40:38 PM
I'll keep it simple for you. Just follow US 23/High St. north through Columbus.

It won't be dog-knotted with traffic, especially downtown?

You are going against flow till you get past Broad St. And even then, you have a couple of blocks before traffic becomes a mess (starting at Nationwide Blvd).

You could stay on High St. north to Long St. east to Cleveland Ave north to 5th Ave west to 4th St north to Hudson St west back to High St. north on to Worthington.
Is this free flowing on a Friday night? Hell, no! Will you be stuck in gridlock? Hell, no! (Now overturn a semi on any of the freeways and all bets are off).

That said, if timing is of the essence, just spend the night in Grove City. It'll be a twenty to thirty minute drive up to Polaris/Westerville in the morning with no potential issues along I-71.

Traffic?  It's Columbus, not Chicago for Pete's sake.

Quote from: Brandon on September 16, 2017, 10:46:44 PM
Traffic?  It's Columbus, not Chicago for Pete's sake.

You forget just how impatient I am with traffic. Trying to get out of Frankfort at 4:30 is aggravating enough for me.

In fairness, HB, this is something that you're just going to have to live/deal with if you ever pop out of southeastern Kentucky.  If you can't deal with it, perhaps you shouldn't go.

Quote from: froggie on September 17, 2017, 06:35:29 AM
In fairness, HB, this is something that you're just going to have to live/deal with if you ever pop out of southeastern Kentucky.  If you can't deal with it, perhaps you shouldn't go.

Southeastern Kentucky isn't immune to it. Sometimes I wonder where all the traffic that can be found along KY 15 in Jackson is coming from. Believe it or not, I've sat in half-mile backups more times than I care to count.

Hey Nikolai - when do you need a final decision from everyone about whether we're definitely attending or not?

Quote from: A.J. Bertin on September 18, 2017, 10:21:27 PM
Hey Nikolai - when do you need a final decision from everyone about whether we're definitely attending or not?

A couple days before the meet should suffice.

Already mentioned on FB, but - I'll be there.

So will my 3DS, by the way (it goes everywhere with me).

99 percent unlikely, unless a miracle occurs. Want to, but unlikely.

Tentative forecast for Saturday....
65 and partly sunny. 10-15% chance of showers in the morning.
We'll see if this holds forth.

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 16, 2017, 10:20:57 PM
That said, if timing is of the essence, just spend the night in Grove City. It'll be a twenty to thirty minute drive up to Polaris/Westerville in the morning with no potential issues along I-71.

I opted to reserve in Grove City for a variety of reasons. But I'll probably come up 315 instead of staying on 71. I've driven both in the past and prefer 315.

Planned route is US 23 north to the state route that turns left off 23 somewhere south of I-270 (665, I think) to 104 to Stringtown Road. I can't foresee any real advantage to taking 104 all the way north out of Portsmouth. That route was recommended to me several years ago as an alternative to 23, for reasons long-forgotten, and I ended up getting a speeding ticket on 104.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 24, 2017, 08:56:46 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 16, 2017, 10:20:57 PM
That said, if timing is of the essence, just spend the night in Grove City. It'll be a twenty to thirty minute drive up to Polaris/Westerville in the morning with no potential issues along I-71.

I opted to reserve in Grove City for a variety of reasons. But I'll probably come up 315 instead of staying on 71. I've driven both in the past and prefer 315.

Planned route is US 23 north to the state route that turns left off 23 somewhere south of I-270 (665, I think) to 104 to Stringtown Road. I can't foresee any real advantage to taking 104 all the way north out of Portsmouth. That route was recommended to me several years ago as an alternative to 23, for reasons long-forgotten, and I ended up getting a speeding ticket on 104.

Having driven 665 just a couple of months back, I found myself (after 5 PM, on a Wednesday) sitting in gridlock approaching 104 (4-way traffic signal with no left turn lanes).
Just saying......

Only a few days to go. If you're planning to attend, use the Facebook event (https://www.facebook.com/events/379014432494684/) to RSVP, or message me here if you're not a Facebook user.

Weather for Central Ohio this weekend....
Friday; High of 70 degrees with clouds (20% chance of rain midday)
Saturday; Morning low of 46, high of 68 (Shirtsleeve weather) Partly Sunny
Sunday; Morning low of 50, high of 70, Full sun (well feel warmer than it actually is)

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 28, 2017, 07:30:47 PM


Saturday; Morning low of 46, high of 68 (Shirtsleeve weather) Partly Sunny

All my shirts have sleeves. Or do you mean long sleeves?  ;)

Quote from: US71 on September 28, 2017, 08:42:22 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 28, 2017, 07:30:47 PM


Saturday; Morning low of 46, high of 68 (Shirtsleeve weather) Partly Sunny

All my shirts have sleeves. Or do you mean long sleeves?  ;)

Just the sleeves.

Quote from: Alps on September 28, 2017, 11:54:13 PM

Quote from: US71 on September 28, 2017, 08:42:22 PM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on September 28, 2017, 07:30:47 PM


Saturday; Morning low of 46, high of 68 (Shirtsleeve weather) Partly Sunny

All my shirts have sleeves. Or do you mean long sleeves?  ;)

Just the sleeves.

(https://cbsy98.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/sleeves.jpg)

How many bunker blasts were detected?

Quote from: bandit957 on October 01, 2017, 10:14:50 AM
How many bunker blasts were detected?

None. Next question.

Thanks for attending, everyone! Here's my group photo (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10109111419244613&set=gm.417894895273304&type=3&theater).

Quote from: bandit957 on October 01, 2017, 10:14:50 AM
How many bunker blasts were detected?

You have a strange fetish

Quote from: bandit957 on October 01, 2017, 10:14:50 AM
How many bunker blasts were detected?

Only one, but it came from the direction of Highland Heights, KY.  It was big enough to be smelled as far north as Columbus.

Does that satisfy your fetish?

Thought I'd report on my trip, since I was finally able to make a meet this year.

Drove up Friday afternoon using, basically,the Mountain Parkway, KY 205, US 460, KY 7, I-64, KY 67 and US 23 to get to the Columbus area. I couldn't really tell how much progress has been made on the northern/western terminus of the Portsmouth bypass since my last visit there a couple of months ago. I do know that I was extremely happy to get out of Portsmouth. I saw two wrecks and three other near-misses.

To avoid I-270, I took OH 665 to OH 104, then intended to use Stringtown Road to get to my motel for the night, but Stringtown was closed, so the detour was White Road and Buckeye Parkway. Traffic was a mess on Stringtown, as there is some sort of construction project at the I-71 interchange.

I was able to sleep in a bit Saturday morning since I was just across town from the meet location. I got there by using I-71 and OH 315 to I-270, so as to avoid the I-70/71 mess downtown. There's some button copy left approaching the I-71/I-70/OH 315 interchange and just beyond it on 315. Once I got to I-270, I circled around to I-71 and then OH 161 so I could see the oval error sign on US 23 that the meet tour was supposed to pass by, but I would have departed before it got there. From there, back to I-71 to the meet location. Exiting from northbound I-71 to the Polaris/Ikea interchange is a bit tricky because of the weave from entering I-270 traffic and exiting traffic.

Lunch at 101 Beer Kitchen was good, but pricey ($13 for a burger and fries? Ouch.). It was good to see everyone at the meet, most of whom I already knew. I drove solo on the tour because I planned to depart early to make my destination before dark.

I followed as far as the old OH 762 Darby Creek bridge, and afterwards I set out for Steubenville. I returned to I-71, then took I-270 around to I-70 east. Nothing really to report along that route, although the three-lane segment between Buckeye Lake and Zanesville seems a little odd to me as to why that section is three lanes but none of the rest of the route is.

Google indicated that the faster route (by three minutes) was to take I-70 to I-470 to OH 7, but the shorter route was I-70 to I-77 to US 22. I opted for the latter route, which I had driven westbound more than 10 years ago. I did not really remember much of it. I'm curious if there have ever been any plans considered or under discussion to widen/relocate US 22 between I-77 and Cadiz to complete the route to Pittsburgh.

My room was in Steubenville, but first I crossed the river to hit the Weirton Sheetz. To my great surprise, Sheetz wasn't the gas price leader in that area. Several of the stations on WV 2 in the downtown area were 10 cents cheaper than Sheetz.

I had two goals for Sunday. One was to complete all crossings of the Ohio River between West Virginia and Ohio, and the other was to clinch the signed West Virginia primary state route system. Knowing that OH 7 is generally a faster route to use to parallel the river than is WV 2, given the number of towns each route passes through, I opted to mostly use OH 7. I had to go north to East Liverpool to cross the Newell Toll Bridge. The price listed for passenger vehicles was 75 cents, but the collector gave me a ticket back instead of a quarter when I handed him a dollar bill. Once I crossed into West Virginia, I had to head north through Chester to US 30 to get back to OH 7. The Ohio random taxers were working OH 7 pretty hard on Sunday morning.

I passed through Steubenville, having crossed both bridges there previously (but regretting never having crossed the old Fort Steuben Bridge before it was torn down) and headed to Bridgeport. The old Aetnaville bridge is completely closed now, even to pedestrian traffic, so I did not get to use it. I needed to cross the old Wheeling suspension bridge, which I had never done before. I used the US 40/US 250 bridge to cross to Wheeling Island, then crossed the suspension bridge, circled the block in Wheeling, crossed it back, and then went back into Ohio.

The only bridge that I could remember having crossed between Wheeling and Williamstown (or Bridgeport and Marietta, if you prefer) was the New Martinsville bridge. (Not including the old Benwood-Bellaire bridge, which is closed but still stands sans an approach on the Ohio side). So I crossed at Moundsville and back to Ohio, then crossed at New Martinsville and then back into Ohio. My next crossing was the Sistersville Ferry. My timing was fortuitous. Sunday was the last day that the ferry was to be operating this year, as it was closing for the season after Oct. 1. I rode the ferry then took WV 2 to St. Marys and crossed that bridge. Knowing that WV 2 is a more direct route to I-77 than is OH 7, I decided to cross back into West Virginia after having clinched the crossings.

I had two routes I needed to finish to clinch West Virginia's signed primary system. To get to WV 53, I opted to take WV 14 from Mineral Wells to Elizabeth, drove WV 53 end-to-end, and then backtracked. It probably would have been faster to take WV 47 to WV 53 to eliminate the backtrack, but I had driven that section of WV 47 a few weeks ago and hadn't been on that section of WV 14 for several years. Then I took WV 5 through Grantsville and Glenville to Burnsville. When I reached the I-79 interchange at Burnsville,that completed my clinch of West Virginia's signed state primary system. I still have three unsigned primary routes left to go for a total clinch (Alt. WV 3 in Whitesville, Alt. WV 16 in Welch and Alt. WV 61 in Mt. Hope) but those are in reasonable proximity to each other and to my home, so I will get them before too terribly long).

I had reserved a room in Weston for Sunday night, so I made the short drive north on I-79.

Monday was a direct route home via I-79, I-64, US 23, US 460 and the Mountain Parkway. The Sheetz at Weston has several Tesla charging stations, which I found to be a bit of a surprise. I can't imagine I-79 getting a lot of Tesla traffic. Also, the Sheetz there was selling gas seven cents more expensive than the Walmart across the street. There have been several instances lately where I've found Sheetz to be significantly more expensive than its competitors, which is unusual.

I did make one stop at a place where I usually don't, however. That's the Elkview exit on I-79, just north of Charleston. My bladder insisted that I needed to pull off the interstate. This is the place where the shopping center's lone access point (a bridge) was washed out several months ago, causing the businesses there to be closed. The new bridge there opened earlier this year, and just about all of the businesses have reopened -- including, believe it or not, a Kmart that appeared to be thriving. This place always fascinated me. It's out in the middle of nowhere and the shopping center has a hotel, several restaurants, a Kroger and a bunch of other stores. This Kmart would have been prime for closing in the last couple of rounds of store closures, since it was not operating, but it reopened and the parking lot was well populated with cars.

Great progress is being made on both segments of the Mountain Parkway reconstruction project.