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Florida

Started by FLRoads, January 21, 2009, 12:31:13 AM

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DAL764

Quote from: mightyace on February 10, 2009, 03:56:48 PM
Quote from: DAL764 on February 10, 2009, 10:18:05 AM
They are already opening a part of F414? Wow, news like these always make me envious at just how fast freeways can get build in the US, when a project of similar dimensions takes at least 2-3 times as many years in Germany  :rolleyes:.

I don't think that we build them as sturdy as you do.  I was watching a History Channel show about the autobahns in Germany and I think they said that the pavement depth is around twice what it is here on a U.S. freeway.

Therefore, we need to repair/rebuild them more often.
I wouldn't be so sure about that. There have been plenty cases where new Autobahnen would have to be repaired within the first year of operation because they had already developed cracks. Overall the US might have lower standards as far as building freeways goes, but what are standards worth when building contracts only go to the lowest bidder anyway  :rolleyes: (and still take ages to complete).


mightyace

Quote from: DAL764 on February 10, 2009, 04:01:47 PM
I wouldn't be so sure about that. There have been plenty cases where new Autobahnen would have to be repaired within the first year of operation because they had already developed cracks. Overall the US might have lower standards as far as building freeways goes, but what are standards worth when building contracts only go to the lowest bidder anyway  :rolleyes: (and still take ages to complete).

Thanks, it's always better to get an eyewitness. :wow:
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

Alex


lamsalfl

Presnwap would be lamsalfl

FLRoads

#29
Quote from: aaroads on February 11, 2009, 03:11:55 AM
An article on Interstate 295 that Presnwap just shared with me:
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-01-29/story/what%E2%80%99s_in_a_direction_on_i_295_in_2010_it_depends

I wrote someone at FDOT on this subject a few weeks ago and he informed me that it will be designated East and West Beltway.  And evidence in the field supports that claim:


Photo right before the approach to the Interstate 295 East and West Beltway at exit 362AB along northbound Interstate 95. Photo taken 07/20/08.

And if you can read the tiny note under the East Beltway exit numbers, it indicates that Exit 58 is planned for future use, namely the 'Y' interchange with future 9B (or Interstate 795 if they do indeed designate it as such).

DAL764

You know, up til now I didn't even realise that JAX' beltway would be almost as long as I-285 in Atlanta, could've sworn it would easily be shorter. Oh well, probably messed up conception due to the different traffic levels on the two beltways.

Alex

"Why change it to an east-west road when people are used to it as a north-south road? FDOT believes it will be easier to navigate the road this way. Interstate 95 is a north-south road, so it makes more sense to have Interstate 295 be east-west. This report also contains material from Nancy Singer, Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman."

What does Interstate 95 being signed as north-south have to do with it making more sense to sign Interstate 295 east/west. That's the logic of a pancake.  :pan: To save confusion, just designate the east half of the beltway Interstate 495 north/south and retain the existing signage on the west side as Interstate 295 north/south.

Oh wait, we don't create new numbers anymore, we just extend existing ones *slaps head*. I have to remember that.   :banghead:

FLRoads

Nope, we can't create a new number.  We have to continually extend existing routes.

I totally agree with you on this one.  The eastern portion should have just been designated another even I-x95.  And IMHO, I-295 is not the most direct bypass around Jacksonville.  In fact, traffic on the south side is horrendous around the Florida 21 (Blanding Blvd) exit (exit 10), though they have modified the interchange with an extended dual off ramp.

It can join the likes of Interstate 4, which runs due north and south through the Orlando area and confuses most people because it is signed as an east/west route.  So yes FDOT, it makes perfect sense for I-295 to become an east/west route for the rocks.....NOT!     

FLRoads

While perusing a 1932 official road map of Florida I noticed that the land the current Eglin Air Force Base occupies was once known as Choctawhatchee National Forest.  Does anyone know the history of this national park?

mightyace

 Most beltways are signed for all four cardinal directions in their circle.  Is this more or less confusing?
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

Alex

Quote from: mightyace on February 11, 2009, 07:48:52 PM
Most beltways are signed for all four cardinal directions in their circle.  Is this more or less confusing?

I think it depends on their functionality. Probably a cop-out answer, but I'd say the confusion level varies on a case by case basis.

Bryant5493

Quote from: mightyace on February 11, 2009, 07:48:52 PM
Most beltways are signed for all four cardinal directions in their circle.  Is this more or less confusing?

It took me awhile to understand the way I-285 was signed. It can be a bit confusing. An inner-outer loop designation would be a little less confusing, as some folks aren't good with their cardinal directions. When I looked at a map, though, it actually made sense: from I-85 to I-75, on the Westside of Atlanta, the freeway is signed north-south; from I-75 to I-85, on the Top End, I-285 is signed east-west; from I-85 to I-20 (Eastside Atlanta), 285 is signed north-south; and from I-20 to I-85 (on the Southeastside), the Perimeter is signed east-west. 


Be well,

Bryant
Check out my YouTube page (http://youtube.com/Bryant5493). I have numerous road videos of Metro Atlanta and other areas in the Southeast.

I just signed up on photobucket -- here's my page (http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt24/Bryant5493).

FLRoads

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is making moves toward a 25 cent toll increase at all 14 toll plazas and most toll ramp facilities in the greater Orlando area. The OOCEA covers about 105 miles of toll roads in the central Florida region such as Toll Florida 408, 417, 429 and the newly partially opened Toll Florida 414. Some motorists are against this type of increase and have already suggested that if indeed the tolls are raised, they will begin to take the more congested routes, such as Interstate 4 and Colonial Drive. The OOCEA stated that they have no choice since their revenues and ridership have fallen consistantly for the last 11 months, which according to them is unprecedented in the agency's history. It has also been suggested that the increase could bring in more than $40 million annually. This increase could help pay for projects such as the extension of Toll Florida 414 west of Toll Florida 429, construction of the 25 mile Wekiva Parkway, the proposed limited access toll facility connecting the proposed 414/429 with Interstate 4 near Sanford, among a few other projects.

Read here for more information on this story.

So that means for all those motorists who are currently using the 25 cent toll ramps, beginning in April you will start paying double. To some that may not seem like much but when you break it down quarter by quarter it starts adding up real quick, especially if you use the toll roads everyday. That also means motorists on expressways such as the Beachline (Toll Florida 528) are going to get screwed as well as a portion of that facility is also maintained by the OOCEA, more specifically the portion that runs directly north of the Orlando International Airport. I imagine even more motorists will avoid that specific toll plaza (as it can be done and I purposely have done it many times). Not that I took the toll roads much, but if I did need to get across town in a hurry and didn't feel like using the congested arterials or Interstate 4, I would use them.

So, once again, thanks to this wonderful recession that we are currently in, an agency of the government gets to pass the buck onto you. Yep, so glad I don't live there anymore...

FLRoads

While on the Fort Myers Newspress site this morning I found this article:

Graffiti artist falls from sign on Miami expressway

The Associated Press - February 20, 2009

MIAMI – The Florida Highway Patrol says a man who was hit and killed by a truck on an expressway might have fallen from an overhead sign he was tagging.

The 28-year-old man fell from a catwalk on a road sign hanging over the Palmetto Expressway at about 1 a.m.

Authorities say a pickup hit and killed the man on the roadway. The driver of the pickup truck did stop.

FHP troopers found a can of spray paint near the man's body. Several signs on Interstate 95 in Miami were vandalized earlier this week; officials say they don't know if the man who fell scrawled the graffiti on the other signs.

The man's identity has not yet been released.
--------------------------------------------------
My guess is that he was one of the culprits who did indeed tag those Interstate 95 signs earlier this week. I'm sure there are more out there, and maybe this will deter them from wanting to risk their wasteful lives on tagging any more road signs (but I highly doubt it). Guess that was the last sign he'll be tagging...

DAL764

Gotta feel sorry for the truck driver, running over someone is gonna cause him quite a few nightmares even if he isn't at fault whatsoever.

As for the graffiti artist, good riddance.

Chris

I can only feel sorry for the truck driver, not that "artist" who vandalizes signage.

FLRoads

Yeah, I imagine it will take that truck driver some time to get over that incident. I cannot imagine having something like that happening to me while I was driving.

And yes, I agree with you on the graffiti artist as well. People who do acts such as that have to be morons in the first place. As I said, what does one get out of pulling stunts like that? If you are going to do something in life, do something constructive, not destructive. So not only is this incident costing us taxpayers (in the form of now either cleaning these signs or replacing them all together), its costing what family this guy had (if any at all). I would say his lesson has been learned. He'll never do that again... :-o

mightyace

Orlando raising tolls about a third April 5 - first toll hike since July 1990

See http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4030

Sounds like a Mickey Mouse proposition to me!  :-D
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

FLRoads

Yep, it is. The toll hike is also partly due to lack of ridership on the tollways in the county. Since the OOCEA is not making any money they have to pass the buck onto the commuters and make them pay. Nice, eh? 

mightyace

Quote from: flaroadgeek on March 04, 2009, 02:24:52 PM
Yep, it is. The toll hike is also partly due to lack of ridership on the tollways in the county. Since the OOCEA is not making any money they have to pass the buck onto the commuters and make them pay. Nice, eh? 

And, of course, the toll hike will lower ridership further.
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

FLRoads

Yes, it will in turn lower it further but I really don't think it will lower it to drastic levels. There are still those who will take the toll facilities no matter what the cost is to them; anything to avoid Interstate 4 and some of the more heavily traveled arterials (such as Colonial Drive and Semoran Boulevard).

Alex

Here is another article about the toll hike approval, which includes a few notes on the SR 414 extension and the Wekiva Parkway:
==
25-cent expressway toll hike approved, will start April 5
Plazas, ramps to charge 25 cents more April 5 -- other boosts due in 2012

Dan Tracy |  Sentinel Staff Writer
February 27, 2009

Rejecting the complaints and occasional catcalls of dozens of disgruntled motorists, the directors of Greater Orlando's road-building agency unanimously decided to raise tolls by at least 25 cents Thursday.

The rate increase will take effect April 5 at 14 main toll plazas and most exit and entrance ramps on the nearly 105-mile system.

An additional increase of at least 9percent is planned in 2012, based on rises in the Consumer Price Index during the next three years. Subsequent cost-of-living increases would kick in every five years.

The authority chairman, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, defended the raise by saying it would improve the flagging economy by creating jobs and improving the region's road network.

"There's a very big economic impact," he said.

But 28 people asked the directors not to raise tolls, arguing that people are too distressed by the failing economy to pay more to ride on the authority's roads. Board members, the critics charged, are poor stewards of the toll money.

"Mismanagement is the problem here, not lack of revenue," said Michael Walzak of Orlando.

Board member Tanya Juarez, who voted for the increase that passed 4-0, agreed the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority needs to be more frugal, suggesting weeklong furloughs for the authority's 50 employees might be a good starting point.

"We must exhaust all cost-cutting measures," Juarez said.

That comment offered little comfort to Madonna Patrick, who lives in west Orange County. She said her son spends $152.75 a month on tolls driving to and from his home, job and school at the University of Central Florida.

The increase, she said, will bump his bill to $210.75.

"There's no way to get to UCF if you don't have the toll roads, unless you want to take all day," Patrick said.

UCF President John Hitt was one of seven who spoke in favor of the increase.

"We need to maintain and expand our road network," he said. "We need to raise rates if that's what it takes."

The toll increase, in fact, is as much about the future as it is about replacing money lost to fewer toll payers.

Without a boost, authority officials say, they cannot build any new roads, potentially leaving the beltway around greater Orlando incomplete and eliminating improvements and expansions to the existing system, which includes state roads 408, 417, 429 and parts of 414 and 528.

The first 25-cent bump would raise an additional $47million, according to revenue projections compiled by an authority consultant. That increase would come despite an anticipated traffic drop of as much as 10 percent caused by motorists unwilling to pay the higher tolls.

The initial cost-of-living increase – its first full year coming in 2013 – would raise another $67million.

That double infusion of money would restart authority construction projects, with some work possibly beginning at the end of the year.

Authority managers say they could borrow as much as $648 million in coming months, ultimately creating as many as 18,000 construction and related jobs.

The work would include:

-Extending the John Land Apopka Expressway, also known as S.R. 414, west to near Plymouth-Sorrento Road, in preparation for the Wekiva Parkway. Construction of that 25-mile toll road, linking S.R. 414 to Interstate 4 in Seminole County, could begin in 2014.

-Widening S.R. 408 near S.R. 417 and improving the interchange between the two roads.

Authority director Mike Snyder also said that without an increase, toll income could drop below what the agency needs to pay off $2.1billion in bond debt. That could trigger a takeover of operations by the bondholders, though he could not cite an agency to which that has happened.

Cash customers likely would pay 25 cents more for every increase, because the agency says it is not cost-effective to collect small change.

But motorists with E-Pass, the electronic device that automatically debits a prepaid account, would be charged the actual cost-of-living increase, even if it is only a few cents.

The authority last raised rates in 1990 and lowered them at two plazas in 1992.

This is the second time in less than three years that the agency said it would raise tolls. Authority officials backed off in 2006, when a scandal broke about how the agency spent its money. That prompted the resignation of two directors, including board Chairman Allan Keen.

Triggering the backlash was the disclosure that a consultant for the agency had paid a company controlled by anti-tax activist Doug Guetzloe $107,500 to research why people dislike paying tolls.

Alex

Found this while looking up information on the new Marion County 484 alignment near Belleview.

http://www.ocalafl.org/TPO2.aspx?id=3040




Ocala Beltway

In the mid-1980s, one of the issues identified by the TPO was a need to divert traffic coming through the urban areas to destinations elsewhere. The original concept was a beltway designed to divert traffic around the Cities of Ocala and Belleview. The Ocala Beltway identified a series of limited-access roadways designed to divert traffic around the two cities. The original concept included converting several existing roadways (SR 326 north of Ocala, Baseline Road east of Ocala, and CR 484 west of Belleview) to limited-access roads. The concept also identified new roads such as SW 80th Avenue west of I-75 to complete the Beltway. Eventually, it was decided that conversion of existing roads would not be cost effective. In 1991, the TPO eliminated the Beltway concept in favor of a series of expansions of the existing roadways and the creation of the Belleview Bypass. Today, these roadways are in various stages of development. Please see the Current Projects Section for more information.

SR 35 (Baseline Road) - SR 464 to Belleview Bypass

    *
      Expand 2.5 mile section to 4 lanes
    *
      Marion County is currently developing the design for this portion of the project
    *
      Construction currently not funded

Belleview Bypass - SR 35 to US 441

This project was developed to alleviate traffic, especially heavy-truck traffic, from the Belleview area. The new, four-laned roadway is planned to begin at the intersection of SE 93rd Steet Road and go east and south around the east side of Belleview.

    *
      New four-lane roadway
    *
      Marion County is currently developing the design for this portion of the project
    *
      Construction not yet funded

74/171FAN

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4042 Here's an article on the partial opening of FL 414 for only Sunpass customers(it says only those with transponders at the very beginning).
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

FLRoads

I would very much like to see the rest of Florida 414 (Maitland Boulevard) east of U.S. 441 transformed into an full-blown expressway, getting rid of the remaining at-grade intersections. The northern part of the Orlando area has needed an additional east-west expressway to move traffic in the Altamonte Springs area as well as areas such as Casselberry and Maitland. I've always envisioned Maitland Boulevard extending east from its current eastern terminus at U.S. 17/92 to reach Toll Florida 417 and possibly further east.



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