Tomorrow's Washington Post Travel section has an article by one of their writers who decided to pend the night in Breezewood. Her boyfriend had suggested spending a WEEK there, a suggestion she quite rightly rejected.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/i-vacationed-at-the-east-coasts-quintessential-rest-stop-its-more-inviting-than-it-looks/2017/08/10/a38ba58c-76d0-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html
I spent two nights in Breezewood seven years ago. I used it as the base for my attendance at the SE Pennsylvania road meet that year (the one with the huge snafu over the room being double-booked and them not splitting the checks).
I've stayed at the Best Western there once. I don't even know if the hotel is still there.
I will never spend a penny there and I don't get why anybody else would. Those greedy business owners have way too much power. They contribute to hundreds of thousands if not millions of lost hours due to sitting in traffic unnecessarily, pollution due to the cars sitting in traffic, car accidents and many other things. If I want to stop at a gas station or stay in a motel, I'll exit off the freeway. A myriad of businesses have died due to highways being bypassed. Why are these jackoffs in Breezewood any different? If I were in control I would order construction of a proper I-70/76 connection immediately.
Quote from: bugo on August 13, 2017, 01:56:02 PM
I will never spend a penny there and I don't get why anybody else would. Those greedy business owners have way too much power. They contribute to hundreds of thousands if not millions of lost hours due to sitting in traffic unnecessarily, pollution due to the cars sitting in traffic, car accidents and many other things. If I want to stop at a gas station or stay in a motel, I'll exit off the freeway. A myriad of businesses have died due to highways being bypassed. Why are these jackoffs in Breezewood any different? If I were in control I would order construction of a proper I-70/76 connection immediately.
I also boycott Breezewood when I drive through the area. No reason to stop there and empower the interests that have kept the PA legislature from constructing a proper interchange.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 14, 2017, 08:51:24 AM
Quote from: bugo on August 13, 2017, 01:56:02 PM
I will never spend a penny there and I don't get why anybody else would. Those greedy business owners have way too much power. They contribute to hundreds of thousands if not millions of lost hours due to sitting in traffic unnecessarily, pollution due to the cars sitting in traffic, car accidents and many other things. If I want to stop at a gas station or stay in a motel, I'll exit off the freeway. A myriad of businesses have died due to highways being bypassed. Why are these jackoffs in Breezewood any different? If I were in control I would order construction of a proper I-70/76 connection immediately.
I also boycott Breezewood when I drive through the area. No reason to stop there and empower the interests that have kept the PA legislature from constructing a proper interchange.
It's the PA legislature that has kept PennDOT and the PTC from constructing a proper interchange.
I, too, won't drop a penny in the area. I'd pay inflated prices at a service plaza first.
I stayed at Breezewood I want to say in the 1990s on the way to a wedding. It was fine other than the Bob Evans which had a dude running around telling everyone at the place he was going to have sex with his girlfriend....fairly certain he was mentally ill. I would like to revisit and try the hiking trail on the old PA Turnpike.
the feds should revoke i-70 in pennsylvania until they fix the gap.
Quote from: silverback1065 on August 15, 2017, 07:35:14 AM
the feds should revoke i-70 in pennsylvania until they fix the gap.
The feds are the ones that would need to approve the funding for PA to fix the gap. What are they going to do...punish themselves?
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 15, 2017, 08:10:03 AM
Quote from: silverback1065 on August 15, 2017, 07:35:14 AM
the feds should revoke i-70 in pennsylvania until they fix the gap.
The feds are the ones that would need to approve the funding for PA to fix the gap. What are they going to do...punish themselves?
I think he means remove the I-70 signage east of New Stanton and sign I-70 between Breezewood and Baltimore as something other than an interstate.
Quote from: hbelkins on August 15, 2017, 03:41:27 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 15, 2017, 08:10:03 AM
Quote from: silverback1065 on August 15, 2017, 07:35:14 AM
the feds should revoke i-70 in pennsylvania until they fix the gap.
The feds are the ones that would need to approve the funding for PA to fix the gap. What are they going to do...punish themselves?
I think he means remove the I-70 signage east of New Stanton and sign I-70 between Breezewood and Baltimore as something other than an interstate.
Well, if that stretch is still funded as interstate - who cares? And if funding is revoked along with interstate designation, it would be a very different story...
that's exactly what i meant, don't allow it to be an interstate, remove the signs it and defund it.
Wouldn't that punish Maryland more than anyone else? The PA turnpike section of I-70 is already also I-76.
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
In theory, you could punish Breezewood by using multiplexes to remove I-70 and 76 from as much of the Turnpike as possible.
I-70: Multiplexes with I-79 south of Washington, PA, connects with I-68 in Morgantown, WVa where it multiplexes until it reconnects with itself in Hancock, Maryland.
I-76: The new ending of the interstate is the OH/PA state line. I-276 and 476 are also totally decommissioned.
I imagine that that the threat of this would probably get you a plan for an interchange really quickly.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 15, 2017, 08:07:48 PM
In theory, you could punish Breezewood by using multiplexes to remove I-70 and 76 from as much of the Turnpike as possible.
I-70: Multiplexes with I-79 south of Washington, PA, connects with I-68 in Morgantown, WVa where it multiplexes until it reconnects with itself in Hancock, Maryland.
I-76: The new ending of the interstate is the OH/PA state line. I-276 and 476 are also totally decommissioned.
I imagine that that the threat of this would probably get you a plan for an interchange really quickly.
If you're traveling from Washington, Pa. to Hancock, I-70 is the shorter route over I-68. Despite the tolls, truckers seem to prefer it as well, since the grades are gentler and less frequent than I-68.
Unless Breezewood traffic is a cluster foxtrot and your GPS device has live-time traffic updates, or if you have "avoid tolls" selected, you're going to be routed along the Turnpike instead of through West Virginia. People have become so reliant on GPS that signage or route numbers often don't matter.
I think that there should be direct ramps to stay on I-70; traffic making the odd movements (I-70 west to I-76 east, or vice versa) can still go through Breezewood. The bottleneck is through I-70 traffic; especially westbound traffic that has to make a left turn. People who need gas, food, or a place to stay, are still going to stop at Breezewood the same as they would any other exit. There's really no other place that offers all those services between Breezewood and Hagerstown (and even then, most of the services are located on I-81).
I think there are also a good number of people who have just always gone that way and don't know any other route and think the Breezewood route is "how you have to go" or "how you're supposed to go"–similar to people who have no idea that the Jersey Turnpike and I-295 are not the only routes between DC and New York because that's how their fathers always went!
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 17, 2017, 08:23:32 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
Once upon a time there was an interview with a major spam sender, of the order of billions e-mails a day. "But I am not really hurting anyone, I am just trying to make my living!"
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 17, 2017, 08:23:32 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
What about all those workers who lost their jobs when all the rest of the interstates were built? Countless businesses have been destroyed by bypasses. Where are your tears for them? Why is Breezewood any different from any of the old US 66 towns or any other town that was left behind by the interstate? What is so special about Breezewood?
Quote from: bugo on August 17, 2017, 09:56:17 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 17, 2017, 08:23:32 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
What about all those workers who lost their jobs when all the rest of the interstates were built? Countless businesses have been destroyed by bypasses. Where are your tears for them? Why is Breezewood any different from any of the old US 66 towns or any other town that was left behind by the interstate? What is so special about Breezewood?
Well, that is exactly the reason interstates are not allowed to have service areas. It didn't really help small businesses, as service plazas were built near exits.
I have little sympathy to those workers, since they are involved into de-facto extortion operation...
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 17, 2017, 08:23:32 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
Since Breezewood is one of the few places in that whole region to have services period, I imagine that most of the businesses would ultimately survive.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 17, 2017, 10:42:56 AM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on August 17, 2017, 08:23:32 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on August 15, 2017, 07:47:32 PM
I really can't see why I-70 couldn't be rerouted via Morgantown. The replacement of the tight I-79 to I-70 loop at Washington makes this a far better route. It would also punish the greedy businesses at Breezewood by stealth which I'm sure are all large chains rather than mom and pop.
But you're really punishing all the workers that work there. Many chain businesses can close up shop pretty easily and not affect their bottom line whatsoever. But the workers are the ones that truly suffer.
Since Breezewood is one of the few places in that whole region to have services period, I imagine that most of the businesses would ultimately survive.
Exactly. As hbelkins mentioned, if people need or want to stop, they're going to stop regardless. There's simply no good reason for that gap to exist, period.
Quote from: silverback1065 on August 15, 2017, 07:35:14 AM
the feds should revoke i-70 in pennsylvania until they fix the gap.
In addition to removing the tax advantage on Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission bonds (which would likely end Breezewood and the others within a year or two), telling PennDOT and PTC that they must re-route I-70 south on the PA-43 toll road to I-68 (and funding the construction of a full freeway-to-freeway interchange in West Virginia), with I-70 removed from the East-West mainline of the Turnpike and the stubs between PA-43 and New Stanton and between Breezewood and Hancock, Maryland getting new odd numbers like I-170 and I-570 would probably be motivation enough to get PTC and PennDOT to clean-up their acts.
Another alternative would be to encourage the PTC to take-over maintenance responsibility for I-70 between the Maryland border and Breezewood (and allow them to toll it), on condition that Breezewood be bypassed.
Would PennDOT have the power to replace the center left-turn lane with a Jersey Barrier, maybe even one that turns the corner at the intersection?
Perhaps an official study where alternative 1 is the Jersey Barrier, and alternative 2 is a direct I-70 connection, would get Breezewood to change its mind.
Much better ROI for many highway projects in PA than saving a few minutes. People could use the break anyway; maybe more intersections should be disjointed. People sometimes don't know how tired/hungry they are if they keep driving endlessly.
well if we used that excuse, there'd be breezewoods everywhere. and fixing it is a matter of adding 2 ramps.
Quote from: GenExpwy on August 21, 2017, 11:28:43 AM
Would PennDOT have the power to replace the center left-turn lane with a Jersey Barrier, maybe even one that turns the corner at the intersection?
If they're anything like Kentucky, sure they would. This wouldn't even require any public hearings. We've frequently put up barriers to prohibit left turns.