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New York State Thruway

Started by Zeffy, September 22, 2014, 12:00:32 AM

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Sam

The West Bloomfield Rd. overpass next to it was the same design. It was replaced a few years ago with a standard type design.


cl94

Quote from: Sam on April 12, 2015, 07:52:55 PM
The West Bloomfield Rd. overpass next to it was the same design. It was replaced a few years ago with a standard type design.

I'd say more than a few years. Replacement was built in 1989 per the state database. I always thought that bridge was relatively new. Evidently it's original and holding out better than most bridges its age (or newer, for that matter).
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cl94

The North Grand Island Bridge had a pretty large incident today. The SB span is being redecked overnight with both directions on the NB span, but the contractor failed to have the bridge open by 6 AM (the scheduled time). Didn't reopen until after 6 PM. Traffic from the north was backed up to NY 182 and traffic from the south was back to the South bridge. Fine is $1,000/minute, capped at $125,000/day. Supposedly took 30-45 minutes to get through the mess (normally takes under 10).
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PurdueBill

Quote from: cl94 on April 27, 2015, 07:29:50 PM
The North Grand Island Bridge had a pretty large incident today. The SB span is being redecked overnight with both directions on the NB span, but the contractor failed to have the bridge open by 6 AM (the scheduled time). Didn't reopen until after 6 PM. Traffic from the north was backed up to NY 182 and traffic from the south was back to the South bridge. Fine is $1,000/minute, capped at $125,000/day. Supposedly took 30-45 minutes to get through the mess (normally takes under 10).

Odd that the fine for 12 hours late is the same as for 3 hours late, which is only $5000 more than the fine for 2 hours late.  Once you get to 2 hours and 5 minutes behind, you might as well use the rest of the day!  Why not ramp it up?

cl94

Quote from: PurdueBill on April 28, 2015, 10:18:50 AM
Quote from: cl94 on April 27, 2015, 07:29:50 PM
The North Grand Island Bridge had a pretty large incident today. The SB span is being redecked overnight with both directions on the NB span, but the contractor failed to have the bridge open by 6 AM (the scheduled time). Didn't reopen until after 6 PM. Traffic from the north was backed up to NY 182 and traffic from the south was back to the South bridge. Fine is $1,000/minute, capped at $125,000/day. Supposedly took 30-45 minutes to get through the mess (normally takes under 10).

Odd that the fine for 12 hours late is the same as for 3 hours late, which is only $5000 more than the fine for 2 hours late.  Once you get to 2 hours and 5 minutes behind, you might as well use the rest of the day!  Why not ramp it up?

My thought exactly. Thing was closed all flipping day and the surface roads between I-290 and Niagara Falls were clogged and, after 8:05, there was no incentive to reopen it.
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machias

I drove on the Thruway EB on Sunday and noticed that the Erie Canal Heritage Park just beyond the Port Byron Service Area is now open.


Pete from Boston

Quote from: cl94 on April 28, 2015, 01:12:13 PM
Quote from: PurdueBill on April 28, 2015, 10:18:50 AM
Quote from: cl94 on April 27, 2015, 07:29:50 PM
The North Grand Island Bridge had a pretty large incident today. The SB span is being redecked overnight with both directions on the NB span, but the contractor failed to have the bridge open by 6 AM (the scheduled time). Didn't reopen until after 6 PM. Traffic from the north was backed up to NY 182 and traffic from the south was back to the South bridge. Fine is $1,000/minute, capped at $125,000/day. Supposedly took 30-45 minutes to get through the mess (normally takes under 10).

Odd that the fine for 12 hours late is the same as for 3 hours late, which is only $5000 more than the fine for 2 hours late.  Once you get to 2 hours and 5 minutes behind, you might as well use the rest of the day!  Why not ramp it up?

My thought exactly. Thing was closed all flipping day and the surface roads between I-290 and Niagara Falls were clogged and, after 8:05, there was no incentive to reopen it.

Presumably because if something goes really wrong, the best approach to fixing it is not to bankrupt the contractor.

cl94

Quote from: upstatenyroads on April 28, 2015, 09:10:33 PM
I drove on the Thruway EB on Sunday and noticed that the Erie Canal Heritage Park just beyond the Port Byron Service Area is now open.



So many things wrong with that assembly. Surprised it doesn't have a "text stop" sign.
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Buffaboy

Quote from: cl94 on April 28, 2015, 11:03:35 PM
Quote from: upstatenyroads on April 28, 2015, 09:10:33 PM
I drove on the Thruway EB on Sunday and noticed that the Erie Canal Heritage Park just beyond the Port Byron Service Area is now open.



So many things wrong with that assembly. Surprised it doesn't have a "text stop" sign.

If its nice i suppose I can stop off next week coming home. I wish I could drive home all the time instead of taking stupid Amtrak.

Also, thanks Alps for that link on your website directing me to those historical satellite images. It was pretty crazy seeing my entire town as bunch of trees back in the 50s. I mean, I've used Google Earth historical imagery to go back to the 80s, but I haven't seen imagery for areas outside of Buffalo as much as I have today.
What's not to like about highways and bridges, intersections and interchanges, rails and planes?

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cpzilliacus

Has anyone ever heard of any plans by the New York State Thruway Authority to even study the idea of widening the I-87 part of the Thruway so it is six lanes total (three each way) all the way from Harriman (Thruway Exit 16) to Albany (Exit 23)?

IMO, seems to be needed to handle the weekend traffic.
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The Nature Boy

The fact that anyone thought that a road running from New York City to Albany should NOT be three lanes the whole way just speaks to how laughably incompetent some public officials can be.

Jim

You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.
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empirestate

Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

You do also have the Taconic across the river for non-commercial traffic. For selfish reasons, I do wish it went a little farther, up to Bennington perhaps. Anything to get from NYC to VT/NH without going through CT would be pretty nice. :-)

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

In defense of the Thruway, the I-87 section is otherwise still a well-engineered and well-maintained freeway-class road, better than more than a few "free" Interstates that I have driven in other states (such as Pennsylvania).

But a widening to six lanes would seem to be in order (I have only once (recently) driven the I-90 part of the Thruway, and only between Albany and Syracuse, and that seemed a lot less busy).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cl94

Quote from: empirestate on May 05, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

You do also have the Taconic across the river for non-commercial traffic. For selfish reasons, I do wish it went a little farther, up to Bennington perhaps. Anything to get from NYC to VT/NH without going through CT would be pretty nice. :-)

If anything, at least it should have gone the last few miles to US 20 so I could avoid the toll. Much harder to shunpike with the current road network.

On the topic of widening the Thruway, it would be nice, but look at the 4-lane sections near Buffalo with much higher amounts of weekday traffic (especially Exits 49-50 and 55-57). Those need to be 6 (and the free section needs to be 8+), but that's not happening anytime soon. It really isn't that expensive to widen to 6 lanes, as every bridge can already carry 3 lanes per direction and always has been able to carry that amount of lanes (because the thing was designed to be widened), but this is New York we're talking about.
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The Nature Boy

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 05, 2015, 03:56:34 PM
Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

In defense of the Thruway, the I-87 section is otherwise still a well-engineered and well-maintained freeway-class road, better than more than a few "free" Interstates that I have driven in other states (such as Pennsylvania).

But a widening to six lanes would seem to be in order (I have only once (recently) driven the I-90 part of the Thruway, and only between Albany and Syracuse, and that seemed a lot less busy).

For as completely uninteresting as I find much of the I-90 section of the Thruway, it is a magnificently engineered highway. I will give them that.

Also, I once drove back to New Hampshire from NYC via I-87 to Albany and then NY Route 7 into Vermont. I got stuck in traffic at the Tappan Zee.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: The Nature Boy on May 05, 2015, 05:13:30 PM
For as completely uninteresting as I find much of the I-90 section of the Thruway, it is a magnificently engineered highway. I will give them that.

At least between Albany and Syracuse, I found the scenery to be rather nice.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

The Nature Boy

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 05, 2015, 07:20:04 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on May 05, 2015, 05:13:30 PM
For as completely uninteresting as I find much of the I-90 section of the Thruway, it is a magnificently engineered highway. I will give them that.

At least between Albany and Syracuse, I found the scenery to be rather nice.

The Southern Tier Expressway is the more scenic of the main east-west highways across upstate New York. The scenery is certainly nice. Once you pass Syracuse though, it starts to go downhill a bit (at least in my opinion). I was always a huge fan of the Southern Tier Expressway though and would recommend it to anyone who wants a really scenic drive across upstate New York and is just passing through. If you're going to points east, you can connect to I-90 in Albany and continue your trek.

roadman65

Quote from: empirestate on May 05, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

You do also have the Taconic across the river for non-commercial traffic. For selfish reasons, I do wish it went a little farther, up to Bennington perhaps. Anything to get from NYC to VT/NH without going through CT would be pretty nice. :-)
Take the Taconic to I-90.  Just go east for one exit and then up NY 22.   It is really nice that way.  True NY 22 is not freeway, but it is a good road despite being two lanes.  You can use that up to NY 7 and then east into VT (and NH).  Or use NY 43 to MA 43 to MA 2 East.  MA 2 is a nice ride through the Berkshires.  Once you get to Greenfield you have I-91 to take you into VT or NH.
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cl94

Quote from: roadman65 on May 05, 2015, 07:33:31 PM
Quote from: empirestate on May 05, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
Quote from: Jim on May 05, 2015, 03:32:05 PM
You have to keep in mind how long ago the road was built.  2 lanes each way was likely sufficient for the time.  The fact that it hasn't been expanded by now is another story.  It does seem long overdue.

You do also have the Taconic across the river for non-commercial traffic. For selfish reasons, I do wish it went a little farther, up to Bennington perhaps. Anything to get from NYC to VT/NH without going through CT would be pretty nice. :-)
Take the Taconic to I-90.  Just go east for one exit and then up NY 22.   It is really nice that way.  True NY 22 is not freeway, but it is a good road despite being two lanes.  You can use that up to NY 7 and then east into VT (and NH).  Or use NY 43 to MA 43 to MA 2 East.  MA 2 is a nice ride through the Berkshires.  Once you get to Greenfield you have I-91 to take you into VT or NH.

But that requires paying a toll and that's the issue here. Taconic was supposed to go further north (in some original plans, to Saratoga) and, while there are still clearings visible, the NT looked quite different 40+ years ago.
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Duke87

Quote from: cl94 on May 05, 2015, 04:20:27 PM
Quote from: empirestate on May 05, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
You do also have the Taconic across the river for non-commercial traffic. For selfish reasons, I do wish it went a little farther, up to Bennington perhaps. Anything to get from NYC to VT/NH without going through CT would be pretty nice. :-)

If anything, at least it should have gone the last few miles to US 20 so I could avoid the toll. Much harder to shunpike with the current road network.

Maybe I'm just not a hardcore shunpiker, but even if this connection existed I don't see how it would be worth using in order to save 38 cents.


As for six laning the road from exits 16 to 23... well, that's nearly 100 miles (97, precisely). If we extrapolate out what the widening between exits 23 and 24 cost ($115 million for 6 miles), we're talking nearly $2 billion. Some states would be ambitious enough to undertake such a thing but New York is not one of them.

Meanwhile, while that part of the Thruway does get rather crowded and sloggish a lot of the time, in the greater scheme of things it's not that bad. There are no particular bottlenecks creating stop and go queues, it's just general volume. New York has plenty of roads with far worse problems that ought to be higher prioriries. The Hutch, for example is much more desperately in need of six laning than the Thruway is (albeit probably less politically feasible because NIMBYs).


Also, it still amazes me how on weekends everyone piles on the Thruway while the Taconic remains a total ghost town until you get down to the Poughkeepsie area. How is it that people seemingly don't know it exists?

If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

The Nature Boy

Simple. The Thruway is more well known to tourists and the control city on I-87 is Albany (or New York City if you're coming FROM Albany). People just tend to take the road that appears most obvious.

cl94

Also the lack of services. With the gas stations closed, there's no services close to the road north of NY 115. If you're going to Albany, that's a 55 mile gap without anything that can be easily found. No rest areas, either. The lower speed limit does deter some, yet travel speeds on the Taconic are often higher than those on the Thruway.
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Jim

Quote from: The Nature Boy on May 05, 2015, 08:38:08 PM
Simple. The Thruway is more well known to tourists and the control city on I-87 is Albany (or New York City if you're coming FROM Albany). People just tend to take the road that appears most obvious.

At least for me, there's more to it than that.  I really enjoy the Taconic, and used it a lot when I was living in western Mass.  However, if there's weather or it's around dusk, it just doesn't feel safe to me.  The nasty accidents I saw and the sheer number deer I've seen on the Taconic, those made all the more dangerous by the trees being right up near the (nonexistent) shoulders of the road, made me choose the Thruway on a good number of trips.

Now, I live west of Albany and I'm often going south not to go to NYC but to get into NJ for points south, so the Taconic isn't as attractive an option anyway.
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The Nature Boy

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever actually taken the Taconic. I'll need to take it the next time I'm in the Northeast.



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