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Virginia to Indianapolis and St. Louis

Started by Mapmikey, July 23, 2015, 08:00:04 AM

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Mapmikey

Took a business trip to Indianapolis followed by a couple days in the St Louis suburb of Collinsville IL.  Gone 11 days in all.

Took my usual path to Hancock Md via US 522 from Winchester.  Nothing of note along the way.  For the first time in 15 years I elected to use I-70 all the way to Washington Pa instead of I-68/79.  I might take 15 more years before doing it again.  I-70 between New Stanton and Washington is still a terrible road to drive, despite a few spot improvements.  Heavy traffic on old geometries, plus a 45 mph speed limit through part of it.  There were however two state named I-70 shields on 70 WB itself, after PA 31 and after PA 51.

Followed I-70 to Cambridge OH then picked up US 40 the rest of the way to Indianapolis.  We spent the night in a suburb of Columbus so that we could go see a Lustron house exhibit at the Ohio History Museum by the fairgrounds.  US 40 through Ohio is not bad although it seemed slowest west of Springfield.  Approaching Springfield I saw 4 I-70 Business shields (3 WB one EB), and only 1 was a traditional green shield while the others were the same colors as a normal I-shield.  There were no shields in downtown Springfield.

US 40 in Indiana east of Indy was pretty nice although it drops to 2-lanes through a lot of the towns (shown as fully 4-lane throughout on RMcN).  There is an error IN 27 shield on US 40 WB in Richmond.   Followed Old US 40 to Downtown Indy.  Mile markers are still up on Washington Ave as if it were still US 40.  This was also true for Meridian Av (Old US 31).  It did not appear to be true on Old US 52 and Old US 421.

Downtown Indy is actually very nice and has a beautiful canal walk.  While in town I saw a few state-named shields for I-70 and I-465 (but none for I-65), most of which looked recent.

After leaving Indy I continued to use US 40 to Collinsville, IL, except there was a 10-mile detour between IL 49 and IL 130.  US 40 through most of Illinois is quiet and easy, though it is a little silly how it is routed along I-70 instead of onto it west of Vandalia.  In Casey, there was the worlds largest wind chime, golf tee, pencil, and crochet needle.  They are working on a rocking chair.  There is a pretty old IL 49 shield on Main St EB (old US 40).

We were in Collinsville specifically to see the Cahokia Mounds, although we did venture into St Louis for a couple hours.

Heading home I used US 50 from Collinsville to Clarksburg WV before using Corridor H back to Virginia.  US 50 across Illinois and Indiana are pretty quiet.  I found it odd that on the super-2 parts of US 50 in Illinois they built the twin bridges along the way but not much else in terms of clearing the ROW.  My experience is that with Super-2s they build any overpasses to accommodate future expansion, but not much else. 

US 50 through Cincinnati is surprisingly smooth and quick even though only a couple miles are actual freeway.  The EB US 50 cutout in Mariemont is still present.  Corridor H construction was going on east of Davis.  Looks like there is still a fair amount of work to be done on what will be the WB lanes.  There is signage on what is on an unopened section that is not directly on top of WV 93 that shows definitively that WV 93 will be cosigned with US 48 to Davis.

New routes clinched: 
Ohio: US 40, US 50
Indiana: I-865, US 40, US 50
Illinois: I-255, US 50

Mike


froggie

QuoteUS 40 in Indiana east of Indy was pretty nice although it drops to 2-lanes through a lot of the towns (shown as fully 4-lane throughout on RMcN).

Large atlases like RMcN don't have the scale to properly show routes that go 4-to-2-to-4 in a small town.

mrsman

Quote from: froggie on July 23, 2015, 07:47:26 PM
QuoteUS 40 in Indiana east of Indy was pretty nice although it drops to 2-lanes through a lot of the towns (shown as fully 4-lane throughout on RMcN).

Large atlases like RMcN don't have the scale to properly show routes that go 4-to-2-to-4 in a small town.

And it's usually unfortunate that it has that pattern, as roads are usaully busier through towns than through the country.  Ideally, a 2 lane road in the country should be widened to a 4 lane road, or a 2 lane road with left turn lane to ease the flow of traffic.

Mapmikey

It appeared to me that the highway used to be 4-lane undivided but once very nearby I-70 opened the traffic on US 40 was reduced enough that changing to a 4-2-4 setup had little impact on traffic in the smaller towns in eastern Indiana.  In larger towns (e.g. Richmond) the multilaning was retained.

mike

oscar

Quote from: Mapmikey on July 23, 2015, 08:00:04 AM
US 40 through Ohio is not bad although it seemed slowest west of Springfield.  Approaching Springfield I saw 4 I-70 Business shields (3 WB one EB), and only 1 was a traditional green shield while the others were the same colors as a normal I-shield.  There were no shields in downtown Springfield.

That I-70 business route is new to me -- I've driven US 40 through Springfield, and I-70 way too often. CHM doesn't have it. Any photos or other details?
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Mapmikey


SteveG1988

Quote from: Mapmikey on July 23, 2015, 08:00:04 AM
Took a business trip to Indianapolis followed by a couple days in the St Louis suburb of Collinsville IL.  Gone 11 days in all.

Took my usual path to Hancock Md via US 522 from Winchester.  Nothing of note along the way.  For the first time in 15 years I elected to use I-70 all the way to Washington Pa instead of I-68/79.  I might take 15 more years before doing it again.  I-70 between New Stanton and Washington is still a terrible road to drive, despite a few spot improvements.  Heavy traffic on old geometries, plus a 45 mph speed limit through part of it.  There were however two state named I-70 shields on 70 WB itself, after PA 31 and after PA 51.

Followed I-70 to Cambridge OH then picked up US 40 the rest of the way to Indianapolis.  We spent the night in a suburb of Columbus so that we could go see a Lustron house exhibit at the Ohio History Museum by the fairgrounds.  US 40 through Ohio is not bad although it seemed slowest west of Springfield.  Approaching Springfield I saw 4 I-70 Business shields (3 WB one EB), and only 1 was a traditional green shield while the others were the same colors as a normal I-shield.  There were no shields in downtown Springfield.

US 40 in Indiana east of Indy was pretty nice although it drops to 2-lanes through a lot of the towns (shown as fully 4-lane throughout on RMcN).  There is an error IN 27 shield on US 40 WB in Richmond.   Followed Old US 40 to Downtown Indy.  Mile markers are still up on Washington Ave as if it were still US 40.  This was also true for Meridian Av (Old US 31).  It did not appear to be true on Old US 52 and Old US 421.

Downtown Indy is actually very nice and has a beautiful canal walk.  While in town I saw a few state-named shields for I-70 and I-465 (but none for I-65), most of which looked recent.

After leaving Indy I continued to use US 40 to Collinsville, IL, except there was a 10-mile detour between IL 49 and IL 130.  US 40 through most of Illinois is quiet and easy, though it is a little silly how it is routed along I-70 instead of onto it west of Vandalia.  In Casey, there was the worlds largest wind chime, golf tee, pencil, and crochet needle.  They are working on a rocking chair.  There is a pretty old IL 49 shield on Main St EB (old US 40).

We were in Collinsville specifically to see the Cahokia Mounds, although we did venture into St Louis for a couple hours.

Heading home I used US 50 from Collinsville to Clarksburg WV before using Corridor H back to Virginia.  US 50 across Illinois and Indiana are pretty quiet.  I found it odd that on the super-2 parts of US 50 in Illinois they built the twin bridges along the way but not much else in terms of clearing the ROW.  My experience is that with Super-2s they build any overpasses to accommodate future expansion, but not much else. 

US 50 through Cincinnati is surprisingly smooth and quick even though only a couple miles are actual freeway.  The EB US 50 cutout in Mariemont is still present.  Corridor H construction was going on east of Davis.  Looks like there is still a fair amount of work to be done on what will be the WB lanes.  There is signage on what is on an unopened section that is not directly on top of WV 93 that shows definitively that WV 93 will be cosigned with US 48 to Davis.

New routes clinched: 
Ohio: US 40, US 50
Indiana: I-865, US 40, US 50
Illinois: I-255, US 50

Mike

The Super 2 in IL was actually built for I64, before it was routed south.
Roads Clinched

I55,I82,I84(E&W)I88(W),I87(N),I81,I64,I74(W),I72,I57,I24,I65,I59,I12,I71,I77,I76(E&W),I70,I79,I85,I86(W),I27,I16,I97,I96,I43,I41,

US 41

I went on 68 all the way to 40 and then cut up 40 to I-70. When you go down the mountain on US 40 heading west into Uniontown it is an amazing view. I actually took everything that was labeled as the National Pike (Scenic 40, SR 144, Alt 40) west of the 68 / 70 split. Once in PA I took US 40 all the way to Columbus, Ohio, except for a mile where I detoured onto I-70 to drive through the Wheeling Tunnel. I even took the old suspension bridge in Wheeling.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM



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