Richmond, VA Meet: October 13

[WillWeaverRVA]

I'll make the reservation tomorrow. I'm initially going to set it for 20, since it looks like that will be an approximate number, but I'll update it if it goes over.

If we're starting in Short Pump, the North Gayton Road extension project is mostly complete; the entire stretch from just north of US 250 to VA 271 is fully paved and painted, and the widening of Shady Grove Road from VA 271 to Twin Hickory Road has been completed. It might be worth asking Henrico County if it's possible to visit since it's not open to traffic yet. Henrico County tends to do a pretty good job on its road projects (John Rolfe Parkway is a nice, if short, drive).

[jpi]

I went ahead and changed my reservation from Lynchburg to the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Short Pump, great rate and a VERY nice hotel chain, it is a little further of a drive on Friday but still should be worth it.

[Takumi]

Will and I did a test run of the meet itinerary today. The Gayton extension is now open, so we'll drive it. The total trip took a little over 3 hours, but there was a street closure downtown, I drove about the speed limit the whole time, and we got almost every light red, so with the additional people it'll likely be the same amount of time. There's a $3 parking deck downtown that we'll use when visiting the cobblestones, and some 1970s vintage signs nearby, so the downtown stop will be the longest.

The forecast for Saturday is sunny, with the high around 70. If anyone coming wants/needs my phone number, send me a message.

[Takumi]

Just a warning on parking at lunch. Everyone should park in the parking deck behind Dave & Busters. There's a small strip mall across the street from it that has plenty of parking, but my brother parked there last night and got his car towed. I don't want people coming back after five hours to a towed car and a $200 fine.

[hbelkins]

So what time should we get back to the cars? About 5 p.m.?

[Takumi]

Most likely, yes.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Alright, so here's my itinerary for the trip:
I-87 all the way to the Bronx, clinching the part I'm missing around and on the Tappan Zee Bridge (before it goes down!).
I-95 - NJTP - I-295 across the DelMemBr. I want to re-clinch the NJTP since I was sleeping more half of the way through last time (no worries, I wasn't driving!).
Sleep in Baltimore. I'll catch parts of either US 1 or US 40 on my way; not sure yet.
MD 295/DC 295/I-295 - Clinch, then back on I-95 (and I-495), then to the restaurant on 64 or 295, whichever we see less on the meet (?).

It's quite poor on back roads, but that's because it's a lengthy trip.

For the return trip, I'll try to catch some of the parts of I-95 I missed on the way down (through Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia) and, if I have time, do some clinching in Northern New Jersey (possibly work on US 1&9 and Route 17)... but nothing's set in stone yet.

[Takumi]

There won't be any I-295 on the itinerary, since the Meadowville interchange is too far out of the way from everything else. If we're short on time, we may take part of I-95/64 from downtown to exit 78, but other than that we'll just cross over I-64 on the North Gayton extension. You could take one in and the other leaving.

[Beltway]

There won't be any I-295 on the itinerary, since the Meadowville interchange is too far out of the way from everything else. If we're short on time, we may take part of I-95/64 from downtown to exit 78, but other than that we'll just cross over I-64 on the North Gayton extension. You could take one in and the other leaving.

How about the Huguenot Bridge project?  Not far, and at a very interesting stage.

Also the US-60 Midlothian Turnpike reconstruction project in the city of Richmond, massive and interesting.

Completed recently, but interesting ride-though, the US-250 widening in Manakin-Sabot.  Also the recently completed John Rolfe Parkway.

[Takumi]

The Huguenot Bridge and John Rolfe are on it; the others aren't. The full list:
North Gayton extension
John Rolfe Parkway
White border US 360 unisign
VA 76 widening (at S. Old Hundred Road) and backwards mileposts
RMA cutout
VA 195 mileposts (plus ORT lanes going the other direction)
Cobblestone streets and old signage downtown
VA 147, 161, and 197 cutout assemblies (the 147 and one 161 may be skipped for time issues; if so we'll drive by a bridge reconstruction on I-95/64)
Two VA 197 white border shields and a "to I-195 Virginia" unisign
Huguenot Bridge
Two VA 6 cutouts

[WillWeaverRVA]

There won't be any I-295 on the itinerary, since the Meadowville interchange is too far out of the way from everything else. If we're short on time, we may take part of I-95/64 from downtown to exit 78, but other than that we'll just cross over I-64 on the North Gayton extension. You could take one in and the other leaving.

How about the Huguenot Bridge project?  Not far, and at a very interesting stage.

Also the US-60 Midlothian Turnpike reconstruction project in the city of Richmond, massive and interesting.

Completed recently, but interesting ride-though, the US-250 widening in Manakin-Sabot.  Also the recently completed John Rolfe Parkway.

I completely forgot about that project when thinking of things to suggest...but it's a traffic nightmare right now and probably not worth visiting at this time. :\

[Beltway]

How about the Huguenot Bridge project?  Not far, and at a very interesting stage.

Also the US-60 Midlothian Turnpike reconstruction project in the city of Richmond, massive and interesting.

Completed recently, but interesting ride-though, the US-250 widening in Manakin-Sabot.  Also the recently completed John Rolfe Parkway.

I completely forgot about that project when thinking of things to suggest...but it's a traffic nightmare right now and probably not worth visiting at this time. :\

Which project?  I ride through them twice a week, and none of them are a "traffic nightmare".

[abc2VE]

There won't be any I-295 on the itinerary, since the Meadowville interchange is too far out of the way from everything else. If we're short on time, we may take part of I-95/64 from downtown to exit 78, but other than that we'll just cross over I-64 on the North Gayton extension. You could take one in and the other leaving.

How about the Huguenot Bridge project?  Not far, and at a very interesting stage.

Also the US-60 Midlothian Turnpike reconstruction project in the city of Richmond, massive and interesting.

Completed recently, but interesting ride-though, the US-250 widening in Manakin-Sabot.  Also the recently completed John Rolfe Parkway.

It looks like the new signals on midlothian will have Led street name signs installed as well.

[WillWeaverRVA]

I meant to specify the Midlothian Turnpike project.

[Beltway]

I meant to specify the Midlothian Turnpike project.

I drive the project twice a week, and traffic is no problem.  It is a very interesting project with lots of construction.

[Takumi]

I have state maps, Virginia Is For Lovers stickers, and Petersburg tourism maps for those interested.

[Alps]

I meant to specify the Midlothian Turnpike project.

I drive the project twice a week, and traffic is no problem.  It is a very interesting project with lots of construction.

Add it to the meet! (It could be a quick drive after the official end of the meet.)

[Takumi]

Well, that was amazing. Thanks to everyone for coming! Even though we didn't get to see everything on the itinerary, today was fantastic. Hope to see you all again soon.

Edit: A very small preview of what's to come...

[WillWeaverRVA]

That was a blast. It was awesome to finally get to meet Steve, H.B., Doug, Oscar, Laura, and all the others I'm forgetting to mention because I'm completely exhausted from the last two days.

[Alps]

I enjoyed meeting almost everyone new. I leave that statement as an exercise to the reader

[WillWeaverRVA]

And here's the meet picture, wherein all of us were blinded by looking into the sun (which was directly behind me and reflecting off all the buildings). Richmond has a lot of glass.

[NJRoadfan]

That send help sign has seem a lot of miles.

[Takumi]

Kneeling: Billy Riddle, Will Weaver, Scott Davis, Michael Elmore (looking like I've been cut off at the knees). Standing: Oscar Voss, Carl Tessier, Elric Naslund, H.B. Elkins, Steve Alpert, Chris Curley, Mike Tantillo, Doug Kerr, Jason Ilyes, Mike Pruett, Laura Bianca.

[Sanctimoniously]

I like how I'm barely visible. It almost looks like I'm photobombing it.

[WillWeaverRVA]

I'm going to post the rest of the meet photos on Flickr so those here who can't see them on Facebook can still see them. I'll also add pictures from last week's dry run of the meet route since most of my backseat pictures kinda suck.