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Michigan Highways site updates

Started by bessertc, October 28, 2015, 05:14:47 PM

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bessertc

Hi all. I just wanted to let everyone know I've been making progress on the overhaul of the Michigan Highways website, not so much to plug my work and fish for pageviews, but to illustrate what kind of additional content I've been trying to incorporate. In addition to moving to the new design and checking all the links, etc., since the M-55 route listing, I've been re-researching all of the route listings. I'm into the 80s now and I have two recent and illustrative examples for comparison purposes... from two rather innocuous, rather uninteresting routes.
Other recent updates have been to the Pure Michigan Byways page reflecting the major changes to that program as well as the M-231 route listing ahead of that highway's opening on Friday. The What's New? page lists all site updates.

As always, I'm always open to suggestions, corrections and personal anecdotes about your experiences with Michigan's highways!

Chris


Drive right. Pass Left. Please!


froggie

What are you using for map design, and do you have a sample?

triplemultiplex

I like the new layout.  Having each route on its own page makes it more readable with all the additional information.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

bessertc

Quote from: froggie on October 28, 2015, 05:52:08 PM
What are you using for map design, and do you have a sample?

As usual, I'm all over the place map-wise. I've been trying to standardize on one style lately, though, and would like to not only add maps to each of the listings across the site, but also go back and re-do some of my earlier ones... which, back in 1997, 1998, 1999, look pretty crude nowadays! Here's a couple of my more recent maps:
And then some "center city" maps I was playing around with in the last few years:
My primary mode of mapmaking these days is to do the base/GIS work in ArcGIS, then export to Adobe Illustrator for finishing. I've been tinkering with a variety of other methods, too, but I keep coming back to the tried-and-true at this point.

Later,
Chris
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

froggie

Are you creating your own polylines in Arc, or pulling them from existing sources elsewhere?

bessertc

Quote from: froggie on October 28, 2015, 06:19:19 PM
Are you creating your own polylines in Arc, or pulling them from existing sources elsewhere?

Most of the time, especially when I'm making a map at the entire city level or higher, I start with existing GIS data. Here in Michigan, the state does a great job of sharing really good statewide GIS datasets, so that makes it a lot easier. (In fact, at my current and previous job, I actually contribute edits to that statewide data from the county level!) But for detailed large-scale maps, I'll often create my own data in ArcGIS, such I did with this one:
Everything on the above map was created by me in the GIS first, then once I had everything assembled, I finished it off in Illustrator.

Later,
Chris
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

GeekJedi

Any plans to start updating the Wisconsin Highways site again?
"Wisconsin - The Concurrency State!"

froggie

^^ Those polygons must've been "fun" to draw out.  (relatively simple, but looks tedious due to the quantity)

peterj920

Quote from: GeekJedi on October 29, 2015, 07:31:41 AM
Any plans to start updating the Wisconsin Highways site again?

I'd like to see the wisconsinhighways website updated also.  There's been a lot of changes since the site was updated.  Such as: I-41 officially becoming an interstate, the US 10 expressway completed to Marshfield and area state highways being changed, Burlington Bypass opening, the last traffic signal on Wis 29 between I-94 and I-41 removed, Wis 175 extending along former US 41/Wis 341 in Milwaukee, WIS 57 complete as an expressway to Wis 42, and various freeway/expressway sections of Wis 26 were completed between Wis 60 and Janesville.  Those are just a few things that have changed since the site was updated. 

The Ghostbuster

When will Wisconsin Highways be updated? It's been almost seven years since the last update!

kurumi

Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 28, 2015, 05:58:34 PM
I like the new layout.  Having each route on its own page makes it more readable with all the additional information.

Agreed. That's something I should have done from the beginning as well.
My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

Alex

One quick change you should make is to remove all of the hyper links to mchange.org (the former Marquette Interchange project web site). Bad things happen when you click that link (I just removed the few that were on interstate-guide.com).

bessertc

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on November 04, 2015, 03:01:53 PM
When will Wisconsin Highways be updated? It's been almost seven years since the last update!

Yes. That's the plan. Unfortunately, it has to be prioritized behind finishing the Michigan Highways makeover as well as two children, one wife, a full-time job, a lawn that won't stop growing despite my best efforts to never water it, and Lake Effect Snow Belt snow that likes to continuously deposit itself on my sidewalks and driveway 4—5 months out of each year...  :-|

sigh.
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

bessertc

Quote from: Alex on November 05, 2015, 08:24:26 AM
One quick change you should make is to remove all of the hyper links to mchange.org (the former Marquette Interchange project web site). Bad things happen when you click that link (I just removed the few that were on interstate-guide.com).

Good point. Thanks for the heads-up!
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

GeekJedi

Quote from: bessertc on November 09, 2015, 11:11:55 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on November 04, 2015, 03:01:53 PM
When will Wisconsin Highways be updated? It's been almost seven years since the last update!

Yes. That's the plan. Unfortunately, it has to be prioritized behind finishing the Michigan Highways makeover as well as two children, one wife, a full-time job, a lawn that won't stop growing despite my best efforts to never water it, and Lake Effect Snow Belt snow that likes to continuously deposit itself on my sidewalks and driveway 4—5 months out of each year...  :-|

sigh.

Totally get it! Know that we all appreciate your efforts! Even though some of the info has gotten stale, I still refer to the site all the time!
"Wisconsin - The Concurrency State!"

JREwing78

Quote from: bessertc on November 09, 2015, 11:11:55 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on November 04, 2015, 03:01:53 PM
When will Wisconsin Highways be updated? It's been almost seven years since the last update!

Yes. That's the plan. Unfortunately, it has to be prioritized behind finishing the Michigan Highways makeover as well as two children, one wife, a full-time job, a lawn that won't stop growing despite my best efforts to never water it, and Lake Effect Snow Belt snow that likes to continuously deposit itself on my sidewalks and driveway 4—5 months out of each year...  :-|

sigh.

Totally know that feeling. I don't have a family, but work + school pretty much suck up all my time. Then I went and got myself an alternative rock show on the local community radio station (103.5FM WADR in Janesville). So I have no time anymore. ;-)

DaBigE

Quote from: GeekJedi on November 22, 2015, 03:21:46 PM
Quote from: bessertc on November 09, 2015, 11:11:55 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on November 04, 2015, 03:01:53 PM
When will Wisconsin Highways be updated? It's been almost seven years since the last update!

Yes. That's the plan. Unfortunately, it has to be prioritized behind finishing the Michigan Highways makeover as well as two children, one wife, a full-time job, a lawn that won't stop growing despite my best efforts to never water it, and Lake Effect Snow Belt snow that likes to continuously deposit itself on my sidewalks and driveway 4—5 months out of each year...  :-|

sigh.

Totally get it! Know that we all appreciate your efforts! Even though some of the info has gotten stale, I still refer to the site all the time!
Agreed. I still refer to it as well. Hell, WisDOT does from time to time too.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

bessertc

Well, a bunch more updates and additions to the Michigan Highways website, including a few things I wanted to call attention to because they may be of interest to folks here.

  • The I-94 route listing now features the full history of ALL highway segments which were eventually incorporated into I-94, including portions of US-12, M-112, the Willow Run Expwy, the Detroit Industrial Expwy, the Edsel Ford Expwy, etc. Now included are the opening dates for each segment of freeway (where identified) as well as the official determination and cancellation dates of the various state trunkline segments.
  • The M-95 listing–uploaded just this evening–now includes a link to a set of overlaid maps using a slider function to show the changes in the Republic Mine area between 1955 and 1977. (The slider function seems to work on the desktop and mobile platforms I've been able to test it on, but it's a new implementation for me, so I'd love to hear if anyone out there has any issues with it.)
  • More and more routes now have Route Maps!
  • All routes from US-24 through M-99 have had their lengths recalculated to the 1000th of a mile based on the latest State of Michigan geographic information system data.
  • Check out the What's New? page for all the latest changes and updates.
As always, I'm very interested in any feedback, corrections or suggestions for the site!

Later,
Chris
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

ftballfan

I just took a look at the pages and they look really good!

GeekJedi

Also, thanks for the new paint on the Wisconsin Highways site! :-)
"Wisconsin - The Concurrency State!"

triplemultiplex

Quote from: bessertc on June 16, 2016, 01:00:27 AM
  • The M-95 listing–uploaded just this evening–now includes a link to a set of overlaid maps using a slider function to show the changes in the Republic Mine area between 1955 and 1977. (The slider function seems to work on the desktop and mobile platforms I've been able to test it on, but it's a new implementation for me, so I'd love to hear if anyone out there has any issues with it.)

That is a cool feature.  Worked fine for me.  I hope it was pretty easy to set up because that has a lot of great potential to illustrate other tricky to describe places.
Good to see that you are making a round of updates at your great sites. 8)
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

bessertc

Hey all,

I just wanted to share some of the bigger updates on the Michigan Highways (http://www.michiganhighways.org) website in the past year or so. I also have a "technical" question on termini for those who want to chime in and help me out (see below). The highlights include:
  • The I-96 route listing was completely overhauled and upgraded, with a completely revised history section.
  • The Historic US-112 route listing has now been completed and features a complete history section. (20 years in the making...)
  • Former M-112–the Willow Run and Detroit Industrial Expressways–is also featured on the site now.
  • Several "older" routes which never had full route listings now do, including: M-98, M-101, M-105, M-111, the aforementioned M-112, and M-209.
  • Updated information on several listings for routes in the Grand Rapids area to denote their impending decommissioning.
  • I've uncovered a few more historic route designations and added them to the Master List.
  • All regular routes from M-100 on up have had their lengths recalculated to the nearest one-thousandth of a mile.
  • As always check out the What's New? page for all the latest changes and updates.
As for the "technical" question... I'm researching and constructing the listing for Former M-114, the "Grand Rapids Beltline System." With the exception of the never-constructed 3 Mile Rd bridge spanning the Grand River, it consisted of a "box" of roadways encircling the Grand Rapids area: East Beltline Ave, 28th St (South Beltline), Wilson Ave (West Beltline) and 3 Mile Rd (North Beltline)–see map below. Problem is, I'm trying to pick the termini for this route, but how? The only other similar route, M-185 on Mackinac Island, is a completely circular/loop route, so all I needed to do was specify the Mile 0 point at Main & Fort Sts as the termini. However, M-114 had three dangling spurs off of the "box" (denoted with arrows on the map) also designated M-114 and the segments were completed over time, not all at once. So, what should I use for termini? Should I call "A" the western terminus, "F" the northern terminus and "H" the eastern terminus and have plenty of explanatory notes? I'm interested in what everyone thinks....


Thanks! Chris
Drive right. Pass Left. Please!

froggie

Usually in a loop situation, "Mile 0" is along the southern or western leg...thinking specifically of the I-494/694 loop in the Twin Cities (Mile 0 at the Minnesota River) or pre-95-cancellation I-495 around DC (Mile 0 was at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge).

In this case, you have the three spurs, which I would treat separately, and also what appears to be a gap between C and D.  If that gap is legit, I'd go with D as "Mile 0" and increase going clockwise, again treating the spurs separately.

The Ghostbuster

Will the Wisconsin Highways site have any updates soon? Since that is my home state, Wisconsin Highways interests me more.

GaryV

Chris, would you know if the 3-Mile section was ever signed?  Or actually was designated as a state road, as opposed to being planned?  That would simplify things.



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