Recent posts

#1

General Highway Talk / Re: Roads that you have been o...

Last post by SectorZ - Today at 06:41:44 PM

I've been on a few bridges that got significantly damaged or destroyed in flash flooding around New England. Nothing that people beyond locals would remember years later. This includes one only a few miles away that was partially washed away after 12+ inches of rain over two weeks in March 2010.

Also was on the Key Bridge back in 2019.

#2

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Indiana Notes

Last post by ITB - Today at 06:20:10 PM

INDOT has had another fail trying to award a major construction contract. Yesterday the bids were opened for the reconstruction and widening of I-70 in Wayne County. Two bids were received from: (1) a Walsh/Crider & Crider joint venture, and (2) a Milestone Constructors/E & B Paving joint venture.

Although the Walsh/Crider JV's $409,125,904.12 bid was slightly lower than Milesone/E & B Paving's $412,696,441.00, both bids were officially rejected April 18th due to being over the engineer's estimate.

This is now the second time recently INDOT has been unable to award a large contract due to bids being over the engineer's estimate. The first was for the reconstruction and widening of I-65 in Scott County. Something is not quite right here. Construction costs have gone up significantly over the past two and three years. The bids for the I-70 project came from experienced firms, and the bids were relatively close to each other. INDOT needs to take a hard look at its cost estimating process. Maybe a third party should be brought in to validate the official estimates for contracts $100 million and above. For every month that passes, these large projects will only get more expensive to bring to fruition.


Indiana Department of Transportation

#3

Southeast / Re: Tennessee

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 05:52:12 PM

I see Google Street view captured some of the construction at Crump Blvd. as of last Summer Crump Blvd was closed east of the cloverleaf with I55 SB sharing the loop with NB I-55 creating a counterclockwise turn.

Plus piers are seen for the new I-55 alignment as well that will use the SW quadrant of that exchange.

#4

General Highway Talk / Re: Roads that you have been o...

Last post by bing101 - Today at 05:47:04 PM

I-5 at CA-14 Interchange before the 1994 Northridge Quake. 

#5

General Highway Talk / Re: 2025 Rand McNally Road Atl...

Last post by shadyjay - Today at 05:46:37 PM

Connecticut:
Mile-based exits are now shown for CT 2 and I-691.  CT 8 is still shown as sequential, even though its supposed to be converted this year.  I-291 and I-384 also still sequential, but the project to convert those was just awarded this spring, so new signs probably won't go up for another year.

Massachusetts:
Some short connector roads to/from the MassPike are now shown as "limited access highways" and not just thin black lines.


Those are the only changes I've noticed so far for New England.  VT's exits are still shown mile-based (even though they're still sequential).  A couple "secret" routes are still labelled in CT.  The extension of the I-395 roadway as ME 9 in the Bangor, ME area still isn't shown, but that isn't supposed to open until sometime in 2025, I believe.  Maybe it'll make it onto the 2026 edition, along with the new Exit 4-A on I-93 that NHDOT is building.

#6

Central States / Re: OK: US-59 bridge over 'Ker...

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 05:26:14 PM

The fact remains the US-59 bridge over the Arkansas River that was recently struck by a barge didn't have any protective dolphins around the bridge piers. I'm not going to applaud ODOT for taking action to remedy a problem after a horrible disaster happens (like what happened on I-40 at Webbers Falls).

Now that ODOT knows it is possible for a barge to strike the US-59 bridge maybe they'll do something about it.

They could charge a toll for any barge that strikes their new US-59 dolphins, then it would be an easier sell for the legislature.  Just put some pinball bumper detection technology to know when it's hit and make it Plate Pay to the tow company after it takes a snap of the name of the towboat.

If you're going to add pinball technology, why not just put a giant pair of flippers there?

#7

Central States / Re: Oklahoma

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 05:25:12 PM

More like Oklahoma acts like anything that isn't in the median of Lincoln Boulevard doesn't exist. I'm not exactly sure what constituency the state government thinks it's serving, but it's not Oklahomans.

#8

General Highway Talk / Re: Roads that you have been o...

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 05:19:28 PM

What roads/bridges have you been on that no longer exist due to a disaster/collapse? For me, the only one I can think of is I-95 in Philly before the collapse. I've never been on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but I'm sure many have.

I drove over the Mianus River Bridge multiple times prior to its 1983 collapse. My grandparents actually lived about a quarter mile from the site and we were supposed to go out there a couple weeks afterwards, but because the traffic was so bad, they came to visit us instead.

#9

Northeast / Re: New York

Last post by storm2k - Today at 05:12:59 PM

But at least they sign the lane-drop properly unlike their counterparts in New Jersey in some cases. 

At this point, I'm really unsure what the NJDOT engineers in charge of approving new signage projects have decided is the right interpretation of the MUTCD rules here, because my god do they put Exit Only panels on a ton of signs that are not lane drops but just standard deceleration lanes.

#10

General Highway Talk / Re: Roads that you have been o...

Last post by tdindy88 - Today at 05:11:01 PM

I was on the North Entrance Road out of Yellowstone National Park between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner less than one year (2021) before flooding took out sections of the road through the river canyon. As far as I know that road has not been reopened and a temporary road was built to the west.