Florida

[Ace10]

So does that mean they are finally done with the improvements to FL 50 and Good Homes Road? It's been going on for ever it seems like...

I think so. There are three lanes in each direction with a center turn lane (if I remember correctly). It did seem that the construction took forever. It's done as far as FL 435 (Kirkman Rd) and FL 50. I was surprised because I drove up there a couple of months ago, and I hardly ever drive up there, and was surprised that the construction was all done and how nice it was to drive along FL 50 with no construction. Night and Day. However at FL 50 near FL 429 and the Turnpike, there is still road construction going on in that area.

[DeaconG]

It looks like the long awaited six laning of I-95 between the Beachline north to Garden Street (SR 406) in Titusville is finally beginning to take shape.

They've already set up a work zone between SR 50 and SR 406 complete with cones, part of which is to facilitate the improvement of the I-95/SR 406 northbound off/on ramps for an extra lane and signalization at Garden Street (which is needed really bad).

More information here:

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/district5pio/brevard.shtm
http://www.cflroads.com/Project/Details/52/405506_2_I_95_Widening_from_SR_528_to_south_of_SR_406

[realjd]

Another update to the Pineda Causeway drama:
The county finished their portion between Wickham Road and I-95 last fall. That's why the papers were saying it would be open by January. Nobody bothered to check with Community Asphalt, the contractor widening I-95. They had no plans to build the connecting ramps anytime soon, and when asked, they said by November 2011 when the entire I-95 project ends. They didn't feel like rushing to build the last 20 feet of the on and off ramps. After some political back and forth between them, the county, and FDOT, they finally decided to rush that part. New estimated completion date: May 2.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011104150326

I never see them doing anything at all along that portion of I-95 anymore. It's been in the exact same state for weeks now. You'd think they would be trying to finish early to get the bonus.

[US71]

Shubuta, MS lost out when U.S. 45 was realigned to a bypass. Hopefully the same would happen with Starke.

Ditto Pineville, MO and US 71

[DeaconG]

The Pineda Causeway extension connection to I-95 is going to open Monday:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110430/NEWS01/104300317/Pineda-Extension-opens-Monday?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Somebody finally got the builders off the dime!

[rickmastfan67]

The Pineda Causeway extension connection to I-95 is going to open Monday:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110430/NEWS01/104300317/Pineda-Extension-opens-Monday?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Somebody finally got the builders off the dime!

Does anybody know what the exit number will be (so I can add it to I-95's file @ CHM)?

Also, is the Pineda Causeway extension suppose to become part of FL-404?

[DeaconG]

I've been Googling the contract numbers and I can't seem to find any information about the exit numbers so far.

I would assume (and we all know how that ends up ) that the extension would be FL 404, but there's no guarantee they might not make it CR 404 instead.

We'll find out Monday!

The way these guys are sandbagging I don't think they're going to get much of that $5M bonus for early completion (which started in November IIRC)...they're still working on the interchanges at US 192, Eau Gallie and Wickham, and they haven't even begun the lane relocation/reconstruction at Wickham, which is going to be a real PITA to anyone living in Viera or Suntree.

[FLRoads]

I would bet the exit number will be 188...

[realjd]

The portion between Wickham Road and I-95 was done as a county contract. I would expect it to be CR-404. That's one of the reasons it took so long to open. The county portion was done, but the state didn't put the pressure on the contractors working on I-95 to finish the on/off ramps until recently.

When I drove by on Saturday, there were no BGS's, and they hadn't even started putting up the supports for them yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they sign the exit with VMS construction signs until the I-95 widening project is farther along.

Also, interestingly, the state is considering allowing bicycles along the freeway portion of the Pineda Causeway:
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110502/NEWS01/105020315/Cyclists-may-get-their-way-causeway?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

[D-Dey65]

I haven't uploaded any of the pics yet, but FDOT finally combined the control cities on the signs approaching Exit 321 on I-75. Granted the abbreviated Lake Panasoffkee, but hey, as long as they're combined.

See this post for further reference:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=353.msg42727#msg42727

UPDATE: Northbound signs still haven't changed.

[realjd]

I haven't had a chance to drive up there yet - I may do it today after work - but a bit of googling turned up the fact that the Pineda Causeway is actually CR-404 between Wickham and US-1 even though it is signed as SR-404. It will be interesting to see if they sign the extension as SR-404 like they did the current CR portion.

See page 6: ftp://ftp.dot.state.fl.us/FHWA-ER/Brevard/Brevard_fdot5%20FHWA-ER%20data.pdf

[rickmastfan67]

I haven't had a chance to drive up there yet - I may do it today after work - but a bit of googling turned up the fact that the Pineda Causeway is actually CR-404 between Wickham and US-1 even though it is signed as SR-404. It will be interesting to see if they sign the extension as SR-404 like they did the current CR portion.

Wouldn't be the first time this has happened.  FL-39A rings a bell.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2017.msg62855#msg62855

[realjd]

So I drove up there after work. Like I thought, there are no actual signs yet. They're just using portable VMS's to sign the exit. They just say "Pineda Cswy". On the road itself going eastbound, it's signed "To SR-404" and "To US-1" as seen in this crappy iPhone picture:

[rickmastfan67]

Crappy?  That's a preatty good picture from an iPhone.

So, no gore signs @ the exit even?  I mean, that should be at least the first thing they should post.

[realjd]

No gore, or any other permenant signage. The first sign said:

PINEDA
CSWY
1 MILE

The second, right at the start of the exit, said

PINEDA
CSWY
--->

and was flashing quickly.

Keep in mind that Community Asphalt (the I-95 contractor) wasn't planning on opening their portion for another 3 or 4 months. They were forced by the state to do it early. I wouldn't expect actual signage until closer to then.

[realjd]

So on my drive to Orlando today, I saw some more weirdness with the toll roads. In addition to the new yellow-banner shield alone WB (NB) 520 at the 528, OOCEA has gone through and redone some of the reassurance markers along the Beachline. It's now one rectangular green sign, with a directional on top (white on green if I remember right), then the shield with a standard green TOLL banner, then the OOCEA logo below, as seen in this crappy mockup I threw together - and yes, I know the font is goofy:

It wasn't just one one sign that was replaced either. They had replaced the old reassurance markers seemingly at random along OOCEA's entire stretch of the 528. I did not see any on the stretches of the 408 or the 417 that I drove on.

[formulanone]

No gore, or any other permenant signage.

Just drove up I-95 this morning, and there's still no signs. Those on/off ramps are at least a half-mile long. But there was traffic on the overpass.

Also, spotted a bunch of new Interstate shields with Florida branded on them, at the exit ramps from Fiske Boulevard (SR 519). Must have been made in Georgia...where they seem to be more prevalent.

[Ace10]

So on my drive to Orlando today, I saw some more weirdness with the toll roads. In addition to the new yellow-banner shield alone WB (NB) 520 at the 528, OOCEA has gone through and redone some of the reassurance markers along the Beachline. It's now one rectangular green sign, with a directional on top (white on green if I remember right), then the shield with a standard green TOLL banner, then the OOCEA logo below, as seen in this crappy mockup I threw together - and yes, I know the font is goofy:

It wasn't just one one sign that was replaced either. They had replaced the old reassurance markers seemingly at random along OOCEA's entire stretch of the 528. I did not see any on the stretches of the 408 or the 417 that I drove on.

I noticed these a couple weeks back driving back and forth to the airport. Not sure how I feel about these. I did notice though that they look similar to a few other states' postings of reassurance markers - they'll put the shield on a green sign much like the BGSs on freeways. I think New Mexico does this, and I'll dig through my photos to find something similar.

Edit: Found it!
http://astareglobe.org/public/nm-i25.jpg

[realjd]

Is that the standard for reassurance markers in NM? Weird. I don't like OOCEA's unisigns either. At least they aren't using the yellow banner with the orange state outline. I like the yellow banner with the black outline; I think the yellow banner with the orange outline looks ridiculous.

[Ace10]

Is that the standard for reassurance markers in NM? Weird. I don't like OOCEA's unisigns either. At least they aren't using the yellow banner with the orange state outline. I like the yellow banner with the black outline; I think the yellow banner with the orange outline looks ridiculous.

It might be. I looked through some other photos and noticed even trailblazers for I-25 and I-40 and reassurance shields for other state roads are also on green "unisigns". I'm not sure if it's just an Albuquerque thing or if it's for the whole state.

[NE2]

Does anyone have the new exit numbers at the I-10/I-95 interchange, so I can add them to OpenStreetMap? I've been meaning to get up there, but haven't had a chance since construction ended.

[realjd]

I'll go ahead and hazard a guess that it's exit 0 on I-10...

How's traffic flowing up there now? I usually take 9A if I'm going north on 95 and the 295 if I'm going west on 10, mainly due to that nasty construction. Now that it's finished I may have to try driving through the city again.

[NE2]

Wrong end of I-10... there are actually four or five exits in that area that don't strictly correspond to old exits.

[realjd]

Duh... exit zero would be on the west side. I should learn not to post before 10AM!

[DeaconG]

The Big I (I-10/I-95) was essentially complete in October of last year.  I drove it in January and except for some signing issues and striping it was done-a MUCH needed improvement.

IIRC the Trout River Bridge project on I-95 should be done too.