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Webny99 Clinching Trip(s)

Started by webny99, May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM

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webny99

I don't post full trip reports here very often, but I had a rare opportunity for a short solo road trip earlier this week and decided to take the chance to clinch some roads in western Monroe, Genesee, and — you guessed it — Orleans County!

I added mileage on 11 NY state routes and clinched NY 262, NY 272, NY 279 and NY 387 (plus an attempted clinch of NY 237 - more on that later).

I started from Webster in the late morning and took NY 104 to Lake Ave to the Lake Ontario State Pkwy (LOSP) to the NY 98 exit. The parkway was a spectacular drive as always — sunny skies, light traffic, and little enforcement, so I had the cruise at 74 mph and sped up to 80 or so as I felt comfortable doing so. Google said 32.5 miles/32 minutes from Lake Rd to NY 98 and I clocked it at just over 26 minutes. :nod:

Then the clinching fun began, as I took NY 98 south to NY 18 (had planned to take CR 55, but the bridge over Oak Orchard Creek appears to no longer exist!?). From NY 18, I took the mostly-unsigned NY 279 south to NY 98. The "five points" junction of NY 279 and NY 98 is rather odd — NY 279 SB doesn't have to stop despite approaching at an angle, but NY 98 SB does have to stop.

My initial impression of Albion: bigger and busier than I was expecting (roast me if you must)! Stopped at Dunkin just past noon and then continued south on NY 98 to Elba. NY 98 between Albion and Elba quickly rocketed to "favorite"  status for me — busy, with plenty of truck traffic, but also straight with great sight lines and ample passing opportunities. Picked up the tiny segment of NY 262 that I was missing in Elba, then headed west to Oakfield to complete a clinch of NY 262.

From there, the trip into Batavia on NY 63 was quite slow as I was following a whole string of traffic. Traffic didn't get any better from there — the NY 5/63 overlap is a Pennsylvania-esque slog with tons of traffic, trucks, and poorly timed signals. I followed NY 5 west from Batavia which was slow on the NY 33 overlap but opens up quickly after that. I was impressed by the long four-lane stretch — rare for NY — which extends all the way to Prole Rd.

I then headed north on NY 237 with the intention of clinching the whole thing in one shot. It's not a bad road, but seemed much slower than NY 98, with a number of curves, hamlets, and speed zones. It was also starting to cloud over and I needed to use the restroom, so that may have affected my enjoyment of the route.

After a restroom stop in Clarendon, I reached the junction with NY 31 in Holley where my plan to clinch NY 237 derailed due to a the bridge over the Erie Canal being closed. So I took the one-lane East Ave bridge instead, then Hurd Rd and Telegraph Rd back to NY 237. I didn't go right up to the closure on either end, nor did I follow the signed detour (at least right then — I actually used most of it later), so I'll have to come back and clinch that segment when the bridge reopens.

Back on track, I found that the northern section of NY 237 was also slow, especially through Kendall, and seemed like most of it had a 45 mph limit. Then just when it started to open up, the LOSP entrance appeared seemingly out of nowhere. I took the LOSP east for 2 miles to NY 272 (County Line Rd) and headed south for a clinch of NY 272. There's a very strange one-lane segment here — never seen anything quite like it and couldn't find any information online. Based on Street View it seems to have appeared since 2015. It looks permanent given the signage, but perhaps it's "temporary"  until a proper bridge can be built.

Upon reaching NY 104, I turned left and headed east to Redman Rd, then south to SUNY Brockport and used campus roads to loop around to NY 31, then headed north/west following NY 31 into Holley. I got a better impression of Holley entering from this direction — it's a good thing NY 31A exists, because NY 31 is very slow and has a series of turns that aren't well suited to truck traffic. Continuing west from Holley, this stretch of NY 31 was part of the NY 237 detour and was very slow as I was second in line behind a dump truck with no good passing opportunities. 

I had originally planned to take NY 31 to Albion, then NY 98 north to NY 18, but I was running low on time so I bailed via NY 387, picking up a clinch of that route. Then I took CR 32 up to NY 18 and followed NY 18 back to Hamlin. That exhausted my clinching opportunities, so I just took Google's fastest route back from there (Curtis Rd to NY 261 to the LOSP). Finally when I got closer to home I took the opportunity to stop at Arby's on NY 104 for a late lunch since there aren't any Arby's near me anymore.

All told, I picked up about 96 miles of new highway mileage and clinched four state routes in just under four hours. It was a blast!  Hopefully I have the chance for more clinching trips in the near future and if I do, I'll post about them here.


webny99

#1
That was a pretty long post, so I'm totally not expecting people to read the whole thing, but... I would definitely appreciate any insight on the below two points from anyone in NY or elsewhere that might know:

Quote from: webny99 on May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM
I took NY 98 south [from the LOSP] to NY 18 (had planned to take CR 55, but the bridge over Oak Orchard Creek appears to no longer exist!?).

Quote from: webny99 on May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM
I took the LOSP east for 2 miles to NY 272 (County Line Rd) and headed south for a clinch of NY 272. There's a very strange one-lane segment here — never seen anything quite like it and couldn't find any information online. Based on Street View it seems to have appeared since 2015. It looks permanent given the signage, but perhaps it's "temporary"  until a proper bridge can be built.

webny99

Cross-posted from the "Clinching Counties' Highways" thread:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Today I picked up the segments of NY 33A and NY 36 that I was missing and have FINALLY completed Monroe County, NY (my home county). So for the first time in my life I can officially say that I have clinched all highways (Interstate, US, and State) in a county!

I'm not far from completing Wayne County and Ontario County, but after that... I'm out of clinching opportunities within range unless I get the chance for some longer trips. Western Orleans and southern Livingston counties are just too far away to fit within my normal limited time frame for clinching trips.

7/8

Quote from: webny99 on May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM
I took NY 98 south [from the LOSP] to NY 18 (had planned to take CR 55, but the bridge over Oak Orchard Creek appears to no longer exist!?).

It looks like it was closed by June 2019 based on GSV. My guess is it failed a bridge inspection and the county didn't want to pay to replace it since the NY 18 and NY 98 bridges are only a short detour.

Quote from: webny99 on May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM
I took the LOSP east for 2 miles to NY 272 (County Line Rd) and headed south for a clinch of NY 272. There's a very strange one-lane segment here — never seen anything quite like it and couldn't find any information online. Based on Street View it seems to have appeared since 2015. It looks permanent given the signage, but perhaps it's "temporary"  until a proper bridge can be built.

In this GSV, it looks like the shoulder is deteriorating. I'm guessing this is the cheap and easy solution to keep traffic away from the shoulders. I'm surprised something like this would be there for seven years, but I guess if traffic counts are low enough, it might work okay.

webny99

#4
Quote from: 7/8 on May 25, 2022, 10:59:25 AM
Quote from: webny99 on May 19, 2022, 11:20:31 PM
I took NY 98 south [from the LOSP] to NY 18 (had planned to take CR 55, but the bridge over Oak Orchard Creek appears to no longer exist!?).

It looks like it was closed by June 2019 based on GSV. My guess is it failed a bridge inspection and the county didn't want to pay to replace it since the NY 18 and NY 98 bridges are only a short detour.

It makes sense in that respect - I was just surprised because it still shows as a through road on Google Maps, with no indication of a closure.


Quote from: 7/8 on May 25, 2022, 10:59:25 AM
I'm surprised something like this would be there for seven years, but I guess if traffic counts are low enough, it might work okay.

Traffic counts are very low on NY 272 even by rural NY standards. The 2019 AADT on that segment was only 636, and I only saw a few cars along the entire length of NY 272. It looks like what's needed is a culvert, which might eventually be built, but is probably low on on NYSDOT's priority list.

cockroachking

Quote from: webny99 on May 26, 2022, 01:17:37 PM
Quote from: 7/8 on May 25, 2022, 10:59:25 AM
I'm surprised something like this would be there for seven years, but I guess if traffic counts are low enough, it might work okay.

Traffic counts are very low on NY 272 even by rural NY standards. The 2019 AADT on that segment was only 636. The chances of two cars meeting at that point are really pretty minimal; I only saw a few cars along the entire length of NY 272. It looks like what's needed is a culvert, which might eventually be built, but is probably low on on NYSDOT's priority list.
Yeah, I'm sure there are much more pressing issues in the area if I had to guess, unless the road in question is on failure watch.

webny99

#6
Quote from: webny99 on May 25, 2022, 10:26:30 AM
Today I picked up the segments of NY 33A and NY 36 that I was missing and have FINALLY completed Monroe County, NY (my home county). So for the first time in my life I can officially say that I have clinched all highways (Interstate, US, and State) in a county!

I'm not far from completing Wayne County and Ontario County ...

I was able to add a second county to my list today, as I picked up the remaining segments of NY 89 and NY 370 that I needed to complete Wayne County.

A short trip summary: From the Rochester area I headed east on NY 104 to NY 89. It rained off and on for a while (I could tell I was traveling east at about the same speed as the storm) but it cleared up nicely as I took NY 89 south to Savannah. From there I continued on NY 31 east to Port Byron, then took NY 38 straight north all the way to its terminus at NY 104A. Turned right for a short hop on NY 104A east, then took NY 3 east into Hannibal. After a quick stop and a short backtrack on NY 104, I took NY 34 south to Cato. Upon reaching NY 370, I turned right and took that route back to NY 104, picking up the segment that I was missing between Rochester and Syracuse, and officially completing all NY state highways in Wayne County. Overall, I picked up new segments of six NY state routes and logged 61.5 miles of new highway mileage in just under three hours.

NY 89 was an enjoyable drive and might be my pick for favorite N/S route in Wayne County (certainly on the state highway system, but Maple St Rd/Geneva Rd north of Lyons is a great drive as well). Also of note: I fueled up as I left town and paid $4.99/gal. My purchase was capped at $75.00 and fortunately that was all I needed for my 15-gallon tank, but I guess anyone with a bigger tank would have had to run a second transaction. I also noticed as I drove down NY 104 that my range kept increasing as I went - it was at 391 miles initially, but slowly kept climbing and was at 404 miles by the time I exited NY 104 in Wolcott. I guess I should thank the slow cars I was following for keeping my speed at 55-60 mph and helping conserve valuable gas! :D

webny99

After several unsuccessful plans and tries, I finally got a chance to get down to Ontario County today and pick up the remaining segments of NY 14A and NY 245 that I needed to complete a clinch of all highways in that county. The trip went about as well as possible considering I was trying to make up time as much as I could, and clocked in at just over 2 hours and around 120 miles, plus a stop that brought it to right on 2.5 hours.

And now that I've completed three counties, I've updated my mob-rule legend to replace "Home" (formerly just Monroe County) with "Clinched All Highways": https://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/webny99.gif

webny99

As I mentioned in some of the clinching highways threads, I just got back from a mini-road trip in which I clinched NY 408, NY 371, and NY 15, drove and clinched NY 70, and most importantly, clinched I-86 in New York! I may post more details later but a few quick thoughts...

-NY 70 skyrocketing on my list of favorite state routes. Peaceful, scenic, high quality road, A+ overall.
-I discovered NY 961F, a rare signed reference route in NY. Didn't have time to check it out, but it's not loggable in TM anyways. :D
-I-86 between NY 36 and I-390 is a great road. Light traffic even by I-86 standards and a wide, mostly open median, and as I found out, a lot less crosswind than I-390, at least today, anyways.
-IMO NY 15A is a better I-390 alternate than NY 15. The latter isn't bad, but it's got a long ascent coming out of Springwater, a few speed zones, and lots of curves, many of them slight but still not great sightlines nor passing opportunities compared to 15A.

webny99

Took another mini-road trip today on rather short notice and was able to get the remaining segments of US 20A, NY 36, and NY 63 that I needed to complete Livingston County. That included a re-clinch of NY 36 south of Mount Morris, which was again a SLOG. That might be the most truck-trafficked town in the entire state. I barely hit 55 mph between Mount Morris and I-390, and it was a huge relief when 90% of the traffic got on I-390 SB.

I enjoyed this panoramic vista on US 20A, encountered some paving work on NY 63 that fortunately didn't lead to much of a delay, and then took the "fuel efficient" route via various county and local routes back to I-390 exit 8. Not too much else to note seeing as I've been to Dansville many times before and just needed the segments of NY 36 and NY 63 between there and Groveland.

cockroachking

Quote from: webny99 on August 19, 2022, 03:36:02 PM
That included a re-clinch of NY 36 south of Mount Morris, which was again a SLOG. That might be the most truck-trafficked town in the entire state. I barely hit 55 mph between Mount Morris and I-390, and it was a huge relief when 90% of the traffic got on I-390 SB.

Makes sense since it is part of the fastest route between much of southeast NY and Buffalo, though US-20A in Warsaw says hi.

webny99

Quote from: cockroachking on August 19, 2022, 03:45:58 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 19, 2022, 03:36:02 PM
That included a re-clinch of NY 36 south of Mount Morris, which was again a SLOG. That might be the most truck-trafficked town in the entire state. I barely hit 55 mph between Mount Morris and I-390, and it was a huge relief when 90% of the traffic got on I-390 SB.

Makes sense since it is part of the fastest route between much of southeast NY and Buffalo, though US-20A in Warsaw says hi.

Although trucks are banned on US 20A in Warsaw, so most truck traffic uses NY 36 to NY 63.

webny99

Quote from: webny99 on May 25, 2022, 10:26:30 AM
Today I picked up the segments of NY 33A and NY 36 that I was missing and have FINALLY completed Monroe County, NY (my home county). So for the first time in my life I can officially say that I have clinched all highways (Interstate, US, and State) in a county!

Since this post, I had called into question whether I had used part of NY 33 in North Chili. I went to an event at Roberts Wesleyan College several years ago and remember using NY 33 between there and I-490, but realized I could not say with 100% certainty whether I had been between Westside Dr. and NY 259. I had some time to address that today and picked up a full re-clinch between I-490 and NY 259, so now there's no doubt as to my completion of Monroe County.. at least until I drag up something else to nitpick.  :)

webny99

Seneca County, complete!

I took a short trip today and was able to pick up the segments of NY 414, NY 336, and NY 96A that I was missing, including a clinch of the latter two routes, to complete Seneca County. The trip was just under 3 hours and highlights included several horse and buggy sightings and some spectacular views of Seneca Lake along NY 414, especially south of Lodi. I would have loved to continue all the way to Watkins Glen, but didn't have the time and turned around when I reached the county line.

I find it remarkable that I somehow completed Seneca County before Yates County, which is not only much closer, but I've spent considerably more time there. The southern part of Yates County is just far enough away that it's a challenge to pick up mileage by happenchance (I guess there's a reason it's one of the least visited counties in NY!) but it is definitely in the plans to get down there and finish off NY 230 and NY 14A.

NWI_Irish96

Quote from: webny99 on August 26, 2022, 04:04:32 PM
Seneca County, complete!

I took a short trip today and was able to pick up the segments of NY 414, NY 336, and NY 96A that I was missing, including a clinch of the latter two routes, to complete Seneca County. The trip was just under 3 hours and highlights included several horse and buggy sightings and some spectacular views of Seneca Lake along NY 414, especially south of Lodi. I would have loved to continue all the way to Watkins Glen, but didn't have the time and turned around when I reached the county line.

I find it remarkable that I somehow completed Seneca County before Yates County, which is not only much closer, but I've spent considerably more time there. The southern part of Yates County is just far enough away that it's a challenge to pick up mileage by happenchance (I guess there's a reason it's one of the least visited counties in NY!) but it is definitely in the plans to get down there and finish off NY 230 and NY 14A.

I've had several occasions where it was easier to complete a farther county before a closer one. Shape of the county and the complexity of the road network can influence that.
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

webny99

Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on August 26, 2022, 04:21:02 PM
I've had several occasions where it was easier to complete a farther county before a closer one. Shape of the county and the complexity of the road network can influence that.

Yep, that's absolutely the case with Yates County, mostly because the routes I'm missing are in a Y-shape and the fittingly Y-shaped Keuka Lake.

webny99

It's official, folks: I've clinched all state highways in the Worst County in New York ™!  :sombrero:

That included new mileage on NY 31 and clinches of NY 31E, NY 271, NY 269, and - this is a big one for me - NY 63. More details to follow if/when I get the time to share.

kphoger

Quote from: webny99 on August 27, 2022, 04:02:03 PM
It's official, folks: I've clinched all state highways in the Worst County in New York ™!  :sombrero:

What . . did . . you . . DO ?!!

I just typed "Orleans County NY" in Google Maps, and my PC immediately shut down.  Well, actually, Windows shut down but the tower was still powered on.  I had to pull the plug and reboot manually.  It has never done that before.

What sort of contract with the devil did you make?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

webny99

#18
Quote from: kphoger on August 27, 2022, 06:26:54 PM
Quote from: webny99 on August 27, 2022, 04:02:03 PM
It's official, folks: I've clinched all state highways in the Worst County in New York ™!  :sombrero:

What . . did . . you . . DO ?!!

I just typed "Orleans County NY" in Google Maps, and my PC immediately shut down.  Well, actually, Windows shut down but the tower was still powered on.  I had to pull the plug and reboot manually.  It has never done that before.

What sort of contract with the devil did you make?

I'll keep that part a secret, but just know that it will cumulate with the Objective Case™.  :-D :-D

webny99

Genesee County, complete! Unlike the previous two completed counties, this one did not result in any new clinched routes, just about 50 miles of new mileage on US 20, NY 5, NY 33 (:nod:), NY 77, and NY 93. I'm close to clinching NY 77, but I'm still missing the southernmost mile as well as the portion I missed today, so that will have to wait for another time. (Also, I could possibly say I've clinched NY 33, but there's a segment near Buffalo airport that I'm not sure I've driven in entirety, which I'm going to remove from TM until I can get a re-clinch.)

I really enjoyed driving NY 77 through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. It almost reminds me of parts of the Midwest with how open and remote it is, even much more so than NY 63, which takes a straight, tree-lined course through the refuge.

So, I've officially completed my home county (Monroe) and all adjacent counties. That brings me near the end of completing new counties, since only the aforementioned Yates County remains in range anytime soon. Wyoming County would complete NYSDOT Region 4, but it's unfortunately further away than anything else I've completed and not even half complete since my focus has been elsewhere. I do have two trips in mind that would complete everything east of NY 238/NY 19/NY 19A, and then we'll see about anything beyond that.

webny99

Whew! Yates County, complete! And that's the last county in easy clinchable range for me, so this will probably be it for a long time. I also hit another milestone tonight with the completion of NY 14A: 100 clinched routes in New York state! Also of note: I clinched NY 230, added new mileage on NY 54 and NY 226, and visited Dundee, NY for the first time (it's sort of like Penn Yan-lite!)

So, between completing an 8th county and the 100th route clinch, I guess you could say my two most significant roadgeek accomplishments to date both came tonight. I couldn't be more thankful that I've had the opportunities to do this over the past ~three months, I've thoroughly enjoyed it and it's been greater than I ever could have imagined.

webny99

Also, it feels so long ago I had almost forgotten, but NY 104 was a mess heading out of the Rochester area this afternoon. I guess it's to be expected on the Friday before Labor Day, but the section with the stoplights in Ontario was worse than I've ever seen it. I ended up stopping at least 10-12 cars deep for seemingly every light, and in front of me it was two lanes of solid traffic as far as I could see. Even the light at the motorhome park just west of Ontario Center was creating backups, which I've never seen (I can probably count on two hands the number of times I've ever even had to stop for that light!)

vdeane

Fun fact: if you finish Wyoming County, not only would you finish Region 4, but also the Finger Lakes economic development region and the GTC MPO area.

As for Labor Day, we're forecast to be back to pre-pandemic travel levels, so that makes sense.  There's a reason why I refuse to travel on peak travel days for the summer holidays if I have a choice.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

webny99

Quote from: vdeane on September 02, 2022, 08:58:38 PM
Fun fact: if you finish Wyoming County, not only would you finish Region 4, but also the Finger Lakes economic development region and the GTC MPO area.

Don't give me any ideas. :-P

Sounds like I'll be heading that way this weekend, so there's a chance I'll pick up some mileage then, plus two trips I have in mind to clinch NY 238 and NY 19A/NY 436, and I'll have to assess after that. Obviously I'm in northeastern Monroe County, so southern/western Wyoming County is quite a bit further away than anything I've clinched to date (which has been primarily done in time blocks of ~three hours or less).  I'm looking at close to two hours to get to the Arcade/Yorkshire area, and then add in the "traveling salesman problem", and it's going to require several trips of four+ hours. So, never say never, but it's not a top priority for now.

vdeane

Sit tight and assess?

https://youtu.be/Op_v2PHDn-0?t=88

Seriously, though, it is true that 2-3 hour or less clinching blocks tend to run out of places relatively quick.  I think I was up to ~4 hour blocks within a few weeks of moving where I am now and had to go up to 8-9 hour blocks after a year.  For trips out of Rochester I was able to stay with 5-6 longer, before ending up with 7 hour blocks to finish up the far western part of the state.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.