DOT Dummies

[CovalenceSTU]

Does anyone else find Troubleshooter's posting history highly suspect?

The dates almost made me think our favorite troll found the password to an old account, but I opened an image and it linked to his personal website (which couldn't possibly belong to MMM).

[hotdogPi]

I haven't found any problems with Troubleshooter's posts.

[roadman65]

Don't we have numerous threads pertaining to this without the name calling?

He must watch reruns of That Seventies Show.

[roadman65]

On 8/21/2017, I drove to Hopkinsville KY to actually see a total solar eclipse.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet had not done anything to handle the great influx of traffic into the eclipse area. They were doing highway work as normal. One of the twin US-41 bridges over the Ohio river at Evansville IN and Henderson KY (a 5-mile gap in I-69) had the bridge decks completely removed and they were trying to squeeze a traffic jam through the other bridge. And they didn't do anything to the traffic lights in Henderson to pass more traffic. But they had taken the construction workers off the construction to direct traffic.

There were two other minor construction points on I-69 and I-169 in Kentucky. In both cases, pavement had been removed in one lane. Each one caused a 10-minute backup.

I got there half an hour before the eclipse and set up my solar projector. The eclipse was spectacular.

The real trouble came on the way back. There were not enough rooms to house the 100,000 people who went to Hopkinsville to see the eclipse (over 20 million went to see the eclipse nationwide). So the roads were packed with all of those cars. The Pennyrile Parkway (I-169 and I-69) was backed up all the way from Hopkinsville to Evansville. Traffic was moving at about 10 mph. The Western Kentucky Parkway (I-69 Princeton to Nortonville and on to Elizabethtown no route number) was also just as jammed up, as was I-65 from Nashville TN to Louisville.

It took me 12 hours to get to Owensboro and find a room.

Now I know why they keep the transportation officials in a cabinet.

Major accidents that occur happen daily more times than a solar eclipse once in every so many years.

Does anyone else find Troubleshooter's posting history highly suspect?

The dates almost made me think our favorite troll found the password to an old account, but I opened an image and it linked to his personal website (which couldn't possibly belong to MMM).

Does anyone else find Troubleshooter's posting history highly suspect?

The dates almost made me think our favorite troll found the password to an old account, but I opened an image and it linked to his personal website (which couldn't possibly belong to MMM).

Not this one.
http://dzlsabe.com/

[SectorZ]

Maybe the OP has a problem with the people who manufacturer DOTS candy? Or even those gross dot candies that are stuck to a roll of paper.

DOTS >>> dots

The second choice really shouldn't be considered food under Geneva Convention rules.

[SectorZ]

I haven't found any problems with Troubleshooter's posts.

A 12.5 year gap between posts is damn impressive though. That's like a jail sentence for something bad length of time.

(not implying Troubleshooter went to jail, nor does he have to explain to me why he took 12.5 years away from the forum)

[kphoger]

The second choice really shouldn't be considered food under Geneva Convention rules.

As with seemingly half of the products put out by Necco.  Sweethearts?  Necco Wafers?

[wanderer2575]

I don't know when this FHWA edict came out, but it's highly possible these projects were already awarded and underway by that time, and if the pavement was already dug up for a full-depth rehab, you can't simply throw something together to allow traffic on it for a one-day thing.

It was dated one year before the event, in August 2016.

Doesn't matter.  The eclipse happened in mid-August.  Even if work had started the moment the snow stopped flying, a major bridge project ("bridge decks completely removed") might not have been able to be finished by then.  So KYTC should have canceled major infrastructure projects, and maybe lose the funding to do them in the future, to accommodate a one-day event?  Yeah, people were inconvenienced leaving, but that's a first-world problem.  This wasn't crisis urgency; that wasn't an inland hurricane or a nuclear bomb.

I wasn't implying anything.  I was simply providing an answer to the question of when it was published.  In fact, I personally expected that to have been after the project was already scheduled, but I'm not the one who works for the DOT.

Understood.  I meant that even knowing a year (or more) in advance wouldn't/shouldn't have mattered.  Heck, I'm in Detroit and we've known for years that we're really close to ground zero for the 2024 eclipse, but I expect that if MDOT gets funding that year for a major project that will mess things up for the tourist crowd, they should go ahead and do it.

[webny99]

The second choice really shouldn't be considered food under Geneva Convention rules.

As with seemingly half of the products put out by Necco.  Sweethearts?  Necco Wafers?

Indeed. If goosebumps are your first reaction to putting something in your mouth, that's probably a sign that it shouldn't be considered food. 

[Rothman]

I haven't found any problems with Troubleshooter's posts.

The possibility of a sock puppet looks pretty high to me.

[hotdogPi]

I haven't found any problems with Troubleshooter's posts.

The possibility of a sock puppet looks pretty high to me.

Of whom? This looks like a normal poster making valid points from personal experience. There is nothing objectionable at all with their posts.

I'm not even seeing a similarity with another poster.

[Rothman]

I haven't found any problems with Troubleshooter's posts.

The possibility of a sock puppet looks pretty high to me.

Of whom? This looks like a normal poster making valid points from personal experience. There is nothing objectionable at all with their posts.

I'm not even seeing a similarity with another poster.

"Now who's being naive, Kay?"

Right after MMM gets banned, another poster pops up and posts "normally."  Wouldn't that be the strategy of someone trying to sneak back onto the forum after a ban?

[hotdogPi]

Troubleshooter is very clearly older than 23 (MMM said his age was accurate in an email to me), having experienced the 2017 solar eclipse on a road trip. They are also familiar with their local area that's not NY/NJ and with the concept of and being able to read through the MUTCD.

We get several new posters every month. This one just happens to be the first one after MMM is banned. That doesn't mean it's him. Is CometTheMountainLion a sock?

[hbelkins]

I don't know when this FHWA edict came out, but it's highly possible these projects were already awarded and underway by that time, and if the pavement was already dug up for a full-depth rehab, you can't simply throw something together to allow traffic on it for a one-day thing.

It was dated one year before the event, in August 2016.

Doesn't matter.  The eclipse happened in mid-August.  Even if work had started the moment the snow stopped flying, a major bridge project ("bridge decks completely removed") might not have been able to be finished by then.  So KYTC should have canceled major infrastructure projects, and maybe lose the funding to do them in the future, to accommodate a one-day event?  Yeah, people were inconvenienced leaving, but that's a first-world problem.  This wasn't crisis urgency; that wasn't an inland hurricane or a nuclear bomb.

And there wasn't even an "open up all the lanes" guideline or suggestion in that document. In fact, the document mentioned the likelihood of traffic jams after the event because everyone would be arriving incrementally but leaving at the same time.

Most messaging I saw explicitly warned of the potential of heavy traffic and urged motorists to be prepared (full tanks of gas, etc.) to be hung up on the roads.

[webny99]

Troubleshooter is very clearly older than 23 (MMM said his age was accurate in an email to me), having experienced the 2017 solar eclipse on a road trip. They are also familiar with their local area that's not NY/NJ and with the concept of and being able to read through the MUTCD.

We get several new posters every month. This one just happens to be the first one after MMM is banned. That doesn't mean it's him. Is CometTheMountainLion a sock?

I agree - however, it is notable that Troubleshooter has returned after more than 12 years of inactivity, almost certainly a record.

[kphoger]

And, if he's been following this thread since posting, he may have been utterly confused by all the nudge-nudge-wink-wink talk here...

[webny99]

And, if he's been following this thread since posting, he may have been utterly confused by all the nudge-nudge-wink-wink talk troubleshooting here...

Sorry, I couldn't resist... 



But yes: Troubleshooter, you should know that some of us are still a bit on edge because of a recent problem user who has now been banned (see here for more context). But honestly I'm impressed that you thought to come back here after 12 years to see if anyone could help you find something road-related that you remembered from the past. Sorry it hasn't been successful so far, but I do think you came to the right place to ask. I've done the same thing myself a time or two.

[Rothman]

Troubleshooter is very clearly older than 23 (MMM said his age was accurate in an email to me), having experienced the 2017 solar eclipse on a road trip. They are also familiar with their local area that's not NY/NJ and with the concept of and being able to read through the MUTCD.

We get several new posters every month. This one just happens to be the first one after MMM is banned. That doesn't mean it's him. Is CometTheMountainLion a sock?

At this point, no one is above suspicion.

[Scott5114]

I have no evidence on my end that Troubleshooter is a sockpuppet of any other user at this time.

If you believe you have credible evidence that a user is a sockpuppet, please submit it privately to me or any other admin. Public accusations of sockpuppetry are not warranted–if the user is a sockpuppet, it does nothing but embolden them; if they are not a sockpuppet, it is very unwelcoming toward a new user.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Ok, Rothman is a sock puppet for John Lansford.

[Rothman]

Ok, Rothman is a sock puppet for John Lansford.

Heh.  I've always respected John, so I'll take that as a compliment.

[Troubleshooter]

Kentucky tries to clear up lane closures for major holiday weekends, but it's not always possible. Most construction contracts, especially pavement rehabs and bridge replacements, have fixed end dates with heavy financial penalties included for missed deadlines. I don't know when this FHWA edict came out, but it's highly possible these projects were already awarded and underway by that time, and if the pavement was already dug up for a full-depth rehab, you can't simply throw something together to allow traffic on it for a one-day thing.

I was going to say something like that. I am well versed with construction contracts and end dates.

What I heard about KYTC was in a newspaper article complaining about the jam.

As for my eclipse viewing, my brother and I went to a boat ramp opposite the Watts Bar nuclear power plant in Tennessee.

I've been there, but there was no nuclear plant in 1965.

[hbelkins]

Some of y'all were bothered more about MMM than I was. To me, he wasn't a blip on the radar. I didn't read most of the threads in which he dominated the discussion. He was an amusement more than anything else.

[Troubleshooter]

I haven’t found any problems with Troubleshooter’s posts.

A 12.5 year gap between posts is damn impressive though. That's like a jail sentence for something bad length of time.

(not implying Troubleshooter went to jail, nor does he have to explain to me why he took 12.5 years away from the forum)

Actually, I retired and my home computer then could not access your site (too old). I got a new computer last year (and lost my audio studio controller when the old one failed). I came back trying to solve my West Virginia problem.

[SidS1045]

How to tick off not only road geeks but also baseball fans: