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Road trip - Day One MI IN OH KY TN GA

Started by brianreynolds, January 05, 2013, 06:18:10 PM

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brianreynolds

I had everything packed and ready to load fairly early Friday night.  I gave a thought to just leaving then (about 10PM) but decided to try to get a full night's sleep before departure.  Not a real surprise, but that's not how it worked out.

I was probably asleep by 10:30 PM, but woke up wide-eyed at 1:45 AM or so.  I still had to load everything into the car.  And I needed a cup of java.  And there were the important pleasantries and good-byes with the missus.  And a final fuel-up before leaving town.  I was really, truly in motion and on my way out of town at almost exactly 3 AM. 

The moon was nearly full and the sky was mostly clear, which makes for ideal nighttime travel.  Good conditions would not prevail though.  An hour into the trip, near Coldwater on I-69, it started snowing.  Road conditions deteriorated rapidly.   By the time I exited I-469 at US-30, there were several inches of very sloppy snow.  I could not tell where the lanes were.  40 MPH felt like living on the edge. 

Road conditions were slightly better in Ohio.  It appeared that the plow crews had been dispatched earlier, and had a better handle on the storm.  It was still an unpleasant and hazardous drive.  US-30, US-127, US-33 and I-75 through Ohio.

At 8:47 AM, crossed into Kentucky on I-75.  The rolling topography of Kentucky is beautiful anyway, but even more so on this Saturday morning.  The snow had stuck to everything, and it was quite a sight.  Trees were totally covered.  Southbound, the signs are unreadable, they are so thoroughly covered.  A chain-link fence along the pedestrian walkway on the top of a bridge over I-75 was practically opaque; the snow had thoroughly covered it.

The Kentucky welcome center was closed, but that was OK with me.  I certainly have an adequate supply of Kentucky official maps.  I paused to refresh, and enjoyed my brown bag breakfast.

At Lexington, exited I-75 at KY-1973 by the Kentucky Horse Park.   US-25 is a short jog to the west.  At US-25 there is some construction in progress.  The snow obscured it, so I really don't know for sure, but judging from the traffic signals, it looked like US-25 will be a divided highway north of KY-1973.

Took US-25 south toward town, then New Circle Road around the west side of town.  When was New Circle Road new?  Judging by the style of bridges, it looks like it was a few decades ago.  Then US-68 south into Jessamine County.  Stopped for fuel at the Shell station at the county line.    A mile or so in, took KY-1980 east to US-27.

I could have (and maybe should have) taken US-27 south into Tennessee from here, but instead opted to return to I-75 via Man O War Blvd. (is there a story behind that name?).  On a two-dimensional map, it looked faster, but I doubt that it was.  Exited I-75 at Williamsburg, took KY-92 west into McCreary County.  KY-92 is a pleasant drive with lots of beautiful vistas and at least one spectacular overlook.  It is not a road to make rapid forward progress.  Still, I am glad I chose this route.

US-27 into Tennessee.  There are two highway bridges being worked on in the first couple of miles, with temporary traffic signals alternating traffic through one open lane.  I couldn't tell what was being worked on.  Both bridges appeared to be quite old, probably 1940s era or so.
 
Took TN-328 to Oakdale.  This is only a few miles, but the road is a challenging mountain road with lots of sharp curves and steep drop-offs, but not many guard rails.   From Oakdale, TN-299 into Cumberland County to I-40.  TN-299 stubs into I-40, but it looks like there are plans to extend the road further. 

TN-299 duplexes with I-40 for two miles, then south three miles or so to US-70. From there, east into Roane County.  I was only in the Central Time Zone (Cumberland County) for about 15 minutes.

US-27 and TN-68 to I-75 to Chattanooga.  US-27 into Georgia.  Not very far into Georgia, I missed a turn, and I'm glad I did.  For the next several miles, the speed limit was 35 MPH through the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.  Of course, I had heard of the famous Civil War battle here, but didn't really appreciate the historical significance of it.  I do now.

From Rome, took GA-101 through Polk, and Paulding counties, then GA-61 to Carrollton where I stopped for the night.


hbelkins

Quote from: brianreynolds on January 05, 2013, 06:18:10 PM
At 8:47 AM, crossed into Kentucky on I-75.  The rolling topography of Kentucky is beautiful anyway, but even more so on this Saturday morning.  The snow had stuck to everything, and it was quite a sight.  Trees were totally covered.  Southbound, the signs are unreadable, they are so thoroughly covered.  A chain-link fence along the pedestrian walkway on the top of a bridge over I-75 was practically opaque; the snow had thoroughly covered it.

The Kentucky welcome center was closed, but that was OK with me.  I certainly have an adequate supply of Kentucky official maps.  I paused to refresh, and enjoyed my brown bag breakfast.

At Lexington, exited I-75 at KY-1973 by the Kentucky Horse Park.   US-25 is a short jog to the west.  At US-25 there is some construction in progress.  The snow obscured it, so I really don't know for sure, but judging from the traffic signals, it looked like US-25 will be a divided highway north of KY-1973.

Took US-25 south toward town, then New Circle Road around the west side of town.  When was New Circle Road new?  Judging by the style of bridges, it looks like it was a few decades ago.  Then US-68 south into Jessamine County.  Stopped for fuel at the Shell station at the county line.    A mile or so in, took KY-1980 east to US-27.

I could have (and maybe should have) taken US-27 south into Tennessee from here, but instead opted to return to I-75 via Man O War Blvd. (is there a story behind that name?).  On a two-dimensional map, it looked faster, but I doubt that it was.  Exited I-75 at Williamsburg, took KY-92 west into McCreary County.  KY-92 is a pleasant drive with lots of beautiful vistas and at least one spectacular overlook.  It is not a road to make rapid forward progress.  Still, I am glad I chose this route.

From what I understand, there was a pretty quick dropoff between lots of snow and no snow once you would have gotten into Kentucky.

As for your Kentucky observations:

1.) Yes, there is construction on US 25. It proceeds from that spot northward toward Georgetown.

2.) That section of New Circle from US 25 counterclockwise to US 68 dates back from the 50s to the late 60s. I remember when it wasn't an entire loop and I remember when the road was completed around the southern segment. It was originally built as a bypass of US 25 and US 60.

3.) US 27 south would have been an enjoyable drive. It's a pretty fast route. There's new construction in northern Garrard County, and the only real slowdown is all the traffic signals in Somerset. Man O'War is named after the famous racehorse and is a cluster-foxtrot of traffic signals.

4.) Portions of KY 92 have been reconstructed. Prior to that, it would have been an even slower drive. The idea is to move traffic from I-75 over to the Big South Fork recreation area in a faster manner.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

tvketchum

I could have (and maybe should have) taken US-27 south into Tennessee from here, but instead opted to return to I-75 via Man O War Blvd. (is there a story behind that name?).

A famous race horse. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_o'_War

brianreynolds

Quote from: tvketchum on January 06, 2013, 09:14:19 AM
I could have (and maybe should have) taken US-27 south into Tennessee from here, but instead opted to return to I-75 via Man O War Blvd. (is there a story behind that name?).

A famous race horse. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_o'_War

Honoring the legacy of a legendary race horse makes perfect sense in Kentucky.

It makes more sense than naming the road for a politician.

In most cases, that would be the same as honoring the legacy of a horse's ass.

hbelkins

Quote from: brianreynolds on January 06, 2013, 10:14:24 AM
In most cases, that would be the same as honoring the legacy of a horse's ass.

In Kentucky, you would be quite right.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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