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#1

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: I-70/71 Columbus Crossroad...

Last post by TempoNick - Today at 12:49:18 AM

I was driving through there today and I'm still shaking my head at everything that's being built over there. Don't get me wrong, the work is impressive, but I'm wondering if a better and less complicated solution wouldn't have been to:

1. Leave everything as is along the split, with minor improvements.

2. Divert traffic from I-70 westbound at James Road to Ohio 104 as was suggested once as sort of an express lane for I-70 thru traffic. It would also eliminate having to drive all the curves along existing I-70.

3. Existing I-70 West of James to get another number. (I know ODOT talked about downgrading it to a boulevard, but that sounded stupid to me.)

4. I-71 routed along I-670 and 315 without multiplexing with I-70.

It seems like this would have solved multiple problems without all the complexity of this project. I know other problems would be created, but there are some spots along I-670 that were never right, particularly the ramps around Neil and Goodale.

#2

Northeast / Re: Massachusetts

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 12:33:17 AM

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nXUufMWidfnysogFA
I take that "The Islands" refers to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard on this guide on SB MA28.

#3

General Highway Talk / Re: Road-Geeky Things Of The P...

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 12:23:59 AM

As much as a LOVE panning around on Google Earth and the like and enjoy it when there is new imagery to browse, I have a pang of nostalgia for the days before the ubiquity of such online resources and my efforts to keep our copy of the Delorme atlas for Wisconsin updated amid a flurry of rural expressway/freeway construction in the state.

I tend to be more averse to GSV spoilers of upcoming road trips than I am spoilers of TV shows and such. (Mostly because I kind of like knowing the plot of a show going into it because it helps you spot foreshadowing and such, but there's no real benefit to knowing what a scenic view looks like ahead of time.)

#4

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by jeffandnicole - Today at 12:23:21 AM

If I had my druthers, merchants would not be allowed to sell anything with a deferred-redemption component unless the full value of said component were kept available to the customer without expiration.  This would mean:

*  Store gift cards and gift certificates would never expire.

Some states do prohibit this.

If this forced supermarket chains to phase out loyalty programs, I would not shed a tear.

Businesses encourage people to shop there.  An extension of this would be hotel, airline & casino loyalty programs.  All encourage customers to maintain a relationship with that company. Customers save money and get benefits; Businesses earn money.  It's a win for both.  The only people that think it's a loss are those that think it would stop junk mail or tracking of their purchases.  And since no one is required to have a card at most stores (other than specific instances such as Costco, Sam's Club, etc), you don't need it, so it's no harm to you if others maintain accounts with loyalty cards.

But it is not required that returned merchandise be returned for cash. (It's almost always in-store credit - which is basically a gift card.) So I have no idea why gift cards should be. I mean these are gifts.

That has not been my experience.  On the few occasions I have returned things for a refund, I have typically received a chargeback on the card I used to pay.  I can't remember the last time I was asked to settle for in-store credit or a voucher that I could spend only at the business concerned.

You received a credit because the business was able to identify the method of payment thru your credit card.

BTW - you do realize that when you used the credit card, the business tracked your purchasing anyway, right?  The only difference was they didn't have all the info to send you tailored advertising or discounts.  So, they got all your money and you received no benefit.

Okay, but what does "never expire" really mean?  Businesses don't stay around forever.  They don't have any way of knowing how to get ahold of people who have gift cards they issued, and I wouldn't want to be on their mailing list if they did.

"Never expires" means that the value of the card (or other deferred-redemption instrument) would remain a liability against the business indefinitely.  Realistically, I think it would have to be dischargeable in bankruptcy, even if this meant that customers would have to settle for pennies on the dollar.

Legally, it already is.  But personal debts are way down the list of how companies are required to settle debts when they go bankrupt. If a bankrupt company was able to settle all other corporate debts first at 100%, then consumers would be in line to obtain money for their debts, including gift cards. 

Being a company is going bankrupt due to being short of cash, that is extremely unlikely to ever happen.

#5

Mid-Atlantic / Re: Francis Scott Key Bridge (...

Last post by Big John - April 28, 2024, 11:49:43 PM

The Edgar Allen Poe Bridge.

Murder out the trusses.

Trusses cause an unkindness.

(Ravens are not crows)

#6

Mid-Atlantic / Re: Francis Scott Key Bridge (...

Last post by Road Hog - April 28, 2024, 11:06:08 PM

The Edgar Allen Poe Bridge.

Murder out the trusses.

#7

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Illinois: Round Mile Mark...

Last post by Rothman - April 28, 2024, 11:01:24 PM

State maintained =/= state route.

Wat.

It's state-maintained and it's a route. It's a state route.  It may not be a State Route, but it's a state route. The adjective "state" and the noun "route" are both correct.

IDOT maintains plenty of roads that are not signed routes. Besides signed numerical designations, there is a separate internal set of numerical designations for various roads across Illinois, state-maintained and otherwise (shown as "FAP", "FAU", etc.). But I don't think that's even what appears at the top of these mile markers.  The process of deciding these numbers for the top of these mile markers has always been a mystery to me. Such numbers are usually in the 8000s or 900s (though 316 is an oddball).

Bill Burmaster's (rmsandw) site has covered a plethora of these unsigned state highways: https://www.billburmaster.com/rmsandw/illinois/misc/il900.html

And these are just the ones IDOT marks in the wild.  District 1 has a number of unmarked state routes that lack any sort of signage whatsoever to denote them as state routes, including the circular postmiles.  The spur of the IL-53 freeway between Dundee Road and Lake-Cook Road comes to mind as just one example.

This is actually a great example, since it gets at what I was saying before about inventory key routes just being a tool to denote functional class.

IL-53 is shown as a marked route in IROADS up to Dundee Road.  Beyond Dundee Road, there is no entry in the marked route field for the spur (IL-53, of course, splits off).

Some would then point to the inventory key route and say, "A ha!  I have found the secret hidden route number!  It's 0342!"  However, this inventory key route matches what the 5-year classification maps indicate as simply the non-Interstate freeway/expressway functional class of the spur and the portion of IL-53 itself from the northern terminus to the spur.  The inventory key route is simply an identifier for functional class rather than "unmarked marked routes" that other States have.  Definitely not on the same level as a NYSDOT reference route.  Sure, the spur is a state-maintained road, but it doesn't have a route number on par with IDOT's marked routes.  If so, the inventory key route would be marked as a concurrency and it is not.

On a tangent, what is even more interesting is IROADS shows I-290 ending "far" beyond it's end signage in the field, ending north of Algonquin Road before transitioning to IL-53.  Actually makes sense since it's the end of the C-D ramp system and should all be considered I-290 up to that point, despite the placement of signage in the field.  Would be 90% reimbursable NHPP funding per its functional class...

(And, have to say again...Illinois is a mess data-wise...)

#8

Traffic Control / Re: The road sign city name ph...

Last post by formulanone - April 28, 2024, 10:55:44 PM

Madoc -> Canal Point (FL)

#9

Traffic Control / Re: Guess the State Route Chal...

Last post by Hunty2022 - April 28, 2024, 10:37:05 PM

NC-53

#10

Off-Topic / Re: The GPT thread

Last post by Scott5114 - April 28, 2024, 10:32:11 PM

[gigantic image]

"cookie monster expressway"

 

Please just hit the like button next time.