Recent posts

#1

Mid-South / Re: I-69 in TX

Last post by 05danper42842 - Today at 09:40:25 PM

It looks huge probably the fact it has to do a big bypass since the town is spread throughout along the road.
They just separated almost the whole industrial zone. Except for the one place up north.

#2

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Michigan Notes

Last post by JREwing78 - Today at 09:33:41 PM

Lansing State Journal is reporting the planned reconstruction of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd north of I-496 in Lansing (formerly part of the Capitol Loop) is on hold after critical feedback from the nearby neighborhood.

The plans would have narrowed the existing median, moving the green space to the east side of the roadway (facing downtown) and effectively reverting the roadway to a 2-way roadway north of the Union Missionary Baptist Church. This is in tandem with planned sewer work in the area that would've ripped up trees in the median.

This is part of the former Capitol Loop designation through downtown Lansing. The 6-lane divided boulevard portion of MLK Blvd was built in the late '80s and early '90s between Kalamazoo St. and Ionia St, tying into the divided boulevard segment of M-99 built out in the late 70's and early 80's (including two one-way Grand River crossings) south to Victor Ave.

The LSJ reports the neighborhood association's complaints include removal of the median green spaces, which they (rightfully) contend make it harder for pedestrians to cross the road. The neighborhood is also angry that, after its construction took out numerous homes and displaced residents from the Westside neighborhood, the city plans to remove much of the roadway that required their removal. According to the city's Public Service department, about 25% of postcards sent to gather feedback from residents were returned, most of them against the project.

MDOT turned back all portions not part of other state trunklines back to the City of Lansing earlier this year, including the section of MLK north of I-496. The city received $1.2 million in state funds to assist with converting one-way streets back to two-way streets.

#3

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

Last post by Max Rockatansky - Today at 09:15:30 PM

I also think continuing to bring P13 up shows that he won in the end.

Sharing a commonly hated person among members of a community seems to serve as a bond between them.  So, in a sense, I suppose he won by bringing us all closer together.

So did Ethanman. He's been gone for well over a decade now and we still bring him up.

Just based on those two sentences, I really regret missing this fellow.

Consider how much Calrog is brought up still.  The theory that having a common "enemy" brings the road community together seems to have time tested merit.

#4

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

Last post by epzik8 - Today at 09:08:34 PM

I also think continuing to bring P13 up shows that he won in the end.

Sharing a commonly hated person among members of a community seems to serve as a bond between them.  So, in a sense, I suppose he won by bringing us all closer together.

So did Ethanman. He's been gone for well over a decade now and we still bring him up.

Just based on those two sentences, I really regret missing this fellow.

#5

Sports / Re: What Sports Teams Have You...

Last post by ran4sh - Today at 09:04:37 PM

NFL: Falcons, Texans, Buccaneers

NBA: Hawks, Bucks, Wizards

MLS: Atlanta, Vancouver

MLB: Braves, Reds, Diamondbacks, Padres, Yankees, Cardinals, Giants, Phillies, Nationals, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, Rays

Minor League Baseball: Gwinnett Braves/Stripers, Scranton (Yankees affiliate), Syracuse (Mets affiliate), Nashville (Brewers affiliate), Memphis (Cardinals affiliate), and probably 1 or 2 more that I forgot

College football: Georgia; all (up to 2023) SEC members except Texas A&M; Georgia Tech; Clemson; various home opponents of Georgia including Boise St, Colorado, Arizona St; Ohio St

College basketball - The NCAA Tournament games I have seen include: Georgia, Michigan St, Virginia, Belmont, Duke, Cal St Fullerton, Davidson

#6

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

Last post by vdeane - Today at 08:54:22 PM

If the local IDOT district refers to it as 316, does that not make it at least semi-official?

By that logic, NY 7 from I-87 to Troy is actually Alternate NY 7.  And an interstate.

#7

Off-Topic / Re: New Oklahoma City Skyscrap...

Last post by epzik8 - Today at 08:52:39 PM

With the commercial office space situation post-covid, I'd be stunned if there's another major skyscraper not already in the pipeline built in the next 20 years.

Pretty bold prediction honestly.

#8

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Madison Area

Last post by Molandfreak - Today at 08:42:45 PM

Raymond Road is such a random-ass place to have the first traffic light since Dubuque. I can forgive not replacing the SPUI at the beltline. At least that makes some sense to permanently end the expressway there even if it's not what I'd rather see, but really at a road that isn't even on the NHS?

#9

Off-Topic / Re: Layoffs at Tesla

Last post by CtrlAltDel - Today at 08:38:58 PM

Also the issue here is that Elon Musk is the CEO of multiple companies at the same time how does he manage all of his operations from SpaceX, Tesla, and X.

Well, one former manager at Tesla described Musk as a pigeon CEO, that is, "he comes, shits all over us, and goes." A bit biased, but a bit funny as well.

#10

Southeast / Re: I-40 in North Carolina

Last post by cowboy_wilhelm - Today at 08:20:24 PM

The design year traffic volume is at least 20 years from the time construction is planned to start. The design year is 2040 for this project, which is now the estimated let date. The problem is the final planning document was signed by the FHWA in 2018. Things kind of get etched into stone at that point. The final design plans can't deviate very much from what was complete when the planning document was signed without starting the planning and review process all over again. Design and planning is expensive and lead to further delays. An updated traffic forecast may still happen, but unless the forecast shows the proposed design won't operate at an acceptable level of service in the new design year, the design is unlikely to change. So, unless there are drastic changes to the land use in the area and/or significant increases in traffic volumes, the design probably won't change at this point. Traffic counts at the interchange from the past several years don't really reflect that, but the latest counts are from 2022.

I can think of several other projects off hand that have traffic forecasts that are many years old with no sign of construction starting within the next decade and have wondered if they will remain unchanged or not.

I still don't know why a SPUI wasn't considered for this location and why NCDOT doesn't build them now. They specifically cited the right-of-way limitations at this interchange as a reason for not going with a different design than what was selected. It's been several years (decade?) since a SPUI was constructed in North Carolina, and I only know of one that is still proposed at Glenwood Ave./Brier Creek Pkwy. in Raleigh. Yeah, they're expensive, but it seems like these types of locations would warrant the compact design and associated cost.