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[1995hoo]

I just liked the overhead view of the ramps taking shape:

Highway interchanges are some of the most complex (and expensive) pieces of infrastructure we have. This is I-66 at I-495 in Virginia. Huge steel beams go over 66 starting tonight - and that means overnight closures. More coming up on @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/mcIKBsaTY2

— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) June 15, 2021

[1995hoo]

Seen on the 6:00 news just now. The Beltway towards Tysons runs north at the top center of the image.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Transform 66 project on schedule for 2022 completion

Driving either direction on Interstate 66 west of Interstate 495, it’s impossible to miss the work on the 22.5-mile stretch of highway. But managers of the $3.7 billion Transform 66 project say work has never been moving faster.

Currently, about $60 million of work is being done every month and nearly 2,000 workers are on the job every day according to Susan Shaw, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s regional transportation program director for Northern Virginia. “So there’s a lot happening,” she said.

Along most of the corridor, the focus is completing work toward the outside of the highway, so that traffic can then be diverted there while the toll lanes on the inside are being completed. That level of work is expected to continue through the fall, depending on the weather.

[bluecountry]

So it seems that at the Rt 29/I-66 interchange, the RT 29 underpass will be widened in width so as to have the space to allow a 3rd southbound auxiliary lane.  However, such a project is not part of the I-66 HOT and would be undertaken by either FCDOT or VDOT.

Are there any immediate plans by FCDOT or VDOT to have a 3rd SB RT 29 lane to prevent the massive bottleneck which occurs, as 29 goes quickly from 4 to 2 lanes before adding a short I-66 W exit lane?
I can't understand why FCDOT or VDOT would not prioritize and coordinate this to coincide with the completion of I-66.  It is not like it is a long expensive project.   

[bluecountry]

Been meaning to ask this for awhile, why is it this I-66 project has 'delivery' signs with weird code names 'Romeo' all over the corridor?
I have never seen a highway project with this kind of outward display, it seems unnecessary and needlessly micromanaging.
Didn't recall the NJTP 30 miles expansion having to make it this complicated.

[oscar]

Been meaning to ask this for awhile, why is it this I-66 project has 'delivery' signs with weird code names 'Romeo' all over the corridor?
I have never seen a highway project with this kind of outward display, it seems unnecessary and needlessly micromanaging.

All those code-named turnoffs are for construction traffic, not for ordinary travelers.

Some of them have "Area __" numerical codes. The number sequence came tantalizingly close to reaching "Area 51", but alas the turnoffs switched to alphabetical codes at that point.

[1995hoo]

The "code names" I noticed on those signs aren't really weird if you're familiar with the NATO alphabet, as they all track that alphabet. Good chance that scheme was selecting for reasons of clarity when communicating over the telephone or radio.

I use the NATO alphabet when I need to spell a word and it's amusing how many people seem unwilling to accept anything other than "T as in Tom" or "B as in Boy." My street's name starts with a "T" and if I spell it and then say "T, Tango" (this because some people have misheard it as a "P" over the years), some people (especially women, it seems) will try to "correct" me—"You mean 'T' as in 'Tom,' right?"

[Stephane Dumas]

Not directly linked to I-66 HOT lanes, Google Streetview had updated some Streetview of the VA-28 interchange showing the ramp going to Braddock Road and Walney road.
https://goo.gl/maps/v6mH6KdVnXCywxPU7

[mrsman]

The "code names" I noticed on those signs aren't really weird if you're familiar with the NATO alphabet, as they all track that alphabet. Good chance that scheme was selecting for reasons of clarity when communicating over the telephone or radio.

I use the NATO alphabet when I need to spell a word and it's amusing how many people seem unwilling to accept anything other than "T as in Tom" or "B as in Boy." My street's name starts with a "T" and if I spell it and then say "T, Tango" (this because some people have misheard it as a "P" over the years), some people (especially women, it seems) will try to "correct" me—"You mean 'T' as in 'Tom,' right?"

NATO is definitely the standard for military folks, but many police departments still follow the APCO standard.  The APCO standard seems easier for civilians (non-military and non-police) , since the words used are far more common, at least for native English speakers.

The table here compares the two:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APCO_radiotelephony_spelling_alphabet

In my early days of working, I would sometimes need to point someone to a website document by phone.  I often used Paul-David-Frank to refer to pdf.  (Nowadays, pdf usage is so common that it is no longer necessary to spell it out.)

FWIW, Tom and Boy are also on the old APCO lists.

[AlexandriaVA]

Many military and civilian DOD residents in the DC area....

[1995hoo]

Many military and civilian DOD residents in the DC area....

I'm neither, but I picked up the NATO alphabet a long time ago. My father served in the Army, though he was discharged when I was two years old so I don't remember those days too well other than only the absolute vaguest of memories of occasional trips to the old commissary at Cameron Station with my mother.

[bluecountry]

But why is this on 66 and not other roads, this is the only time I ever have seen it.

[1995hoo]

Maybe the length of the work zone (20 miles)? I don't know, that's just a guess, but it would make sense that they'd want some way to identify specific locations, and mileposts are likely not a good option in a reconstruction project of this one's extent.

[Mapmikey]

Maybe the length of the work zone (20 miles)? I don't know, that's just a guess, but it would make sense that they'd want some way to identify specific locations, and mileposts are likely not a good option in a reconstruction project of this one's extent.

There have definitely been other Virginia projects where construction entrances were letters (though not full code names).

2011 GMSV captured it on I-81 truck lane project north of Lexington
https://goo.gl/maps/Z6cwakVwW3CTakc98

[1995hoo]

Nice overhead view of the I-66/I-495 interchange progress as part of the HO/T lane project. The picture was taken on March 2 and is from transform66.org. North is at the bottom of the image—for those who don't know the area, I-66 crosses from east (left bottom of image) to west (top right).

The part that looks the weirdest is the route from the I-495 Inner Loop HO/T lanes to the westbound I-66 general-purpose lanes.