Recent posts

#21

Northeast / Re: New York

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 07:53:37 AM

https://maps.app.goo.gl/KbMLk41fjJ5hvrSF6
So this is the future for lane closed Xs and lane open down arrows as seen on the Peace Bridge?

#22

Northeast / Re: Interstate 81 in Syracuse

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 07:36:38 AM

Well, yeah, the tunnel in Syracuse isn't happening. I've accepted that. I don't see why we need to accept Breezewood. That can should be fixed and should not be accepted. I don't know anything about I-99.

Breezewood will never get worked on by PTC and PennDOT in this lifetime. So you can accept it.

I-99 is a number out of grid written into law and nor AASHTO signing. Plus an egotistical congressman who picked the number while naming the road after himself.

#23

Northeast / Re: Interstate 81 in Syracuse

Last post by Plutonic Panda - Today at 07:32:27 AM

Well, yeah, the tunnel in Syracuse isn't happening. I've accepted that. I don't see why we need to accept Breezewood. That can should be fixed and should not be accepted. I don't know anything about I-99.

#24

Northeast / Re: Interstate 81 in Syracuse

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 07:29:34 AM

Life is unfair. Just get over it.😡
We all have to live with the ad nauseam I-99 number, and the poorly designed Breezewood severing I-70. Plus, the I-74/ US 74 concurrency in NC.

So accept this way of life in Syracuse as well.

#25

Northeast / Re: Interstate 81 in Syracuse

Last post by Plutonic Panda - Today at 07:26:59 AM

It is not wrong. They are not comparable. One builds a tunnel the other doesn't. There is a huge difference.

#26

Traffic Control / Re: Unique, Odd, or Interestin...

Last post by roadman65 - Today at 07:23:51 AM

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/53731631354
The way the Airport has a separate sign on top of the pull through is neat.

#27

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Ohio

Last post by Rothman - Today at 07:05:14 AM

Seeing as how I-90 is tolled in Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, and Illinois, my assumption that it would be tolled all the way through Ohio isn't unreasonable.

Different states, different tolling authorities and policies.  That's like saying I-76 in Ohio "should" or be expected to be tolled totally within Ohio as well. 

So, if you've already gone through the bother of figuring out where I-90 was tolled in other states, whether east or west of Ohio, your assumption is just based upon an incomplete task.

#28

Northeast / Re: Interstate 81 in Syracuse

Last post by Rothman - Today at 06:57:56 AM

^^^ good point. If they tear out I-794 in Milwaukee which they seem dead set on doing it'll be interesting to see the costs on that. The costs to remove I-375 in Detroit are a better comparison as well.

^^^ good point. If they tear out I-794 in Milwaukee which they seem dead set on doing it'll be interesting to see the costs on that. The costs to remove I-375 in Detroit are a better comparison as well.
[/quote

^^^ you must get paid to be a cheerleader for this project.

The other poster said the most expensive *urban road* project ever. Reading is key. If it isn't it sure it close. How many billions are being spent to construct a surface boulevard? I suppose you could count the Alaskan Way Viaduct removal.

Moot point.  If Henry was referring to the Boulevard part of the I-81 project, that part is small potatoes compared to I-690 (as mentioned above).  If he's referring to the whole project, he (and you too apparently) have clearly forgotten the Big Dig.  Compared to that, I-81 doesn't even come close.

Right the big dig. Most overtly used example of expensive road projects. But that actually placed a freeway tunnel replacing an elevated viaduct. Same thing with the Alaskan Way Viaduct. So really those two are that comparable. This isn't replacing it in the sense of keeping it the same the state is downgrading the facility to a surface street and rerouting the corridor to another existing road.

Now if Boston had simply torn down the viaduct and built a surface boulevard with no tunnel like New York is doing to Syracuse then it'd be more comparable.

Wrong.  A huge selling point of The Big Dig was how it was going to open space in downtown Boston and reconnect the community between the North End and the rest of downtown.

In both cases of Syracuse and Boston, the issue to be addressed was an obsolete viaduct.  Boston was able to pursue the tunnel option while Syracuse was not (ROW and water table issues, as explained ad absurdum now).

In terms of cost comparison, sure, one can compare it to possible demolitions of I-375 and I-794, but one must also take into account how each of the demolished highways fit into the overall system in the metro area.  Sure, those projects will be cheaper -- they didn't have to totally reconfigure how traffic passed through the metro area...

#29

Sports / Re: Athletics President re: ke...

Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 06:31:10 AM

Anybody who is concerned about gambling and Las Vegas has not been paying attention for the last 10 years.  Since the Supreme Court's ruling that every state is equal, and thus Congress could not prohibit gambling in other states, it has exploded.  Not only can you gamble on your phone, there are casinos within walking distance, or at least a short drive, from more than 2/3rd of Big Four sports arenas.

Yup. Even if you just stick to casino-style gaming, if you just want to gamble, chances are there's a place to do it within easy driving distance, no matter where in the US you are. If you're coming to Las Vegas in 2024, you're not coming just to gamble, you're coming for all of the other ridiculousness that we do best, like the shows, or the fancy hotel rooms, or the booze, or the clubs, or the people-watching, or whatever. Vegas figured out long ago that there's way more money to be made from all of that stuff than there was in just pure gambling. Sports are just the power brokers' latest fixation. Ten years from now we'll have something else we're chasing.

#30

Northeast / Re: Vermont

Last post by SectorZ - Today at 05:20:05 AM

https://www.wcax.com/2024/05/17/vtrans-officials-still-bullish-notch-road-barriers/

Earlier this month, VTrans installed temporary chicanes on each end of the VT 108 Smuggler's Notch stretch, in order to prevent the notorious event of trucks getting stuck in the Notch and closing the road for hours at a time as they are unstuck, removed, and ticketed (over $2K for the first offense) by authorities.

The Notch opened to traffic last week.  But within 48 hours, a truck driver dodged the chicane on the Cambridge side and got stuck.  I had a hunch this was going to happen after seeing the first photos of the chicane...too easy for trucks to skirt into the opposing lane.  VTrans has more work to do to figure out a better solution.

Maybe arrest for tresspassing will get thru to truckers doing this. Governments seize things like dirtbikes from kids riding them down city streets, maybe the same thing here could appu. Start viewing it as a public nuisance and not an accident, especially since willfully passing all that is no accident.