This roadmeet focuses on the Albany area in upstate New York. The tour will include the Twin Bridges, a former railroad bridge over the Mohawk River, the NY 2 tunnel in Troy, the Mid-Crosstown Expressway, the Dunn Memorial Bridge (meet photo location), the former Thruway rest areas on the Berkshire Spur, I-787 (downtown) and the South Mall Arterial, the Northway stub, the Washington Avenue Extension/Fuller Road interchange, and Railroad Avenue. There is also a pre-meet at 9:30 AM at the Albany Rail Trail off NY 32 to view the Thruway and US 9W bridges over the Normans Kill; we would also drive on NY 85 on the way to the meet restaraunt.
Tour notes: http://www.nysroads.com/files/cap16.pdf
Meet Date/Time/Location: September 24, 2016, 11:00 AM, Latham '76 Diner 722 New Loudon Rd, Latham, NY 12110
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/206670216371779/
Premeet: 9:30 AM, Albany County Rail Trail, NY 32
November and December are two months that are open...you can also do January 2017 if it comes it.
New Haven is still TBD whether it still be summer or fall. Schedule the Albany meet whenever it works for you, and I'll make sure we don't conflict when I schedule the New Haven meet.
I'm leaning towards staying with Columbus Day, which would be October 8-9. The long weekend works well for a two day meet. I'll edit the OP with the dates at some point before the end of the year if nobody objects.
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 21, 2015, 05:43:40 PM
November and December are two months that are open...you can also do January 2017 if it comes it.
Snow and roadmeets don't mix well, especially when the weather becomes less predictable.
I suppose I could show up. :D
A meet in upstate NY and a meet in Bamalama shouldn't offer too many conflicts among potential attendees. Meets with a significant distance between them have occurred on the same date before -- an example being Lawrence, Kan. and the most recent Columbus, Oh. meet.
Quote from: vdeane on December 22, 2015, 12:46:11 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 21, 2015, 05:43:40 PM
November and December are two months that are open...you can also do January 2017 if it comes it.
Snow and roadmeets don't mix well, especially when the weather becomes less predictable.
2010 Detroit roadmeet? From pictures it was snowing, and there was snow present.
Quotebut that would appear to be off the table due to the Birmingham meet.
HB hit on this before I did (and I also mentioned this on Facebook), but the likelihood of direct conflicts between Albany, NY and Birmingham, AL on the same day is pretty darn small. There are only a small number of people who would have the means and the time to attend both meets.
Quote from: hbelkins on December 22, 2015, 03:52:45 PM
A meet in upstate NY and a meet in Bamalama shouldn't offer too many conflicts among potential attendees. Meets with a significant distance between them have occurred on the same date before -- an example being Lawrence, Kan. and the most recent Columbus, Oh. meet.
Columbus both started before Lawrence (time zone difference) and ended after. We hit around 27 different sights and just kept deciding to press on until nightfall. Unforgettable.
Being as I'll be living there, I'd be interested, especially if it's on a holiday weekend where I wouldn't be leaving town.
Has a meet done the Bennington Bypass extension or the covered bridges in Shushan and along VT 313? That's not too much of a hike.
Except for Glenridge Road and the new Round Lake roundabouts, there's little "new" stuff that hasn't been mentioned.
Quote from: froggie on December 22, 2015, 06:55:52 PM
Quotebut that would appear to be off the table due to the Birmingham meet.
HB hit on this before I did (and I also mentioned this on Facebook), but the likelihood of direct conflicts between Albany, NY and Birmingham, AL on the same day is pretty darn small. There are only a small number of people who would have the means and the time to attend both meets.
My thoughts exactly.
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 22, 2015, 05:49:46 PM
Quote from: vdeane on December 22, 2015, 12:46:11 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 21, 2015, 05:43:40 PM
November and December are two months that are open...you can also do January 2017 if it comes it.
Snow and roadmeets don't mix well, especially when the weather becomes less predictable.
2010 Detroit roadmeet? From pictures it was snowing, and there was snow present.
You don't want to be doing a lot of driving in the area if it's snowing. Detroit is flat. Albany is anything but and it can get quite cold.
I've decided to stick with Columbus Day weekend.
Quote from: cl94 on December 22, 2015, 10:16:46 PM
Being as I'll be living there, I'd be interested, especially if it's on a holiday weekend where I wouldn't be leaving town.
Has a meet done the Bennington Bypass extension or the covered bridges in Shushan and along VT 313? That's not too much of a hike.
Except for Glenridge Road and the new Round Lake roundabouts, there's little "new" stuff that hasn't been mentioned.
Quote from: froggie on December 22, 2015, 06:55:52 PM
Quotebut that would appear to be off the table due to the Birmingham meet.
HB hit on this before I did (and I also mentioned this on Facebook), but the likelihood of direct conflicts between Albany, NY and Birmingham, AL on the same day is pretty darn small. There are only a small number of people who would have the means and the time to attend both meets.
My thoughts exactly.
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 22, 2015, 05:49:46 PM
Quote from: vdeane on December 22, 2015, 12:46:11 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 21, 2015, 05:43:40 PM
November and December are two months that are open...you can also do January 2017 if it comes it.
Snow and roadmeets don't mix well, especially when the weather becomes less predictable.
2010 Detroit roadmeet? From pictures it was snowing, and there was snow present.
You don't want to be doing a lot of driving in the area if it's snowing. Detroit is flat. Albany is anything but and it can get quite cold.
I plan on hitting the major three construction projects that are going on now/soon: I-890 exit 4, Washington Ave Extension, and NY 85 (a natural consequence of including the Slingerlands Bypass). Meet photo at the Dunn (given the circle interchange, can't really have it anywhere else).
And of course, if it's snowing in Albany, it's guaranteed to be snowing worse on the roads to/from Albany. It's a consequence of being in a valley.
To answer cl94's question, yes the Bennington Bypass was the focus of a meet hosted by Doug Kerr.
As for VT 313, there is only one covered bridge along that route, IIRC.
Quote from: froggie on December 22, 2015, 11:02:34 PM
To answer cl94's question, yes the Bennington Bypass was the focus of a meet hosted by Doug Kerr.
As for VT 313, there is only one covered bridge along that route, IIRC.
Correct. I was referring to the bridge just off NY 313 in Shushan.
I'll consider this. I can't make promises though.
Given the draw of the Birmingham meet, I'm looking at moving this one a couple weeks and switching to a 1 day tour. September 24 is the likely date but September 17 works for me as well.
Rules me out.
Whatever. :D
9/24 would work great for me since I plan to be in central PA around that time
I could maybe come to this if it was one day. By that time, I will probably want to avoid hotels for awhile.
I've pretty much decided on one day at this point. I'll update the OP. Leaning towards September 24, but I'll let the comments come in a little while longer.
I settled on September 24 and added a link to the Facebook event in the OP.
Sweet, I am a "maybe" but will more then likely change to going getting closer to the time since I will be in central PA that weekend, also my wife may come too if she can get time off from work.
By the way, what's special about Railroad Ave? I just took a tour of the Coca-Cola facility there, but at least between Target and Fuller, there's not much going on there, is there?
I'm not on the Facebook event, but I'm an almost certain "will attend".
Quote from: Rothman on March 21, 2016, 08:25:03 AM
By the way, what's special about Railroad Ave? I just took a tour of the Coca-Cola facility there, but at least between Target and Fuller, there's not much going on there, is there?
Other than the rail line that once ran down the middle, nothing I can think of.
If the speed bumps were still in front of Joe Bruno's house, I'd suggest driving through there to show how politics can influence roads, but the Town of Brunswick finally took them out.
It's the rail line. Not major, but we're going to be in the area anyways, so might as well. It's at the end of the tour anyways, so if something runs long it can easily be cut.
I did some scouting today despite the weather. Here's my planned tour: https://goo.gl/maps/KBGJcmkkSnC2
I took out the stop at Stewart's after discovering that that Stewart's is a zoo (and quite small) and also that there are restrooms at the meet photo location.
Time to write the tour notes.
Quote from: vdeane on June 11, 2016, 06:43:13 PM
I did some scouting today despite the weather. Here's my planned tour: https://goo.gl/maps/KBGJcmkkSnC2
I took out the stop at Stewart's after discovering that that Stewart's is a zoo (and quite small) and also that there are restrooms at the meet photo location.
Time to write the tour notes.
And what are those 2 points at exit 12 I-90? Just highway view, or something more than that?
Given the limited time we have for these things and knowing that that route very well might take 4 hours, I like it. I do have a couple of minor routing suggestions:
-Return to the Northway from the north side of the Mohawk via Towpath Rd > Beach Rd > Clamstream Rd > Dunsbach Rd to grab the state name shields. Unless I'm missing some, those are the only ones left in R1 (unless they've taken them out within the past month).
-I don't see the advantage of hopping on 787 to get from the abandoned bridge over the Mohawk to the Ferry Street tunnel, regardless of what Google thinks is the fastest route, just because I know how long the cycle is to make the left across 787. Go down George Street and you get the park under the bridge as well as a view of the west side of the Green Island Bridge. Other legs of the route cover those sections of I-/NY 787.
Quote from: kalvado on June 12, 2016, 03:58:32 PM
And what are those 2 points at exit 12 I-90? Just highway view, or something more than that?
Abandoned service areas. Only original service area buildings still standing.
If it wasn't for the damn toll, I'd suggest returning to the west side of the Hudson via the Castleton Bridge and Singerlands Bypass (which will be just about done) by way of NY 396, Albany CR 55, and NY 32 with a stop at the abandoned bridge over the rail yard.
Good ideas. Perhaps I'll have two options for the tour - one the way it is now, featuring the view of Albany from US 9/20, and one with the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge and the rail bridge.
FYI, my planned drive from the pre-meet location at the Albany County rail trail (to view the US 9W and Thruway bridges over the Normans Kill) to the restaurant utilizes both the Delmar Bypass and the Slingerlands Bypass.
The planned place to leave the cars is the Latham Farms parking lot near Home Depot. Hopefully they don't care (I could have sworn this was a CDTA park and ride site, but I can't find it on their website).
Quote from: vdeane on June 13, 2016, 06:33:51 PM
The planned place to leave the cars is the Latham Farms parking lot near Home Depot. Hopefully they don't care (I could have sworn this was a CDTA park and ride site, but I can't find it on their website).
There's one behind Nemer Volkswagen that is designated. Granted, I think the Latham Farms parking lot might be fine (especially if we park near the former Walmart if that space is still empty). We could also use the Exit 8 lot, which is basically on the route.
The Volkswagen one is small but doesn't look like it's used much. Exit 8 is probably a bit out of the way for the car location.
I noticed some construction at the former WalMart. Not sure how much of that lot they commandeered. What's interesting is that this sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7515391,-73.7660162,3a,20.8y,348.09h,85.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHZ05GfvNPNtVi1ZAIDLW9Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) exists on NY 7 (as do two on US 9) and there's a decent sized bus station in the middle.
So, thinking about the parking, I can see three options:
-Option A: Latham Farms near the bus stops; I could have sworn there was once a CDTA park and ride here, though it's no longer on the website; park and ride signs still on NY 7 WB and US 9 SB, but it looks more like the rest of the Home Depot lot than anything else (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7551006,-73.7625639,3a,75y,87.65h,74.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTKH0C8CJWTlAwitutzVfcw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656))
-Option B: Market Bistro/Hobby Lobby plaza back lot on Hobby Lobby side; looks decently out of the way, and would put Latham Circle on the ride over from the restaurant (and at the beginning/ending of the tour) instead of as an awkward addendum; never a park and ride to my recollection, but there's a sign on US 9 NB (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7547852,-73.7577364,3a,75y,292.38h,72.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJOMqap_E8XyL8Mz5P0qVFQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656))
-Option C: official CDTA park and ride on Herbert Drive; officially sanctioned (on website), but little/no signage, small (but not used much), and kinda sketchy (including a couple shopping carts that are just left there for no reason) (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7496919,-73.7642709,3a,69.3y,302.12h,81.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shhZcPaaMZYkaNxw1fftBEg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DhhZcPaaMZYkaNxw1fftBEg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D232.53647%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656))
Let me know which is preferred and I'll use that when typing up the tour notes.
Quote from: vdeane on July 08, 2016, 01:09:19 PM
So, thinking about the parking, I can see three options:
-Option A: Latham Farms near the bus stops; I could have sworn there was once a CDTA park and ride here, though it's no longer on the website; park and ride signs still on NY 7 WB and US 9 SB, but it looks more like the rest of the Home Depot lot than anything else (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7551006,-73.7625639,3a,75y,87.65h,74.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTKH0C8CJWTlAwitutzVfcw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656))
-Option B: Market Bistro/Hobby Lobby plaza back lot on Hobby Lobby side; looks decently out of the way, and would put Latham Circle on the ride over from the restaurant (and at the beginning/ending of the tour) instead of as an awkward addendum; never a park and ride to my recollection, but there's a sign on US 9 NB (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7547852,-73.7577364,3a,75y,292.38h,72.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJOMqap_E8XyL8Mz5P0qVFQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656))
-Option C: official CDTA park and ride on Herbert Drive; officially sanctioned (on website), but little/no signage, small (but not used much), and kinda sketchy (including a couple shopping carts that are just left there for no reason) (link (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7496919,-73.7642709,3a,69.3y,302.12h,81.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shhZcPaaMZYkaNxw1fftBEg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DhhZcPaaMZYkaNxw1fftBEg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D232.53647%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656))
Let me know which is preferred and I'll use that when typing up the tour notes.
There is also a new walmart down the street - and walmart is often friendly to longer-term parking. I left a car overnight on walmart lot without an issue, customer service lady just said "oh, sure" .. Although a dead battery and receipt for replacement I just bought in same store could help.
Or option D: Official park and ride at the former K-Mart on Route 2 next to Cumberland Farms and Stewart's. We could get Latham Circle on the way from the restaurant and a great view of the NY 7 expressway from the Miller Rd overpass heading to the first stop. The Walmart at Latham Circle is another good option.
Dick's/Field and Stream is going in where the old Walmart was at Latham Farms. I don't know how busy it'll be.
If anybody wants a good photo opportunity of NY 7, I-787, and the Troy/Albany skylines from the Troy side, I have card access to just about every building at RPI and a couple have great views. From having a class in a room that had a clear view of everything north of the Green Island Bridge, I can say that it is quite mesmerizing. The library has a relatively unobstructed view of everything from south of the Corning Tower to north of Waterford.
If I had after-hours access to the building, we could also see a real-life NYSDOT cubicle farm in NYSDOT's MO.
Sadly, I do not.
I'm debating about whether to have the end of the tour drive over the Castleton-on-Hudson bridge and then take I-787 north. This would eliminate the U turn to get I-787 after the South Mall Arterial. Note that NY 85 is covered in my planned drive from the pre-meet to the restaurant.
Tour notes online!
http://www.nysroads.com/files/cap16.pdf
Looks good. The biggest issue I see (unfortunately unavoidable due to interchange geometry at Northern Blvd without a detour past Siena) is the turn at US 9/NY 378. Depending on attendance, it might take quite a while to get everyone through there as traffic coming off of CR 154 tends to be heavy and there's no protected phase.
An addition to the pre-meet if there's time: there's another bridge just past the Thruway carrying the bike path over Normans Kill. From a bridge nerd perspective, it's the coolest of the 3.
With just less then 3 weeks left to go, I am afraid Steph and I are going to have to back out. My 25 year class reunion decided to fall on this date and since we will be in central PA already we choose this instead, hope you all have fun and will be there in spirit.
Quote from: cl94 on September 05, 2016, 09:25:31 PM
Looks good. The biggest issue I see (unfortunately unavoidable due to interchange geometry at Northern Blvd without a detour past Siena) is the turn at US 9/NY 378. Depending on attendance, it might take quite a while to get everyone through there as traffic coming off of CR 154 tends to be heavy and there's no protected phase.
An addition to the pre-meet if there's time: there's another bridge just past the Thruway carrying the bike path over Normans Kill. From a bridge nerd perspective, it's the coolest of the 3.
Nice. I would think there would be time to walk over, assuming people can talk and walk at the same time.
What's great about this area is that there are so many hidden things related to transportation. We could probably spend days driving around looking at unique bridges, abandoned canals, neat engineering and the like. Depending on what people want to see after the meet if they have time, I know of a million places to send people within an hour's drive.
I will mention this now: if you have a couple hours after the meet and want to see something really unique, the Hadley Bow Bridge (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3134198,-73.8445508,3a,75y,325.57h,92.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sT7GpPpubGevQfs7xvrPVuw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DT7GpPpubGevQfs7xvrPVuw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D281.35638%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656) is the only bridge of its kind left in the world. When I was little, it was open only to pedestrians and the county did a really good job restoring it for vehicular traffic.
It's too bad NY 85 isn't on the tour, since you would see how Region 1 put up that APL with an option lane in the middle when, due to the construction zone, it's actually an exit only lane.
Just two weeks to go! I'd like everyone who's going to let me know in the next week (if you haven't already) so I can make the reservation for the diner. Also let me know if you're going to the pre-meet so I know who to expect there (will be posting this to Facebook later).
I'll be at the pre-meet. Not like I have far to drive. Already RSVPed on Facebook.
Quote from: vdeane on September 10, 2016, 02:44:59 PM
Just two weeks to go! I'd like everyone who's going to let me know in the next week (if you haven't already) so I can make the reservation for the diner. Also let me know if you're going to the pre-meet so I know who to expect there (will be posting this to Facebook later).
I'm still TBD for the moment. I would very much like to come, but it's likely that I'll have a family thing that will conflict.
This might seem self-explanatory, but everyone who plans on driving the meet route should probably have an E-ZPass. The cash lanes at the Exit 23 tolls can get quite backed up and B1 often only has 1 person handing out tickets.
As of now, I am planning to come and will try to get to the pre-meet. I will be traveling from the Boston area that morning, so this is traffic permitting.
As posted on Facebook, the restaurant doesn't do reservations on weekends. I'll be calling them before we leave the pre-meet to give them a heads up so they can prepare for the group.
I'll try and get up to Halfmoon this week and make sure the state name shields are still there. Would be a shame to try and drive by only for them to be gone.
They were there when I went to NYSDOT's summer picnic last month.
Quote from: vdeane on September 19, 2016, 12:49:21 PM
They were there when I went to NYSDOT's summer picnic last month.
Yeah, they're not going anywhere. I think they'll fade into oblivion before they're taken down.
Thanks to vdeane for hosting this meet. I had a great time and certainly saw a couple things I have never seen up close, even though I've lived here for much of my life.
Meet photo is on the Facebook event already; I'll post it here once I get the meet report on my site.
Meet report is online. http://www.nysroads.com/cap16.php
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nysroads.com%2Fimages%2Fmeets%2Fcap16%2F101_4787.JPG&hash=6e87e99ef682e2ce841aae532e322e4d01bd3614)
Left to right: Valerie Deane, Mark David Moore, Robert H. Malme, Christopher Jordan, Josh Schmid, Kevkev's Dad, Kevkev Bee, Mark Sinsabaugh; not pictured: David Roth
Quote from: vdeane on October 02, 2016, 12:07:59 AM
Meet report is online. http://www.nysroads.com/cap16.php
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nysroads.com%2Fimages%2Fmeets%2Fcap16%2F101_4787.JPG&hash=6e87e99ef682e2ce841aae532e322e4d01bd3614)
Left to right: Valerie Deane, Mark David Moore, Robert H. Malme, Christopher Jordan, Josh Schmid, Kevkev's Dad, Kevkev Bee, Mark Sinsabaugh; not pictured: David Roth
The Send Help sign is back? How did that happen?
Quote from: dgolub on October 02, 2016, 10:28:32 AM
Quote from: vdeane on October 02, 2016, 12:07:59 AM
Meet report is online. http://www.nysroads.com/cap16.php
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nysroads.com%2Fimages%2Fmeets%2Fcap16%2F101_4787.JPG&hash=6e87e99ef682e2ce841aae532e322e4d01bd3614)
Left to right: Valerie Deane, Mark David Moore, Robert H. Malme, Christopher Jordan, Josh Schmid, Kevkev's Dad, Kevkev Bee, Mark Sinsabaugh; not pictured: David Roth
The Send Help sign is back? How did that happen?
It happened in Central PA, may as well happen here. now I'm gonna have to go Scrooge McDuck for my own "Send Help" sign.
Reports of the end of the Send Help sign have been greatly exaggerated; judging by the meet photos, it's only really gone on meets where attendance is dominated by the core contingent living along the Northeast Corridor.
Quote from: vdeane on October 02, 2016, 05:29:27 PM
Reports of the end of the Send Help sign have been greatly exaggerated; judging by the meet photos, it's only really gone on meets where attendance is dominated by the core contingent living along the Northeast Corridor.
It will be in attendance at Alabama this weekend -- that is, if I don't forget it in my car at Target when we meet there and then carpool to the restaurant.
Quote from: hbelkins on October 02, 2016, 07:28:17 PM
Quote from: vdeane on October 02, 2016, 05:29:27 PM
Reports of the end of the Send Help sign have been greatly exaggerated; judging by the meet photos, it's only really gone on meets where attendance is dominated by the core contingent living along the Northeast Corridor.
It will be in attendance at Alabama this weekend -- that is, if I don't forget it in my car at Target when we meet there and then carpool to the restaurant.
You answered the question I was about to ask