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#91

General Highway Talk / Re: Scariest Road Elements (no...

Last post by Dirt Roads - Today at 12:48:06 PM

Is fog line a standard term everywhere or just here?

First to admit I had never heard the term.

In the Chemical Valley of West Virginia, we used the term "fogbank".  As previously described in M.T.R (and perhaps here in AARoads), there was a tendency to have extremely thick fog hanging over both the Ohio River and the Kanawha River on many clear days in the early Spring and the late Fall.  Sometimes the fog seemed to stay right above the river up to its banks on both sides (hence the term "fogbank"); but othertimes the fog filled the entire valley between the hillsides.  Quite often, you could see over the top of the fogbank when driving westbound down from the Cross Lanes side east of the approach to the bridge looking over the 40th Street hollow towards the John Amos power plant.

For many years, the DOH had "Dense Fog" warning signs on I-64 in approach to the infamous "Green Bridge" (the old Donald Legg bridge) between the Nitro and St. Albans exits (now the new twin Donald Legg bridges).  Many folks made the mistake of not slowing down before entering "thie fogbank".  Visibility was never more than 50 feet and traffic always came down to about 20 MPH during rush hour, leading to oh-so-many crashes on the bridge. 

The shocker for everyone that I was when the big ethanol plant in South Point, Ohio (on the Ohio River kinda across from Kenova) shut down (in the late 1980s, IIRC).  The very next morning there was no fogbank along the Kanawha.  Nor the rest of Spring, nor the next Fall, nor the whole next year from what my folks said.  All of the old-timers in West Virginia always assumed that all forms of fog "came down from the mountain", meaning the clouds backed up against the tops of the Allegheny Mountains and then slid downhill on the west side (ergo, the Appalachian Plateau) into the gorge and the valleys and eventually pushed their way both downriver and up into the hollows.  Reading the tea leaves here, one has to suspect that the South Point ethanol plant was the primary cause of what we called "thie fogbank". 

Back to the power plant.  A lot of old-timers also thought that the smokestack and the cooling towers at John Amos were huge contributors to the fog issues along the Kanawha.  When the fogbank went away, they quit "thinking like that".  Many times I've seen low-hanging fog from the John Amos plant when there was no fog conditions elsewhere.  Just like any cloud, when the temperature and relative humidity bring it down to ground level "it's-uh gonna be a big ole' fog".  You can get a great view of this phenomenon from the same perspective described above.

By the way, the smokestack for the South Point ethanol plant was finally demolished in 2023.

#92

Pacific Southwest / Re: Massive CA-37 projects

Last post by Max Rockatansky - Today at 12:45:32 PM

How will they get this monstrosity proposal funded and built? Wouldn't upgrades to the existing roadway be less costly while still reducing congestion?

Even if the existing highway was widened it doesn't solve that sea level rise issue that the viaduct does.  FWIW, I've been on 37 when it has been flooding.  The highway kind of reminds me of something I'd see in the coastal swamps of Louisiana.

#93

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Gordie Howe Bridge (US-Can...

Last post by vdeane - Today at 12:42:17 PM

"Mr. Trump, tear down these barricades!" - Ronald Reagan, probably

#94

General Highway Talk / Re: Daily conversation: What ...

Last post by hotdogPi - Today at 12:40:03 PM

15 JUN 2026

Jackson County Route 2/18 is a small loop along WV 68 just north of Ravenswood, W. Va. Coming in at 0.32 miles (0.51 km), it is 0.9 miles longer than simply taking WV 68, and it is less improved, with just one lane of concrete. What can WVDOH do to make traffic take this route instead of WV 68?

All you need is three reflective dots on the ground to trick a self-driving car.

#95

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

Last post by Beltway - Today at 12:37:49 PM

What's a kernal?

It's how corn comes packaged by nature.
Or the central core of a computer operating system.
Pedantically, or is that nit-pickingly, it's spelled kernel.

Language is important. Next topic: Airplanes do not rest in hangers. 

They are parked indoors in hangars.

#96

General Highway Talk / Re: Daily conversation: What ...

Last post by JayhawkCO - Today at 12:36:05 PM

15 JUN 2026

Jackson County Route 2/18 is a small loop along WV 68 just north of Ravenswood, W. Va. Coming in at 0.32 miles (0.51 km), it is 0.9 miles longer than simply taking WV 68, and it is less improved, with just one lane of concrete. What can WVDOH do to make traffic take this route instead of WV 68?

Strippers.

#97

General Highway Talk / Re: Daily conversation: What ...

Last post by PColumbus73 - Today at 12:35:57 PM

15 JUN 2026

Jackson County Route 2/18 is a small loop along WV 68 just north of Ravenswood, W. Va. Coming in at 0.32 miles (0.51 km), it is 0.9 miles longer than simply taking WV 68, and it is less improved, with just one lane of concrete. What can WVDOH do to make traffic take this route instead of WV 68?

Utilize these signs to encourage travelers to use County Route 2/18 to bypass the congestion that is 1800 Ravenwood Rd / WV 68

#98

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: I-80 Rebuild in Illinois

Last post by Beltway - Today at 12:31:09 PM

So is there any plan to widen all of it to six lanes (3 each way) or more in Illinois?

Or does I-88 provide enough traffic relief to make that unnecessary?

#99

Mid-Atlantic / Re: West Virginia

Last post by Beltway - Today at 12:25:17 PM

Weathering steel is still very much in use, but the industry has gotten a lot smarter about where it actually works. The big shift over the last decade is that DOTs no longer treat it as a universal "low‑maintenance" solution. The recent FHWA and Canadian studies basically confirm what field engineers have known for years: weathering steel performs beautifully only when it can form a stable patina, and that depends entirely on environment and detailing. In dry or moderate‑moisture climates with good airflow and clean drainage, it's still a long‑life, low‑touch material.

Where it falls apart is in chloride exposure -- coastal zones, de‑icing spray, splash zones, and anywhere moisture gets trapped. In those conditions the patina never stabilizes, and corrosion rates look more like ordinary carbon steel. That's why so many states have backed away from using it for guardrails or low‑elevation components.

Newer high‑chromium weathering steels are better than the old Cor‑Ten formulations, but they still need the right exposure conditions. So the trend isn't abandonment -- it's selective use. DOTs are deploying weathering steel where the environment supports it and avoiding it where it doesn't.

#100

General Highway Talk / Re: Daily conversation: What ...

Last post by The_Ginger - Today at 12:23:57 PM

15 JUN 2026

Jackson County Route 2/18 is a small loop along WV 68 just north of Ravenswood, W. Va. Coming in at 0.32 miles (0.51 km), it is 0.9 miles longer than simply taking WV 68, and it is less improved, with just one lane of concrete. What can WVDOH do to make traffic take this route instead of WV 68?