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Iowa Notes

Started by paulthemapguy, March 23, 2018, 10:04:10 AM

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WhitePoleRD

Quote from: DandyDan on April 22, 2018, 04:31:53 AM
As far as local projects go, IA 122 is getting rebuilt in Mason City http://www.kimt.com/content/news/Iowa-DOT-reveal-Highway-122-project-478235423.html

Good. Last time I drove on that through downtown I needed an alignment.
You take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Iowa before ye.


Revive 755

Iowa is looking at closing a decent number of rest areas. Link to study webpage.

MNHighwayMan

As far as I'm concerned, they can close all those rest areas that are essentially parking only. I don't see the point of those.

rte66man

Quote from: Revive 755 on June 29, 2018, 09:24:43 PM
Iowa is looking at closing a decent number of rest areas. Link to study webpage.

Sorry to hear that but I understand how expensive they are to maintain.  Oklahoma closed the last in-state rest area on I40 east of Shawnee last year. This means the only rest areas with restrooms are at Erick on the west and Sallisaw on the east.  I'm somewhat surprised the rest areas just north of Davis on I35 are still open.  Only a matter of time until they too are gone.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

pianocello

So this happened:

http://www.kcci.com/article/uh-oh-construction-crews-must-redo-dollar23-million-project-after-big-mistake/22121540

Looks like the piers for the new flyover at the I-35/US 30 interchange in Ames will have to be redone, as it was discovered that they were not built to the right elevation, sometimes off by a few inches. It's unclear how much this delays the project, but I think as of now they're a couple weeks behind schedule.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

sparker

Quote from: pianocello on July 12, 2018, 06:43:50 PM
So this happened:

http://www.kcci.com/article/uh-oh-construction-crews-must-redo-dollar23-million-project-after-big-mistake/22121540

Looks like the piers for the new flyover at the I-35/US 30 interchange in Ames will have to be redone, as it was discovered that they were not built to the right elevation, sometimes off by a few inches. It's unclear how much this delays the project, but I think as of now they're a couple weeks behind schedule.

".....Let's see......was that measure twice and cut once or the other way around?"  At $5500/day for overage -- and if the fixes are taking as long as the piece says -- the current 2 weeks behind might stretch out to several times that -- and that contractor might even end up taking a loss on the project.  Someone's head will be rolling soon enough!

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: pianocello on July 12, 2018, 06:43:50 PM
So this happened:

http://www.kcci.com/article/uh-oh-construction-crews-must-redo-dollar23-million-project-after-big-mistake/22121540

Looks like the piers for the new flyover at the I-35/US 30 interchange in Ames will have to be redone, as it was discovered that they were not built to the right elevation, sometimes off by a few inches. It's unclear how much this delays the project, but I think as of now they're a couple weeks behind schedule.

Slightly off-topic but if you watch the video at the top of the article, I love the I-235 shield used as a table you can see at about 1:30.

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: rte66man on June 29, 2018, 10:15:35 PM
Quote from: Revive 755 on June 29, 2018, 09:24:43 PM
Iowa is looking at closing a decent number of rest areas. Link to study webpage.

Sorry to hear that but I understand how expensive they are to maintain.  Oklahoma closed the last in-state rest area on I40 east of Shawnee last year. This means the only rest areas with restrooms are at Erick on the west and Sallisaw on the east.  I'm somewhat surprised the rest areas just north of Davis on I35 are still open.  Only a matter of time until they too are gone.
That really sucks about Oklahoma rest stops as I was hoping they were going to maybe, just maybe, eventually redo the ones north of Waterloo and maybe add more along Oklahoma. Rest stops are very valuable and the general population won't have autonomous cars for at least a decade. Even then, the rest stops can be repurposed a bit and some people will always drive unless manual driving becomes illegal, you will still have the need for people to pull over. I know I am much more comfortable using rest areas and to me, more convenient, to use for restrooms and napping. If crime and vandalism are an issue, then hire a security guard. It's money well spent!

bugo

Self-driving cars might be in general use on the roads in 10 years, but the manual car isn't going anywhere any time soon. It will be at least 2050 before all cars on the road are autonomous.

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: bugo on July 12, 2018, 08:34:23 PM
Self-driving cars might be in general use on the roads in 10 years, but the manual car isn't going anywhere any time soon. It will be at least 2050 before all cars on the road are autonomous.
Agreed and that's what I was really trying to get at. My predictions are very liberal and the need for rest stops isn't going away anytime soon. I know OkDOT is in budget constraints, but I wish they'd increase the amount of rest stops and bring back old ones.

skluth

Quote from: bugo on July 12, 2018, 08:34:23 PM
Self-driving cars might be in general use on the roads in 10 years, but the manual car isn't going anywhere any time soon. It will be at least 2050 before all cars on the road are autonomous.

It will probably happen much sooner if general use happens in ten years. Manual cars will first be restricted from certain busier highways, much like bicycles and horses are prohibited from freeways. Then more densely populated states and states with a safety bias will outlaw use statewide except in some circumstances. The trucking industry may also force it in some places. It would not surprise me to see non-autonomous vehicles prohibited from all interstate highways, most metro areas, and most areas east of the Mississippi by 2035. National parks, airports, and military bases will probably also ban them at that point. Eventually, keeping a manual car becomes more a hobby to most people much like having a vehicle using leaded fuel. It's not much good driving your car if you can't go anywhere with people.

This could open up new tourism opportunities. People could rent a car to drive the wide-open highways of Montana and Nevada.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

rte66man

Quote from: Plutonic Panda on July 13, 2018, 01:39:57 AM
Quote from: bugo on July 12, 2018, 08:34:23 PM
Self-driving cars might be in general use on the roads in 10 years, but the manual car isn't going anywhere any time soon. It will be at least 2050 before all cars on the road are autonomous.
Agreed and that's what I was really trying to get at. My predictions are very liberal and the need for rest stops isn't going away anytime soon. I know OkDOT is in budget constraints, but I wish they'd increase the amount of rest stops and bring back old ones.

Politics will prevent that from ever happening. The businesses at each exit saw to that 50 years ago.  I don't see that changing.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

adt1982

I went to Omaha this weekend.  I noticed that, despite google maps saying that US 6 travels through Council Bluffs on Broadway it no longer does.  It is signed to follow I-29 south as you come off of I-480 then onto I-80 until it goes back to its original routing at exit 8.  This looks to be a recent change, I guess?

mvak36

#39
Quote from: adt1982 on July 17, 2018, 08:29:34 AM
I went to Omaha this weekend.  I noticed that, despite google maps saying that US 6 travels through Council Bluffs on Broadway it no longer does.  It is signed to follow I-29 south as you come off of I-480 then onto I-80 until it goes back to its original routing at exit 8.  This looks to be a recent change, I guess?

Yes. Iowa's request to change the routing is on Page 6 of this pdf. The full application is on page 87 of the pdf.
Counties: Counties visited
Travel Mapping: Summary

WhitePoleRD

Quote from: adt1982 on July 17, 2018, 08:29:34 AM
I went to Omaha this weekend.  I noticed that, despite google maps saying that US 6 travels through Council Bluffs on Broadway it no longer does.  It is signed to follow I-29 south as you come off of I-480 then onto I-80 until it goes back to its original routing at exit 8.  This looks to be a recent change, I guess?

Yeah.

Every time US 6 gets rerouted onto 80 I die a little.
You take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Iowa before ye.

Naked.Driver

#41
hi everyone from a fellow iowan!
sorry i failed to notice that posting in multiple colors was not allowed; i will try to fix my early messages to eliminate that.
anyway, you can see my counties and highways in the links in my sig.
i have maybe a dozen iowa highways left to clinch. almost all thereof are in the corners of the state, mostly nw and sw but a few ne. the only u. s. highway segment i have left to get in the state is 52 from ia-3 to ia-150.
hope to meet up with other road geeks in the future!
for my counties, see naked_driver on mob-rule.
highways are at my highways.
drive as i do!

Naked.Driver

Quote from: WhitePoleRD on July 29, 2018, 12:56:34 AM
Yeah.

Every time US 6 gets rerouted onto 80 I die a little.
that's so sad. will they designate the old route as historic? i hope so. (there is a part of historic 6 in polk county, ia, but i have yet to see it shown as such.)
u-6 used to run really close to my parents' house; then they rerouted it to turn north a ways west of it.
i found that there is some controversy as to whether 6 or 20 is the longest highway in the country. i m o, the part of 20 that goes through yellowstone park is uncountable because it has no highway number there. so 20 becomes a two-part road: the section from newport (101) to w. entrance, and the one from e. entrance to boston, and therefore 6 is longest.
in any event, we are blessed with four of the country's longest highways: 6, 20, 30 (including a lot of the lincoln highway), and i-80. of course we mustn't forget some of the longest n-s roads: 59, 67, and 77. finally, the diagonal 52 is in there somewhere.
enjoy the nations's roads!
for my counties, see naked_driver on mob-rule.
highways are at my highways.
drive as i do!

paulthemapguy

Seems to me that Council Bluffs is trying in every way they can to take over every roadway that goes through their city.  First IA-192 gets deleted, then this US6 stuff.  This is so the city can make alterations to the construction and administration of those roadways in whatever way they see fit.  I wish state DOT's wouldn't be so quick to yield to the demands of municipalities, though, because it can jeopardize the ability of a state to maintain the statewide network of highways necessary to facilitate intercity travel via car or freight truck.  I would hate to see Iowa become the next Indiana.
Avatar is the last interesting highway I clinched.
My website! http://www.paulacrossamerica.com Now featuring all of Ohio!
My USA Shield Gallery https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHwJRZk
TM Clinches https://bit.ly/2UwRs4O

National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

TheHighwayMan3561

#44
States are probably likely to say "here, have it, it's all yours"  in today's cash strapped day and age. I see it differently though; if the road is truly better suited at the city/county level rather than the state level I have no problem with states turning all of those over that they see fit.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

pianocello

Quote from: Naked.Driver on September 03, 2018, 08:26:27 PM
Quote from: WhitePoleRD on July 29, 2018, 12:56:34 AM
Yeah.

Every time US 6 gets rerouted onto 80 I die a little.
that's so sad. will they designate the old route as historic? i hope so. (there is a part of historic 6 in polk county, ia, but i have yet to see it shown as such.)

I'd be surprised if they didn't. Not sure if it's the DOT or a private organization, but they've been pretty good lately about signing other historic segments of US 6 in Iowa.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

WhitePoleRD

Quote from: pianocello on September 04, 2018, 06:57:56 PM


I'd be surprised if they didn't. Not sure if it's the DOT or a private organization, but they've been pretty good lately about signing other historic segments of US 6 in Iowa.

I believe it's a private organization. They've signed in Eastern Iowa around Iowa City to Mitchellville and in Western Iowa from Adel to Oakland I believe.

A similar effort is happening along Highway 20- likely because of the four-laning across the state.
You take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Iowa before ye.

mgk920

Quote from: WhitePoleRD on September 28, 2018, 01:11:10 PM
Quote from: pianocello on September 04, 2018, 06:57:56 PM


I'd be surprised if they didn't. Not sure if it's the DOT or a private organization, but they've been pretty good lately about signing other historic segments of US 6 in Iowa.

I believe it's a private organization. They've signed in Eastern Iowa around Iowa City to Mitchellville and in Western Iowa from Adel to Oakland I believe.

A similar effort is happening along Highway 20- likely because of the four-laning across the state.

How are the efforts to mark the historic Lincoln Highway routing(s) going (it roughly followed modern-day US 30 across the state)?

Mike

pianocello

Quote from: mgk920 on September 29, 2018, 10:17:45 AM
How are the efforts to mark the historic Lincoln Highway routing(s) going (it roughly followed modern-day US 30 across the state)?

Mike

It's one of Iowa's historic byways, which are signed by the DOT. I've driven it from Cedar Rapids to Boone over the course of last year, and there were no signing issues.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

WhitePoleRD

Speaking of Iowa's Historic byways, White Pole Road was recently added to the signed byway list. The road (and my avatar's origin) is 26 miles long and goes from Dexter (Exit 100 on I-80) to Adair (Exit 76). This stretch of road was part of US 6 and, more recently, most of IA 925 (until 2003). If you're familiar with the Jesse James train robbery, that happened in Stuart, which is the largest town on the road (clocking in at a whopping 1600).

When Adair-Casey began talks of whole-grade sharing, I was kind of hoping they would combine with West Central Valley (Stuart-Menlo/Dexter-Redfield) and call it White Pole CSD. But AC/GC being the Chargers is also pretty great.
You take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Iowa before ye.



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