Let's do it.
Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/515404668537952/. I have invited a few people who showed an interest in attending, but it's a public event so anyone can add themselves.
Meet time to be determined, but probably will be 11:30 a.m. EDT. The tour itinerary will be forthcoming. I have the lunch location set for Reno's Roadhouse in Coal Run Village, Ky., which is an incorporated municipality adjacent to Pikeville. Reno's is a regional steakhouse chain and is where we ate at the 2005 Pikeville US 119 meet.
RSVP here, on the Facebook page, or at rsvp@millenniumhwy.net. I'll also have a meet page with more info and the itinerary set up on Millennium Highway in a week or so, which is where updates will be posted.
Hope to see a few of you there!
YAYYYY!!! (ow.)
I am SUPER excited for this meet. Mike and I will probably stay near Blacksburg, VA on Friday night and drive the rest of the way in that morning.
I have a route that seems to work, so it's a question of how insane I want to be the weekend before I fly away for three weeks.
EDIT: Apparently, I like being insane. I'm in.
Cool. Since you're coming from Raleigh, I'd recommend taking I-40, US 52 and I-74 to I-77, then take it north to I-81, then I-81 south to Abingdon. Take Alt. US 58 west to Norton, then US 23 north. Should take you about 5 1/2 hours. I've driven from home to the Raleigh area in about 7 hours with minimal stops, and Jenkins (the point at which I would have to turn off US 23) is about a half-hour from Pikeville and about an hour and 45 minutes from my home.
For those who might be looking at lodging in the area, you might want to book soon and explore options since the third week of October is usually peak fall foliage season in this region. Pikeville has a Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn Express. There is also the Landmark Inn, a venerable local establishment, and the Brookshire Inn (a former Super 8). There are two local establishments, Daniel Boone Inn and Riverside Inn, neither of which I know much about but I would be wary of. There's a Comfort Inn in Grundy, a Super 8 and Comfort Suites and another Brookshire Inn (former Microtel) in Prestonsburg, and state park lodging at Breaks Interstate Park and Jenny Wiley State Resort Park.
Farther away, there is a really nice Ramada in Paintsville.
Already got my room booked ;-)
Quote from: hbelkins on September 10, 2013, 09:17:38 AM
Cool. Since you're coming from Raleigh, I'd recommend taking I-40, US 52 and I-74 to I-77, then take it north to I-81, then I-81 south to Abingdon. Take Alt. US 58 west to Norton, then US 23 north. Should take you about 5 1/2 hours. I've driven from home to the Raleigh area in about 7 hours with minimal stops, and Jenkins (the point at which I would have to turn off US 23) is about a half-hour from Pikeville and about an hour and 45 minutes from my home.
That is my basic route up, except I'm taking US 64 over to I-77 for some added mileage, clinching US 52 in VA over the course of the morning and evening, and on the way back, grabbing some more US 52 mileage heading southeast from US 119 (side benefit of clinching 119 in WV).
Why are you leaving from Raleigh, if I may ask?
Quote from: hbelkins on September 10, 2013, 10:12:02 PM
Why are you leaving from Raleigh, if I may ask?
A) Get a lot more new mileage done that way
B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")
Quote from: Steve on September 11, 2013, 01:10:39 AM
B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")
So are you going to bring their dad with you that day? He's down as a "maybe."
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 11:32:12 AM
Quote from: Steve on September 11, 2013, 01:10:39 AM
B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")
So are you going to bring their dad with you that day? He's down as a "maybe."
Doubtful, but he may make a gametime decision to join me.
Went back to the area today and have added a couple of stops to the meet tour. There is one spot where we can actually drive on the road and an under-construction bridge because it's being used as a detour into a "holler" that is otherwise cut off by the new road. Also, Google has updated its aerial imagery and that revealed a set of bridges near Elkhorn City that I didn't know had been built.
Forgot to mention one other lodging possibility in the area, that being the Heritage House Hotel in Prestonsburg, which was originally a Holiday Inn. (They still call that stretch of US 23 "Holiday Inn Hill.") Also, there is a motel just inside the Virginia state line on VA 80, Gateway Motel.
And for those who may want to sample some regional soft drinks, the Shell Double Kwik on US 23 near the north end of the six-lane stretch sells both Ale-8 and Cheerwine. I doubt I'll bring Ale-8 for everyone like I did in Ashland, but the knowledge that it can be bought in Pikeville makes me feel a little better about that decision.
Already mentioned on Facebook, but I will be there.
Mmm, Ale-8. Makes me wish I didn't have such a full plate this fall.
I'm leaning towards going, but I'm still a maybe. Hopefully I won't have too much going on with school that weekend.
I have a three-day weekend then, so there's a good chance I'll be able to go! ;-)
Mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe. Long drive, might carpool with Janko and another good friend of mine. Let's say 20% for now. (By now, most of you know that 33% and above means "Attending").
If you guys who are saying "maybe" don't care, go over to the Facebook event page and identify yourselves as "maybe" so I can begin taking stock of what kind of crowd we'll have. I've given a bit of thought to changing the lunch location but I'm not sure how big of a crowd the place I'm thinking about could handle.
74/171 -- I've always thought a meet in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area would be cool, especially if we could get on the Smart Road. Plus, last I heard, Michael Summa was living in that area and it would be great to meet him.
If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.
Quote from: Steve on September 16, 2013, 09:18:52 PM
If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.
That would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME. (Although a Blacksburg meet and going on the Smart Road would still be cool).
It's been a long while since I corresponded with him, but I seem to remember that he had some health issues at one time. There won't be a lot of strenuous walking at this meet unless people want to scramble up or down hillsides for photography purposes.
QuoteThat would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME
That could be argued. Call me biased, but I'd say my dropping in unannounced on the 2008 Raleigh meet is more epic. Or the SEPA (or was it Baltimore?) meet where there were over 30 people in attendence.
I was there for both of them and I remember your entrance at Raleigh. (it was the SEPA event where we had so many people and they couldn't figure out how to split the check after we'd been rooted out of the room that Jeff had reserved).
I'll have to see on the Blacksburg meet idea. Right now I can't make any promises since it is my senior year.
Also I'm leaning towards coming, but I would not be staying overnight either. I will probably be closing at work the night before, and I want to make sure I get some homework done Sunday.
Quote from: froggie on September 17, 2013, 12:15:44 PM
QuoteThat would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME
That could be argued. Call me biased, but I'd say my dropping in unannounced on the 2008 Raleigh meet is more epic. Or the SEPA (or was it Baltimore?) meet where there were over 30 people in attendence.
Steve Alpert's road meet in Baltimore back in April 2010 was by far the biggest turn out for a road meet that I know of (30 people) That was a blast!! :-)
Quote from: Steve on September 16, 2013, 09:18:52 PM
If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.
I know you said to let you know in an email, but since it relates to my question, I'm going to say it here. Mike and I plan to stay in Blacksburg Friday night. We will be driving back up the I-81 corridor.
Here's the thing: we were going to clinch a bunch of counties in south west Virginia after the meet. Firstly, for anyone who knows the area, is it reasonable to clinch the following in the following timetable?
Saturday morning (before the meet): Bland, Tazewell, Russell (out-and-back), Buchanan
Saturday evening (after the meet): Dickenson, Wise, Norton, Lee, Scott.
Staying Saturday night in or near Bristol.
I can't figure out the best way to clinch Dickenson and to enter Wise...
Anyway, relating to Michael Summa...if it turned out that Mike and I were his only way to and from the meet...we'd be happy to leave some counties behind in order to give him a ride.
Laura, thanks for the offer! I've passed it along and I'll see what he says. I know several people would like to meet him.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on September 17, 2013, 10:56:14 PM
Quote from: Steve on September 16, 2013, 09:18:52 PM
If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.
I know you said to let you know in an email, but since it relates to my question, I'm going to say it here. Mike and I plan to stay in Blacksburg Friday night. We will be driving back up the I-81 corridor.
Here's the thing: we were going to clinch a bunch of counties in south west Virginia after the meet. Firstly, for anyone who knows the area, is it reasonable to clinch the following in the following timetable?
Saturday morning (before the meet): Bland, Tazewell, Russell (out-and-back), Buchanan
Saturday evening (after the meet): Dickenson, Wise, Norton, Lee, Scott.
Staying Saturday night in or near Bristol.
I can't figure out the best way to clinch Dickenson and to enter Wise...
Anyway, relating to Michael Summa...if it turned out that Mike and I were his only way to and from the meet...we'd be happy to leave some counties behind in order to give him a ride.
I live in Blacksburg so I could give him a ride as well. Actually I just realized that Virginia Tech's Fall Break was October 18th. That raises my chances of going to about 90%.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on September 17, 2013, 10:56:14 PM
Saturday morning (before the meet): Bland, Tazewell, Russell (out-and-back), Buchanan
Saturday evening (after the meet): Dickenson, Wise, Norton, Lee, Scott.
Staying Saturday night in or near Bristol.
I can't figure out the best way to clinch Dickenson and to enter Wise...
The meet tour gets both Dickenson and Buchanan counties, so you will already have Dickenson by virtue of attending the meet. No need to make a special trip to get it.
VA 80 straddles the Dickenson/Buchanan county line and enters Dickenson completely near where we will be turning off VA 80 onto Secondary 609 at Breaks, then 609 enters Buchanan.
If you're staying in Bristol, you can get Wise by taking US 23 south out of Pikeville on your way back as a straight shot. But it looks like that's what you already have planned.
Best route to Bristol is to stay on 23 all the way through Virginia, then go straight on TN 36 where US 23 splits off to the right at the state line, and then north on US 11W. It's a better route than taking US 58/421, and faster too even though it's a little longer mileage-wise.
The restaurant is also only about 5 miles down the road from Floyd County, KY. Easy side trip to nab that.
Two things need to be brought to this meet by someone:
- A "Send Help" sign. I can't find mine. I may have lost it when I had to switch vehicles to a rental while in Missouri headed for Kansas.
- A tripod for the group photo. I broke mine the other day.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 23, 2013, 09:52:19 PM
Two things need to be brought to this meet by someone:
- A "Send Help" sign. I can't find mine. I may have lost it when I had to switch vehicles to a rental while in Missouri headed for Kansas.
- A tripod for the group photo. I broke mine the other day.
1. Is hardly that important. I know it's a tradition, but we have had other traditions come and go. That said, I'll see if I remember to pack it for my flight. I might.
2. I have a tripod. Except it's 4" tall (insert jokes now).
Since my send help sign resides in my car, it will be available for usage.
We have nine RSVPs on the Facebook event page (plus Mike Pruett) for a total of 10 attendees so far. I've had no RSVPs from other sources. I will be getting in touch with the restaurant to find out when they will need a firm count to accommodate us, and then will set the "drop-dead" RSVP date. I had previously said Thursday, Oct. 17, and I expect that will hold up, but just wanted to put this on the radar screen of anyone who's a "maybe." If you're like me and don't like to say "yes" to attending Facebook events, then you can email rsvp@millenniumhwy.net to let me know you're coming.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 30, 2013, 11:31:05 AM
We have nine RSVPs on the Facebook event page (plus Mike Pruett) for a total of 10 attendees so far. I've had no RSVPs from other sources. I will be getting in touch with the restaurant to find out when they will need a firm count to accommodate us, and then will set the "drop-dead" RSVP date. I had previously said Thursday, Oct. 17, and I expect that will hold up, but just wanted to put this on the radar screen of anyone who's a "maybe." If you're like me and don't like to say "yes" to attending Facebook events, then you can email rsvp@millenniumhwy.net to let me know you're coming.
Haven't heard from Michael Summa in a few days, I'm horrendously busy so I'll probably forget to check back in but he hasn't said no yet.
Hopefully, whomever chauffeurs him will let us know whether he'll be coming or not. I don't foresee an issue if we have one or two more than we're expecting. I've crashed a meet before without it causing a problem.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 30, 2013, 10:10:33 PM
Hopefully, whomever chauffeurs him will let us know whether he'll be coming or not. I don't foresee an issue if we have one or two more than we're expecting. I've crashed a meet before without it causing a problem.
Edit: He is highly likely to come with a +1.
Quote from: Steve on October 01, 2013, 12:45:28 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on September 30, 2013, 10:10:33 PM
Hopefully, whomever chauffeurs him will let us know whether he'll be coming or not. I don't foresee an issue if we have one or two more than we're expecting. I've crashed a meet before without it causing a problem.
Edit: He is highly likely to come with a +1.
Does he still need a ride?
AAAGH, if only I didn't have to work that weekend. :(
Michael Summa is coming. Just got the email from him. He and his lady friend are coming and he is driving himself.
QuoteAAAGH, if only I didn't have to work that weekend.
Don't feel bad. I'm still in the middle of the ocean blue...
As I said on the Facebook event,
if I attend one more meet in 2013, it will be this one. But that's a big if.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on September 17, 2013, 10:56:14 PM
Here's the thing: we were going to clinch a bunch of counties in south west Virginia after the meet. Firstly, for anyone who knows the area, is it reasonable to clinch the following in the following timetable?
Saturday morning (before the meet): Bland, Tazewell, Russell (out-and-back), Buchanan
Saturday evening (after the meet): Dickenson, Wise, Norton, Lee, Scott.
Staying Saturday night in or near Bristol.
I want to take care of a few counties too - southwestern WV is more of a priority - but I'm
also missing Tazewell, Lee, and Scott. Maybe a few of us should get together for a post-meet tour, like with Ashland?
Quote from: froggie on October 02, 2013, 01:32:25 AM
QuoteAAAGH, if only I didn't have to work that weekend.
Don't feel bad. I'm still in the middle of the ocean blue...
If you want to come this way after you get back from #LifeAtSea, I'd be glad to meet you and take you to some of the tour sites.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 08, 2013, 11:34:26 PM
Let's do it.
Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/515404668537952/. I have invited a few people who showed an interest in attending, but it's a public event so anyone can add themselves.
Meet time to be determined, but probably will be 11:30 a.m. EDT. The tour itinerary will be forthcoming. I have the lunch location set for Reno's Roadhouse in Coal Run Village, Ky., which is an incorporated municipality adjacent to Pikeville. Reno's is a regional steakhouse chain and is where we ate at the 2005 Pikeville US 119 meet.
RSVP here, on the Facebook page, or at rsvp@millenniumhwy.net. I'll also have a meet page with more info and the itinerary set up on Millennium Highway in a week or so, which is where updates will be posted.
Hope to see a few of you there!
No can do. Got a show that weekend.
I am now a definent yes, Steph is now 50/50 because of work, I should know for sure at the Cincinatti road meet if it's just me or me and Steph coming.
Meet itinerary is up at http://www.millenniumhwy.net/Pikeville_meet_itinerary.pdf
Here are a couple of map links that will allow you to take a look at the area to be covered:
http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/resources/state_map/12-vamap06.pdf
http://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/SPRS%20Maps/Pike.pdf
The road that will take us from Greasy Creek to Wolfpit Branch isn't shown on Google Maps, but it is on Bing Maps. I may try to get a tour itinerary mapped out on Bing and post a link to it, but if I don't, the Pike County map will show the county road we'll be using.
I'm officially out. :no: Sorry everyone.
I'm also officially out. Not like there was any chance to begin with, but I'll be headed the opposite way on friday :-(
As much as I'd like to, to see how I can improve on this weekend, I can't. Scheduled to work at a half marathon the morning of the 19th and have no idea when I will be done.
I'm officially out too. :-(
This is depressing. If everyone in the forum not attending posted to the meet, it would never happen.
not it
Quote from: Steve on October 07, 2013, 08:21:01 PM
This is depressing. If everyone in the forum not attending posted to the meet, it would never happen.
We have around 14 now, give or take a couple. That reminds me; I need to call Reno's and see when they need a reasonably firm head count.
I called the restaurant. They should be able to accommodate the expected size of our group without a problem. So I would like to have firm RSVP's from those of you who plan to attend by noon on Thursday, Oct. 17.
Preferred methods of RSVPing are on the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/515404668537952/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming or by email to rsvp@millenniumhwy.net. You can also RSVP here if you prefer.
I am still in, Steph is 50/ 50 and Cody G may come with me but I still have to get a definent answer on that. I am looking forward to this, never been to a road meet this far east in to KY and has been about 5 years since I have been in the Pikeville area and Grundy, VA :-)
If anyone wants a sneak peek at some of the attractions on the tour, here's a new Flickr set of photos I took during scouting trips.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/sets/72157636361735366/
It's official, Steph can't make it but Cody and I will be car pooling to the meet on Friday and checking out some construction projects along the way in TN and southern KY :-)
Going to bring him up US 127 in Clinton County? Seems like I heard that a new section of the Albany bypass was going to open sometime in the near future.
HB- That is what I was planning, plus checking out the TN 141 (Hartsville Pike) construction just northeast of my house and some TN 52 4 widening east of Celina, TN
The full length of the US 127 Albany bypass opened last Monday, and another new stretch of 127 between Albany and the Tennessee state line is supposed to open next Monday. The entire stretch from the state line to Albany is supposed to be done by Nov. 30. They will have made great progress since I drove that way to Chattanooga in July, but it's easier to get the grade complete when you don't have all the mountains to blast through like they do up here.
My counterpart in the Somerset office is going to post a notice to Facebook tomorrow and I will post the link when she does.
In other news, I located my wayward "Send Help" sign. I had misplaced it when I did the vehicle transfer after my breakdown on the way to Kansas, but I found it this week. I still need someone with a tripod to bring it to Pikeville for the group photo, since I broke both of my tripods and don't want to bring the one from work.
Sorry guys, no tripod, I will see if Cody has one.
I posted the Facebook link to my page. The through movement is now going to be TN 111 to US 127, and I will be very curious to see how that short new section of TN 111 is signed and inventoried in Kentucky.
Had two people drop out so the head count is now 13. Hope the weather is as good as it has been this week. Supposed to get some rain in this area the middle part of next week, so I also hope that doesn't destroy the fall foliage.
We're now at 14 15, 16, including myself, and the weather is supposed to be pretty with a high in the 60s. If anyone's still on the fence about coming, please let me know by Thursday afternoon so I can let the restaurant know on Friday how many to expect. I will be getting in touch with everyone privately with my contact info.
Just to let everyone know, we are dealing with a sick elderly dog and I don't know what this week will bring. She wouldn't eat Saturday, but she did eat last night. I have no plans to cancel the meet. I would ask everyone to download and print a copy of the meet itinerary in case something happens Friday night or Saturday morning that requires my attention.
Also, we need to be thinking about the tour arrangements. I will be driving my truck and can take one other person with me. If you think there's a possibility you'll be driving on the tour, please have enough gas in your tank to do a tour of approximately 140 miles. There are gas stations along the way, and gas will probably be cheaper in Grundy than in Pikeville, but it would probably be a good idea for the drivers to have plenty of fuel to eliminate any unnecessary stops along the route.
I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.
Quote from: Steve on October 14, 2013, 06:33:16 PM
I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.
What route do you have chosen to get from NC to Pikeville?
Quote from: hbelkins on October 14, 2013, 11:20:29 PM
Quote from: Steve on October 14, 2013, 06:33:16 PM
I'm leaving NC at 5 AM and my itinerary says I'll be in Pikeville at noon. I'm hoping to pick up some time on that and get in closer to 11:30, but it's also possible I hit a slow truck somewhere and end up delayed. Eat without me if need be. I'll make it sooner or later.
Also, I have an equally long drive back, so I'm hoping to peel off at 5 PM.
What route do you have chosen to get from NC to Pikeville?
I-40, US 52, US 119.
How much of 52? All the way from where I-74 splits off near Mt. Airy to Williamson, or are you going to use I-74 and I-77 to get to Bluefield?
Final call for RSVPs.
Me and Cody! :-)
Quote from: hbelkins on October 15, 2013, 08:23:32 PM
How much of 52? All the way from where I-74 splits off near Mt. Airy to Williamson, or are you going to use I-74 and I-77 to get to Bluefield?
Already done 74, but in the interest of time I'm going to shoot up the freeway to Mt. Airy once again instead of following the old road that far.
I drove US 52 from downtown Hillsville north to where it rejoins I-77 south of the VA/WV state line. It's a pretty drive but you won't make very good time on it. And the route from Welch to Williamson is agonizing.
I'll be interested to know if US 52 is signed along the new WV 44 extension to the Coalfields Expressway, or if they still have it signed along the old road.
Quote from: hbelkins on October 17, 2013, 08:33:45 PM
I drove US 52 from downtown Hillsville north to where it rejoins I-77 south of the VA/WV state line. It's a pretty drive but you won't make very good time on it. And the route from Welch to Williamson is agonizing.
I'll be interested to know if US 52 is signed along the new WV 44 extension to the Coalfields Expressway, or if they still have it signed along the old road.
AFAIK it follows the old road for now. Remind me Saturday and I'll let you know what I saw.
The appearance of three goats on a hillside at one of the tour stops made this also an Alanland meet.
We had 16 attendees at Pikeville yesterday. Michael Summa showed off some of his handmade replica signs, two different types of button copy reflectors, and other goodies which were a big hit. Everyone arrived in time to eat and after lunch we got our caravan together for the meet tour. The weather was overcast and cool with occasional rain sprinkles.
First stop was the Pikeville Cut-Through Overlook at the top of Peach Orchard Mountain, where photos of the massive flood-control project that moved a river, a road and a railroad were taken.
Next we drove south on US 23, passed through the interchange where the new US 460 route will tie in, then doubled back on KY 122 (old US 23) to the existing US 460 route, then up KY 3226 (Greasy Creek Road) to see where a couple of new bridges are under construction, along with what will be a grade-separated interchange. While there, we took the group photo and saw the aforementioned goats on a hillside, bringing a little touch of Alanland to the Appalachian Mountains.
Then we trekked up a hill on Gardiner Fork Road and down the other side on Wolfpit Branch Road, passing by another grade-separated interchange, then on KY 195 in the Marrowbone community to where the new stretch of highway will temporarily end at a connector route. We stopped to get photos of the bridge piers where US 460 will pass over KY 195, then headed toward Elkhorn City.
Just outside of town, on KY 1373, we saw where two new bridges have been built and are waiting for a road. We drove up the blacktopped road that climbs the waste area for the project for a view above the finished bridges, then crossed the state line into Virginia.
The next stop was the spot where new US 460 will cross VA Secondary 610, and the bridges under construction there. These bridges are being built in the same manner as the new I-64 span over the Kanawha River in West Virginia. This is said to be the tallest bridge in Virginia when it's completed.
After that, we (well, most of us) followed VA Secondary 609 and US 460 to Grundy, passing under a new bridge for what will be a relocated VA 80 to provide access to Breaks Interstate Park. The driver of one car got distracted by the wide VA 80 and oval/elliptical VA Secondary 609 signage and missed the turn, which had been relocated in the few weeks since I was last there to scout. We drove through the old Business US 460 alignment through Grundy and saw the construction where the remaining two-lane portion of US 460/VA 83 is being widened to four lanes between Grundy and Vansant. The other car ended up taking VA 80 and VA 83 to Grundy by way of Haysi (pronounced Hay-Sigh) and we all stopped at the Dairy Queen there. Most used the facilities, a few got ice cream, and there the caravan broke up. Those who would have been backtracking by going back to Pikeville ended up departing from there, while the rest of us headed back to Pikeville, taking the new bypass route carrying US 460 and VA 83 around what remains of the old downtown Grundy area. It rained for a part of that drive, but the rain gave way to overcast, windy and cool conditions when we got back to the restaurant to go our separate ways. The weather forecast had originally been for good weather, but we only had a few sprinkles at our stops and no steady rain until we got to Grundy.
States represented were Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, plus the District of Columbia.
For a meet planned and scheduled on relatively short notice (six weeks from conception to completion), we had a good turnout from a numbers standpoint and an enthusiastic group of attendees, including a couple of first-time attendees and at least one attendee who'd never been to Kentucky before. My heartfelt thanks to everybody who came. I enjoyed it and hope you did too.
Glad to see that everybody had a good time! Work has been ridiculous for me this year since I took the supervisor position, and since I'm basically only home on weekends and have a new baby, it would have been impossible for me to have made it up there, or to any meet for that matter.
Sounds fun. I'd love to see pics.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.millenniumhwy.net%2Floose_pics%2Fpikeville_group_photo.jpg&hash=ea3b00d72011180c4c8de2e7db9be9b053fe195f)
That's me kneeling.
Standing are, from left, Mike Tantillo, Jason Ilyes, Eric Near, Cody Goodman, Brian Powell, Laura Bianca Pruett, Mark David Moore, Mike Pruett, C. Patrick Zilliacus, Michael Summa's ladyfriend, Chris Curley (only partially visible), Michael Summa, Steve Alpert, Anthony Costanzo and Christy Curley.
Photo courtesy of Chris and Christy. Steve Alpert has another one in which some of the partially visible folks may be more visible.
http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2013/11/the-tallest-bridges-in-virginia.html
Given that the blog mentions it was taken by a "transportation junkie who asked not to be identified", I'm guessing it was taken by someone at the meet.
Heard today that with the opening for this road (at least from US 23 to KY 195) scheduled for next spring, there will be a big ribbon-cutting/dedication ceremony in 2014, probably either in April or May. I'll probably post details on my personal Facebook page once they are released.