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Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: TravelingBethelite on August 18, 2015, 01:29:15 AM

Title: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: TravelingBethelite on August 18, 2015, 01:29:15 AM
I believe this is reviving an old thread-so what.  :sombrero: Anyway, when I think pine smell, I think cresting up on I-84 southeast west of Newburgh, up in the Shawangunks, according to Wikipedia.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: 1995hoo on August 18, 2015, 07:28:19 AM
The obvious one is the Jersey Turnpike between Carteret (Exit 12) and Newark Airport, which Car and Driver once memorably referred to as "miles and miles of universal fart."

I-295 in DC south of Exit 1 exudes a foul outhouse-like stink as well due to the sewage treatment plant. Last Wednesday I had the unfortunate experience of driving past there in the convertible with the top down when I made a wrong turn near the casino construction site just south of the Beltway near there.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Big John on August 18, 2015, 08:38:58 AM
The stench of I-41 by Kaukauna.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Buffaboy on August 18, 2015, 08:41:31 AM
The smell of Cheerios along I-190 in Buffalo.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: dcharlie on August 18, 2015, 09:33:24 AM
The smell of cattle (and all that that implies!) west of Ogallala NE on I-80.  Not good...
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: DaBigE on August 18, 2015, 09:55:51 AM
Quote from: Big John on August 18, 2015, 08:38:58 AM
The stench of I-41 by Kaukauna.

If Kaukauna is a stench, I don't know what word to use to describe I-90 through Gary, Indiana.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: iBallasticwolf2 on August 18, 2015, 10:26:18 AM
I-75 around the GE Plant north of the Lockland Split smells like gasoline.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: nexus73 on August 18, 2015, 11:27:30 AM
I actually liked the smell of asphalt on the really hot days in SoCal.  It was what I called "local flavor".  Where I was raised we had a much worse odor from the pulp mill...LOL! 

Rick
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: ET21 on August 18, 2015, 11:45:38 AM
The smell of wonder bread reminds me of the mile long bridge on I-294, where a factory is located.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: hbelkins on August 18, 2015, 01:54:09 PM
From childhood trips to the Outer Banks, I remember a horrible stench along I-40 in the Canton, NC area west of Asheville.

Also from childhood, there was an awful rotten egg smell along KY 89 in Clark County near Trapp. That odor has been gone for several years now.

On the flip side, there's a Kellogg's Pop Tarts bakery along KY 194 in Pike County. It produces a pretty pleasant smell.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: wxfree on August 18, 2015, 02:51:15 PM
A part of west Texas, between San Angelo, Midland, and Fort Stockton, smells like poison gas.  It's because of a gas, a poison gas with a strong smell, that's released as a result of mineral extraction.  Further west, I really like the smell of the desert.

The bridges over the Trinity River in Dallas smell like sewage.  At the Miller beer plant on I-35W in Fort Worth it sometimes smells nice, I think it's the yeast, but usually smells moderately bad (I always thought it smelled like canned green beans).

I like the smell of the rural area around Glen Rose, because of the vegetation.  I think it's mesquite, or something like that.  For some reason I've always found it to be stronger there than in other areas.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: txstateends on August 19, 2015, 09:50:30 AM
Quote from: wxfree on August 18, 2015, 02:51:15 PM

The bridges over the Trinity River in Dallas smell like sewage.


Probably because the main Dallas water treatment plant is along the Trinity, just west of I-45.

US 60 southwest of Amarillo has many cattle feedlots, and when the wind picks up from that direction, >ugh<  The roads up that way that have rendering plants, man, I just don't know how anybody works in those places.  Turns my stomach all kinds of ways just to drive by one.

US 69 in SE Texas with the pulp mills.

US 80/TX 19 east of Dallas used to have a sulfur plant, with a sick rotten-egg smell, but it was brief when you'd go by it.  GSV shows it pretty much dismantled now.

In Dallas, there used to be a Mrs. Baird's Bread plant at US 75/Mockingbird.  Wonderful fresh-bread smell....but alas, it is gone now, replaced by an expansion of the SMU campus facilities.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: xcellntbuy on August 19, 2015, 03:58:11 PM
Oranges and grapefruits at harvesting time or blossom time in Indian River County, Florida.  Citrus smells wonderful in season.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Bruce on August 19, 2015, 04:40:53 PM
I-5 going into Tacoma has a rotten eggs smell, known as the Tacoma Aroma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_of_Tacoma).

I-5 and WA-529 between Everett and Marysville will occasionally smell like sewage because there are two municipal sewage treatment plants (with open ponds) right next to the freeway.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Mr. Matté on August 19, 2015, 06:00:37 PM
A sweet smell while riding up the Hershey Highway.

(That's the name for US 422, right?)
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Avalanchez71 on August 19, 2015, 06:58:17 PM
The stench of the pet food mill around US 61 near Keokuk, IA.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Pete from Boston on August 19, 2015, 11:27:00 PM

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on August 19, 2015, 06:58:17 PM
The stench of the pet food mill around US 61 near Keokuk, IA.

Same with the west end of NY 59 in Suffern, where Hi-Tor dog food used to be made.

I swear we've had this thread multiple times before.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: cpzilliacus on August 20, 2015, 09:32:38 PM
Smell of tar or asphalt on Maryland's I-895 in the vicinity of the tunnel portals. 
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Rothman on August 20, 2015, 09:43:35 PM
Yep, Tacoma Aroma's on my list, too.

As is the smell of oil refineries on I-64 near Ashland, KY (and intermittently to Charleston, WV).
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: DandyDan on August 22, 2015, 01:54:30 AM
Sometimes, I wonder if they still slaughter cattle within Omaha, in the area of the I-80/I-480 interchange.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Roadgeek Adam on August 22, 2015, 11:38:29 PM
NY 324 and I-190 get the nice smell of Noco (Newman Oil) tanks off the Niagara River in the town of Tonawanda.

Also, the smell on the NJ Turnpike usually centers around that terrible Linden Cogeneration Plant.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: US71 on August 23, 2015, 03:41:12 PM
US 71 at Ashdown, AR smells like cheap sauerkraut.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Bruce on August 23, 2015, 03:42:01 PM
Currently, everything in Seattle, Western WA and parts of Eastern WA smells like smoke. Might have something to do with this cloud:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FOJfklqS.jpg&hash=c4afc4e14740f7fc2012ac60b3e7aa5690141b59)
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: mariethefoxy on August 27, 2015, 04:25:33 AM
the manure/chicken death smell on US 13 in Southern Delaware, and on I-81 south of Carlisle (and parts of the PA Tpke)

the staten island garbage smell

the beach smell on the LI Parkways south of Merrick Road/27A

the Jet Fuel smell on the Belt Parkway near the Airport

that crappy city smell on the Cross Bronx Expwy by the Apartment Buildings
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Avalanchez71 on June 12, 2021, 10:22:49 AM
The smell of a paper mill emanates near Pickwick Lake off of TN 128. 
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: roadman65 on June 12, 2021, 10:24:55 AM
Paper Mill odor emitted from the Georgia Pacific Plant in Brunswick, GA when traveling I-95 between US 82 and US 25/341.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on June 12, 2021, 10:38:06 AM
Microwave popcorn - MN 100 between 70th St and I-494
Paper mills - I-35 in Duluth and I-535
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Rothman on June 12, 2021, 11:05:10 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on June 12, 2021, 10:38:06 AM
Microwave popcorn - MN 100 between 70th St and I-494
Paper mills - I-35 in Duluth and I-535
Huh.  Never smelled anything like the Tacoma Aroma in Superior or Duluth.  I do associate a grainy smell to I-535, though.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Dirt Roads on June 12, 2021, 11:39:11 AM
I grew up close to the famous "stinky bridge" on I-64 between Scary and Nitro, West Virginia.  The main odor was methyl mercaptan from the Fike Chemical Plant, which was abandoned in 1988.  The smell stayed around for years afterwards.  Mercaptan is the odorant used in natural gas pipelines, and your nose is capable of detecting less than 10 parts per billion.  For the record, locals always referred to this bridge as the "Green Bridge" even during the years that it was painted blue in the 1980s and 1990s.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Dirt Roads on June 12, 2021, 08:13:11 PM
Worst:  Back in the late 1980s, I had a handful of railroad crossings on the old B&O North Shore branch in the Troy Hill section of Pittsburgh.  Two of these were adjacent to the old Heinz plant.  The worst smell was when Heinz was running ketchup.  The most pungent smell was when they were running apple cider vinegar, an odor that I actually liked but made some of my co-workers gag. 

Best:  On the north end of the Hart Bridge in downtown Jacksonville when Maxwell House was roasting coffee beans in the morning hours.  Sometimes, the winds would shift from the east and reach the waterfront when I worked at the CSX Transportation headquarters (The Purple Palace).

Most Distracting:  For some reason, we had a lot of signal problems at the west end of the Schenley Tunnel in the Bloomfield section of Pittsburgh.  This location was right behind the old Iron City Brewery.  It certainly didn't smell like beer, but the strong aroma of hot wet wheat, barley and hops was quite distracting at times.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: SSOWorld on June 12, 2021, 09:01:09 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 12, 2021, 11:05:10 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on June 12, 2021, 10:38:06 AM
Microwave popcorn - MN 100 between 70th St and I-494
Paper mills - I-35 in Duluth and I-535
Huh.  Never smelled anything like the Tacoma Aroma in Superior or Duluth.  I do associate a grainy smell to I-535, though.
Paper mills all over central and Eastern Wisconsin (Wisconsin River and Fox River).  Try Mosinee - that shit stinks!  close second place is Rhinelander.

Chicago has a unique scent of its own.  (no, it's not shit)
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: bing101 on June 12, 2021, 09:56:31 PM
The smell of cow dung on I-5 halfway from Sacramento to Los Angeles that's from Harris Ranch in Fresno County, CA.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: hbelkins on June 12, 2021, 11:14:39 PM
A ripe outhouse in the middle of July or August = the intersection of Interstates 64, 65, and 71.  :bigass:
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: JayhawkCO on June 13, 2021, 12:04:36 AM
Paper mill/swamp smell coming into Jacksonville on I-10.

Chris
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: sprjus4 on June 13, 2021, 12:11:37 AM
Paper mill on US-58 near Franklin, VA.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: US 89 on June 13, 2021, 12:48:46 AM
There is a distinct smell of cow on any highway in northwestern Texas. US 84 west of Lubbock comes to mind in particular.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: SSOWorld on June 13, 2021, 09:34:13 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 12, 2021, 11:14:39 PM
A ripe outhouse in the middle of July or August = the intersection of Interstates 64, 65, and 71.  :bigass:
That university is not quite downtown :awesomeface:
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: index on June 13, 2021, 10:26:42 AM
Manure... US 421 south of Wilkesboro, NC.

Repulsive paper mill scent, I-526, specifically the Don Holt Bridge.

A sweet, piney smell, the north end of NC 128. Those fraser firs and red spruces at the tops of some of the mountains in NC make the air smell like a Christmas tree. I love it.

Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: WillWeaverRVA on June 13, 2021, 10:54:03 AM
You know you're approaching Kings Dominion on I-95 when you smell the paper mills not far from the highway.

I-95 in South Richmond also has a persistent sewage smell due to both the Port of Richmond and the city's main sewage treatment plant being right off I-95 in that area.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Rothman on June 13, 2021, 11:35:41 AM
Oil refineries in NJ near the northern end of the NJTP...and at US 23/I-64 near Ashland, KY.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: CtrlAltDel on June 14, 2021, 12:10:52 PM
When I was a child, traveling from Chicago to Florida to visit my grandparents, we always stopped for gas somewhere before Indianapolis. I remember that it was something of a shock getting out of the car there, since it was very rural, visually as well as olfactorily, and it was a sign we were well on our way. I couldn't tell you what that smell was though. It was maybe diesel or ethanol, but I don't think so. It didn't seem like manure or anything like that, but it definitely pervaded the air, at least around the gas stations.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: oscar on June 14, 2021, 12:27:22 PM
Quote from: bing101 on June 12, 2021, 09:56:31 PM
The smell of cow dung on I-5 halfway from Sacramento to Los Angeles that's from Harris Ranch in Fresno County, CA.

That huge feedlot is right at the junction of CA 245 with I-5. Always a good time to hit the "recirc" button on your A/C, before you reach that junction.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: frankenroad on June 14, 2021, 01:58:21 PM
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on August 18, 2015, 10:26:18 AM
I-75 around the GE Plant north of the Lockland Split smells like gasoline.

I've never really noticed that.  But a few miles south, is a fragrance manufacturer, and there is often a very sickly sweet smell around exits 9 & 10.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: Flint1979 on June 14, 2021, 03:57:05 PM
I-75 on the SW side of Detroit smells like burnt oil and rubber from the Rouge Plant.
Title: Re: Smells/senses you associate with certain highways/areas
Post by: mgk920 on June 15, 2021, 03:43:36 AM
Quote from: Big John on August 18, 2015, 08:38:58 AM
The stench of I-41 by Kaukauna.

That's the kraft process mill that is operated by Thilmany Pulp and Paper in Kaukauna, WI.  The make the brown paper that is used in boxes and bags.

IMHO, worse in the Appleton area is the suburban townships' sewage treatment plant that is along the east side of I-41 just north of US 10/WI 441, between Appleton and Neenah, WI.  The Outagamie County landfill that is along I-41 between Appleton and Little Chute, WI can be pungent, too.

Elsewhere, the steel mills and oil refineries that are along I-90 (Indiana Toll Road) in East Chicago and Gary, IN are definitely memorable.

Mike