I was thinking about holding a meet in Nashville in either October or November. It's been over six years since I hosted an official meet here.
The primary highlight would be the I-40 and Briley Pkwy/White Bridge Rd (TN 155) Phase II interchange reconstruction. From there, we could either go south to scout out TN 840 construction (by way of the Natchez Trace Pkwy) or go north and check out the TN 386 extension to Gallatin and the nearby new alignment of TN 109 north.
I will know more about setting a firm date when I find out the exact date of a weeklong family vacation that is being planned for October.
Any thoughts?
You know I'll be there if at all possible. Nashville's an easy trip from here.
My recommendation would be in October, before the time changes. It'd give us an extra hour of daylight in which to see stuff.
I was actually giving some thought to doing something in Bowling Green to check out the construction on the Natcher Parkway extension, but I might save that for next spring. I've been doing a meet once every two years so I'll be due to host another one next year.
I think some of the hockey fans had floated the idea of a road trip to Nashville for a hockey game. Maybe you could coordinate the meet with that weekend so as to generate more attendance.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 05, 2010, 11:13:37 PM
I think some of the hockey fans had floated the idea of a road trip to Nashville for a hockey game. Maybe you could coordinate the meet with that weekend so as to generate more attendance.
I would be up for attending a hockey game in Nashville if we were to go on February 5, March 19, or April 2 (although the last would be least conducive to a Saturday meet as right now it has a 3 p.m. start). :p.
Quote from: rawmustard on July 06, 2010, 09:32:15 AM
I would be up for attending a hockey game in Nashville if we were to go on February 5, March 19, or April 2 (although the last would be least conducive to a Saturday meet as right now it has a 3 p.m. start). :p.
Two sports I can't get into: hockey and soccer.
Which weekend do the Canes play in Nashville? That might be another date possibility...
Quote from: froggie on July 07, 2010, 05:25:16 PM
Which weekend do the Canes play in Nashville? That might be another date possibility...
Well, Carolina is in Nashville December 4. If Billy wants to keep it within October or November, then the choices are the Ducks October 9, Froggie's very own Capitals on October 16, the Blackhawks November 13, and the Rangers November 27. Three of those dates fall near federal holidays, so you'll have that aspect to consider as well. (Even knowing that Columbus Day and Veterans Day are nowhere near as busy as Thanksgiving, it still helps in planning which vacation days for those that get said holidays).
QuoteFroggie's very own Capitals on October 16
Not my Caps. I just live in the town. My Wild don't play in Nashville until January.
Canes play in Nashville on Saturday, December 4th (as Brian stated). When the schedule came out, I immediately called Billy to say that Maggie and I may come out for that game. (Depends on if she is needed in Wake Forest or not that day.)
I do know that a number of other Canes Season Ticket holders and fans are making plans to go to that game - so if that comes to pass I could group anyone in with our tickets.
At worse if there isnt a meet, we all can just go to the game for the fun of it. I've kinda been thinking of doing a hockey roadgeek day at Canes home game. No real meet but anyone is welcome to come down, tailgate with us, and do roadgeeking on your own. We've kinda have unofficially done that with a number of folks (froggie, Doug Kerr, Jeff Kitsko, Brian Polidoro, and Steve Alpert) in the past.
As another local, any weekend would probably be fine.
If TN 840 doesn't make the "official" agenda, I'd be happy to host it as a side trip. A lot of work has been completed in the last few months. (and both my photo taking and posting are WAY behind).
I'll watch the Predators whoever they're playing.
Oct. 9 would be a good day for a Nashville meet. The prior day is one of those that I will be off work involuntarily and without pay. So I could sleep late and then drive down to Nashville and get a room and sleep late on Saturday morning. :-)
October 9th would be a great day for me as well. Nashville would be super easy for me to get to.
I don't see any problems right now.
Here's the major sports team statuses at this point:
Home:
10/9 Predators (NHL) vs. Anaheim 7pm CDT
10/9 Vanderbilt vs Eastern Michigan Time TBA (though as a likely day game, not compatible with the meet)
Away:
10/9 Tennessee State @ Southeast Missouri State
10/10 Titans @ Dallas
So, the Predators game looks like the best option.
Well stupid me, before I even bothered to look at this thread that I started nearly two months ago, Jason Ilyes and I just set a tentative date for the meet, and it is Saturday 11/6. My wife is working that day, and I will probably be able to leave the little one with my dad and stepmother for a few hours.
I did check the football schedules, and the Vols are playing away at Memphis for a night game (possible Vols fans zipping down 40 westbound, shouldn't be an issue) and the 'Dores are playing at home against the Gaytors (no time given, a night game would be better for us, but game traffic will mostly not be too close to us during the meet).
There are a good selection of meeting places at the Nashville West shopping center (on US 70 (Charlotte Pike) and I-40 Exit 201, 3 miles west of the White Bridge Rd/Briley Pkwy interchange), such as Logan's Roadhouse, Red Robin, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Blue Coast Burrito. Jim 'N Nick's BBQ and Cracker Barrel are also on Charlotte Pike on the other side of the freeway. I could also throw out a couple of more local options of folks would prefer to avoid chains.
The main highlight would, of course, be the flyovers at I-40 and Briley/White Bridge. After touring that area, we could possibly head west down 40 to TN 840 and check out some of the construction beyond TN 100. Supposedly they are going to open up a few more miles of roadway from TN 100 to TN 46 by the end of the year.
I figured 11/6 would be a good date since that would give plenty of notice, but now that I'm relatively confident that I can have someone watch the kid for me during the meet (if it's on one of my wife's work days), I can go for any of those other dates.
You guys have really come up with some good ideas!
Adam, I will still want to do the hockey thing on December 6, assuming you and Maggie will still want to do it, and assuming I'm still in town by then. There is a slight possibility that we may move (or that my job will move) by the end of November. Give me a call sometime this weekend if you can and I'll explain.
(For those of you not aware, the Riddle clan is moving from Greater Nashville to Columbia, SC by the end of the year. I'll try a Facebook post sometime in the future to explain.)
If I can pull it off, 11/6 would work. The only workable alternative (based on the post JPI made on MTR) in my case would be 10/30. Either way, I'd probably have to fly down.
Billy,
Will do - the Canes/Preds game is a maybe...depends on where we are at with the new house.
After touring 840, we'd be in between Spring Hill and Franklin.
Spring Hill has blossomed greatly in the last few years, loss of Saturn not withstanding. There are many eating establishments there now. (Logan's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel, Fulin Asian Cuisine, Appleby's, Olive Garden, etc.)
And, the Cool Springs area of Franklin is one of the major shopping hubs of Nashville and has all manor of places to eat.
Of course, we could start in Spring Hill and go the other way... :sombrero:
Quote from: wriddle082 on September 01, 2010, 12:33:20 AM
I did check the football schedules, and the Vols are playing away at Memphis for a night game (possible Vols fans zipping down 40 westbound, shouldn't be an issue) and the 'Dores are playing at home against the Gaytors (no time given, a night game would be better for us, but game traffic will mostly not be too close to us during the meet).
Unless I was wearing a UK shirt! :D
Quote
I figured 11/6 would be a good date since that would give plenty of notice, but now that I'm relatively confident that I can have someone watch the kid for me during the meet (if it's on one of my wife's work days), I can go for any of those other dates.
Not the best date for me, unfortunately. It's workable, but it'll be a stretch and I may end up only spending one night instead of two. Since Doug announced a Springfield, Mass. meet for the following weekend, and since I am off work Nov. 11 (Veterans Day) and Nov. 12 (involuntary furlough day), I figured I would attend that one. The back-to-back weekend meet thing I did last year in the fall was a bit much, and we are going to be moving to my dad's place sometime this fall, so I'll have to see how things work out. The two October alternative dates aren't great for me either. I was given the option of Friday, Oct. 8 or Monday, Oct. 11 for another involuntary furlough day and chose Friday the 8th. If the meet ends up being pushed up to one of the October alternate dates, I can see if they'll let me take another day for my furlough but I sincerely doubt if they will.
Quote
(For those of you not aware, the Riddle clan is moving from Greater Nashville to Columbia, SC by the end of the year. I'll try a Facebook post sometime in the future to explain.
Hadn't heard this. This is news to me. You'll have to fill me in on the details. And I guess you'd better enjoy this Nashville meet since it's the last one you'll get to host!
tagfix
Quote from: hbelkins on September 01, 2010, 05:33:51 PM
Hadn't heard this. This is news to me. You'll have to fill me in on the details. And I guess you'd better enjoy this Nashville meet since it's the last one you'll get to host!
Hopefully, I can take over afterwords.
Next logical time for one here will be once 840 is opened all the way on the west side.
Will have the Road Meet Virgin status broken. Wonder how close we can get to the new construction on 840 and we could also see the expansion on I-65 south of town.
As far as wearing a UK shirt.........two of us will be there wearing them. Go Cats beat that Ugly Orange.
Make that three folks wearing UK shirts, and I will be sure to wear mine all over the Palmetto State as much as I can get away with it!
That is, if *I* even get to go to the meet...
Last week, my company opened up new engineering positions pretty much all across the country, and I applied for the one that opened up in (you guessed it!) Columbia, SC. Right now, "The New at&t" is on a major spending spree to upgrade their network, a spending spree unlike any other I have witnessed in the 13 years I have been in this line of work, and they are relying on one of their top vendors (us) to help pick up the slack where the other vendors simply can't keep up. I had already made arrangements to keep my job and simply transfer to SC, but my superiors here in town advised me that I shouldn't pass up an opportunity to move up from installer because it would probably only come once, so I applied for the job. I had my first telephone interview today, and they alluded that it is possible they want the position filled three weeks from now! Now mind you, I haven't even began to pack up my house, much less fix it up to go on the market, but that starts this weekend because I promised our real estate agent that I could have everything ready for a yard sign in two months. My family believes I shouldn't pass up an opportunity to make more money, so they are going to make it work if this all pans out. I'll probably know the final verdict next week.
But enough about me, back to the meet (which I should continue to help plan as if everything is normal): The TN 46 interchange with TN 840 is a nice quiet place to see construction since that area is still pretty rural (probably because it's at least 45 minutes from White Bridge Rd!). From there, we could follow some of the other area backroads to make our way back to TN 246. I'm sure this is where Mightace's expertise would come in to play since I assume he lives the closest to there.
Quote from: wriddle082 on September 02, 2010, 10:53:03 PM
But enough about me, back to the meet (which I should continue to help plan as if everything is normal): The TN 46 interchange with TN 840 is a nice quiet place to see construction since that area is still pretty rural (probably because it's at least 45 minutes from White Bridge Rd!). From there, we could follow some of the other area backroads to make our way back to TN 246. I'm sure this is where Mightace's expertise would come in to play since I assume he lives the closest to there.
Yes, I've been along most of the construction area as can be seen in my flickr photos. (plus the hundreds that I haven't posted yet) I've been on all the roads that cross 840 between TN 100 and TN SSR 46. There's not much activity yet between 46 and Leipers Creek Road. However from there to US 31 it's been very busy. I go through at least some part of the construction area every day to/from work.
Quote from: wriddle082 on September 02, 2010, 10:53:03 PM
Last week, my company opened up new engineering positions pretty much all across the country, and I applied for the one that opened up in (you guessed it!) Columbia, SC. Right now, "The New at&t" is on a major spending spree to upgrade their network, a spending spree unlike any other I have witnessed in the 13 years I have been in this line of work, and they are relying on one of their top vendors (us) to help pick up the slack where the other vendors simply can't keep up.
See if you can talk them into expanding their coverage area where I live and work, and upgrading us to 3G! Trying to surf on an EDGE iPhone or iPad is downright painful.
IIRC, Billy mostly deals with wired networks. LANs and fiber-optic and whatnot.
Your are correct Froggie, it is mostly wired networks, HOWEVER....
When we were working to restore the NSVLTNBV (Nashville-Bellevue) central office after 2' of water got into it on 5/2, I learned that a certain piece of equipment that I had installed several months prior had the sole purpose of providing 3G service to cell sites. I had put in several of these before in other C.O.s, but had no idea what their purpose was. Anyway, we were told by all of the at&t engineers what the equipment did and that it was important to get it back up and running so cell coverage could mostly be restored despite the fact that land line would take a few more days. They got us a new shelf, we ran new fiber cables, most of the existing T1 cables were still good, so we put it all together and got it working!
Unfortunately, ADC (my company) is not the OTV (operating turf vendor) for any of the Kentucky districts, so I can't look at projects to know whether or not Beattyville is getting this equipment, and since the vendor up there changed from who it was 6 years ago (I worked for that vendor back then), I have no contacts up there.
Since we've mostly heard negative comments about the proposed 11/6 date for the road meet (the only reason I chose that date was because it was two months out, seemingly plenty of notice), we're gonna go ahead and throw out 10/9, 10/16, and 10/23 as possibilities. If I'm still in town at that time, I can get my folks to watch my little one for a few hours if necessary, therefore any of those dates will do. I know some of these dates are short notice, but we definitely want to accommodate as many potential attendees as possible.
I am definitely going to be in Columbia, SC the weekend of 10/30 regardless of whether or not I get the new job.
I set up a poll in the Yahoo group seroads, so you can either vote there, or we can discuss here, or both!
I voted for Oct. 9, since that weekend coincides with one of my furlough days, but I've decided that I"m coming no matter what date is chosen unless something totally unforeseen happens.
Assuming the "mostly negative comments" was in the seroads group, since the only negative comment here for 11/6 has been HBE.
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2010, 07:19:04 AM
Assuming the "mostly negative comments" was in the seroads group, since the only negative comment here for 11/6 has been HBE.
Now that I look back at everything, you're right. I guess I should have said that I've seen more positive comments about 10/9, and JPI suggested we offer the other dates as options, which I am all for if it means better attendance.
Also, I need a secretary these days...
Quote from: froggie on September 08, 2010, 07:19:04 AM
Assuming the "mostly negative comments" was in the seroads group, since the only negative comment here for 11/6 has been HBE.
There were no negative comments besides HB's in seroads. Steve Williams was excited for any date.
In an only slightly related development, the new alignment of the Cumberland Parkway (future I-66) in Somerset, Ky. is opening this week. This, of course, was one of the sites we saw when I hosted the 2007 meet in Somerset. I probably won't get to check out the finished product until my trip to Music City.
Billy/Adam: I see. Good luck if it winds up being 10/9. That is definitely a "no" date for me, not that I had a huge chance of making it to Nashville to begin with (just a tad too far away).
Froggie, they are all no's for me as we close on our new house in October.
It looks like 10/9 is a no-go for me, as required training has come up for that weekend that I have to attend. 10/16 or 10/23 works for me, however.
As the "other local," I can probably make any date that we're looking at.
In my current plans, 10/9 might not be great but it is doable.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 08, 2010, 12:36:00 AM
I voted for Oct. 9, since that weekend coincides with one of my furlough days, but I've decided that I"m coming no matter what date is chosen unless something totally unforeseen happens.
Quote from: froggie on September 09, 2010, 06:37:39 AM
Billy/Adam: I see. Good luck if it winds up being 10/9. That is definitely a "no" date for me, not that I had a huge chance of making it to Nashville to begin with (just a tad too far away).
Quote from: codyg1985 on September 09, 2010, 08:07:39 AM
It looks like 10/9 is a no-go for me, as required training has come up for that weekend that I have to attend. 10/16 or 10/23 works for me, however.
Quote from: mightyace on September 09, 2010, 10:10:26 AM
As the "other local," I can probably make any date that we're looking at.
In my current plans, 10/9 might not be great but it is doable.
OK, based on all of this input, and since 10/23 has the most votes in seroads, should we go ahead and firm the date up as 10/23?
For food, I think Logan's Roadhouse would probably be the best choice, unless everyone has a hankering for big burgers w/ unlimited steak fries (Red Robin), burritos (Blue Coast), or chicken wings (BWW).
Meet time at 11 AM.
Directions: From the North, South or East: I-40 West to Exit 201 (US 70, Charlotte Pike), turn L (underneath freeway), pass the first Nashville West Shopping Center entrance (signal), turn L at the second Nashville West entrance (no signal), Logan's is across loop road to the right (next to Red Robin).
From the West: I-40 East to Exit 201A (US 70 East, Charlotte Pike), pass the first Nashville West Shopping Center entrance (signal), turn L at the second Nashville West entrance (no signal), Logan's is across loop road to the right (next to Red Robin).
We'll probably gather in the parking lot at first and then go inside (assuming good weather), since that is what we usually do at meets.
Nearby hotels: I do not recommend the Super 8 off the Charlotte Pike exit, nor do I recommend much of anything off the White Bridge Rd. exit, especially with the potential construction noise issues. I know HBE is a big fan of Microtel, and there is one off of I-40 Exit 196 in Bellevue (OK Bellevue, I know what you're thinking, but this hotel is located way too high to have been flooded on 5/2). That exit also has a Hampton Inn that I don't think got flooded but could have. Generally, Nashville's better selection of reasonably-priced chain hotels is generally near the airport.
Since I now have some free time next weekend (was supposed to go to the now-cancelled Texarkana meet), I will try to go scout out potential viewpoints for the Briley flyover construction.
How does everything sound so far?
Logan's is awesome, so I am good with that choice. BWW is also good, but if they are anything like the one of the ones here in Huntsville, they take forever to serve food.
Quote from: codyg1985 on September 09, 2010, 06:02:22 PM
Logan's is awesome, so I am good with that choice. BWW is also good, but if they are anything like the one of the ones here in Huntsville, they take forever to serve food.
A few years ago, my family and I had a bad experience at the Logan's near Rivergate Mall, but then last year we had a good experience at the one in Dickson, so I'm sold on them again. I actually haven't tried this one at Nashville West because most of the time when we go to that area of town we go to Cracker Barrel or pick up a Little Caesar's Pizza. I also haven't tried that BWW, it's only about 3 months old.
Anyway, I went ahead and made everything official by setting up the Facebook event page and sending out invites, and JPI posted to MTR and to the Yahoo groups. We are going to try to get together either this weekend or next to go scouting.
Hope we have a good turnout! I will certainly be glad to see some of you again, as well as some new faces! This will probably be the only road meet I will attend all year since I backed out of one earlier this year and the one next weekend was cancelled.
I am going to do my best to make it. I've eaten at the Logan's in St. Matthews (east side of Louisville) a couple of times and it's pretty good.
For this trip, I am giving a lot of thought to staying in Bowling Green Friday night and then making the short drive south on Saturday morning. This would give me a chance to do some scouting of Bowling Green as a potential site for a 2011 Kentucky meet.
Jason Ilyes and I did some scouting this past Sunday afternoon for the meet. Found a decent place to view the flyover construction and probably not get into trouble. More importantly, we followed the backroads in SW Williamson County that connect the two stub endings of TN 840. A 6 mile or so stretch b/w TN 100 and TN 46 may very well be open by the time we have the meet! They even had stripes on the pavement in one direction, and needed one more layer of asphalt in the other direction. Beyond there, it looked like nearly all of the necessary bridges were under construction, and some of the grading work was taking place. Either way, when you look at that area, you can easily see why there were NIMBYs.
Hi Guys, Just a reminder this meet is coming up 2 weeks from this Saturday, hope to see you all there! :)
Now we will get to see the partial demolition of an original 1963 I-40 overpass during the meet!
http://www.wsmv.com/news/25391111/detail.html
The meet is tomorrow, so hope everyone who is coming drives safely!
Incidently, I have (7) committed to coming to the meet from the Facebook event listing, but I think there are a couple more who I am not Facebook friends with who have also committed to coming. Could you please "raise your hand" and let me know who you are?
BTW, I-40 will be down to one lane each direction overnight tonight and will be down to two lanes each direction Saturday afternoon. The overnight closure is for the demolition of half of the White Bridge Rd. overpass, and the Saturday closure is for resurfacing. Please allow extra time to get to the meet site, which is off the Charlotte Pike exit a few miles west of White Bridge Rd. TDOT's website has more details: http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/6199
I will be there.
And, willing to be the tour guide for the 840 section.
Drove down from eastern Kentucky to Nashville for this past weekend's meet. During the trip down and back I saw several newly-opened or under-construction roads.
First was a new segment of KY 30 in Laurel and Jackson counties, which is a straight road bypassing a curvy segment of KY 30 as well as the small towns of Bond and Annville. This extends the reconstructed portion of KY 30 in Laurel County and about halfway to US 421 and is part of an overall project that will build a new route from I-75 to the Mountain Parkway.
I also drove several of the new alignments in Pulaski County near Somerset, including the realigned Cumberland Parkway, the new Somerset bypass linking KY 80 and the old Cumberland Parkway to the new route, and the four-lane US 27. There are some signage issues in this area that I plan to bring up to folks in the Somerset KYTC district office. A person not familiar with the area but trying to use the Cumberland Parkway-KY 80 corridor to get to I-75 at London would be highly comfused.
I also drove a recently-opened section of TN 109 north of Gallatin. This route was full of 18-wheelers and there desperately needs to be a bypass built around Portland and a new route to US 31W and I-65 near the Kentucky state line.
The weather for Saturday's meet was excellent and we had a great time checking out the new flyover ramps from Briley Parkway (TN 155) to I-40 west of downtown Nashville, plus the western parts of TN 840 that are now open, about to open, or under construction.
I spent Saturday night in Bowling Green and checked out the construction of the Natcher Parkway extension from I-65 to US 231. The project includes a SPRI, which is like a SPUI only it's out in the middle of a cornfield, and will end at an at-grade intersection with US 231 southeast of Bowling Green. I also drove the new US 68 alignment, which runs on a four-lane on the west and northwest side of BG, and checked out KY 101, which has been reconstructed from US 31W all the way to Brownsville, which was (I think) the last county seat in Kentucky that I had not visited.
Took KY 70 back through Mammoth Cave National Park, then KY 255 south to I-65 at Park City. Looks as if the national park boundary has been extended south along KY 255 all the way to I-65 and is not state-maintained.
Cable barriers have been installed through Barren County and parts of Hart County on I-65, where there have been a number of crossover accidents. In places where cable barriers have not been installed, concrete Jersey barriers have been placed along the shoulder of the NB lanes, but they run out somewhere around Munfordville and Bonnieville.
Photos will be posted as soon as I can get them up. GPS tracks of my drive down on Friday and of the meet tour are posted to my EveryTrail page.
Just wanted to thank all of the attendees for making this meet a great success! There were 9 total in attendance, which is just about the right number for a good meet, IMO, and I think every Nashville-area road enthusiast who could show up, did show up. Also want to thank H.B. Elkins, Gene VanDusseldorp, and Steve Williams (The Georgia Road Geek) for making the trip to Nashville from Kentucky, Missouri, and Georgia, respectively. Since I'm moving away from Nashville at the end of the year, Jason Ilyes will probably put together future Nashville-area meets, but once I'm settled in South Carolina, I plan on trying to put together a meet in Charleston to see the Ravenel Bridge, among other things.
Once again, thank you!
And wouldn't you know it, they are going to open the section of 840 we saw during the meet this Wednesday!
http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/6234
If only I had put the meet off one week...
^^^
But, then walking around the exit ramp at TN SSR 46 would have been much tougher! ;-)
We'll cover it in a couple years when the meet to celebrate TN 840's opening occurs.