2014 Rand McNally Road Atlas

[Alps]

And Olivia is across the Mississippi from Chester!

And Vincennes is across the river from Illinois.

Kinda makes you want to cry, doesn't it?

It's okay, he's gone. For good.

[hbelkins]

Loisville is across the Ohio from Metropolis.

No, that's Paducah.

[kphoger]

Puns, my friend.  They're puns.  Read carefully.  Think.  Ponder some more.

[SSOWorld]

What I found (forgive me if already mentioned):

* AZ Loop 303 is in existence from I-17 to US 60 - but Rand doesn't think so.
* They still show the Marquette in its old twisted configuration.

[roadman65]

Cool cover photo, though.

Where was that picture taken?  It looks like it is the upper Great Plains.  It could be Nebraska or the Dakotas.

Blue Ridge Parkway in NC near Grandfather Mountain.  I forget the name of the viaduct, but it was the last part of that motor road to be opened when constructed as the viaduct was a compromise for its original alignment that was to blast away some of the mountain to put the road through.

[austrini]

http://blog.bestoftheroad.com/2013-rand-mcnally-atlas-photos/

The cover photo is Palouse, Washington

[Kacie Jane]

http://blog.bestoftheroad.com/2013-rand-mcnally-atlas-photos/

The cover photo is Palouse, Washington

If you click the next button on that link, you'll see that apparently each edition has a different cover photo.  (I knew that the large scale had a different cover than the regular one, but I didn't know there were 8 different editions with 8 different photos.)  Looks like roadman65 bought the Walmart edition.

Assuming we're talking about the regular edition and the photo posted in the first post on this thread, congrats to xonhulu for nailing it with his guess.

[SSOWorld]

One thing they FINALLY get right.  All of Hawaii's "cities" are marked unincorporated.  The most local government is the county.  Honolulu is the only city - and it is synonymous with the county and Oahu.  The cities are actually considered "Census designated places".

[shadyjay]

Finally got my 2013 atlas today - found it at my local gas station and after numerous trips to Walmart with no atlases whatsoever, I jumped on the full price version.  Here are some changes vs the 2012 for New England:


CT: 
The Brookfield Bypass (US 7 north of Danbury) is shown as completed.

MA:
A new city insert for Lowell replaces the one for Fall River. 
Much more detail shown in the Boston detail city insert.  Rail lines are shown, and North & South Stations are labelled.
Boston & Vicinity map has been extended west to show I-495, additional toll barriers on the Mass Pike shown, 128 shields removed from the portion of 128 that is no longer signed as such (between I-95 Exit 12 and I-93 Exit 7, Tobin Bridge finally shown in green to denote a toll road. 

VT:
For some reason, the "info center" icons are gone from the I-91 welcome center NB before Exit 1 in Brattleboro and on I-89 between Exits 1 & 2.  Both areas are open, but the icons are gone.  RMcN seems to have a problem with keeping rest area status up to date (many along the Northway in NY are closed but are still shown on this atlas). 

ME:
A rest area icon has been added in Gardiner in between the Maine Turnpike and the north end of I-295.  In reality, this should be a service area icon (then again, so should the ones on I-95 and CT 15 in CT, so should the ones on the JFK Highway in Maryland, the two on the Mass Pike between Exits 2 & 3, etc.. etc....).

NY:
No update to rest areas along the Adirondack Northway.  Several are now closed, but are still shown on this map.
Tolls continue to be shown on the Niagara Section of the Thruway in Buffalo.  These were closed and removed years ago. 
"World Trade Center site" has been replaced with "National Sept 11 Memorial" on the Manhattan detail city insert

Those are the highlights I see in areas I know.  Overall, not too bad.

[SSOWorld]

ME:
A rest area icon has been added in Gardiner in between the Maine Turnpike and the north end of I-295.  In reality, this should be a service area icon (then again, so should the ones on I-95 and CT 15 in CT, so should the ones on the JFK Highway in Maryland, the two on the Mass Pike between Exits 2 & 3, etc.. etc....).

RMcN seems to be too scared of FHWA into thinking that service areas should not exist on non-tolled roads.

NY:
No update to rest areas along the Adirondack Northway.  Several are now closed, but are still shown on this map.
Tolls continue to be shown on the Niagara Section of the Thruway in Buffalo.  These were closed and removed years ago. 
"World Trade Center site" has been replaced with "National Sept 11 Memorial" on the Manhattan detail city insert

That explain the lack of "send help" signs?

[US 231]

I wonder why they took the Fall River, MA inset map out of the 2013 Atlas? 

[shadyjay]

ME:
A rest area icon has been added in Gardiner in between the Maine Turnpike and the north end of I-295.  In reality, this should be a service area icon (then again, so should the ones on I-95 and CT 15 in CT, so should the ones on the JFK Highway in Maryland, the two on the Mass Pike between Exits 2 & 3, etc.. etc....).

RMcN seems to be too scared of FHWA into thinking that service areas should not exist on non-tolled roads.

But that one in Maine IS on a toll road!  Well, technically, you have to get off the turnpike to get to it, but its a straight shot off the exit ramp.  And it was built and is operated by the turnpike authority.

Then there is the pair of service areas on the Deegan (I-87) in NYC, which is not a toll road, which are still shown as service areas.  There's also the pair on the Mass Pike that for years were incorrectly shown as "Rest Area-No Toilets" but are now shown as "Rest Area - with Toilets", even though both are full service areas on a toll road.

[shadyjay]

Another change I just noticed: 

CT 2 around Foxwoods in SE Connecticut is now shown as a limited-access highway, if only for a small portion.  About time, since that opened a few years ago.

[Alps]

I wonder why they took the Fall River, MA inset map out of the 2013 Atlas? 

Probably just not a lot going on there. The roads are fairly straightforward, too.

[okc1]

NY:
No update to rest areas along the Adirondack Northway.  Several are now closed, but are still shown on this map.
Tolls continue to be shown on the Niagara Section of the Thruway in Buffalo.  These were closed and removed years ago. 

Thank you for pointing out that the I-190 toll barriers in the City of Buffalo has been removed.  This is a good catch and we'll be sure to correct this in our next Road Atlas editions.



Thanks for contacting us & we appreciate the feedback.



Steve Wiertz

Senior GIS Specialist

Rand McNally

Got RMN to acknowledge the removed toll barriers using the "tellrand" feature on the inside front cover.

[FLRoads]

While in Walmart this afternoon doing a grocery run I poked into the book department and looked through the 2013 Rand, noticing it was a second edition (code 2 3 VE 13 12 located on the What's Inside page near the front of the atlas). There were a few noticeable updates including:

• A larger inset for Pittsburgh that now includes PA Toll 576 in its entirety and includes exit numbers
• The portion of Loop 303 on the north side of Phoenix now appears on the main Arizona page, but not in the Phoenix inset
• TX Toll 130 is now shown as complete from US 183 to I-10 on the main Texas page

Some things still have not been updated in this second edition though, such as the new section of I-69 in Indiana (which no doubtedly opened after the printing of this new edition), the new portion of the Triangle Parkway near Raleigh, any sign of I-580 now existing in NV (still shows a gap between freeway segments south of Reno), etc., etc.

[MVHighways]

A new city insert for Lowell replaces the one for Fall River. 

Lowell

I live in Dracut, under 9/10 mile from the Lowell city line and around 2000 feet from MA-110.

Anyways, I'm kinda glad to hear this news as people will probably need a good idea of the area as it's near NH and right off of U.S. 3 MA exit 36 is the tax-free Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. (Why a MA exit? The mall was designed that way. In front of Sears and some of JC Penney you're in MA and you're not even off the sidewalk yet.

[swbrotha100]

While in Walmart this afternoon doing a grocery run I poked into the book department and looked through the 2013 Rand, noticing it was a second edition (code 2 3 VE 13 12 located on the What's Inside page near the front of the atlas). There were a few noticeable updates including:

• A larger inset for Pittsburgh that now includes PA Toll 576 in its entirety and includes exit numbers
• The portion of Loop 303 on the north side of Phoenix now appears on the main Arizona page, but not in the Phoenix inset
• TX Toll 130 is now shown as complete from US 183 to I-10 on the main Texas page

Some things still have not been updated in this second edition though, such as the new section of I-69 in Indiana (which no doubtedly opened after the printing of this new edition), the new portion of the Triangle Parkway near Raleigh, any sign of I-580 now existing in NV (still shows a gap between freeway segments south of Reno), etc., etc.

The Rand McNally atlas comes out too early these days. Guess they expect most drivers to have GPS by now. That being said, I wish they would correct US 60 in their Central Phoenix inset, and reflect that US 60 stays on I-17 between 19th Ave and Thomas Rd.

[PHLBOS]

PA
It's interesting that the map does not yet show the US 202 Parkway as under construction on the PA-East page.  Had RMN waited a few months before publishing their 2013 edition, they could've shown it as complete or under construction w/a scheduled completion notice.

They also could've added the new Exit 320 (EZPass only) of the PA Turnpike (I-76) as well since this interchange will be opening in 4 days (Dec. 11).

[mgk920]

I finally picked one up at a local Walmart*, the '2 3 VE 13 12' version.

IN Wisconsin, lots of stuff is not shown or shown incorrectly:

-US 10 Marshfield Spur not shown
-WI 26 four-lanes and freeway bypasses from Watertown to Fort Atkinson, also from I-39/90 in Janesville to Milton not shown
-WI 11/36 Burlington bypass not shown
-WI 54/57 duplex east of I-43 in Green Bay not shown as freeway
-WI 341 marked on Milwaukee insert
-Marquette interchange shown in 'old' configuration on Milwaukee downtown street inset
-US 45 not shown as full freeway between US 10 and US 41(I-xx)
-US 45 incorrectly shown as four lanes between US 10 and WI 96 (it's two lanes)
-US 41 Oconto and Peshtigo bypass freeways not shown
-US 12 freeway between I-90/94 and Baraboo not shown
-US 45 incorrectly shown as freeway between West Bend and Kewaskum (it's a surface four lane 'expressway')
-WI 42/57 Sturgeon Bay bypass incorrectly shown as four lanes (it's two lanes)
-WI 29 not shown as freeway around Angelica and Abbotsford

OTOH:

-US 10 is mostly correct between US 41(I-xx) and I-39 and US 151 nearly all correct in the state.

Mike

[Henry]

While in Walmart this afternoon doing a grocery run I poked into the book department and looked through the 2013 Rand, noticing it was a second edition (code 2 3 VE 13 12 located on the What's Inside page near the front of the atlas). There were a few noticeable updates including:

• A larger inset for Pittsburgh that now includes PA Toll 576 in its entirety and includes exit numbers
• The portion of Loop 303 on the north side of Phoenix now appears on the main Arizona page, but not in the Phoenix inset
• TX Toll 130 is now shown as complete from US 183 to I-10 on the main Texas page

Some things still have not been updated in this second edition though, such as the new section of I-69 in Indiana (which no doubtedly opened after the printing of this new edition), the new portion of the Triangle Parkway near Raleigh, any sign of I-580 now existing in NV (still shows a gap between freeway segments south of Reno), etc., etc.

The Rand McNally atlas comes out too early these days. Guess they expect most drivers to have GPS by now. That being said, I wish they would correct US 60 in their Central Phoenix inset, and reflect that US 60 stays on I-17 between 19th Ave and Thomas Rd.

Guess we'll have to wait until "2014", or technically next spring or summer, if they correct those errors.

[jeffandnicole]

PA
It's interesting that the map does not yet show the US 202 Parkway as under construction on the PA-East page.  Had RMN waited a few months before publishing their 2013 edition, they could've shown it as complete or under construction w/a scheduled completion notice.

They also could've added the new Exit 320 (EZPass only) of the PA Turnpike (I-76) as well since this interchange will be opening in 4 days (Dec. 11).

What makes you think a few months would've made a difference?  The 202 Parkway has been under construction for 4 years now, and the completion time has always been estimated for this general time period. 

The Rand McNally atlas comes out too early these days. Guess they expect most drivers to have GPS by now.

I don't think the timing has anything to do with GPS.  For as long as I can remember, they always published the next year's atlas in the late summer/fall of the year prior.

Edited to realize (and I hadn't even noticed) how much earlier the atlases came out this year.  Having said that, most people with a GPS would find an Atlas useless anyway.

[PHLBOS]

What makes you think a few months would've made a difference?  The 202 Parkway has been under construction for 4 years now, and the completion time has always been estimated for this general time period.

That's just it, RMN has never shown this road as under construction (typically shown as a dashed line) in their previous editions despite the fact that it was indeed being built/constructed.  This approach goes completely against their past practice of showing roads (usually highways) as under construction (dashed lines) at least a year or two prior to completion.

It's worth noting, that other mapping companies (AAA, etc.) are just as guilty regarding not even the US 202 Parkway as under construction.

[Kacie Jane]

Edited to realize (and I hadn't even noticed) how much earlier the atlases came out this year.  Having said that, most people with a GPS would find an Atlas useless anyway.

I believe it was last year (2012 edition coming out in April 2011) that they started coming out earlier, prior to that it was typically October IIRC.

I think it's absolutely hilarious that to correct this error in judgement, they now put out a second edition that, while improved, is still not fully up to date (neither the release date nor the cover date), and is no better than had they just waited till the end of the year in the first place.

[triplemultiplex]

I finally picked one up at a local Walmart*, the '2 3 VE 13 12' version.

IN Wisconsin, lots of stuff is not shown or shown incorrectly:

Some of those errors they've had for a long, long time.
I bet they still show US 2 as a freeway coming into Superior all the way to WI 35 with an interchange square (and they have it 3 times: WI, MN & Twin Ports inset)
They probably still have WI 17 south of Rhinelander shown as "other multi-lane highway". (Where they ever got this one, I have no idea.  This has never even been a proposal, but it consistently shows up in RMN as long as I can remember.)
The Appleton inset still has that weird, eastward hitch in WI 441 by Calumet Street, I bet.
And in Oshkosh, they have WI 21 curving north in mirror image to what WI 21 actual does, just as always.