It's 2014 and I still can't believe that.....

[1995hoo]

....

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

This is one of those things that make me say, "There's ALWAYS a reason somewhere for exceptions to general rules."

[oscar]

....

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

Another option would've been to use a fixed span with the same clearance as the new drawbridge.  Corps of Engineers issues with cutting off access by tall ships to the Alexandria and D.C. waterfronts.  It also didn't help that such ships hauled newsprint for the Washington Post to a terminal north of the bridge.

[cl94]

73)   CT 9 still has traffic lights on it in Middletown, and not a thing has been done to get rid of them.  65 mph to a dead stop in 1/4 mile!

This has been the case so long that to be incredulous about it is more odd than not.  What is harder to believe, given how these things work, is that the 65 hasn't been lowered 1/4 mile from a stoplight.

NY 531 does the same thing in Spencerport. There's an "expressway ends" sign a mile out and a "be prepared to stop" about 3/8 mile before the light. New York always drops the limit to 55 about a mile before an at-grade outside of toll plazas, hence why this is quite unusual.

Road also has the sharpest curve with a 65 mph speed limit and no advisory signs that I've ever seen.

[1995hoo]

....

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

Another option would've been to use a fixed span with the same clearance as the new drawbridge.  Corps of Engineers issues with cutting off access by tall ships to the Alexandria and D.C. waterfronts.  It also didn't help that such ships hauled newsprint for the Washington Post to a terminal north of the bridge.

Yeah, I didn't mention that because I recall it being rejected almost immediately when it was suggested, certain agitator groups notwithstanding.

[billtm]

77) I-238 still isn't I-480!

[NE2]

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

Another option would've been to use a fixed span with the same clearance as the new drawbridge.  Corps of Engineers issues with cutting off access by tall ships to the Alexandria and D.C. waterfronts.  It also didn't help that such ships hauled newsprint for the Washington Post to a terminal north of the bridge.

Another option: two parallel bridges half the width of the current one, normally both in use but with ramps that allow all traffic to be sent to one or the other. Ships wait between the bridges for the other one to clear. This would be similar to the portion of the Victoria Bridge over the canal in Montreal, but there only one roadway/railway is in use at a time.

[ctsignguy]

70)...we still use the FHWA typeface (---cowers in corner---).
70a)...we still use Series E Modified even after the phase-out of button copy.

HERESY!!!!!!  *buries jake under a flood of FWHA A and B fonts!*.

[cl94]

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

Another option would've been to use a fixed span with the same clearance as the new drawbridge.  Corps of Engineers issues with cutting off access by tall ships to the Alexandria and D.C. waterfronts.  It also didn't help that such ships hauled newsprint for the Washington Post to a terminal north of the bridge.

Another option: two parallel bridges half the width of the current one, normally both in use but with ramps that allow all traffic to be sent to one or the other. Ships wait between the bridges for the other one to clear. This would be similar to the portion of the Victoria Bridge over the canal in Montreal, but there only one roadway/railway is in use at a time.

So that's why it has that odd split. Always wondered why it had two sets of ramps on the eastern approach.

[1995hoo]

76) There are still drawbridge sections of the Interstate Highway System.

Since I live about six miles from one of those (the Woodrow Wilson Bridge), it doesn't surprise me at all. A higher-level bridge would have been hugely impractical there because avoiding steep grades would have required starting the bridge too far inland on each side; it also would have been aesthetically unacceptable and might have raised FAA issues due to the airport a short distance north. A tunnel would have been too expensive and, on the Maryland side, would have been difficult due to the topography (notable slope on that side).

Another option would've been to use a fixed span with the same clearance as the new drawbridge.  Corps of Engineers issues with cutting off access by tall ships to the Alexandria and D.C. waterfronts.  It also didn't help that such ships hauled newsprint for the Washington Post to a terminal north of the bridge.

Another option: two parallel bridges half the width of the current one, normally both in use but with ramps that allow all traffic to be sent to one or the other. Ships wait between the bridges for the other one to clear. This would be similar to the portion of the Victoria Bridge over the canal in Montreal, but there only one roadway/railway is in use at a time.

Yeah, I've been over the Pont Victoria a few times. I doubt that idea would have succeeded with the Wilson Bridge, had it been proposed at all, for a couple of practical reasons–they had to demolish one apartment building as it was, there's parkland on the Virginia shore with an historic site (the Jones Point Lighthouse), and there were endangered species issues on the Maryland side due to a bald eagle habitat. The Pont Victoria system is a good one for that particular location, though. The ramps would surely need a very different configuration on an Interstate.

[lepidopteran]

77) You have to aggressively haggle when buying a new car, unless you really want to get shafted on the price by a paltry, say, $5-$10k.  I'd heard that women and minorities tend to get stuck paying the highest prices.  In a society demanding equal treatment for everyone, that's just not right.

[Henry]

78. We still don't know where the western end of I-22 will be (MS or TN?)
79. The I-35 splits in MN and TX still haven't been eliminated, like all others have (mainly because the metropolitan areas want equal share of them)
80. I-83 and I-97 are not one continuous route (aeeing that one comes from the north of Baltimore, and the other one from the south)

[freebrickproductions]

81. That there are still some of Alabama's old stop signs still standing.

[adventurernumber1]

82) I-75 is not undergoing any resurfacing in north Ga (it needs a resurfacing BAD). According to Google Earth's awesome & convenient old satellite, the last time I-75 was resurfaced in north GA (at least in most parts) was in the late 90s and early 2000s. There's a section of I-75 Northbound in Ringgold where the asphalt is just plain decayed..

[NE2]

83) nobody's found a photo of a New England route shield. (This is cool but not a shield.)

[Laura]

77) You have to aggressively haggle when buying a new car, unless you really want to get shafted on the price by a paltry, say, $5-$10k.  I'd heard that women and minorities tend to get stuck paying the highest prices.  In a society demanding equal treatment for everyone, that's just not right.

One of the many reasons why buying a new car does not appeal to me at all. I hate haggling. I'll do it for small items, like something at a yard sale, because that usually works in my favor, but even then, I'm not that aggressive about it. If the price is fair I'd rather just pay it.

But new cars when there are thousands of dollars at stake? Oh he'll no.


iPhone

[jakeroot]

77) You have to aggressively haggle when buying a new car, unless you really want to get shafted on the price by a paltry, say, $5-$10k.  I'd heard that women and minorities tend to get stuck paying the highest prices.  In a society demanding equal treatment for everyone, that's just not right.

One of the many reasons why buying a new car does not appeal to me at all. I hate haggling. I'll do it for small items, like something at a yard sale, because that usually works in my favor, but even then, I'm not that aggressive about it. If the price is fair I'd rather just pay it.

But new cars when there are thousands of dollars at stake? Oh he'll no.

Top tip for up-and-coming hagglers: you don't have to haggle a lot, just haggle a little bit at first, then take the offer to another dealer, show them the offer, ask them if they can beat if. If they can, take that deal back to the first dealer (or optionally, another dealer altogether), and see if they can beat the new offer. If they can, take the new-new deal back to second dealer, and see if they can beat that offer....honestly, this process can go on for days. Eventually, you'll get a pretty good deal. For my family, that process always works.

[hbelkins]

I don't know why it's become traditional to negotiate prices on cars. You wouldn't do it for a pound of hamburger, or even a new computer or a wide-screen TV or other big-ticket item. Why do it for cars?

That was one of the thing I liked about Saturn. The price was the price, and it was reasonable.

[jakeroot]

I don't know why it's become traditional to negotiate prices on cars. You wouldn't do it for a pound of hamburger, or even a new computer or a wide-screen TV or other big-ticket item. Why do it for cars?

That was one of the thing I liked about Saturn. The price was the price, and it was reasonable.

Because most people are aware that car prices are priced well over what they are actually worth. It doesn't take a genius to know that a dealer wants to make money, but unlike the difference in the price of a hamburger (amount paid versus actual worth), the difference between the amount paid and the actual worth of a car could be thousands of dollars.

I see many local dealers advertising their haggle-free experience ("our lowest prices are marked on every car"), but I just see that as a scam for them to knowingly charge customers more because the customers believe they are in fact getting the lowest price.

For what it's worth, I have haggled for computers and TVs before (Costco is a great place to haggle). It's also "cultural" in other countries to haggle the shit out of everything (India, for example, is well known for their haggling).

[agentsteel53]

83) nobody's found a photo of a New England route shield. (This is cool but not a shield.)

does it count if it's painted on a pole?  or does it have to be a free-standing element?  I've got a photo of what I believe is an NE 8 painted on a pole in Vermont.

[Pete from Boston]

77) You have to aggressively haggle when buying a new car, unless you really want to get shafted on the price by a paltry, say, $5-$10k.  I'd heard that women and minorities tend to get stuck paying the highest prices.  In a society demanding equal treatment for everyone, that's just not right.

One of the many reasons why buying a new car does not appeal to me at all. I hate haggling. I'll do it for small items, like something at a yard sale, because that usually works in my favor, but even then, I'm not that aggressive about it. If the price is fair I'd rather just pay it.

But new cars when there are thousands of dollars at stake? Oh he'll no.

Top tip for up-and-coming hagglers: you don't have to haggle a lot, just haggle a little bit at first, then take the offer to another dealer, show them the offer, ask them if they can beat if. If they can, take that deal back to the first dealer (or optionally, another dealer altogether), and see if they can beat the new offer. If they can, take the new-new deal back to second dealer, and see if they can beat that offer....honestly, this process can go on for days. Eventually, you'll get a pretty good deal. For my family, that process always works.

I guess they really rely on those sales, but in any business I've been in I'd tell someone who tried this to hit the road.  It sounds like a lot of jerking the salespeople around (though I do understand there's plenty of that to go around from salespeople as well).

[NE2]

does it count if it's painted on a pole?  or does it have to be a free-standing element?  I've got a photo of what I believe is an NE 8 painted on a pole in Vermont.

Cool photo, and certainly possible, but it could also be post-1926 VT 8 (Vermont dropped the state name by 1930). Got a date for the photo?

[signalman]

Top tip for up-and-coming hagglers: you don't have to haggle a lot, just haggle a little bit at first, then take the offer to another dealer, show them the offer, ask them if they can beat if. If they can, take that deal back to the first dealer (or optionally, another dealer altogether), and see if they can beat the new offer. If they can, take the new-new deal back to second dealer, and see if they can beat that offer....honestly, this process can go on for days. Eventually, you'll get a pretty good deal. For my family, that process always works.

I did something similar to this when I bought my new car.  The only difference was that dealers didn't know they were in competition with each other.  The dealer that I ended up buying from gave me the lowest price by far right off the bat.  (They were several thousand less than the next lowest offer initially.)  I also had the added luxury of not needing a new car right away.  Many buyers aren't in that boat and go to a dealer because they need a car ASAP.  My older car was just getting up in mileage, but still ran perfectly well and I merely wanted a new car.  The dealer that I bought from didn't even have what I wanted in stock and had to do some searching among other dealer's inventories in order to find what I wanted.  They eventually found what I wanted some 80 miles away in Doylestown, PA and drove down there with their trader and drove my car back to northern NJ for me.  Patience is definitely key when new car shopping for the lowest price, but as I noted, many new car buyers don't have that luxury.  Dealers are also well aware of this, and are prepared with a whole bag full of bullshit and sales pitches.

[brownpelican]

In before we don't have flying cars.

I want my flying car now... 

[Laura]

I don't know why it's become traditional to negotiate prices on cars. You wouldn't do it for a pound of hamburger, or even a new computer or a wide-screen TV or other big-ticket item. Why do it for cars?

That was one of the thing I liked about Saturn. The price was the price, and it was reasonable.

Because most people are aware that car prices are priced well over what they are actually worth. It doesn't take a genius to know that a dealer wants to make money, but unlike the difference in the price of a hamburger (amount paid versus actual worth), the difference between the amount paid and the actual worth of a car could be thousands of dollars.

I see many local dealers advertising their haggle-free experience ("our lowest prices are marked on every car"), but I just see that as a scam for them to knowingly charge customers more because the customers believe they are in fact getting the lowest price.

For what it's worth, I have haggled for computers and TVs before (Costco is a great place to haggle). It's also "cultural" in other countries to haggle the shit out of everything (India, for example, is well known for their haggling).

Right. Haggling is the norm in some countries, like Turkey. It used to be the norm here, too.

I don't know when it changed nationwide, but at least in Baltimore, set prices came about with the rise of department stores. Hutzler's advertised set prices and return policies (if you were white) from at least the 1860's on. Other Baltimore department stores eventually followed suit. 


iPhone

[jeffandnicole]

Over the past decade or so, anytime I've wanted a new car I just use the Internet quote option that most dealership websites have.  It appears they know you have already used Edmunds.com and other car websites, and know what the best price is going to be.  Usually, the quotes I receive back are right in the area of the True Market Value that Edmunds provides.  Depending on the car, it's usually pretty close to invoice price.  I've bought Hondas exclusively since about 2003: First, I was leasing several of them, and now I own my current cars.  Every time, I've used the internet price quote option, and I tell them the exact car I want from their online inventory.  And since Honda doesn't throw too many options on vehicles, I can usually get good apples:apples comparisons...and the quotes I receive back are usually within a few bucks of each other.

There's one Honda in Hamilton NJ that advertises free oil changes for life of the vehicle...and a free car wash after each service.  But when I get price quotes for new vehicles there, they tend to be much higher than average.  Of course, they have to pay for those free oil changes and car washes somehow!

When you're in the dealership, even with the price quote, they'll still try to screw you around...giving the 'range' of payments per month (say, between $370 & $380).  I know how to compute the costs of loans.  I add everything in there, from any extras, down to NJ's 'tire tax'.  If I know the monthly payment is supposed to be $370.67 a month...don't try saying it'll be almost $380. 

Once I had gone to the dealership without my price quote in hand...and couldn't remember the exact amount off hand.  They "found" my quote...which I realized later was about $1,000 higher than the actual quote.  I didn't buy that day because I though the amount was suspicious...and actually didn't purchase that vehicle from that particular dealership at all.  (My next car I did buy from them, because they did have the lowest price quote...and I still use their service center). 

Another thing I found: There's stories on the web such as "15 ways to save at car buying", etc.  While the savings hints are true, my findings are any one dealership will give you some of those points...but you're not going to use all 15 against the dealership.  They get to the point where the profit for the vehicle is so low (or not at all), they'll rather walk you out the door and wait for the next person.