I-99: What would you number it?

[hbelkins]

I'm particularly fond of Kurumi's solution...

What is it? He never posted in this thread.

"I like towns that are named after roadgeeks." 

[Molandfreak]

I'm particularly fond of Kurumi's solution...

What is it? He never posted in this thread.

"I like towns that are named after roadgeeks." 

Wait what the hell?

[hbelkins]

Kurumi has a virtual I-99 extension on his site. It goes through Elkins, WV.

[Molandfreak]

Kurumi has a virtual I-99 extension on his site. It goes through Elkins, WV.

Where?
https://www.google.com/search?q=interstate+99&sitesearch=www.kurumi.com

[vtk]

Wasn't that a Trippy Drive feature?  If I remember right, it made a big sidways S across the country, crossing I-40 two or three times.

[bugo]

I-99.

Bell Systems Princess using Pootalk

[SteveG1988]

I-99.

Bell Systems Princess using Pootalk

Don't you mean western electric princess using pootalk? or are you using an inferior knock off

[hbelkins]

Wasn't that a Trippy Drive feature?  If I remember right, it made a big sidways S across the country, crossing I-40 two or three times.

Yep.

[vdeane]

Wasn't that a Trippy Drive feature?  If I remember right, it made a big sidways S across the country, crossing I-40 two or three times.

Yep - transcontinental north-south (intersecting the much-hated I-73/74 in North Carolina) before becoming transcontinental east-west and then transcontinental north-south again in California.

[dlainhart]

Just looking at a map, Ithica must be one of the largest cities without an interstate (certainly the largest in the NE) - I-99 extension along NY13 to Syracuse?

Sure, Rochester is easy to do, but it can be I-83 when the Harrisburg - I-80 freeway that no one is planning is built. Also, the Cumberland-Syracuse path follows the curve of the mountains nicely, rather than I-99 doing  the curve, hitting NY and then course-correcting...

NY 13 has been upgraded between Horseheads and Ithaca to serve just this purpose, and Ithacans would riot and burn NYSDOT's offices down if you proposed tarnishing their town with an Interstate. The other question is, where would you put it?

There's nowhere around the Ithaca area you could push through a four lane divided highway without people burning whoever proposed it in effigy. The natural (read: only) place to run it through would be a southern-eastern bypass, which would have the Town of Dryden up in arms. NY 13, furthermore, from east of Ithaca to I-81 via NY 281 is also a fairly quick drive. Unlike most states, NYS cares about its highway network, and that's why you don't see NYS peppered with poorly-maintained 4-lane divided bypasses like you do in PA. (Not that I don't love 'em.)

Given that the Elmira-Ithaca-Cortland axis is good enough, the only improvement I can think of would be connecting it better with the Binghamton area, and even that wouldn't necessitate anything more than a NYS-standard 2-lane spur off NY 79 or NY 38.

The way I would do this would be to resurrect NY 330 and extend 76 Road east from Speedsville over the mountains separating Tioga CR 33 (West Creek Rd) from NY 38 between Berkshire and Richford. This could also be an extension of NY 38B. From there, perhaps plow a road through the mountains to East Maine to link up with Broome CR 69 / Airport Rd, which will service the Greater Binghamton Airport and provide a ready-to-go southern/western end, no modification necessary.

I prepared a .kmz of several possible routes, all of them frivolously fanciful and, to be blunt, stupid.

EDIT: https://db.tt/VPZv2gwl Note that I do not, at all, advocate the construction of any of this.

[bugo]

I-412.

[jp the roadgeek]

Really out of the box idea: Have I-83 and I-70 swap designations between Baltimore and PA. I-83 starts by taking over I-97 from Annapolis to Baltimore.  Multiplex it on I-695 to the current I-70, then have I-83 take over the I-70 portion to Breezewood.  Triplex it with 70-76 to the current I-99, then have it take over I-99, and I-390 to Rochester.  I-70 would stay on the turnpike to Harrisburg to take over the current I-83, then have it end in it's glory in downtown Baltimore.  The remaining I-83 north of Harrisburg becomes an extended PA 581, and the remaining piece of I-83 becomes an x-81

[dlainhart]

I don't see what the big deal is. I-970. It's a spur from the turnpike to Williamsport. It's also definitely going to be the last I-x70 going east. Makes sense to me.

People don't complain about the length of 3-digit routes. This is an increasingly frivolous matter as the years go on and numbers become settled.

US 220 north of I-80? Easy. I-180. If it bothers you, I-280.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.

[jp the roadgeek]

Wasn't that a Trippy Drive feature?  If I remember right, it made a big sidways S across the country, crossing I-40 two or three times.

Yep - transcontinental north-south (intersecting the much-hated I-73/74 in North Carolina) before becoming transcontinental east-west and then transcontinental north-south again in California.

My favorite sign on that I-99 feature was the US 6 Exit in CA that used Willimantic as a control city

[froggie]

Dylan:  I haven't been on NY 13 in several years, but I traveled it extensively back when my better half was working in Syracuse.  I'd agree that locals would be up in arms over an Interstate along the corridor, but there's enough traffic on 13 to warrant looking into a 4-lane roadway.  At an absolute minimum, it needs a few sets of passing lanes.

[dlainhart]

Dylan:  I haven't been on NY 13 in several years, but I traveled it extensively back when my better half was working in Syracuse.  I'd agree that locals would be up in arms over an Interstate along the corridor, but there's enough traffic on 13 to warrant looking into a 4-lane roadway.  At an absolute minimum, it needs a few sets of passing lanes.

A few sets of passing lanes, absolutely. Even that will get people uppity. Are you speaking of NY 13 north of Dryden? A four-lane or compromise upgrade from Exit 12 on I-81 down NY 281 and NY 13 would be good.

Nonetheless, we're taking about an insular place that doesn't want to be connected to the IHS.

Dylan T. Lainhart / Binghamton, N.Y.

[PColumbus73]

I'd have Interstate 83 follow either US 322 to the current I-99 in State College or follow US 15 to take over I-180 through Williamsport to end in Rochester by way of I-390.

The remaining I-99 would become I-483.

Side Note: If I-83 were extended north from Harrisburg, it would create a second wrong-way concurrency with I-81 (3 if you count I-73 fully-built).

[KEVIN_224]

It looks like Vermont had their own idea with the I-99 shield...sort of!

[I94RoadRunner]

holy crap I-476

We all know that was a dumb move, too.

I-99 is not such a bad number.  True, it's not in the ideal place in the grid, but when it was set up there weren't any in-grid numbers available.

Why should it have to be a hidden interstate?  Built with federal funds, to interstate standards, why shouldn't be signed?

What really gripes me is suffixed interstates, I-35.  And making new ones with I-69.

Amen to that! I hate suffixed routes. Alex and I talked about them when we met last month and the idea of making one of them I-33 and the other I-35 was considered.

If I had been AASHTO, I would have denied them permission to use it in that way.  The interstate shield is still AASHTO's trademark and Congress can't order them to permit it, unless Congress wants to go through a eminent domain process.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

[Pete from Boston]

The interstate shield is still AASHTO's trademark and Congress can't order them to permit it, unless Congress wants to go through a eminent domain process.

The Interstate shield may be AASHTO's "trademark", but the Interstate SYSTEM is FHWA's realm (Congressional meddling notwithstanding).

This is an interesting point you bring up.  I had my doubts, because this is a public highway system, but there it is:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.5.132

and, oddly:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.5.131


What amuses me is how many others have trademarked the symbol for other uses, such as:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.3.156

and

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.2.36


There are, of course, hundreds of knock-offs, but most of them are easily identifiable as such.

[I94RoadRunner]

Just looking at a map, Ithica must be one of the largest cities without an interstate (certainly the largest in the NE) - I-99 extension along NY13 to Syracuse?

Sure, Rochester is easy to do, but it can be I-83 when the Harrisburg - I-80 freeway that no one is planning is built. Also, the Cumberland-Syracuse path follows the curve of the mountains nicely, rather than I-99 doing  the curve, hitting NY and then course-correcting...

A major freeway was once planned through the Ithaca area. Evidence of this plan is the NY 13 expressway at the north end of downtown Ithaca and also the NY 281 spur in Cortland. I would assume that NY 13A was where the freeway would have been routed before the plan got killed. This was a proposed extension of the Appalachian thruway

[kkt]

The interstate shield is still AASHTO's trademark and Congress can't order them to permit it, unless Congress wants to go through a eminent domain process.

The Interstate shield may be AASHTO's "trademark", but the Interstate SYSTEM is FHWA's realm (Congressional meddling notwithstanding).

This is an interesting point you bring up.  I had my doubts, because this is a public highway system, but there it is:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.5.132

and, oddly:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.5.131


What amuses me is how many others have trademarked the symbol for other uses, such as:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.3.156

and

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:yxy1zh.2.36


There are, of course, hundreds of knock-offs, but most of them are easily identifiable as such.

Those links are session temporary and therefore won't work again.  Can you summarize what they said or are there permanent links available?

[briantroutman]

What amuses me is how many others have trademarked the symbol for other uses, such as...

None of your links are accessible after the fact, but in any event, I can kind of guess what you're looking at.

Intellectual property law is a complicated area. Trademarks cover a particular usage, and there's lots of gray area as to whether someone else's similar trademark infringes on yours. One factor is how unique the trademarked word or symbol is, another is where and how you do business, and yet another is how vigilantly you defend your trademark.

in the case of the Interstate shield, it's not incredibly unique, it's applied to a very specific usage (marking highways), and AASHTO hasn't historically defended the Interstate shield vigorously. So that opens the door for countless trucking companies using it in their logos, banks ripping off the shield design on billboards ("Rates as low as (Interstate) 5%..."), and so on. About the only thing you likely would get in trouble doing would be building your own freeway and using the Interstate shield to mark it.

[Pete from Boston]

What amuses me is how many others have trademarked the symbol for other uses, such as...

None of your links are accessible after the fact, but in any event, I can kind of guess what you're looking at.

Oh, that's too bad.  The trademark database is very query-intensive.  I guess you can't link straight to it.

The two AASHTO trademarks are one for the Interstate shield design (poor image, hard to tell what it is), and one, oddly, featuring a New York Interstate 75 shield.

The ones that were commercial but close to the real deal were one for Interstate 80 (a brand of something or other) using a near-spot-on shield (though the image was in black-and-white so who knows), and one for a brand called "Interstate 136" that was a perfect shield except with the wrong colors.

A search of "Interstate" or "Association of American State Highway Officials" (the name the original trademark happened under) at www.trademark.gov will surely provide as many as several minutes of bemusement.

[briantroutman]

What amuses me is how many others have trademarked the symbol for other uses, such as...

None of your links are accessible after the fact, but in any event, I can kind of guess what you're looking at.

Oh, that's too bad.  The trademark database is very query-intensive.  I guess you can't link straight to it.

Trademarkia allows direct links, though.