Odd Road Surfaces Still In Existence

[jakeroot]

In Tacoma, WA, in the southern industrial sections of downtown, there is a railway crossing that is made of wood: https://goo.gl/maps/cE8wYkw48MmRHJub8
(Up until 2015, the entire crossing was wood).

Wood crossings are/used to be common in rural areas. Here's one I knew of that I could find GSV for. Recent aerial imagery in Google Earth appears to show that this crossing was replaced with concrete, though.

Ahh okay, nice! I don't know of any others around here, which is why it caught my eye. Worst part is that, going up the hill on the approach, its impossible to see the wood crossing, so you can hit going pretty fast if you're not careful. Makes for a bumpy ride! They could easily remove the tracks if they wanted. That stretch of what's called the "Prairie Line" has been abandoned since 2003.

[bcroadguy]

It's supposed to be paved over with asphalt, but it deteriorated and for a while you could see wooden blocks on this street in Vancouver: https://www.google.com/maps/@49.2813701,-123.0954119,3a,44.3y,15.2h,81.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shiojblPrPNuOG6fVkDayFw!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i16384!8i8192

News article about it: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wood-block-paving-vancouver-heat-damage-1.4784886

[US 89]

In Tacoma, WA, in the southern industrial sections of downtown, there is a railway crossing that is made of wood: https://goo.gl/maps/cE8wYkw48MmRHJub8
(Up until 2015, the entire crossing was wood).

Wood crossings are/used to be common in rural areas. Here's one I knew of that I could find GSV for. Recent aerial imagery in Google Earth appears to show that this crossing was replaced with concrete, though.

Ahh okay, nice! I don't know of any others around here, which is why it caught my eye.

See, I wouldn't have thought of a wood crossing as "odd", but I guess that's just because I've seen quite a few of them in the inland west--hell, I rode a bicycle across one in Colorado once! As MNHighwayMan pointed out, most of them are in rural areas, but here's one left in Salt Lake City.

On the other hand, here's a crossing just to the west with some sort of black surface, which I've never seen before. Looks like rubber to me.

[oscar]

The only four miles of dirt State Highway in California are on CA 173 between Post Miles 7.5-11.5.  Even worse, those same four miles of roadway are closed due to erosion.

Is that still barricaded, and closed to vehicle traffic except emergency vehicles? For that matter, is it still officially part of the state highway system?

[Max Rockatansky]

The only four miles of dirt State Highway in California are on CA 173 between Post Miles 7.5-11.5.  Even worse, those same four miles of roadway are closed due to erosion.

Is that still barricaded, and closed to vehicle traffic except emergency vehicles? For that matter, is it still officially part of the state highway system?

Very much barricaded, still counted as State Highway mileage. 

[roadman]

In Downtown Reading, MA, there is a one-way side street with angle parking that was recently resurfaced with pavers.  As the entrance to the street is from Route 129, and the exit from the street is to Route 28, pavers were used to discourage traffic from using the street as a cut through.

[jakeroot]

On the other hand, here's a crossing just to the west with some sort of black surface, which I've never seen before. Looks like rubber to me.

Very funny, since I see that style of crossing far more than I see wooden crossings. It's possible that Tacoma's heavily-rail-based economy has resulted in virtually all wooden crossings being replaced over the years, often with that rubberised material in your link. Not sure the technical term for it.

[SectorZ]

On the other hand, here's a crossing just to the west with some sort of black surface, which I've never seen before. Looks like rubber to me.

Very funny, since I see that style of crossing far more than I see wooden crossings. It's possible that Tacoma's heavily-rail-based economy has resulted in virtually all wooden crossings being replaced over the years, often with that rubberised material in your link. Not sure the technical term for it.

In Massachusetts you see this on any commuter rail or heavily used freight line. Lighter used rail lines on quieter roads still have some wood crossings.

[NWI_Irish96]

I visited a road Sunday that is 4399 yards asphalt and 1 yard bricks.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

On the other hand, here's a crossing just to the west with some sort of black surface, which I've never seen before. Looks like rubber to me.

Very funny, since I see that style of crossing far more than I see wooden crossings. It's possible that Tacoma's heavily-rail-based economy has resulted in virtually all wooden crossings being replaced over the years, often with that rubberised material in your link. Not sure the technical term for it.

In the NY area the trend has been towards concrete surfacing for grade crossings. It has a longer service life and pavement markings can be applied to it. This is especially beneficial for wide & skewed crossings so edgelines can continue over the crossing and crossings with frequent spillback problems so don't block the box markings can be applied.

[planxtymcgillicuddy]

There are stretches along US 220 north of I-64 in Virginia where the pavement is green. Yes, green.

There used to be a stretch of I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville that had green pavement. Wonder what makes the pavement green? Aging? Or did it come out green?

[kphoger]

In Tacoma, WA, in the southern industrial sections of downtown, there is a railway crossing that is made of wood: https://goo.gl/maps/cE8wYkw48MmRHJub8
(Up until 2015, the entire crossing was wood).

Wood crossings are/used to be common in rural areas. Here's one I knew of that I could find GSV for. Recent aerial imagery in Google Earth appears to show that this crossing was replaced with concrete, though.

Ahh okay, nice! I don't know of any others around here, which is why it caught my eye.

See, I wouldn't have thought of a wood crossing as "odd", but I guess that's just because I've seen quite a few of them in the inland west--hell, I rode a bicycle across one in Colorado once! As MNHighwayMan pointed out, most of them are in rural areas, but here's one left in Salt Lake City.

On the other hand, here's a crossing just to the west with some sort of black surface, which I've never seen before. Looks like rubber to me.

Wooden railroad crossings aren't uncommon at all.  I decided to find one here in Wichita, and the second spot I clicked on has a wooden crossing.  Or how about multiple wooden crossings at a freight yard right along Broadway?  Here's another one on a street leading to the Blue Lake Addition.  Or go a few towns to the north to this one in the middle of Sedgwick.

[bing101]

Lombard Street in San Francisco the section tourists go to is paved with bricks.

[bandit957]

I wonder if there's any roads with a poo surface.

[TEG24601]

SR 20 (WA), as part of the North Cascades Highway, has red asphalt, due to the use of local materials in the construction of the road surface.


2nd Street, in my hometown of Langley, WA uses 3 different surfaces along a single city block.  Asphalt at the intersections on either end, concrete surface (with a brick stamped pattern at crosswalks), followed by brick pavers in the center section.  I only mention it because I was on the committee that helped design the roadway.


Saginaw St. in downtown Flint, MI is brick.  When I first arrived in Flint in 2001, it was an asphalt road, with brick underneath, as seen through the potholes.  By 2005, then mayor Don Williams, had the asphalt removed on Saginaw street, and the brick has remained exposed ever since.  Much of the city actually has brick under the asphalt, but Saginaw street has been the only one, to my knowledge, where the asphalt was removed.

[Max Rockatansky]

Speaking of Bricks there are several alignments of the Dixie Highway in Florida that still exist in brick form.  Most notable is County Route on Old Dixie Highway north of Espanola but there is another near Disney World on Old Tampa Highway.  Even downtown Orlando has numerous city streets (granted these are far more recent) lines in brick. 

The red asphalt cited above is very common in the Mojave Desert in California.  Kelbaker Road comes to mind given it has a unique shade almost maroon-like red. 

[thenetwork]

In downtown St. Louis, there is a small neighborhood called Laclede's Landing where many of the side streets are cobblestone.  Even going 10 MPH down those streets, it's very noticeable with all of the uneven bumpiness.  Once you get out of that neighborhood, ANY street is gonna feel like a newly paved road for a while.

[skluth]

In downtown St. Louis, there is a small neighborhood called Laclede's Landing where many of the side streets are cobblestone.  Even going 10 MPH down those streets, it's very noticeable with all of the uneven bumpiness.  Once you get out of that neighborhood, ANY street is gonna feel like a newly paved road for a while.

The Landing was created to cater to tourists and late night crowds as an urban renewal project. It had its own special tax district and building constraints to keep it looking old-timey. Its heyday was the early 90's. The 1993 Mississippi flood destroyed the best nightlife businesses like Mississippi Nights. (The most popular nightlife is now split between Washington Avenue, the U City Loop, and the Grove, though the Loop was already more popular in the 80's.) It's now a casino and a few businesses. Most of it is parking lots. STL really should pave the few remaining cobblestone streets south of the Eads Bridge. The charm of the cobblestones is long gone and discourages visitors.

[Flint1979]

In Flint, Michigan, Saginaw Street downtown is still paved with bricks.

[empirestate]

In Flint, Michigan, Saginaw Street downtown is still paved with bricks.

Still–you mean, they haven't changed it since yesterday?

Saginaw St. in downtown Flint, MI is brick.

[Flint1979]

In Flint, Michigan, Saginaw Street downtown is still paved with bricks.

Still–you mean, they haven't changed it since yesterday?

Saginaw St. in downtown Flint, MI is brick.

It's been that way for over 100 years.  And I hadn't seen that mentioned either.

[Duke87]

Surprised I never brought this up during the original run of this thread, since this is a pet peeve of mine, but...

The city of Philadelphia still has a few cobblestone streets.

That's not cobblestone, that's Belgian block.

Looking North up Thames Street in Newport, RI - cobblestone, bumpy ride.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=newport+ri&hl=en&ll=41.489616,-71.315214&spn=0.000836,0.001742&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=56.856075,114.169922&hnear=Newport,+Rhode+Island&t=h&layer=c&cbll=41.489616,-71.315214&panoid=IJDMtVSWZ3xDVQe1R5U5ew&cbp=12,350.74,,0,18.15&z=20

Also Belgian block

Afterglow Way entering Montclair, NJ from Verona is paved in bricks, not very well maintained either. Same thing - because it's a very steep hill.
There are still cobblestone streets in New York, mostly down in the lower digit streets near WSH and near the Battery under/near FDR.
Want a way to discourage traffic on your street? Leave the original cobblestones - and the original trolley tracks! It's really difficult to drive P Street in Georgetown, DC: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=georgetown+dc&hl=en&ll=38.908731,-77.068374&spn=0.004249,0.009645&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.136115,79.013672&hnear=Georgetown,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=38.908731,-77.068374&panoid=4_dOWQzFz4S1y4G_yfwWdA&cbp=12,272.11,,0,18.82

Nope, that's Beligian block too in that GMSV link. As are all the streets in New York you mention.

Prince Street in Old Town Alexandria has one block paved with brick and then the next block after that is cobblestone. When we were kids we'd demand that my mom drive down the cobblestone street whenever we were there. Now I avoid that block. I rather doubt that stretch of cobblestones dates back to George Washington's time, but who knows. Some of the buildings date back to that period.

Street View of cobblestones (it's bumpier than it looks): http://g.co/maps/wy5z5

Congratulations! That is actually cobblestone and has been correctly identified as such.


The key here is that the term "cobblestone" correctly refers to the use of "cobbles" - or plain old rocks that are naturally smooth/rounded - to form a road surface. Surviving examples of this are extremely rare, at least in the US.

If you're looking at pieces of stone deliberately cut into roughly rectangular shapes, those are Belgian blocks. These are often incorrectly referred to as "cobblestone". Perhaps because most people have probably never seen a street paved with actual cobblestone but Beligian block, while still unusual, is comparatively less rare.

[MNHighwayMan]

Surprised I never brought this up during the original run of this thread, since this is a pet peeve of mine, but...

Technically correct is best correct.

Also, I didn't know that either. Good to know.

[jakeroot]

How about sett? Isn't that the de-facto term for this type of stone-laden street?

I'll admit that I didn't know the difference. Thanks for the tip.

[SGwithADD]

This one just popped into my mind on the way home from work.

Do you have any roads in your area with unusual or rare surfaces?  It may sound like a strange question, but in Cleveland, OH (near University Circle) there is a one block stretch of road that is made of wood!!!  Wood Blocks, that is, and it is the last remaining wooden street in Cleveland (or Northeast Ohio, AFAIK).

Google Map View:  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=University+Circle,+East+115th+Street,+Cleveland,+OH&hl=en&ll=41.510825,-81.605846&spn=0.000422,0.000817&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.953203,107.138672&oq=university+circle&hq=University+Circle,+East+115th+Street,+Cleveland,+OH&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=41.510825,-81.605846&panoid=V606LwpKsnjXsGS3RqMpfw&cbp=12,303.52,,0,15.21

Article on Hessler Court:  http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=HRAHCHD


And in nearby Akron, Ohio, there is a street in which there is a combination of regular red brick pavers and raised granite stones on Bates Street, in the shadows of Downtown Akron, affectionately known as Bates Hill or Cadillac Hill.  The "washboard effect" was used for traction on this super-steep hill.  One of the most bone-jarring hills you'll ever traverse!

Google Map View: http://g.co/maps/f7ktg

Info on Cadillac (Bates) Hill here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.376451397046.163941.93203972046&l=eab2994f72

Any other unusual street surfaces?

Pittsburgh also has a street (Roslyn Pl.) made out of wood blocks (the article lists a few other places as well).