Time for some photos from my trip from San Diego to eastern New Mexico and back, in November 2008. This batch is from the first day of my trip, and is heavily centered around Utah. Specifically: highway 95 in southeast Utah, crossing the Colorado River in red rock country. The only button copy sign in Nevada. This one is very, very old. Ominous clouds over old US-91 in southern Utah. [...]
Day 3 - Petoskey to Sault Ste. Marie to Detroit Started the day on a frosty morning in Petoskey, traveling up U.S. 31 through resort towns by scenic lakes and hills to its end at Interstate 75. Stopped by Fort Michilimackinac State Historic Park in Mackinaw City to view the Mackinaw Bridge in 27 degree wind. The Mackinac Bridge, nicknamed the "Mighty Mac" or "Big Mac", spans the Straits of [...]
Day 2 - Seymour, Indiana to Petoskey, Michigan Heading north from southern Indiana to the capital city, Interstate 65 continues with four lanes and loads of tractor trailers. The constant beating the pavement takes from the moving freight prompted officials to resurface the route from Whiteland to Greenwood in 2007 as part of the INDOT Major Moves initiative. Expansion of the road to six lanes does not occur until Exit [...]
I’ve decided to go with this batch of wintry goodness: a November, 2008 trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It was a dark and snowy night… Don’t eat the orange snow. Distant municipal lights provide the mushroom-cloud effect. I took this picture by the side of US-45 in Michigan. The US-41 bridge in Houghton, Michigan. Oh, nothing to see here, just the last embossed cutout US shield in the wild. [...]
Some notes from a recent five-day road trip from the Gulf Coast northward to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Widening is currently underway along Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama. This project totals 4.613 miles in length and focuses on replacing the original concrete surface with asphalt while expanding the previous four-lane freeway into six lanes overall. Work exists between U.S. 80 (Exit 167) and the Alabama River bridge. Overhead highway signs [...]
Three new Interstate sections are in the works, planned, or coming to fruition. Discussion on the AARoads Forum highlighted three recent additions: Interstate 781 is the number proposed for a new freeway spur from Interstate 81 to Fort Drum in Upstate New York. This route would enhance access to growing Fort Drum and bypass a current at-grade connection. A page for I-781 resides on the Interstate Guide as well. Interstate [...]
Going back to June 2008, for an Oregon/Washington trip I took. Entirely west of the Cascades. The Milky Way. Near Mount Rainier; well past the lights of the I-5 corridor. The arc trail, by the way, is an airplane – note the break in the trail which occurred while I restarted the exposure. And the find of the trip – this old-style Oregon 126 eagle highway marker. Marked 1/17/73 on [...]
Construction for future Interstate 49 between Interstate 220 in Shreveport and the Arkansas state line is proceeding well. Current work is underway from the state line south 9.6 miles to Louisiana 2 east of Hosston. At least one overpass north of Louisiana 168 is already complete. Planned interchanges for the new 9.6 mile section will be located at Louisiana 168, Mira-Myrtis Road, and Louisiana 2. Looking southward at [...]
Going further afield again, this time to China. It's no secret that China is the world's hottest economy right now. The Chinese are flexing that muscle in the same way that America did in the 1950s - they're building massive amounts of freeway (known as gonglu in Chinese). By the end of the next decade, China will have more freeway miles than the United States and drivers will be able [...]
Speaking of carbon copying signs, perhaps it is about time that Interstate 10 guide signs in Mobile County, Alabama reflect Biloxi and/or New Orleans? Pascagoula made sense when Interstate 10 was originally built, because the freeway defaulted onto U.S. 90 at the state line for many years before Mississippi completed its portion. Nowadays, Pascagoula makes little sense, as Interstate 10 travels through Moss Point, Pascagoula's neighbor to the north, and U.S. 90, [...]
