January 15, 200817 yr This story is from Maine, but I can't imagine the impact of road salt is any different here in Ohio. Road salt takes a toll Mix used to treat ice often pollutes water, kills plants By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer January 14, 2008 Maine road crews spread more than 100,000 tons of road salt each winter. Thanks to a snowy December, they're already ahead of that pace this season. All that sodium chloride allows motorists to travel safely, and at nearly their summertime speeds, but it has side effects that will continue to show up months and years down the road.
January 15, 200817 yr In CT, they use sand, it makes the roads a really strange color, but it seems to work
January 15, 200817 yr Salt reacts with concrete, too, leaching out the calcium and eroding the surface. It damages concrete structures like bridges, as well as corroding rebar and steel supports, and weakens and pits concrete road surfaces. Where asphalt has been laid over concrete, the salt get through cracks in the asphalt and erodes the underlying concrete, destroying the bond between the materials and resulting in potholes.
January 16, 200817 yr *sigh* This project has been in the works for over 40 years. Phase "1" included the segment from the US 52 (now OH 7) stub at the first Chesapeake interchange (now one-way into the village) to the current OH 7 stub near the Robert C. Byrd Bridge. The new Phase "1" was pretty much a Proctorville bypass, leaving Phase "2" (really 3) to define the gap between the two bypasses. Confused? Wilson: Bypass funding acquired By Benita Heath, Ironton Tribune, January 16, 2008 CHESAPEAKE — Funding to acquire property for the Chesapeake Bypass has been secured, according to a press release from the office of Congressman Charlie Wilson. In the $555 billion Omnibus spending bill now headed to President Bush for his signature, $735,000 has been earmarked for the bypass, the release states.
January 16, 200817 yr January 16, 2008 States Advised to Check for a Bridge Design Flaw By MATTHEW L. WALD and MONICA DAVEY WASHINGTON — The Federal Highway Administration moved quickly Tuesday to tell state authorities to re-examine bridges to make sure they do not have the newly discovered design flaw that doomed the Interstate 35W bridge, which collapsed in Minneapolis last summer. A weakness built into that bridge went undetected for 40 years because it involved a part so basic that highway departments and bridge contractors seldom considered it even when they reanalyzed a bridge’s capacity, experts said Tuesday. As the National Transportation Safety Board announced its findings in the bridge collapse, the highway agency recommended an analysis of the flawed parts, known as gusset plates, every time major work was done on a bridge. There are about 12,600 bridges nationwide that could be vulnerable to the kind of design error found in Minneapolis, although the problem may not exist anywhere else. Full story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/washington/16bridge.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
January 16, 200817 yr State transportation officials say Ohio already inspects plates Wednesday, January 16, 2008 12:20 PM CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Ohio Department of Transportation believes its ahead of the curve in bridge inspections and carefully examines the steel plates that connect bridge beams. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that too-thin gusset plates were the critical factor in the collapse of a Minneapolis bridge that killed 13 people and injured 145. More at: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/16/bridge.html
January 16, 200817 yr ^---Somehow, I just don't fully trust ODOT when they state this, after all it's ODOT. Look at the disrepair of some of our roadways. Are they any gusset's of this type on Brent Spence?
January 17, 200817 yr ^---Somehow, I just don't fully trust ODOT when they state this, after all it's ODOT. Look at the disrepair of some of our roadways. ODOT has a very strong bridge inspection program, so yes, I think I trust them in this case Are they any gusset's of this type on Brent Spence? Probably, but its Knetucky's bridge to inspect.
January 18, 200817 yr In CT, they use sand, it makes the roads a really strange color, but it seems to work Edmonton has to use sand, darn salt or whatever brew they come up wont work in their temperatures. Every Spring in Late april is hilarious, literally the whole city gets swept and brushed (to remove all the sand)
January 20, 200817 yr I was on one of the ramps(Montana Ave) yesterday. They double laned the ramp. That's complete. No Meters yet but you can see the supports and the line where the meter will be located. I guess they will install them in the spring.
January 20, 200817 yr I thought this whole project was supposed to be complete by now...what the heck has been the delay?!?!
January 20, 200817 yr Priorities. Also, Phase 1 of Rybolt was supposed to be finished by the end of last year. It has to do with securing funding and mobilizing the workforce. I know at least for Sunesis they were preoccupied with Mulhauser and UCB in Butler County, I don't know what's going on with the Ramp Meters.
January 21, 200817 yr Ohio, Minnesota bridge failures similar I-90 span's sag, shift blamed on inadequate steel plates, corrosion Monday, January 21, 2008 2:58 AM ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- When the National Transportation Safety Board announced that a design problem on the I-35W bridge probably contributed to its collapse last summer, the agency described it as probably a "one-off" situation -- something the board had never seen before. However, in 1996, a similar problem was blamed as a factor in the sagging of a bridge along I-90 in northeastern Ohio. A later report for the Ohio Department of Transportation concluded that the plates connecting the steel truss bridge's beams "were not adequate to support the design loads of the structure," according to a report Saturday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Full story at: http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/21/z-apoh_MNbridgecollapse_0120.ART_ART_01-21-08_B2_66948UJ.html?sid=101
January 21, 200817 yr My feelings are not hurt!!! I am still not liking this idea. I hope it works, but I have a feeling it is going to %&$^ everyones commute coming out of Westwood and Cheviot up. I personally believe the problem lies with the actual 74 - 75 interchange. I didn't like the idea of ODOT (I think) recommending removal of the Elsmore ramps, but traveling this everyday, I am convinced that might actually have been an idea worth staring at for awhile.
January 21, 200817 yr I couldn't find a better thread. it does speak to safety at the end of the article. Does anyone know if this type of construction is feasible in Ohio? -------------------------------------- Black ice, snow no match for heated bridge Gary Rennie The Windsor Star Sunday, January 20, 2008 ESSEX -- Ontario's first geothermal heated bridge is exceeding expectations for driving safety mid-way through its first winter, says county engineer Tom Bateman. "Everything's looking good," he says. "It's working."
January 21, 200817 yr Haven't heard anything like that this side of the border, but what a great idea. Can't see why it wouldn't work here as our climate isn't that different from Southern Ontario, and "black ice" becomes a big problem in most areas of Ohio because we go through so much freeze and melt in any given winter.
January 23, 200817 yr Bridge project to begin next month The Ironton Tribune, January 19, 2008 Chillicothe - Although an exact start date has yet to be established, the project to rehabilitate the Ironton-Russell Bridge will get under way in the coming weeks as contractors for the Ohio Department of Transportation initiate plans to mobilize their crews.
January 30, 200817 yr Mayor asks for federal funding By Mark Shaffer, The Ironton Tribune, January 30, 2008 Ironton is asking for more than $150 million to fix various projects throughout town, including one that concerns people on both sides of the Ohio River — the Ironton-Russell Bridge.
February 6, 200817 yr Okay, so where will this year's crop of Orange Barrels show up in your community? And won't we all be cursing about why we don't have better mass transit so that the barrels wouldn't matter? Here's what's going on in Columbus: Engineers pick where barrels soon will bloom Henderson, Clime roads to undergo major rebuilds Wednesday, February 6, 2008 3:24 AM By Tim Doulin THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH As sure as crocuses herald the coming of spring, orange barrels will again sprout throughout central Ohio this year, promising traffic delays. The gardeners of dozens of road projects met yesterday to discuss their planting season. More below: [email protected] http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/06/ROADPROJECTS.ART_ART_02-06-08_B1_76997D7.html?sid=101
February 6, 200817 yr they should rework the ohio state seal to include a picture of an orange barrel.
February 6, 200817 yr they should rework the ohio state seal to include a picture of an orange barrel. Yeah, it's not like other states have lots of them. We complain about potholes. We complain about orange barrels. We complain too much. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 6, 200817 yr People want to see progress, but complain about the mess or the hassle. Can't please everyone.
February 6, 200817 yr they should rework the ohio state seal to include a picture of an orange barrel. Yeah, it's not like other states have lots of them. We complain about potholes. We complain about orange barrels. We complain too much. Can you say that again, but add your "think first, then type" before it?! Then cut and paste that on the front page of Cleveland.com thanks!
February 6, 200817 yr Be my guest. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 6, 200817 yr Be my guest. Oh, no I wouldn't dare, you're much more eloquent than I am in these matters!
February 6, 200817 yr Golly "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 7, 200817 yr Ohio state flower: the orange barrel. Ohio state motto: "Be prepared to stop." Ohio's two climatic seasons: Winter and Construction although, I don't complain much about construction too much, but sometimes admittedly. I 480 from I 77 to the west for a few miles is about to go back into construction mode again. I'm not sure what they're going to be doing-- I think replacing the center jersey barrier in that they just raised 2 feet in 2004 or 05. The construction company that has been doing the job is about the slowest and most disorganized I've ever seen. In 2006, they had to rip up a portion of I-271 they had just resurfaced due to sub-standard pavement. It doesn't give me confidence that the I-480 bridge I drive on every day was built by the lowest bidder...
February 8, 200817 yr Bridge renovation halts for peregrine falcons Approval gained for cheaper replacement bridge By Mary Music, The Independent, February 7, 2008 RUSSELL — The Ohio Department of Transportation expected renovations on the Ironton-Russell Bridge to begin this month, but the livelihood of some of Ironton’s feathered friends took precedence over the project.
February 13, 200817 yr County bridges all pass muster Engineer rates 8 of 372 'poor' but says they're safe Wednesday, February 13, 2008 3:18 AM By Barbara Carmen THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Franklin County is keeping up with bridge repairs, according to a report yesterday by County Engineer Dean C. Ringle. Only eight of the 372 road and railroad bridges the county inspects are in "poor" shape. None is in danger of collapsing. And none is closed or has posted weight restrictions. Full story at: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/13/FCBridges.ART_ART_02-13-08_B1_2O9BFAP.html?sid=101 Map graphic at: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/13/bridge.html?sid=101
February 16, 200817 yr Highway corridor could spur development Committee seeks Columbus-to-Pittsburgh route By Kent Mallett Advocate Reporter NEWARK — A limited-access, divided highway connecting Columbus and Pittsburgh will take a seven-county united front and possibly alternative financing methods, organizers say. Completion of the Ohio 161/37 expansion project from Columbus to Granville next year will leave about 40 miles of the 160-mile corridor between the major markets on narrow roads with more access points and traffic lights. The Columbus-Pittsburgh Corridor Steering Committee met Friday at State Farm Insurance, where more than 30 government, business and transportation representatives from central and eastern Ohio discussed the corridor goal. A shortfall in state funds for road projects might prevent further work along the corridor until beyond 2015, so the seven-county partnership might be key to obtaining funds for all the projects along the route. Four gaps remain in the corridor: • The Ohio 16-Cherry Valley Road intersection and traffic light in Granville, which would be eliminated with a $62 million interchange just east of the current intersection. • A 10-mile stretch on Ohio 16 from Ohio 60 to Coshocton, which would be improved with a $117 million upgrade. • A 28-mile stretch from Newcomerstown to Cadiz on U.S. 36 and U.S. 250 or a new route; • About two miles just east of Cadiz on U.S. 22. Full article at http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/UPDATES01/80215030
February 16, 200817 yr Yes, let's do as Bush suggests and take transit funding to build this "vitally-needed" road!!! I wanna move to Europe. :x
February 16, 200817 yr For less than what it will likely cost to build this, you could upgrade the state-owned Panhandle Line and put passenger and expanded freight rail service. It would also spur more and better development than the existing four lane segments have done. I've driven parts of this and half the time there's barely any traffic on it until you get close to Columbus or Pittsburgh.
February 16, 200817 yr I think the issue is the people in Newark don't want to be left out if there is money to be spent. It comes down to who in Pittsburgh really wants to travel to Newark? There's still other massive city highway projects besides the "big dogs" of Columbus 70-71 and Cleveland's Innerbelt. I believe Dayton is still working on their I75 project and I recall Cinci needing to do something with an Ohio River bridge at 71. Plus there's Akron's 76 that needs to be upgraded from the 1950s and perhaps tied better to the innerbelt. I'm guessing in Stricklands new system we fix/replace critical highways that are at the end of their lifespan before we move on to making non-critical ones.
February 16, 200817 yr I think the issue is the people in Newark don't want to be left out if there is money to be spent. It comes down to who in Pittsburgh really wants to travel to Newark? The folks really pushing this are out of Coshocton/Tuscarawas counties. Newark has joined this group so that they have support in pushing for a new interchange at the SR 16/Cherry Valley Road interchange. The project that is currently beginning the study phase (upgrading US 22/SR 250/US 36 to a four-lane limited access facility) has very little merit in my opinion. That corridor carries very little traffic, does not exhibit high number of crashes and would have to navigate through two environmentally sensitive areas - two lakes stand in the way of connecting US 36 to US 22 - not to mention the hilly terrain to cut a limited access facility into. This section of the corridor alone would be incredibly expensive. I have doubts as to the economic benefits of the project(s) as well. A portion of SR 16 was upgraded between Newark and Coshocton about 6 - 8 years ago and have produced very litttle economic benefits (to date). In fact the main benefactor (Longaberger Basket Co.) of the project has fallen on very tough financial times. I agree with Noozer's comments concerning the rail corridor. If a direct link between Columbus and Pittsburgh is truly warranted, an improved rail corridor would do wonders for this area. The planned investements - ethanol plants, alternative energy investments, logistical centers, etc - all require improved rail facilities. The communities that would be affected by this corridor have strong commuter relationships to both Columbus and Pittsburgh, which would be aided by commuter rail. Since this group is pushing this corridor for economic benefits, it would be interesting to see how the highway's benefits would stack up against the rail benefits - i.e. do an economic impact study akin to the ORDC Economic Impact study performed on the initial Ohio Hub segments.
February 16, 200817 yr Why do they need an expressway upgrade? People in Columbus can go to Cincinnati now instead of Pitt for the IKEA experience.
February 26, 200817 yr Bridge joke nearly made Senate floor By Jess Mancini, Marietta Times, February 23, 2008 PARKERSBURG — A West Virginia Senate committee last week as a joke amended a resolution to name the Corridor D bridge over the Ohio River after Sen. Frank Deem of Wood County. The resolution nearly made it to the floor of the Senate for a vote this week, said Deem, who said he was unaware of the action by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
March 3, 200817 yr Fostoria bypass plans unveiled By JIM MAURER Findlay Courier Staff Writer FOSTORIA — For nearly 50 years there has been a drive in Fostoria to construct a bypass and get heavy trucks, and other through traffic, off city streets. Since the fall of 2006, the state Department of Transportation has been developing plans for a nearly 13-mile, two-lane bypass which would connect existing county and township roads with state and federal highways. [email protected] http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2008/Mar/03/ar_news_030308_story4.asp
March 18, 200817 yr Report: Tons of rock, sand piled on bridge just before collapse cnn.com MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- More than 191 tons of construction material was piled over the weakest areas of the Interstate 35W bridge shortly before the span collapsed into the Mississippi River, federal investigators said. The piles of rock and sand, to be used in resurfacing the bridge, were placed over steel gusset plates, connectors joining bridge beams, that were thinner than they should have been, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an update on its investigation Monday. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/18/bridge.collapse.report.ap/index.html
March 28, 200817 yr Bureau, ODOT debate bypass By T.W. Allen, Portsmouth Daily Times, March 25, 2008 Scioto County Farm Bureau had a meeting Tuesday night at Scioto County Welcome Center, with officials invited from Ohio Department of Transportation, to talk about the Portsmouth Bypass project. The underlying theme for the meeting - what seemed to overshadow other issues, was the fact the current projected bypass route would travel through the middle of the Ken Rase farm. The Portsmouth Bypass project has been in the works for a number of years. Plans have been drawn up after much consideration of the effects it would have on the area.
March 31, 200817 yr It looks like it's almost complete. The only thing missing is the lights. lol They have the signs up stating ramps is being metered stop here on red. I'm guessing they didn't have the signed covered so people can get used to the idea of stopping at the meter. I'm thinking there will have a full page ad in the newspaper soon so the public knows how to use the ramps properly. They need to put meters on both sides of the Brent Spence. I think that will help a bit until it's completed in 2020.
April 2, 200817 yr This is one of the most simple projects that ODOT could ever get their hands on, and it has taken months - and months - AND MONTHS!
April 2, 200817 yr Here's more information: CORRIDORS OF THE FUTURE Fact Sheet CORRIDOR: Interstate 70 (I-70): Dedicated Truck Lanes - Missouri to Ohio Submitted by: Indiana DOT in partnership with the Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio DOTs. Corridors of the Future funding: $3 million in Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) funds for a study to evaluate the feasibility of constructing truck-only lanes along I-70. $2 million in Interstate Maintenance Discretionary (IMD) funds for supplemental environmental work in Missouri to evaluate the impacts of dedicated truck lanes. Project Description: This project proposes dedicated and segregated truck lanes along I-70 from the Interstate 435 beltway on the eastern part of Kansas City, Missouri to the Ohio/West Virginia border near Bridgeport, Ohio/Wheeling, West Virginia. The concept proposes adding four dedicated truck lanes to the existing infrastructure, two in each direction, with at least one interchange per county providing access to the truck lanes and includes, conceptually, truck staging areas. These lanes present the opportunity to pilot size and weight increases on a facility dedicated to trucks. The dedicated truck lanes are seen as a way to reduce congestion, improve safety, and offset the maintenance costs of general purpose lanes. The volume of freight movement along I-70 states is growing. Current truck volumes are such that truck traffic is 21.5 percent in urban areas and 28 percent in the rural sections. The proposed corridor and changes in size and weight have the potential to attract freight movement from other parallel routes (Interstate 80 and Interstate 40), as well as other major north/south interstates. These options make I-70 a reasonable candidate for a tolled facility. Status: At this stage no formal design standard has been selected and agreed upon for the I-70 dedicated truck lane corridor. Next steps include a joint feasibility study to test the dedicated truck lane concept, freight market analysis to quantify demand for this route, development of a multi-state agreement, and completion of an Environmental Impact Study. Corridor Statistics: The I-70 corridor throughout the four states is over 750 miles with approximately 240 miles traversing through urban areas. Currently, the average daily traffic throughout the entire corridor is over 45,000 with a maximum over 250,000. Average daily truck traffic is over 11,000 with a maximum over 26,000. Among the 240 mile urban segment, over 53 percent is currently under heavy congestion. Without any further improvement to the corridor, the projected 2035 average daily traffic will be over 100,000 which includes over 25,000 trucks. By 2035, 97 percent urban segments will be under heavy congestion. Congestion for non-urban segments will increase from the current 16 percent to over 87 percent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press Release: U.S. Department of Transportation Names Six Interstate Routes as "Corridors of the Future" to Help Fight Traffic Congestion, I-95, I-70, I-15, I-5, I-10, and I-69 selected, 9/10/07 FHWA Press Room "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 2, 200817 yr Put rail in between them lanes. I was watching something last night about how some of the companies are suffering with fuel costs. Basicly fuel is 35-40% of their operating costs now. How are they projecting, so many more cars and trucks will be on the road in 2035 when fuel will be over the $10 a gallon range???
April 2, 200817 yr ^Great point; and I hardly believe that anyone would think of taking I-70 as an alternate to I-80 (as the article suggests) considering the two highways have distance of 100-150 miles separating them.
April 2, 200817 yr This is a proposal based on the premise that $1.50 per gallon gas will return someday. ODOT and other state DOTs are shedding major-new capacity projects like a snake sheds skin. This is not something they want or can take on. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 2, 200817 yr CORRIDORS OF THE FUTURE This report should be titled "CORRIDORS OF THE PAST" -- with the subtitle "Burning More of Your Tax Dollars on Relatively Inefficient Modes of Transportation"
April 2, 200817 yr Okay. This project was very similar to the STAR/VDOT proposal for Interstate 81. Add two new lanes of dedicated truck-only traffic in each direction and toll it. For the entire length. Interstate 81 traverses through rural and some urban terrain, and adding two additional lanes would require several billion in investment and ROW purchases alone. And you know what they are doing now? NS is heavily upgrading a parallel rail line to handle even more capacity. Far cheaper and much more efficient.
April 2, 200817 yr This is a proposal based on the premise that $1.50 per gallon gas will return someday. ODOT and other state DOTs are shedding major-new capacity projects like a snake sheds skin. This is not something they want or can take on. Yep. We're not going to have the cheap oil necessary to run this thing. Corn ethanol has now been proven a bust and cellulosic ethanol, though better, will never make up for the 20.8 million barrels we consume per day. We need to wise up in a hurry.
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