April 2, 200817 yr How anyone can propose this with a straight face is beyond me. Is this some sort of April fool's joke??? Let's see...at one time, we had the greatest railroad in the country, the Pennsylvania Railroad, running countless freight and passenger trains, all on privately financed, owned, and operated property. They did this without any cost to the taxpayer (and helped win WWII, thank you very much) and provided service that would still be the envy of the rest of the world. And what did we do? Why we built roads with taxpayer dollars, which allowed truckers to take away the railroads' business. We built taxpayer supported airports which took away the passenger business. Then we administered the coup de grace...we built superhighways that gave the truckers the advantage of speed. And at the same time regulated the railroads into near oblivion! Now the Pennsylvania is long gone as is the railroad itself between Dayton and Indianapolis. East of Columbus it's just an unsignalled single track, a far cry from the days of the PRR with double track and cab signaling which permitted 100 mph speeds in places. All passenger train service is gone at such former bastions as Columbus and Dayton. Even the once-glorious stations live on only in old postcards. It'll take billions to put it all back. And yet here we are...another lamebrain mega highway project, which will kill what's left of the railroads in this region and will destroy the environment, destroy more buildings and houses, destroy what's left of urban areas, displace more people, take more farmland, add to our overdependence on oil. What the hell??? I think this is a sinister idea and it came from INDot. I think it might be a way to build a new toll road for the outfit which runs the Indiana Tollway and do it with taxpayer dollars. Oh, and by the way, please tell me what trucker would use a toll road when they have access to a free, parallel I-70??? I have a better idea: Junk the road idea and use the money to: a) Rebuild the ex-PRR Panhandle line between Pittsburgh and St. Louis to top standards and use it for intermodal freight and pasenger service. Get the trucks off the roads and start putting people back on the trains. b) Spend $$$ in each major city on transit improvements to get people off the roads in Pittsburgh, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis and St. Louis. A lot of the congestion on I-70 is LOCAL, not interstate traffic. This is insane!!! :shoot:
April 3, 200817 yr Corridor D bridge named for island The Blennerhassett Island Bridge scheduled to open soon By Pamela Brust, Times Tribune [Marietta], April 2, 2008 PARKERSBURG — Blennerhassett Island officials were pleased to learn Monday the Corridor D bridge spanning the Ohio River will be named The Blennerhassett Island Bridge. Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, sponsored by local Sens. Frank Deem, R-Wood, and Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, requested the West Virginia Division of Highways name the bridge after the historic site. The resolution notes “Blennerhassett Island has played an important role in Ohio Valley history for over 200 years.”
April 7, 200817 yr Bucking the odds, backers push for Columbus-to-Pittsburgh highway http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/04/07/story12.html?b=1207540800^1615547 A seven-county partnership is pushing for development of a Columbus-to-Pittsburgh highway corridor despite the daunting financial and political challenges facing the idea. For more info, please click the link "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 7, 200817 yr Except for between Columbus & Newark, this route is (by my own observation) underused: even the newer four-lane sections between Newark & Coshocton. Not saying that highway improvements to the corridor aren't needed, but with gasoline costs and the overall oil prices market having a negative impact on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), is this a good use of transportation funds? It makes far more sense...and would cost far less $$$$...to upgrade the Panhandle Rail Line to accomodate more freight and re-establish passenger rail.
April 8, 200817 yr Ugh...what a waste of $500k. Even after the feasibility study phase has been completed, all that work will have to be redone because it will be years before additional study phases are undertaken. The fact that everyone (ODOT, State Reps, committee members) admit that construction dollars are 10-plus years away show that there is no need to be doing a feasibility study at this time. Some of the quotes from the article are very, very weak arguments at best... ^^"The expansion would give Central Ohio a more direct four-lane route to Pittsburgh than Interstate 70,..." Having traveled this route many times visiting family in Pittsburgh, there is nothing circuitous about this route. In fact, I don't see where the route being proposed would be anymore direct. ^^"This would connect Pittsburgh and Columbus in an unprecedented way," he said. "It would truly be multimodal - highway, rail and air." In what way is this project multimodal? There are no proposed intermodal yards, no proposed connections to local transit, and a very weak argument for "connecting" to CMH or PIT. ^^"The big boys get the dollars," he said. "What's left goes to the rural areas. The game's not fair, but life's not fair. We're certainly not giving up." So Ohio should spend $1 billion plus in building what will be an underused facility through environmentally-sensitive areas and what I'm sure is not exactly the best terrain to build a highway? If anything, I'd say our urban areas have been neglected. The bulk of the transportation dollars should be spent where it will have the greatest benefit. Our urban areas experience the highest number of crashes, highest amount of traffic, and have the highest economic potential. I would love to see how the economic numbers of this study stack up against the Ohio Hub numbers for the Columbus to Pittsburgh corridor.
April 8, 200817 yr Here are the 2025 ridership/revenue numbers for the Pittsburgh-Columbus & Columbus-Chicago Corridors from the Ohio Hub Report. (In Millions $) (79 MPH) Ridership / Pass. Miles / Revenue / Yield Pittsburgh-Columbus 0.62 62.11 $14 $0.22 (110 MPH) 0.92 90.86 $25 $0.27 Capital Investment Requirement by Corridor (in thousands of 2002$) (79 MPH) (110 MPH) Pittsburgh-Columbus via Panhandle: $441,918 $488,216 Link to Executive Summary: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/Ohio%20Hub/Website/ordc/Ohio_Hub_Final_Docs/Final_Document_Rev_12_06_07/Executive_Summary_Full_Report.pdf
April 11, 200817 yr The meters are installed, but boy did they use the cheapest design possible. Unlike the meters I have seen on the ramps in Calif.
April 11, 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! Given the nature of the work, I imagine that ODOT got this project done for a relatively cheap cost by allowing the contractor all the time in the world. Also, these lights look like two section polycarbonate heads to me... am I missing something? They look better than those in Columbus, that's for sure.
April 12, 200817 yr Those things scare me. The position on the ramp is exactly where one would look over his shoulder to merge into traffic. One would not expect a traffic light there at all. I predict rear-end collisions.
April 12, 200817 yr Overhead meters would have been better. At least people are use to seeing them at common intersections. But since these are on the sides. They will take some getting used too.
April 13, 200817 yr The meters are installed, but boy did they use the cheapest design possible. Unlike the meters I have seen on the ramps in Calif. These are the exact same meters that they use in the Atlanta area...except I don't understand the purpose of having lights facing both directions. Anyone have any rationale behind that?
April 14, 200817 yr The meters are installed, but boy did they use the cheapest design possible. Unlike the meters I have seen on the ramps in Calif. These are the exact same meters that they use in the Atlanta area...except I don't understand the purpose of having lights facing both directions. Anyone have any rationale behind that? This Plan Insert Sheet implies that the signals **should** all face the same direction. I imagine that they probably will all face the same direction by the time they start operation.
April 14, 200817 yr ^Even so, why are four lights needed at each spot. I have always seen two lights with one being on each side of the road...we have four. I don't get it.
April 14, 200817 yr ^Even so, why are four lights needed at each spot. I have always seen two lights with one being on each side of the road...we have four. I don't get it. I don't know why there are 4 signals per onramp, other than that it's as prescribed in the Plan Insert Sheet. I have a reasoning as to why those signal heads are turned around though... in Ohio an unpowered traffic signal is to be treated as an all way stop. I imagine that the ORC probably applies to these signals as well, so it could technically be that you'd have to make a stop before passing the ramp meter.
April 15, 200817 yr The ramp has been painted for two parallel lanes. One set of lights for each lane. I am still envisioning a cluster %&$# here!!
April 22, 200817 yr ODOT unveils plans More than $15M allocated to area By Frank Lewis, Portsmouth Daily Times, April 18, 2008 More than $15 million in road construction projects are slated for Scioto County, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 office. Among the projects scheduled over the next year and a half will be a two-lane resurfacing project on various forest roads in Shawnee State Forest, from October 2008 to June 2009, with an estimated cost of $1,288,000.
April 26, 200817 yr But wait: There's more! Here's a Missouri DOT video I pulled off the Urban St. Louis site. Makes me wanna puke. Note also the tie the MDOT director is wearing. Shows his mindset. YouTube Video Shows How Dedicated Truck Lanes Could Work ST. LOUIS, MO, April 24, 2008 - Separating trucks from cars on Interstate 70 sounds like a pretty good idea. But how would it work? A new video posted on YouTube explains what truck-only lanes could look like and how they might operate. The video can be found on www.youtube.com/modotvideo "When we talk about dedicated truck lanes, we're often asked how the concept works, especially how vehicles get on and off the highway," Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn said. "Because this is a new concept, it's hard to visualize. The video helps people understand possible options." MoDOT is studying truck-only lanes as a way to improve safety and reduce congestion during a future reconstruction and expansion of I-70. As truck traffic continues to increase, Missourians have asked MoDOT to consider separating cars and trucks on the interstate. New technologies have emerged that make that separation more feasible. The study is also being undertaken because of Missouri's key role in the nationally designated "Corridors of the Future" program. By conducting this study now, MoDOT will be positioned to move quickly to address I-70's challenges - either by adding more general-use lanes or by building truck-only lanes - when design and construction funding becomes available. No funding is currently available for this project. Read More
April 26, 200817 yr That looks disgusting. Do we need 8 lanes of highway through all of rural Missouri? Even so, wouldn't 4 lanes in each direction work better than two divided 2-lane groups? And why should trucks get exclusive use of the inner lanes anyway? Many highways have express/local systems that are open to all vehicles, and that's basically what this proposal is for. Plus, the video talks about multi-modal transportation... so wouldn't that slow the growth of semi truck traffic instead of increase it in the long term?
May 12, 200817 yr Ramp meters should be working soon BY KURT BACKSCHEIDER | [email protected] http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/NEWS01/805090439/1067/RSS1103 GREEN TWP. - Drivers who use eastbound Interstate 74 for their morning commute will soon have to obey the flashing red and green lights of ramp meters. The Ohio Department of Transportation is finishing up installation of ramp metering systems at the North Bend Road, Montana Avenue, Colerain/Beekman Avenue and Spring Grove Avenue entrance ramps to eastbound I-74.
May 12, 200817 yr What's up with contractors leaving jobs they have not completed? It happed also at the railroad overpass on 747 in tri-county.
May 19, 200817 yr Home bypasses future destruction By T.W. Allen, Portsmouth Daily Times, May 17, 2008 Randy Rucker, a property owner in Minford, recently purchased a home on Lucasville-Minford Road that he said was slated for destruction by the Ohio Department of Transportation, as part of the Portsmouth Bypass project. Solid Rock Construction has been contracted by ODOT to demolish houses that will be in the path of what one day will be the Portsmouth Bypass.
May 19, 200817 yr Chesapeake Bypass route to be realigned By David E. Malloy, Herald-Dispatch, May 18, 2008 CHESAPEAKE, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Transportation has stopped buying right-of-way property for the Chesapeake Bypass, also called the Tri-State Outer Belt, while a route for the proposed four-mile, $150 million road, is realigned. Tim S. McDonald, the department's deputy director, told a contingent of Lawrence County residents visiting Columbus on Thursday that the state is focusing on alignment issues with the four-mile section of road between Chesapeake and Proctorville. He said the bypass could be considered a Tier 1 project and thus on the list for funding. Bureaucrats in the department under former Gov. Bob Taft ranked the missing, four-mile link, as a Tier 2 project and thus not on the funding list.
May 26, 200817 yr Bridge to have periodic closures By Mark Shaffer, Ironton Tribune, May 24, 2008 There is good news and bad news about the Ironton-Russell Bridge. The good news is the schedule for the replacement bridge has moved up. The bad news is that during this summer's work on the current bridge, people used to going across it may have to deal with it being periodically closed between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. over a 60-day period.
June 4, 200817 yr Bypass plans now are available for public review By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, June 3, 2008 Scioto County Engineer Clyde Willis invites residents of the county to visit his office to review the state's plans for the upcoming state route 823; more commonly known as the Portsmouth Bypass. The 17-mile bypass will connect U.S. 52 near the Ohio 140 exit to U.S. 23 north of the Ohio 348 intersection by the Scioto County Fairgrounds, at an expected cost of $750 million, Willis said.
June 9, 200817 yr DOT to Allow Pedestrians to Cross Blennerhassett Island Bridge First HuntingtonNews.Net, June 6, 2008 Charleston, WV (HNN) — In celebration of the opening of the Blennerhassett Island Bridge to traffic on Friday, June 13, the Department of Transportation will allow pedestrians to walk across the span the evening of Thursday, June 12. Pedestrians will be permitted to walk along the eastbound lanes from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., the River City Runners Club of Parkersburg will sponsor a 2.5 kilometer race on the bridge, also along the eastbound lanes. There is no charge for entering the race, but a signed waiver is needed from all participants before they will be permitted to run.
June 9, 200817 yr Sooooo...how are the trucks supposed to fuel up and not merge right into traffic? To the right is the automobile high-speed lane. I don't know about you, but it seems that's a perfect storm for more accidents.
June 9, 200817 yr Thanks for the update, Seicer. I will use that bridge going to Nelsonville from Cleveland as an alternative to the Columbus route.
June 10, 200817 yr "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)" The Nebraska speed limit is 75 mph (I-80); the Kansas speed limit is 65 mph (I-70). Not much potential unless that changes.
June 10, 200817 yr Let's see...it'll take at least 25 years to build this monster IF the funding can be found. What will diesel cost then?
June 10, 200817 yr Better still: where will we get all of that diesel fuel? We haven't been able to effectively make diesel out of lower grade oils and that's increasingly what's left in the world. It's why the price of diesel/heating oil is rising faster than gasoline. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 15, 200816 yr Blennerhassett span opens today Corridor D finally complete By Rick Steelhammer, Charleston Gazette, June 13, 2008 PARKERSBURG - Wearing hats and sunglasses to deflect the sun and carrying cameras and cell phones to record the moment, hundreds of Parkersburg area residents braved 90-degree heat Thursday to stroll across the newly completed and long-awaited Blennerhassett Bridge. The $120 million bridge carrying four lanes of U.S. 50 across the Ohio River opens to vehicular traffic today, following dedication ceremonies set to begin at 1:30 p.m. Among those scheduled to speak are Gov. Joe Manchin, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., and Anne Pope, co-chairperson of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
July 23, 200816 yr http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D02/Pages/PublicMeetings.aspx Documents from Public meeting in Feb 2008 Look Under SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Alternative Matrix on Priority Rankings - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Alternative Matrix on Priority Rankings. Average Travel Time - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Aerial Image showing Average Travel Time. Comment Form - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Comment form for the SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Public Meeting. Intersection Crash Rates - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Aerial Image showing Intersection Crash Rates. Meeting Handout - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Cover sheet for Sen-Fostoria Loop Road Public Meeting. Public Information Meeting Board - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Meeting Board for the SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Public Meeting. Railroads - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Aerial Image showing Railroad Information. Recommended Priority of Segments - 1 of 2 - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Recommended Priority of Segments - 1 of 2. Recommended Priority of Segments - 2 of 2 - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Recommended Priority of Segments - 2 of 2. Roadway Suitability - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Aerial Image showing Roadway Suitability. Traffic - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Aerial Image showing Traffic Information. Typical Section of Proposed Roadway - SEN-Fostoria Loop Road Typical Section of Proposed Roadway.
July 31, 200816 yr State can't afford bridge repairs; estimated cost $4 billion Cleveland Plain Dealer July 30, 2008 21:00PM Fixing all of Ohio's bridges could cost more than $4 billion, according to a national study. It's a bill the state says it can't foot alone without additional investment from the federal government. With the first anniversary of the fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse this week, transportation experts are stressing the importance of bridge maintenance. The Ohio Department of Transportation says it's working to keep bridges safe through annual inspections and a fix-it-first philosophy. More at: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/07/state_cant_afford_bridge_repai.html
August 12, 200816 yr Looks like i got the I-team to investigate. rom: steven fields [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 7:19 PM To: Matarese, John Subject: ODOT Hello John. I'm writing about the situation with the Ohio Department of Transportation. I have seen just within this past couple of years that contractors are walking away from Projects. I'll give you two examples. 1. Back in 2006 i believe, a contractor walked away from the 747 railroad overpass in the try county mall area. I'm not sure why. I don't know if the company went out of business. 2. The I-74 ramp meter system. The contractor walked away from that project. No reason is given. These are pretty small project compared to what's going to happen on I-75 in a few years. Don't ODOT investigate these companies before allowing them to work on these projects? Do ODOT always go with the lowest estimate? I hope someone could investigate. I don't want to waste my tax money. ;) Steven Fields From: Matarese, John ([email protected]) Sent: Mon 8/11/08 10:58 AM To: steven fields ([email protected]) Cc: Limor, Hagit ([email protected]); Dunster, Sean ([email protected]) Steven: I was unaware that the contractor walked away from the I 74 ramp meter project. This could be a good subject for our I Team....I will forward it to our investigative staff. Thanks! John Matarese Don'tWasteYourMoney Consumer Reporter Please check my webpage for all my recent reports, product reviews, scam alerts, and other consumer information
August 12, 200816 yr Well, ODOT is required to award the contract to the lowest bidder, most of the time. To ensure that the people working on the project are qualified and not someone off the streets, ODOT uses a prequalification process. No prequal process is perfect.
September 11, 200816 yr Didn't want to start a new thread! No meter news with this, but it is in the area of them. I-74 lanes closed beginning Sept. 15 Community Press Staff Report • September 9, 2008 Beginning Monday, Sept. 15, the right lane of westbound Interstate 74, between Harrison Avenue and I-75, will be closed for pavement work and placement of conduit and fiber optic as follows: * Between Harrison Avenue and Montana Avenue - closed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. * Between Montana Avenue and I-75 - closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. These lane restrictions will be in place for about two weeks.
September 11, 200816 yr Wow, looking at the first post in this thread - June 2004 - it says after the conclusion of the that the meters should be up in 12-18 months - They mention crash data from year 2000! I'm just curious to know if - as a result of higher gas prices, less driving, etc. if the ramp meters are even needed anymore? If they were really necessary for safety reasons wouldn't ODOT just get the job done in a timely manner like the repairs they made to the I74 bridge over I275 earlier this summer.
September 11, 200816 yr Wow, this is woefully humorous. This is a project that probably could get the ax at this point. Too bad it was so close to being finished there is really no reason not to finish it.
September 12, 200816 yr There still is a ton more volume on our highways compared to when they were designed.
October 4, 200816 yr Two Inner Belt Bridge connectors deemed 'severely deteriorated' Cleveland Plain Dealer Fewer steel connectors on the Inner Belt Bridge than originally reported are severely deterioriated, but state engineers remain concerned and plan to do detailed tests. Only two connectors, instead of 16, where the bridge's truss meets the arch and pier, cannot support the full weight on the bridge, according to data given Thursday to the Ohio Department of Transportation by Richland Engineering, which conducted the yearly inspection of the nearly 50-year-old span. ODOT, which Friday released the preliminary report it received days ago from Richland and the company's updated information, plans to fully inspect eight of the corroded connectors, said Jocelynn Clemings, spokeswoman for the district in Cuyahoga County. Until the detailed tests are complete, the two outer lanes in each direction on the bridge will remain closed, she said. More at: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/two_inner_belt_bridge_connecto.html
October 12, 200816 yr ODOT to present plan for Inner Belt Bridge next week after reviewing test results Cleveland Plain Dealer / Karen Farkas The Ohio Department of Transportation expects to decide next week what it plans to do with the aging Inner Belt Bridge after new tests were run on the span. Stress and strain measurements were recorded Friday by 75 sensors on two steel beams on the bridge's south side. The tests were performed after a recent inspection showed the two beams cannot support a fully loaded bridge. Full story at: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/odot_to_present_plan_for_inner.html#more
October 20, 200816 yr Ann Fisher commentary: Addiction to road salt bad for us, ecosystem Monday, October 20, 2008 3:08 AM By Ann Fisher Road salt is necessary in wintry climates where motor-vehicle traffic is heavy. Make that a necessary evil. We're addicted to it. When you oversalt your potatoes at the dinner table, it's your problem if you suffer from cardiovascular disease.
October 20, 200816 yr Strange karma - noozer and the PD resurrect this thread on the same day... Whatever happened to Joe Demeter, who had to destroy trees that were damaged by salt sprayed on Interstate 71? Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use
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