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Fizzle posted:That's pretty much how 90% of the lights are around here in my neck of CT Having a red ball + green arrow is normal. Having the red ball while the adjacent through signal is GREEN is pretty freakin' weird.
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Aug 23, 2011 03:31
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Silver95280 posted:Another one; though this one may have been done on purpose. It still looks weird though. It's also erroneous; the right-turn lane is a diversion away from the intersection and should face no signal (only yield), so a right-turn arrow shouldn't be displayed. Other than that, it's just kind of bizarre and maybe they had a 4-signal head hanging around and wanted to use it. edit: it's a 5-signal head  there must be some green ball phase too
Joe 30330 fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Aug 23, 2011 |
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Aug 23, 2011 03:43
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There is a legitimate opportunity for a combo red ball/green ball... it's equivalent to a yellow light in a two-signal system. But that's not how they're using it in that photo.
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Aug 23, 2011 15:01
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Silver95280 posted:Has anybody heard of an Offset Single Point Interchange? It's basically a diamond/SPUI jammed onto one side of the freeway. Minnesota's getting its first, but I've never seen one anywhere else. That looks pretty sweet, where is it going to be? Is that 36 that goes through Roseville and such? What's the cross street? (Twin Cities resident checking in)
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Aug 23, 2011 17:50
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So what plans/building codes do we have in the Northeast for earthquakes? 
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Aug 23, 2011 20:54
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bear shark posted:So what plans/building codes do we have in the Northeast for earthquakes? A lot of building around here were built before seismic building standards. My office is one of them. It's basically solid stone. It didn't move very much at all, and there wasn't any noise associated with the 'quake. Didn't stop people from flipping the gently caress out though! I'm sure California folks will chime in here and tell us how silly we're being over a 6-or-so-pointer. (Wasn't even that strong here, CT, more like 4.) VVV Well, poo poo. That makes me a bit more nervous! My buidling's pretty much solid brick and barely moved at all! 
Silver Falcon fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Aug 23, 2011 |
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Aug 23, 2011 21:54
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bear shark posted:So what plans/building codes do we have in the Northeast for earthquakes? Not great, because pretty much everything was built before seismic design was even a thing. Boston is in a tremendously high-risk area for earthquakes, not because it's prone to them, but because its geotechnical situation and building design makes it very vulnerable. Seismic design is a completely different animal from wind/rain/snow/live load design. I was on the 4th floor of my building today and it shook like a mofo, but nothing really broke, aside from some cracked drywall. A more solid brick building might collapse under the same loading, because it's not built to deflect. We've got lots and lots of brick and stone buildings here. Edit: ^^^^^ Think of it as a rubber block vs. a block of glass. The glass is stiffer, but when you hit it the right way, it's going to shatter. Not a perfect analogy, but it gives you a good idea. Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Aug 23, 2011 |
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Aug 23, 2011 21:55
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bear shark posted:So what plans/building codes do we have in the Northeast for earthquakes? Surprisingly, many of the stresses a building sees during a severe storm are quite similar to stresses seen during an earthquake, and many of the construction techniques are identical for both. So, a house built to withstand a severe hurricane (or nor'easter) could be expected to hold up rather well to a strong earthquake. Up to a certain point, at least- it gets a lot more complicated when you start looking at larger structure (bridges, large industrial buildings) where different parts of the structure could be pulled in different directions. grover fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 03:14
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FISHMANPET posted:That looks pretty sweet, where is it going to be? Is that 36 that goes through Roseville and such? What's the cross street? It's MN36 and Rice St.
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Aug 24, 2011 06:35
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Well, thanks to this thread I've learned a lot. Anyway, how would you design this to be less of a clusterfuck? Here Trying to get from the train station to rt 1 south is...terrible.
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Aug 25, 2011 00:35
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AA is for Quitters posted:Well, thanks to this thread I've learned a lot. That's a poorly implemented "throughabout." Normally, when you have a throughabout/hamburger roundabout, the main street never has to stop and entering/turning traffic is extremely light. When it gets to the point where you have to start painting stop bars all along the main road, you're better off with just a signal. I'd probably have signalized it once Route 1 went multi-lane. And today, I have for you a mini-Field Visit. I went out to the signing project at Bradley International Airport. The extruded aluminum signs aren't installed yet, but I figured you'd like to see just how big they are in person.   This was one of the smaller signs. Most of the others are so large that they're stored folded in half... such as this one.   46 feet wide by 12 feet tall. This sign is wider than the entire roadway, shoulders included, it'll be hanging above.
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Aug 25, 2011 02:09
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This is the biggest sign I've been allowed to put up http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.2...2,44.66,,1,4.76 I'm a technician, I'm just a wittle guy. Actually, our county roads don't have very many large signs (My first recommendation was for it to read Mount Baldy  )
Longpig Bard fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 02:45
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Cichlidae posted:That's a poorly implemented "throughabout." Normally, when you have a throughabout/hamburger roundabout, the main street never has to stop and entering/turning traffic is extremely light. When it gets to the point where you have to start painting stop bars all along the main road, you're better off with just a signal. I'd probably have signalized it once Route 1 went multi-lane. Worst part is if you're driving route 1, you have 3 stoplights in 200 yards. One for fisher place, one for the entering the throughabout and one for exiting the throughabout. And try having to weave into that far left lane from the trainstation up 571, to pull onto route 1 south. But at least the rest of the state has the awesomness of jughandles. I love jughandles. Driving around where mom lives in SD I can think of like, six intersections that would benefit a lot from jughandles. \/\/Alexander rd in rush hour is kinda lovely, although it's gotten a lot better in the past few years since they put the traffic circle in where Alexander meets North Post. Actually,that whole area in rush hour sucks, cause there's so many loving people. I usually spend 5 minutes going up to Quakerbridge though, just cause it's easier. Rt 1 is quite possibly the worst road ever in rush hour, cause it backs up all the way from 95-the 95 exits are weird. Three leaf clover, and getting off 95 onto rt 1 is...interesting, especially coming in from PA. I just really hate that they stopped Clarksville rd from entering rt 1-it becomes a one-way at the DMV. and this is why NJ has some terrible drivers. Who needs to actually know how to drive in traffic? We take our tests on a closed course! Dr Jankenstein fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 15:05
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AA is for Quitters posted:Well, thanks to this thread I've learned a lot. Can you work your way through the parking lots to exit on Alexander Rd? Or take back roads to one of the other intersections further south, like Meadow or Quakerbridge? I though I'd never say this, but it looks like the cloverleafs would be a better option for you.
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Aug 25, 2011 15:49
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Cichlidae posted:That's a poorly implemented "throughabout." Normally, when you have a throughabout/hamburger roundabout, the main street never has to stop and entering/turning traffic is extremely light. When it gets to the point where you have to start painting stop bars all along the main road, you're better off with just a signal. I'd probably have signalized it once Route 1 went multi-lane. In Birmingham, UK a roundabout was recently turned into a throughabout, but only for one direction. Unfortunately its too recent to be on google maps, but theres a diagram here. Looking at the old satilite photo It used to be a fairly ordinary roundabout which might have been a bit too busy, but no traffic lights or anything. I found the new junction to be quite confusing when I drove through it, since I was expecting it to be a roundabout! Every movement now involves at least one set of lights. The only other throughabotu I have experienced is this one. Which was similarly confusing. I don't think I like them at all, unless you are on the main road and want to go straight! Edit: I think you have done something wrong when you need a lane numbering system nozz fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 16:30
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Cichlidae posted:That's a poorly implemented "throughabout." Normally, when you have a throughabout/hamburger roundabout, the main street never has to stop and entering/turning traffic is extremely light. When it gets to the point where you have to start painting stop bars all along the main road, you're better off with just a signal. I'd probably have signalized it once Route 1 went multi-lane. That sign's going on the Hamilton Rd. overpass underneath the transition point of CT 20 to SR 401. The sign that's currently up there isn't THAT old... I think. It has the new (relatively speaking) Bradley logo on it. Interesting that they're replacing it already. Maybe they just glommed the new logo on top of the old one. I wonder if the old BDL logo is visible when they take it down. I loved the old BDL logo, as it had some parallels to the Hartford Whalers logo. Both were designed/unveiled around the same time, and I forget exactly which one came first (probably the updated Whalers logo). The last old-logo BDL sign on Route 20 came down a few years ago. I think there's still one left on route 187.  versus  Now that terminal B's closed, there's a few stragglers worth of old BDL logos on some jetways in the original Terminal A, but I think they are gone now that American has taken some of the gates. On Perimeter road at the west side of the airport, there's a sign graveyard. For a period of time the gate was always left open. In my younger days I thought about hopping out of the car and taking some pictures, but they sic the state police on people who park on Perimeter Road pretty quickly. Makes it hard to watch airplanes near runway 24, which is one of the best areas to watch.
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Aug 26, 2011 00:44
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BTW, sorry if I missed this, but did you get unfired now that SEBAC passed?
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Aug 26, 2011 21:37
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smackfu posted:BTW, sorry if I missed this, but did you get unfired now that SEBAC passed? I was also curious in this regard, I hope you still have your position Cichlidae If not then happy first day of retirement!
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Aug 27, 2011 02:27
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Here's the local clusterfuck: The divided highway is US 259; the other two are fairly minor but decently-trafficked local roads. It's a bit of a wait sometimes on the side roads. And even if you're, say, that red car headed north on 259 and floor it as soon as the light turns green, it'll be yellow by the time you make it across the vast expanse of nothing. I think I'd rather go south a bit and take my chances jaywalking than attempt that crosswalk (the east side of which goes to an old folks' home, granny better have a rocket-powered wheelchair). A few miles to the south, 259 crosses I-20 and becomes one with the interstate for a bit to the west. Here's where you get off:  Left exits both ways. There's got to be a better way, and it's not like there was* anything nearby that they had to work around. (*Edit: everything that is there was built well after the interchange.) Up in Arkansas, where I occasionally go on business, I always miss exit 98B going east or 98A going west on I-30.  They're not visible until you go under the MLK/270 overpass, and the sign for them before the overpass does not indicate that they're RIGHT THE gently caress THERE. You pretty much need to be braking as soon as you pass the first exit. Chillbro Baggins fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Aug 27, 2011 |
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Aug 27, 2011 19:47
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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smackfu posted:BTW, sorry if I missed this, but did you get unfired now that SEBAC passed? Stew Man Chew posted:I was also curious in this regard, I hope you still have your position Cichlidae I don't think my layoff notice was officially rescinded, but it was extended to September 1, which is when the Legislature should approve (or fail to strike down) the agreement. I'm not pleased about the deal, but we have some legal action ongoing to try to reverse some of the hits we've taken. Pretty much anyone over 50 in the DOT took some special deal to retire early. We probably won't get any real work done for a few months until we're allowed to hire replacements.
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Aug 27, 2011 22:38
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Delivery McGee posted:Up in Arkansas, where I occasionally go on business, I always miss exit 98B going east or 98A going west on I-30. That's a Parclo B4 and AFAIK discouraged, at least here. Here's an example without the hosed up geometry but note that the less-travelled road must now use left turns to get on the freeway, across its exiting free-flow traffic. What's cool though is that you can stick signals where the left turns are, and have them only change if the left turn lanes start queueing up substantially; this saves freeway exiting traffic having to face a signal. Joe 30330 fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Aug 28, 2011 |
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Aug 28, 2011 20:28
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So, how many bridges will you be rebuilding thanks to Irene. Also, how effed up is rt 72 in Bristol?
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Aug 29, 2011 02:54
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Lobstaman posted:So, how many bridges will you be rebuilding thanks to Irene. Probably quite a few. We have a good storm every couple of years that knocks out our bridges rated 1-3 (out of 8). Last storm was last March and took out a couple dozen culverts, mostly in the eastern part of the state. I haven't seen many reports yet, but it looks like we'll get a couple dozen this time. Since we can't afford to replace bridges when we should, this is becoming our new MO. Lobstaman posted:Also, how effed up is rt 72 in Bristol? The new section, or the existing bit? The new one's actually built very well, from what I've seen.
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Aug 29, 2011 14:04
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Is it cheaper to take down the bridges manually or to let nature do it for you?
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Aug 29, 2011 18:48
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Will the old 1-lane covered bridges be replaced with replicas, or modern bridges? A covered bridge near my parents' house was destroyed by Agnes in 1972 and replaced with a replica of the original that used a steel beam. 35 years later, they closed it to through traffic and put in a modern 2-lane concrete bridge just upstream. When roads and bridges suffer massive widespread storm damage, who usually pays for the repairs?
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Aug 29, 2011 18:56
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Here's one example of a covered bridge refurb in CT, but we don't have many left: http://easthampton.htnp.com/2010/10/12/preserving-east-hampton-history-%E2%80%93-comstock-bridge-being-renovated/
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Aug 29, 2011 19:01
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grover posted:When roads and bridges suffer massive widespread storm damage, who usually pays for the repairs? I was just going to ask if FEMA or the Feds chip in after catastrophic events.
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Aug 29, 2011 20:26
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What is your opinion on sidewalk bumpouts for traffic calming? The arguments our city proposes seem sound, but we also get ~100" of snow per winter, so I'd think our plows would just take these to town. Also, they're on city roads which have lights every block, not necessarily in places where traffic is going terribly fast to begin with.
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Aug 29, 2011 20:40
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Roflex posted:Is it cheaper to take down the bridges manually or to let nature do it for you? Much cheaper to let them wash out. No permits and demolition is a good deal simpler, plus we don't need a temporary bridge or stage construction to maintain traffic in the meantime. grover posted:Will the old 1-lane covered bridges be replaced with replicas, or modern bridges? A covered bridge near my parents' house was destroyed by Agnes in 1972 and replaced with a replica of the original that used a steel beam. 35 years later, they closed it to through traffic and put in a modern 2-lane concrete bridge just upstream. Generally these days, we try to maintain them as pedestrian bridges, especially when they're historically significant. It depends a lot on what the local community leaders want. If you want a covered bridge preserved, you should contact the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Officer) to see what the options are. grover posted:When roads and bridges suffer massive widespread storm damage, who usually pays for the repairs? We have a state emergency bridge fund. I believe some of that cost eventually gets passed on to the feds, but immediately, it's all state. theflyingexecutive posted:What is your opinion on sidewalk bumpouts for traffic calming? The arguments our city proposes seem sound, but we also get ~100" of snow per winter, so I'd think our plows would just take these to town. Also, they're on city roads which have lights every block, not necessarily in places where traffic is going terribly fast to begin with. I'd say that would depend on the neighborhood and how much pedestrian activity there is. Bump-outs are great for peds, because they cut the crossing distance and provide a level area for wheelchairs to maneuver. Unfortunately, they can be dangerous if there's right-turning truck traffic.
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Aug 29, 2011 21:17
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Cichlidae posted:Generally these days, we try to maintain them as pedestrian bridges, especially when they're historically significant. It depends a lot on what the local community leaders want. If you want a covered bridge preserved, you should contact the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Officer) to see what the options are.
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Aug 29, 2011 21:25
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Have you ever done any post-disaster rebuilding work? I'm trying to wrap my head around how you start to deal with something like this: Do you try to keep the original road shape, which I guess would mean re-filling the washed-away land here? Do you gut it and rebuild it further away from the water? Or just remake the broken part, which seems like it'd leave a weird, sudden curve in an otherwise straight road?
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Aug 29, 2011 22:18
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grover posted:What about the ones that were washed away yesterday? Err, probably gone, unless someone can come up with a million or two to replace it. Nibble posted:Have you ever done any post-disaster rebuilding work? I'm trying to wrap my head around how you start to deal with something like this: One of two options, it would probably depend on cost. Really, that isn't a lot of backfill, if you compare with some larger projects. It might be cheaper to backfill, maybe put some rip-rap to stabilize the stream so it won't happen again. Or, it could be cheaper to build a retaining wall and only partially fill. I'd guess the first option would be cheaper in most situations. You don't want to move the road, because that would mean taking property, which is a lengthy and very expensive process. Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Aug 30, 2011 |
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Aug 30, 2011 13:18
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Cichlidae, How do freeway rate limiters work? Is the control box the same as a standard stop light controller? When the system first turns on, what happens? Is it only active during a specific time of day or can it be triggered due to strange conditions (Late night/weekend work zones, etc.)? I've seen people zooming up to a metered onramp with no one waiting at it, watched the light flash green as they hit it, and then turn red again a moment later. Yay predictable behavior.
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Aug 31, 2011 09:56
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virtual256 posted:Cichlidae, How do freeway rate limiters work? Is the control box the same as a standard stop light controller? When the system first turns on, what happens? Is it only active during a specific time of day or can it be triggered due to strange conditions (Late night/weekend work zones, etc.)? Most systems just run preset timings, changing with different times of day and day of week. During peak hours, there are fewer greens than in lower-volume hours. These timings generally won't get changed for special events or construction, simply because most pre-timed systems aren't accessible remotely and it's a pain to go around to every ramp meter and change the settings. Some more advanced systems have actuated timings, based either on real-time volumes on the main line or, in rare cases, on sensors that detect large enough gaps in the right-hand lane. These tend to be hooked up to a central controller and are accessible remotely. Their very nature means that they don't need to be manually adjusted as traffic conditions change, but if someone needed to do so, it would be pretty easy.
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Aug 31, 2011 13:25
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At one point or another we all wake up and understand that people who make your commute easier are actually worthwhile. http://www.southmetroconnect.com.au/60100953-215J-RD-SKT-0010%20Layout-5Mb.pdf?id=160 Right there... That little one, yeah. That is Australia's first Diverging Diamond Interchange... We have the money and we have the ability come over for a couple of years and sell it. gently caress off to Europe later, convince pensioners that that it is safe for them to drive on the wrong side (right, heathens) just for a little bit. You could even be the next Minister for Transport! E: Realising, of course that that sinuous (because it encourages you to slow down) wonder of 60's planning is that *holds fingers together slightly apart* close to happening... You need to come here, mate. E: Also know that that thing is going to continue east then turn north as per the 1960's plan in several more stages. Realise that being a horrible socialist shithole we payed people out for this. The people who are bitching now are the people who picked this stuff up cheap and provided political pressure to try to stop it. Feel free to level anything they have put there. The Environmental impact report is back and it says " No issues". It also says: "Ignore the people in neighboring suburbs who brought cheap knowing that this poo poo was going in and have now become conservationists." I would suggest a three story high highway that is as noisy as gently caress and has minimal environmental impact. They brought under the flight line of the airport with the highest flight movement in the southern hemisphere, kill them with highway noise. I sound as bitter as gently caress... If you buy cheap, cheap because you are under the southern hemispheres busiest flight line and are going to be next to a loving highway, and you knew it because they legally have to tell you this you think... I am suddenly a conservationist for the wanky bullshit treefrog 
Skyworks fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 11:21
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Skyworks posted:At one point or another we all wake up and understand that people who make your commute easier are actually worthwhile. gently caress NIMBYs.
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Sep 1, 2011 20:07
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Around here, they built the airport in the middle of nowhere (MCI) north of Kansas City, 30 miles from town so that it wouldn't bother anyone. Predictably, a small town, Tiffany Springs, grew up around the airport. Now the residents of Tiffany Springs want to enact noise ordinances around the airport - the airport that was there before Tiffany Springs, and the people moved to Tiffany Springs to be near! loving NIMBYs, don't move somewhere then complain about the pre-existing condition of the place you chose to move to!
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Sep 1, 2011 20:13
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Chaos Motor posted:Around here, they built the airport in the middle of nowhere (MCI) north of Kansas City, 30 miles from town so that it wouldn't bother anyone. Predictably, a small town, Tiffany Springs, grew up around the airport. Now the residents of Tiffany Springs want to enact noise ordinances around the airport - the airport that was there before Tiffany Springs, and the people moved to Tiffany Springs to be near! Same thing happened with Waterford airport. The owner of the Airport had a developer build a small subdivision nearby to house some pilots and generally increase land value. After a couple decades, new residents began to complain, and eventually the airport was closed down.
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Sep 2, 2011 00:07
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Chaos Motor posted:Around here, they built the airport in the middle of nowhere (MCI) north of Kansas City, 30 miles from town so that it wouldn't bother anyone. Predictably, a small town, Tiffany Springs, grew up around the airport. Now the residents of Tiffany Springs want to enact noise ordinances around the airport - the airport that was there before Tiffany Springs, and the people moved to Tiffany Springs to be near! And here I thought people moved to Tiffany Springs for their golf course. (also, less blacks). The Missouri DOT has decided to hemorrhage a ton of their staff, primarily on the design side. Your definitely not alone Cichlidae. The firm I'm with is looking to hire on some of these engineers to help capture future DOT work. Not that MoDOT will ever have a project in the near future. Point is, their is opportunity out there if you can bring yourself to come over to the dark side (consulting).
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Sep 2, 2011 04:39
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Cichlidae posted:Same thing happened with Waterford airport. The owner of the Airport had a developer build a small subdivision nearby to house some pilots and generally increase land value. After a couple decades, new residents began to complain, and eventually the airport was closed down.
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Sep 2, 2011 17:37
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