Author Topic: New Travels and Stats Discussion  (Read 226514 times)

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Offline Jim

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #135 on: December 29, 2017, 08:01:11 pm »
I achieved some clinching milestones on a ride through Connecticut and Rhode Island today.  I filled in my last two I-95 gaps, so that's all done (and still will be after the upcoming PA and NJ renumberings, since I've traveled all of the roads involved).  Also, I drove the southern part of the RI/MA I-295 that I was missing, so I've clinched all current I-295 instances.  Other than those, I just picked up a couple short segments of CT state routes and a tiny new piece of US 1 in Groton.

Edit: This also clinches the Interstates in Rhode Island for me, joining Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey in having all Interstate mileage clinched.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 10:44:28 pm by Jim »

Offline Highway63

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #136 on: January 15, 2018, 02:52:01 am »
Because I'm very bad at getting trip reports on time, a whirlwind version:

29 states, 10/18/16-10/17/17

Offline dave1693

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #137 on: January 16, 2018, 12:59:23 am »
2017-18 Solstice-holiday-period travels mostly completed now, and while most of it was on familiar roads, I did add a few new segments:

- a new piece of VA55, connecting two already-diven pieces

- two new pieces of PA73, which when added to two already-completed pieces makes one much longer piece (but I still haven't clinched the route, and my traveled portions are in three or four pieces)

- extended pieces of NJ53 and US322 in NJ

- one new piece of US9: the Edison Bridge over the Raritan River, which I *probably* crossed as a baby, but it's certainly possible we used the Garden State Parkway every time back then so I hadn't claimed it. This time we missed the GSP exit for the NJ Turnpike, and the person driving chose to go south on the GSP to the first exit south of the Raritan, which allows you to go back over the river but only via the US9 bridge.

Offline froggie

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #138 on: January 16, 2018, 10:06:51 am »
Took a trip down to DC two weekends ago to attend a pre-TRBAM event.  The previous Thursday's big snowstorm limited things on the way down, and freezing rain in Philly put a crimp in the return trip, but I did manage to complete (for now) Delaware's entire system.  At least until the new US 301 tollway opens.

Also got around this past weekend to adding all the Virginia mileage I hadn't yet put on my list.  Enough to get me back to #2 (sorry, Oscar).  Still got about 1700 miles left to finish, mostly west of US 29.


Offline mapcat

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #139 on: January 16, 2018, 10:49:01 pm »
12 Clinches of Christmas

When I planned to head to the Carolinas for a few days at the end of December, I anticipated a chance to enjoy some warm weather. It turned out to be at or below freezing almost every day, but I fortunately avoided weather every day except one. On the 18th I headed to Tennessee first and collected a few missing links of US 321 & US 421, and spent the night in Boone. The next morning I headed east and picked up some more miles of US 601, 158, and 15 plus a new stretch of I-840, clinching US 15 in Virginia and discovering Alt 15 in Farmville in the process. Then I headed home for a few days, resuming the trip on the 26th.

The 26th was the longest driving day of the trip (17 hours; the others were typically 12-14), and it netted me the first US clinch: US 158, whose final miles were collected near Murfreesboro, NC. The bypass of Murfreesboro seemed fairly recent, so I drove it as well as the business route since I'm not certain which route I had driven when I went through the area the first time about 15 years ago. Besides that, I collected some miles on US 258 and nabbed a few business US routes and Virginia state highways before aiming towards Rocky Mount, my stop for the night, which included the nicest AirBnb I've ever experienced as well as my first visit to a Lidl, which only began operating in the US in a handful of states last year.

The next day I headed south to Wilmington, clinching US 421 on the way. Once there I drove the final segment of I-140 that had opened the previous week as well as the expected new routing of US 17 through the city; I wasn't planning a US 17 clinch this time, but wanted to have that part complete since I don't anticipate another trip to the area anytime soon. Next I headed north and clinched US 258 near Snow Hill, and headed back southwest to pick up the new-ish segment of NC-295 between US 401 and the All American Freeway. Which makes me wonder: why isn't the All American Freeway included in usasf?

From there I took US 401 and US 52 south to Florence and my next night. Early the next morning I headed west to Sumter via US 401, making that my fourth US clinch of the trip. Then I headed back north via 15 and 52 to US 1, taking that southwest to 601, which I followed to its south end at US 321, taking that in turn to its south end at 17. From there I made my way over to US 21 and headed through Beaufort and down to its south end before turning around and following it back north to its junction with US 321 just south of Columbia, and thence back southeast to Charleston on US 176. While in Charleston I completed every US route in and around the city, again with the expectation that I wouldn't be nearby for a while.

Waking up to the sound of freezing rain in the morning, I checked the news and discovered that the US 17/Arthur Ravenel bridge had been closed indefinitely due to ice. Fortunately I was in Mount Pleasant and heading northeast on 17, so I wasn't affected. The donut place where I stopped at 6 was somewhat more concerned, since a truck full of their supplies was stuck on the wrong side, and they were running out. But they assured me that there weren't any similar bridges between there and Georgetown, so I headed out anticipating an uneventful trip. The temperatures were hovering just below freezing, but since the previous day had been fairly warm, I doubted that ice would be much trouble on the roads, and I never noticed any slick spots. However, once I got to Georgetown, traffic stopped. I checked Google Maps on my phone and saw the dreaded "do not enter" symbol stamped on the bridge. This was frustrating for two reasons: the closed bridge was the only way into Georgetown that didn't involve a 30-minute detour, and I had never driven this stretch of 17. But with the temperatures showing no movement and sunrise at least half an hour off, I knew that it would be hours before the bridge reopened, so I turned around and took the detour. On the way back around to Georgetown, I had an idea, and so I made my way to the bridge approach on the opposite bank. It was still closed, of course, and dozens of vehicles waited. Holding them back were a car and truck from the police and fire departments. I walked up to the one from fire department, and approached his window to ask about the bridge. He pointed out that not only was it icy, but also there was a wreck, and it wouldn't reopen anytime soon; no emergency vehicles had arrived yet. I asked if it was closed to pedestrians, and he thought for a moment, and replied, "I would assume that it is not." I thanked him, and headed over to the police car to make sure. As I approached, I noticed the officer was asleep, and took that as a tacit approval. So I turned around and began to walk the bridge.

There was no sidewalk, as the bridge was designed for highway speeds. As soon as I reached the end of the north approach, the surface turned from wet to ice-coated as the air below the roadway insulated it from any remaining heat in the ground. Fortunately, there was also a significant amount of road debris--pebbles, mud, tread pieces, some litter--that I could walk on to avoid slipping. Eventually, the debris thinned out and I could only use friction with the concrete outside rail to keep my feet from sliding out from under me as I ascended. Going up was a challenge, but coming down the other side proved even more so, as finding my footing on ice sloping away from me led me to settle on shuffling along the rail until I managed to reach the south bank approach. Of course, if I was going to mark this segment clinched, I needed to continue on to the Kangaroo station where I had turned my car around, so I proceeded an additional half mile to its driveway, turned around, and headed back to the bridge. The crossing took about 45 minutes.

I was pretty confident that I'd make it back across without incident, but I did need to get past some first responders on this side before I could. I chose to cross back on the same southbound lanes I'd used on the way over, since it would take me further from them. The return trip was just as icy, but seemed to go a little faster, since I already knew what to expect. At the top, I got a better look at the crash in the northbound lanes; it involved 3 cars all spun out in different directions as well as a logging truck. The ice would prevent any wrecker from reaching them for a while. A new truck had appeared in the southbound lanes, stopped at the north approach: it was spreading sand for traction (coastal SC has no salt spreaders, which is why any of this even happened), and it was stuck on the ice.

As I made my way back from the bridge to my car, I passed many people who were anxious about the closure, had seen me crossing, and wondered if I knew anything. I told them it would likely be closed for at least another hour, explained the accident, and showed them the detour. The whole process had set me back two hours, but at least I'd not been left with a tiny segment of US 17 a hundred miles from anything else I'd ever want to drive.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well: Alt 17 to US 15 (US clinch #5 at Sumter) to US 378 to US 701 (#6 at US 74), some already clinched freeways to Columbia, and US 378 from there to its clinch point just across the border in Georgia. I made it to my AirBnb less than 10 minutes after the kickoff of the OSU-USC bowl game, and slept great.

The next day took me west along US 178 (clinched at US 64) and east along US 176 to Columbia, then north along US 321 and back south again to Columbia along US 21. While in Columbia I clinched US 176 and 321 simultaneously at the I-26 interchange, and finished most of the rest of the US route mileage within the metro area.

The last day brought me home, via US 1, 601, and 21, the latter two of which I clinched in North Carolina. On the way I took a side trip to the new I-785 extension east of Greensboro and finished adding mileage by adding the remainder of US 52 in Virginia. Once back in Ohio the evening of the 31st I finally got a taste of the single digits (°F) I'd missed out on.

Overall numbers:

2966 miles added (including 17 miles of interstate and almost 2500 miles of US Routes)
89 clinched highways, including 12 new US Routes (158, 421, 258, 401, 15, 701, 378, 178, 176, 321, 21, 601), bringing my total to 123 of 219. I also reclinched US 501 by finally driving the new alignment north of Roxboro, NC.
3 visits to Zaxby's, 3 to Bojangles, 2 to Cookout, 2 to some locally famous BBQ places, and 2 to a couple of Cambodian donut shops, all of which are lacking in my part of the world


 
Clinched:

Offline mapmikey

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #140 on: January 23, 2018, 02:58:24 pm »
Took a cruise to Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan (Honduras) which required driving from Virginia to Galveston:

New clinches:
I-275 (TN); I-759 (AL); US 11 (GA); US 82 (MS); TX 3; TN 38; GA 58; TX 73; TX 225; TX 275

Picked up significant mileage:
US 11 (65 miles south from GA line); US 82 (MS line to I-20/59); US 90 (TX line to US 165); US 165 from US 90 to Monroe; LA 17 (I-20 to AR); TX 146 from I-45 to I-10

an ALDOT project to clear the tree line on I-59 had the side effect of them dropping a tree onto open lanes of the interstate while digging nearby.  Fortunately it did not hit anyone and we were able to get stopped without running into one another.

There is an error US 87 shield on Galveston Island.

TX 73 is a terrific alternative to I-10 to go around Beaumont.  Speed limit was 75 for over half of it (speed limit on I-10 is only 65 for some reason). and there was next to no traffic.  Just 1 stop light in Port Arthur and a few in Bridges City.

Belize has just 4 highways (no numbering) and our excursion to Xunantunich Ruins near the Guatemalan border drove 95% of one of them (Western Highway).  Hopefully these 4 highways will be put into TM someday.

Also got a significant portion of Highway C-1 on Cozumel.

Offline oscar

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #141 on: February 28, 2018, 10:32:50 pm »
While procrastinating on a bunch of things, I took a series of one- or two-day trips to the Delmarva Peninsula. The latest trip to Virginia's Eastern Shore (of the Chesapeake Bay) earlier this week finished off all of the Peninsula's routes in active systems, as well as all active-system routes in the rest of Maryland and Delaware.

My latest trip also took me to Farmville VA, to snag the Alt US 15 route there that was recently added to the HB, as well as a little more state route mileage in the general vicinity.

Next trip planned (unless a jury duty summons for next week unexpectedly results in my serving on a long trial) will take me southwest to Texas and back later this month.

Offline Eth

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #142 on: March 02, 2018, 03:50:58 pm »
I've been continuing to work on filling in some of the gaps I still have in metro Atlanta. January and February have given me clinches of GA 324, 13, 154, 360, and the short 6 Spur in Lithia Springs, as well as adding significant mileage on 53, 92, and 280 (the last of those serving as a reminder of how much I hate driving in Cobb County, which is probably why I'm still missing so much mileage there). I tend to do these things as short (about 3-4 hours) day trips, at least as long as I still have this low-hanging fruit.

Next trip I have planned outside the area is to North Carolina in April. What, if anything, I'm able to add will probably depend on who's driving (it's a group trip).

Offline bejacob

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #143 on: March 16, 2018, 03:46:30 pm »
Recently returned from a weekend trip in Missouri. Completed clinches of I-170, I-255, and I-270 in and around St. Louis. Also completed the western end of I-64 (just need to about 10 miles in Virginia for the entire route). Spent some time driving around Kansas City where I finished off I-435 and I-635 (I-470 was already clinched). I had been missing a small segment of I-70 between I-670 in KS and I-35 in MO which has been bothering me since I first missed it back in 2006. My plans for this past weekend were  to drive that segment westbound, but the bridge across the Kansas River was closed in that direction. Luckily the eastbound routing was open so I was able to clinch it going the other way. That leaves just 30 miles in MD to complete the entire 2,185 mile route. I plan to do that later this year.

Added a good bit of mileage on US24 and US50 along with some of the associated business routes.

Offline ntallyn

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #144 on: March 16, 2018, 06:06:09 pm »
Picked up a couple hundred kilometers of A- and B- routes in South Australia (and a little bit of M-2) in the last few weeks. Looking forward to the time I can claim them here. :) Might have a km or two in NSW, as well.

Nick

Offline oscar

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #145 on: March 24, 2018, 07:39:59 pm »
Next trip planned (unless a jury duty summons for next week unexpectedly results in my serving on a long trial) will take me southwest to Texas and back later this month.

Got off the hook for jury duty, so it was off to Texas on a two-week road trip. I got back home earlier this week.

I clinched all the Interstates I hadn't yet covered, except one of the newest I-11 segments in Nevada. Anyway, there will be more new and widely-scattered Interstate mileage later this year, so trying to stay at 100% would be a game of whack-a-mole.

Also, I clinched US 79 and the short and obscure US 175, as well as the Texas segments of US 87, US 287, and US 385. The only parts of those routes I haven't yet covered are all north of I-80, and I might take care of those this summer.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2018, 10:09:05 am by oscar »

Offline dave1693

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #146 on: March 30, 2018, 11:22:31 pm »
Trips in March only added a bit of new mileage: a small bit of PA 216, a small bit of PA 24, and most of PA 624. Life circumstances will probably keep me from adding any more new clinched mileage until May at the earliest.

I am discovering old trips that went over routes I hadn't yet listed, so those will get added in the near future.

Offline Eth

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #147 on: April 23, 2018, 08:03:31 pm »
Next trip I have planned outside the area is to North Carolina in April. What, if anything, I'm able to add will probably depend on who's driving (it's a group trip).

Results of that trip: clinched the I-85 business routes in Spartanburg and Greensboro, picked up the portions of I-40 between Greensboro and Raleigh not concurrent with I-85 (already had that part), and grabbed various short-to-moderate segments of US 15, 64, 70, 401, and 501, Interstates 440 and 540, and part of the NC 147 freeway.

Offline Bickendan

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #148 on: April 24, 2018, 03:24:19 am »
Just got back from a long day trip to the center of Oregon.
Finally got my 100% clinch of US 26 in Oregon (was only missing ORH 360 Madras-Prineville Hwy), and clinched ORH 370 (O'Neill Hwy), OR 380 (Paulina Hwy), OR 27 (ORH 14 Crooked River Hwy) and the northern segment of ORH 4 (The Dalles-California Hwy), giving me 100% on US 197 and more of US 97 under my belt. I did not pick up ORH 361 (Culver Hwy) at all to poor advance signage for the Culver turn off from US 97.

Of note: ORH 361 is not signed in the field, as far as I can tell. It's possible it's signed once you leave US 97.
ORH 370 is not signed at all.
OR 380 is signed, but there are no signs for the route from US 26 in Prineville. First reassurance shield is near milepost 2; it's fairly well signed thereafter all the way to Paulina.
OR 27 is not fun to drive once the pavement ends and becomes a gravel road. It is well graded and maintained, but that really should be paved. Surprisingly, I saw a good number of bikers.

Offline oscar

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Re: New Travels and Stats Discussion
« Reply #149 on: April 28, 2018, 11:09:55 am »
I took a two-week road trip to Florida earlier this month. Then I took a much shorter trip to Greensboro this week, to tie up some loose ends from the first trip, including the new I-840 segment whose opening was delayed a week, foiling my original plan to snag it on my way back from Florida.

The two trips added clinches of two short US routes, intrastate US 158, and US 401 which doesn't leave the Carolinas. In Florida, I think I've snagged all the 8xx and higher state routes, and the other routes in south Florida.