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Varance posted:Tampa has its own toll authority, so all of our Selmon Expressway money stays in-county and the Selmon gets upgraded as soon as it drops to LOS C. It's LOS A right now and plans are already on the board for expansion. The Gandy Link is next (extending the Crosstown directly to the Gandy Bridge, then adding reversible lanes to the Gandy during the next replacement).
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Jan 13, 2014 08:54
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phongn posted:Wait, what? That's actually happening? I thought all the locals on the approach to the Gandy Bridge kept screaming bloody murder every time that was proposed. They do. The Pinellas side was shot down again on Friday. FDOT's response was to refuse widening the bridge at US19/Gandy, as the only way they'll get the huge amount of money required for the land takes is with an expressway project. That pissed off the mayor of Pinellas Park pretty well.  THCEA's angle on the Hillsborough side is that we're screwed during a hurricane evac if we don't build it - which is correct. Since THCEA only has to worry about the Crosstown, they can keep pursuing the project until the cows come home. Varance fucked around with this message at 13:35 on Jan 13, 2014 |
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Jan 13, 2014 13:24
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Even though I lived in Seminole for a bit, I don't quite know the answer to this: Why doesn't FDOT have the authority to expand the transit networks unilaterally in the name of hurricane evac? Or is it something they reserve only for when NIMBY becomes too much of a problem?
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Jan 13, 2014 15:16
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This is creativity at its best from a DOT
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Jan 13, 2014 16:00
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Qwijib0 posted:This is creativity at its best from a DOT Okay, I guffawed. That's brilliant.
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Jan 13, 2014 16:40
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Thwomp posted:Even though I lived in Seminole for a bit, I don't quite know the answer to this: THCEA just severed financial ties with FDOT, so now it's that much harder to NIMBY derail THCEA projects or disband our local toll agency. THCEA is also responsible for dragging the state kicking and screaming into open tolling after people gave FTE infinite poo poo for the Veterans being so lovely compared to the Selmon's ORT setup. THCEA is also working on a hybrid "Bus Toll Lane" concept, which combines HOV with fixed guideway BRT to create a new source of transit funding for Tampa that doesn't involve a referendum. In other words, THCEA does what it wants. 
Varance fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jan 13, 2014 |
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Jan 13, 2014 18:15
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Qwijib0 posted:This is creativity at its best from a DOT Did they move it back 52.8 feet? 
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Jan 13, 2014 18:20
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Qwijib0 posted:This is creativity at its best from a DOT it'll still get stolen
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Jan 13, 2014 20:07
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Varance posted:I wouldn't worry about the beeps. If you have a SunPass, then your plate is registered with Toll-by-Plate. Even if the transponder whiffs (unlikely, as they're powered by the overhead gantry), the toll will properly bill to your SunPass account. Yeah, I only really relied on the sound and light show to know when Mr. Beeps needed another battery. The old SunPasses are also pretty much solid plastic and impossible to take apart non-destructively.
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Jan 14, 2014 00:35
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Cocoa Crispies posted:The old SunPasses are also pretty much solid plastic and impossible to take apart non-destructively. The little mini sticker transponders will functionally break the moment you take them off the glass unless you dry out the adhesive to remove it (part of the circuitry will be pulled apart by the adhesive). The only way to make them portable is by sticking them to a square of glass that isn't part of your windshield. Not sure if the newer plastic ones work the same way. Varance fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jan 14, 2014 |
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Jan 14, 2014 01:49
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Varance posted:That's by design. They don't want people going in and tampering with the transponder to, say, bill someone else. Rhode Island has a fine for people who don't mount their EZPass on their windshield. I don't want sticky goo on my glass, so I just stuff it up on the dash. Never had a problem, but I guess, in theory, I'm breaking the law.
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Jan 14, 2014 02:19
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Cichlidae posted:Rhode Island has a fine for people who don't mount their EZPass on their windshield. I don't want sticky goo on my glass, so I just stuff it up on the dash. Never had a problem, but I guess, in theory, I'm breaking the law. Edit: Failure to pay the toll-by-plate toll will trigger the $100 UTV penalty if your account is past due. "Bad plate" UTVs apply to the plate owner and not the transponder owner. Varance fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Jan 14, 2014 |
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Jan 14, 2014 02:25
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Varance posted:They do. The Pinellas side was shot down again on Friday. FDOT's response was to refuse widening the bridge at US19/Gandy, as the only way they'll get the huge amount of money required for the land takes is with an expressway project. That pissed off the mayor of Pinellas Park pretty well.
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Jan 14, 2014 07:53
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Varance posted:Florida doesn't give a care, unless the transponder whiffs because you hid it under your seat or something. $100 UTV (unpaid toll violation) fine every time that happens, reduced to toll plus $0.25 if the road has been updated to toll-by-plate (+$2.50 per month for the first time you get tolled by your plate each month). UTV also triggers if your account has insufficient funds or if the license plate doesn't match the transponder. Massachusett's transponder is packaged with a couple strips of adhesive velcro, so I can detach it from my glass whenever I want and just leave the velcro. I've done this to trade transponders with my parents a few times so they can pay tolls on long trips. Also if the Mass toll booths don't read your transponder, they send you a letter with a picture of your plate that basically says "Hey if you have a transponder and we missed it, write down the serial number and mail it back to us with  and we're cool."
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Jan 14, 2014 16:16
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The Netherlands has detection loops installed in the asphalt of most major highways. These measure vehicles travelling over them, and are used to monitor traffic remotely. Because they consist of multiple loops, one pair can determine how fast a vehicle is travelling over it. This way you can detect traffic jams, and this information is also available in real-time. Traffic organizations, news agencies and (maybe?) navigation software use this to warn people about stopped traffic and suggest alternate routes. Recently the data produced by these detection loops was made public*, and now somebody made a website that actually shows the measurements from the highway detection loops in real-time. Now some of this traffic will be emergency vehicles, but apart from those, what you have here basically is an online leaderboard for speeding   Pink bubbles are record speeds (since 31-12-'13, I believe). Green bubbles are confirmed speeds (meaning they were measured by two loops within a 5km distance). Grey bubbles are single measurements, I turned those off here. Pretty cool stuff. *The Dutch government has been very active recently in making all kinds of (spatial) data open to the public, partly because of their implementation of the EU INSPIRE directive
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Jan 20, 2014 18:47
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That's really cool, I love public data like that. Are the highways like in germany where you can often go as fast as you want or were those guys speeding extremely illegally?
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Jan 20, 2014 19:00
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Baronjutter posted:That's really cool, I love public data like that. Are the highways like in germany where you can often go as fast as you want or were those guys speeding extremely illegally? Legal maximum speed was recently increased to 130km/h, so, yeah, the last one e: Although I should note that the detection loops seem to have some trouble distinguishing separate vehicles. Speeds well over 200 km/h on the A15 during rush hour seem kind of doubtful. The really high speeds at 4AM are likely genuine. SixFigureSandwich fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Jan 20, 2014 |
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Jan 20, 2014 19:13
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Lots of speeders around 18:15 to 18:30. Pizza deliveries?
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Jan 20, 2014 23:30
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No, just people going home.
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Jan 20, 2014 23:33
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Here in Denmark the afternoon rush usually completely over by 18:00 / 6 pm. But I guess it can be explained by different work schedules, and the fact that we have 1/3 the population (and pop. density) of the Netherlands.
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Jan 21, 2014 08:03
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Here's an idea from 1973 of Denver and Boulder's failed plan for automated "personal rapid transit" lines:  Capital cost: $1.059 Billion.....IN 1973 DOLLARS.
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Jan 23, 2014 09:20
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That's about $5 billion now.
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Jan 23, 2014 09:30
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Just got back home from Cancun. I'll catch up in a bit, just wanted to let you all know that I didn't disappear 
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Jan 23, 2014 16:14
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For a project that is being billed in the papers as "widening I-84 from 2 to 3 lanes", this is a pretty serious realignment. (Grey old, yellow new.) Are reverse curves really that bad?
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Jan 23, 2014 20:07
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Given the overall windiness of that section of I-84 (looking at the map) eliminating that reverse curve makes a section go from five curves to three curves. I also believe it will eliminate a few extra ramps/weaves as well. In the wintertime it will certainly lead to less accidents.
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Jan 23, 2014 22:33
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Removal of that curve also improves visibility (higher speeds/less accidents) and allows new bridges to be built without modifying the old ones. Build E/B structure and associated ramps, realign, demolish old E/B structure, build W/B structure and associated ramps, realign, demolish old W/B structure, finish it all off.
Varance fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Jan 24, 2014 |
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Jan 24, 2014 00:33
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Crossposting from the IT tickets thread: http://usvsth3m.com/post/74285062011/you-wont-believe-why-the-victoria-line-is-currently Obviously, pouring concrete into the server room is something of an EXTREME example, but how frequently does this sort of thing happen?
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Jan 24, 2014 00:54
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Volmarias posted:Crossposting from the IT tickets thread: I lost count of the number of times Union Station in Toronto has flooded in the past few years during construction. This one, a construction crew broke a water main. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sNZsmKHj4E And again a few months later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPkn1TQ2hI4 And in this one, a storm sewer backed up into the station.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb6eT1jKd4kSomething more related to roads, PCL failed bigtime in Tampa during the construction of those Selmon Expressway lanes I love posting pictures of. Didn't do the geotechnical work properly, which resulted in this: 
Varance fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Jan 24, 2014 |
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Jan 24, 2014 02:39
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Cichlidae posted:Just got back home from Cancun. I'll catch up in a bit, just wanted to let you all know that I didn't disappear So how was Cancun, what did you think of the traffic systems there? Don't lie...you noticed...
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Jan 24, 2014 03:00
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RadioPassive posted:Massachusett's transponder is packaged with a couple strips of adhesive velcro, so I can detach it from my glass whenever I want and just leave the velcro. I've done this to trade transponders with my parents a few times so they can pay tolls on long trips. RI has velcro, too, but I don't think going over the Bridge a few times a year merits having velcro stuck to my windshield. I just have my wife hold the transponder up to the windshield when we go through the booth. John Dough posted:Pink bubbles are record speeds (since 31-12-'13, I believe). Green bubbles are confirmed speeds (meaning they were measured by two loops within a 5km distance). Grey bubbles are single measurements, I turned those off here. Pretty cool stuff. Speed surveys here turn up false positives, too. Especially on multi-lane roads, you can have the loops pick up a car in the adjacent lane. A car and a truck going over the same pair of loops looks like two very fast cars. smackfu posted:For a project that is being billed in the papers as "widening I-84 from 2 to 3 lanes", this is a pretty serious realignment. (Grey old, yellow new.) That is a BADLY needed project, let me tell you. Anyone who drives I-84 through Waterbury knows that the reduction to 2 through lanes westbound is a major cause of congestion. As for the reverse curve, honestly, as long as there's a good spiral between them, I don't think they're a huge deal, but the highway guys hate 'em with a passion. If we're redoing the whole road, though, may as well fix everything we can. Volmarias posted:Crossposting from the IT tickets thread: It happens a lot more frequently than we'd like to admit. On my A19 job in France, we poured a whole bunch of concrete into an adjoining freeway's drainage pipes. In our defense, it was run by a competing company, and they refused to give us their construction plans. And then you have that case a few years back in Russia, where contractors building a bus shelter drove a pile down into the metro station below. There are 'oops' like that on every major construction project. Most of them never make it to the press. Elendil004 posted:So how was Cancun, what did you think of the traffic systems there? Don't lie...you noticed... The Boulevard Kukulcan has a median along its whole length, though access control isn't great otherwise. There are very few signals, and almost no ped crossings. The kilometer marking signs use Mayan numbers, which I think is really cool. The roads over there get repaved whenever the government changes hands, as a public display of "we're doing something for you!" Really wish they did that here. Pavement markings suck, but they have reflectors, at least. Their asphalt lasts a lot longer (no freeze-thaw cycles), their freeways are built to a lower standard, and they have clearance signs for bridges over 17' tall. People use their blinkers the whole time they're overtaking, even on multilane roads, and almost always drive in the right lane on freeways, which is awesome. They seem to have a huge hard-on for speed bumps, though, which really sucks. They also have a long series of small speed bumps on the Boulevard Kukulcan leading up to a 40 km/h curve, which forces any bus/truck down to about 10 kph and leads to a big speed differential. Their overhead VMS have advertisements in their rotation. People drive like assholes, so I felt right at home in that respect. Of course I noticed. Even on vacation, I'm still a traffic engineer.
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Jan 24, 2014 13:38
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Don't leave us hanging!
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Jan 24, 2014 15:09
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Cutting costs always costs: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...-its-last-legs/
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Jan 24, 2014 16:50
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EoRaptor posted:Cutting costs always costs: The Mianus River Bridge was only 30 years old when it collapsed without warning. Give that some thought.
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Jan 24, 2014 23:35
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I'm under the general impression that most infrastructure built in the 60's and 70's is utter garbage.
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Jan 25, 2014 05:16
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Cichlidae posted:
The entire country of Mexico has a huge hard-on for speed bumps. I've seen some real devious ones driving down there before that were less arc-shaped and more trapezoid-shaped, and tall enough to beach cars on. Of course, when the road that splits your town in half also happens to be the only road between major cities on both ends you'd want people to slow down too. Mexico City has an interesting approach to pedestrian signals. In addition to the countdown timers for walk signals, they also have a countdown from a red light to a green light on the same display, with the number jumping higher as cars go over induction loops. Mexico City has some of the worst pavement I've ever seen, mostly due to traffic I assume, but also from the flash flooding that happens there practically every day during the summer and the constant subsidence that comes from building a town in an old lake bed.
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Jan 25, 2014 06:00
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EoRaptor posted:Cutting costs always costs:
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Jan 25, 2014 15:20
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Yeah, I still remember the Mexican speed bumps on the road from Cancun to San Cristobal. We would be going along at 60 MPH and then slow to 10 for the massive speed bumps because there was a little cluster of houses in the middle of nowhere. Really makes you pay attention.
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Jan 25, 2014 16:23
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There is a tunnel here built in the 1930's (finished during the war) where half the reinforcement in the tunnel/road has been eaten away by road salt there is a sump located below the road, during 80 years of copious road salting a lot of salt water has flown through this and eaten away at the rebar. Did they overbuild things *that* much during the 30's or am i taking my life in my own hands every time i go through the tunnel? They found these defects during other maintenance a few years ago, i think they are planning to restore the tunnel in 2015. This is the only picture i could find publically. Looks pretty bad to my untrained eye.
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Jan 25, 2014 19:17
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NihilismNow posted:There is a tunnel here built in the 1930's (finished during the war) where half the reinforcement in the tunnel/road has been eaten away by road salt there is a sump located below the road, during 80 years of copious road salting a lot of salt water has flown through this and eaten away at the rebar. Yeah, that's pretty nasty. If it's not a critical part of the structure, though, it's not a big deal. Hell, the old Jamestown Bridge didn't have piers anymore: the concrete spalled completely off them, so there was nothing but a few strands of rusty rebar holding the bridge up.
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Jan 26, 2014 04:51
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I work with structural engineers, and it drives them loving nuts when people get up in arms about stuff that "looks" bad. There was a show centered on that idea where some guy went around and documented problems with America's crumbling infrastructure. He would do stuff like shove his arm through a hole in the webbing of a steel I-beam. I mean, yeah, that is not ideal, but since bridges get routine inspections, it's probably not in a place that matters, or else they would have remediated it.
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Jan 26, 2014 06:00
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