Skip to main content

PA Updates

It took me about two months to do, but I finished a pretty big PA update over two parts. I enjoyed this update for a few reason first. It cleared me of two years worth of my own photos to add. But also because of the number of new features that were added.

So here's a review:

I added a new feature entitled, "Pennsylvania's Engineering Marvels". It opens with three features, the Kinzua Viaduct, the Tunkhannock Viaduct, and Roebling's Aqueduct. Three bridges that were major accomplishments of their time. The Kinzua Viaduct has a sad history as the 2003 tornado that severely damaged the structure and the impact to the local tourism business it has since made. As always, time will tell on the direction of this feature but it will include things beyond bridges.

I added two new covered bridges from Central PA that I took in 2005 for a trip to State College. I even added a few of my own Keystone's that I took over the past two years.

As always there were plenty of submissions including photos from Bill Symons of the Kinzua Viaduct. His photos date to 1985 and were what allowed me to do the feature. John Krakoff and his knack of finding little treasures sent along a number of photos he took in Pittsburgh in 2001 and excerpts from the 1967 PA MUTCD. Unfortunately he didn't have enough quarters to make more copies at the PennDot Library.

There's always PA Ends and a handful were updated and a page covering PA Turnpike 576 was added covering the ends of that recently opened highway. I also added photos to the Findlay Connector Page.

The funny thing for me is that after an update i feel like wow I've added a lot. And in this update I did. But not long after I'm like ok..there's still a lot more I can cover. And that has already set in. I guess since I know I have a bunch of old Turnpike Postcards from Bill Symons still to add, and that I have to rearrange the home office to find a bunch of photos Denny Pine sent me made the "Ok you still don't have much" feeling come around quicker.

As for what's next...I continue to work through my personal backlog it is still in April 2005 right now with a roadtrip page on NY 30 through the Adirondack Mountains. Looking back at the photos on that trip really made me appreciate the opportunity that I had to explore that area of the country the two years I was up there.

After that a good bit of Georgia and Florida. I've received another full cd of photos from John Krakoff along with photos from the regular contributors. A lot of the photos on John's CD will find their way to Steve Alpert as well. I think a few features may come out of John's CD...we'll see.

Then after that is South Carolina. A lot of info on I-73. One of the good things about doing this blog is that is like an open notebook for research on various features/article etc I have done or may do. The summaries of the articles help in case a local paper's website doesn't archive articles. And if there are any photos from a roadtrip...I can recall what the heck it was I took a photo of and why. The commentary I try as much to leave off the site, the webpage should deal with factual information as much as possible. The blog allows me to make a commentary and even question what is being reported or the actions of those involved.

Also a number of photos for South Carolina. I may try to dive back into the 1920 Trunk Routes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California.  The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857.  Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings.   The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed.   Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge (Madera County)

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge is an early era arch concrete structure found alongside modern Madera County Road 200.  The structure was modeled as a smaller scale of the 1905 Pollasky Bridge (still in ruins at the San Joaquin River) and was one of many early twentieth century improvements to what was then known as the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The 1915-era bridge was replaced with a modernized concrete span during 1947 but was never demolished.  The original concrete structure can be still found sitting in the brush north of the 2023 Fine Gold Creek Bridge.     Part 1; the history of the 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge lies near the site of the former mining community of Fine Gold.   Mining claims were staked at Fine Gold during the Mariposa War during 1850. The community was never very large but became a stopping point on the stage road between the original Fresno County seat at Millerton and Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst). The stage road eventually bypas

San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel

The Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco is a structure at Russian Hill which connects the neighborhood Chinatown to North Beach. The tunnel was included in the 1948 San Francisco Trafficways Plan as a connector between the Central Freeway and Embarcadero Freeway. The structure was completed in December 1952 and spans 1,616 feet through Russian Hill. The Broadway Tunnel was designated as the Robert C. Levy Tunnel in 1986. Part 1; the history of the Broadway Tunnel Following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 San Francisco would see a major population boom.  The city would expand from the shores of San Francisco Bay inland towards the many steep hills.  The hills of San Francisco would prove to be a major hinderance towards the expansion of city.  Roads were generally plotted over the tops of hillsides and had steep grades.  Russian Hill in particular was one of the steepest and contained numerous streets with grades in excess of twenty percent.  Broadway can be seen cros