Skip to main content

A Road Trip to see the Pope

Image
By
Yesterday, I took a trip from Albany, NY to New York City to see Pope Benedict XVI as his motorcade had a procession down Fifth Ave. in midtown Manhattan. While I am hardly a practicing Catholic anymore, I did decide it would be worth the trip to see the Pope, as it may be the only time I ever get to see any Pope in person. Here are some road highlights of the trip, as I spent some time driving in New York and New Jersey.

- The I-84 and I-87 interchange reconstruction in Newburgh is certainly showing some progress. The high speed toll barriers look to be completed, and there are a lot of flyovers being built in order to directly connect I-84 with I-87, rather than being subjected to exit onto NY 300 like the case has been for many years.

- Took the train (NJ Transit) from Suffern, NY to New York's Penn Station, since I refuse to be bothered with finding parking in Manhattan, and also because I enjoy taking the train. I saw some nice truss bridges along the route of the train, which was mostly in Bergen and Passaic Counties (via Waldwick, Ramsey, Paterson, Clifton, Passaic and Secaucus). I had to transfer trains in Secaucus, and the new station, named after former Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is really nice. I had some time to wait between transferring trains, and noted that there was some New Jersey Turnpike signage about, since the train station is the destination for Exit 15X on the Turnpike.

- Spring was definitely in full bloom in New York City, and as I walked around midtown Manhattan, I took plenty of photos of Columbus Circle and some of the roads and bridges around Central Park.

- There is a 500-series multiplex in Waldwick, NJ. This was for Bergen CR 502 and Bergen CR 507. Upon further research (using Steve Alpert's alpsroads.net), I discovered that the Franklin Turnpike portion of CR 507 is in part, an old alignment of NJ 17.

- There is a Clearview NJ 17 shield on an Exit 15 advance guide sign on the New York Thruway. The rest of the sign is in the standard Thruway font.

- There is some overpass construction on NY 17 at or around Exit 130A in Monroe. I believe this was the overpass for Orange CR 64.

- I did notice some signs that US 44/NY 55 west of NY 299 was closed. I've heard that it may be because of forest fires in the area, but I am not 100% sure. New York, to my understanding, is not in a drought stage, especially with bodies of water around the Adirondacks at a flood stage. But with the warm and sunny weather we've had the past week or so, it has made some of the trees dry.
Labels:

Comments

mike said…
Many counties/regions in New York State are for some reason experiencing brush fires. Even long Island, this week, experienced some. Rensselaer County was under a burning ban this week too.
2:00 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more