Gribblenation

Ok so I am trying to do too much at once today. I have friends coming over for a poker game tonight (cleaning the house for that), NC State/Carolina is on..as I type this State is winning 10-3 (Go Pack!) and I am trying to catch up on a lot of website/blog updates etc all weekend. Lets see how this goes for me. So now for the news... I received an e-mail from Chris Curley who informs me that NC 24 has been extended again this time to the end of Harris Blvd. which is at Mount Holly-Huntersville Road just west of the yet to be opened (how's that going for ya) I-485. Chris reports that it is signed at the still under construction I-485 but there isn't an 'End' sign up at Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road. This is the second extension/alignment change for NC 24 in Charlotte in slightly over three years. In early 2003, NC 24 left NC 27 (Albermarle Road) at Harris Blvd to follow Harris Blvd west to I-77.

The Southport/Fort Fisher Ferry which runs across the Cape Fear River south of Wilmington will be closed for ramp lift repairs beginning on December 1st. The closure should last for two months. NCDOT officials point out that December and January is typically the lowest traffic months for the ferry. However, Southport merchants fear that the closure will negatively impact sales during the Christmas Holiday shopping season. Story: Wilmington Star News

Ok, So I have been lazy the past few weeks...but hey. Two weekends ago, I took a roadtrip with Joe Babyak around Southeastern NC. I picked up a few new miles on highways and also crossed the Cape Fear via the Fort Fisher/Southport Ferry for the first time. The Trip route: River Road in Wilmington, US 421, NC 211, I-95, NC 20, NC 87, NC 11, NC 53,US 117, NC 210, I-40. The entire Flickr set with over 154 photos is here . Now some have commented that I don't take sign photos anymore. So lets get this out of the way first. It's the national southern end of US 421 at Fort Fisher State Park. That sure is a long way from Michigan City, Indiana isn't it. The Fort Fisher/Southport ferry is a nice trip over the Cape Fear. The southern most route of the NC Ferry System , the cost to cross is $5 for most vehicles. The ride is certainly not uneventful as on many days you will pass numerous sailboats, pleasure craft, and freighters along the Cape Fear. Near the Southport landing i...

The famous Triborough Bridge (or technically, a series of bridges) connecting the boroughs of Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx in New York City has been renamed after the late Robert F. Kennedy. Therefore, it is now known as the RFK Bridge. I do suspect that it may take many people a while to warm up to the new name. I would've preferred something that honors the old name and honors RFK, such as the Robert F. Kennedy Triborough Bridge. As for the cost of these changes, I've heard estimates that this would cost $4 million, which some could view as a frivolous expense, considering the budget constraints in New York City and New York State these days. Read the article from the New York Daily News ...

Fellow roadgeek Adam Moss was recently researching some road-related information in the Adirondacks region of New York State, and he was able to find a new route here in New York State, which is now NY 185. Upon further review, it appears that this route designation may have come about in April 2008. I'm not sure if the designation has been posted yet, as the last time I was there (in July 2008), the new route number was not posted. NY 185 connects NY 9N and NY 22 near Port Henry up to Vermont (VT 17 and VT 125) at the Crown Point Bridge over Lake Champlain. NY 185 was once a state reference route, NY 910L, and years before that, the northeastern-most section of NY 8 (which has since been truncated to Hague at NY 9N). As part of a major thoroughfare between Burlington, Vermont and the Adirondacks, Saratoga and Capital Regions of New York State, it makes sense to give this road a number of its own.

On Saturday, November 15, 2008, I took a roundabout day trip from Albany, New York. This trip led me to Cohoes, Canajoharie, Cherry Valley, Sharon Springs and other sections of Otsego and Schoharie Counties. I took a few walkabouts around Cohoes, Canajoharie Falls, the historic downtowns of Sharon Springs and Cherry Valley, the waterfalls at Judd Falls (in Cherry Valley), Summit and Charlotteville. I also stopped at my family's cabin in order to do some light work and check up on the place. Road highlights included sections of US 20, NY 10, NY 165 and NY 166, all roads which are a pleasure to drive. Check out the Flickr set of roadtrip photos at... http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/sets/72157609158104971/

This was from another article from the Buffalo News, posted on November 12, 2008... While a federal agency has rejected the 567 foot-tall bridge that a design jury said should be built across the Niagara River, it has cleared the way for a three-tower cable-stayed signature bridge about 400 feet tall. At the same, the agency said the Peace Bridge Authority can move forward and not wait for a two-year study. In my opinion, the Peace Bridge Authority has been waiting long enough to get this companion bridge built. I'd like the bridge to be finished sometime in my lifetime. But on a practical level, an easier way to get between Western New York and Southern Ontario would make it easier for passenger and commercial traffic faced with long waits at the border. Read the article at... http://www.buffalonews.com/377/story/459872.html