Second I-88 Driver ID'd...Walton still unreachable

The second driver who passed away in the I-88 collapse was identified today. Patrick L. O'Connell, 55, of Libson, Maine was traveling westbound on I-88 when the tragedy occurred. His tractor and trailer have been located, but not recovered as the waters are still dangerous. Unfortunately, his body has yet to be retrieved.

My deepest sympathies go out to Mr. O'Connell's family and friends.

See: Oneonta Daily Star Article.
News 10 Syracuse Story.

Walton, NY Still Isolated

All roads within the town of Walton are closed and open only to emergency vehicles. The town which sits along the West Branch of the Delaware River was inunduated by nine feet of water. There is a curfew of 10 pm to 4:30 am within the town.

Personal Note: My company's locations in both Sidney and Walton escaped with very little damage and were open for business Friday.

Comments

Cora said…

I used to live in Walton NY several years ago. I have family and friends in the area and hope that everyone is safe.

I get the Walton paper sent to me here in Fort Hunter, NY, but heard that the Reporter was one of the places that was flooded out.

It is all so scary and so sad and my heart goes out to all of the people involved.

Cora

4:20 PM

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926. Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California. The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant. However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes. The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield. In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range. ...

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida. One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region. For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate. Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century. Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area. The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog