Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 9; back to civilization on freeways and expressways

By
The character of my trip changed a ton on day 9.  For the most part I was traveling on two lane highways in some rural parts of the Great Lakes but that changed on the journey to southbound to Chicago.  I started out by US 53 to reach I-535 off of Miller Hill.  US 53 is a partial freeway approaching I-535 and has a weird traffic light/left entrance interchange with I-35/I-535.









I-535 is only about 2.8 miles long from I-35 in Duluth across the St. Louis River to Superior.  The Interstate is completely multiplexed with US 53 through the duration of the alignment.  I-535 uses the Blatnik Bridge which was opened in 1961 which replaced a prior swing bridge which carried car and rail traffic.  I-535 was part of the 1957 Interstate system but wasn't officially designated until 1971 when the ramps with I-35 were completed.  I-535 ends at the interchange with WI 35/US 2, I stayed on US 53.




I took US 53 all the way south to I-94 in Eau Claire through the center of Wisconsin.  Aside from Superior US 53 south to Eau Claire is a divided expressway or freeway the entire way.





I-94 wasn't so bad with traffic before the merge with I-90, but talk about a whole lot of country with nothing to see.





I did stop at Mill Bluff State Park to check out some of the sandstone formations lapping I-90/94.  I also managed to get some decent photos of the Interstate below.









I stayed on I-90/94 to Milwaukee and split off on I-894 briefly.  I noticed a large utility project alongside I-90/94 that had a large plank road used by the trucks which was about the only thing that was worth seeing.  Traffic was heavy but it is to be expected on one of the biggest trucking and transportation corridor in the country.






I pulled off I-90/94 upon entering Illinois to stay at a hotel near Naval Station Great Lakes near US 41.  I stopped in to see some old digs but there wasn't much to write home about for the rest of the day, really I was just putting myself in position for downtown Chicago on Saturday.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more