Gribblenation

Located approximately 15 miles southwest of Albany along NY State Route 157, John Boyd Thacher State Park offers some of the most expansive and panoramic views in the Capital Region.  Standing on the top of the Helderberg Escarpment, the over 100 year old state park is home to numerous hiking trails, rock climbing, camping and many outdoor picnic and recreation facilities. The Albany Skyline can easily be seen from the Indian Ladder Trail. The most popular hiking trail within the park is the Indian Ladder Trail.  A 2.5 mile journey along the limestone cliffs is an excellent quick hike that offers amazing views and a few surprises along the way. At an elevation of nearly 1200 feet above sea level, the escarpment sits nearly 800 feet over the Hudson Valley.  Helderberg in Dutch means "Clear Mountain"; and on a clear day, the views from the park and trail are amazing.  In addition to panoramic views of the valley and the Albany skyline, the Taconic, Adiron...

Squire Whipple is considered "the father of the iron truss bridge".  The civil-engineer's design for bowstring truss wrought and cast iron bridges revolutionized bridge building in the mid-19th century.  His 1847 book, " A Work on Bridge Building ", is considered the "...first significant theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss.' (1) Most of Whipple's bridges were found along the Erie Canal as his bridge design replaced many older wooden structures.  Over time, Whipple's bridges could be found in single or multiple spans throughout Northeast and Midwest. Whipple bowstring truss bridge at Vischer's Ferry. (Adam Prince - December 2006) Four of Whipple's bowstring truss designs can be found in the Albany area of New York State.  The first was built and designed by Mr. Whipple and can be found off of Riverview Road in Vischer's Ferry.   The bridge was constructed in 1869 and crossed the enlarged ...

One of the things I like about this hobby is the selection of books that I can use as references, as a suggestion guide for scenic drives or places to stop by to check out, or even the history behind a road or a bridge. So, it was no surprise to me as I browsed the selection at the soon to be closed Borders Books and Music location in downtown Saratoga Springs, New York, that I would purchase a book about bridge and tunnel crossings over the Hudson River. The book I purchased that late March evening was entitled Crossing the Hudson , which was written in 2010 by Donald E. Wolf. In Crossing the Hudson , the author explains the accomplishments in engineering, the social history and specific events leading up to the construction and opening of nineteen river crossings between Waterford / Lansingburgh (now part of Troy) and th e Holland Tunnel, which connects lower Manhattan with Jersey City. In Wolf's writing, I was treated to a literary work that is chock full of interesting inf...

Today's Albany Times Union has a segment in their weekly Getting There? column that explains some of the history behind how I-90 is designated in the Albany, NY area as well as the Berkshire Spur. The long and short of the article was that I-90 was originally designated on the unsigned portion of the Berkshire Spur, but as free I-90 was built, the designation was moved onto the free portion of road. Additionally, there were talks in 1999 between state and federal officials about the possibility of moving I-90 back onto the unsigned portion of the Berkshire Spur, while extending I-88 onto what we know as free I-90. There would have also had been an I-88/I-90 multiplex between Rotterdam and Albany as a result. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=916307

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/

The Round Lake Bypass designation is... under wraps. For those not in the know, the Round Lake Bypass is currently being constructed in New York's Saratoga County as a way to bypass the Village of Round Lake and shuffle people to and from the chip fab plant that is being constructed in nearby Malta. For a while now, a few roadgeeks interested in New York's roads have been wondering what the road will be designated as, whether it's a state touring route or a state reference route. Last week, I went to check up on the construction, and progress is going along well. The roundabout (near Interstate 87 / Adirondack Northway) between Curry Road (Saratoga CR 80) and the Round Lake Bypass has been completed, with just some minor work needing to be done on the bypass itself, with exception of the intersection with US 9 and NY 67. I also saw that some signs have been installed, on Curry Road itself, and that signs that could denote a possible route designation for the Round La...

The section of NY 7 from the Interstate 88 Exit 25 Access Road and Dunnsville Road has seen a great increase in truck traffic over the past three to five years, and residents want to see a better and safer road. The cause for the extra truck traffic: The continued growth and expansion of Galesi Group’s Rotterdam Corporate Park. The park which is located less than three miles from I-88 and the NY Thruway also sits on a busy CSXT rail line. Currently, the Park includes distribution centers for Price Chopper, FedEx, and Railex. Distribution Unlimited is the park's largest operation. In addition, other companies are looking at the surrounding area for warehouse and distribution centers. McLane Foodservice is looking at a site adjacent to the I-88 Exit 25 ramps for a possible distribution site. Residents are glad to see the additional business and jobs to the area but are concerned about the traffic issues and problems. Beginning at hte Exit 25 access ramps and to the traffic sign...

In a recent article of the Albany Times-Union, there was a story that plans for a visual makeover of Erie Blvd. in Schenectady were announced. The changes would take place on Erie Blvd. from I-890 and the entrance to General Electric to Union St. Currently six lanes wide until State St., Erie Blvd. would be reduced to four lanes from 890 to State St. Erie Blvd. is quite possibly the most historic thoroughfare in Schenectady. Once, the Erie Canal flowed along its alignment. Later, after the canal was filled in, Erie Blvd. was the gateway to the city's largest employer, General Electric. The changes - besides reducing the lanes - would include a roundabout at South Ferry St., pedestrian crosswalks, a landscaped median, and street lighting. The goal is to make one of the city's busiest highway's more visually appealing. Construction would start in 2009 and last through 2011. An idea of what Erie Blvd could look like. (Clough Harbour and Associates/Albany Times-Union Her...

One of the more highly debated road construction projects in New York State's Capital Region over recent years was the construction of five roundabouts along NY State Route 67 near the I-87 Northway in Malta. In an effort to improve traffic flow in this growing section of Saratoga County, and in anticipation of future growth (such as the AMD chip fab plant that is supposed to be built nearby), NYSDOT had decided to replace existing traffic lights with a series of roundabouts. It is designed to be faster and safer, and the results in the 10 months since the roundabout construction was completed echoes those principles. According to a June 27, 2007 article in the Albany Times Union, traffic times have cut down to an average of 2 minutes per trip as compared to an average of 6 minutes per trip before the roundabouts were put into place. Accidents are also down. The complaint that many have with roundabouts has to do with navigation. People driving around the roundabouts in Malta ...

On Monday, April 30th, I took a nice long walk around a few local neighborhoods after work. Springtime in Albany is a wonderful time to be out and about, especially in Upstate New York, where the winters tend to keep people inside. I was not the only person with this bright idea, as there were plenty of people running, walking their jog or just spending quality time outside with family and friends. The first photo is of Hackett Boulevard at South Main Avenue. Lots of my evening walks lead me down Hackett Boulevard. Marion Avenue with its stately homes, which is a little slice of the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, right here in Albany. ABBA House of Prayer, which is located at the corner of Western Avenue (US Route 20) and Homestead Avenue. I've never been inside there, but the name sure catches my interest. Manning Boulevard, which is another urban boulevard. This light post was replaced and installed back in 2005. Albany has lots of old traffic signals, wherever you go. This o...