Gribblenation

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

According to a recent article in the Albany Times Union, New York Governor David Paterson is considering closing a number of rest areas along the highways of the Empire State. The number of rest stops that are subject to closure could be as many as 35. Some of the rest areas in question are in more populated areas, such as along I-87 (Northway) in Clifton Park. Others are in more sparsely populated areas in the Catskills, Adirondacks and Southern Tier regions of New York State. According to the proposed 2010-2011 budget, the closure of rest areas could garner as much as $2 million in annual savings. Also, which rest areas are closed and which rest areas remain open are subject to the availability of services near the rest area. So while the very nice looking rest area in Clifton Park may be shut down because there are places to stop nearby, some of the rest areas along I-81, I-86, I-87, I-88, I-390 and NY 17 could remain open. This would not affect rest areas along the Thruway, si...

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...

To read our entire coverage of the I-88 collapse, use this link . Slightly after daybreak on the rainy morning of June 28, 2006, from opposite directions David Swingle and Patrick O'Connell headed towards mile 37 on Interstate 88 not knowing that their paths would cross in the most unfortunate of situations. For two days, heavy and consistent rains had fallen across much of Upstate New York with some locations receiving over a foot. The rains had already caused heavy flooding in many towns that bordered the Delaware River. Throughout the area, waters were rising on the Delaware and surrounding streams that would bring record crests in places like Binghamton, Unadilla, Walton, and Oneonta. The heavy rains had saturated the ground and runoff along with the persistent rain had swollen numerous streams, rivers and creeks in the area, including Carrs Creek that feeds into the Delaware near Unadilla. Carrs Creek crosses under Interstate 88 just south of the Exit 10 interchange. Swin...

Warren M. Anderson, the former Republican New York State Senator, passed away last week at age 91. Mr. Anderson, the former State Senate Majority Leader from Binghamton, championed the creation and eventual construction of Interstate 88 from I-81 in Binghamton to the New York State Thruway near Schenectady. He along with NY Governor Hugh Carey and NY State Assembly Speaker Stanley Steingut were key figures that would lead New York City out of a financial crisis in 1975. Warren M. Anderson ---Albany Times-Union A strong leader: Anderson did much to aid Southern Tier residents ---Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Yesterday, NYSDOT announced that they will begin a construction project to replace 8,500 cubic yards of polystyrene fill that was used in an emergency repair of the Interstate near Sidney. The fill was used in a project to replace a collapsed concrete culvert and 175 feet of washed out roadway that occurred last June. The collapse of the highway killed two truck drivers. The issue this time is that the Styrofoam fill is settling and not holding up to design standards. The fill was used along the embankment and as a layer between the culvert and asphalt roadway. According to NYSDOT officials, there is no issue with the new concrete culvert, but the fill was not holding up well. The polystyrene fill will be replaced by an "expanded shale" fill. The fill will come from a process that heats shale rock to 1000 degrees. A description by the DOT of the expanded shale is "The layers in the rock expand like popcorn and are baked by the heat, producing a material that i...

Work will continue this summer on a four and a half mile stretch of Interstate 88 where two truckers died last spring. The work was to have been completed last year, but emergency circumstances prevented the completion of the reconstruction. The work should begin in April and be finished sometime in the summer. Story link: Repair work to continue on highway where two truckers died in flood --- WSTM-TV Commentary: I don't believe this is related to the washed out culvert and flood. If I am not mistaken, this is the completion of a highway rehab project that started last year.

2006 has been a bad year for Interstate 88 when it comes to the weather. In June, heavy rains forced the closure of nearly half the Interstate, and a collapsed culvert killed two truck drivers in Unadilla. This time it was mudslides. The heavy rain Thursday and Thursday night caused a mud and rockslide on I-88 between Interstate 81 and Port Crane near the city of Binghamton. The slide caused a multiple vehicle wreck, seriously injuring one. Another slide damaged Interstate 81 in Binghamton near the Kamikaze Curve. Tier weathers another storm ---Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin UPDATE: The total amount of cars involved in the wreck from the mudslide was 20. The most seriously injured was an Arizona couple whose rental car was thrown into the air and landed on another vehicle. Witnesses said the slide sounded like a loud train moving through when the slide occurred. Witness says I-88 mudslide soulded loud as a train ---Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.

In a recent op/ed in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, NYSDOT Thomas J. Madison, Jr. wrote about the work that construction crews performed replacing the collapsed section of Interstate 88 in Unadilla. He wrote that DOT crews and outside contractors worked 24/7 to repair and then open the highway. He mentioned that some of the crews went to work immediately even while their own families and property were affected by the rain and floodwaters. He writes: Work on I-88 and other parts of the state has been performed safely, expeditiously and expertly. In many cases, projects that would normally take a year or more to complete were finished within a few months under adverse and sometimes dangerous conditions. This commitment demonstrates why New York state's highways are among the safest and best in the United States. To read the entire opinion, please go here . Commentary: There's no doubt that the repairs to Interstate 88 and other highways damaged by the floods were done ...

The family of one of the drivers killed when a section of I-88 collapsed during the late June floods has filed a wrongful death suit against the state. The family of David Swingle has recently filed a suit for wrongful death and survival damages against the state with the New York State of Claims. The family of Patrick O'Connell of Lisbon, ME, the other driver to perish in the collapse, also intend to pursue a similar suit. For more: New York Newsday

The westbound lanes of I-88 that were washed out by flooding in June reopened Friday. Gov. Pataki was at the site to announce the reopening. Traffic will run one lane in each direction over the 5.5 mile stretch of reopened highway. The eastbound lanes will reopen later this fall. There are five other roads or bridges that remanin closed as a result of the June flooding, including parts of NY 357. See Elmira Star-Gazette for more.

In this past Sunday's (August 20) Albany Times-Union ran a series of three articles covering the I-88 culvert collapse on June 28. Rebuilding in the Face of Tragedy - Covers the efforts of the emergency repair team that has worked non-stop since July 2nd to repair the culvert, cover with fill, and pave the highway. They hope to have the westbound lanes reopened by Labor Day. Truckers' deaths on I-88 still resonate - Tells the story of David Swingle's and Patrick O'Connell's fateful ride the morning of June 28. Traffic's return to old main drag is hardly a boon - Features businesses and residents along the detour route (NY 7). Some are seeing an increase in business while most are not. Commentary: Great work in all three articles in looking at the effects of the collapse from multiple story angles. First, the repairs. The culvert that collapsed was 33 years old, it received a 5 of 7 rating in 2004 and "Inspectors reported "corrosion with minor to...

NYSDOT officials expect a mid-September completion on the emergency replacement of a culvert that washed out during the floods in late-June. Two truck drivers, David Swingle of Waverly, NY and Patrick L. O'Connell of Lisbon, ME, were killed when the culvert and I-88 collapsed beneath them. Repair crews began work on July 2nd and teams in two shifts have worked 24/7 on the emergency project. The scheduled re-opening of I-88 is tentative based on future weather conditions. [ WSTM ] Ironically this past June, a contract for reinforcement and repairs to the soon to be washed out culvert was let. The award was granted only a few weeks befort the flood and collapse of the culvert. The repair project would have begun this summer. [ WBNG-TV ] Also, a slight increase in wrecks, about one extra every other day, has occurred in the area (on NY 7 & 8) as a result of the I-88 detour route. Most are minor fender benders. [ Oneonta Daily Star ]

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.

The state has hired its emergency structural contractor, C.P. Ward of Rochester, to handle the project. The 150-foot gap in highway will be restored with the installation of a new culvert and rebuild of the terrain around it. The target is to have I-88 fully reopen by early fall, although no specific target date was announced. The state has announced a 7.5 mile detour utilizing NY 7 between Exits 9 and 10. According to the DOT, the detour takes about 20 minutes. NYSDOT will also be adding several temporary traffic signals on NY 7. To speed up the process, the project will be similar to a design-build process. The culvert will be prefabricated and installed on site, and construction is to also occur during night time hours. See: http://www.eisinc.com/release/storiesh/NYSDOT.038.html Commentary: It will be interesting to see how quickly this project will be completed. Also, will they work to repair one section of I-88 to allow one lane traffic in each direction to cr...

With flood waters receding and NY 7 reopening, the state has announced the detour around the collapsed section of I-88 near Sidney. Westbound: Exit 10 to NY 7 West to NY 8 South and back on I-88 West. Eastbound: Exit 9 to NY 8 North onto NY 7 East to exit 10 on ramp. There has been neither a timetable or an estimate to when I-88 will be repaired and reopened.

http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/NEWS01/60629037 David Swingle, 42, of Waverly, PA was one of two truck drivers killed on Wednesday when a culvert underneath Interstate 88 failed collapsing the highway. Swingle was headed eastbound on I-88. He was hauling a mail truck. The body of the second driver killed Wednesday, who was on I-88 West, has yet to be recovered. My deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Swingle's family and friends.

The New York State Thruway re-opened today sometime before noon. However, the ramps at Eixt 28 and 29 would remain closed. The Thruway was still closed when I headed into work at 7:30 this morning. The eastbound Guilderland Travel plaza was packed with trucks as was the shoulders on the ramps on I-88 Exit 25 and on NY 7. Many of the truckers would bed down their overnight. Truck traffic was suggested to take the Thruway south to I-84 into PA and take I-81 North to Syracuse. Here are some photos from the drive in this morning. VMS Advising travelers about the closed Thruway on I-90 West just prior to Exit 25. Traffic being funneled to exit at I-88. Not the best shot of the roadblock for the onramp to I-90 West at Exit 25A VMS informing about the detour use I-88 West to Exit 24 and some of the pulled over trucks. Finally some of the trucks that pulled over for the night on the I-88 Exit 25 ramps and on NY 7. Acording to the NYSDOT, the I-88 culvert was scheduled for a routine insp...

What you are looking at is an aerial shot of the I-88 roadway collapse over Carrs Creek. The lanes on the right are/were for I-88 Eastbound, and the beginning of the Exit 10 (NY 7 Unadilla) offramp. I-88 Westbound lanes are on the left. Photo taken by the AP's Jim McKnight. You can see the remnants of the culvert in the center of the quiet stream turned rapids. The box trailer that is shown falling into the water would flow a mile downstream crashing into a bridge that carries NY 7 over the same creek. The identites of the two truck drivers are still unknown. The Susquehanna River is still approaching flood stage in Bainbridge, NY. The river is expected to crest at 28 feet sometime Thursday morning . Flood stage is 13'! The record level, 23.1' has already been eclipsed. It appears the river won't go below flood stage until after the weekend. The NY State Thruway is not expected to reopen until at least noon tomorrow. I will try to get photos of the detour/roadb...

Two truck drivers were killed early this morning on I-88 near Unadilla, NY when their rigs fell into a washout caused by heavy rainfall. The New York State Thruway is closed in both directions from Exit 28 to Exit 31. The closing is indefinite. The Thruway is only open to local traffic from Exit 25A - 28 and Exit 36 - 31. (More from the Albany Times-Union ) The washout of all four lanes and center median was a result of a failed culvert just beyond the Exit 10 interchange. The drivers, one going eastbound the other westbound, were killed when their trucks fell into the collapsed roadway. Unconfirmed reports have said that the bodies had not been found. Photos below of the I-88 incident: All photos were taken by the New York State Police. I-90 Westbound was backed up solid from Exit 25A to Exit 25. Traffic is being funneled down to one lane at Exit 25A. DOT and State Troopers are stationed at the merge and are only allowing "local" traffic beyond Exit 25A. At the Exi...