The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[markhollin]

Old Division Street repaved and fully open with new sidewalks for t he first time in nearly 3 years.

Looking east from intersection of 9th Ave. South and Old Division St:

[markhollin]

20th Ave. South is now fully repaved and open for the first time in nearly 3 years (due to construction of Broadview at Vanderbilt Graduate Housing).

Looking north from intersection of Broadway and 20th Ave. South:

[markhollin]

Broadway Viaduct update.

Looking NE from 11th Ave. where it passes under Broadway:

Looking SW from 11th Ave. where it passes under Broadway:

[markhollin]

The Broadway Viaduct will close from Monday, June 19 at 8 p.m. until Thur. June 23 at 5 a.m. — three full days and a little bit, per an announcement sent by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The closure will happen between 10th Avenue and 12th Avenue. This will be a preview of the full closure again from July 5 to Sept. 7.  All lanes for the new bridge are scheduled to be open by Oct. 31.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/06/16/broadway-bridge-construction-shutdown-temporary.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=me&utm_content=NA&ana=e_NA_me&j=31813051&senddate=2023-06-16
 

[Nathan_in_DC]

Fascinating article on the impacts of the temporary closure of I-95 in Philadelphia due to the overpass collapse.  Turns out, shutting down a major interstate highway within a city doesn't have the impact on traffic many were predicting, mainly due to the reversal of the effects of induced demand. 

So Much for ‘Carmageddon’ (Philadelphia Edition) — Streetsblog USA

Quote

This isn’t an unusual occurrence. The same scenario is repeated, time and again, whenever a major section of roadway is removed from service, whether by construction, repair, or as a result of crashes. Just ask people in Los Angeles, or Seattle, or Atlanta, or Minneapolis or Portland. In every one of these cities, a key roadway was taken out of service for days, weeks or months. And in every one of these cities, highway departments predicted calamitous delays and gridlock.

Yet in every one of these cities, pretty much nothing happened.

Traffic “just disappeared” and driving conditions “weren’t so horrible” and in several cases, congestion was less than usual.

The lesson here is that traffic is not an inalterable and irreducible quantity dictated by nature; it’s actually very dynamic and elastic. People readily change their travel behavior in response to the availability of road capacity. That’s the essential insight behind the science of “induced demand“ — the observation that newly expanded roadways quickly fill to capacity. And this is its mirror image: “traffic evaporation.”

[nashville born]

1 hour ago, Nathan_in_DC said:

Fascinating article on the impacts of the temporary closure of I-95 in Philadelphia due to the overpass collapse.  Turns out, shutting down a major interstate highway within a city doesn't have the impact on traffic many were predicting, mainly due to the reversal of the effects of induced demand. 

So Much for ‘Carmageddon’ (Philadelphia Edition) — Streetsblog USA

This article should become required reading for Nashville's civic leaders and it's anti-mass transit community...

[markhollin]

The widening and bridgework for Clarksville Hwy. for 2 miles between Ashland City Hwy. and Briley Parkway continues:

[smeagolsfree]

Not only should it be required reading, but it should also be posted on the bathroom walls of the state legislature in an easy-to-read format for those that have a hard time understanding the big words.

[markhollin]

Broadway Viaduct update: massive span girders being arranged north of the bridge, just east of 11th Ave. North:

Looking SE from 11th Ave. North, just north of Broadway Viaduct:

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening.

Bigger yellow mobile crane down. 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Instagram Sky5. 

[MidTenn1]

 

You're welcome. It only took 15 years. And more like $100.000,000

 

 

But before this artwork was finished.

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by MidTenn1

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Instagram Sky5. 
 

[markhollin]

12th Ave. South between McGavock and Demonbreun nicely resurfaced after being ripped-up for several years.

Looking south from intersection of 12th Ave. South and McGavock St:

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Instagram Sky5. 

[Sean blackdog]

Yesterday evening. 

[rookzie]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:09 AM, Nathan_in_DC said:

Fascinating article on the impacts of the temporary closure of I-95 in Philadelphia due to the overpass collapse.  Turns out, shutting down a major interstate highway within a city doesn't have the impact on traffic many were predicting, mainly due to the reversal of the effects of induced demand. 

So Much for ‘Carmageddon’ (Philadelphia Edition) — Streetsblog USA

From the beginning, I had "what-if" reservations about the impact of that I-95 collapse.

I always supposed that relatively little of New York/NJ traffic to Philly takes that I-95 segment, unless they're headed somewhere close to I-95-proper in Pa.   I'd wager that the majority of regionals on the NJ side of the Delaware River and who commute *to* Philly generally take the NJ Turnpike or I-295 or Burlington Pike (US-130) and navigate to Philly via the Betsy Ross Bridge, although many also take the Palmyra Bridge.   So, most non-regional through traffic will bypass that segment of 95 and Philly altogether, with northbound traffic exiting I-95 proper at Wilmington and then taking I-295 over the twin spans (DE Memorial) to the interchange to join the NJ Tpk.

Of course, the local movements on the affected segment of the -95 corridor north of Betsy Ross would be affected the most.  Most drivers from the Trenton area tend to take Rt. (US) 1 at Morrisville or take the more northerly I-295 across the Delaware River, although some do take I-95 across the river.  Closure of I-95 likely added to traffic on other arterials and slowed down traffic to some extent, but the redundancy of the roadway infrastructure likely helped diffuse much of the projected impact of the closure.  With all this said, had the closure occurred south of the 95/295 split south of Wilmington, then the repercussions might have been more collateral and disruptive.

So as usual, nearly all the national media coverage had spun the incident into a melodrama of north-south gridlock.

[Nathan_in_DC]

14 minutes ago, rookzie said:

From the beginning, I had "what-if" reservations about the impact of that I-95 collapse.

I always supposed that relatively little of New York/NJ traffic to Philly takes that I-95 segment, unless they're headed somewhere close to I-95-proper in Pa.   I'd wager that the majority of regionals on the NJ side of the Delaware River and who commute *to* Philly generally take the NJ Turnpike or I-295 or Burlington Pike (US-130) and navigate to Philly via the Betsy Ross Bridge, although many also take the Palmyra Bridge.   So, most non-regional through traffic will bypass that segment of 95 and Philly altogether, with northbound traffic exiting I-95 proper at Wilmington and then taking I-295 over the twin spans (DE Memorial) to the interchange to join the NJ Tpk.

Of course, the local movements on the affected segment of the -95 corridor north of Betsy Ross would be affected the most.  Most drivers from the Trenton area tend to take Rt. (US) 1 at Morrisville or take the more northerly I-295 across the Delaware River, although some do take I-95 across the river.  Closure of I-95 likely added to traffic on other arterials and slowed down traffic to some extent, but the redundancy of the roadway infrastructure likely helped diffuse much of the projected impact of the closure.  With all this said, had the closure occurred south of the 95/295 split south of Wilmington, then the repercussions might have been more collateral and disruptive.

So as usual, nearly all the national media coverage had spun the incident into a melodrama of north-south gridlock.

Since they finally got around to connecting 95 to the PA Turnpike a few years ago, there has definitely been an increase in traffic along 95 north of Philly. But people forgot that for most of its history 95 was gapped near Trenton and through traffic used the NJ Turnpike, connecting back in either Chester or Wilmington. I don't have numbers, but I suspect you're right in that much of the through traffic still uses that route to avoid local traffic in Philadelphia.  Frankly, I-95 in NE Philly is an anachronism of the 1950s 'tear-it-all-down' mentality that still has negative impacts on a part of the city that has it bad enough already...not to mention completely wrecked what could be an awesome waterfront.  I wouldn't be sad if they tore it all out from the Walt Whitman Bridge to the PA Turnpike, especially if they got around to building the Roosevelt Blvd. Subway.

[Baronakim]

On the closure of I-95 in Philidelphia... it almost happend here.  40 years ago I was sitting in my office in Brentwood and looked out the window at the ongoing widening of the street under I-65 at Church Street East.  They had just completed removing the the sloped banks under the bridge and suddenly I realized that the concrete footings of the interstate were ONLY supported by a 12 foot tall vertical wall of exposed fill left after excavation.  NO pilings whatsoever!  They were just poured on compacted fill in the original construction.  The entire interstate was in danger of collapse at any moment.  I called TDOT  and within a couple of hours there was a line of trucks dumping gravel putting the slopes back.  Close call.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Baronakim

[Bark At The Sun]

I-40/Donelson Noise Wall Construction

 

[AsianintheNations]

Sorry, I know this is random and not any kind of breaking news on transit, but it's been bothering me for years. On I-40, midway between exit 201 and 204, there is a raised clearing on both sides of the highway, shaped like exit ramps for a standard diamond interchange, except they aren't paved and don't connect to anything. These clearings seem to be maintained since the grass looks mowed and kept free of trees and brush. Was this from a planned exit that was never finished? Maintenance-related? I thought something like a truck escape ramp initially, but there's no major hill nearby and there's a barrier preventing access, plus they are symmetric and you could go up and down both sides. If anyone knows what these are, I will be eternally grateful. I think the last time something silly like this bothered me this much, it was when I realized there was a ghost station on the Boston Red Line between Central and Harvard Square; thankfully, the history of that temporary station is easily Googled.

From above:

 

[PruneTracy]

3 minutes ago, AsianintheNations said:

Sorry, I know this is random and not any kind of breaking news on transit, but it's been bothering me for years. On I-40, midway between exit 201 and 204, there is a raised clearing on both sides of the highway, shaped like exit ramps for a standard diamond interchange, except they aren't paved and don't connect to anything. These clearings seem to be maintained since the grass looks mowed and kept free of trees and brush. Was this from a planned exit that was never finished? Maintenance-related? I thought something like a truck escape ramp initially, but there's no major hill nearby and there's a barrier preventing access, plus they are symmetric and you could go up and down both sides. If anyone knows what these are, I will be eternally grateful.

Pretty sure it is just a combination of the local terrain and TDOT's efforts to keep their ROW clear of brush.

When I-40 was originally constructed they cut into the hill on both sides (the slopes being similar to that of ramps being a coincidence), and since then maintenance forces have cut the brush back to near the ROW line.

As far as an exit goes, it would be too close to the adjacent exits (Exit 201 / Charlotte Pike in particular) and there isn't a large roadway nearby that would warrant access.

[smeagolsfree]

Even with the redo of the Charlotte exit by widening it to 2 lanes, it still backs up onto the interstate. Nothing short of a total redesign of that interchange will fix that exit. TDOTS failures along the interstates in Nashville as far as designs are many. This is not a reflection on you either Pete. It is just the state of TN just designs poor roads and go cheap on everything they did back in the 70s and 80s and continue that practice today by paying as you go. 

You can't' get much done by paying as you go because the roads outgrow what you do before you are done with your planning to even start your project. That is why the loop around downtown is so much of a CF. (Charlie Foxtrot, a cluster eff) They pretty much have just left that alone for 50 years and the plans we have seen for the fix are a really bad joke. We need someone in the state to finally stand up and say pay as you go does not work, but you have to convince a bunch of uneducated politicians otherwise. The best way to do that is to convince the ones that get kickbacks form the road construction firms. We all know it happens come election time. The fact that they think they have to spend equal amount of money in the 3 grand divisions is moronic to the highest degree. You spend it where the traffic is, and I can guarantee you it is in Middle TN, not NW or NE TN, nor in the rural areas of the state.

[Luvemtall]

Smeags 100% agree! The infrastructure of the interstates and TDOT roadways are inadequate and 30 years behind.