NE OH - N IN - SW MI - Chicago
Marc Fannin
years!) to show her where I grew up, the first time I've returned in
almost four years, and the first time in more than six when I was the
driver (it helps to split expenses). It took me just about every day
of the last six weeks to plan and prepare for this; I don't know how
county counters and highway clinchers do it.... In spite of the area
being generously covered by Google Maps Street View, I still ended up
taking over 200 photos (posted shortly...). I know I'll forget
something, so sorry about any future self-replies, and I haven't
caught up with the groups yet, so sorry if anything is redundant to an
active thread.
(Small side trips throughout)
October 6
I-90 WB from Lake County (between Cleveland and Pennsylvania) to
"classic" US-31 NB (Indiana: SR-933/Michigan: M-51/Bus. US-12/Bus.
US-31/state trunkline "Old US-31"/M-139) to the I-94 area
October 7
Various travels in northern Berrien County (I-94@I-196/US-31 area) and
adjacent areas
October 8-9
Various southern Berrien County (US-31@US-12 area) then US-12 WB to
I-94 WB to I-90 WB to I-90/94 WB (NB) to I-55 NB (EB) to US-41 SB then
NB to Columbus and Congress Parkway to I-90/94 WB (SB), staying on
I-94 to US-131 SB then I-80/90 and I-90 solo EB
_____
Day 1
- I-90's Clearview in metro Cleveland extends from to just short of
the Rocky River bridges WB and starts approaching W. 117th St. EB.
East limit is I-77 in both directions. I-71 now has a new BEGIN sign
at the I-90 WB split.
- E-ZPass at the I-80/Ohio Turnpike/I-90 merge was working as it
should; cash lanes maybe six or seven cars deep.
- The bridges on the remaining two-lane section west of Toledo sure
are showing their age (1955).
- The Turnpike service plazas at MM 20 are gone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Turnpike#Service_plazas
but the road stripes at the former ramps still exist up to the
parallel barrier.
- Semi-OT: There is a monument from 1977 identifying the Michigan/
Indiana/Ohio tripoint 130 feet south, but at the actual point only a
broken piece of the monument that should be there was down the road
embankment.
- If you still want a ticket on the Indiana Toll Road, you're greeted
with "Please take your ticket" in a man's voice, then "Thank
you"...creepy.
- In spite of all my preparations for the trip, including a pre-trip
car diagnosis, I still needed to get new front brakes and pads -
what's a road trip without being in a mechanic's garage?
- As reported earlier: Business routes in Niles, Michigan, still exist
as they have recently, and M-139 has not been extended south yet to
US-12. To follow the confusing history, see
http://www.roadfan.com/nilesyr.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannered_routes_of_U.S._Route_31#Niles.2C_Michigan
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/greatlakesroads/message/14038
(12/1/08)
The Business US-31 designation does end at Walton Road, now that
Walton has been given back to Berrien County, but one is not left high
and dry there, as there are [TO] {31} trailblazers there. This way
there is still guidance without markers posted on a road that's not
MDOT's anymore.
- On a related note, there is only one of the four [OLD]{31}
assemblies left in downtown Berrien Springs at its turn, the one SB
approaching the intersection. (See Street View)
- The controversial flashing yellow left arrows (
http://projects.kittelson.com/pplt/displays2.htm ) have made their
appearance in southwesternmost Michigan in at least three places: I-94
Exit 29 EB offramp@Pipestone@Meadowbrook, M-139@Nickerson (immediately
north of I-94 Exit 28), and, non-MDOT, Hilltop@Washington immediately
west of M-63 at the south edge of St. Joseph. I forgot that they also
display a solid red left arrow at the top; it's weird seeing that in
one of the four states that I frequent (MI/IN/OH/PA). In addition, it
appears that all left turn signals that used to have a flashing red
ball which haven't been replaced by the flashing yellow setup have had
the flash disabled (protected/permissive to protected only).
_____
Day 2
- Stopped by the Berrien County Road Commission; glad I did, because I
*finally* got a copy of the county map with US-12A on it that I first
saw in the 1980s! An engineer took time to copy maps from the 1920s
through the 1940s for me, and it's on one that he labeled 1949. It's
as I remember, along Lake Blvd. and Port St. in St. Joseph, where
mainline US-12 had gone before. (US-31 ran along modern M-63/Niles
Ave., with current I-94 BL between Lake and Niles not on the state
system). See http://www.roadfan.com/rdmysttc.html
- Maps and brochures from the Southwest Michigan Tourism center south
of Exit 29
- Throughout the many remodels of the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph/Benton
Township Meijer ( www.meijer.com ), the AAA map from the 1970s of the
area, complete with US-33, has persisted!
http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/HistoricUS-033.html
- Not sure if Berrien wants to maintain its short stretch of CR-A2
(see http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/county_highways.html ) -
the sign in the assembly where M-63 turns south after just beginning
at I-196/US-31 Exit 7 has not been replaced (see Street View) and
there are no markers along the road. It could also be the spotty
signage in general along these routes, since I didn't see any markers
along the one mile or so of the Van Buren County stretch that I drove,
either.
_____
Day 3
- Clearview is showing up in Michigan where I was, predominantly on
ancillary signs like crossing road identifiers, mile markers, exit
gore signs and the like, and the occasional BGS.
- A business on US-12 east of I-94's Exit 4, probably a plant nursery,
had an Interstate shield with "EXIT 4" made of plants.
- Signs on I-94 solo in Indiana are still mostly button copy, as are
the ones on N-S I-94 (Bishop Ford Freeway) south of Chicago. The ones
in Indiana are still in decent shape.
- The Indiana welcome center on I-94 WB had end/begin plates for the
no parking signs. It also still had the marble state map by the
entrance doors.
- The sign at the I-94 exit WB to the Indiana Toll Road lacks 80/90
shields, just an "Indiana Toll Road" at the bottom (the other signs
have all).
- More viaducts on the Indiana Toll Road/I-90 solo than I remembered,
plus narrow lanes in construction zones.
- Bad backup on the Dan Ryan Exoressway outbound (I-90/94 then I-94
alone), from Comiskey Park, er, the Cell all the way past the I-90/
Skyway split to I-57, where it continued down I-57. I expected
congestion on a Thursday at about 4:30 CT, but not that. Yes, I could
have taken the Skyway again, but in true roadgeek fashion, insisted on
leaving a different way, encountering another backup later on before
I-80 et al (this had a temporary ALT I-94 option, orange "ALT" sign
and arrow, at Stony Island).
- The I-94 EB @ I-80 EB merge has a double-tailed merge sign like
those in Ohio but adds lane representations around the main symbol.
Also there: a stray "East" on a BGS (should be "EAST").
- In the construction zone on I-80/94 east of I-65, there was an
isolated left lane EB about where the WB shoulder usually is,
separated by a barrier from the other two through lanes.
- Stopped at the "historic", once removed, Michigan welcome center on
I-94 EB.
http://www.michmarkers.com/Pages/L1256.htm
- I knew about the SB US-131 to EB I-94 loop ramp being replaced with
a flyover/-under, even posted about it recently, but forgot that the
I-94 EB collector/distributor lane wasn't necessary anymore and was
caught off-guard by the two exits EB now rather than just one to the
former C/D lane.
- There is truck parking along I-94, according to big blue signs, but
one said Exit 30 (US-31 southern interchange/Napier Ave.), with no
MDOT facilities, so I assume that MDOT contracts with truck stops
(there's a Flying J at Exit 30).
- Most US-131 shields where I was were 2dUS in width (two "1s").
OK, now somebody post about something that I forgot....
_________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musxf579 @hotmail.com|http://roadfan.com/ (m.t.r FAQ,
etc.)
[Also posted elsewhere]
Larry Harvilla
> - Most US-131 shields where I was were 2dUS in width (two "1s").
Responding to only a tiny bit of what you had to say here, but in any
event, this is fairly common on U.S. 141 in Da U.P. as well. I don't
like how it looks, but (as you mention) since there are two 1's in 131
and 141, it probably saves a wee bit on sign material costs.
--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: larry AT phatpage DOT org
http://www.phatpage.org/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/larrysphatpage
Marc Fannin
> ... In spite of the area being generously covered by Google Maps Street View, I still ended up
> taking over 200 photos (posted shortly...).
It turns out that it was only about two days AFTER I returned that the
areas of many of the photos that I did take got covered by Street
View. Two days! It couldn't have been two days BEFORE when I was doing
research for the trip so I
could spend more time relaxing and visiting rather than wandering
around taking photographs, noooOOOooo.... It turns out that since I've
been back, Google added another round or two, so I decided for fun to
try to match their views
with mine - interesting what's the same and what's just different
enough to make a different perspective of the exact same place...links
under those to my respective photos will be scattered around this
post.
> (Small side trips throughout)
> October 6
> I-90 WB from Lake County (between Cleveland and Pennsylvania) to
> "classic" US-31 NB (Indiana: SR-933/Michigan: M-51/Bus. US-12/Bus.
> US-31/state trunkline "Old US-31"/M-139) to the I-94 area
>
> October 7
> Various travels in northern Berrien County (I-94@I-196/US-31 area) and
> adjacent areas
>
> October 8-9
> Various southern Berrien County (US-31@US-12 area) then US-12 WB to
> I-94 WB to I-90 WB to I-90/94 WB (NB) to I-55 NB (EB) to US-41 SB then
> NB to Columbus and Congress Parkway to I-90/94 WB (SB), staying on
> I-94 to US-131 SB then I-80/90 and I-90 solo EB
>
> _____
>
> Day 1
>
> - I-90's Clearview in metro Cleveland extends from to just short of
> the Rocky River bridges WB and starts approaching W. 117th St. EB.
> East limit is I-77 in both directions. I-71 now has a new BEGIN sign
> at the I-90 WB split.
Me: http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_1/IMG006.JPG
Street View (pre-Clearview):
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&layer=c&cbll=41.479138,-81.693368&panoid=lJyT-ltYncVC88dlInU19A&cbp=12,178.47,,0,-22.46&ll=41.479229,-81.693349&spn=0,359.956226&z=15
> - E-ZPass at the I-80/Ohio Turnpike/I-90 merge was working as it
> should; cash lanes maybe six or seven cars deep.
>
> - The bridges on the remaining two-lane section west of Toledo sure
> are showing their age (1955).
Example:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&layer=c&cbll=41.590509,-84.100782&panoid=XjPkvarCWVGjsA9Jbpcxyw&cbp=12,87.08,,0,-8.76&ll=41.590508,-84.100685&spn=0,359.986246&z=16
(Fulton CR-12 overpass east of Exit 34/SR-108)
> - The Turnpike service plazas at MM 20 are gone
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Turnpike#Service_plazas
> but the road stripes at the former ramps still exist up to the
> parallel barrier.
My view of the WB-side site:
http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_2/IMG019.JPG
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Turnpike#Service_plazas for more
info.
> - In spite of all my preparations for the trip, including a pre-trip
> car diagnosis, I still needed to get new front brakes and pads -
> what's a road trip without being in a mechanic's garage?
That's front brake rotors and pads.
Asides:
This was by the University of Notre Dame, which just completed a
project to shift north-south traffic through campus farther east; it's
the second eastward shift in a few decades, with the road from the
first shift, "new" Juniper Road,
being obliterated for parking, etc. (Old Juniper still exists in
places, as St. Joseph Dr., and, ironically, at the north end as "new
new" Juniper.) However, some Google Maps maps info still shows the
area pre-project, while Street View
shows it after, so you get surreal views like
and
and
(Drag the orange guy over the main map and you'll see how the blue
outlines differ from the road symbols in places)
I did spot a black-on-yellow "YIELD" in the area, but will not reveal
the location publicly to ensure that it remains....
There are still US-20 mainline markers identifying the old route in
downtown South Bend, 18 years after it moved to the east and south.
Example:
Me: http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_3/IMG016.JPG
Street View: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=362+main+46601 (looking
south)
Also, further east on maybe-or-maybe-not Business US-20, there's a
leftover advance turn assembly at the St. Joseph/Elkhart County border
for SR-219, which has been gone for 10 years.
Me: http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_3/IMG023.JPG
SV: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10162+mckinley+46561 (looking east)
> The Business US-31 designation does end at Walton Road, now that
> Walton has been given back to Berrien County, but one is not left high
> and dry there, as there are [TO] {31} trailblazers there. This way
> there is still guidance without markers posted on a road that's not
> MDOT's anymore.
Me:
http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_8/IMG015.JPG
http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_8/IMG016.JPG
Street View:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2258+old+31+49120
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2402+old+31+49120 (both looking
northwest)
> - On a related note, there is only one of the four [OLD]{31}
> assemblies left in downtown Berrien Springs at its turn, the one SB
> approaching the intersection.
Me: http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091012_8/IMG012.JPG
SV: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=186+cass+49103 (looking southeast)
Me, 2000: http://www.roadfan.com/oldus31.jpg
> _____
>
> Day 3
>
> - A business on US-12 east of I-94's Exit 4, probably a plant nursery,
> had an Interstate shield with "EXIT 4" made of plants.
OK, so I got the location and shield shape right, but was WAY off
regarding the rest. Hey, it was rainy....
It was a concrete composition by a storage shed facility. I wondered
why it seemed that the shield had a shackle-looking thing above it -
the shackle-looking thing is, well, a shackle....
SV: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5248+pulaski+49128 (looking north)
> - Signs on I-94 solo in Indiana are still mostly button copy, as are
> the ones on N-S I-94 (Bishop Ford Freeway) south of Chicago. The ones
> in Indiana are still in decent shape.
I saw scattered Clearview in Illinois as well, including WB into the
Circle Interchange in Chicago (I-90/94@I-290@Congress Pkwy.). I got
the classic windshield wiper shot (most of the trip was miserable with
respect to weather),
but here it is anyway:
http://www.roadfan.com/photoslate2008/20091106_1/IMG009.JPG
SV, pre-Clearview:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=41.875441,-87.642199&spn=0,359.989057&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.875441,-87.642322&panoid=XjOvzqexSg7ItVMOh3260g&cbp=12,281.47,,0,-7.71
> - The sign at the I-94 exit WB to the Indiana Toll Road lacks 80/90
> shields, just an "Indiana Toll Road" at the bottom (the other signs
> have all).
> - The I-94 EB @ I-80 EB merge has a double-tailed merge sign like
> those in Ohio but adds lane representations around the main symbol.
> Also there: a stray "East" on a BGS (should be "EAST").
SV covers the place but it looks like the sign is blocked by a
semi....
> - In the construction zone on I-80/94 east of I-65, there was an
> isolated left lane EB about where the WB shoulder usually is,
> separated by a barrier from the other two through lanes.
To finish: The leftmost lane was isolated from the rest in order to
avoid bridge pillars. INDOT called it an "express lane". Since I
posted this it's been discussed that some projects in Pennsylvania
have also used this setup.
I hope soon to have a page with more photos from the trip (they're all
online already, a page just has to be made). I'll take requests until
then if there is interest in a certain area for which I didn't provide
links above, provided I got a relevant photo.
Marc
[Also posted elsewhere]