Holiday Wishes To You

Dear Fellow Road Enthusiasts,

Whichever holiday you choose to celebrate and observe, I wish you...

- A Merry Christmas
- A Happy Hannukah
- A Happy Kwanzaa

If I have forgotten a holiday that you choose to celebrate and observe during this time of the year, then I hope that it is a happy one for you.

Thank you for reading and supporting "The Georgia Road Geek" and may you have a safe and Happy New Year!!!

Rediscovering Roadgeeking

Dear Fellow Road Enthusiasts,

When I decided to start a "roadgeek blog" of my own, I never imagined that it would be such a hit.

For the last 3 years, I was heavily involved in my other great love, Toastmasters. During this time, I was the Georgia Toastmasters District's Lt. Governor and finally District Governor.

On July 1, 2005, I officially became a "has been" and that freed me up to take up other hobbies that I enjoy... especially "roadgeeking". I am still active in my local Toastmasters chapter in the Atlanta area, but I'm just a member now. Oh, what a feeling!!! :)

My love of "roadgeeking" was rekindled in late August, when my wife Mary and I were in Toronto for the Toastmasters International convention. During our trip there, I decided to put our new digital camera to work by taking some road sign photos. Since that was the first time we ever went to Canada, I figured that I'd be cheating myself if I didn't "roadgeek" some.

Not long after coming back to Atlanta, I decided to do something different in terms of my "roadgeeking". That's when I decided to do a "blogsite" (with some inspiration from my brother-in-law, who had been blogging for a while himself).

First, I went to Blogger and set up this blogsite. Second, I went to Yahoo! Small Business and purchased the domain name georgiaroadgeek.com. Finally, I started blogging, and (pardon the cliche) the rest is history. :)

Now, here are some acknowledgements..

First, I want to thank my brother-in-law Lib for inspiring me to blog in the first place. Incidentally, he and my sister Laura had taken the world's only known "roadgeek" pictures from Kazakhstan while they were there to adopt their lovely daughter (my niece) Stella.

"CTON" is Russian for "STOP".

Second, I want to thank fellow road enthusiasts Geoff Hatchard, Pete Jenior, Adam Prince, J.T. Legg, Marc Fannin, "Froggie", Andy Field, Alex "Roaddog" Nitzman, and the rest of the road enthusiast community worldwide for supporting "The Georgia Road Geek".

Finally, I want to thank the love of my life and my best friend in the whole wide world... my lovely wife Mary. No matter what, she is always there to give me love, support, and encouragement. Honey, I love you more than anything else in the world! :)

That's all for today. Thanks always for visiting "The Georgia Road Geek" and please do so often.

"Georgia Road Geek" News - 12/16/2005

"411 Connector" Update

According to a Rome, GA, radio station website I came across yesterday while "Googling" for "411 connector" (I forgot the actual station name.), here is the latest news I have:

If all goes according to Georgia DOT's schedule, the land acquistion for the "411 Connector" in Bartow County will begin in 2006.

Actual construction may not begin until 2007 and completion may not be until 2010 at the earliest.

Georgia's First PPI Approved By DOT

Yesterday, the Georgia DOT's State Transportation Board unanimously approved the Public-Private Initiative (PPI) proposal from a consortium called Georgia Transportation Partners to add toll lanes along the Northwest Corridor (I-75/I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee Counties).

This will be Georgia's very first PPI. To learn more, please click here for the GDOT's official press release.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please do so often.

Aerial Road Shot of the Week - US 41/411 Interchange

For the latest installment of "The Georgia Road Geek" Aerial Road Shot of the Week, we give you the US 41/GA 3 and US 411/GA 20 interchange near Cartersville (Bartow County):

Above Photo From Terraserver-USA.

This trumpet-style interchange was built around 1960 as the easternmost portion of a 4-lane divided highway (no access control) running from Cartersville to US 27/GA 1/53 in Rome (Floyd County).

The 4-lane divided highway in the southwestern corner is US 411 South/GA 20 West, which runs westward for 20 miles (32 km) to US 27/GA 1/53 in Rome. This particular stretch of highway was originally co-signed with US 411 as GA 344 until the mid 1970's.

US 41/GA 3 is the 4-lane divided highway that runs from northwest to southeast. US 41/GA 3 and US 411/GA 20 share pavement for 3 miles (5 km), where it meets GA 61. From there, US 411 joins GA 61 northward to the Tennessee state line and GA 20 splits eastward toward Canton (Cherokee County).

Future plans for this interchange are to tie in a brand new 4-lane divided highway with limited access that will extend the US 411/GA 20 4-lane highway to I-75 at GA 20 (Exit 290). This will be known as the "411 Connector". To see the route that the Georgia DOT (GDOT) has apparently chosen as of December 1, 2005, please click here for a detailed aerial map on their website.

The purpose of the "411 Connector", which was originally conceived in 1986 and later became part of the now-defunct "Northern Arc", will be to give both Atlanta and Rome direct high-speed access.

Based on my observations of the proposed route and design, it looks like the "411 Connector" would be up to Interstate standards from the existing US 411 4-lane to I-75. In that case, perhaps GDOT could designate this short stretch as I-375 (similar to either Alabama's I-359 in Tuscaloosa or I-759 in Gadsden).

Furthermore, perhaps GDOT could consider upgrading the existing US 411 4-lane between US 41/GA 3 and US 27/GA 1/53 in Rome to a full-blown Interstate, thus giving Rome it's own Interstate highway similar to Columbus's I-185.

Unlike the proposed I-3 in eastern and northeast Georgia, this highway IMHO is truly needed for giving Rome/Floyd County much better access to Atlanta as GA 316 did with Athens/Clarke County. My only hope, though, is that the developers don't get too greedy along the US 411 corridor, but given their track record and north Georgia's overall growth, I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please do so often.

STOP I-3!!!

This afternoon, I received the above "STOP I-3" sticker from an acquaintance in Hiawassee, Georgia, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northeast Georgia near the North Carolina state line.

For those of you who may not know, there is a proposal to build an Interstate 3 (a.k.a. "The 3rd Infantry Division Highway") from Savannah, Georgia, to Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information on this proposed highway, please see AARoads Interstate Guide I-3 webpage.

Like many proposed routes, "economic development" is used as the justification, but several residents in Hiawassee, which will be in the path of I-3, are already rallying against the road due to the potential environmental damage it could bring to the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The Stop I-3 Coalition was formed for this purpose.

Even though I am a road enthusiast, I am not really sure that I-3 would serve any real purpose. Hiawassee is already benefitting from the increasing number of retirees that move there for the peace and quiet, thus I feel the "economic development" argument does not quite hold water.

If we have any more news on the I-3 plans, then we will share them with you.

What are your thoughts? Pro or con, please feel free to post them here at "The Georgia Road Geek" (please keep the comments polite, however).

BTW, "STOP I-3" bumper and window stickers are available through the coalition's website.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please come back again.

Aerial Road Shot of the Week - 12/10/2005

Dear Fellow Road Enthusiasts,

After taking some "virtual trips" on some of Georgia's highways via Terraserver-USA, plus being inspired by Michael Adams's "Highway Heaven" aerial shot features, I decided to start an "Aerial Road Shot of the Week".

These will feature various highways throughout the State of Georgia.

This week's feature is an aerial shot of the interchange between US 23/GA 365 and US 441/GA 15 in Cornelia.

Above image obtained from Terraserver USA website.

From this point northward, US 23 and US 441 share pavement until they reach Sylva, North Carolina.

US 23/441 from Cornelia to the North Carolina state line make up the northernmost portion of Georgia's US 441 Governor's Road Improvement Program (GRIP) corridor (GDOT Project EDS-441). This GRIP corridor runs southward along US 441 to the Florida state line.

To the southwest of this interchange, US 23/GA 365 takes you to Gainesville, where, at the interchange with US 129 North/GA 369 (Exit 24), it becomes I-985.

Please let us know if you enjoy this feature and feel free to make your own suggestions for our "Aerial Road Shot of the Week" by e-mailing georgiaroadgeek at bellsouth dot net. As a token of our appreciation, we'll even mail you an official "Georgia Road Geek" magnet if you give us your postal address. :)

Thanks for visiting and please do so often.

A Private Proposal For GA 400

This past week, while reading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's (AJC) Metro section online, I came across yet another proposal for a private consortium to fix our roads and attach tolls to do so.

The Washington Group, who proposed the controversial upgrade of GA 316 from Lawrenceville to Athens as a toll expressway, now has their eyes on US 19/GA 400. Please click here for the AJC article.

Right now, the Georgia DOT is preparing to widen US 19/GA 400 from Holcomb Bridge Road (Exits 7A-B) in Roswell to McFarland Road (Exits 12A-B) in Forsyth County. Considering the bottleneck we, 400's "regulars", experience every day on 400 in that stretch of road, it's about time!!!

Under the Washington Group's plan, the existing project would be enhanced to add toll lanes all the way to GA 20 (Exit 14) in Cumming and issue drivers transponders that would track their usage and bill them accordingly.

And now, here are my thoughts...

While I am for transportation projects being completed as soon as possible, I have major problems with private companies essentially taking over public roads and charging tolls for us to drive on them.

First of all, the transponders would be giving "big brother" way too much information from the standpoint of collecting data on our driving. If the technology enables the government (or any private firm) to collect tolls, then what stops them from enhancing it to track other things? In other words, our own civil liberties could be potentially compromised with this technology. Think about it.

Second, as for toll roads in general, the government should just build them from scratch such as what was done with the section of GA 400 from I-85 to I-285. Even then, once the tolls have paid for any bond indebtedness incurred by the government, the tolls should be immediately removed. At the end of 2003, Georgia did remove the toll from the F.J. Torras Causeway that runs between Brunswick and Saint Simons Island.

Finally, the government should do something about what is causing the need to expand the roads... overdevelopment. Please click here to read my thoughts from a previous blog.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks again for visiting and please come back again.

GA DOT Plans I-16/I-75 Overhaul In Macon

As posted on the Yahoo! Group seroads by "Dino H." of Macon, GA...

After major accidents, major bottlenecks, immense and growing traffic counts for a rapidly growing area in middle Georgia, GADOT finally has come up with THEhuge idea to fix the one of the major traffic issuesof the area. Plus it solves the issue of widening onI-16 and I-75. The US 129 / Spring St, Colisium Driveand Second St interstate access and merge problemswill be solved effectively dispersing the trafficevenly on three raods from two. (MAjor reconstruction! Lots of fill needed.) HUGE NEWS!Can't wait to see the start... it may takes some timeto it is being address.

OTHER NEWS for MACON - I-75 will also be widened from Pierce to Arkwright Rd... not shown on the website. Meeting thurs at GAdot in Macon Riverside Dr. ThePierce RD current access will be removed from thesouthbound side of I-75. Rumors say there will be anew interchange a mile north... we'll see at the meeting and I'll forward the info to you. Northbound Pierce will be partially reconstructed but remain the same.

For more info, please click here for the official I-16/I-75 project website.

Having travelled this section of Georgia interstate off-an-on for years, I wholeheartedly agree that it is time for a major, major overhaul of the freeway system in Macon. IMHO, it has been extremely overdue for at least 20 years!!!

A very special "thank you" to Dino for sharing this info with the road enthusaist community and we look forward to further reports from him. :)

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please do so often.

GDOT Removes Erroneous Distance Sign

Yesterday as I was heading north on US 19/GA 400, I noticed that the Georgia DOT (GDOT) removed the erroneous "Roswell 9/Dahlonega 26" distance sign between Exits 6 (Northridge Road) and 7A (GA 140/Holcomb Bridge Road/Norcross).

I'm not sure if GDOT read the blog or otherwise someone else reported it to them, but "The Georgia Road Geek" was the first place on the Internet to bring you a report and picture of the erroneous distance sign in question. (See my blog entry "The New GA 400 Signs Are Here!!!".)

The correct sign should read "Roswell 5/Dahlonega 43" just like the old button-copy sign it replaced (picture from AARoads "Georgia Gateway").

Finally, a reminder that official "Georgia Road Geek" magnets are available. Please click here for more info.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please come back again.