Florida State Road 589/Veterans Expressway express lanes

Upon my return to the Tampa Area I headed northward on Florida State Road 589/Veterans Expressway. The previous year the new Veterans Expressway express lanes opened for motorist use .

The Veterans Expressway express lanes essentially serve as part of the eight lane widening of FL 589 northward to where FL 568 splits away (carrying the Veterans Expressway) towards Dale Mabry Highway/FL 597. During my previous blog on FL 589/Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway in 2017 the express lanes were under construction.

2017 Southeast Trip Part 2; Florida State Road 589 Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway

The first express lane northward on FL 589/Veterans Expressway begins after Exit 4 at Hillsborough Avenue/FL 580. The first express lane continues northward with access to the regular lanes being provided near Exit 9 for Gunn Highway/Hillsborough County Route 587.

The next express lane begins just before Exit 9 and continue northward to approximately Exit 13 where it empties into the regular lanes.

Exit 13 carries the remainder of the Veterans Expressway on FL 568 to Dale Mabry Highway/FL 597. FL 589 continues northward to US Route 98 on the Suncoast Parkway.

Comments

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog