Gribblenation

Today, I took a drive to our outlying stores here in New York for meetings and some store visits. I am implementing quite a few stocking program changes (vinyl siding, coilated fasteners, drywall/decking screws) at our New York locations over the next two months. So with a meeting at Oneonta, I figured i owuld take the whole day and travel to some of our stores in rural New York. The stores I visited in order: Richmondville, Walton, Sidney, and Oneonta. Route: I-90, I-88, NY 10, NY 206, NY 8, local roads in Sidney, NY 7, NY 357, NY 28, I-88, local roads and NY 7 in Oneonta, I-88 and I-90 to home. Accomplishments: New mileage on NY 10 from NY 23 south to NY 206 in Walton; NY 206 from NY 10 to NY 8; NY 8 from NY 206 to I-88, Completed NY 357 in one shot, NY 28 from NY 357 to NY23/I-88. Notes: It snowed much of the trip with the heaviest between 10-11 or basically from NY 23 to Walton. NY 10 is a very nice road. It's pretty much flat but there are a few nice towns including Delhi ...

From Today's Sun News: A bill that would make Interstate 73 a toll road stalled indefinitely Thursday after two senators put a block on the measure. Supporters of the road hoped to get the bill out quickly to show Congress that South Carolina is ready to pay its share to build Horry County's first interstate highway link. Congress kicked in $81 million for I-73 in last year's five-year highway bill, and members have promised more each year, but they want to see a toll put on the road because they can't promise the entire $2 billion price tag. The House passed the bill in three days, but the same measure in the Senate came to a halt last week when two senators tried to amend it to include a toll on I-95. One senator who wants the toll on I-95 put a block on the bill until his amendment is accepted, and a senator who opposes a toll on I-95 also blocked the bill. Senate rules allow a member to block consideration of a bill indefinitely, unless a two-thi...

The committee that is deciding on which application or applications will receive the $300 million in funding from the South Carolina Infrastructure Bank visited Myrtle Beach last week to see the desired project. See article . Horry County Officials applied for $150 million in early January to extend the Carolina Bays Parkway (SC 31) another 1.5 miles to SC 707 then to widen SC 707 to five lanes to the US 17 Bypass. This will essentially complete the Carolina Bays Parkway. The parkway was origianlly planned to curl back towards US 17, but the county never bought the land and developers have already built over the proposed right of way. A few new details also came out in the article. The state only owns 75 feet of right of way along SC 707 and would need 110 feet. A number of homes may possibly have to be taken for this project. The board was very inquisitive including asking about mass transit. Finally, the chairman of the bank board, Don Leonard, is a business owner from Myrtle Beach...

This past week I have been working on an All Things NC! Update. I formally announced it today. There are a few things in the update that I am very happy about. First, the opportunity to have memories of what I like to call my second home, Gaston County. One of the routes NC 274, I lived off of and my work was off of it so I was on it daily. But also in doing the updates top the pages for NC 161, 273, 274, and 275, I recalled all the times I saw the termini. Also, each of them had photos I took of my own when I lived there. I could remember a lot of it. Some like the ends for 161 and 275 I took in April of 2001 when I first moved there. It was really my first exploration of the county and it was the first trip that really allowed me to call the area home. Other photos were taken in the summer of 2001 and I just remember how the area was along the border. It was a nice surprise to get those photos in the mail. Another Gaston County memory was the abandoned I-85 ramps near Ea...

Yesterday, two major developments in I-73's eventual construction occurred in South Carolina. First, SCDOT narrowed the studied alternatives to the highway. Basically it is down to two possibilities. One follows and uses most of US 501 from Marion to SC 22. The highway would use part of the US 301 Marion Bypass, jump on to a new alignment, return to US 301 north of Galivants Ferry around SC 41 and then the road leaves US 501 to bypass Galivants Ferry and Aynor. South of Anyor the road uses US 501 until SC 22 and then follows the Conway Bypass to its end. The Second is a new path alignment that runs north of the US 501 Option. It runs closer to Mullins (bypassing the town to the south) and reaches SC 22 near the SC 319 interchange. There are crossovers between the two main alternatives, so a hybrid of both options may be the final routing. What is also intersting is that both options cross I-95 north of SC 38, which is the current consensus for the north segment of the highway. T...

Yesterday, I added five more photos to the Georgia Road Photos Page . Many thanks to Steve Williams and JP Natsiatka. More I-73 Toll News: From The Sun News : Tax policy may be the dominant theme for legislators in the upcoming session, but it isn't the only thing on the table. I-73 | The 60-mile path of Interstate 73 in South Carolina would be a toll road under a bill filed by state Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach. Clemmons, president of the S.C. I-73 Association, said the move would guarantee some of the state's required matching funds for the $2 billion road that will be Horry County's first interstate connection. "We need to be cautious with this" so as not to discourage use of what should be a tourist magnet, Clemmons said. But he thinks tolls will be necessary to ensure the road is built. State Rep. Tracy Edge, R- North Myrtle Beach, agreed tolls may be necessary, but he proposes creating a S.C. Turnpike Authority, a board similar t...

First a belated Happy New Year to All! The past month has been busy with travel, work and of course the holidays so I apologize for not posting to my blog until now. I've just recently completed an update to South Carolina Highways . The update is relatively small but a lot of good news and information has come up since July of last year. Interstate 73: A lot of goodies here. The $81 million allotment of funds in the SAFETEA-LU Act has really given new momentum to I-73 in South Carolina. Basically the $81 million will cover all environmental studies and give the state a head start on right-of -way acquisition. It's a major step towards the completion of an estimated $2 BILLION route. Since the $81 million was announced, the state has gained another $4 million from Congress. All good news right? Well as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend." In November, both of the State's senators, Graham and DeMint, offered in a bill to cut the $81 million in I-73 fundi...