The IA 21 bridge over Wolf Creek is scheduled to be replaced in 2017. That’s all. The big infusion of money came with the US 30 work that is now complete.
The good news is that the Benton County plan includes preparation for four-laning US 30 from US 218 westward to IA 21. The style and location for an interchange at the former is still being discussed (the Youngville Cafe has to be protected) and there will also be a diamond interchange at the latter.
I-610 around Houston, January 29, 2012
The first 20,000 miles are the easiest.
According to Clinched Highway Mapping, I have now traveled approximately 45% of the entire interstate highway system in the United States.
To put into perspective how difficult the remaining 55% will be to reach, let me put it this way: The new interstate mileage required to reach the 50% threshold is greater than my untraveled mileage in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin combined.
Last week, it came on the basketball court, as ESPN blogger Eamon Brennan ranks the coaching jobs. Iowa State was eighth of ten in the Big 12.
The harsh winters might detract recruits and, even though it features the Big 12’s best restaurant in Hickory Park, Ames isn’t one of the country’s most happenin’ towns.
Most of the Big 12 has warm-weather (or at least not freezing cold) locations for basketball — and I must admit, it’s nice to walk to a game in short sleeves — but come on. Columbia is going to be the coldest city in the SEC, and Brennan had nothing but praise there. Iowa City’s identical to Ames in climate, and the Nebraska job is ranked 11th out of 12 on the Big Ten list, but there are no weather swipes there aside from saying Minneapolis “is a great city but a freezing cold one.”
We get it already. A whole bunch of people think the state of Iowa, and/or Iowa State in particular, is a pockmark on the vast wasteland of the Great Flyover that is lucky to have running water, let alone Internet access, and when teams graciously (or otherwise) keep Ames on the schedule we should thank our “betters” every chance we can. They don’t have to keep saying it.
The Quad-City Times says Iowa and Illinois have ironed out their differences and that the Iowa DOT will prepare for putting money in a time frame just past the current five-year plan. Note that the headline reflects fiscal 2018, which begins July 1, 2017, but who knows if that summer would see any work.
The younger span of the existing I-74 bridges will be 60 years old in November 2019.
Mitt Romney’s “Every Town Counts” bus tour across six states “with a focus on small towns” will stop in the third-largest city in Iowa.
The DOT last month unveiled a host of possibilities for upgrading and improving I-380 in the Cedar Rapids area. Here’s a summary of the design ideas for the interchanges. The most notable point is that all of the smaller interchanges have a “diverging diamond” as an option. However, the overview document says “there is currently no funding in place for design or construction of recommended concepts.”
All of the PDF links below WILL expire at some point. This is merely explaining that information in text form. Working south to north: Continue reading
“Unnecessary” “quotes” on IA 175 in Eldora, Memorial Day.
The sign contractor, IPSI, made a construction-orange county road shield for the street detour around the courthouse area.
June 24, 2007
Now that I have finished traveling my last interstate in northern Illinois, I encounter one of the unfortunate side effects of roadgeeking: It can take a really long time to drive to somewhere new.
Newton County, Indiana, south of I-80/90 on I-65, is now my closest remaining untouched county accessible via interstate. I-65 there is my closest untraveled interstate.
In fact, for points both south and east, I’m looking at a good six hours of driving before reaching new stuff. I-35E north of St. Paul is “only” four. My nearest untouched county, period, is 3 hours and 45 minutes away in eastern Nebraska.
The KWWL radar map in the HD era extends all the way to I-65 in western Indiana. While I believe I’ve traveled every road visible on maps for every other station in Iowa and many of the surrounding markets, a local one still eludes me. A roadgeek’s work is never done.
Ankeny has associate principal and assistant principal positions. Will those double up with the two-high-school system too?
It is, of course, not wrong for Bill Fennelly to promote his son to assistant coach. Billy Fennelly is qualified. However, it is a bit disappointing for a variety of reasons: 1) It would have been the perfect time to bring in “new blood” to the program; 2) Iowa State isn’t a place that someone can get away with nepotism charges; 3) It impedes ISU fans’ ability to make jokes about Brian Ferentz. 🙂
It is the perception of nepotism that will be the hard part to overcome. That comes with the territory in cases like this. (See, for example, the Kansas State fans who fear Bill Snyder is grooming his son Sean to be the next football coach.)
P.S. The ISU athletic department spelled Lyndsey Medders’ name correctly in the press release but not Lindsey Wilson. Odd, that.
P.P.S. The former is, of course, now Lyndsey (Medders) Fennelly.
