Tarkusian Cities (Update 107-08/23/2020-West Chemeketa Reconfig, Part 1)

[art128]

Lovely update, Alex ! I really loved these two mosaics there, they show a very great part of the suburbs. The highway and rail line between residential areas is very well done. 

[canyonjumper]

Great mosaicfest Alex! I liked the suburbs, all nicely done

              Your friend,
                             Jordan

[bakerton]

Alex, can I live in Chemeketa? (lol) Anyway, nice mosaics and superb city layout. It just gave me some ideas for my region and "big city" which I am thinking of making into a M.D. JKB

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

While RL's been busy, I happened to have a little bit ready on the first of the long-term projects I mentioned on the previous update.  But first, replies:

Sam (samerton): Thanks for the kind words--I'm very glad to hear that mosaicfest lived up to expectations, and am also happy to hear you liked the suburbs!

Ryan (Haljackey): Thanks for the compliments on the mosaics and the map!  I'm really pleased to hear you liked the C/D setup in particular.  As far as the Google Maps implementation goes, it's surprisingly simple--I just used the Gmap Uploader site for that.  It does most of the work . . . there's apparently some additional tie-in to the Google Maps API, too, that I'd like to play around with at some point.  And I agree on the signs . . . started BATing a few up, in fact, though given that there's still going to be even more construction in that corridor and a key route number may be changing once the Chemeketa Parkway is finished, I kind of want to wait until then.

Raymie (Tracker): Thanks for the kind words on the map--I'm glad it's helped illuminate some of the thought processes going on here, and I hope it provides inspiration for folks!  Regarding the crosshatching, a lot of the markings I use on my textures are inspired by what I'm familiar with from living in Oregon and Central/Eastern Washington (which uses entirely different markings from the western part of the state), and yellow crosshatches here are the exception rather than the rule (here's one prime example).  The few crosshatches we have tend not to get repainted during restriping projects, either, oddly (see here).  Most transportation departments here, whether they be at the state, county or city level, tend to disregard elements marked "optional" in the MUTCD--crosshatches, chevrons on freeway ramps (only one "experimental" one in the entire state, on I-5 in Salem), dashed lines/arrows for lane ends, etc.  From what I've seen, Idaho, Montana and Nevada handle things similarly.  It's really an interesting phenomenon.

That's not to say that some sort of optional addon might not come out at some point, though.

j-dub: Thank you for stopping in and contributing to the crosshatch discussion.   As you'll note on the MUTCD diagram, the crosshatching is marked "optional" . . . which is basically code for telling ODOT, NDOT, ITD, MDT and WSDOT they can save money on paint.   (Road paint prices have actually risen quite a bit recently.)  The reason those RHW-3 and WRHW-2 textures have crosshatches is because they aren't mine.  Different DOT there.   As a result, for consistency's sake you'll probably see all default RHW-3/WRHW-2 stuff maintain the crosshatch scheme.

Raphael (RickD): Thank you for the compliments on the mosaics, and I'm glad to hear they were an effective means for displaying all the new roads.

Arthur (art128): Thank you for the all-too-kind words!  I'm glad you enjoyed the mosaics and like the parallel highway and rail line--I'm rather pleased with how that came out as well, though as you'll see in future updates, it presents a little bit of an engineering challenge.

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks--I'm glad you enjoyed mosaicfest and the peek at the suburbs there!

Jon (bakerton):  Hehe . . . it's really too bad it's just a bunch of 0s and 1s on my hard drive.  I'd want to move there as well.   Thanks for the compliments on the mosaic and the layout--I'm always thrilled to hear that I've provided inspiration for someone here.

And now onto the update:



The Rankine-Dallas Corridor Project, being undertaken by the City of Chemeketa, will streamline the transport networks in the northeastern part of town.  The project consists of two major components: a) an extension of Rankine Lane NE, south from 52nd Avenue NE to Dallas Drive NE, and b) a re-alignment of Dallas Drive NE near its intersection with Sorenson Street NE.

The northeastern side of Chemeketa has undergone heavy development, first beginning with explosive growth in the regional high-tech sector and the construction of several new office parks, followed by increased residential growth, which has greatly impacted traffic patterns and has rendered many existing roadway facilities insufficient.  Here is a map of the project area:




Rankine Lane is a major arterial in North Chemeketa, running through a busy commercial area and has a southern terminus at 52nd Avenue NE.  In order for motorists to head farther south, they must use 52nd to reach either Aldrin Way NE or Sorenson Street.  This has led to increased traffic congestion and hampered traffic flow on 52nd.  An extension of Rankine to Dallas Drive would alleviate traffic on all surrounding roadways, and allow for better signal timing on 52nd at its signalized intersections with Aldrin and Sorenson. 

Below are images of some of these intersections--as you can see, they're not in great shape.

52nd and Aldrin (facing north):



52nd and Rankine (facing north):



52nd and Sorenson (facing north):



Along the south end of the project area, in order to streamline north-south travel, intersection of Dallas Drive and Sorenson Street will be reconfigured to prioritize traffic on Dallas, by aligning the southern leg of Sorenson to create a direct connection with Dallas, and having the northern leg of Sorenson intersect it.

This is the existing Sorenson/Dallas intersection (facing north):



Contractors are already at work along the northern component of the project--the Rankine Lane extension.  This is at the 52nd Avenue intersection, where dirt movement has begun (facing north).



This is where Rankine Lane will intersect Dallas Drive (facing north). 



We'll see the rest of the Rankine extension next update, and turn our focus to the reconfiguration/realignment of Dallas Drive and Sorenson Street to the south.

Bulldozers have already started turning up some earth along the new alignment (facing north).  The roadway seen here is Dallas Drive.



You can get a rough idea of where the realignment will connect into existing Sorenson Street from this image (facing north).



In order to facilitate the construction of the new connection, Dallas Drive is closed at the big curve (facing north).

 

The short stretch of existing Dallas Drive west of the curve is being re-aligned as well (facing north).  It will serve as a connection to the northern segment of Sorenson Street, and will eventually be extended east to Mosby Road NE once the area is developed.



The construction on Dallas is now complete, and the intersection is in place (facing north).  The southern leg is not connected yet, and will tie into the realigned southern segment of Sorenson Street.





Here, the new alignment of the south segment of Sorenson has been completed (facing north), with the old alignment dead-ending.  Access to the northern leg is now possible using the re-aligned western portion of Dallas Drive.



And finally, an overview of the completed Dallas/Sorenson re-alignment project (facing north).



I hope you've enjoyed this latest installment of Tarkusian Cities . . . we'll take a look at the remainder of the Rankine extension to Dallas Drive next time.

-Alex

[Nego]

Nice update today, Tarkus. It's nice to see other parts of Chemeketa and its surrounding areas. The realignment project seems to be coming along great! Can't wait for the next update!

PS. Sorry I didn't reply to your last update. I was busy with RL.

[Exla357]

Fantastic job with the maps as always , they really help to describe what's going on and keep the viewer from getting lost. I must say that this MD is one of my favorites, the one that I look for every time I log onto SC4D to see if it has been updated! I like the use of generic construction pictures and how you update regularly, not so much as one has to read 4 updates in 5 days, but not too little that one has to wait a year for the next one. And, you put in the perfect amount of content in each update as well......not to much that the reader gets bored but not to little that an update is over before you scroll down; there are very few MDs like this that I have seen. You have certainly earned your place in the MD Hall Of Fame! Keep up the good work!
-Alex

[bat]

Your updates are always great!
Nice work on this update...

[Terring7]

I think you may need some robotic construction machines, to speed up the construction


Keep it up

[samerton]

Great construction update as always! Looking forward to the next update! 

[bakerton]

Nice looking update Alex.

[Ramona Brie]

OK. Most AZ freeways don't have chevrons at their gore points, either.

What they DO have (at least the ones built in the last 15 years or so) are very ornate sound walls and overpass designs, as well as freewayside crushed granite-scaping. For instance, there's a freeway where all the overpasses are a Sedona red color; one with a brown and purple scheme; etc., etc.

I like the update but wonder why that one stub of the old street was not trimmed back to turn off on that other one (in the last picture) to save money...

[metarvo]

It looks like that will smooth the traffic out fairly well.  I wonder what's up with the smoke in that first pic, though.  I'm going to speculate a little.  Maybe it's a series of bad wrecks, or it might be concealing a transportation-related secret of some kind.  Good update, Alex!

[noahclem]

Sorry I forgot to comment on the mosaic fest! Very nice 

Also an interesting view of upcoming projects. Of course the RHW-related ones have my interest piqued the most 

And of course, a nicely thought out and executed realignment of thoroughfares in the northeastern part of Chemeketa!

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

It's that time again . . . another update of Tarkusian Cities is upon us.  We'll be back to the Rankine-Dallas Corridor Project for Part 2.

But first, replies:

Nego: Hey, no worries about RL . . . happens to all of us.   Thanks for the compliments--I'm glad enjoyed the latest construction and seeing a different part of Chemeketa . . . I'll be bouncing around a fair bit in coming updates--might even bounce to another as-of-yet unseen region before too long.

Alex (Exla357): Thank you for the very kind words!  I'm really thrilled you're enjoying Tarkusian Cities, and that the maps and such are indeed proving useful. My apologies for the slowdown on the updates (good old RL), but I hope you find this one fills the void, and hopefully, I'll be able to get back to a more steady stream here.

bat: Thank you, my friend--I appreciate the compliments.

Elias (Terring7): Hehe . . . that's quite the contraption there.  While ORDOT is pretty well-funded, I'm not sure they can afford it.   Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.

Sam (samerton): Thanks!  I'm glad you enjoyed the construction . . . there will be even more this time around.

Jon (bakerton): Thanks for the kind words!

Raymie (Tracker): Those sound like some nice roadside details on those freeways . . . I've been checking the Phoenix area out on StreetView a fair bit and have been impressed with the transport systems there.  A lot of SPUIs.   Thanks for the kind words on the update and for posing an interesting question . . . I'd suspect the reason that roadway wasn't trimmed back was because there's plans to eventually extend that roadway again with a new alignment, into a new residential development.

metarvo: Thank you for the compliments on the update!  Yes, it's already started to smooth traffic out some . . . Part 2 will take it a step further.  And the smoke is indeed from wrecks . . . 52nd Avenue is a mess and slowly but surely, it's getting fixed.  Nothing too secret there really to hide . . . the City of Chemeketa doesn't have any plans to put any SecretNetwork in there.   Though you might see some new NWM stuff . . .

Noah (noahclem): Thanks for the kind words--I'm glad you enjoyed mosaicfest and the "preview" of sorts on the upcoming projects . . . the RHW-related ones will be quite fun indeed.  Hope you enjoy the continuation of our little construction sojourn up to northeastern Chemeketa.



When we last left off, the City of Chemeketa had completed Part 1 of the Rankine-Dallas Corridor Project--hooking Sorenson Street NE into Dallas Drive NE to provide better access to some of the new office park developments in that area.  We'll be looking at the work on the north side of the corridor, where Rankine Lane NE will be connected into Dallas Drive.

As you can see here, Dallas Drive has been closed off at the project site (facing north)--the bit to the left side of the first image is where grading is underway on the Rankine Ln extension.





Because of the odd intersection geometry where Rankine will intersect Dallas, the city has decided to construct a roundabout here--it will be the city's first multi-lane roundabout (facing north).



Dallas Drive will be widened slightly south of the roundabout (facing north).



Paving work is underway (facing north).



A look at progress on the Rankine Ln extension at the intersection with 52nd Avenue (facing north).



More paving and roadway reconstruction along Dallas Drive (facing north).









A broader overview of the current progress (facing north).



Work continues on the 52nd Avenue end (facing north).



Getting ready to fully connect Rankine into the roundabout (facing north)



The extension is almost ready to be connected into the 52nd Avenue intersection (facing north).  As the engineering studies showed there would be a very large volume of right turns off 52nd Avenue eastbound onto the new section of Rankine Lane southbound, a slip lane is being constructed.



The roundabout's all connected up (facing north).



And now the Rankine Lane extension is completed and opened up to traffic (facing north).





For comparison, here are before and after maps of the corridor:

Before


After


That does it for this latest installment of Tarkusian Cities . . . we'll be taking a brief look at some other minor projects in the immediate vicinity of this one next time.  Hope you enjoyed it!

-Alex

[noahclem]

Very nice! I'm pretty sure that's the first roundabout of any kind I've seen in Chemeketa, but it seems like a perfect solution as you've said "given the geometry of the area".

Looking forward to more!

[art128]

That new crossing looks fine I must say, great work! 

[Exla357]

Nice job with this one! The realignment maps look really nice, and once again proved usesful  . I'm eagerly awaiting what's next, hopefully it won't be too long haha  .

-Alex

[supremec]

Wow very good I like the progression of your road installations

[bat]

Another great update!
Looking forward to update 76!

[jacksunny]

Hoping we would get a look at SecretNetwork in update 75, but it's good anyway  I like how it gradually goes along building the new roads instead of just saying "Here is the new road" and that's it.