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

[eggman121]

Very good work Alex 

I love the construction phase of your CJ and can't wait for more 

It looks like the stuff I see when driving to/from Bendigo or Melbourne. So much activity in terms of fixing up the Rails and Roads in my location.

Keen to see what goodies are around the corner 

-eggman121

[c.p.]

Should be some interesting transportation construction to watch 

[Simcoug]

Looking good!  I've been playing around in my region simply because of the new RRW FAR options.  I'm still getting the hang of all the dragable patterns, but I'm able to use it now without having to reference the cheat pics every time 

That's a total coincidence, because both Phoenix and Boise where the two places I went to Coug games last fall.  Even though they lost, I had a really great time in Boise.  It felt very much like a small college town.  Phoenix was just too big, but Tempe was a nice neighborhood.  I guess I'm becoming less of a big city guy as I get older   
If you end of visiting Boise, check out the Boise Fry Company - they have a crazy variety of fried potatoes (yay idaho).

[Nanami]

Another great update! like those construction sequences!
Well although I find the transit line next to the rail is kinda awkward (if the rail also used as transit line), it kinda works IMO. I mean for example in real life city where I live, there is a plan for east-west metro line literally right next to the existing rail that has commuter/local service technically in same corridor.

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

Having a small bit of downtime at the moment, I'm going to sneak out a few updates of Tarkusian Cities for the first time in over a year.  In this update, at long last, we will see the completion of the northern segment of the Chemeketa Red Line Light Rail, up to its terminus in the Lila Engel/Starpoint neighborhood. 

First off, long overdue replies:

It's nice seeing this active again. It was 109 in Phoenix yesterday ... I dunno how anyone from the northwest wont melt in those temperatures 

Thanks, and it's good to be active yet again after another hiatus.  And not surprisingly, Phoenix is still hot.   It's 102°F there per my phone at the moment (yes, I have it programmed in there), with what appears to be some residual monsoon-related humidity.  Haven't moved down there (yet), but we've been up in the 90s the past few days here in Oregon, and I've enjoyed it.

It's only going to get worse...

Seems to also be true a year later--the forecast I'm seeing shows 115°F at the start of next week. 

It's great to read you again!!
But it's unfair that you use the FTL before the release.

Thanks, Vincenzo, and now that the FTLs are out, I hope you're enjoying them!

I like your mass transit system. It's awesome how this grow!

Thanks for the kind words--hope you enjoy seeing the latest phase, too!

Very good work Alex 

I love the construction phase of your CJ and can't wait for more 

It looks like the stuff I see when driving to/from Bendigo or Melbourne. So much activity in terms of fixing up the Rails and Roads in my location.

Keen to see what goodies are around the corner 

-eggman121

Thanks--and at long last, there is more!  Glad this here MD was able to provide a little bit of a slice of home for you.

Should be some interesting transportation construction to watch 

A real delight to see a legend pop in here at Tarkusian Cities--thank you so much for the kind words!

Looking good!  I've been playing around in my region simply because of the new RRW FAR options.  I'm still getting the hang of all the dragable patterns, but I'm able to use it now without having to reference the cheat pics every time 

That's a total coincidence, because both Phoenix and Boise where the two places I went to Coug games last fall.  Even though they lost, I had a really great time in Boise.  It felt very much like a small college town.  Phoenix was just too big, but Tempe was a nice neighborhood.  I guess I'm becoming less of a big city guy as I get older   
If you end of visiting Boise, check out the Boise Fry Company - they have a crazy variety of fried potatoes (yay idaho).

Thanks, SimCoug!  Having a bit of a hand in development/testing helped quite a bit in handling the RRW FAR stuff, though I'm probably a bit rusty at the moment, since most of my SC4 time the past year has been testing RHW and FTL items in development.

Also, thanks for the input on Boise and Phoenix!  I still haven't made it out to Boise yet, but I've definitely grown quite fond of Tempe.  I did actually make a second trip down to Arizona last September--drove down from Oregon in a rented F-150 and had a blast.  (I also caught the ASU vs. Oregon game while I was there, with insanely good seats--it was amongst a mix of Sun Devils and Ducks, and we had a great time joking around.)  Haven't moved as of yet, but I'm still toying with the idea.  It'll kind of depend on how things go the next couple months.

Another great update! like those construction sequences!
Well although I find the transit line next to the rail is kinda awkward (if the rail also used as transit line), it kinda works IMO. I mean for example in real life city where I live, there is a plan for east-west metro line literally right next to the existing rail that has commuter/local service technically in same corridor.

Thanks, Nanami--glad you enjoyed the construction sequences!  I ended up taking that particular routing for the light rail line as it seemed to be the most cost-effective/least "destructive" route.

And without further ado, here's Update 105.

First off, here's a map of the area around which this project is centered. 



The red line with the squares is the routing that the light rail line will take through the area.  After following the existing heavy rail line north of downtown Chemeketa, the Red Line will curve onto 33rd Avenue NE running down the median until just before the 5-leg roundabout, where 33rd meets McCabe Street, Creek Drive, and Starpoint Drive.

The most challenging bit of this project will be the stretch where the Red Line crosses the rail line and begins its median running portion on 33rd.  Here's the existing conditions at this part of the project (facing west).  (Also, the rail crossing here looks a little funny--this image actually dates back to a very, very early prototype of the RRW plugin.)



In order to facilitate through traffic to the residential neighborhood to the west, abutting the Chemeketa Parkway (Highway 215), as well as future work on 33rd, an extension of 34th Avenue was built to the north, connecting up with Bobcat Drive NE.  The project study determined that the most effective method of handling the rail crossover was to trench it below, allowing the Red Line and 33rd Avenue to cross overhead (facing west).



A little further along with construction (facing west).



The stretch of 33rd east of Bobcat has now been closed off for reconstruction (facing west).



This is part way through the reconstruction of the segment from Bobcat to Progress (facing west).



The stretch up to and beyond Progress Street is now completed, along with some re-development and the construction of a new park-and-ride garage (facing west).



Preparations are underway for the northern terminus of the Red Line.  The road coming in from the top of this image is 33rd Avenue, and the line will terminate in the graded area behind the office buildings, making a northward jog before the roundabout (facing west).



Here is the completed terminal station for the Red Line.  A looping roadway and park-and-ride garage were constructed to facilitate access (facing west).



This is a stretch of 33rd with the median running complete, through the industrial area between Progress and Ashcroft (facing west).



And finally, here's the stretch right at the Ashcroft and 33rd intersection, just before the terminus (facing east).



That does it for this update of Tarkusian Cities, and for the current work on Chemeketa's first major transit project--hope you enjoyed it.  Next up will be some new road work in Chemeketa, and perhaps even a few "lost" updates from other regions, rescued from the "Tarkives". 

-Alex

[Kitsune]

Heres a peak at the actual contruction process ....



There's a whole bunch of photos here ... Link . Toronto's streetcar network is always have some kind of track replacement in the summer. The neat thing about the process is everything is built in two layers - a base and the track layer (which is later covered in Concrete). That way when the tracks get replaced (which have a 40 year lifespan) they only have to replace the track vs having to dig everything up. Also, most streetcar networks (including this one in the picture) are mixed traffic, and the track is a bit wider then standard gauge. Some cars have the exact tire width of the track leading to some fun 

[PaPa-J]

Very interesting, first time checking into this MD.  I will have to explore the history of it a little.

[dedgren]

Well, well.  Very nice.

David

[Ramona Brie]

A very pleasant surprise indeed!

[b22rian]

sorry for the late reply here..

a couple things i really like about the MD in general..

1) always love the in- progress construction images..

2) but more so the in depth detail in which you explain the aspects of your various projects  

[kbieniu7]

So, I'll also add a comment there

Very nice to follow the construction diary! Interesting how you deal with different "already-existing" situations However, this short railway hiding underground beacause of a tramway line... Well, my engineering souls is a bit disturbed... 

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

Well, after a little over two years away, Tarkusian Cities is finally back in action--and will hopefully stay that way for at least a little while, as I have quite a few projects to show in Chemeketa, some of which are, to quote Johnny Carson, "really big" (and maybe even a "lost update" from a past region). 

Those of you who may have glanced through past updates may also notice that quite a number of them have been at least partially restored, after the Imageshack and Majhost losses wiped out the first 86 updates.  Some past images (particularly maps) are proving to be a bit difficult to re-source in all the files spread across various hard drives (especially as the snazzy map upload services I used to use, like Gmapuploader, are long gone), but I am hoping to have at least 90% of Tarkusian Cities restored.  As of writing, this has been accomplished with the material up to Update 38.

Getting back to this latest update--Update 106 (!)--today, we'll be getting an overview of some of the traffic problems facing Downtown Chemeketa in light of recent development in the city core, particularly the 5th-Murdock-Wallace Corridor (labeled as "A") and the North Division Corridor (labeled as "B"). 

Here's a map of the vicinity (click to enlarge):



First, we'll begin by looking at some of the conditions with the first target area ("A"), the 5th-Murdock-Wallace Corridor.  Wallace Road is a major north-south arterial, which was formerly part of Highway 221, skirting the west edge of Downtown Chemeketa, the east edge of Downtown Vivien Heights, connecting both with Highway 36.  5th Avenue N/NE is a major east-west arterial through the city center, which curves and turns into the diagonally-routed Murdock Way N, which intersects Wallace Road directly north of Highway 36. 

Given the vast amount of undeveloped waterfront property close to the city center along Murdock, the area has started to see considerable high-rise growth.  And high-rise traffic to go along with it.  The "Murdock Curve", where 5th Ave turns into Murdock Way, routinely endures lengthy backups from the Wallace Rd intersection.

Here's a look at the Murdock Curve and Wallace Road, with that infamous traffic congestion (facing north).  You can see the western portion of Murdock and Wallace Road itself are no slouches in the congestion game, either.



Another view, right where Murdock intersects 4th Ave N, right before it curves onto 5th Ave N (facing north).



And a westerly view, from 5th Ave N coming onto the Murdock Curve.  As you can see, developers are wasting no time snatching up the waterfront property--even despite the congestion.



This is a little closer to the city core--5th Ave N is the Road going from left to right toward the top of the image (facing north), and the lower one is 3rd Ave N.  As you can see here, 5th and the surrounding network are also pretty congested.  The north-south roadways through here are (from left to right) Claxtar St N, Mission St N, and Farmer St N.



Here's a section of 5th on the east end of downtown (facing west)--being on the east side of Division St N, this section is actually 5th Ave NE.  This section isn't quite as congested, but it is ultimately being taken into the survey area, because of one of the city's planned solutions for the corridor.  The main crossroad here is Progress St NE.



Since 4th Ave N/NE runs directly parallel to 5th from the Murdock Curve all the way to Progress St (and actually, two blocks farther east, to Dell St NE), part of the plan is to convert 4th and 5th in this area into a one-way couplet.  Since 4th is a relatively minor street at the moment, the plans for staging this conversion involve switching 4th to one-way traffic first.

Here's the east end of the couplet, at 4th and Progress (facing west).



Further west, here's the couplet progress at 4th and Rail (facing west).  (This work was initially done with an ancient version of the RRW, and took place intermittently over years.)



One of the challenges with the conversion, however, is the jog that exists on Mission Street N, which, if the conversion is fully realized with its current alignment, would complicate traffic flow on a somewhat important collector street in the area.  As such, the conversion is only being done to the east leg of Mission at the moment, such that the two legs may remain traversable, until realignment can be done.

(facing north)


(facing west)


The other major downtown-area project is the North Division Corridor, named after Division St N.  Division is a primary arterial through Downtown Chemeketa, signed as Highway 215.  Through most of downtown, it forms a couplet with Commerce St NE, but on the north end of the central city, just past 16th Ave N/NE, the two converge into a unified Division (irony fully intended).  This 4-lane stretch of surface arterial eventually turns into the Chemeketa Parkway, a freeway (featured in many past updates) which heads through the northern suburbs, until reaching Highway 15 in the Rankine area of unincorporated Marion County.

Here is the point where the Division/Commerce couplet converges on the north end (facing north).



This transitional section of Division, between downtown street and freeway, is extraordinarily congested, in large part due to traffic headed to the industrial areas in the Lila Engel neighborhood just to the north, and has a number of dangerous at-grade intersections before becoming controlled-access. 

Here is one such intersection (22nd Ave N/NE, a western extension of which is recent, and not on the map).  (facing north)



Here's the worst offender--the intersection with 24th Ave N/NE, a major collector in this part of town, connecting newly developed waterfront property with established neighborhoods, and some commercial development. 



The city and the DOT have ultimately determined that the controlled-access Chemeketa Parkway needs to be extended closer to the Division/Commerce split, converting the 24th/Division intersection into a grade-separated diamond interchange.  This will require demolishing some of the nearby commercial structures, though will largely leave the residential areas in tact.

Next update, we will look at further progress on the extensive work planned for these two vital corridors.  Until then, hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Tarkusian Cities--it's good to be back!

-Alex

[Wiimeiser]

I wonder if the block of 16th, 15th, Division, and Commerce will see an upgrade. Probably not without REW Volleyball pieces, though. On that note, I see Chemeketa Parkway getting the REW treatment in the future... Is that just me?

[CT14]

Great job portraying those two major traffic landmarks in the area! I recognize them well, and in fact your map could easily be used to navigate the real streets.

There is a beautiful, very old mill structure preserved on the river near that S-curve - worth a look up close if you haven't yet.

[thundercrack83]

So great to see such wonderful stuff here again, Alex! Especially your map, I've always loved your maps! I'll be looking forward to your next update!

[mattb325]

Great to see you back at the MD!

Looking forward to see how the transit corridors are updated.   

[art128]

Some good work over here. 

Will be fun to see the changes made to those crowded avenues. 

[Tarkus]

Hi everyone-

Thanks for the warm welcome back--I'm here with the next part of the downtown Chemeketa roadwork, focusing on the reconfiguration going on along the 5th Avenue/Murdock Way corridor.  But first, replies:

Wiimeiser: Thanks for the great questions!  I think the most likely changes with the 15th/16th/Division/Commerce block will probably be widening of Division/Commerce, if not 15th/16th (especially since 16th to the east is planned to receive some upgrades).  I don't expect a lot of REW-based changes along the Chemeketa Parkway corridor, however, especially since that's already full-on RHW freeway once one goes north of 24th, and very heavily used RHW at that.

CT14: Thanks for the very kind words on the update, and on the map being able to give you that "sense of place".  That's my big goal with this style of MDing, so the fact that that came across is really good to hear.  If you're referring to that red building, it's not a mill, but it is definitely an interesting historical structure--and while this might be a bit of a spoiler, you'll be glad to hear it survives the upgrade project along Division.

Dustin (thundercrack83): It's great to see you (and Marathon) back around these parts!  With you, me, and Cedric Badsim all updating again, it's like a veritable MD HoF Renaissance!   Thanks for the kind words on the map, and I hope you find this update to your liking.

Matt (mattb325): Thanks for the kind words--and thanks for all the great BATs (which probably make up about 50% of all the structures in Chemeketa)!     I hope you enjoy this latest installment of roadwork.

Arthur (art128):  Thanks for the compliments on the update--indeed, it was rather fun finding the solutions to those overcrowded Avenues, and I suspect some of them will probably get even further work as I develop more NAM stuff.

Here's the map again for the vicinity of the projects we'll be watching.  This update (as well as the next couple, at least) will be focused on Project Area A, involving the 5th Avenue/Murdock Way corridor, from just west of Wallace Road out to Progress Street.



As mentioned last update, 4th and 5th Avenues N/NE are being converted into a one-way couplet, between the Murdock Curve (which will eventually be dramatically reconfigured) and Progress Street.  One of the challenges described in that update was the offset intersections of Mission Street N, which is a somewhat important collector which crosses under Highway 36 and connects this part of downtown to the university.  Here are the 4th/5th/Mission intersections from another angle (facing east).



The section of Mission north of 5th is merely a local street, and not of vital importance, but the portion south (including the offset) is of importance, and would create a rather confusing maze if the 4th/5th couplet conversion were to be completed without realignment.  That, of course, is going to require some demolition, and eventually, redevelopment (some of which you can see is already underway).  Here's a look at the demolition (facing north).  Mission Street has been closed off right before 4th Avenue temporarily as well.



A look at further work (facing north):



Mission Street itself is also going to become part of a one-way couplet, being the southbound component.  Its northbound counterpart will be Oregon Street N, while Farmer Street N will remain two-way, sandwiched in the middle.



With the realignment of Mission Street N complete, the stretch of 4th to the west can now be converted to one-way traffic, with a signalized intersection (facing west).



Here's where the newly one-way 4th Avenue N intersects Murdock Way N, right along the Murdock Curve (facing north).



And now that 4th is a through one-way connection, 5th can be converted to one-way traffic as well.  Here's the Murdock Curve after that conversion--you'll notice that curve isn't as smooth as the Road curve that preceded it, in large part due to the fact that this is actually (plot twist!) a temporary alignment.  This couplet will soon be re-funneled onto a new roadway that will cross over Wallace, serve the Murdock District high rises, and then intersect Murdock Way--all of which will be featured in Update 108. (facing south)



As part of this larger reconfiguration, 1st and 2nd Avenues N will also be extended and converted into a one-way couplet as well, which will tie into Murdock at the south end of the existing Murdock Curve.  Here's a look at part of that corridor--the two Roads intersecting here are 2nd Ave N and Oregon St N (prior to the Oregon St one-way conversion) (facing north).



And here's Oregon Street N at 4th Ave N after conversion (but just prior to 5th Ave's conversion) (facing north):



That does it for this initial phase of one-way conversion in downtown Chemeketa.  We'll be looking at the really heavy-duty aspect of this whole project next update.

-Alex

[vinlabsc3k]

Wow Alex, it's great to read your posts again and it's unbelievable that your passion hasn't declined.