tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post3433385926867464163..comments2024-03-28T10:08:38.560-04:00Comments on The Adventures of Roberta X: Freeway Parking LotRoberta Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-87671383875747095702019-07-13T23:16:30.468-04:002019-07-13T23:16:30.468-04:00I live in a rural area.
I am not used to rush hour...I live in a rural area.<br />I am not used to rush hour freeway traffic in big cities.<br />Years back I had to go to training in the SFO Bay Area.<br />Class got out at 1700.<br />I got on the freeway home and almost immediately it turned into a six lane parking lot.<br />After moving about three miles in an hour I transitioned to another road. The traffic sped up to about 45 MPH.<br />I saw a white Mercedes limo coming up behind me. It passed me and continued through traffic without braking and smoothly moved from lane to lane around slower vehicles and was soon out of sight. <br />Impressive driving skills by a professional driver.<br /><br />It is good to have a navigator on board while driving.in an unfamiliar city.waepnedmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07114411043832799988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-61199944985328961382019-07-13T08:10:52.532-04:002019-07-13T08:10:52.532-04:00Mpls/St. Paul has the same situation where the fre...Mpls/St. Paul has the same situation where the freeways have become linear parking lots. This megalopolis is bisected in both horizontal and vertical axes by I-35 and I-94. We have the I-494 and I-694 loop around the cities (in a permanent state of corporate welfare/construction). I-35 splits into an east and west version just north and south of the loop.<br /><br />MN-DOT in conjunction with the feds have decided to completely re-do the major intersection of I-35W and I-94 just south of downtown Minneapolis, and have closed the connection between them for north-to-west, and east-to-south for 5 years. Since we live about five miles south of downtown this means our only routes to get out of the city to the west include a five-mile detour to the south, and take one of two different east-west routes to one of three north-south routes.<br /><br />The posted detour to go around the city rather than the major freeway involves the I-494 loop on the northwest corner.<br /><br />They just closed an 8-mile stretch of that for the weekend. They are now detouring the detour. 100% of the eastbound I-94 traffic is to be funneled onto a 2-lane divided highway that was overcrowded BEFORE it became a detour. My assumption is that the loop will become impassible around 9:00 AM this morning (Saturday) and stay a linear parking lot until 5:00 AM Monday when they re-open the closure.<br /><br />All I can envision are the MN-DOT bureaucrats rolling on the floor laughing as they contemplate their assigned work (by Metro Council's former head Ted Mondale...yes, same family) who is in charge of freeway development, who I heard in a meeting state, "Our objective is to make the freeway system so bad that mass transit looks like a good idea." This from the people in charge of improving it.<br />Blackwing1noreply@blogger.com