For roadgeeks and those interested in signage and infrastructure…

These were taken while driving up the A10 / E22 motorway from Amsterdam en route to Bolsward, Freisland. The drive is only 120 kilometers.

After the Amsterdam suburbs in North Holland the motorway passes through farmlands while bypassing small towns. The Afsluitdijk (dike,) connects Noord Holland to Friesland.

The second group was taken biking up to the small island village of Marken, northwest of Amsterdam.

If you’d like to see more fascinating photos of bridges and viaducts check out my set on Glenwood Canyon and the Yucatan

All pics

(more…)

I haven’t driven this stretch in over 10 years when I moved to Denver from Michigan. Back then I would drive the full 1,200 miles straight through with numbing exhaustion setting right in around the most congested areas of Chicago and Indiana. Not one of my wiser moves in life.

Along with the Iowa 80 Truck Stop west of the Quad Cities, (pics forthcoming,) another interesting sight is this gigantic quarry southwest of Chicago just east of 294 North. Interstate 80 actually passed over and through it, and its dug out to what looks at least 200 feet deep on all sides. I’m not sure what they’re mining, but this Google map photo doesn’t do justice to the size. (It wasn’t a safe place to pop out for a photo.) It looks like one of those mines you see in South America when Modern Marvels is featuring the world’s largest trucks.

Among some memorable license plates are Michigan’s Child Abuse Prevention Plate which reads “Kids: Just Love ‘em” I couldn’t find a picture but I always think - “Well yeah I should hope so…” And, this plate from Indiana.

I’m not sure if this plate speaks for the entire state, or is limited to the occupants of the car - but I guess it doesn’t matter since no foreign visitor has ever bother asked me whether “In God We Trust” on a quarter speaks for me or the entire country either.

For my friends and strangers over at misc.transport.road - some photos of interstate 70 as it winds Glenwood Canyon, Colorado.

I haven’t visited or posted to this group in a while, but there is a usenet board full of folks who are interested in roads, highways, and general infrastructure. If you’ve ever wondered about arcane topics like font styles on overhead signs, new versus old gantry design, and why highways and freeways are numbered the way they are it’s worth a visit. And like any good message board there’s plenty of heated arguments and flame wars too. I’m more into trains and aviation, but it’s very impressive to see the way flyovers and interchanges are designed and put together. Especially if you’ve ever navigated the 105/110 interchange in south Los Angeles.

Even if you’re not into it, it wouldn’t hurt for more people to go take photos of bridges, airports, and train stations in order to ensure your right to admire and photograph them still exist. For more info on Glenwood Canyon and the history of interstate 70 check out Mathew Salek’s comprehensive site.

Eastbound

(more…)

View Larger Map

I snapped this photo en route to a tile store on a rainy Saturday.  This is the Evans Avenue Bridge over interstate 25 in Denver.  Its newly built as of early 2006, (after being demolishedm) as part of the southeast area’s T-Rex project. I’m not sure why but there’s a complete lane that’s blocked in by a curb.   Perhaps this was built WIDER than needed and this curb will be removed should the alignment on the other sides of the bridge be widened.

Anyway a nice bike or pedestrian lane for now…

One hears horror story after story about driving in Mexico, and it’s wise to adhere caution to remote mountain roads with switchbacks and potential of cattle and other hazards. But the majority of highways are safe, modern, and with a little research on customs, (such as left turn procedures,) driving in the rural areas is no different than in other countries. Driving in the cities is a different story, In Merida we parked the car and didn’t even consider using it til we left the city. As I did be sure to purchase the Mexican insurance from your car rental company.

I found the Yucatan Peninsula highways to be modern, well maintained, and overall in better condition than some highways I’ve drove back in Michigan, (my home state). Tourism dollars well at work. The only difference was the lack of wide shoulders our interstates have.

Highway 307 runs north and south along the coast, and connects Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum. Traffic is quite heavy on this highway with tourists and busses. It’s divided highway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, with frequent lanes for U turns marked “RETORNO”

To get to Merida (on the western side of the Yucatan), we drove Autopista 180, the toll road. The road is well smooth and void of heavy traffic, most likely due to the steep toll, (about $20 USD for the entire length). This is quite cost prohibitive to most residents, who mostly use the old highway a few km south. Driving the old road definitely takes longer, but allows you to experience the small towns along the way.

Autopista 180 is VERY limited access. The only exit points are about midpoint near the city of Valladolid, and 20 km further west at Chichen Itza. There’s a nice full service plaza in the center of the highway near the Chichen Izta exit with a Pemex station and some food stands.

The drive is a bit boring through the jungle, but near Merida it filters out into various roads in the east suburbs. Since we didn’t go to Cancun we used the two lane spur that connects the Cancun airport to 180, about 10km south of the city, (180 continues northeast directly into Cancun).

More Yucatan travels here, and photos of the beautiful city of Merida and ruins of Chichen Itza

Highway 307 between Cancun and Tulum

(more…)

Streets, Roads, Subways of Buenos Aires, Argentina

These are high rez photos, hence the long loading time.

Eastbound Autopista 25 de Mayo, en route to city from Ezeiza Int’l Airport (EZE)

West suburbs, including “Ciudad Evita”

(more…)

Signs from around the Mazatlan Mexico area.

Topes - a common sign in all Mexican towns large and small

(more…)