Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

As urban development continues to expand, the natural habitats of wildlife are increasingly fragmented by roads and highways. This is not a new phenomena, but there are innovative ways that planners and traffic engineers are working to mitigate these harms, which we should note, not only endanger animals but also poses significant risks to drivers. Wildlife crossings, such as bridges and tunnels designed specifically for animals, offer a promising solution to these challenges. The Wyoming Department of Transportation partnered with the state wildlife agency and nonprofit groups to create a series of wildlife crossings, a concept lauded by environmentalists and transportation officials alike. (Image via Patch ) Simply put, wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to safely cross over or under roadways. These can take the form of overpasses, underpasses, tunnels, and viaducts , often covered with vegetation to blend into the natural landscape. The idea is to provide a safe pa...

The Ship of Theseus is a classic philosophical thought experiment that asks whether an object that has had all of its parts replaced over time is still fundamentally the same object.  The problem takes its name from the ship that Theseus, a legendary Greek hero, used to sail to Crete to slay the Minotaur. Bing AI Image The story goes that after returning to Athens, Theseus' ship was preserved by the Athenians, who gradually replaced all of its parts as they decayed over time. The question then arises: if all of the parts of the ship have been replaced, is it still the same ship? Or is it a new ship altogether? The Ship of Theseus problem has puzzled philosophers for centuries and raises fundamental questions about the nature of identity and change. Is identity based on the object's material composition or on its function? If all of an object's parts are replaced, does it lose its identity and become a new object? These questions have real-world implications beyond philosop...

Bagdad, CA is another Route 66 ghost town  in San Bernardino County, CA. A product of the railroad, it would ultimately be superseded by Interstate 40, when 66 no longer functioned as a through route. However, this is not a tale of a town destroyed by a freeway or re-alignment, as this town peaked long before I-40 was built, the bypass was just another nail in the coffin. Like many nearby towns, it got its start in 1883 when the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway was built between Needles and Barstow, CA. During this time, it served as a stop for mining workers north and south of the area. Even at its peak, only a few hundred people called the town home. Towns built by the railroad usually were platted in 10 mile increments to allow steam engines to take on water, supplied by about 20 tank cars a day to replenish tanks in the area, which otherwise is completely dry being in the middle of the Mojave Desert.  The town is actually the US record holder for consecutive ...

I will start today's blog by stating that I am not a fan of the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway . Or, more specifically, I am not a fan of "Route 110" in either Missouri or Illinois, mostly because it has been functionally obsolete since the day it was first legislated into existence 11 years ago on May 27th, 2010. How is it that a highway designated that recently considered forgotten? Probably because nobody knew what to make of it even when it was originally designed. Even in this article explaining the Chicago-Kansas City route, or CKC, the number 110 doesn't come up once. Today I'm going to explain why I'm not a fan of this road, why it exists, and what I think would help tremendously in making the road a somewhat legitimate part of Illinois' highway system. Wikipedia Commons Map of IL/MO-110 , or the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway, or the *shudders* CKC. Let's start with the actual route itself. Shouldn't a Chicago to Kansas City Expressway b...

It's been a few years since anyone has thought about extending Illinois Route 53 north of Lake Cook Road in earnest, and the project is all but dead . Facing an incredible cost, negative environmental impact, questionable need, and public opposition, I think it's ultimately for the best that road has not, and does not, get built. That is not to say that I do not support significant improvements in Lake County's roads, but I think this was the wrong solution to the issue. The Illinois Route 53/120 Project in Lake County, Illinois wass a proposed highway expansion project aimed at improving the existing Route 53 and Route 120 highways in the county, both of which are two lane roads today. Especially in Route 120's case, it is not designed to handle the traffic volume that occurs on it each day. The project has been in the planning stages for several years and its purpose is to address growing traffic congestion, safety issues, and improve access to economic opportunities ...

Freeway proposals don't always work out, as this site has discussed with both New York City and Chicago's  abandoned expressway proposals. Still many others are built, but not in the entirety their planners originally envisioned them to be. Such is the case of Lake County, Illinois' Amstutz Expressway, one of the shortest and least traveled limited access freeways in the Chicago area. Image: Amstutz Expy under Grand Ave. Google Maps A Lakefront highway proposal had been planned since the very early part of the 20th century in eastern Lake County. Generally, early proposals had the road continuing to near or even beyond the Wisconsin State Line. During the early 1970's, the North Amstutz was completed between Greenwood Ave and Sheridan Rd, where it remains to this day. So how exactly did we get here, and what is the future of this road? Looking south at the north end of the Amstutz. Image: [jonrevProjects] Planning and Design: The main purpose f...

This Memorial Day Weekend, we stayed with a friend in Southwest Michigan. For me, it was a chance to step outside of the Chicago area and take in some of the history and ambiance of the other side of Lake Michigan, including its significant railroad history. I even managed to learn a thing or two! I had not traced the right of way where the Blue Bridge now stands today and learned it was a former GR&I line into downtown Grand Rapids, for example. Just like many places in the United States, Michigan is full of abandoned railroad corridors . While there are many differing reasons for abandonment, the majority of abandonments in Michigan mirror the rest of the United States; competition from the US Highways and Interstates, as well as the ongoing efficiencies and technological advancements that the railroad industry is undertaking. One of the really neat exhibits at the Grand Rapids Public Museum is a map of what Michigan's highway system looked like in 1920, 1960, and...