June 2010 Archives

Does it make any difference that the latest in flying cars is the creation of MIT-trained engineers?

The Terrafugia Transition is the latest in a long line of vehicles that combines road machine with flying machine and looks comfortable at being neither.

Would you want to drive down the road with folded wings on either side of you?

Is the ability to plant your wheels on a runway anywhere and drive off to your destination (no taxi, shuttle, or rent-a-car needed) worth $194,000?


 




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As work continues through Friday (7.2) in Portland on the KNOX RD OVERPASS, expect a slowdown today if you need to return from Lansing or Detroit:

• I-96 WESTBOUND
• Left lane closed under KNOX RD OVERPASS

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I-96 Lane Shift

In Ottawa County, the two EASTBOUND lanes are shifted over so the right lane is straddling the rumble strip to allow for installation of cable guard rails: 

This has nothing to do with traffic.

I was viewing video from our sister station in Dallas, TX, KDAF. It was a report on the latest apps available for smart phones. As with all such reports, there are clips of generic video of this and that, including generic video of smart phones.

And what pops up in one of these generic videos?

Meijer!

Take a look. And remember, Meijer doesn't do business any farther south than Lexington, KY, as far as I know. And definitely not in Texas.







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This video is of a bridge near Volgograd in Russia that was completed only last year but showing signs of eccentricity.

These images are reminiscent of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that swayed in the wind and collapsed back in 1940. This Russian bridge did not collapse, and the story being told is that the river below swelled from recent rains and one of the bridge supports may have failed.


 



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A bridge demolition up the hill requires that all traffic exit at OTTAWA AVE:

Engineers originally scheduled the demolition of the COIT AVE BRIDGE to begin Tuesday (6/15), rescheduled it to Wednesday (6/16), and as of this posting have rescheduled it for Thursday (6/17):

• EASTBOUND I-196 closed after OTTAWA AVE
• Thursday (6/17) 9:30 a.m. through Tuesday (6/22).
• Left turn at MICHIGAN ST is allowed during the Fix on I-196.

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Crews will be doing pavement repairs on M-44/EAST BELTLINE nightly this week:

• Lane closures on EAST BELTLINE NORTHBOUND and SOUTHBOUND
• Between I-96 and 3 MILE
• Tuesday (6/15) to Friday (6/18) nightly 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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Crews will be on I-94 marking pavement between Galesburg and Marshall for a week, resulting in lane closures along the entire stretch.

• I-94 between EXIT 104 and EXIT 111.
• Monday (6/14) 9 p.m. to Monday (6/21) 7 a.m.

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A job that was originally scheduled for May will finally be done this week:

• I-94 between Battle Creek and Marshall, between EXIT 104 and EXIT 111.
• Overnights, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Monday night through Friday morning, June 14 to June 18
  

Then crews will be marking pavement again through the weekend:

• I-94 between Battle Creek and Marshall, between EXIT 104 and EXIT 111.
• Overnights, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
• Friday (6/18) 7 p.m. to Monday (6/21) 7 a.m.

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M-44/East Beltline

Resurfacing work will require lane closures overnight:

• M-44/EAST BELTLINE between 3 MILE and PLAINFIELD AVE
• Thursday (6/10) through Friday (6/25)
• Weekday nights, 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
• Weekends, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

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I-96, which runs exclusively through Michigan, is the 100th deadliest interstate, according to a study by the online magazine The Daily Beast.

The highways on the list are ranked by fatalities per mile within a given state, which sounds reasonable to me, except in cases such as I-59, with a short stretch in Louisiana near New Orleans but is ranked #6.

I-96, at #100, is listed as having .45 fatalities per mile along its 192.6 miles.

The worst interstate on the list is the Florida section of I-95 at 1.73 deaths per mile on 382.15 miles. Ouch.

The Daily Beast says it did not count total people killed on the highways but how many crashes that involved fatalities. There is no indication the study was weighted to compensate for volume of traffic. (After all, there's probably more traffic on I-96 in Detroit than I-59, even the New Orleans section.)




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That sinkhole in Guatamala City isn't alone. There are more out there, all around the world. We in the U.S. know them as the scourge of Floridians.

The incident pictured here was in 2003 in Lisbon, Portugal.

See the entire gallery.




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Combining Coke and Mentos was all the rage a couple of years ago.

But there are some for whom the excitement hasn't faded:







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M-21/Blue Water Highway

Crews will be using flag control during this project:

• Kent/Ionia County Line to HAWLEY HIGHWAY
• June 7 through 9/30

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Midday lane closures are scheduled for 28TH ST:

• 28TH ST between DIVISION AVE and EASTERN AVE
• Through July 2
• Daily 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sidewalk construction

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