Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Been meaning to carp about this for some time now.  There's a section of a highway interchange that I had been using frequently.  The exit ramp was confusing and therefore dangerous, then there was an ordinary bridge over the other road, and finally the entrance ramp fed into the fast lane which was of course also dangerous.  When I saw signs saying that those ramps were going to be closed for construction, I was very happy.  The detour was a nuisance, but I figured that the new, improved ramps would be well worth it.  Finally the work was done, and I headed for the new ramps with great anticipation.

They had rebuilt the bridge.

Yup, that's it.  The ramps themselves have not changed a bit.  Just today, there was a driver so confused by the exit ramp that s/he changed lanes several times, the final time at the last possible second.  This happens so often that I'm very careful to watch out for it, and there have been several fender-benders that I'm aware of.

And a minute or so later, when I attempted to merge into the fast lane, a driver went roaring past me, horn blaring, barely missing me.  I had checked but hadn't noticed that car, possibly because it was coming so fast (and there's a curve, so you can't see very far behind you).  God forbid they should slow down!

A few years back, another section of that same interchange was replaced.  I had never seen anything wrong with that particular section, but they replaced it with a soaring highway-in-the-sky-type ramp.  I assumed that it must be part of some grand overall plan to upgrade the entire interchange, but so far, other than rebuilding a few bridges, that's been it.  I have no quarrel with rebuilding deteriorating bridges (a friend of a friend died some years back when a highway bridge collapsed).  But now that they've rebuilt these, I'm pretty sure that's it for any upgrades to that interchange for the foreseeable future. 

[Arcadia]

Has anyone heard of the "Mixing Bowl" near Washington DC? It was a series of highway interchanges, all very close together, that was the nightmare of anyone who had to go that way. Something like four lanes of traffic all criss-crossing in front of each other, trying to get to the correct exit, while 3-4 other lanes were trying to merge into the same roadway. Hence the name "Mixing Bowl."

Well, many years and millions of dollars later, they've "fixed" it. True, the merging situation is somewhat improved, but the road is now so crooked and narrow that it's terrifying to drive it at highway speed; but you can't go slower or you'll be crushed by all the trucks. And they've reversed the exits, so old-timers like me are always having to veer across 6 lanes of traffic at the last minute, because I forget my exit is now on the other side of the road. And there's all these swooping, mile high bridges everywhere, which is visually confusing.

And virtually no signage.

Geniuses. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sounds like a oversized version of the "Can of Worms" that used to exist in Rochester NY.  They really did fix it pretty well -- though of course not till after we moved away.

Where is the Mixing Bowl, roughly?  (I'm guessing it's on the Virginia side of town, 'cause I've never heard of it.)

Remind me to avoid it.  😓  And please ignore that emotie.  I'm finding that the "phone" type cannot be deleted. 

[Arcadia]

Virginia side, yes, right around Springfield. It's where 95, 395 & 495 meet. Three of the busiest highways in the nation, so you can imagine.

I'm pretty sure this image is a gag, but it gives you an idea how the locals feel about the new configuration....

 

[J.P.]

Yeah, it's Photoshopped and makes no sense.

But if this is the place - it doesn't seem to make much sense either.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm not at all sure that it's a gag.

JP's link takes me to the heart of DC, but if I scroll southwest following I-395 (the yellow highway), I soon come to the interchange (just before Springfield).  Looks innocuous enough till I zoom in -- yeeks!

[J.P.]

When I googled the numbers I landed near Benjamin Banneker Park. But the other crossings doesn't look much better.

I think such "crossings" are the reason why GPS Navigation for cars was invented. As much as credit cards are a very American thing, because all Dollar notes look the same and then you have to estimate the tax. 

[Arcadia]

10 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I'm not at all sure that it's a gag.

JP's link takes me to the heart of DC, but if I scroll southwest following I-395 (the yellow highway), I soon come to the interchange (just before Springfield).  Looks innocuous enough till I zoom in -- yeeks!

Looks like spaghetti, doesn't it?

I guess you're right, that drawing and the real thing look pretty similar after all. Glad I never saw this before driving through it … I never would have been able to work up the nerve to try it!

JP's correct too … once you cross the bridge into DC, make sure you get on Rt. 1 and go straight to the Mall, or you're doomed. To this day I still haven't managed to make the correct turn off of 395 once I'm past the river … I always end up wandering around for awhile. Good thing the city's on a grid. Sort of.

Or better still, do what I do (whenever I can) … avoid the "95 corridor" altogether and use I66. Straight shot all the way up to the Capitol. Sometimes you can even find a parking spot.....

[Arcadia]

8 hours ago, J.P. said:

When I googled the numbers I landed near Benjamin Banneker Park. But the other crossings doesn't look much better.

I think such "crossings" are the reason why GPS Navigation for cars was invented. As much as credit cards are a very American thing, because all Dollar notes look the same and then you have to estimate the tax. 

I never estimate the tax! I just let the kid behind the counter tell me what I owe.... 😼

[J.P.]

Can be dangerous when you don't know how much cash you have.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Cash??? 

 

[Pseudonym]

Money. Do you not use 'cash'?

[Carol the Dabbler]

We say "cash," yes -- but we rarely use cash anymore.

[Pseudonym]

Ahhh, I see.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I have some coins and some folding money in my purse, just in case, but they've been in there so long that I don't even recall how much there  is.  Do you folks regularly use cash?

[Pseudonym]

Nope, just use my debit card. I only have cash for pay and display car parks that tend to only take coins.

[J.P.]

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Cash??? 

Exactly my point.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Are you claiming moral superiority for being old-fashioned? 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

I pay cash a lot. Basically everything that's under a hundred euro unless I have forgotten to go to the bank. I think most Germans do. 

[J.P.]

Yeah. Don't know if it's still the case but I remember times they didn't accepted any card payments under 10 Euro.
I still have some cash at home. Cannot forget the case back in the late 90ties when a telephone switchboard(?) burned down and a whole little town was "dead". No telephone, no net, no cash registers. They distributed mobile phones to the people for security reasons. And it was 20 years ago.

We are a bit skeptical of technology aren't we?

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, T.o.b.y said:

I pay cash a lot. Basically everything that's under a hundred euro

That seems to be the way in Japan as well.  When my friend who lives in Japan comes back to visit, she pays for everything in cash and is always carrying hundreds of dollars.  I never did carry that much -- in the days before credit cards, I paid for my large purchases by check.

10 minutes ago, J.P. said:

Don't know if it's still the case but I remember times they didn't accepted any card payments under 10 Euro.

There has been a similar custom here.  It depends on the store, though, and I think it's gradually dying out.

Also used to be they wanted our signature for every single purchase in a brick-and-mortsr store (though of course not online).  Now most stores require signatures only for large purchases.

[Arcadia]

I have a "cash back" credit card (I get back a certain percentage of every dollar I spend) so it's almost the only thing I use anymore. It adds up. 

[J.P.]

But Big Brother knows everything you buy! O_O

[T.o.b.y]

4 hours ago, J.P. said:

But Big Brother knows everything you buy! O_O

I think that concern is one big reason why people here still mostly prefer to use cash. I can't blame them. 

[Arcadia]

No, I can't blame anyone either, but so far it doesn't seem to have negatively impacted me. Now that you've made me paranoid, however ….