Treacherous Highway

Recently we took a quick trip to NC to pick up the RV and bring it back to Florida for a service appointment this coming week. 

As the Mister was driving, I was writing an email to a friend:  

"We are on a secondary road that we often take. It “cuts the corner” from where I-26 and I-95 join. It cuts the mileage a bit, but it is slower. SC was one of the last states to match Federal funds for making the Interstate in the 70’s, and now is one  of the last states to get Federal funds for widening it. The section near where we used to live is notorious for deadly accidents as traffic gets bottlenecked going north just over the Savannah River bridge. Traffic is usually very heavy, going both north and south, and makes for tense driving. The secondary road is straight as an arrow and has areas that are 60 mph. It runs through many dying towns.... you are not going to believe this, but as I was writing the last paragraph we arrived in Hardeeville and merged onto I-95 south, only to discover that there had been an accident in the north bound lane, just in the area I had mentioned above where 3 lanes in GA meet with 2 lanes in SC ( which currently have barrels and construction items all over as they are beginning the process of widening that area). 

Traffic is backed up for 10 miles and Google Maps says the highway is closed for two hours!!!! It’s noon. It’s unbearably hot and people are stranded on the highway. What a mess. 

We wonder how many cars will run out of gas by keeping engines going for AC, or how many cars will overheat by trying to keep engines going… or how many people may get very sick from the heat…or worse?"

As we continued on our journey toward home I did check Google maps and saw that the highway was opened and traffic was flowing, even before two hours had elapsed. I'm sure the folks who were stuck were thrilled to be on their way to their destinations. 

We were just thrilled to pull into our driveway! 

 

Highways and Byways

We Dreamers recently returned to Florida from NC. We were towing a trailer with a tiny tractor and a few other implements on it. Neither of us prefers traveling on the Interstates in SC, as in most areas the roads are substandard. They have not been enlarged to 3 or more lanes and traffic is horrendous. For too many years the state has failed to acquire enough funds for its roads and maintenance and/or new development so improvements are lagging or severely lacking. (We lived in SC for 34 years...we kinda see/understand what is/has happened!)

So, we often opt for traveling on the by-ways. The highways of times gone by. We usually take State 321 out of Columbia to US 301, all the way to Ocala, FL. These roads were some of the original major thoroughfares for travelers in the past.

Sadly, the opening of the Interstates was a death knell for the small towns on the former major thoroughfares. In areas where no manufacturing existed, or those without colleges/universities that brought young folks into the area, the towns slowly shriveled up....and died. 

As we travel on our path, from town to town, I see ghosts! Ghosts of towns that no longer thrive. Ghosts of a by-gone era when small towns thrived throughout the south. Now, the brick storefronts in town after town stand vacant, with blank, unseeing windows, many covered in boards. Buildings that will eventually fall victim to decay in the damp, humid climate.

When we get to US 301 we probably see a hundred motels..."Motor Hotels" that had their hey day in the 50's and 60's, the "Golden Era" before the Interstates and before corporate dominance. Some have reinvented themselves and are still in use, more stand vacant and in disrepair. 

My mind explodes in visual images of vacations past. Of times when the family climbed into the Vista Cruiser station wagon and headed out for a vacation! I can almost see my family stopping for a picnic along the way, and staying at any one of these motels. 

From the Internet 

There we were, the perfect little family, having our own adventures! 

Did you have similar adventures?

Diverging Diamonds

We loaded the RV and turned north to enjoy spring break with our son, DIL and our two grandkids, and to take a break from yard/house work and projects ourselves. They are flying into NC to spend a week in Asheville, which is less than an hour from our camping oasis near Lake Lure (now that the road is open*!)

We generally skirt Jacksonville by taking Rt 301 from Ocala north, crossing I-10 and going through Eulee, FL to get to I-95 north. This year we were greeted by a new (and improved?) interchange to get onto I-95. They have constructed a Diverging Diamond Intersection here.  I think of it as 'Chris-cross applesauce'! 

Instead of the right lane staying to the right, the two lanes swap positions. Here's an Apple map view of a DDI that was constructed near Ft Myers. When we used to live there we tried to avoid this intersection at all costs....even before they began construction. After 4 1/2 painful years (delays caused by Covid, supply chain issues, hurricanes, etc) that intersection is finally complete and traffic is flowing, as is the one we traversed in Eulee.

According to Mr. Albert "I"n- stein, a DDI can increase traffic capacity by 33 1/3%

I guess that makes the construction phase worth it

* Hwy 74A between Chimney Rock and Bat Cave, NC has been closed since the 2024 raging flood waters of Hurricane Helene ran amok through the gorge, wiping out bridges, roads, shops, cars, and homes as well as denuding the beautiful tree-lined mountain sides leaving a boulder-strewn field in its wake. The new road opened last week...just in time for our visit! 

 

Did You Know?

The position of the exit number sign on an a Interstate indicates whether the exit is a left or right exit?

Here the "Exit 2N" is on the top left side of the route numbers, showing that you would exit on the left for I-29, I-35 or 71. 

The sign off "Exit 2M" is on the top right showing that you'd exit to the right to get on Highway 71 South. 

After all these years, and after untold hours on Interstates, I never noticed this. 

Boy, do I feel dumb!

Bonus.... Can you tell where I am and what direction I am traveling?!
(I do apologize for he lousy picture - perhaps the road was a bit rough!)