Winchester

[Petrovar Ambassador 15]

yay for interstate drives! Merry Christmas!

[dfnva 34]

@Chrissc94

Thanks, Merry Christmas to you.

@Schulmanator

Thanks. Interesting you ask about the Harris Grille...I posted a menu a couple responses up for your viewing pleasure. They serve the best in southern specialties at modest prices.

@Raysfan16

Thanks... I agree that Exit 29 does has some steep hills, but they were ok as approved by the Massopax State DOT. Just hard for the trucks going back up the hill. And thanks, of course Exit 31 is a trumpet interchange... I don't know why I Thought it was a partial cloverleaf... must've been really tired LOL.

@N106

Thanks! Interestingly with a lot of snow here and days off of work, I've actually had time to play SimCity quite a bit after what seemed like too long a sabbatical.

@Larks2242

Thanks! Roads are very important in my playing of SimCity so that's why I name and number most of them.

@Ecoba

Thanks! Happy Holidays to you as well Ethan.

@ComputerGuy890100

Thanks! I try to picture I-81 as I've drawn out I-34, especially south of Lexington, Virginia where it goes through hillier terrain.

@Hawkeye9

Thanks! The most recent RHW is a lot of fun to do stuff with though I don't use it exclusively for highways as you'll see in today's update.

@DCMetro34

Thanks! The RHW is fun to play around with.

@Benedict

Thanks! And Merry Christmas!

And now...

We're going to continue southward on MP-427 as promised. MP-427 is the western bypass of Winchester and Salem and connects I-34 to I-79/US-27 in the southern part of the region.

This portion was built in the early 1980's. Originally MP-427 ended a few miles ahead at US-84 before being extended in the early 1990's.

Several farms like this dairy farm had to be cutoff or have imminent domain taken which caused some protests. However, the Massopax state government assured farm owners that the economic advantages of a more direct connector to routes out of the region would be beneficial.

Several frontage roads exist to access farms whilst limiting access along MP-427 to keep folks moving.

The first exit is for US-84.

Continuing on, you can see how some roads that once connected, like SR-866 in this picture, are now discontinuous, ending at frontage roads.

Services sign for the exit. I couldn't find a convincing Waddle's logo online so I made up what I thought a modernized version of their logo would look like. 

Here is the interchange with US-84. This is the original southern terminus of MP-427. The actual original terminating intersection was incorporated into the ramps on the left side.

Notice the sign for the left lane ending in preparation for MP-427 to narrow to two lanes.

And for fun, here is the signal at the end of the exit ramp. We've visited Salem (click here) and Harris (click here) in previous updates.

After the interchange, MP-427 narrows to two lanes as it seemed 'cheaper' and more 'financially responsible' to extend the bypass but only with two lanes. The road is slowly, but surely being widened, but it's costing taxpayers more to do it now than it would've in the early 1990's with inflation.

Next time, we'll continue further south on MP-427 and see some road construction where work is currently being done to widen the road to four lanes.

Merry Christmas!!

-Dan

[chrissc94 1]

Great update! I like how you can kind of see the old 427 outlined in the trees near the exit ramp to US 84. It's realistic...by us, an old state highway was redirected to fit a more parkway-type 6 lane road near a new shopping center, and the bypassed two-lane pavement and bridge are still there. But that's pretty much anywhere where a highway was redirected. Excellent realism.

[DCMetro34 576]

Nice update! I especially like the exit sign! Merry Chritmas!

-dcmetro34

[Mayorm 14]

I love the road signs if you could tell me how to make them that would be great

[Raysfan16 5]

Very nice update again! Way to find a workaround for the lack of 30m pieces! I like the way you portray the businesses around the interchange at the end...nothing but hotels and restaraunts.

Have a merry Christmas.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Nice rural areas... and thanks for the menu... I will have my order ready soon. Do they deliver to Schulmania?

[SounderBruce 173]

Great update! I like MP-427, reminds me of SR 526 (the Boeing Freeway) in Everett, WA. It goes from a moster connector freeway to a two-lane road.

BTW: Where do you make those lovely signs?

[TmiguelT 10]

Great Last Updates. I never thought that i would see the RHW here on this CJ ....

Awesome work with the signs as well

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's

[SounderBruce 173]

Merry Christmas, dfnva and congrats on your 'Best Roadgeek CJ' Trixie!

[Benedict 3,119]

Great job on the Trixie win (I was one of the people who nominated you!), and great job on the new update, loved the patched-up sign!

How on earth did you get so many cows in one farm field? Impressive...

[dfnva 34]

All,

I am humbled and honored to have won this year's Roadgeek CJ Trixie. Roadgeekery has always been an interest of mine and something I've focused on when playing SimCity games and it is fun to share that perspective as I present my region. Thank you for your support and interest!

====

On another note, quite a few have asked me over the years how I make the signs and signals for my CJ's, so I thought I would go through a quick primer on how I do that.

1. All you need is the following:

> Powerpoint and/or Photoshop or MS-Paint

> Roadgeek Series Fonts: http://www.triskele.com/roadgeek-fonts

2. I use Powerpoint slides to keep "fixtures" of what I use to make various elements for signs and signals.

These include:

> Poles/posts (to simulate metal and wooden posts uses in real life)

> Route Shields 

(Blanks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_shield / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._Roads/Shields/Database /

http://static-p3.fotolia.com/jpg/00/00/10/36/110_F_103629_4Y4E1KcQsATPMexl3rA6l4ifKGhVob.jpg)

> Signal Heads

> Assemblies (i.e. mast arms/wire spans) for Signals

> Sign backgrounds

3. These elements can be moved/combined to make for various signage displays

If you can draw a shape, arrow, or anything in powerpoint or photo shop, you can draw a sign.

For me, signals just include a rectangle and three circles.

4. After I have successfully created a sign or assembly to use in my CJ, I press "Print Screen" and then go into MS-Paint and choose "Paste" and cut/shrink to 800x600 if necessary. Of course if you're using Photoshop, this step could be avoided.

Here are some screenshots of powerpoint slides I have made and what I use to cut/paste to create various signage scenes:

I'd enjoy seeing what you come up with in your own CJ's... if you have any questions feel free to PM me. Hope this helps!

I'll do replies when I post my full update tomorrow!

-Dan

[Larks2242 251]

That is really cool! aslo i want to congratulate you on your trixie you definitely earned it!

[Raysfan16 5]

Wow, nice signs and good references to road sign stuff. I was always interested in making my own signs but they're so distinctly a Dan thing. I might give a shot at it. On the River Hills Road sign, what's with the five lights?

And most of all, congrats on your Trixie! It was well-deserved.

[SounderBruce 173]

Great tutorial and congrats on your trixie!

BTW, that shield database on Wikipedia is part of a project that I work with...small world, isn't it!

[Mr. Beer 12]

Congratulation for your Trixie!!! Your work is simply amazing!

Take care!

David

[jacqulina 162]

excellent work my friend congrats on your well deserved trixie

[Schulmanator 5,787]

Thanks for sharing your techniques. And, enjoy your Trixie Three-peat!

[DCMetro34 576]

Thanks for sharing! Congrats on your Trixie, it was deserved!!!

[dfnva 34]

@chrissc94

Thanks...it's always been interesting to me trying to see the vestiges of old road alignments when newer, bigger highways are built. While not so in this case, there often are discontinuous "stubs" of road showing where the original road was.

@DCMetro34

Thanks! Merry (Belated) Christmas to you as well... and Happy New Year.

@MayorM and @ComputerGuy890100

Thanks! A couple days ago I posted a short primer on how I make road signs using Powerpoint in this thread. If you have any questions let me know.

@Raysfan16

Thanks! That's your basic commercial development around interchanges on the outskirts of a city... the only thing missing is a truckstop. Hope you had a Merry Christmas... Happy New Year.

@Schulmanator

Thanks! The Harris Grille does deliver... I'll see if they can waive the delivery charge.

@ComputerGuy890100

Thanks. It's funny how a lot of major roads suddently change to minor ones... VA 28 comes to mind... much of it is limited access around Dulles Airport here in Virginia but south of Manassas it becomes 2 lanes.

@TMiguelT

Thanks. I use the RHW quite a bit and there are a lot of great things that I like using that have been added over the years. There are some inflexibilities with it such that I prefer Maxis Highways in some areas. The MP-427/ US-84 JCT was created before I downloaded the RHW, but I feel it still looks fine with avenues and one-ways. Hope you had a Merry Christmas too and Happy New Year.

@ComputerGuy890100

Thanks much! I'm honored to have received the Trixie!

@Benedict

Thanks for your nomination. I alway hope you will win Best Story in a CJ as Ellis Valley is always interesting and juicy. Glad you noticed the patched up sign... The I-79 patch covers up US-27, which is the original name for the highway. The Rural Renewal Pack, I believe, has all the cow lots, I think I plopped too many of them, but hey, somebody has to supply the Winchester area with fresh milk...

@Larks2242

Thanks! Congratulations on your Trixie as well.

@Raysfan16

Thanks... the signs aren't so hard to make. I just have a lot of stuff saved/ ready for use. The signal with the five lights is a protective/permissive left turn signal, the bottom two lights are a yellow and green arrow respectively. "Doghouse" 5-signal lights are usually more common (red on top and then side-by-side yellow and yellow arrow lights/green and green arrow lights).

@ComputerGuy890100

Thanks! That's cool that you're working on the shield database on Wikipedia... any other roadgeekery things you're involved with there?

@Mr. Beer

Thanks very much! Congratulations to you as well, I love your regions and attention to detail.

@Jacqulina

Thanks! Congratulations on your Trixie as well!

@Schulmanator

Thanks! The secrets have been revealed haha. Congratulations on your Trixie!

@DCMetro34

Thanks very much!

And now...

We continue southward on MP-427, looping around Salem and Winchester. At this point the highway has narrowed to two lanes.

To keep 60MPH traffic moving smoothly, yet safely, rumble strips have been placed in the median strip and signs like these have been posted... very similar to US-15 in between Leesburg, VA and Frederick, MD.

Not a bad drive through here... lots of farms nearby... not sure why there are all the trucks on the farm roads... shouldn't they be on MP-427 instead haha??

The next junction is with SR-638/Rolling Valley Rd. Simple signage like this as opposed to BGS's was used originally on MP-427.

Continuing around the bend...

We're approaching road construction so....

Lots of work is going on to not only widen MP-427 to four lanes but to build a grade-separated diamond interchange at SR-638/Rolling Valley Rd.

Good to know where at least some of those stimulus funds are going...

MP-427 still crosses SR-638 at-grade, but not for long as you can see work on one of the bridges to carry MP-427 over SR-638 has been completed. This is currently the only at grade intersection still existing on MP-427.

There is a signal controlling traffic here, until construction begin this was just a flashing beacon. Notice the "To SR-646" and Ferry trailblazers. Further south, MP-427 used to cross SR-646 at-grade but this intersection has been eliminated with a bridge carrying SR-646 over MP-427, but not interchange was built.

Here's a zoomed-out view of the junction showing construction on the interchange. MP-427's current path follows what will be half of the diamond interchange. Also notice how SR-638 is being widened to four lanes as well.

Further east on SR-638/Rolling Valley Rd there has been a lot of development.

Much of SR-638 between here and US-84/Fortlick Rd has been widened to four lanes.

Lots of new condos like these are popping up.

But alas, we continue south along MP-427...

Some of the brand-new signage has been put up by the contractors already.

And our journeys shall continue.... Next time...

Happy New Year! Thank you once again for your support and the Trixie award!

-Dan

[Schulmanator 5,787]

That has got to be the busiest dirt road I have ever seen!

[SounderBruce 173]

Love the update! MP-427 is very good...reminds me of the widening work on SR 18 east of Issaquah. The construction signs are posted all over Washington state by WSDOT.

At USRD (the Wikipedian roads project) we improve articles, upload images, upload shields, etc.

[Raysfan16 5]

Oh boy....the joy of sprawl is catching up to those farms!

[Larks2242 251]

Another great update, happy new year Winchester!

[PhilsCafe 8]

Congrats to the Trixie, Dan! It's really well deserved, you're attention to details such as road naming and numbering, street signs, etc. is amazing and unprecedented! Keep it up!

Happy New Year!

- Phil

[TmiguelT 10]

Another stunning update there Dan ( May i call you dan?). I got so much to tell you right now.. Let me break it down for you

First, Congratulations on winning a trixie ( i secretly nominated you ). You really deserve it

Second, Great work on those signs and thanks for the link of the website . I'm really enjoying to make my own signs now ..

Third, Great use of the RHW once again and i would suggest you to download the Rural Road Plugin of the NAM team.. It will make your 2 lane highways more rural like and you won't have to use the RHW 2 for that .

Lasty, Once again Congratulations for the trixie and have a happy new year ( although a little bit late )

[Mayorm 14]

great work dfnva I love all the signs you have made

[willfish 0]

great cj

[sloppy182 2]

You have a great CJ. Every time I look through it I feel like I am taking a road trip or a sunday drive! Great work!

[subedei 3]

This is a very enjoyable CJ. I really enjoyedyour tour around your region. Keep up the good work.

Subedei