The M Project

[TakemeThere 5,833]

To being with, the M in the title stands for modernization and this CJ will focus on a large and ongoing redevelopment project taking place in my region. The primary focus is updating the highway network to a higher(and more realistic) standard, for both capacity and safety reasons. I will of course showcase other area's of interest as well, but that is the primary focus.

The original freeway system was quite hastily built to accommodate a large population boom approx. 50-60 years ago. It was of a poor design, featuring many short ramps and lane changes(AKA vanilla SC4). It was indeed quite treacherous to drive on. Finally after many years of incessant whining, not to mention thousands of fatalities, those in power have finally decided to heed the public's pleas and modernize the network. In others words, I finally started to frequently use the RHW mod

It's important to note that this city exists on another Earth-like planet I call Azura. So any reference to things being the largest this or tallest that are not in direct comparison to anything on Earth but rather other structures on that planet. The planet is however very similar to Earth in things like gravity, air pressure and technology so naturally the types of structures seen are basically the same as is the time frame. For convenience sake, the passage of time and the development history of the world is the same as on Earth. The only significant difference is that the world population is about ten times lower(pop 735,000,000) as water covers over 95% of the planet. Thus cities are far smaller. A city of 2.5 million is the equivalent to a city of about 20 million on Earth.

The district of Pretoria itself was established about 200 years ago(under a different name) making it a relatively new region on planet Azura. It is the 3rd largest city in the country of Albion with a populations of 2.4 million, but is by far the largest city on the west coast by the Medina Ocean. Furthermore economically it is the second largest behind only the east coast metropolis of Old York. Albion itself is the second most populated country on Azura(pop 89,000,000). Pretoria is also the capital of Corsica, one of the 5 original states of Albion. Which is a prominent feature on the nations flag:

The district experienced its first major population boom from around 1920 to 1930. A second larger boom occurred from 1950 to 1970 due to the discovery of certain natural resources nearby. It was during that time that the highway network was originally built. After that the city experienced several short periods of growth and decline finally culminating in the great worldwide recession of the early 90's. At that time Pretoria implemented many economic reforms and while it was at first one of the hardest hit cities it was one of the first to turn around its fortunes. Since then growth has continued unabated for the past 2 decades, a period of which saw the rise of many glass and steel skyscrapers while the regional government padded its coffers. This in turn enabled it to finally properly reconstruct the highway system during the 2000's.

Although I'm tempted to write more of historical back story about the city and planet, that was never really the plan. So that'll probably about as detailed as I'll get on the topic, sorry. I wasn't actually planning on making a CJ until after I completed the region or at least finished most of the cites within it. But based on the current rate of development and seeing as how the region is already about 9 years old having started it way back in 2006, because of playing the game on and off over the years and an obsession for fine-tuning, that would of meant I would be making this CJ around 2020, if ever. Truth be told I may never be able to complete the region, but I am hopeful that I will. As it stands, Pretoria is currently about 67% complete development wise, with a population of 1.4 million. The final population projection for the region(i.e. my goal) is 2.5 million.

Pretoria is still far from being complete. The region was originally named Verloren, which is kind of a weird name for a city/region and something its constituents had frequently complained about. Shortly after the metro population had exceeded one million, it was decided that a more dignified name was needed. In the end, Pretoria was selected.

And here's the transportation map, admittedly a relatively crude one by CJ standards. It's my intent to make more detailed version sometime in the future.

Highways which predominately travel in a north-south direction are even numbered starting from the east; highway 700 & 702.
Those which travel primarily east-west are odd numbered starting from the north; highways 701(yet to be built), 703, 705, 707 & 709.

The fundamental transportation network, highways and rail lines, were all planned in advance of development. It was quite the change from the "build it as you go" approach I used when I first started playing SC4. There have been numerous revisions to the plan over the years.

Freight and passenger train service is completely separated as per legislation requiring such. The commuter rail service, called Fastraxx, operates 6 lines(only 4 of which I've built so far) plus an airport express service(for an airport that doesn't actually exist yet... how does that work??? But I swear I'll get to it one day!) In addition there are two competing freight companies with completely separate systems. Which means in essence there are basically 3 completely independent rail systems. The two competing freight railways are the ICR: the Intercontinental Railway and the GWR: the Great Western Railway. The ICR is approx. 50% larger than the GWR, although the GWR has a slightly larger network on the west coast of the continent where Pretoria is located. There was talk of a merger between the two large freight companies during the last recession 2 decades ago but since then they have both diversified and been highly profitable. There are several junction points between the two freight companies to allow for interchanging but there are no connections between the passenger lines and the freight lines since as mentioned above, the legislation in place prohibits freights service on any line where passenger service operates for safety reasons. Which is why it is surprising to many that the highway system was left in such a substandard condition contrast to the heavily legislated and well established safety culture seen on the railways. Really it was just me not accepting the RHW mod from the start, but don't tell the people that.

There are no high speed rail lines within the city limits. You could say that HSR is basically at its infancy in the world where my region exists. It exists in a few places but in general the world functions just fine without it. The Pretoria region has been growing rapidly since the last recession and because of that there was a large sum of funds available to improve the transportation network. The Pretoria Regional Governing Authority, PRGA in short, realized that significant improvements were needed in capacity in order to support future growth, keep congestion to a minimum and to maintain Pretoria's place as an economic powerhouse on Azura. A detailed study called the Greater Pretoria Transportation Initiative or GPTI for short, was undertaken to determine what part of the transportation network needed the most improvement. Many saw this as a total and complete waste of time since even a homeless person on the street could tell where the most glaring need was: the highway system. And the dude doesn't even have a bicycle never mind a car! In any case, this study included all forms of transportation; highways, road, rail, sea & air networks. There was a detailed analysis of HSR within that study. It was determined that most of the existing passenger rail corridors could not support high speed trains due to the track geometry/profile. Basically the lines were too curvy. New lines through the inner city were non-starters as that would of required large scale demolition of heavily developed areas. The study concluded that HSR was not required within the metro area and that the current passenger train system was already sufficiently enough. It did endorse upgrading passenger rail lines outside regional limits to HSR to connect the city to other regions to provide an alternative to air travel. That however, is the jurisdiction of the federal authority and not the PRGA. To date they have yet to take any action in that regard. The study ultimately concluded that the area in need of the most work was in fact the highway system(no ****). But be fair, the study did provide a comprehensive analyses of the system, identifying its precise weak points. There's no point in just randomly throwing money all over the place, it only makes sense to allocated it to the areas the required it the most. Something that couldn't have been done without such a detailed study. And thus the rebuilding of the regions highways was initiated. The grand undertaking was known simply as The Modernization Project or the M project in short. The projected cost of the project was approx. $20 Billion, baring no cost overruns of course. Geez golly, wonder what the chances of that are... And the estimated construction time was 5 to 6 years. All that for the highway project alone, there are a few other infrastructure redevelopment projects that will take place as well. We will find out later if they managed to stay within those parameters. But enough talk, lets get to some pictures!(finally)

There will be no pictures of the M project just yet, but rather an overview of the larger cities within the district of Pretoria.
 

Astoria; pop. 815,000(currently only 75% complete, pop projection 1,050,000)
noted for;
the financial capital of the west coast, the A&B Tower, the WN Building(world nations) headquarters of the allied nations, the massive 700-705 interchange, numerous landmark supertall structures, numerous sporting facilities and convention centers, the busiest freeway in the world
Major Interchanges;
700-705 and 702-705 
Tallest Building;
Empire Plaza(tallest building in the world as determined by roof height) 1,614ft(491.9m) 110 floors
Tallest Structure;
The A&B Tower(tallest freestanding structure in the world) 2,210ft(673.5m)

Calgon; pop. 387,000
noted for;
the majestic Cisco Bay Bridge, a massive carter impact site, large steel smelter, ICR rail yard, harbor, cement plant, soccer stadium, telecommunications tower, chronic unemployment and lastly... its constantly expanding fudge factory, if you know what I mean.
Major Interchanges;
700-702-707 and 700-705 and 705-707  
Tallest Building;
AIC Plaza 675ft(205.7m) 33 floors
Tallest Structure;
telecommunication tower(naming rights for sale) 1,219ft(371.5m)

Dresden; pop. 88,900
noted for;
its mountainous terrain, large harbor & massive power plant.
Major Interchanges;
700-702
Tallest Building;
The Euro Center 432ft(131.6m) 36 floors
Tallest Structure;
Dresden GS stack 660ft(201m)

Cisco Bay; pop. 27,100
noted for;
its cable stayed bridge, once the longest in the world of its kind.
Major Interchanges;
702-709
Tallest Building;
Cardiff Capital Tower 306ft(93.3m) 23 floors
Tallest Structure;
Great Western Tower 559ft(170m)

Lindin City; pop. 29,400
noted for;
its historic downtown & large central park.
Major Interchanges;
702-707 and 705-709
Tallest Building;
Mary Arms Hotel 281ft(85.6m) 19 floors

And that concludes the introduction. On the next and first update, we will see some of the actual changes made by the M project.
 

[SAVAGExPHOENIX 955]

Wow, this is an awesome first post. I like the natural-looking growth of it all! Very well done!

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Good cities, and solid design. I hope you show us the close-ups pictures soon!

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

That is a strong opening post.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of your city in depth over the coming days!

[Schulmanator 5,787]

An interesting start! I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

[tonyr 926]

That crater lake peaks my interest. Sweet!

[Mymyjp 1,052]

I love these types of journals....This is great work and you have a very nicely laid out plan...looking forward to see more!

[jmsepe 2,038]

Ah nice downtown, I like the density. Not bad for the very first post.

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Thanks for all the comments and interest so far, they're much appreciated! I certainly hope I can live up everyone's exceptions and those I have have set for myself.

 

The first city I will profile is Lindin City or just LC for short.

 

The district of Pretoria is separated into 4 boroughs. LC is the western most city in the Middle East borough. Thankfully this Middle East is not some volatile powder keg but rather just your typical suburban utopia, or wasteland, depending on your viewpoint. 

 

The city is nestled in between the Aural mountain range and the Trueno river just before it reaches Cisco Bay. LC was one of the first cities established in the District of Pretoria and the 2nd city that I actually started working on in the region. The earliest snapshot I have of it dates back to Aug 2005. Historically the downtown core was built up during the first population boom in the 20's, leaving little space for future development. During the recession of the 90's some buildings fell into ruin. Once the region emerged from the recession these buildings were subsequently demolished to make way for a few new highrises. The city is now 100% complete and has a population of 29,800 as of the most recent census(2014).

 

Location of Lindin City(highlighted in red) and the borough's:

Not the most unique names I know, but practical.

 

The District of Pretoria and the Middle East borough actually extends several more km's further west following the Trueno river. This area is not shown on the map. Essentially it contains the suburban outskirts of the city, beyond that is agricultural development. I have in the past entertained thoughts of modifying the regional map and creating that area but I've found that its difficult for me to maintain my interest while making nothing but suburban sprawl. And to be honest, that's not really my strong point.  So chances are it will forever remain unseen, but I assure you, it is there.

 

Now before we get into the M Project, lets take a quick tour around town.

 

Here is the historical downtown mentioned in the preview. This area is by far the densest development in the Middle East borough of Pretoria with approx. 8000 residents and 7000 jobs.

 

 

 

 

And at night

 

Here are the 10 tallest buildings in the city, measured by roof height:

Nothing terribly exciting here, not yet anyway... Apologies to the metric folks, once things start to rise I promise I'll include meters

 

And a little FYI: Building heights on Azura are measured in two ways, by Roof height and by Pinnacle height(spires, antennas, flag poles, big glowing ball on the top or whatever). There's none of that architectural height BS.

 

 

Now for the all important transportation discussion. Downtown LC is served directly from the west & south by highway 702 and from the east by highways 705 & 707. The core is also served by the commuter rail service Fastraxx. The Lindin City station, Fastraxx LC, is located on the combined L(Loop) & ME(Middle East) lines. The L line is the elevated viaduct seen cutting through part of the downtown core in the images above. The line turns southward and goes into a 1.6 km tunnel under Cisco Bay(the water body) before reemerging above ground in the city of Cisco Bay. The ME line branches off the combined line just east of LC station and it too enters into a tunnel, 1.4 km long, that goes under the neighborhood of Rockcut(in LC) and the Trueno river before reemerging above ground in the city of Mayfield.

 

The L line tunnel entrance(San Halo tunnel) for the track running left to right:

 

 

The western exit of the Delhi tunnel(ME line):

 

LC station was built after the mainline was shifted in 1969. It's somewhat unusual in that the station was built directly on top of not only highway 702 but Jacob St. as well. Another unusual feature of the station is that there is practically no parking aside from a couple of very expensive premium reserved spots. However downtown LC is less than a 5 minute walk away and there are stairs which connect the platforms with Jacob St. below where frequent bus service is available. Approx. 4,200 passengers use the station during the peak periods, which amounts to a healthy 14.0% mode share. The L line also features all day off-peak service. The ME line however, only operates during the peak periods. And while inter-regional trains also operate on the ME line, they do not stop at the station.

*Edit  inter-regional train service has changed so that they do indeed stop atLC since the city serves as a crossroads for multiple transit lines and highways. LC is one of the most easily accessible cities in the Pretoria region.

 

Here's the Fastraxx LC station:

For what ever reason the bus transfer from the station always runs down the street instead of the built in subway station connected to the road underpass.    That btw is a something I use quite frequently: subways as underpasses. That's probably something the most ardent realism proponents would find appalling. But I love using that method, since it allows for a ton of flexibility without limiting what I can build on top.

 

Well that's it for today. Tomorrow we'll take a look at what LC looks like outside the downtown area.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Cool city!  I think it looks very cool in the second picture, nestled between the highway's and the railroad's graceful curves.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Great stuff! I like the various mods you combined to produce some interesting results.

[Dgmc2013 873]

Beautiful city! I like your transport system, principally the trains!

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Some really nice cities you did! And nice region as well :-)

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Thanks again for the comments! Hope you enjoy what I have planned next.

Before we take a look at the rest of the city. There's still a little more to discuss on the transportation front. As mentioned before, the mainline(for passenger trains) was shifted back in 1969 in preparation for the creation of the Fastraxx commuter service. Prior to this, the preexisting rail line served only infrequent regional trains and was also used by freight service until the Rail Safety Compliance Act(RSCA) banned combined traffic in 1967 after the Continental 51 disaster(156 fatalities) the year prior. The original passenger train station was built next to a track called the Old Line. It was one of no less than 5 mainline freight corridors that cut through LC in the early days and the only one that was used by passenger trains.

Here's a map of the rail lines that once crisscrossed the city in the heyday of the railroad:


I have new found respect for some of the map makers out there. Man that took a long time, but its not bad for a first effort is it? Well hopefully as I do more I'll get better at it and quicker!
 
Regional passenger trains would arrive into Lindin City via GWR's Midland sub. from Astoria. Next they would enter the Midland spur before reaching the Old Line. Trains had to operate at a slow speed over this track because of its poor alinement and speed restricted curves. Unlike today, regional trains did stop in LC, seeing as how they were the only passenger trains that existed back then. Service however was infrequent and notoriously unreliable due to having to share track space with freight trains. The Old line itself was jointly owned by no less than 4 different companies.

After departing the old single platform station in LC, trains would then enter Comerica's Nippon sub and continue eastward into the 1.4 km long single track Delhi tunnel and under the Trueno river. After emerging from the tunnel, trains would be out of LC's city limits and continue eastward through the rest of the Middle East borough. Comerica was a short line freight carrier, smaller company & local traffic only, that existed until 1968. Their mainline was bought by the Pretoria Regional Governing Authority(PRGA) so as to fulfill their obligations to separate passenger service under the RSCA. Comerica was struggling at the time and on the brink of bankruptcy due to competing against the larger companies who would regularly undercut their service rates. The track would then become the fastraxx ME line.

At one time regional trains would also switch off onto the Bay line to reach Pretoria's South Shore borough and points beyond. But this was no longer necessary after the completion of the Cisco Bay Bridge in 1951.

An aerial view of the Old Line and the Midland spur circa 1965:



After the mainline was shifted the track west of the old station was abandoned though the actual rail itself was repurposed to build the tracks from the nearby Baycole commuter train layover yard(where trains are stored over night) in the adjacent city. A new rail corridor(the L line) was built a few years later in the form of a viaduct cutting through downtown LC. A few of the cities less historically significant buildings were torn down to make way for the new line which was needed to properly connect the city of Cisco Bay to the rest of the region by commuter rail. There wasn't much of an outcry at the time since heritage concerns were only at its infancy and the value of the line was well worth it. However, the yokel's at the LC heritage society continue to bemoan the loss decades later, seeing the event as the worst disaster in the cities 150 year history. These people would probably declare uncle Bob's Pump & GO a heritage structure if they could just because its been around for about 50 years.

Bob's Pump & GO, just inching to be redeveloped:


Now for the freight corridors.
The GWR(Great Western Railway) sold off their Midland sub to the PRGA(the government) in 1957, no longer requiring it to route their trains around Cisco Bay after completing their Vandenburg tunnel by-pass the year before. The government promptly ripped up the tracks and used the rail right-of-way to build a portion of highway 707 the following year. The northern portion of the Bay line was then purchased by PRGA in 1961 and promptly ripped up as well to make way for a stub section of highway 705 and the Higgs Boson bridge which was seen as an absolutely vital connection. The cities only two connections across the Treuno river and to the rest of the Middle East borough were the 2-lane Oscar-Mayer bridge & the 2-lane SoPo tunnel and were both operating near maximum capacity. The southern portion of the Bay line was bought out by the ICR who were one of 3 owners of the line before. They then re-routed their Lakeridge sub down this corridor since the bridge over Cisco Bay had two tracks which greatly increased capacity and the track alinement was better i.e. shorter and less curvy. The old route was only singled track in the Plagus tunnel which went under the Trueno river. ICR did not however abandon the track since it connected to the Port of Isuzu and additionally served as a interchange point with the GW Railway. The old routing was renamed the Lakeridge spur.

After all was said and done here's the end result. Essentially this is the fundamental road and rail framework of the city up to just before the M-Project, which in itself won't result and any major wholesale changes(except for the 705 extension!) but rather localized improvements.

 
And lastly a comparison GIF:


Despite the loss of multiple freight lines the city is still well served the ICR's (InterContinental Railway) Lakeridge & Omaha subdivisions(industry specific term for rail corridors). As seen above, The lakeridge sub runs through the city from the west and curves to the south while the Omaha sub. begins (mile 0.0)  at Casanova Jct. located at mile 3.5 of the Lakeridge sub:
 

 
The Lakeridge sub then enters the 0.5km Dommer Lison tunnel that runs under Kalahari peak before it curves southward and then crosses Cisco Bay.
 
The eastern tunnel exit:

 
The most recently date available from the ICR indicates that they service an average of 170 cars per week off the Omaha Sub and another 93 off the Lakeridge sub for a total of 13,659 car movement year-over-year in 2013. That number of course does not include all the freight cars passing through the city, which amounts to a vastly higher total considering the Lakeview sub. is ICR's primary north-south corridor through the entire district of Pretoria and the Omaha sub is likewise the primary east-west corridor. Essentially all of ICR's Pretoria traffic is routed through the city. Both lines are double tracked, CTC controlled(signalized) and built to class 1 rail standards, capable of supporting the maximum allowable freight train speed of 60mph(97 kph). In addition both lines are also entirely grade separated from vehicular and rail traffic within LC through 10 bridge structures and 1 tunnel. And that about covers it for transportation matters at the moment(TMI perhaps?)

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

TMI?  Hahaha, no way!  We all wouldn't be playing this game for so long if we didn't think it was interesting.  Great new update, I'm definitely looking forward to more!

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Yes your totally right. It's more of a backstory then I intended to originally write and I wasn't sure if people would be interesting in reading little details like that but I won't worry about that anymore, thanks for the reassurance

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Continuing on with the profile of LC, to help place things within the city here's the Lindin City items of interest map:

Note: The map depicts the city prior to the M Project
A - Downtown LC
B - Fastraxx LC commuter rail station
C - Highway 702-707 interchange
D - Earl Reyes memorial park
E - Livingstone gated community
F - Kalahari Peak
G - Casanova Jct. & L line tunnel entrance(San Halo tunnel, 1.6km long)
H - Cisco Bay
I - Neighborhood of Lincon
J - Neighborhood of Rockcut
K - Hillsboro TS
L - Neighborhood of Deago
M - Hardack Hydro Corridor
N - Oscar Mayer bridge over the Trueno river
O - Lealand Sewage Treatment Center
P - Highway 705-709 interchange
Q - Higgs Boson dual bridge over the Trueno river
R - ME line tunnel entrance (Delhi tunnel, 1.4km long)
S - Drogo Peak
T - Tauon Hydro Corridor
U - Transcontinental Hydro Corridor
V - Mildread Hydro Corridor

Items in bold have already been discussed and I'll deal with items C & P in the next post.

Item H:
Cisco Bay
A very small part of Cisco Bay is actually within the cities limits. Initially the idea was to place a ferry terminal here, but I stopped using them long ago as I never liked how they worked. Besides a simple boardwalk just looks much better. Plus with all the highway & rail connections I have in my region a sea taxi is basically useless.


"Peaks"(well not really...)
Item F) Kalahari peak
Overlooking downtown Lindin City is the previously mentioned Kalahari peak, the second tallest in the city. Though truth be told its not much of a peak with an elevation of only 536ft(163m). A Global Networks transmitter, the largest broadcaster in the District of Pretoria, is located here. Effective height above average terrain of the transmitter [ground elevation 502ft + structure height 184ft - downtown LC elevation 56ft] is 630ft(192m). There is a private road that leads up to the top that locals love to frequent. Those that make the trek are greeted with a pleasant view of downtown LC and neighboring Cisco Bay.

Global Networks LC transmitter and an adjacent cellular tower:


Kalahari peak overlooking downtown LC @nite:


Item S) Drogo Peak
On the topic of peaks, without further ado here's Drogo Peak, the tallest point in the city with an elevation of 545ft(166m).

Bridges:
Item N) Oscar Mayer bridge

Waterbody - Trueno river
Type - Beam/Box Grider(?)
Built in - 1981-82(replaced original bridge built in 1929)
Design Life - 75 years
Roadway - McDowell Drive
Total Length - 945ft (288m)
Longest Span - 466ft (142m)
Clearance - 135ft (41m)
Average daily traffic - 9,650 (in game total... 47 lol)
Cost - $17.9 million (1981 dollars)


Item Q) Higgs Boson bridge(dual span)
Note: This is the original bridge which is going to be replaced as part of the M Project.

Waterbody - Trueno river
Type - Deck Arch(?)
Built in - 1962-63
Design Life - 50 years
Roadway - Highway 705
Total Length - 2x 840ft (256m)
Longest Span - 2x 528ft (161m)
Clearance - 90ft (27.4m)
Average daily traffic - 38,100 (in game 650'ish)
Cost - $22.6 million (1962 dollars)


Next up; the Neighborhoods of LC, suburban bliss at its finest, amirite?

Item I) Neighborhood of Lincoln
Nowhere near dignified enough for a name like that, seriously. Interesting fact: Lincoln is the oldest community in LC outside of the downtown area.


Item J) Neighborhood of Rockcut.
Rockcut is the newest community in LC. It started off as a small community in the 1940's where as the other area's were already well established. It's population really exploded in the post-recession period, increasing 4-fold. Interesting fact: the community is built on a phttplateau approximately 160ft(50m) above the downtown core.

Item L) Neighborhood of Deago.
Deago has also undergone a sizable increase in population post-recession increasing by over 50%.


Interesting fact: The western tunnel entrance for a abandoned rail line is located here(GWR's former Midland sub) and is a popular attraction for local urban explorers. The high security fence surround the site has done little to deter their adventures.

Item E) Livingstone gated community
Nothing like a little income inequality! While not mansions by any stretch of the imagination, things like complete home automation, geothermal heating, built in hot tubs and loads of other stuff rich people have that I don't have the first clue about come standard. Not to mention the cobblestone roads, 10 foot stone walls, 24-7 security at the gate house and a mobile patrol. But the prices are certainly not for the faint of heart. A house here will cost you more than twice as much than the going rate in any of LC's other communities. Though buyer beware you may have to put up with a a little noise from time to time. Despite years of protest, the Livingstone home owners association has been so far unsuccessful in their righteous fight to indefinitely ground the air ambulance service flown out of nearby LC General. One Livingstone homeowner claimed it was so bad he felt like he was in the middle of a war zone. No further comments were provided when the he was pressed upon which specific war zone he was referring to. And once again for the second straight year 3 homeowners claimed that traffic levels were an unacceptable "medium". Seems like there's a little trouble in middle class paradise.




Item D) Earl Reyes memorial park
Directly across Jacob st. from the Livingstone gated community is the Earl Reyes memorial park. Posthumously named after the major who served an incredible 5 terms during the boom years of the 1920's & 30's Mr. Reyes is widely considered to be the most popular major in the history of any city in the Middle Eastern borough of Pretoria. Obviously the man must of been a great leader to get re-elected 4 times in a row. Either that, or he was quite the shrewd politician. But enough about that, your here to see park right? Well here it is, 14 acres of pristine parkland.







Some of those tree mod's are just amazing, completely embarrasses the in-game SC4 trees.

Item O) Lealand STC
From the pristine to the unclean, I present the Lealand Sewage Treatment Center. The Lealand STC is one of two fudge factories that deal with all the s*** coming from the Middle East borough. It's the slightly larger of the two and has the capacity to deal with 150,000 people's worth of crap. The plant has 3 large sewage digester tanks, the 3 tank was added in 1981 when the plant's capacity was increased by 50%. There is also a single 220ft(67m) tall smokestack on site that was initially used to incinerate a small amount of bio sludge. However new regulations recently came into place and the stack is below the required minimum height. All bio sludge incineration actives have ceased and that stack is currently only used as an odor venting device.

Item M) Hardack/Tauon Hydro Corridor(s)
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if there's anything missing in someone city, its probably this. Doesn't help that the game allows you to build an entire region without bothering to plop a single tower if you wanted. I realize they're far from the most aesthetically pleasing or interesting feature, but I like the level of realism they add. They're so ubiquitous in real life that they go pretty much unnoticed perhaps that's why people don't seem use them so often and by that I mean inside a cities core not just on the fringes.




I've made sure to connect every large power plant in the region to the power grid. It's something I planned for on day one. This crude map I made a few years back generally gives a sense of how extensive the grid network is in the region(the green lines). Just about equal in size to my highway or rail network. In addition to power plants, transformer stations, train stations, highway exits, tall non-building structures, sewage & water treatment plants and their catchment areas.


And that brings me to the last item and my personal favorite item in the city,

Item K) Hillsboro TS
The Hillsboro transmission substation is a vital piece of infrastructure that is the primary power distribution node for the Middle East borough of Pretoria and maintains system voltages. All lines to & from the substation are 250kV AC, except for the local LC connection which is stepped down to 25kV. Located in the middle of the city it helps to regulate the power flow along the Hardack, Mildread, Tauon & Transcontinental hydro corridors. The amount of power saved from distribution loses is almost equal to the amount of power used by Lindin City.










The average daily peak period power flow through the station:



And that concludes the Lindin City places of interest tour.
The next update will cover the M Project work in LC.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

Wow! So much variety. Those substations were really awesome as well.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

What a great start to the journal of such a cool project.  I was sad at first at the lack of new NAM material; then I went back and read your intro.  Excited to watch you phase in RHW and RRW; it will be difficult to widen all the curves and ramps!

 

Great use of nature; your rock mod and water mod have me drooling.  The variety of it all is so cool too!  Yet there's much room for improvement with new lots and buildings.  Gonna follow this one.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Very interesting entry, like I said, this stuff is fascinating.  All the little details people add to their journals really breathes a lot of life into them.  Great work!

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Great job!! This city looks beautiful

[KonstantinII 1,106]

Good to see another future type city.

[TakemeThere 5,833]

Ln X, JP Schriefer:Thanks guys!

NMUSpidey: Glad you liked it. If things ever get too tedious with minute details just let me know, but I'm sure that would probably take a lot. 

Indiana Joe: Thanks for the regards. Sorry to say you might be disappointed by the amount of actual changes in this city since I've only converted only 2 of the 4 highways to use the RHW. I will make an update using the RRW though. 

KonstantinII: It actually wasn't my original intent but I guess the transformers helped in that regard.

 

M Project - Lindin City map:

1. 705/709 interchange reconstruction/reconfiguration
2. Higg's Boson(705) bridge replacement
3. Highway 705/Highbrow Rd. interchange reconstruction
4. 702/707 interchange reconstruction history
5. Highway 69 construction
6. Trafalgar Rd. realignment
7. Cordova Rd. & Nelson St. intersection bridge reconstruction/rehabilitation
8. Highway 707/Trafalgar Rd. interchange reconstruction

First a disclaimer of sorts, I still used the maxis highway in many area's. Seeing as how as my region was mostly built out when I first started using the RHW mod, I didn't want to just demolish everything around my highways & interchanges to accommodate all the extra space need for the RHW mod. Too much demolition would ruin the essence of my cites and naturally the people who live there loudly protested against any proposal that would result in significant expropriation and demolition. I find that with the re-texture mod the standard maxis highway doesn't look all that bad and a portion of some of these highways are covered anyways by highrises in the denser cities. No point in demolishing functional highways that can barely be seen. The interchanges however are quite visible and I've slowly been converting many, but not all, of these to RHW. In a few cases I actually prefer the look of NAM ramps, but more often I employ a hybrid of sorts to modernize the highway system while taking up only marginally more space than before. My goal is not to make huge space consuming interchanges, but rather to make them as smooth looking as possible while being reasonably compact. In the end it all depends on the location and what I'm willing to demolish.

On to the LC projects.

1. 705/709 interchange reconstruction/reconfiguration: Saving the best for first! lol

Project # LC-1
Originally built: 1962-63(2006 IRL)
M Project re-build: 2001-03
Projected Costs: $159 million
Contractor: Supreme Construction
10 year average fatality count(1992-2001): 42
System rank(for large interchanges): check later for details

Interchange Details:
Lanes: 705 - 2, 709 - 3
Average daily traffic: 65,760
Total Ramps(Original): 7

Primary ramps & usage:
EB 705 to EB 709 - 30%
EB 705 to SB 709 - 9%
NB 709 to WB 705 - 10%
WB 709 to WB 705 - 28%
traffic staying on the 709 - 18%

Secondary ramps & usage:
local to WB 705 - 2%
local to SB 709 - 2%
NB 709 to local - 1%

Post M Project:
Total Ramps: 4
EB 705 to EB 709 - 31%
EB 705 to SB 709 - 10%
NB 709 to WB 705 - 10%
WB 709 to WB 705 - 30%
traffic staying on the 709 - 19%

The original(CJ-wise) 705-709 interchange circa 1985(2008 IRL):


The original 705-709 interchange was built from 1961-63, this interchange connected the downtown core of Lindin city to the rest of the Middle East borough via the eastern stub section of highway 705. As a result, through traffic no longer needed to be routed off the 709 and onto local streets to reach LC's downtown area. The issues identified by the GPTI(Greater Pretoria Transportation Initiative) were quite obvious. All 3 ramps merging onto highway 709 had no acceleration lanes once so ever. Users were forced to merge as quickly as possible including off the EB 705 to EB 709 loop ramp. It was expected the users on the right lane of the 709 would be slowing down to exit off the ramp to the WB 705. But planners failed to envision just how many aggressive a-hole would be using the road in the future. Reconstruction of the interchange necessitated the demolition of all previously built bridges and ramps. This would require staged construction. One bridge was demolished at a time, north followed by south, and traffic in both directions would share the remaining bridge. Construction was further complicated by the Hardac Hydro corridor ran directly over the interchanges loop ramps. All of which pushed construction costs upward. All secondary ramps(local access) were removed to increase safety and to simplify the interchange for users, not to mention that they were lightly used to begin with. While the primary ramps were all rebuilt.

This is actually the first version of the interchange, made back in 2006, but not the original CJ version. Would be pretty bad if drivers missed the ramp entrance at speed

Pretty hideous by today's stands, but I was actually quite proud of how I was even able to build a function unique looking interchange like that back then.

Initially I tried to rebuild the 705-709 interchange small enough to keep most of the surrounding development in place. But the ramps could connect coming off the bridge;


Building RHW interchanges in reletively small spaces is like putting a puzzle together. Which makes it all the more satisfying when it finally does come together. The highway had to be shifted a couple of spaces away from the river to get everything to fit and by that point there was no space left for any development behind the interchange. Which was no big loss, looks cleaner this way. Here's the final configuration, had just enough space to add the merging lane off the loop ramp


Evolution of the freeway interchange in one image:

2. Higg's Boson(Highway 705) bridge replacement:
Project #: LC-2
Originally built: 1962-63
M Project re-build: 2001-04
Projected Costs: $ 115 million
Contractor: Supreme Construction

The original bridge:

Waterbody - Trueno river
Type - Deck Arch(?)
Built in - 1962-63
Design Life - 50 years
Roadway - Highway 705
Total Length - 2x 840ft (256m)
Longest Span - 2x 528ft (161m)
Clearance - 95ft (29.0m)
Average daily traffic - 32,300(2000)
Cost - $22.6 million (1962 dollars)

As noted early, the Higg's Boson bridge carries highway 705 over the Trueno river and was built in 1962-63 as part of the eastern 705 project. By 2001 the bridge itself had severely deteriorated and was in need of major rehabilitation or outright replacement. It was decided that the bridge would be replaced with a new and more durable span. The cost would be greater up front but much less over time considering rehabilitation would just be delaying the inevitable. The northern(WB) span was replaced first. During construction EB & WB traffic were routed onto the southern bridge each using one lane. After the northern span was completed, EB & WB traffic were routed onto the new span until the southern one was completed. Although considered separate projects, this project & the 705-709 interchange reconstruction/reconfiguration project were largely integrated and thus the contract for both was awarded together. Supreme Construction was awarded both contracts for a total of $274 million. As per legislation, baring any requested changes, cost overruns are the responsibility of the general contractor.

The new bridge:




Waterbody - Trueno river
Type - Box Girder
Built in - 2001-04
Design Life - 100 years
Roadway - Highway 705
Total Length - 2x 735ft (224m)
Longest Span - 2x 498ft (152m)
Clearance - 110ft (33.7m)
Average daily traffic - 38,100 (2014)
Cost - $115 million (2014 dollars)


3. Highway 705/Highbrow Rd. interchange reconstruction:
Project # LC-3
Originally built: 1962
M Project re-build: 2002-03
Projected Costs: $ 38 million
Contractor: Allied Contracting
10 year average fatality count(1993-2002): 13
Total Ramps: 4

 

This interchange connects the neighborhood of Rockcut and a nearby industrial area with highway 705. The original 705/ Highbrow Rd. interchange featured mid-range length ramps and steep grades:

There were no acceleration lanes, rather vehicles yielded when entering the into freeway. The entrance and exit ramps were lengthen although the amount of lengthening was limited due to the geography of the area. Of more importance was of lessening the grade for the north side ramp(s) and the south side approach to the Highbrow Rd. overpass. Some expropriation and realignment of local roads was required to facilitated the increased ramp lengths which added approx. $7.5 million dollars to the final total. The interchange work was done concurrently with work on other parts of highway 705 in order to minimize the inconvenience to users.

The new configuration of the interchange:

B&A gif:



4. 702/707 interchange expansion:

Project # LC-4
Originally built: 1958-59(2006 IRL)
M Project expansion: 2005-06
Projected Costs: $74 million
Contractor: Comerica Construction
10 year average fatality count(1992-2001): 15
System rank(for large interchanges): check later for details

Interchange Details:
Average daily traffic: 106,240
Lanes(Original): 702 - 2, 707 - 2
Lanes(post M-Project): 702 - 3, 707 - 3

Total Ramps: 6
Primary ramps & usage:
EB 702 to SB 702 - 23%
EB 702 to EB 707 - 16%
NB 702 to WB 702 - 22%
NB 702 to EB 707 - 12%
WB 707 to WB 702 - 15%
WB 707 to SB 702 - 12%

Original 702-707 interchange:


LC also has another major highway junction, the 702-707 interchange. This highway hasn't been changed into a RHW interchange, at least not yet. Because of its location near the edge map, its difficult to reconfigure this interchange into a custom RHW version, while maintaining the intent of the through highway being the one that goes west to south. To be honest, I don't mind using the NAM maxis highway interchange for this spot, I just wish it was re-textured properly. That and the angled highway interchange are the only NAM maxis highway interchanges that I use(total of just 3 in the entire region). But I may still revisit this interchange in the future and change it into a RHW version anyway. Before that was interchange was released I had been using the 3-way avenue interchange as seen above.

Current 702-707 interchange:

For the CJ, story wise, this project increased the capacity of the interchange by adding another lane to each ramp. Otherwise there's not much to see here. This work was undertaken by a local firm, Comerica Construction. Comerica if you may recall was a railroad company in the 60's until their infrastructure was bought out by the government. However using those funds the owner of the firm, who resided in LC, started a new company in the construction field, this is their biggest project to date of a dozen or they've worked on in the ME borough.

 

Before that highway interchange came out I tried to create a 3-way interchange with the NAM alone. But to be frank, unlike the first version of the 705-709 interchange, which was passable(I think), this one was messy...



5. Highway 69 construction

Project # LC-5
Construction date: 2005-2009
Projected Costs: $305 million
Contractor: CJ & Partners
Total length: 4.0km (2.5 miles)
New roadway: 3.2km (2.0 miles)
Upgraded roadway: 0.8km (0.5 miles)

This is a new 4km 2-laned highway(RHW) that people in the region colloquially referred to as the back-door to Astoria, the regions largest city also known by its short form; H 69. Prior to its construction there were only 2(reasonable) ways for people living in the Middle East borough and beyond to get to Astoria and the Central borough. The quick way via the WB 702, or the long circular route via SB 702 & then NB 700. However this was proving insufficient do to the post recession population boom. Thanks to the M-Project there are now 4 highway routes. H 69 was the the second of those 2 new highways to be built. This route takes travelers on a route NW from LC, through the Aural mountain range and into the town of Noirwater before entering into Astoria and reaching the western section of highway 705. The other new highway route was the earlier 4-lane 705 extension(RHW) through Baycole, which I will cover later on when I profile that city.

This map should hopefully clear up any confusion:

The 705 is the sideways J shaped highway in orange. As mentioned before there is a separate portion of the 705 located exclusively within LC. This section of the 705 will be connected to the rest of the freeway via the Westway & the Eastway, the two one way roads that run through downtown LC and will turn into highway 705 from either end. The dotted portion of the orange 705 is under construction as part of the M Project. The red lines are the two existing routes/highways into Central and the blue line is the new smaller 2-lane highway 69.

H 69, LC section:

Unfortunately H 69 is not properly connected to the nearby highway 707. There are two ramps that do directly connect to the 700-series highway, but on the return trip you will have to be routed around local roads to reach the opposite ramps. This is because H 69 was originally only intended to provide local congestion relief, hence why it was 2 lanes. It's possible that the highway may be expended in the future and a full interchange built to connect it to the 707. I am in fact thinking about it as well as converting highway 707 to a RHW. But that will be something I'll consider/revisit later.

If the highway is upgrade to a full 700-series roadway it will likely have to be built by another contractor. Rumor has it CJ Partners lost upwards of $20-30 million in cost overruns. In addition the highway was plagued with numerous delays for which J Partners incurred penalties for. The highway opened 18 months latter than expected largely due to difficulties building the road through the rugged mountainous terrain.

6. Trafalgar Rd. realignment

Project # LC-6
Originally built: 1908
First re-alignment: 1971
M Project re-alinement: 2003
Projected Costs: $15 million
Contractor: Comerica construction
Upgraded roadway: 0.3km (0.2 miles)
10 year average fatality count(1993-2002): 8

The original alignment:

A smaller project, realigning the previously hazardous curves of of Trafalgar Rd:

Not a big project by any means, I won't be showing too many like this. Just wanted to show this one as an example of the kinds of smaller upgrades I've been doing region-wide and say a little thank you to those responsible for the awesome fractional angled roads. Technically this is the second realignment the road has gone under. More than half the projects cost was due to expropriation.

 

7. Cordova Rd. & Nelson St. intersection bridge reconstruction/rehabilitation

Project # LC-7
Originally built: 1930-31
First rehabilitation: 1973
M Project reconstruction: 2008-09
Projected Costs: $34 million
Contractor: Elite Don
10 year average fatality count(1999-2008): 4

This raised intersection was built directly on top of ICR's busy Omaha sub. It was rebuilt with longer ramps and smooth curves to increase speed & safety.

The intersection as it was originally constructed, circa 1963:

The Hillsboro TS, located south east of the intersection, was yet to be constructed at that time.

Changes made by the 1st rehabilitation:

Changes made by the M Project:

8. 707-Trafalgar Rd. interchange reconstruction

Project # LC-8
Originally built: 1930-31
M Project reconstruction: 2005-06
Projected Costs: $45 million
Contractor: Rockbird construction group
10 year average fatalitycount(1996-2005): 25
Total ramps: 4

Much like the 705/Highbrow Rd. interchange this one had medium length ramps but no acceleration lanes and onto an even busier highway. All of which made this interchange the second deadliest in the city in terms of absolute numbers. But on a per-capita basis it was in fact the deadliest. You only needed one look to realize just how much of a death trap it was:

The interchange was subsequently brought up to the NAM standard during the M Project, which has halved the fatality rate in half. $13.6 million of the total cost were related to expropriation which included the relocation of Deago elementary school and numerous business along Trafalgar road.

New paths:

B&A:

Thanks to the smoother profile of the entrance ramps users can angle and plan their approach into the highway. Despite being reconstructed less than 10 years ago, the interchange falls short of recently introduced legislation that mandates acceleration ramps onto 700 series highways. However the bill is only applicable to new projects built after 2015.

I know people generally don't like the old ramps, but I don't mind keeping a few of them around to add variety. I personally like the nice curves this one has. Probably not going to replace this diagonal highway unless a merging lane is released for diagonal RHW ramps. In any case feel's like I've spent enough time in LC already, just about time to move on to the next town.

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Great update!

I liked really much your highways. Keep it up

[Compdude787 916]

Man, it's nice to see another roadgeek CJ here! Keep it  up!

 

All these retrofitting projects and the before/after GIFs are pretty neat too! I even like how you came up with dates for when all these projects happened. 

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Of course all the information was interesting to read, but more than that is how interesting it is to see how you style has changed and improved over time.  Those new interchanges are amazing.  

[TakemeThere 5,833]

JP Schriefer: Thanks mate! There's lots more about them to come.

Compdude787: I'm a little obsessed with making GIF's at them moment so I'm glad you liked them.

NMUSpidey: Yes that's exactly how I feel as well. Adding details can be fun but showcasing the difference is really what its all about.

 

Been a busy week, so I haven't been able to update the CJ as much as I like. Though before Christmas I also starting working on a large and rather interesting big project. I'll drop some hints as to what that is shortly

Before we depart Lindin City there was one last M project that I didn't touch upon. Really because I didn't start working on it until this week, though this is unrelated to the big project I mentioned above. This last M project is the construction of a proper noise & crash walls(CNW) around the cities highways and parts of its rail corridors. Sims living by the freeway were sick and tried of cars careening into their back yard and occasionally even into their living rooms after every second or third accident. While accidents were happening far less frequently following the redesign and reconstruction of the highway system thanks to the M project works, this still did not resolve the occasional problem of "vehicular intrusion". And so literally hundred of kilometers of concrete wall's were built.

The winning bid for the wall design was given to LuBu inc. - as in I used LuBu's Sound Barrier Wall Set. The reason why I chose to use this set and not some of the more popular/commonly seen ones, like DEDWD's, is because I didn't want something so tall as to overwhelm nearby houses and other low rise development. And I think they look nice as well. These wall's are realistically scaled, seeing as they are about 14ft high in the mid section(5.36/17.6ft numbers from the ilive reader) and about 4ft thick. The construction contract for building the walls was given to a consortium of companies since the project was deemed far too large in scope to be constructed by one single company within the given amount of time. And indeed at 1.18 billion dollars it may just be the single most expensive M project.

Highway & Railroad Crash & Noise wall(CNW) construction

Project # System-wide Project no.1
M Project: 2005-12
Projected Costs: $1.18 billion
Total length of the CNW in LC: 3.7 km
Total volume of concrete used for the CNW in LC: 23,000 m3
Contractor: multiple (largest shares; Allied contracting & Elite Don)

Crash & Noise walls along highway 707:

Around the abandon tunnel:

Surrounding the Omaha sub. through the community of Deago

Against the Omaha sub. through downtown LC:

And a few last shots of LC for the road

Freeway system paths

LC as it stands today

[TakemeThere 5,833]

And moving on to the next city(s). I original was going to just gloss over the next area very quickly in one post, since there really isn't much that was changed within them in relation to the M project. In fact these cities were not originally part of the region but something I added a few years later since I felt the region needed more suburban area's, though really there's still not enough. In any case l'll do a short profile of them afterall.
 
The area is known as the Interior Middle East. It's primarily comprised of 5 small-sized cites;

 
 
The 5 cities in order from the north are Mount Prominence, Halon, Gravenhurst , Mayfield & Lexenborg. 
There are 4 other small cites with minimal development in the general area as well, but their total combine population is little more than 2,000 and to be honest I haven't done any recent work on so there's no point in showing them. 
 
Starting from the northern most city, Mount Prominence. In all its (supposed)glory:

Population: 1,550
Jobs: 1,310 (8% Com, 92% Ind)
 
The smallest of the 5 cites, or rather towns, is Mount Prominence. Which is only prominent because of a mountain located there. Hence the name   No, I'm not really that proud the name lol. The town is connected to the rest of the region by one interchange off highway 707. ICR's Omaha subdivision also cuts though the southern portion of the town. Data provided from the ICR indicates that they serviced an average of 5 cars per week off the Omaha Sub with a total of 267 freight car movements in 2013 which accounted for 19% of the total freight traffic in the city. Power is supplied by the local feed from neighboring Halon.The city is 100% complete.
 
The peak itself is 1,955ft / 596m tall and is the second tallest in the Aural mountain range within the district of Pretoria.
View of the peak during the winter season:

 

The only M Project to occur within the city is the region-wide CNW.
 
Highway & Railroad Crash & Noise wall(CNW) construction
Project # System-wide Project no.1
M Project date within MP: 2011
Total length of the CNW in MP: 0.9 km
Total volume of concrete used for the CNW in MP: 5,720 m3
The results of which are seen here:

 

Other than that there is little of significance here.
  
Moving on to the next town south we have the city of Halon:

Population: 5,670
Jobs: 8,120 (24% Com, 76% Ind)
 
Sure doesn't look like much from the air does it. And yes, it is indeed named after the gas.  The gas was originally developed at a facility within this city. Halon gas(Bromotrifluoromethane) is still widely used today though all releases to the atmosphere must be reported. Thankfully the ozone layer on Azura is much thicker than Earth's.
 
As with Mount Prominence, the city is connected to the region primarily via highway 707 with one interchange. Likewise ICR's Omaha subdivision also cuts though the town. Data provided from the ICR indicates that they serviced an average of 142 cars per week off the Omaha Sub with a total of 7,365 freight car movements in 2013 which accounted for 47% share of the total freight traffic in the city. No doubt helped by the fact large trucks are banned from traveling through the city center. The city is over 95% complete.
 
This town is mostly just your standard suburban landscape.Up until this week I hadn't really bothered trying to beautify the town in any real way other than planting nicer trees. But just recently I checked out Ln X's CJ and I was blown away by how amazing his landscapes were. It's certainly something that I at least wanted to try out and it's safe to say that for serving as the inspiration for my attempts. Admittedly I'm not really sure about how to go about using the textures, other than planting the taller ones closer to the water   landscaping has never really been something I've payed much attention to this point, in game or IRL. In any case with some of the great mods out there even just randomly spraying around the textures around would be a huge improvement over the previously barren shorelines. 

 

 

 

 

 
The Trueno river pathway West Coast trail can be seen running along the north side of the river bank.
I have to say, while I do like the Maxis tree replacement mod better then the vanilla maxis trees, they can lead to a little too much foliage at times.
 
There is one bridge over the Trueno river in Halon, the John Finnegan memorial bridge:

Type - Beam/Box Grider
Built in - 1979-80(replaced original bridge built in 1917)
Design Life - 75 years
Roadway - Astel Rd.
Total Length - 738ft (225m)
Longest Span - 348ft (106m)
Clearance - 150ft (45.8m)
Average daily traffic - 13,892  - 3rd busiest bridge over the Trueno river (892 in game)
Cost - $13.8 million (1979 dollars)
 
Here the 282 foot long Bella Goth is seen approaching the John Finnegan memorial bridge.

 
Ships like these are fairly common along the Trueno river on their way to the resource port of Cole Harbor 25 nautical miles inland. Rarely are larger ships seen due to the degree of care required to navigate the river. Only low-max class ships - those with a draft less than 10m and a total length below 400ft are permitted. This limits the port to mostly first generation cargo vessels. The minimum clearance of any bridge along the way to Cole Harbor is 82 ft / 25 m.
 
There is one other bridge in the city that takes Astel rd. over Tottenham creek & lululemon marsh. The bridge itself is almost 100 years old having been built at the same time as the original span over the Trueno river and is considered a heritage structure. The bridge has no significant spans. Tottenham used to be an open creek but was build over and made into and underground river as the city developed. 

 
Power is provided off the 250KV Transcontinental line from LC. The distribution substation is located near the center of town and across the street from the James D Smith swimming pool. Average peak power usage is 99 MW including 14MW transferred to neighboring Mount Prominence by the local feed via underground wires.

In hindsight, perhaps that's not the best spot for a swimming pool.
 
The Transcontinental line:

  
Two M Project's have taken place within the city. The first one being the ubiquitous;
 
Highway & Railroad Crash & Noise wall(CNW) construction
Project # System-wide Project no.1
M Project date within MP: 2010-11
Total length of the CNW in Halon: 1.6 km
Total volume of concrete used for the CNW in Halon: 9,880 m3 

 
The second and only city exclusive M project being a much needed pedestrian underpass under highway 707, considering there is only one other connection across the highway within the city limits. 

1. Pedestrian underpass(highway 707)
Project # H-1
M Project re-build: 2010
Projected Costs: $ 1.2 million
Contractor: Yamato Group
 
And that about does it for Halon. I'll take a look at the 3 other Interior Middle East cities soon.

[JP Schriefer 5,590]

Your cities look really beautiful. Nice region btw.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Really nice upgrades there, quaint little towns!