Argentum Revisited-Part 1

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Entry posted by Tarkus · March 21, 2009

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Tarkusian Cities is back, with a blast from the past--an update from Argentum, as promised. For those of you who don't remember it, Argentum was the city/region I showcased in my first ever MD (which still sits in the Completed MD section, if you're curious). It was somewhat of a transitional region for me, and it's still rather rough. But I spent so much time with it that I'm rather attached to it still, so this will likely be the first of many "Argentum Revisited" updates, in which I'll be smoothing out the edges, so to speak. (And trust me, there were edges. ) Think of it as a sort of tutorial for revitalizing one's older SC4 projects with new custom content.

Our first trip back to Argentum will examine the construction on the Caldera Lane bypass, particularly on its interchange with Barnaby Drive, the infamous "drunk engineer" interchange, as our friend sebes called it. Rather fitting, don't you think?

Here's a map of the immediate area surrounding the interchange.

Fortunately, the crazy folks who thought that one up have been fired from the city's Public Works department, and their successors have begun the unenviable (and time-consuming) task of redesigning the Caldera Lane bypass. The bridges, with their "ski ramp"-style approaches, had to be demolished.

Next, some surrounding roads have begun to be re-aligned.

And a map of the current status of realignment:

There were several reasons why this particular realignment was chosen. Barnaby Drive was essentially a residential street, while Skill Street is a thoroughfare with a posted speed limit of 35mph. The new alignment diverts heavy traffic away from neighborhoods, onto a road built for higher speed and volume. Furthermore, the new alignment is much more direct, rather than the windy mess that the Barnaby alignment took.

And one last little pic to share. Another sneak peek at the "mystery highway" site in Wakeman: