petersonyip

After several entries of development of Newgrounds, we have finally come to an end - as most of the reclaimed land at Newgrounds is now filled up. The area north and north east of the central industrial area has been developed into residential districts. The building density has increased to accomodate more citizens. Some of the buildings are built to several stories tall. Newgrounds is served by both the tram and cable cars, both connecting the area to the Newgrounds Train Station, which connects back to the old town of Rosewood. There are of course also the bus lines to further connect the areas with no direct tram and cable car services. Newgrounds is designed to be a modern town - most of the mid-rises are built in modern architectural style. However, some detached houses further away from the town center remains in European style. The tall structure in below photo is the Newgrounds North Community Center. While it is the tallest new structure in this update, it is still not as tall as the University of Alpine City. The community center includes a roof top garden, from which citizens can enjoy the city view and an outdoor swimming pool. Plenty of leisure spaces are provided within Newgrounds to promote healthy living. The below photo shows the eastern end of Newgrounds district. A small section of the original Magnolia River is retained here, and serve as the drainage outlet of the city. All the water are treated before releasing into the river. And that would conclude the developement of the town of Newgrounds, at least for now. Surely there will be minor updates in the future... While there is a large industrial zone in Newgrounds, the old town of Rosewood, and the tourism related to it still contributes over half of the city's income. To further enhance tourism, two major development around Rosewood has taken place. The first development is a set of hiking trails around Mount Garret, north of the old town. The entire mountain is converted into a resort town long ago - now with the trail, people can travel around the mountain right after they exited the cable car station, and along the way they could enjoy the view of the old town. The trails helps also to reduce road traffic on the mountain. Due to the topography, roads has to zig-zag its way up. Walking trails, however, can be built in higher gradient. On the top section of Mount Garret town, there are several hotels that are facing directly south towards the old town. From here, the entire old town of Rosewood and Cratercove can be seen clearly. Another major update is the extention of railroad system. For years, there are only two train stations - while both are well connected to cable car stations, this whole system is still quite ineffective. A new station is now added at the south western end of Rosewood, spreading tourists more evenly across town. With this new station, the number of users of railroad has increased significantly. The platforms of Rosewood Station is packed with travellers. Excluding bus lines, there are now 3 public transport systems in Alpine City. Each designed to deal with different terrain and urban settings. The train line serves as the backbone to connect the other 2 systems together, with the train stations all positioned in major transportation hubs and town centers. The cable car helps to connect locations with major level difference and across the Rosewood River. All lines except The Big Slide line ends right outside a train station. The tram serves Newgrounds exclusively. Newgrounds is mostly flat land, low gradient makes tram tracks possible here. The wide roads in Newgrounds also make tram lines easier to plan. Below is the latest city map. This is not the end of our story though - the city council is planning something big, even bigger than the Newgrounds expansion project - let's see them in our next entry!

Picking up from our last entry - Eden Project has been completed within the industrial area in Newgrounds. Few years have passed since then, and there has been new developments. Below is the overview of Alpine City. The flat land at Newgrounds is steadily being filled up. The road layout at Newgrounds has not been changed much. A large ring road works as a boundary of the industrial zone at the center. A lot of greenery has been provided as buffer between industrial and residential zone. A central spine cuts through the industrial area due to the cable car route. It happens that the green space is ideal to separate buildings and reduce pollution. Below is another angle - viewed from the southern highway. A new addition to Newgrounds' skyline - the University of Alpine City. It is currently the tallest building in town. It take cares of higher education demands of the entire city. It also boosted the high technology sector in the industry zone. You can also see a tram running - Alpine City has just unlocked another mode of public transport. More on that later. The University consisted of 3 towers and a large podium. It has a rather futuristic design - which suits well with the high tech industry area around it and the Eden Project across the cable car line. There are a lot of modern buildings newly built at the indsutrial area. Below are some examples around the Eden Project. The residential area around Newgrounds industrial zone has grown considerably as well. The central cable car line cuts through the industry zone, and has a stop at the end. Citizens can reach the Newgrounds train station by taking the cable car. Due to the increasing population of Newgrounds, it is predicted that the cable car's capacity will reach maximum in near future. An alternative mode of transportation is needed. After some study, it was decided to build a tram system to serve Newgrounds, and it has to be integrated well with the existing railroad and cable car system. A tram depot is built within the industrial zone - with the whole ring avenue added with tram tracks. The tram track also extended to Newgrounds train station to divert some passenger from using the cable car. Below shows the extent of tram system at Newgrounds, shown in green color. The new University tower at Newgrounds reaches the height limit. Any taller and it will become visible from the old town. It is quite visible already when viewed from Castle Peak. Newgrounds is getting a lot more population. The once dark, empty land is being converted into a vibrant urban landscape. Night light grows so strong that it outshines the old town. This is a night view of the Newgrounds Amusement Park. Let's visit the old town as well while we are enjoying the night view - there are no major changes in the old town so far. With Newgrounds soon being fully developed, the city council now begins to develope new city expansion schemes. We will see more of it in the upcoming entries. Below is the current city map:

Continuing from our last entry, we are finally ready to develop Newgrounds in detail. Alpine City has consistently lacked a generic industrial sector, prompting the city council to establish an industrial zone in Newgrounds. In previous entries, we completed the necessary infrastructure, including the underground highways. Now, we can begin construction above ground. First of all, a road loop to confine the proposed industrial area. This loop ensures that all cargo trucks operate within the industrial zone, minimizing impact on surrounding areas. Trucks can directly access the industrial zone via the underground highway, preventing any burden on city traffic. Several infrastructures have been relocated to the industrial zone, including the disaster response unit. The nuclear power plant is also relocated at the center of the industrial zone. To prevent a substantial rise in pollution, the city council has imposed restrictions on pollution generation, permitting only clean and high-tech factories. Newly constructed electronic factories and office buildings in the industrial zone. You might have observed an unusual structure in the vicinity. It's a large vertical garden called the "Eden Project." The structure serves as a purification engine, filtering pollutants from the city. With this installation, pollution from the industrial zone is reduced to an almost non-existent level, allowing residential areas to develop close to the industrial zone and thereby reducing commute times for citizens. As the Newgrounds Industrial Zone expands, it attracts many citizens due to new job opportunities. New residential zones are being constructed on the north side, and the town of Ninepines has also increased in density to accommodate more residents. An increase in residents leads to higher demand in commercial areas. A new leisure bar street has been constructed atop the large retaining wall above Newgrounds Amusement Park. The road network in Newgrounds has been upgraded to better connect the Sunrise Summit and Magnolia Hills districts. With all these new developments, it is crucial to preserve the environment of the old town. A height restriction is in place for all new buildings in Newgrounds to ensure they remain invisible from Rosewood. This measure has been effective so far, maintaining the unchanged scenery of the old town. At certain high-elevation points, like Rosewood Castle, the buildings of Newgrounds are visible. However, they are distant enough to not significantly affect the view. The Eden Project also helps to filter out pollutants from the old town. The Cratercove Mine used to generate a lot of dust in the area, but the situation has now improved. Newgrounds will keep developing until all available flat lands are utilized. Once completed, it is expected to double the population of Alpine City and offer an additional reliable income source.

Sure do. I played it over 20 years ago as a kid. I still remembered i struggled to provide water for my city - as i connected the water pipe to the bottom of a lake, hoping gravity will do the trick LOL. Only days later did I found out what water towers and pumping station are for. The game was posted on Steam few months ago with a very low price. I bought it immediately - to my surprise it runs without any issue in Win11. Been playing it occasionally since.

Your screenshots triggered my memories. Don't know if you heard of this - a city building game called "城市百分百". Made in Taiwan back in the 2000s I think. It never has much exposure outside Taiwan / Hong Kong though - probably never have an English version. It has a very similar art style and building customization system to yours. Worth taking a look.

It has been a while since the last entry. Before we begin, let's have some winter view of Alpine City. 1. A short recap Below is the overall view of the whole city. Along the riverside is the old town of Rosewood (to the right) and Cratorcove (left).There are several towns all around, such as the airport town (to the lower right) and Diamond Valley. Alpine City has a diverse economy. One of the major income is from the ore industry at Diamond Valley Mine. Other than industry, tourism also contribute to a large portion of Alpine City's income. Tourists come for the old town (Rosewood & Cratercove) and to varies landmarks. Below is the Rosewood Baseball Park, which has been around since the very beginning. The Rosewood Castle and Summit Castle on the mountain behind dominates the skyline of Alpine City. Alpine City's rough terrain makes the road network far less efficient. Cable cars are developed to provide direct and rapid access to locations with large height difference. The architecture of the old town remains consistent, including the bridges and resorts. Maintaining the old town vibe is a major consideration for any new developments. Now, let's see the latest development. North East of Rosewood is a large piece of flat land which Alpine City reclaimed from a former river valley, now named Newgrounds. Due to the large area involved, development is being carried out in phases. In our last entry, the underground highway has been properly set up, and now above-ground works can begin. 2. The reconstruction of Ninepine First of all, the town of Ninepine has been reconstructed. It was once totally demolished for the construction of underground highway. Now it is the first area to be rebuilt. Ninepine used to be a residential town. It remains mostly residential in this new version, except for a new hotel being built here. The rest of town is mostly low density houses, with a few block of commercial buildings at the town center. Ninepine used to be connected to Rosewood by a bridge. The birdge has been demolished, but a new cable car system has been installed to connect Ninepine to the Newgrounds Train Station nearby. Speaking of Newgrounds Train Station, the entire Lower Newgrounds area has been reworked and is converted into a major tourist and transportation hub. 3. A lot more Fun at Newgrounds The lands surrounding Newgrounds Train Station was once a residential town, constructed to house people who have been affected by the urban development projects. Now that Ninepine has been rebuilt, the residents has been resettled and the temporary houses can be demolished. In its place, a major themed park has been built. Below shows the extent of the whole lower Newgrounds area, and how most of it is filled by the themed park. The new themed park is named Newgrounds Amusement Park. It aims to provide fun to young tourists and thrill seekers. Its proximity to the train station soon makes it a must-go attraction for tourists. The park isn't exactly large, but the ride selection is quite good, with launched free fall, ferris wheel, river rapids and roller coaster etc. The park is cut into two parts by the train station, on the side near the river bank, the park focus more on gentle rides such as tea cups and track rides. Lower Newgrounds also has other new attractions other than the themed park. A large concert stage is set up with regular concerts being held here. New shopping centers are also built around the train station. Although it feels a bit out of place, the Alpine City University has set up its campus at Lower Newgrounds. This is the first official university at Alpine City, and its opening means a new chapter in the city's education system. Once the upper Newgrounds is properly developed, perhaps the campus will be relocated. The location where the Ninepine bridge once sit is now a large retaining wall, defining the area of upper Newgrounds. As for upper Newgrounds, the basic road network is being planned here. Nevertheless, the power plant and certain government office has been setting up here. 4. New Cable Car Lines You may have noticed the cable car system at Newgrounds. Since there is a major level difference from Newgrounds to the Newgrounds Train Station, the city council resorted again to cable car system. There are 3 cable car lines added in total, all leading directly from the Newgrounds Train Station. One line goes toward upper Newgrounds, and go striaght through it. Another line goes accross Rosewood River, and ends at mid-hill of Mt. Garret, which is a resort area. And the final line goes towards the North and connects the town of Ninepines as previously mentioned. Below is the city map with cable car lines highlighted. There are now 6 lines in total in the city. 5. Other areas Apart from the above, there are also updates all around the city. For one, the Magnolia Hills area north east of Rosewood Station has been fully developed into low density residential area. The road networks here serves as a connection between the old town and Newgrounds. The tourism board added balloon tours around the city. Based at the Newgrounds Train Station, they provide an extra way to enjoy the city view from the air, other than the plane tours. As for the area of Tenpine and Irindale, there aren't many updates. They remain the forestry industry area and train station hub as mentioned in earlier entries. Finally, here are some night views of Alpine City. Below is the latest city map.

In the last entry, Alpine City built its first airport. A lot of changes in nearby towns and transportation systems are made to suit the new airport town. Below is a museum and performance hall built as part of the airport town. The airport town provides jobs and tourists spots, attracting more citizens to settle at nearby area such as The Big Slide and Castle Peak. The number of houses has increased significantly around the area. Following the construction of airport, a new cable car line was installed in The Big Slide. By now, there are 3 cable car lines in Alpine City, and cable car has become the second most popular mode of public trasnportation in Alpine City, following buses. As for the old town of Rosewood itself, there are not a lot of changes. If anything, the residential area near the Rosewood train station has been developing steadily. There are also minor changes on the road layout south of Rosewood, with a highway exit that ends in a large roundabout at the edge of old town. East of the old town is a large piece of flat land. Years ago, this entire area used to be a deep valley with a river. The valley was then filled up as an urban expansion plan. This flat land is named Newgrounds, with a total area larger than the old town itself. Now, this area is finally ready to be developed in detail. First of all, the infrastructure. Newgrounds connects 4 highways from different directions. However, building highways and several large intersections will take up a lot of valuable space, especially when the space is acquired very expensively by reclaimation. As a solution, 2 out of the 3 highway intersections are now built underground, and with that, most of the highways in the area are also built underground, leaving the surface free for future planning. The intersection towards Southern Highway as shown below is the only one that is above ground. Below is the underground view of Newgrounds, highlighting the extent of underground highway. As Newgrounds develops, more exits and entrances to the underground highway will be built. As for the city planning of Newgrounds, Alpine City has always been lacking in generic industry. The center of Newgrounds is therefore allocated to high tech generic industry, and will also be the new site for the Nuclear Power Plant for the city. The highway network is designed to take up the heavy cargo load for the industry area. Surrounding the industry area will be several sectors of residential zones. To preserve the view from the Old Town, no high rise will be allowed on Newgrounds. However, towards the east, medium density buildings may be allowed. A new cable car system will also be implemented to better connect Newgrounds with the existing train station, and link up the town of Sunrise Summit in the process. The development of Newgrounds will take years to complete in phases. Apart from Newgrounds, the area surrounding the Great Lake to the north also see a lot of changes lately. Most notably the town of Irindale and Tenpine. Irindale is developed further into a modest town. Population has grown steadily. However, this area is still considered too remote from Alpine City, and the town still has to rely on the local wind farm and water service system. The Irindale train station is the major reason for this town's existence. Any tourists coming into Alpine City by train must go through here. Along the coast line of the Great Lake, the area known as Tenpine is now gradually turned into a forestry industry area. Thanks to the local climate, the area is well suited for growing pine trees. Large area of Tenpine has turned into tree farms, with anxillary industrial installations. Years ago, Alpine City depended solely on forestry industry to survive. The economy slowly shift to tourism as more landmarks and old town was established. Now, forestry industry made a strong come back in Tenpine, producing lumber and paper at a much higher rate than ever before. The dam built on Rosewood River now powers the forestry industry area. A garbage incineration plant is also built to provide power. The Great Lake also provide another source of income - fishery. Along the coast, numerous fish farms and fishing piers are being developed. To better connect Tenpine with Rosewood and Newgrounds, a new road along Mt Lilac is built. From here, people can enjoy the view of Rosewood River. With the Cratercove Mine, the new proposed industrial area in Newgrounds, and the new Tenpine forestry and fishery area, Alpine City will no longer rely solely on tourism. Forestry, ore extraction, fishery and generic industry will also take part in contributing to the city's economy. In the next entry, we will see more on the development on Newgrounds. The latest city map is as below.

Your map is massive!! Back when I played SC4, I always dreamt to complete the whole regional map. But you did it! And with such detail too. Good job. Can't wait to see more.

If Alpine City is to further develop in tourism, it is crucial to provide more means for tourists to come into the city. In our last entry, the first intercity train station was built. But that only covers tourists from nearby cities. In the long run, an airport is necessary. However, Alpine City is famous for being a mountainous city. There are a lot of challenges just to put in a highway, let alone an airport runway. Eventually, a site south west of Castle Peak is picked for the new airport. The area is the only location without obstruction for plane to land (the red arrow). A lot of earthwork is involved, and when completed, the airport will be at a mountain summit, hundreds of meters above Alpine City's old town area. After years of works, finally the summit has been transformed into an airport town. There is enough space to accommodate two runways, instead of just one. The longer runway is designed for commercial airlines. The shorter, smaller one is designed for smaller air crafts, serving the local aviation club, and allow for private plane tours. In between the two runway is the new airport town. When planes land, it makes for an interesting scene that the airport is so high up on the mountain, and that a deep valley is just next to the airport. The commercial line airport is by no means a big one. Just one runway and one terminal building. But due to the limitation of space, this is the best it can do. The airport town is designed to be a tourist spot as well, with a large shopping center and some parks. It makes a good place for tourist to shop and visit before they take the plane. The city's water towers are also relocated to the side of the town. The new airport itself is a massive project, and the nearby districts are transformed as well due to this addition. Most notably the town of Castle Peak and The Big Slide. An airport is no good if it is not connected well with the city. As part of the public transport system, a new bus stop is added right next to the airport terminal. The cable car's Castle Peak Line is extended for one station and make a terminal right outside the airport town. This is at walk-able distance to the town's commercial area - also people can take the bus here to reach the airport. The Summit Castle is very close to the airport town. After the completion of the town, more buildings are added along the road leading to the castle, such that tourists can enjoy cafe and shopping center here. Cherry trees are planted along the main road here to as part of the beautification works. To the west side of airport, the city highway has extended from The Big Slide to connect with the airport directly. Due to the height difference, the highway has to go zig-zag and even make for a large turn to gain more height. The Big Slide roundabout is completed removed to make way for this new highway intersection. As for the town of The Big Slide, since the roundabout is removed, the town's bus terminal is also gone. As compensation, a new cable car system is added to connect the north and south section of town. This new line is named "The Big Slide Line". Since both ends are residential area, this cable car system do not have a lot of passengers. There are other changes in Alpine City as well, following the addition of airport. The area directly north-east of Rosewood was tore down completely to build the train station. Now this area is gradually being redeveloped into residential area. Soon, there will be signifacnt development for New Grounds, Ten Pines and the distant town of Irindale. But all these will have to leave to the next entry. So now, Alpine City can finally become the destination for international tourists.This will certainly give a big boost in tourism and hence increase the city's income considerably. The aviation club's flight tour is an unique experience, allowing tourists to view the city from above. The southern side of Alpine City is very well developed at this point, with the addition of airport and the airport town. Even from Mt. Garret, the bright light coming from the airport can be seen clearly. Interestingly, due to the topography, the airport cannot be seen directly from the old town of Rosewood. This turns out helps a lot in reducing the noise pollution and visual impact from the airport. Below is the latest city map.

Thank you Cricket for your comments! From what I heard there is but one city on Earth that realized cable car as major mode of public transport. It is the capital city of Bolivia, La Paz. I did took some reference from it and apply it on Alpine City.

It has been a while since the last entry. Let's start with a recap. Alpine City has established its first cable car lines and train lines. This weird combination is due to the harsh topography limitation of the city. Of course, bus lines are still of high importance for most residential area in the city. Below is a bus exchange station recently added at The Big Slide highway intersection. The first update is the development of Mt Garret. This mountain is directly north of Cratercove and the Cratercove Mine. The proximity and the natural heights provides an excellent view to the entire old town. The city council decided to develope the entire slope of Mt Garret into a tourist town. The new town is built with traditional European architectural style, in order to fit into the old town. Plenty of hotels are built all around the mountian slope. A small wooden bridge is built to cross a valley. Mt Garret is quite steep. The road from Cratercove winds its way up with a lot of zig-zags. The low building density helps on balancing city development and natural preservation. To avoid traffic jam from the flood of tourists, the cable car's River Line is extended from Cratercove all the way up to Mt Garret. Tourists could access the new tourist town within mere minutes from the old town. To facilitate the ever-growing number of tourists, the city must provide more means of access. So far, the only method tourists could come into Alpine City is by driving, which is not ideal. To open up new way of getting into Alpine City, the city council finally agreed to develope a new town at the valley of Irindale, far to the north-east of the city. Irindale is so far from Alpine City, it is challanging enough to build a connecting road there. Power and water must be produced locally in town, for it will be years before the main supply from Alpine City could extend to Irindale. The town sits at high ground, overlooking the Great Lake. As a start up town, there aren't a lot of population yet. The reason for building this town is simple - it has a railroad access from the country. A train station is built in the center of town, and from here, tourists coming in by train can travel further into Alpine City with bus. And the bus would take hours before reaching Alpine City. The connecting road also happen to cross Ten Pine, a natural reserve area north of Alpine City. From here, the road branches off to the the Rosewood River Dam and up on the mountain to Nine Pine Heights. This provide an opportunity to further devleope Ten Pipne into a new town in the future. It would be ideal to connect Irindale directly into Alpine City's existing railway. But that will have to leave to a future entry. Below is the updated city map: Finally, to finish this entry, let's take a look at Alpine City during winter times. So far all images are captured in summer. Alpine City gives a very different vibe with snow covering the whole town.

Public transport has always been a very limited sector for Alpine City. With all the mountains, rivers and height difference, typical railway is quite impractical. For years, bus and taxi are the only choice for the citizens. In the recent entry, the very first railway transportation has opened. There are only two stations, most of the railroad is underground, and the number of train users are quite low, but it is a start. The price for building the train station is steep. A large area north west of Rosewood is modified and demolished to suit the new train station. As part of the train station complex, the new clock tower now stands at Rosewood as the tallest structure in town. It becomes a new landmark adjacent to the classical Rosewood Town Hall. There are plans to build one more train station further south of Rosewood to improve its usefulness. The elevated railroad has been installed already (ending up modifying an entire street of the old town in the process), However, the station is still under planning. The limited options of transportation is a big problem for the city's tourism development. Without a better alternative, many tourists decided to drive around the city, causing traffic problems everywhere. To address this, two major systems are being implemented. First, a cable car system. In most cases, cable cars are for tourists spots like mountain lookouts and ski resorts. There aren't many examples of using cable car as everyday public transport. But in Alpine City's case, cable cars are the most efficient mode of transportation. It can link up locations with height difference effectively, and does not take up much space. In most cases, the cable runs in a straight line, meaning they are traveling in the shortest route possible . All these make cable cars ideal for Alpine City. There are currently two cable car lines in service: The River Line and Castle Peak Line. The River Line obviously goes across Rosewood River. To encourage more people to use public transport, the terminal at Rosewood's side is directly adjacent to Rosewood Train Station. People can exchange between trains and cable cars with ease. The Castle Peak Line aims mostly at delivering tourists to Castle Terrace and Castle Peak. Of course, the residents also benefit greatly from the cable car. The cable car lines are designed to be in pairs, meaning people can take either track to travel. This is to maximize capacity and provide contingency if one line is broken down. Below is the River Line, with the terminal built right next to the clock tower. And below is the Cratercove side of the cable car line. The Castle Peak Line goes high up after leaving the terminal at Rosewood Station. It has to, in order to catch up with the height of the mountain. Due to limitation of topography and existing highway, the station for Castle Terrace is built for one of cable car pairs only. Further up ahead, the Castle Peak Line ends at the outskirt of the town of Castle Peak, right under the Summit Castle. These cable cars are very efficient. Each car has a capacity of 30 people, each line is capable of handling hundreds of travelers per hour. Apart from cable cars, another big change in Alpine City is the opening of pedestrian zones. The old town of Rosewood has long been a tourist spot. To enhance the experience of tourists, the roads has been changed into pedestrian zones, only allowing essential vehicles to go in and out. Trees are planted along the paths, providing a better enviornemnt for the entire district. The pedestrian zones are well connected with transportation hubs such as the Rosewood Train Station and the cable car terminals. Tourists can exit public transport directly into the old town's streets. Cratercove, having seen an increase of tourists, also has part of the town converted into pedestrian zone. Below is the latest vehicle / pedestrian map for Alpine City. Hopefully the enhancement created by the cable cars and pedestrian zone will pay off. The cable car for now is a huge success, with some cars completely filled with passengers. Some bus lines with overlaping route with the cable car lines are deleted. Finally, there are some upgrades of the town itself. A new indoor shopping mall is built near the foot of Castle Peak. It now serves the numerous tourists who come to the city to shop. Improvement on civic facilities are also being considered. For example, Alpine City's first public swimming pool is opened at the south side of Rosewood. With the huge sucess of the cable car system, Alpine City will invest further and eventually become a unique city with plenty of cable car lines. The railroad is currently quite limited in its function. But once it is connected to intercity railroad, Rosewood Station's 4 platforms will be packed full with passengers. That will have to leave to our future updates. Finally, an updated city map of Alpine City:

Alpine City - a city stuck inside a steep valley with almost no space to expand - has been struggling to grow for years. In our past entries, we have seen Alpine City grow outwards bits by bits, developing forestry industry and tourism along the way, and eventually struck gold by opening up a large open mine. With the mine as the city's economic furnace, Alpine City can try out an expensive, risky, but also potentially rewarding project - by filling up an entire river and make space. The green highlighted area is a branch of Rosewood River down streams, sometimes named Magnolia River. After study, it was found feasible to close off Magnolia River without flooding the city. In our last entry, works to cut off Magnolia River has begun. After years of filling with soil and rocks, the area that was once the deep valley of Magnolia River has become a flat ground. The ground level is then further raised to match with the altitude of Nine Pines Heights and Magnolia Hills. This create a large retaining wall at the boundary of the reclamation. A small section of Magnolia River is retained, and is now used as the city's sewage outflow. The water has been filtered for as much as possible to avoid creating pollution down streams. This new area, now named Newgrounds, doubles the usable space for Alpine City. But before any new town is built, works has completed for the highway first. A new intersection is built north east of Magnolia Hills. This would be part of the Phase 3 highway - the starting point of it to be exact. The highway goes underground from here. It then go around Nine Pines Heights, then pops out of the Rosewood River Valley. Due to the deep topography, the highway takes on a gigantic steel arch bridge design to reduce the number of columns. The arch bridge's deck is at tens of meters high from Rosewood River, making it the tallest bridge in the city. The bridge is named Millennium Bridge for its prominent appearance. The Phase 3 highway is designed to go two-ways, fixing the one-way problem between Westdale and Magnolia Hills. Hopefully the drivers could focus on the road and not turn their head around to enjoy the view. It is a loooong way down if they crashed and fell out of the bridge. The Millennium Bridge is so high up, it is clearly visible from Rosewood. Now there are 3 arch bridges in a row along Rosewood River. The Phase 3 highway then go along the slope of the mountain above Cratercove, get underground again under Cratercove Mine, and ended in a 3-way intersection north of Diamond Valley. This intersection is designed to suit the narrow valley space. The inclined ramps makes for a interesting scene. Now the entire Alpine City is surrounded by a ring of highway. More highway exits is being considered, especially at Cratercove to relief the traffic pressure on the Main Bridge and The North Bridge. That we will take care of in the future. You may have noticed there are changes in Rosewood itself too. That's right - since we got a large piece of new land, the city council has decided to demolish the forestry industry area at Magnolia and redevelop it into a residential town, using it as a connection area between Rosewood and the future new town at Newgrounds. The first phase of this project involves modifying the north-east portion of the town of Rosewood, i.e. the blocks just outside the Rosewood City Hall. Several blocks are demolished into flat ground to make way for the new road grid. The original residents in these affected area aren't happy about the works. As compensation, a temporary new town is built at the river front of Newgrounds for the relocated citizens. Since these are temporary housing only, simple brick apartments are built, along with several parks and commercial space. Notice that the Nine Pines Bridge is towering above the new temporary town. This portion of Newgrounds is not filled to the same level to Nine Pines and with a good reason - the train station. An elevated station is built in the middle of the temporary town for people to go to work at Rosewood just as before they are moved here. The railroad itself is mostly underground under Magnolia Hills, so there aren't much noise pollution generated. The city block directly in front of Rosewood City Hall has been converted into Rosewood Station. A new clock tower in installed right next to the station as part of the complex. There are significant changes in the outskirt of Rosewood to make way for Rosewood Station. Another city block of Rosewood is modified to suit the extended rail outside the station. Beautification work is made, ending up becoming a cherry blossom park adjacent to the station. This train station now serves the relocated citizens in Newgrounds, but there are also plans to keep it and somehow connect the railway all the way to Irindale in the future, but that's another story. For now, Rosewood Station is a old town style station which is designed to suit the old town architectural style. In contrast, the station, as well as the commercial buildings at Newgrounds temporary town, are built in modern style. Further away from the city center, a new dam is constructed at the far north of Rosewood River. it has risen the water level of Rosewood River by a little, but the water level is carefully controlled such that flooding will not occur. Generators will be installed in the dam to produce electricity, which will serve the new town at Newgrounds. There is a large complex built on top of the high portion of Newgrounds. It is the disaster response unit - a temporary team that deals with disasters and help to rebuild afterwards. There are concerns that building the dam will have unforeseeable adverse effects, so the response unit is formed to deal with emergency situations just in case. Luckily, so far their services is not needed. There will be more updates for Newgrounds in the next entry. Stay tuned!

Thanks! It did take some effort to match the building style, given that this is a vanilla run (no mods and assets).