Louisville is currently in the middle of one of the largest infrastructure projects to inconvenience drivers in the admittedly fuzzy recent memory of this city of bourbon. I-65 is one of the main highways here, running smack dab through the middle of the city carrying traffic to and from downtown and beyond, across the Ohio River into Indiana.
On June 1st, they shut down several miles of the highway in order to replace three bridges that were in dire condition. Surprisingly, the disruption from the shutdown has been much more manageable than anticipated, far milder than the chaos that came with the abrupt closure of the I-64 bridge over the Ohio River 15 years before.
That earlier shutdown, which locals referred to as Shermaggedon (it was the Sherman Minton Bridge) turned what had been 20-30 minute commutes into ones lasting 2-3 hours, and served as a baseline for what we were expecting the current shutdown to bring. Thankfully, it's not come close to that, mostly a bit of congestion and aggravation on the surface streets near I-65, with the most noticeable result being the dramatically increased feedings of our carnivorous infrastructure, the Louisville Can Opener.
Went down to check things out myself a few weeks after this circus got started. Two of the three bridges being rebuilt were situated such that it wasn't possible to get close enough to find a proper vantage point for photos, but the one over Hill and Burnett Streets had a pedestrian bridge adjacent to it.
Despite the scorching temperatures and a blazing sun overhead, it was still quite the hive of activity. The same does not seem to hold true for another hive I know. Or at least my feed seems stuck in the perpetual dog days of summer.
Don't think the current bear market is to blame so much as the attrition that comes with time, and maybe a bit of not getting too far out of my old timer's circle comfort zone to spot new people.
This being about bridge building, it seems only proper for one of my periodic asks: Who's knows of some fun new(ish) accounts that should be on my radar?
The bridge building here in Louisville is reportedly going according to schedule. Think most folks here are a bit dubious of that but it was looking like it was really starting to take shape on my visit.
We'll see here in a few weeks. Would hate to see the Can Opener go hungry, but it might be nice to have a bit less traffic on the surface streets.
Will miss all the closed signs though. . .
The can opener :) The wife and I can't get over how many trucks it eats. we see it on the news constantly. We have been avoiding L'ville with all our being right now becuase of said construction. Have to head that way the next two days. Got some appointments over at Robley Rex VA hospital. As far as new accounts, I am kinda of like you, looking for new people interesting to follow. Have you tried @beelzael. I have just recently started following him. He is kinda cool.
Thanks for the shout out :-) Just looked up what the can opener is - that is hilarious. Destructive and hated by everyone affected. And very sturdy, opening up all those trucks like it was nothing.
It's really something special ain't it? It has been a source of amusement since I moved up here, but it's taken it to another level since they shut down 65. I've got to see it feeding twice since they shut things down. Is that the one over by 71 that's such a mess to get to? I have not, will check him out.
Yes it is just off 71 on Zorn.
How's the VA treated you? Friend of mine got blown up a few times during his tour in the sandbox, they just gave him a shitload of speed and benzos for his PTSD and TBI, which went about as poorly as one would expect.
Hat to hear about your friend. Hope he finds the help he needs. So far the treatment received hasn't been too bad. Biggest thing is you have to stay on top of your stuff and be your own biggest advocate.
Is there no chance that they could raise the can opener to a standard height while they sre at it or would that sooil the fun too much?
That would just spoil all the fun. My partner keeps asking that same question and I really don't have a good answer to that, although I suspect it comes down to the railroad seeing it as someone else's problem, it's been the same height for 90 years.