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What do you get when you cross a bunch of smart high school with a bunch of crazy Hillcrest residents? We don't know either. Maybe you can tell us in this month's installment of the Virginia Tech Experience... the last full-length one of this academic year. |
Jump to a Section:
Coffeehouse | Smart
Road, etc.
Section 2:
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For this trip, our group loaded up and headed down 460, past the airport and the research complex, down to where an impressive array of unused overpasses signals the location of the currently closed Smart Road. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, a research facility uses this road and its plethora of pavement types, embedded sensors, rain generators, and lighting systems to conduct tests on all sorts of transportation issues and innovations. Wow, those were two long sentences. | |
| That's right: "Driving Transportation with Technology." Note the old Virginia Tech logo... now, we're "Inventing the Future" and all of our words are on one line. OooOOOoooh. |  |
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We took a tour of the institute,
culimanating in our first view of the actual Smart Road.
Here, in the Control Center (undergoing improvements), all of the
data comes in to be processed. Also, they monitor traffic delays
and such and control the messages you see online and on those big
digital signs on the interstate. Mmm... data. |
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| But then we got to load up to take a tour of the actual road! |  |
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Here, you can see a section that's configured to represent an interstate highway (hint: it's the pavement). They can test different signage techniques, especially with regards to visibility, using the overhead sign bridge ahead. Also, notice the ridiculously frequent lightposts. This is so they can duplicate all major spacings seen on different highways by lighting them in different pattersn. They can also move the lights up and down, plus, each post is equipped with three different types of lights. Those other cantilevered stalks are commercial snowmakers from a bankrupt ski-resort. They can be used to create fog, rain, or snow (temperature permitting). Cool, huh? | |
| But quite possibly the coolest part of the entire road was the bridge. It's the tallest bridge in the entire state, interestingly enough. However, it doesn't hold a candle to the New River Gorge Bridge over in West Virginia. The road actually ends just over the bridge at a nice turn around loop. Their original plan was to punh the roadd through to 81 just south of Salem, but then they opened up the new 460 section, taking pressure off of the road for a while. When/if they do get around to doing it, they will put in another two lanes and a parallel span (starting right about where I'm standing) to bring it up to spec. |  |
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Here, our guide tells the group about the bridge... while balancing on one foot for some reason. | |
| Look at it... bounding across the ditch
thing. It's actually hollow... when they opened up the bridge,
they had a banquet inside it. Now, they use it to test emergency
lighting signage in tunnels. Also note the Hokie Stone trim. |
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OK, lets get out of here. See that camera thing? There's a loudspeaker on that pole so they can yell at people on the bridge who aren't supposed to be there. Oh, and this picture was the source for those movie posters you may have found through the Brick House Productions website. (See them here and here). Why make them? Becuase Kevin's smiling (which is sort of rare). |
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| "Wait, guys. Somebody take my picture."
I'm only trying to keep up with the request to have more pictures
with me in them. Peter Kauffmann gives this bridge two thumbs up. |
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Other Stuff!
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Me Sparking Debate in the Community: One day, while reading the Collegiate Times (our school newspaper - yes, I was fairly bored), I noticed a couple of very extremist articles on the editorial page (such as one stating that more lenient issuing of concealed weapon permits are what we need to combat sexual assaults). I traced back these to the letters to which they were responding, and posted all of the applicable editorial pages on the wall outside my room. The next day, I found a crowd of people sitting in the hall discussing the issues brought up in the articles. |
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| Bear Skin Rug: OH MY GOODNESS... somebody's skinned the bear! No, seriously, Jeremy left Bear out in the hall while he was cooking (that's him in the background), so he asked me to stick him someplace in his room for the time being. "Where?" I asked. "Oh, just put him anywhere" Jeremy replied. |
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So I did. He's studying physics here. See you next semester! |
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Jump to a Section:
Coffeehouse | Smart
Road, etc.
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