Posted on 08/22/2017 1:09:30 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Christiana Briganti-Dunn is a civil engineer who oversees design-build projects for the Virginia Department of Transportation, but two years ago, she found herself holding a set of paint swatches up against a wall like a homeowner planning a kitchen renovation.
The wall was at Chapman Mill, a five-story stone gristmill built in the 18th century near Broad Run, Va. Christiana’s job was to pick colors that would be painted on a set of bridge abutments on nearby Interstate 66. Everyone wanted the bridges to look pretty.
“When we were meeting with the communities of Haymarket and western Prince William County, talking during the design phase about how we would make this bridge attractive, we all came up with the idea together: What if we tried to evoke the look of Chapman Mill?” said Bill Cuttler, VDOT’s district construction engineer for Northern Virginia — and Christiana’s boss.
It was decided that rather than boring old smooth concrete, the surface of the bridge abutments — for Route 15, Old Carolina Road and Catharpin Road — would be impressed with a pattern, a technique known as Ashlar stamping. They chose a design that mimics the dry stack stone construction — meaning, no mortar — of Chapman Mill, also known as Beverley Mill. That concrete would then be painted to look like the various colors of fieldstone from which the mill was built in 1742.
Besides comparing what’s known as a Federal Standard Color Chart with one of the mill’s walls, Christiana borrowed a few small sample stones. “I selected five Federal colors, including the most predominant color as the base, and then other colors to be added atop the base coat to give the color variation that is similar to the mill,” Christiana wrote in an email.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’ll be at the 15/I66 area in a couple weeks, will look for this. Cary, NC has pretty details on some of their road way infrastructure too.
They can dedicate it to all "white n*ggers" nationwide.
That is an exceptionally pretty stretch of I-66. Really, the first piece of natural countryside you come to when heading west out of DC. Every so often, an engineer puts some extra effort into a project to elevate the form, as well as perform some function.
I like the idea of the stacked stone look, though I hope they thought to treat it with something to make it graffiti resistant. It will happen.
There must be some kind of spray-able wax that will resist graffiti.
Odd place to say it, but TTIUWP.
Wax... that’s not a terrible idea...
And I wonder how much a year in maintenance that will cost!
And people wonder why their taxes are so high.
But, but...it’s gotta be PRETTY.
Exactly. In central Florida no expense is spared on toll roads. There are giant $5 million digital signs that alert drivers that the next exit is 6 minutes away. Why?
All toll roads have lush landscaping with dozens of Palm trees at every ramp and exit. Some areas have light poles every 100 feet, on both sides of the road, in both directions, for miles! Why? Cars have head lights!
And the corrupt Central Florida Parkway Authority builds sound barrier walls that go for miles along toll roads where neighborhoods were built AFTER the toll roads were built?! Why should we pay for the walls? The people who bought those homes knew they were buying homes next to a busy road.
I stopped on one toll road and looked around. From where I was, looking in both directions on that road only, I could see 28 signs. Why?
It drives me nuts.
Now that I think about it, wax can be purchased in sticks of paraffin. It’s be a new occupation for those required to perform “community service”. :)
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