Friends of ours are flying from Fort Myers to Detroit. I’m driving 4 1/2 hours to pick them up and bring them to our place on Lake Huron. Flight is now delayed 4 hrs and won’t be arriving until 7:30pm, so we won’t be back until midnight.

I’m going back to bed.

On a recent American Airlines flight, we sat in the plane at the gate for 25 minutes in sweltering heat.
Reason actually given by the pilot over PA:
"We had some minor maintenance performed but we have not gotten the Maintenace Logbook back from them yet. We cant leave without it".
I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream "let me off and I will help you find the fucking Logbook"!
Airline travel has devolved into a poorly run flying bus service.
But they did give me a cup of water on the flight. No ice provided.

Don’t forget to allow more travel time due to The “Fix The Damn Roads” going on now.

Friend drove out this morning, half hour from his door in Redford to my house under normal circumstances taking I-96 today was an hour and a half.

Lately I’ve found that I can exit the expressway in Brighton, take surface streets and be at my doctor’s office in Livonia in a half hour less travel time.

Holy cow! You aren’t kidding about the roads. I missed the turn off for 275 and went to the wrong terminal at the airport. I’m here and they don’t have their bags yet, so I guess it worked out. I’m not sure I’ve ever driven myself to DTW ‘cause I had no clue where I was going.

Flint is so much easier and an hour closer.

Hope I’m not too late but North 23 outside of Ann Arbor, between North Territorial Road and the city of Brighton is under various states of bridge and highway demolition and reconstruction and the expansion of the Flex Lane project. add that to 96’s Flex Lane construction it’s a disaster.

I was working part time at a H-D dealer in Farmington. There were two reasons I quit (worked for the company part time for 23 years)one was an ownership change, became a dealer group store and the second reason, three years of Flex Lane construction starting in 2022.

I did the 23 Flex Lane clusterfuck in June. If I have to do it again it will be at 3:30 AM!

I'm headed up 23 from Toledo to the U.P. next week. What is this flex lane you reference & what kind of delays or problems will I encounter?

Traffic wasn’t bad on the way back. We ate at Chick-Fil-A on Haggerty Rd and it was 8:45pm by the time we left. We got to the house a little before 1am.

They were supposed to get in at 3:30pm which would have had us at the house around 9pm when it was still light outside.

quote:

Originally posted by Delta-3:
I'm headed up 23 from Toledo to the U.P. next week. What is this flex lane you reference & what kind of delays or problems will I encounter?

From MDOT website: How do MDOT Flex Routes work?

MDOT's Flex Routes are monitored by the department's Transportation Operations Centers (TOC). The TOCs are a seven-day-a-week operation that houses dispatchers from MDOT and Michigan State Police. The agencies share resources and information by monitoring traffic sensors, distress calls and video feeds from closed-circuit TV cameras. They also coordinate their efforts with law enforcement agencies and other transportation officials.

This includes an intelligent lane control system consisting of overhead signs, cameras, and electronic message boards, which TOC employees monitor and adjust as needed. If a traffic condition develops, the TOCs will adjust the Flex Route through electronic lane control signs mounted above each lane. These signs show motorists which lanes are available and provide the recommended speed for the current travel conditions.

Additionally, traffic incidents are managed with assistance from MDOT’s Freeway Courtesy Patrol and several new crash investigation sites that are strategically located along the corridor.

Why not just add another lane?

A 24-hour fix simply is not necessary on corridors that typically experience traffic slowdowns only during regular peak travel periods. It is more cost-effective to use the shoulder as a temporary third lane than it would be construct a third lane. Employing Flex Route technology increases capacity within the existing infrastructure for less money

IMO the last paragraph is a joke especially on 23 between Brighton and Ann Arbor. It’s bumper to bumper on a normal day. Around 2005 one of the area newspapers reported that traffic volumes were averaging 133% of what the road was designed to carry. North of I-96 it’s at least three lanes in each direction which it should be between Ann Arbor/M-14 also.

The last American flight I was on the pilot informed passengers there was no running water...none. The options were either take the plane without water or delay the flight for several hours.

After the missing logbook delay and the extensive taxi tour of ramps at O'Hare, I had 7 minutes to make the connection flight. My ancient old ass then had to run to get to the gate I needed. 50 feet from the end of my airport marathon, my phone beeped to tell me..... That flight was delayed 30 minutes!
On my return leg, I hiked all over O'Hell because American changed the gate for my flight 3 separate times in 45 minutes.
I should have taken the bus!

ALL 3 of the roads out of the small town I live in are under construction during an active wildfire season (the last one we had we were evacuated twice)! How much co-ordination does it take to leave ONE alone at a time??

Now flights I’ve been fortunate of late.

quote:

I'm headed up 23 from Toledo to the U.P. next week. What is this flex lane you reference & what kind of delays or problems will I encounter?

If it was me, I’d run west and hit 127 or 131 and run up, may be a few more minutes but much more enjoyable scenery and less traffic,I run that way every time I go up and am never disappointed. If I’m running a semi up with a lowboy to pick up equipment it’s my preferred way to go.

I’m about 30 miles from 127 and fifteen from 23 and prefer 127. Less traffic and can avoid Flint, Bay City, Saginaw and the Zilwaukee Bridge.

Especially the Zilwaukee Bridge…..