Update On Preferred Route For Trucks Around Northeast Side Of Williston -- September 22, 2017

This is simply an update; nothing in stone (or, better said, nothing in asphalt or cement) yet.

From The Williston Herald:

City and county officials have signed off on a preferred route that will divert heavy truck traffic from downtown Williston.

The votes allow the state Department of Transportation to continue an environmental study on the area that will determine where exactly the road will go. 

The proposed 9-mile truck reliever route will connect U.S. Highway 2 and North Dakota Highway 1804 northeast of the city of Williston.

Actually in my mind, it makes more sense to say, the 9-mile route that will connect ND Highway 1804 east of Williston with US Highway 2 northeast of Williston, swinging north around Spring Lake Park, if that make sense.

This is the map that The Williston Herald posted to show the proposed routes and the preferred route (the thick black line).

I had a little trouble sorting out exactly where that thick black line ran, and tried to duplicate an "idealized" representation on a non-satellite Google map. This is my graphic and it may be very, very wrong. As noted, I had a bit of trouble sorting out the City of Williston map. 

Williston Airport -- Contractor Named -- March 29, 2017

 Williston High School: see this post

See this link for several artist renditions of the new Williston High School. Updates also at this site. The JE Dunn announcement of a new Williston office is here. IMS Masonry here.

Williston airport: city picks JE Dunn to build new airport terminal. Data points:

• website for new airport, includes master plan
• construction to begin this summer
• vote was unanimous
• Kansas-based company has an office in Williston
• beat out Q&D Construction of Nevada
• terminal building cost: estimated to be between $40 and $45 million
• relocation of snow removal and fire-fighting equipment: $6 - $7 million
• total project: about $250 million
• compare with WHS and Rec Center (both in $60 - $70 million range, if I recall correctly)
• 59th Street NW to be rerouted
• 1,500 acres bought for the project
• federal funds yet to be released

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Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of An Ancient Civilization

Richard Miles

c. 2010

DDS 939.73 MIL

What a great book. I have never understood the Punic Wars. Sort of like I never understood WWI.

I'm about halfway through the book. The First Punic War is about to start, c. 260, Chapter 7, page 177 of 373 pages of narrative, and then the notes begin.

So far, the story can be summarized:

• Tyre
• Carthage, Melqart, Herakles
• Carthage in Sardinia
• Carthage vs Syracus (Sicility)
• Carthage vs Rome (up to this point, Carthage a naval power; Rome, a land power)
• First Punic War, 264 BC: preceded by Romans taking all of Sicily

Herakles plays a huge role in this book, a huge role.

I haven't truly gotten to the war(s) yet, but one might be able to say that the Punic Wars have an analogy in the Pacific theater in WII. In the Punic Wars, the conflict began with control for the Mediterranean Sea, control of an island, Sardinia. In WWII, it began with control of the Pacific Ocean, beginning with an attack on a Hawaiian island. 

One of my favorite "museums" is  J. Paul Getty Museum's "Getty Villa" in Malibu, California.The museum is built "around" Herakles. I did not understand the "importance" of Herakles until I read the Richard Miles book. The book is worth its weight in gold. I'm reading it for free, through the auspices of the Grapevine (TX) public library.

Williston Bypass Gets Environmental Okay

The Forum is reporting:

A 13-mile truck bypass around Williston would have no significant impact on the environment, according to a finding from the Federal Highway Administration.

The preferred route for the truck bypass begins at the west junction of U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 85, known as the four-mile corner, and general head north and east to connect with U.S. Highway 2 at its junction with Williams County Highway 6.

From The Williston Wire; Global Warming To Hit The Northeast With What Could Be The Biggest Storm Of The Season

The District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District, Omaha, Nebraska is evaluating a Department of the Army permit application from the North Dakota Department of Transportation for a new 4-lane permanent Williston NW Bypass of US Highway 2 /US Highway 85.

Progress is being made for Sidney to have three new 12-plex housing buildings under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. The Sunset Village housing project is co-sponsored by the Richland County Housing Authority and Mountain Plains Equity Group of Billings.

Paul Groshart, executive director for Richland Housing, visited with Richland County commissioners about the project Wednesday morning. Housing Tax Credits will cover $4.3 million of the project's costs.

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Global Warming To Hit The Northeast This Week

Brutal winter intensifies.

Philadelphia snowfall breaks 130-year-old record. 

Nor'easter could be the biggest storm of the season, snow has started falling:

The mid-Atlantic region is bracing for what could be the biggest snow storm to hit the area in four years.

As much as a foot of snow is expected to fall between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon with higher accumulations north and west of the District.

“This could be the biggest storm of the season,” Channel 9 meteorologist Topper Shutt says.

Snow started falling around 7 p.m. for much of the region.

New York City could get 14 inches (snow day? snow week?):

As much as 14 inches of snow could hit New York City and the surrounding area tonight, as the storm that has gridlocked the Southeast is coming north.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Tom Kines said the snow will begin to fall around midnight and last through most of Thursday. The latest National Weather Service forecast map shows that the city will likely get anywhere between 10 and 14 inches, depending on whether the precipitation changes over to rain during the day.

Amtrak suspending some routes.

Amtrak is suspending some trains as a winter storm threatens the South and the Northeast.

Amtrak says the suspensions Wednesday are meant to reduce the exposure of passengers, crews and equipment to extreme weather.

The suspensions include trains between New York and several destinations in the South and the auto train between Washington's northern Virginia suburbs and Orlando, Fla. Amtrak says other services, including the Northeast Corridor, are scheduled to operate.