Welcome to route56.com
Welcome to my anchor point on the web. For over 20 years, I have shared various subjects regarding highway, railways, local radio, and more.
I chose the name “route56” in honor of the green and white variant of the US Highway shield that the Kansas Department of Transportation and its predecessor agency used specifically to mark US 56 from its creation until the mid 1980s.
Click on the links above to access the pages devoted to the history of local radio and Kansas Highways, along with other creative outlets.
You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr.
Latest Blog Posts
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KDOT Lettings: December 2020
There is a total of 30 projects in the December lettings, most of which are maintenance projects. This post has been updated to reflect the approved bidders and the bid amount as announced by KDOT on January 7, 2021 and February 5, 2021. The approved bids announced on January 7 will be noted in red.…
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Where there are snow and trains
It’s been a while since I’ve shared a train watching story on here, so I figure it was time to do so. My last trip train-watching was a productive afternoon on the first weekend of January. The only regret was the fact that I did not realize that KU had a game that afternoon (a…
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KDOT lettings: October 2020
There are quite a few projects up for bids at the KDOT October letting, including a couple of reconstruction projects, plenty of overlays, and quite a few county bridge projects. This post has been updated to reflect the approved bidders and the bid amount as announced by KDOT in releases on November 5 and December…
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KDOT Lettings: November 2020
The November highway lettings mainly consist of maintenance projects, along with a couple of bridge replacements. This post has been updated to reflect the approved bidders and the bid amount as announced by KDOT in a release on December 10. The approved bids announced on November 5 will be noted in red.
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KDOT Lettings: September, 2020
Time for the September lettings, and we’ve got a major project included. This post has been updated to reflect the approved bidders and the bid amount as announced by KDOT in a release on October 7 and November 5. The approved bids announced on October 7 will be noted in red. The approved bids announced…
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General Election 2020
I share who I voted for of my own free will. No incentive or consideration has been made to share my voting selections. I made it out to the polling place for the 2020 general election at about 11:30. I was ballot number 181. President: I cannot stand Donald Trump. In 2016, I couldn’t vote…
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KDOT Lettings: August 2020
A list of projects and approved bidders from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s August 2020 letting.
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Labor Day weekend railfanning
For me, Labor Day weekend would not be one without me going out and taking pictures of something railroad related. This year, I decided to head out to Camden, Missouri on the joint BNSF Marceline Sub and Norfolk Southern Kansas City District. I was last here on Labor Day weekend in 2018.
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Primary Ballot not Counted due to USPS SNAFU
Because my family had to quarantine for two weeks leading to the Primary, my mother and I both applied for and received advanced ballots. After filling out and signing out ballots, I dropped them off together at the drop box at the Downtown Lawrence post office on August 1. The ballots should have gone from…
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GOP Primary 2020
For this year’s primary election, I did not go to the polling place on Tuesday. Because of a COVID-related quarantine, I elected to receive a mail-in advance ballot. I mailed the ballot in on August 1st. There were only two contested races on my primary ballot. Both of the contested races were won by my…