Northeast or New England DLC ideas

[1948LJMack]

The New England states is home to several transportation museums. Some are standard transportation museums, some are streetcar museums, and some are truck museums. And some of them might also have large permanent places based on ship travel as some of these museums pay tribute to those who have gone down as some of the ships sank from sight. So I think we need to take a good look to see which of those museums we could make as deliverable.

[Bob123412]

Let me dump some info into here, I spent a good 4 years of my life on I-95 going from NS mainly to NYC, DC, Philly, Boston, Miami then heading north to Toronto or Montreal before return back home and doing it all over again. I fear that due to scaling, capturing the true costal northeast experience will suffer. The main experience of coastal northeast trucking is urban driving which is very different from the rest of the country. As urban driving can’t really be experienced properly when scaled out, I hope that there can be a way to simulate this, maybe even as a separate game mode in the future that does cities at a much lower scale to simulate urban driving.
I do not know everything and I will miss stuff but I will share what I know about the northeast. One more thing to note, the northeast, particularly new England, lack truck stops with capacity so many times it results in sleeping on the side of the road or in a customer’s yard. I've recently started traveling through the area again and for the most part nothing has changed

Note about weigh stations:
A large portion of weigh stations in the north east don’t actually have any scales to weigh trucks. They mainly just do inspections. Most scales like this don’t use the pre pass system and drivers must rely on the signs provided. When entering one of these scales you will normally see a few state troopers (or DOT) sitting in their vehicles. Usually, you just drive by them. If they want you to stop, they will flag you into a parking spot and pull in behind you with their vehicle. Occasionally there will be officers standing next to the road that stop you and do a quick paperwork check before sending you on your way. They will chase you if you fail to stop (I made this mistake in upstate New York fortunately he just gave me a warning).

[Bob123412]

Maine
I didn’t do much work in Maine, most of my experience of Maine is just passing through from Canada to get to the other states. Because of this I can’t comment much on rural Maine or their industries. Here is what I experienced

Notes:
Some Roads:
I-95, 395, 295
Route 9
Route 1
Route 2

Some Towns:
Bangor
Augusta
Portland
Houlton
Calais
Kittery
Kennebunk
Saco
Old Orchard Beach
Freeport

Some Truck Stops:
Irving
Dysart’s
Rest Areas
Weigh stations:
Kittery
Old Town
the other one


Detailed
Roads:
The I-95 runs from Canada to New Hampshire it takes roughly 5 hours to go from top to bottom. From York to Augusta, the !-95 is a toll road with 3 toll booths on it, as well as toll booths on every exit ramp. Within the last 3 years they finished their project of all the on-highway tool booths being upgraded to allow for at speed tolling. Toll booths are still there for those without transponders to pay cash/card. At Augusta there is the option, which is preferred by most truckers, to take 295 instead of 95. This route is only 2 miles longer and saves on the tolls. The 295 ends at Portland and the only route becomes the toll route again.
Route 9 is the other main connection to Canada that runs from Calais to Bangor, It is also known as the Airline Route. On the Bangor end of route 9, the road connects to 395 before heading back to I-95. Now as of writing this there are a few notes to make. Currently, route 9 goes through the city of brewer before linking to 395 this a lot of drivers will avoid this to avoid the town traffic. The alternative is route 49 in east Eddington that links to the 1a. Currently the 395 ends at route 1a allowing for easy transfer onto it. The 1a is also the main road links bangor to the costal route 1. There is also a construction project underway to link 395 directly to route 9 before reaching brewer. This will probably become the preferred truck route as route 46 is very narrow.

Truck Stops:
Dysart’s is one of the most infamous truck stops that everyone (at least in the northeast) has heard of. In it’s prime it was one of the best but, like many great businesses has, declined in recent years, yet they are still a great place to stop. They occupy ¾ corners of the intersection of coldbrook and odlin road. In the southwest corneris the main dysart truck stop with restaurant showers and other services, there is also a hotel and a unaffiliated tire shop on the property. They offer full service fuel for all vehicles and parking. In the southeast corner Is a full mechanic shop that offers service everyday escept Sunday. There is also a self serve fuel pump for drivers with dysarts fleet fuel cards. Public parking is also available here but it is mainly for people waiting for service. In the northwest corner is an overflow public truck parking lot for when the main truck stop is full. Within the last 3 years they put in a car wash on this property. In the northeast corner is a Kenworth dealer. Now not only does dysarts run a truck stop but they also have a small fleet of trucks that operate in the region. They also have a few small gas stations around the area.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7764968 ... FQAw%3D%3D
Irving is a Canadian company that has a large foothold on the north east. Being the main truck stop, and a large gas station chain in Atlantic Canada they have expanded into northeastern US. Most of the truck stops I have seen in Maine are all Irving’s. They have truck stops in Houlton, Baileyville(Calais), Fairfield, Newport and Kittery. Most of these are standard truck stops not much special about them. Kittery is the only one I have extra notes about. Kittery is a popular spot and often trucks spillout onto the shoulder of ranger drive to sleep for the night. They are also roputed down ranger drive when heading back to southbound I95 instead of going back to the route 1 bypass. There is also a truck wash at the end of ranger drive and the hotel next door has a few spots for truck parking.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/IRVIN ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Irvin ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Irvin ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Irvin ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Irvin ... FQAw%3D%3D

Rest Areas
There are a few rest areas in Maine for drivers to park at for the night On the turnpike there are 3 spots:
Kennebunk, which offers food fuel and parking. They recently upgraded there parking so that there is more space for trucks. This is the largest of the rest areas.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kenne ... FQAw%3D%3D
Cumberland, rather small as trucks often avoid this part of 95 in favor of 295
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cumbe ... FQAw%3D%3D
Gardiner, this spot is a bit awkward to get in and out of as it is right at the top of the turnpike. To get in or out of it from 95 northbound you have to use 295. You cannot use the fast toll lane and must go through the toll booth to go into it. The southbound side has it’s own ramps on the opposite side of the rest area
https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+ ... FQAw%3D%3D
Outside of the turnpike rest areas there are others. These rest areas are generally just parking areas and have no food or fuel. Here are the notable ones that I know of
Hampden North and south (just south of dysarts)
https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+ ... FQAw%3D%3D
Medway
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Medwa ... FQAw%3D%3D
Yarmouth on route 1 just off of 295
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Maine ... FQAw%3D%3D
Route 9 also has a few parking areas that trucks can rest at
https://maps.app.goo.gl/LJNc1uhFo1J6DvXe8
https://maps.app.goo.gl/648XettB4XVe5BPk6
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Airli ... FQAw%3D%3D
There are also a couple wide spots in north brewer that trucks can be found sleeping.

Weight stations:
Along I 95 there are 3 main weigh stations; Old Town, York and the other one
Old town weigh station is one of the most frequently opened scales in Maine. While the northbound scale is never opened, the southbound scale is opened mostly on weekdays during normal business hours. This is an inspection only scale And follows the rules noted at the top. When this scale is closed there is a gate blocking it’s entrance.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aUPa5WVGru265nmn8
York
While the southbound scale is rarely open, the northbound scale is open regularly. They also follow regular business hours and are rarely seen at night or on weekends. While they don’t have prepass, they do have a weigh-in-motion on the ramp. There are then overhead signs that direct you into which lane you are supposed to be in and tell you whether to stop or to exit. While the southbound scale has a gate, it is often left open. The northbound scale also uses the weigh-in-motion system. They do have scales for weighing as well as doing inspections.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/York+ ... FQAw%3D%3D
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Weigh ... FQAw%3D%3D

There is another scale between Old Town and Augusta. I don’t remember where it is and I have never seen it open. It is a scale with no scale

[Bob123412]

Massachusetts
Most of my time in Mass was either passing through, Boston area or Christmas trees. The problem with Christmas trees is that they often sent me into non truck places so I will try to leave most of those details out. I don’t know a whole lot about western mass So I won’t make any comments on that, that means I will miss a lot of towns
Notes:
Some Roads:
I90, 95, 91, 93, 84, 495, 395, 190, 290
US 1, 3, 20, 202
state 9, 2, 1a, 3, 24, 146
Yankee Division Highway
Too many to name
Some Towns (that I visited):
Boston (and co)
Chelsea
Everett
Peabody
Worcester
Springfield
Leominster
Athol
Gloucester
Some Truck Stops:
Peabody
Leominster
Rest areas
Weigh stations:
Few

Boston
Being your typical east coast city, there are lot’s of low bridges and no truck routes making travel around the city complicated. Boston area is also one of the worst places to find parking making kittery me one of the best places to rest for the night when heading southbound (on 95), or parking in Connecticut if heading northbound. With that said there are a few spots to sleep. Boston area consists of a double semi ring road for through traffic. with multiple roads heading inbound as well. Boston also has some interesting traffic rules. On some highways they allow shoulder travel to be a lane during rush hour. They allow shoulders to become a lane during construction and they also have a rule on unmarked roads, that there are as many lanes as you can have cars side by side, meaning if 3 cars can fit side by side, there’s 3 lanes.

Let’s talk about cargo. All of my experience in Boston is from delivering fish and produce, so I am unable to comment on other sectors. There are 3 industrial districts that I visited in Boston itself, the rest were on the outskirts in other towns. The first is in Everett the best way into this area is to take US 1 to Carter when heading southbound or chestnut when heading northbound. This area houses a few companies but the largest is the produce market. This market houses many businesses and charges all trucks $30 to enter. While I am unsure if drivers are allowed to sleep overnight (and I don’t think you’d want to) there is another warehouse down the road that allows their drivers to sleep, lineage.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yBU1HbRonLiitWju9
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WKLghhLxCkuvVdSD6
Next is Chelsea. Chelsea and Everett can be connected via marginal Street however the best way to get to the are from outside the city is either I90 when coming from the south or US1->Squire->61a from the north. While this route seems complicated on paper, it’s actually really simple. All you have to do is follow the signs to logan international airport and those signs will take you down this route. Once on the 1a you turn right onto curtis, and right again onto Chelsea. There are Wearhouse’s along route 1a as well as in the eastern ave area. These businesses largely handle freight heading to Logan. They then depalletize it, scan it and prepare it to be loaded onto aircraft. It also houses one of the tightest yards I delivered to, Worldwide Perishables. The Chelsea street bridge is a very active drawbridge that is frequently raised.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/hT5tNvZnJjpvJRyj6
the last area is in south Boston. This area is confusing to get in and out of and on my way back out I nearly drove down a bus only road. As I was heading in from the north, I took US1 to the 93 and then went into the area via seaport Blvd. There are several warehouses and a container pier in this area. There is also a large dirt lot that allows trucks to sleep overnight. It is a nasty spot with some really deep holes.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/xm6RtZF99VxzBYyD9
Peabody
While technically it’s west and south Peabody there is a small Wearhouse district. This are is also where US1, I95 and the Yankee division Highway intersect. There is also a very small truckstop that is almost always full
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3VDTvNS5oyfk9uVx7

Gloucester
Another town I went to at the end of the yankee highway a few warehouses and fish places.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DkJqopkvbF2aYKY89

Routing:
Most through trucking heading from maine/Canada to southern us will take 495. From 495 there are two options 290, or 90. Often times the ramp to 290 was so backed up that it made more sense to go to the 90 but they recently completed a project making the 290 transfer smoother. The 290 is preferred because it is slightly shorter and has no toll. The 290 goes through Worcester before reaching probably the most complicated intersection outside of Boston, the 290,395,90,US20,MA12 interchange. I used to get off here a lot as the 20 is where my trees would go. Through trucks normally would take 1 of two routes, 90-84, which is shorter, Or 395 back to the 95. This is preferred by many, not only to avoid the toll on 90, but also to avoid the scales on 84.

I90 is a toll road however it has no toll booths. All tolling is done by transponder or pay by plate only with overhead cameras every so often and on ramps to collect the tolls.

Truck stops:
Aside from the stop in Peabody, there aren’t many in the Eastern area. The 90 and 95 have a few small rest areas with food and fuel and there are a couple small rest areas for parking on 495 but that’s about it
I did find this small spot in Leominster one time, the same brand as the Connecticut rest areas https://maps.app.goo.gl/xWXzp215yWrdT51g9

[Bob123412]

New York
New York is technically two separate places, New York city and Upstate. Let’s start with NYC. This city I’ve done more work in then any other city in America. I brought fish here weekly, I know with the scaling the true new York experience would never be captured but I will give all my experience anyway in hopes that it might be captured. NYC is a lawless concrete jungle. Traffic crawls along during the day. Emergency vehicles with their lights on don’t get any respect, people pass on the shoulders. It’s common to have to run traffic lights or go the wrong down 1 way streets, just to be able to get where you need to go, because corners are too tight or traffic won’t give you the time of day. Lanes and streets are narrow. Vehicles are double or triple parked constantly. Signage is poor. The only way to get around that city safely is, well you can’t. Now, just to clarify, I have never driven a truck on Manhattan. Most of my experience is Bronx and Brooklyn. Another thing about NYC Is 53’ trailers are illegal in the city, except on the interstates, however this is not enforced. In NYC there are no truck stops with parking. Most drivers will sleep on the side of the road.

In New York (all of it) Trucks are prohibited from driving on parkways. This is because they are designed with low bridges. In NYC, you cannot use a GPS, not even a trucking GPS. It WILL get you into trouble. The biggest problem with NYC is lots of low bridges and fake low bridges.

NYC:

The Bronx
The majority of trucks end up in Hunts point. When I was travelling into hunts point there were only two ways in, but now on the map I see a third. Legget Ave, Tiffany St and the new Edgewater Rd. Hunts point ave is an option for leaving the area but not for coming in. Hunts point contains 3 markets, The Hunts Point Produce market, The Hunts point Coop, and Fulton Fish Market, while I never went to the produce market, I assume it charges a gate fee of $25 like the other two. Sleeping is not permitted in the markets. Trucks are often found sleeping on the side of the road wherever there is space to park. Food center drive fills up with trucks at night though it says no parking. A large number of businesses, particularly food businesses are only open for a short period of time from 5am – about noon. From 5-8am Hunts point is in pure chaos. Most businesses, outside of the markets, do not have loading docks so most of the loading and unloading is done curbside. Trailers will also get delivered and dropped curbside. It doesn’t look as bad as it used to, veile ave you would often see amazon trailers double or triple parked into the street. Due to space limitations, many businesses and mechanic shops have to play the game gridlock to park their vehicles in their yard at night this results in vehicles being pulled out in the morning getting double parked on the side of the road adding to the chaos.

Traffic turning into Tiffany Street often backs up quite far in the mornings. It’s common to see trucks passing in the straight lane and at the intersection turning left even if the left turn light is red. The center north of hunts point is residential, but is surrounded on all sides with industrial. The main roads in The Bronx are the 87, 278 and 95 (also known as the cross Bronx) Sheridan Blvd connects the 95 to the hunts point area.

Brooklyn/Queens
By no means do I know everything about the area but I will share what I have done

Routing:
There are 3 options for entering and exiting the borough that I have used, 678 (whitestone), 295 (throggs neck), and 278 south (Verrazzano Narrows). Because I was always coming from the north or from The Bronx. My main route was the Whitestone. With the new on ramp onto 278 now being open the north part of 278 Across the RFK bridge might be an option as well, however from a bit of research after getting into queens it appears that there is a low bridge on this route after the first exit. I have never been in this area so I cannot comment on it. All of these bridges are toll bridges however they use the overhead pay-by-plate systems instead of having toll booths. The best way to get around the area is the interstates, and other than that one stretch of 278 that I am unsure of, the rest are passable.
The 678 Has a few bridges marked 12’-8” however these markings are a lie. The gps will try to get you lost to avoid these bridges. The 678 will bring you right down to JFK airport. From here you can either go to the airport or transfer onto route 27. Route 27 is a major trucking route and you can take it either eastbound down long island or west bound through Brooklyn connecting back up to 278 that you can take into New Jersey
The other Major route is highway 27/linden blvd. This road will take you from JFK to Staten island. There are two incorrectly marked low bridges (technically 3) 2 marked 12’4 at the intersection of Avenue D and Linden. The other notable thing about this intersection is the tight corners before and after that require you to use 2/the three lanes. The other is a 13’ at Linwood and linden, what’s notable about this one is that even though the road is 3 lanes, the right lane width narrows significantly

Locations:
Now there are 3 main areas that I frequented in this area Maspeth, East Flatbush/Canarsie and JFK intl airport. I also had a regular customer in Greenpoint This was not a truck friendly location.

The easiest being JFK, as I said you just take 678 all the way and then follow the signs for cargo. There are spots around JFK that allow sleeping. Basically as long as you weren’t in anyone’s way, you would be able to sleep. There is also a small pay to park truck parking lot there.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aVQVp1Zuc32z22sHA

East New York: shortly after getting onto linden (when heading westbound from jfk) there is a small industrial district on the south side of the road. This area has several businesses and if you can find a place to park and sleep, you can, including the center of fountain ave.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fwCyNo4BmFKKL1A78

Canarsie: when you come to Avenue D you can turn left and come into another small industrial area. This is also the best way to get to Brooklyn Terminal Market. The market Is right at the end of avenue D on foster ave. It had (as of 2021) a $10 entry fee for trucks. Trucks often park along both foster and avenue D
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uhw3x8GifsJb4m736
https://maps.app.goo.gl/c63mVUD6y5eYFJoB7

East Flatbush: Right next to Canarsie is East Flatbush. My customers were all on Utica Ave. The best ways on are either come from route 27 or if coming from the market listed above, take foster to the end, take kings hwty south and then head north on Utica. Never head north on kings as there is a low bridge (12’2”). Kings hwy is good to drive on other wise, just not at that bridge. The bridge on Utica is marked 12’6” but it’s okay to go under.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/9YWs8WiYkx8c3vun9

Maspeth: The Maspeth industrial park is one of the larger industrial areas in the borough. There are multiple ways in, depending on where you’re coming from. The best options are: Maurice Ave from 495 (I personally never went this way). Morgan ave from 278 (my preferred route) or grand ave (if coming from Flatbush/Canarsie lower Brooklyn) If coming from495, Grand ave is not an option as it is local traffic only
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y9ZP1L79n79rr2dz7
https://maps.app.goo.gl/nPL1HNvtT3EXcEpm6


Long Island:
My experience on long island is very limited as I only made 2 trips there delivering Christmas trees. What I do know is this: 495 and route 27 are the main two trucking routes. There is a ferry to Connecticut at the tip and you need to be careful which road to choose when driving from 495-27 as many have low bridges on them

Upstate New York:

Upstate New York is very different from the city and it feels more like the normal trucking that is already captured within the game. Most of my time spent in upstate was travelling through, I never had much for pickups/deliveries in this part of the state.

Roads:
There are many interstates that go through NY

I 90 this is toll the whole way though the state except for a small section at Buffalo. The tolling is all Pay by plate and all toll booths have been removed. There may be some ramps with booths still but they were slowly removing them last I went through
I 87 This highway runs from NYC to Canada. It is a toll road from the intersection of I84 until reaching it’s intersection with I90 in Albany. After passing through Albany the road becomes quite remote and turns into a very nice drive through the Adirondack mountains. This section of the road featured an emergency telephone service due to low reception however upon a quick search it appears that this system is now being removed ☹. It appears that these have been fully removed after recent travels through the area again https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2023/0 ... all-boxes/
I86 is a popular alternative to I90 to avoid the tolls

I81, 84, 390, 99, 88 are the other main interstates
State route 17 is also a very nice drive that I got to travel along one time to pick up some stone in Hancock
https://maps.app.goo.gl/nDusnCqmpjNJY2Bw7
Another popular truck route Is between Swanton, Vt and Champlain NY connecting I89 to I87 Using these roads: US-11 US-2 and VT-78
Some Towns:
Other than the main cities, I’m not overly knowledgeable about the area but

Main Border Crossings:
Queenston/Lewiston
fort Erie/Buffalo
thousand islands (Alexandria bay/Lansdown)
Champlain/Lacolle

there are a couple smaller ones that allow trucks on the east but trucks are not allowed across the rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls. Unlike the borders listed, many of the smaller crossings are not 24 hour.

One other border related note. Bringing chicken into Canada from the US requires a meat inspection. There are two such inspection stations to my knowledge in NY, one in Lewiston and one in Watertown.

Some Truck Stops:
Both toll roads have full service rest areas with food, fuel and parking areas. The non toll areas have limited service rest areas
There are many truck stops across the state but most are small.
Other than the regular brand name stations, there are a few smaller local places, most of which I have never stopped at.
The most notable is the peterbuilt truck stop in champlain which has both a pterebuilt dealer and a full truck stop
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Champ ... FQAw%3D%3D
Also in Champlain there is and Irving, McDonalds and Route 11 Truck Stop
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Z7xcQm3yb7gtMkd8
there are also random small gas stations across the state that allow truck parking such as this Sunoco
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sunoc ... FQAw%3D%3D
Pembroke
https://maps.app.goo.gl/19wketZvPFwm3TQJ9
There are too many to list all of them, Although I could if needed

Weigh stations:
Most weigh stations are just rest areas that Dot occasionally takes over and do not even have scales. The thruway does not have any weigh stations on it