Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Newsletter/Newsroom/Issue7-2

Issue 2 (Spring 2014)
Publication deadline: 12 PM Pacific-3 PM Eastern on April 15.

Please sign up for what you want to write. Have it done by the publication deadline.

Introduction

 * Editor:

The New and Improved HWY Cup

 * Editor: TCN7JM

When is the USRD Cup not the USRD Cup? When it's the HWY Cup! This newly expanded competition, hosted by yours truly, is run very similarly to how the USRD Cup has been run in years past. That is, points are awarded for just about anything that pertains to the WikiProject: content creation, media, recognized content, project participation, and even stuff as simple as converting hardcoded RJLs to use jct. The only major difference is that instead of being limited to the U.S. Roads WikiProject as it was before, it now includes articles and editors from all over WikiProject Highways.

The field for the 2014 HWY Cup consists of thirteen editors; these include 2013 USRD Cup host Fredddie and two-time (2010 and 2013) USRD Cup champion Scott5114, as well as four editors from outside of the United States. The Cup began at midnight (UTC) on June 1 and will run for three rounds – each lasting about a month – until a winner is crowned at the end of August. For more information on the HWY Cup including the current scoreboard and the exact schedule, check out its page here. Good luck to all thirteen competitors.

Under a moonlit (and lightning-quick) sky: Lua, jct, and what's next

 * Editor: Happy5214

Summer is almost here! Many of you will take time to enjoy the warm weather, go on vacation, or perhaps participate in the HWY Cup. And while much of our editing crew will focus on article improvement, I am continuing my efforts to convert our most important templates to Lua.

While many templates have seen improvements, the most important news to share is the deployment of the Lua version of jct. Jct is more complicated and widely used than any of our other templates, and rewriting it has been my top priority over the past few months. The new jct leverages the speed of Lua, reducing article load times significantly. Errors when saving long articles are now a thing of the past! Data is now provided by several string modules, which were already used by routelist row and will eventually be used by browse boxes. These string modules use a simple syntax, promoting contributions by non-coders, while still providing all of the power found in the original code. This rewrite would not have been possible without the help of several editors, who assisted in the data conversion and gave useful feedback on issues of importance.

Other templates also received much-needed work. Jcon, which is used for Ontario road articles in place of jct, was also rewritten to serve as a wrapper for the Lua version of jct. However, this change has not yet been deployed. The route list templates also received some new features and bug fixes. Of particular note, routelist bottom was rewritten to include a color key, using jctbtm as a model.

So, what's next? I will unfortunately be on a semi-WikiBreak until at least August, so Lua progress will likely be slow over the next few months. There are a few templates that I would like to give updates on. Now that jct and the jctint family are done, two templates come to my mind: USRD and Infobox road. Our banner needs major work, but I'm currently in a holding pattern on that front. As far as I can tell, Module:WikiProjectBanner will use a different model than the current WPBannerMeta system. Therefore, I will wait until that module is complete before I redo our project's banner. As for our infobox, I'm waiting on a new extension called Capiunto, which should provide a cleaner and more powerful infobox-building library. Infoboxes on many road articles include browse boxes, and these navigation templates are also used in other places. Ideally, that would be my next rewrite, since much of the required code was already done as part of the jct rewrite. The only major code to write would be the actual box code and additional string modules. Perhaps I will be able to do that this summer.

Before I go, let me remind you that none of this is possible without you. Your feedback and coding help is greatly appreciated, and I would like to thank all of you for your continued support. You can always contact me on my talk page, and I'm usually on IRC, though at odd times. Until next time, have a nice summer, good luck in the HWY Cup, and happy editing!

New editor interviews

 * Editor: Imzadi1979 and Fredddie

Just add your answers below and sign your comments.

1. What article(s) are you working on these days?

'''2. What is your short-term goal for the article(s)? Long-term?'''

3. What is your favorite highway?

--ACase0000 (talk) 04:29, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. Thomas and Friends related articles, they need a lot of Help. And also Cities and Roads in Tennessee.
 * 2. Make them the best I can, and make them better than before.
 * 3. US Route 441, through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Thewombatguru (talk) 06:16, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. Articles without KML-files or with a hard-coded junction list.
 * 2. All B-class articles and above included with a KML-file and without a hard-coded junction list, and long-term: All articles included with a KML-file and without a hard-coded junction list.
 * 3. Interstate 84 in Idaho

Phil roc  11:06, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. Creating (or at least trying to create) articles in WP:Requested articles in the roads section that are in Virginia.
 * 2. My short-term goal is to have the articles made.
 * 3. Interstate 95, especially north, because that leads to New York!

.&mdash; CycloneIsaac – E-Mail 15:08, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Some typhoons in the western Pacific.
 * Destub most of Ohio road articles.
 * Ohio State Route 822, one of the most useful highways

PointsofNoReturn (talk) 18:45, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. Editing various stub articles across the country, mostly focusing on route descriptions.
 * 2. Get US Route 9 in NY back to GA class
 * 3. New Jersey Turnpike

-- Bloonstdfan360  Transit center! 23:07, 27 May 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. I am usually working on highways in Oregon. I am sometimes working on highways in Taiwan.
 * 2. Short-term: have at least one good article. Long-term: de-stub Oregon.
 * 3. I-84 in Oregon as I like how the highway is at night.

--Ncchild (talk) 23:57, 10 June 2014 (UTC)
 * 1. Any article that I can. North Carolina needs some work.
 * 2 to improve all North Carolina Highways to a C class and to add more GA class articles to North Carolinas road system
 * 3 Interstate 40 just have always loved that road.

Making shields 101

 * Editor: Dough4872

One of the main departments of USRD is the Shields Department, which is responsible for making SVG highway shields intended for use in articles. While making a shield may sound like a daunting task, most shields are simple to make with templates available. In order to make shields, you will need to install a vector graphics editor on your computer (Inkscape works really well) and download the Roadgeek 2005 fonts (available here). Once both are installed, download a shield template (several templates are available at WikiProject U.S. Roads/Shields task force/Templates) and open the template in the vector graphics editor. Here, you can edit the text just like on a word processor to change it to the number desired. One important step that needs to be done before saving is to convert the text to path so it will show up with the proper font on Wikipedia. Once your shield is done, it can be uploaded to Commons. Make sure to use the proper license for each shield (most highway shields are PD-MUTCD). There is a great tutorial at WikiProject U.S. Roads/Shields task force/Tutorial on how to make highway shields using Inkscape.

Project news

 * Editor:

Be sure to look through Article Alerts and WT:USRD.

Maple Syrup Report

 * Editor: Floydian

Well, it's spring; the maple syrup is flowing and our igloos have melted, so we're off to the cottage! Two new Featured articles have been promoted since the last report, bringing the total number to five. These include amongst them the first article representing the Trans-Canada Highway, Ontario Highway 71, promoted on March 3. The second article was Ontario Highway 402, promoted on May 5. In addition, more than a dozen new Good articles have been promoted. The Queen Elizabeth Way, one of the earliest divided highways in North America, is currently a Featured article candidate.

And with that, we hope to see you at the Highway Cup. Best of luck!

Five years ago...
This was the leaderboard five years ago this May. Let's compare it to the current leaderboard (as of June 8).

Leaderboard and stub count

 * Editor: Imzadi1979 (and TCN7JM?)

(note: be sure to update the WW on the table above when doing the leaderboard)

Here's a list of the top ten states as of June 6, 2014.

The top ten states remain in the same order again, but WikiWork in these states has varied a bit in a few cases since the last issue. For complete statistics updated almost daily, head on over to WP:USRD/A/S. Now here's how the project is doing overall.

The bad news is that we've only lost nine net stubs since the last issue. The good news is that we've gained 25 net good articles as well as one featured article: Interstate 470 (Ohio–West Virginia). WP:HWY/ACR has stalled a bit lately, and there are currently four articles awaiting reviews of some sort, so if you're looking for a way to help out the project, try reviewing an article there.

As a new feature, we can now compare USRD against all of its sister roads projects. There is a "live" table at WikiProject Highways/Assessment/Live which will be supplemented with a bot-edited table to give us the same type of historical record we have for USRD. One thing to note in comparing the projects is that USRD and CARD have a more limited scope; for those two countries articles about city streets are handled by WP:USST or WP:CANST and they omit bridges while other projects have included such articles.

As of June 6, the table was still updating with the last of USRD's articles in the "All Roads" category because there should be around 21,700 total articles at present. For the projects we have:

Selected article/picture from portal
Just make sure this is substituted before publication.

State Route 89A (SR 89A) is a 83.85 mi state highway that runs from Prescott north to Flagstaff in the U.S. state of Arizona. The highway begins at SR 89 and heads northward from Prescott, entering Jerome. From Jerome, the route then heads to Cottonwood and Sedona. The highway is notable for its scenic value as it passes through Sedona and the Oak Creek Canyon. The route then enters Flagstaff, where it crosses Interstate 17 (I-17) and I-40. The highway ends at I-40 Business in Flagstaff. What is now SR 89A became a state highway in the late 1920s as SR 79. The highway was extended and improved several times through 1938. SR 79 was renumbered to U.S. Route 89A (US 89A) in 1941 and then to SR 89A in the early 1990s.

Recently selected: U.S. Route 8* Interstate 70 in Utah* New York State Route 174 The Wendover Cut-off, also called the Wendover Road or Wendover Route, is a two-lane highway in the western part of Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. Stretching 40.3 mi from Wendover to Knolls across the Bonneville Salt Flats, a part of the Great Salt Lake Desert, the cut-off was once part of the primary link between the Nevada state line and Salt Lake City. The first roadway across the Great Salt Lake Desert was completed in 1917 as a single-lane highway. It was added to the Utah state highway system in 1919, and replacement plans had begun to arise as soon as 1921. In 1923, the current cut-off was approved for construction and opened in 1925. The United States Numbered Highway System brought the arrival of the U.S. Route 40 (US-40) designation to the highway, the Lincoln Highway was also routed along the cut-off. Later, the cut-off was also designated as part of US-50 and US-50 Alternate (US-50 Alt). Upon the completion of the parallel Interstate 80 (I-80), the previous U.S. Route designations were deleted from the United States Numbered Highway System, and the cut-off was turned over to the county.

Recently selected: Arizona State Route 89A* U.S. Route 8* Interstate 70 in Utah Route 4 is a 10.37 mi long numbered state highway located in Washington County and southern Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a major north–south freeway in the southern Providence metropolitan area, directly linking Providence with eastern Washington County, the beaches of Narragansett and South Kingstown, and the city of Newport. Route 4 begins as a two-lane divided highway at an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in the town of North Kingstown, becoming a freeway after 1.89 mi. The route continues to the city of Warwick, where the northbound lanes merge into Interstate 95 (I-95). The origins of Route 4 date back to 1952, when construction began on a short, unnumbered arterial from US 1 to Routes 2 and 102 (exit 5) in Wickford. In 1965, work began on a 5.4 mi freeway from modern exit 6 north to the merge with I-95. The freeway, designated as Route 4, was completed in 1972. The Route 4 designation was also applied to the Wickford arterial. In 1988, the missing link in Route 4 between exits 5 and 6 was completed and opened. There are plans to upgrade the southernmost portion of Route 4 to freeway status. Although the project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2007, the $55 million project has been postponed indefinitely.

Recently selected: Wendover Cut-off* Arizona State Route 89A* U.S. Route 8

An older "sidewalk highway" segment of U.S. Route 66 in Miami, Oklahoma.

Recently selected: California State Route 44* U.S. Route 19 in West Virginia* M-28 and M-64 A former section of U.S. Route 18 and U.S. Route 85 in Niobrara County, Wyoming.

Recently selected: U.S. Route 66 in Oklahoma* California State Route 44* U.S. Route 19 in West Virginia Dusk in North Miami Beach, Florida, along State Road 826.

Recently selected: U.S. Route 18/85 in Wyoming* U.S. Route 66 in Oklahoma* California State Route 44