Mystery In Salem Va

[+bicknell]

Last weekend we looked for some marks in Salem Virginia while on a trip. One of the ones didn't make any sense as we drove by, but I didn't notice how much so until today when I started logging the marks.

 

We looked for GX0176. The description makes sense (if you map it, 311 used to be Craig Ave), however there is no culvert there, and indeed the lay of the land makes it seem extremely unlikely there ever was. The interesting thing is that this is a reset, so while logging I looked up the original mark. With the same designation, all I can find is GX0178, which does have the same stamping, and is also on route 311, but it's 1.3 miles to the north.

 

Indeed, the descriptions work with these coordinates, since it says it's 1.3 miles from the intersection with 460. So both marks independantly match their descriptions just fine. What gets me though is I've never seen a reset not in the "same spot". It almost looks to me like some data got crossed somewhere, but I can't prove it.

 

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[TerraVador]

I did a NGS Radial Search and used the LAT/LON for GX0176 DESIGNATION - W 74 X RESET 1970 ,but I also scrolled down and checked the box for Browse Mode before I hit Submit .

 

|Dist|PID...|H V|Vert_Source|Approx.|Approx..|Stab|Designation

|----|------|- -|-----------|-------|--------|----|-----------



| 0.0|GX2980|. u|29/ADJ UNCH|N371738|W0800304|....|W 74

| 0.0|GX0176|. 1|88/ADJUSTED|N371738|W0800304|D...|W 74 X RESET 1970

 

The original mark was GX2980 designation W 74 at the same coords as W 74 X RESET 1970. This station is unpublishable for multiple reasons. It looks like no horizontal or vertical control exists for GX2980. It is now listed as destroyed.

 

Something is definitely not right here.

 

GX0176'DESCRIBED BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1970
GX0176'1.3 MI N FROM SALEM.
GX0176'1.3 MILES NORTH ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 311 FROM THE JUNCTION OF
GX0176'U.S. HIGHWAY 460 AT SALEM, 40 FEET EAST OF THE CENTER LINE OF
GX0176'THE HIGHWAY, IN THE TOP OF THE SOUTHEAST WINGWALL OF A 6 FOOT
GX0176'CONCRETE BOX CULVERT UNDER THE HIGHWAY AND ABOUT 10 FEET BELOW
GX0176'THE LEVEL OF THE HIGHWAY.

 

GX0178'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1959
GX0178'1.3 MI N FROM SALEM.
GX0178'1.3 MILES NORTH ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 311 FROM THE JUNCTION OF
GX0178'U.S. HIGHWAY 460 AT SALEM, 19 1/2 FEET EAST OF THE CENTER LINE
GX0178'OF THE HIGHWAY, IN TOP OF THE NORTHEAST WING WALL FOR A 6-FOOT
GX0178'CONCRETE BOX CULVERT UNDER THE HIGHWAY, AND ABOUT 1 1/2 FEET
GX0178'ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE HIGHWAY.

 

The descriptions are the same except for the width of the road to the wingwall

 

If you go to Topozone for GX0176 (W 74 X RESET), you can see a BM with an elevation of 1073. That is the same as is listed for GX0176 (W 74 X RESET). But it does not look like there would need to be a culvert here, as you found when you were looking for it.

 

If you go to Topozone for GX0178 W 74 X you see a BM at a stream crossing, where you would find a culvert, with an elevation of 1167, which is that listed for W 74 X.

 

I would wager that HIGHWAY 311 was widened sometime after 1959, and GX0178 (W 74 X) was destroyed. In 1970, GX0176 (W 74 X RESET), was put in to replace it, but they screwed up and gave it the coordinates and elevation of GX2980 (W 74) by mistake. I bet if you go back to the coords of GX0178, you will find GX0176 instead. If that is the case, you need to let the NGS know what you found.

 

It could also be that GX2980 W 74 was not actually destroyed. They probably should have listed GX0178 as destroyed instead. You might be able to find GX2980 at N 37 17 38.16 W 80 03 05.11, using the BM on the Topozone Map.

Edited August 18, 2005 by TerraVador

[TerraVador]

I did some more digging around. The comedy of errors continues. Look at this list:

|Dist|PID...|H V|Vert_Source|Approx.|Approx..|Stab|Designation
| 0.0|GX2980|. u|29/ADJ UNCH|N371738|W0800304|....|W 74
| 1.2|GX0178|. 1|88/ADJUSTED|N371843|W0800310|D...|W 74 X
| 0.5|GX0177|. 1|88/ADJUSTED|N371804|W0800258|D...|W 74 XX
| 1.8|GX0179|. 1|88/ADJUSTED|N371911|W0800300|C...|X 74

 

All of these marks were monumented in 1959. Looks to me like they accidentally stamped three marks in a row with W 74, then had to go back and change one to W 74 X and the other to W 74 XX.

 

I would show you a picture of W 74 XXX but this is a family website.