SSC BM No. 508 -- Lancaster TX - U.S. Benchmarks on Waymarking.com

Before we spotted this benchmark on a bridge in Lancaster, we had never seen one like it before.

So we ran the list:

NOT a CGS benchmark (which is what we were expecting)
NOT USGS
NOT TX Department of Transportation from any era (our 2nd guess)
NOT a City of Lancaster survey disk
NOT a Dallas County survey marker
NOT any other known survey disk --

So what is this thing?

The first clue is in the stamping: SSC Monument. Younger Blasterz had never heard of the SSC, but Mama Blaster (who grew up in NTX) recognized those initials as belonging to the Superconducting Super Collider, which was a BIG federal particle-physics project being built underground in Waxahachie Texas. The ring was going to be 27 miles in diameter, and would pass under 5 or 6 Texas counties. It was gonna be huge, and ultra-cool.

It was also ultra-controversial, since the cost kept EXPLODING -- from 2 billion to 12 in just a few years. Congress finally had enough and killed it in 1993. See: (visit link)

But even 20 years later, remnants of the SSC project and what was done for it are still apparent, and occasionally make the news. See: (visit link) from 2010 and: (visit link) from 2014.

This benchmark is one of about 1000 scattered across North Texas trying to set vertical and horizontal controls to gauge any effects of the SSC on the area - they're another remnant of the SSC.

See the PDF that contains all the survey types and monuments here: (visit link)

"[page 242] BENCHMARKS GOING NORTH

. . .

BM Number 508 Elev.= 489.955'

South of Lancaster. The station is located on the northeast abutment of a bridge over Keller Branch Creek on Lancaster Hutchins Road approximately 200-feet north of State Street and 0.2 miles north of Beltline Road."

Condition: Mark found in good condition Designation: 508 Benchmark Agency: other (not included below) Benchmark Agency (if other): Superconducting Super Collider Survey Monumentation type: BENCH MARK (or B.M.) Disk County: Dallas USGS 7.5' Topographic Quadrangle Name (optional): Lancaster East Special Category (if other): Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Benchmarks Find type: Found by luck/skill/knowledge Web address of this benchmark's datasheet (optional): [Web Link] Monumentation type (if other): Not listed Special category (optional): Not listed NGS PID: Not listed Local database's URL (optional): Not listed

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