I've always been fascinated by the terrain as you drive from the hill and holler country of Southern Madison and Onondaga County, into the rolling country of the Finger Lakes, along US 20. This relief map of this region shows the change in the landscape, along with the dunes sculpted by the glaciers as you head out into the Finger Lakes.
1995 - LEFT / 2020 - RIGHT
The Auburn Landfill closed in November 2020. https://auburnpub.com/news/local/auburn-landfill-to-stop-accepting-garbage-soon-with-transfer-station-poised-to-open/article_16298ace-b173-51ab-9111-abfe32ef6915.html
Nucor Steel Auburn, Inc. and our approximately 300 teammates are proud New York State manufacturers. By recycling over 1 billion pounds of scrap steel every year, our mill has been making steel bar products with 100 percent recycled content since 1974. Our steel is used in building projects, as well as highway and bridge construction. Nucor Steel Auburn, Inc. is one of 24 scrap-based steel mills operated by Nucor Corporation, the largest steel producer in the United States. Nucor is also North America’s largest recycler. In 2015, Nucor recycled nearly 17 million tons of scrap steel. https://www.centerstateceo.com/business-directory/nucor-steel-auburn-inc-8004
Forty years ago, Auburn was in the midst of one of the most transformative periods in its history: urban renewal.
The transformation mostly consisted of three distinct but inseparable components: the demolition and replacement of several downtown buildings through the City Center Urban Renewal Project, the construction of the Arterial highway and the creation of Loop Road.
Even today, conflicting feelings linger over the transformation — many of which concern how Auburn, with assistance from the state and federal governments, accomplished it.
Read more about the history of Urban Renewal in Auburn. https://auburnpub.com/news/local/auburns-great-divide-how-urban-renewal-the-arterial-have-affected-the-city/article_99f07eeb-81b8-53a7-b164-1c126e840991.html
As you head north and west of Cross Lake in Cayuga County, drumlins made from centuries of wind blowing on sand dominate the landscape which is covered by farms and apple orchards.