NC Road Projects You Want To Be Funded and/or Done

[cosmoboy]

This is a new poll i'm kind of experimenting with but I think it's kind of neat. I know I didn't name all of them soif you could please list them below.

Vote and Post Em!

[Sabaidee]

How about Independence Blvd upgraded to a full freeway from Briarcreek exit to the future Monroe Bypass Connector and I-77 South Widening with HOV facilities.

[cosmoboy]

How about Independence Blvd upgraded to a full freeway from Briarcreek exit to the future Monroe Bypass Connector and I-77 South Widening with HOV facilities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now there's a good one!

[orulz]

One I would put near the top of the list is the East End Connector in Durham. The EEC was a good idea when it was first proposed in 1959, and it's basically essential now. It has the potential to redirect a lot of Raleigh<->Durham traffic off of I-40. NCDOT already owns most of the land for the project, so it will have almost no impact on the surrounding area. The big strike against it is that it's expensive and short: $100 million for just 7 miles (lots of bridges and two freeway interchanges.) But it has the potential to solve so many problems that it should be a priority nonetheless.

I'd like to see them resign some of the roads through there along with that project. Under my magical plan:

- NC147 would become a north-south freeway linking I-85 exit 178 to I-40 exit 279. It would be routed along the current US70 bypass, the EEC, and the south half of the Durham Freeway.

-US70 would then be routed over the EEC and the western half of the Durham Freeway, emphasizing its utility as a through route to take some of the load off of I-40. US-70 could also be upgraded to a freeway between the EEC and I-540, making it the de facto Way to get from from Eastbound I-40 to Eastbound US64 and US264.

(image taken from durhamloop.org)

NC147 would become the de facto Way to get from Southbound I-85 to Southbound US-1, after construction of the Triangle Parkway.

(image taken from durhamloop.org)

[orulz]

Oh yeah, and the project name for the I-240 project in Asheville is the "I-26 Connector". I took the liberty of changing it for you

Another one I'd like to see is the Shelby Bypass on US-74. A real bypass, not a stupid one that bypasses downtown only to get caught up in traffic through big box land.

[Gastonite]

I say finish I-485 already!

With all the delays that keep getting added on, it'll be 2035 before it's done. I would've voted for the Gaston Parkway, but I had to go with what I thought was more important.

[GSP Tiger]

I can easily fortell three WNC projects that should be done soon:

*Interstate 26's connector in West Asheville

*US 25 in Henderson County widened to a four lane freeway from NC 225 to Interstate 26

*Interstate 26 widened to six lanes from Interstate 40 to US 25 South

I doubt these projects will be accomplished with Charles Taylor in office. He has done absolutely nothing to fast track these projects via federal funds.

[ezcheese]

the greensboro loop will definitely speed up traveling in the outer parts of the city. when i lived in the north western part of greensboro near new garden off of bryan blvd, and had to drive to gtcc down in jamestown, it took forever and there was really only one good way to get down there.

after the loop is done, it will only take a fraction of the time it does to go down guilford college rd. other parts of greensboro will benefit similarly.

[cosmoboy]

Oh yeah, and the project name for the I-240 project in Asheville is the "I-26 Connector". I took the liberty of changing it for you

Another one I'd like to see is the Shelby Bypass on US-74. A real bypass, not a stupid one that bypasses downtown only to get caught up in traffic through big box land.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey thanks! I know I screwed up something somewhere, but I just couldn't figure out where.

[Sabaidee]

One thing I like in this TIP is the I-85 widening between Speedway Blvd in Concord to Rowan County, it will eliminate that bottleneck. But what I really wanted it the widening of I-85 over the Yadkin River. Everytime I'm over it, I'm holding my breath, there's no shoulders or anything and it's very narrow. NCDOT don't know what's it doing creating bottlenecks all over Metro Charlotte. They are widening I-85 just before the Yadkin River to Rowan County now.

[JunktionFET]

That part of I-85 is very old and outdated... In fact it's so bad that they have created essentially a new freeway on the west side in the area of Innes St in Salisbury. For several evenings a year or so ago they closed that part of I-85 and routed traffic through downtown Spencer and Salisbury--they had to remove and/or modify the old substandard bridges.

That project is very large--a lot of work has to be done with typically limited funding.

The opened portion of I-85 south of Jake Alexander is rather nice... wide, concrete, complete with overhead electronic signage.

[JunktionFET]

Though there may not be enough right of way to make this happen 100%, I think the I-40/I-440/US1/US64 interchange in Cary needs to be completely redone as a high speed interchange, or at least a partial one.

Right now it is just a cloverleaf with east and west bound feeder lanes on I-40 (ala I-77 in Charlotte at the Belk Freeway interchange exit 9), and a single feeder lane on US1 southbound.

The interchange is assaulted from all directions, especially at rush hour, and the cloverleaf portions are fairly tight and overloaded with trucks, etc... Something needs to be done, and the completion of I-540 is not the answer to alleviate the congestion.

[dubone]

i agree with you orulz... the durham east end connector seems so obvious, it is really hard to believe they haven't built it in all this time. I also agree with renaming it so that us70 goes between 15-501 and then onto its current route north of rdu... and have durham freeway be the north-south route between 85 east of the city on through triangle parkway.

this route actually has even broader significance if you look at the big picture. If the EEC, Triangle Parkway, Western Wake Freeway (540 or whatever), US1 upgrade to freeway through NC, and then i73 from Rockingham to 95... you have a VERY competitive bypass for i95 between Petersburg, VA and Florence, SC. Since the funding will likely not ever be there to widen 95 through the length of NC, having an alternate route through Durham allows for quite a bit more capacity and economic development along US1.

Here would be my list of high priority asap projects:

- Durham EEC and US70 upgrade west of 540

- i85 widening to 8 lanes through cabarrus county

- i85 widening to 8 lanes between Salisbury and Lexington

- All the i30 projects (Shelby Bypass, Garden Parkway, Monroe Bypass, us74 upgrade to freeway between Monroe and Wilmington)

- Independence upgrade to Freeway in Charlotte

- i77 widening between 485 and nc73

- i140/us17 bypass in Wilmington

- i74/us311 freeway to i85 by high point

- us52 upgrade through Winston-Salem

[orulz]

While we're talking about high speed interchanges, what the is the deal with the Glenwood Ave/I-540 interchange? When you're going northwest on Glenwood to southwest on I-540, they make you stop at a stoplight at Westgate Rd. Why spend millions of dollars on such a nice, wide, high-speed interchange when they make you STOP before you can use it? It just seems pointless. The same thing applies from NE I-540 to SE Glenwood.

I realize that they would need either more bridges or a weave lane to do it without the stoplight, and there is neither enough space for a weave lane nor enough money for more bridges, but I say they need to find some way, any way, to get rid of the stoplight. It's like putting a stoplight in the middle of the interstate. It just irks me!

[Sabaidee]

High speed interchanges...estimates are if NCDOT was to rebuild I-77 at I-85, it would cost $100 millions, sounds like the reconstruction of Atlanta's I-85 at I-285, it was a simple cloverleaf and now it's the spaghetti interchange at similar pricetag. I hate how NCDOT has the entrance ramp to I-77 North from I-85 North, two lanes merging into one then merging from the left at very high speeds.

[cosmoboy]

The thing that always gets me is that why did NCDOT in the 60's decide to make the interchange so confusing by having I-77 north on the left hand side and I-77 South on the right hand side. Why couldn't they just build a regular clover leaf? Maybe they were trying to show off their creativity. 2 members of my family were killed at that interchance back in the late 60's. One was a trucker and the other was a State Trooper. It jolts me every time I'm on my way back from Atlanta and I go through that intersection , plus it has always leaned the wrong way too.

[dubone]

that is a sad story.

that interchange was probably a great idea at the time for how to avoid 2 slower loops... however it wasn't good long term thinking (although who knew in the 60s that charlotte would grow to what it is now?)

what irks me about the interchange is not so much that they did that in the 60s, but how in all this time have they not taken the pains to fix it. if you look at some of these new interstates being built with loop-money throughout the state, their freeway to freeway interchanges are like taj mahals. the us17 interchange in new bern is outrageously complicated and expensive.... and then you have the all the triple decker interchanges with 485, etc.

I have conflicting opinions on the high speed interchanges... thinking that why don't they just have people slow to 45mph or 55mph and design them with much lower turning radii and expense.... but more so, i wonder how all these rural and suburban interchanges get these massive designs, but the 77/85 interchange in the largest city in the state is hanging onto a half-century old design by a thread.

[Sabaidee]

I-77 South at I-485 is the state only spaghetti interchange and it's a unique spaghetti too with the rest area involved. Those high speed directional ramps are designed for high demands and I think I-77 and I-485 there justified it. Just look at the plans for I-77 North at I-485, I-485's western leg is designed as a bypass for I-77, so only two ramps are high speed directional while there are two loops. So the high speed ramps is for Inner I-485 to I-77 North and I-77 Southbound to Inner I-485.

[monsoon]

what irks me about the interchange is not so much that they did that in the 60s, but how in all this time have they not taken the pains to fix it.  if you look at some of these new interstates being built with loop-money throughout the state, their freeway to freeway interchanges are like taj mahals.  the us17 interchange in new bern is outrageously complicated and expensive.... and then you have the all the triple decker interchanges with 485, etc.   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For sure. They also did a remake of that interchange in the late 80s in an attempt to make it safer. The ramp connecting 85N to 77N was really dangerous and tractor trailers would turn over there all the time.

So our wonderful NCDOT spent a great deal of time and money in an attempt to make it safer. However when it reopened, it took less than a week for the first truck to turn over. One wonders why we get such piss poor engineering and construction here when they actually do manage to fund a highway.

[dubone]

that is crazy.

i think the very slight change in the sb85 to sb77 ramp that was done as part of the 77 widening actually did make some progress. I drive that ramp a lot, and i personally feel like it is a little safer. One change that i think would make a big difference, though, would be for the exit only lane that current siphons cars off for statesville road be connected to one of the lanes for the 77 exit. the problem is that everyone must avoid that far right lane because they are not getting off on statesville rd, but then every must very quickly squeezes into the next lane over to get on 77. If 2 lanes could simply line up a few miles in advance, it would cut out some of the last minute competition for that one lane.

[cosmoboy]

that is a sad story.

that interchange was probably a great idea at the time for how to avoid 2 slower loops... however it wasn't good long term thinking (although who knew in the 60s that charlotte would grow to what it is now?)

what irks me about the interchange is not so much that they did that in the 60s, but how in all this time have they not taken the pains to fix it.  if you look at some of these new interstates being built with loop-money throughout the state, their freeway to freeway interchanges are like taj mahals.  the us17 interchange in new bern is outrageously complicated and expensive.... and then you have the all the triple decker interchanges with 485, etc.   

I have conflicting opinions on the high speed interchanges... thinking that why don't they just have people slow to 45mph or 55mph and design them with much lower turning radii and expense.... but more so, i wonder how all these rural and suburban interchanges get these massive designs, but the 77/85 interchange in the largest city in the state is hanging onto a half-century old design by a thread.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I absolutely agree with you. Totally!

[cosmoboy]

I always thought they should've eliminated the Statesville Rd interchange due to oncoming traffic from I-77 northbound also the Graham St exit before you get to the I-77/I-85 interchange.

I was helping my sister move to Atlanta and on my way back I wanted to make a quick stop in DT Charlotte and I went through that part of the interchange that 2 family members of mine died and that I also had a wreck at about a 1 1/2 years ago. I managed to find a picture so here's the link I hate this interchange

[ChiefJoJo]

i wonder how all these rural and suburban interchanges get these massive designs, but the 77/85 interchange in the largest city in the state is hanging onto a half-century old design by a thread.

because it's not a high priority locally--> see chapter 6... if the local MPO doesn't see it as a priority even through 2030, it's not going to happen... period. Independence Expy/LRT/BRT is the top priority and it will likely continue to be well into the next decade until it's done.

There are too many other prioities in urban areas right now that need to be funded. Look at I40 Bus in W-S... that road is even older than 77/85... ramps are very short, median narrow, turns sharp, etc... basically it sucks as a freeway.

So our wonderful NCDOT spent a great deal of time and money in an attempt to make it safer. However when it reopened, it took less than a week for the first truck to turn over.  One wonders why we get such piss poor engineering and construction here when they actually do manage to fund a highway.

The ramp, I believe, is designed and posted for 35mph... don't you think it's possible that the truck was speeding? Perhaps you should find out the details before you jump to conclusions.

[dubone]

i understand about local priorities, but how are decisions made on new interchanges? It seems to me, for example, that some of the new-build projects get much more complicated and expensive interchanges. Is that a standards-based decision, and standards are higher now, so they require the triple-decker interchanges?

I guess i'm just not sure how i feel about it...

Does 485 really need the high speed interchanges? probably...

Does it need them more than independence needs an interchange at all with sharon amity and idlewild? i don't think so.

in other words, does mumpo say "we need 485" and then NCDOT does the expensive federal studies and designs and says "$600m" and then mumpo needs to figure out how to fit the 600m into its budget based on priority? or are the line items much more refined than that, where mumpo says how wide and how advanced the interchange is?

I guess i figure why can't 485 (or any of the other freeway loops that are getting triple-decker/high speed ramps throughout the state) survive with a 35mph loop ramp for a decade or two, if so many other freeways are still surviving with theirs?

(of course, as i said before, i have mixed feelings, because i'd also be one to say why couldn't ncdot do it right to begin with, etc.)

[orulz]

There are too many other prioities in urban areas right now that need to be funded.  Look at I40 Bus in W-S... that road is even older than 77/85... ramps are very short, median narrow, turns sharp, etc... basically it sucks as a freeway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I actually kind of like green 40 in Winston-Salem. You're right, the speed limit is 45 through downtown for a reason. But it's not a major through route, traffic flows more or less smoothly, and it goes right through downtown. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and do untold damage to numerous neighborhoods if it was completely upgraded to a "modern" 55 or 65mph facility.

Now, I don't live in W-S, but from the perspective of an outsider, Green 40 does its job beautifully. There is a place in this world for sub-interstate freeways. Not everything needs to have high-speed stacked interchanges and a 65+mph speed limit. Let through traffic and trucks take the modern and very adequate bypass to the south of town; leave green 40 for local traffic only.

I-77, on the other hand, is a major through route. There's no way for a truck to bypass it. That's why 77 should be prioritized over Green 40.