Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction

[KJHburg]

when was this done I guess I have not been on S Church lately.   where they have made a turn only lane onto 277 ramp.  

[go_vertical]

I believe that was done in the last week or so.

[KJHburg]

One more sign board NC DOT could have had every incorporated town on this  big overhead signage.  (Missing only the Hatteras Island towns of Dare County)  You might need the rest area to get your bearings. 

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by KJHburg

[carolinaboy]

12 hours ago, KJHburg said:

One more sign board NC DOT could have had every incorporated town on this  big overhead signage.  (Missing only the Hatteras Island towns of Dare County)  You might need the rest area to get your bearings. 

 

For those who don't know, the ocean is just beyond the houses on the right of the picture.

When I was in college there was a dumpy little cottage I stayed in during summer in the vicinity of that picture. It's no longer there......demolished for the Hilton Garden Inn there now. 

Sorry, very off-topic.

Edited December 13, 2023 by carolinaboy

[videtur quam contuor]

In the early 70's I stayed at the Banks. I camped at a KOA campground behind the dune, close to Jockey Ridge. There were no hotels, or hotels open in late March/early April. There was a Nag's Head store/kitchen/quick diner. Fishermen with their 4-wheel drive beach truck rigs were my company.

edit: HOW could I have forgotten this! My faithful, loving canine companion was along for the full journey. Slept together, ran the beach, just a joyful, in the moment experience.

I bought my supplies at a tiny old fashioned grocery in Manteo and the cashier had the Devon, England accent from the settlers long ago.  There was an Easter Sunrise service on the beach conducted by a chaplain from a nearby military facility. As a place to have my head cleared and my spirit cleansed it was the perfect time and location, which was my objective. Compare that experience to what one would have now.

Highway 64 headed toward Manteo was a long haul with nothing but nature and maybe a truck or farm machine. The highway had an occasional unattended gas pump. Put gas hose and handle in car fuel neck, insert 20$ bill in pump receptacle and add fuel.* Humans, there were none.

* these unattended fueling stations were found in the U. S. West also and may be there still. Anyone know? I encountered them in Iceland also. Anyplace where one must plan ahead for a drive and be sure one has fuel, food, water, blanket, etc. for the drive may have such facilities.

Edited December 13, 2023 by videtur quam contuor

[carolinaboy]

There are still places where you can clear your head and cleanse your spirit.........they're just harder to find.

[Desert Power]

I don't really do much driving unless going to visit family in South Carolina, but it feels like I77 between the border and Uptown has just become awful no matter the time of day.

[Hushpuppy321]

On 12/16/2023 at 2:59 PM, Desert Power said:

I don't really do much driving unless going to visit family in South Carolina, but it feels like I77 between the border and Uptown has just become awful no matter the time of day.

You my good Sir - would be correct in your I-77 assessment!

[rancenc]

Well it looks like the I-77/I-40 interchange is apparently finished!

https://www.statesvillenc.com/2023/12/22/10547/all-lanes-of-the-i-77-whirlpool-in-statesville-open-just-in-time-for-holiday-travel/?fbclid=IwAR2S00mzOM9G1yTOp9tYzRtlugZAxdRg-M3Cr7ucmKBft3wtqLSWLfzWm50

[tozmervo]

11 hours ago, rancenc said:

Well it looks like the I-77/I-40 interchange is apparently finished!

https://www.statesvillenc.com/2023/12/22/10547/all-lanes-of-the-i-77-whirlpool-in-statesville-open-just-in-time-for-holiday-travel/?fbclid=IwAR2S00mzOM9G1yTOp9tYzRtlugZAxdRg-M3Cr7ucmKBft3wtqLSWLfzWm50

Yup. Have driven it several times already, glad all the barrels are gone. All the surface street upgrades in Statesville are done, too - some really great improvements. 

[KJHburg]

New Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over I-26 in Asheville due to the widening below.  Incredible shot from Facebook.

[tozmervo]

Rare example of an old bridge being replaced by a more attractive bridge.

[nicholas]

I swear, every time I'm on Graham St or Sugar Creek, I lose a little bit more hope. 

Graham just sucks because there are so many 18-wheelers trying to stay in the very narrow lanes, lots of people turning across traffic onto side streets and businesses, and extremely poorly-timed lights.  I cannot even count how many times I have been driving home after 10pm and hit literally almost every single red light (often times with literally no crossing traffic at all during the entire light cycle).  And I really don't understand why we have protected left turns at the I-85 interchange after 10pm when there are barely any cars on the road.  Turn lane signals should be flashing yellow at low traffic volumes, not 20+ second solid green light cycles.

Sugar Creek seems more dangerous than Graham especially near the I-85 interchange.  Somehow, half of the drivers seem like every time they encounter a set of exit ramps is the is their first time they have ever seen exit ramps, and the other half are weaving through traffic as fast as possible.  And add in pedestrians obliviously walking around in the road at the Reagan Dr intersection and it's literally always a white knuckle drive through there.  Also I don't know why cars still come with turn signals since nobody ever uses them.

There's gotta be a better way.

[Poo Diddy]

19 hours ago, nicholas said:

I swear, every time I'm on Graham St or Sugar Creek, I lose a little bit more hope. 

Graham just sucks because there are so many 18-wheelers trying to stay in the very narrow lanes, lots of people turning across traffic onto side streets and businesses, and extremely poorly-timed lights. 

I have customers on Graham Street between 85 & Brookshire.  Every time I am there I have the same feeling.  I am by no means a road expert but I have to imagine that road would function better as one travel lane in each direction with a center turn lane

[kermit]

Wave of the future in Charlotte? (This should be blue text)

 

[KJHburg]

On my recent driving trip to south Florida I noticed something I thought was good on their tolled express lanes.  I was travelling northbound on Saturday on I-95 leaving Fort Lauderdale towards West Palm and noticed they express lanes said 0.00 cents for the next segment.  The signs kept saying this but at  the normal toll gantry camera flashes  went off where they were checking to see if I had a pass.  (I have the sticker NC Quick Pass which doubles as a SunPass in Florida or Peach Pass in GA)   I just checked my account and indeed  no tolls but referenced I was on the toll lanes using those segments  I think from what my friends said they do this when the traffic is lighter but it is only for people with transponders or a SunPass (or in this case a NC QuickPass)  I like the fact that Florida will give you free rides in the toll express lanes if you are registered with them.  Wish NC would consider.  Now this would not have happened on a toll road only but these were express lanes.  And yes these free lanes for registered users did indeed save me time as there were some minor backups northbound on I-95 that afternoon.  

[cowboy_wilhelm]

There is now a project page on the NCDOT's website for the I-85 and I-485 interchange revisions west of Charlotte. A public meeting will be held February 8 for the project. Two maps are available showing the proposed improvements (map 1 and map 2). Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2025.

It's an improvement over the existing conditions for the merging 485 ramps, but only having two collector/distributor lanes for 40k vehicles that are merging with I-85 in less than 3/4 of a mile, with one lane exiting into the weigh station, just seems like a continuing cluster for 85 southbound. The southbound weigh station really needs to be moved and have a fifth auxiliary lane from the 485 ramp to Exit 27/ NC 273. Or, not cheap out and build a new Sam Wilson Rd. overpass wide enough to accommodate the 485 ramps and provide twice the distance for traffic to merge.

[nicholas]

In addition to a zero-tolerance left lane law for normal traffic, I feel like there needs to be a law requiring freight trucks to stay in the two rightmost lanes on interstates.  Maybe there is and I'm unaware of it.  Most of the interstates throughout the Charlotte area are at least three continuous lanes wide in each direction.  485 out by the airport can be particularly egregious with freight/box trucks regularly driving next to each other blocking all three lanes, which obviously just adds even more fuel to the fire that is Charlotte's rampant impatient and unpredictable drivers.

And there needs to be a back-to-basics traffic enforcement campaign focused on things other than speeding.  I see a literal shocking number of cars, (especially brand new ones which are certainly equipped with automatic lights) driving around with no lights on at night, as well as the opposite where the drivers leave their highbeams on at all times.  Turn signals are a rarity to see, and red lights are run at seemingly every signal cycle (no doubt fueled by absolutely atrocious signal timing/coordination and drivers not wanting to wait FOREVER for their light to change back to green).  Once or twice a year I might see speeding enforcement efforts on the interstates by police pretending to help make the roads safer, but I have never ever seen anyone pulled over for anything obvious other than speeding.  Maybe expired registration but that's about it (although with the amount of expired and completely missing plates I see on a daily basis, that doesn't seem to be taken very seriously either).

[KJHburg]

from socials concerning new roads in Ballantyne:

""NEW ROADS Please use caution navigating new traffic patterns, as your safety continues to be our top priority.
This map illustrates new roads, intersections and traffic patterns. New traffic lights will be fully operational by Wednesday, January 31, and roads are expected to open on Thursday, February 1.
Upper Avenue, connecting Johnston Road and North Community House Road
Lower Avenue, connecting Ballantyne Commons Parkway and North Community House Road
Please note the section of Lower Avenue between Ballantyne Commons Parkway and Ballantyne Corporate Place will open in conjunction with The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten's opening, anticipated in mid-April.
We appreciate your patience throughout the construction process as we work to improve connectivity throughout the Ballantyne® campus and surrounding area.""

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

On 1/29/2024 at 8:59 AM, KJHburg said:

from socials concerning new roads in Ballantyne:

""NEW ROADS Please use caution navigating new traffic patterns, as your safety continues to be our top priority.
This map illustrates new roads, intersections and traffic patterns. New traffic lights will be fully operational by Wednesday, January 31, and roads are expected to open on Thursday, February 1.
Upper Avenue, connecting Johnston Road and North Community House Road
Lower Avenue, connecting Ballantyne Commons Parkway and North Community House Road
Please note the section of Lower Avenue between Ballantyne Commons Parkway and Ballantyne Corporate Place will open in conjunction with The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten's opening, anticipated in mid-April.
We appreciate your patience throughout the construction process as we work to improve connectivity throughout the Ballantyne® campus and surrounding area.""

Are those street names finalized?

[KJHburg]

I-485 construction and addition of the tolled express lanes.  From Matthews to the Ballantyne area.  New exit is almost done at Weddington Rd exit.  Pretty sure this is supposed to be completed this year is this correct? 

[KJHburg]

from Asheville the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over widened I-26.  from the socials.  3 more short sections then it will be connected. 

 

[KJHburg]

TomTom came out with their list of congested cities and you can see how they measure it.  

Traffic Index ranking | TomTom Traffic Index

Not too many surprises but Charlotte is way down the list and that is a good thing.    Charlotte came in at #46. 

Charleston is #19 most congested city in the country and if you ever driven around downtown or even the suburbs you will believe this.  They really have few freeways and what they have are very congested like I-526.  

Greensboro and Winston Salem are some of the least congested cities and that is the truth for NC both those cities are the least congested over 50,000 people.  

[davidclt]

37 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

TomTom came out with their list of congested cities and you can see how they measure it.  

Traffic Index ranking | TomTom Traffic Index

Not too many surprises but Charlotte is way down the list and that is a good thing.    Charlotte came in at #46. 

Charleston is #19 most congested city in the country and if you ever driven around downtown or even the suburbs you will believe this.  They really have few freeways and what they have are very congested like I-526.  

Greensboro and Winston Salem are some of the least congested cities and that is the truth for NC both those cities are the least congested over 50,000 people.  

I'm surprised you didn't comment on Columbia's showing barely in the double digits at 12. Still, it feels like traffic here is getting worse all the time, especially on the freeways but arterials as well. Does NCDOT or CDOT recognize arterials as a thing? It feels like they don't. In Seattle, it felt like they signed arterials as such: .

I guess NCDOT does, even if they don't sign them as such: Functional Classification System.pdf (ncdot.gov)

Edited February 1 by davidclt
Should have searched before questioning.

[MarcoPolo]

@KJHburg Charleston's congestion has less to do with the number of freeways present, or lack thereof, but rather the number of rivers and marshes present that surround and separate the City's urban area.  Charleston spreads across a series of small islands/peninsulas.  Everyone has to funnel into and out of a handful of pinch points and confined corridors to accomplish just about all day-to-day activities.   These are woefully inadequate for "connecting" the regions thoroughfare network sufficiently enough to help disperse the region's origin and destination trip demand across the metro area.  That's why I-526, Savannah HWY 17, and I-26 are a cluster....rain or shine   

If Charlotte had a second Catawba river snaking through it, the existing freeway/highway network would be a crap-show, and our ranking not TomTom would be much worse.   But, the City would be more beautiful