Traffic, Freeways and Road Construction

[ilektronik]

Seems like this has been covered here before, but I just want to rant about it again. Why does the NCDOT bother putting up the large electronic displays over interstates (like the one on I-485 near Rocky River Rd.) and never use them? I pass by the one on I-85 before the 29/49 connector all the time and all it ever says is "NCDOT Sign Test." You'd think they would have gotten it tested by now, it's been there for quite some time. Why can't they display some useful information? Like maybe the weather or <GASP> traffic conditions?

I also want to complain about the lights not being on in completely dark on I-77 south on Sunday night. What's up with that? There are lights there and they weren't on...that stretch of road, over almost any other in the area, needs lights.

I have found that the one on I-77 (north of exit 16 I believe) actually creates more traffic. Occassionally there will be a message and everyone will slow down to a snail's pace in order to read it. I find it very frustrating.

On a side note, the other week the message read "Expect Delays - Race Traffic". I was very tempted to start zipping through lanes and when the cop asked what I was doing I could tell him that I was following instructions to "race traffic"

[ilektronik]

BTW, on a side note there are NO lights going to Suset either on 77 from Uptown.

A2 I'm gonna buy you some street lights for your bday

[Neo]

On a side note, the other week the message read "Expect Delays - Race Traffic". I was very tempted to start zipping through lanes and when the cop asked what I was doing I could tell him that I was following instructions to "race traffic"

About that...they put a mobile sign beside the on at Rocky River and I-485 instead of using the permanent sign they have installed. Makes no sense to me. Oh well.

[A2]

A2 I'm gonna buy you some street lights for your bday

LOL ! Boy what a gift ilectronik. If you ask the state how much this gift would cost it would run around 10K a bulb. I think the way that the budgets are done with the state, we MIGHT finally get some lights by 2042 according to my calculations. But that will just be for 77. For I-85 expect 2049.

A2

[monsoon]

LOL ! Boy what a gift ilectronik. If you ask the state how much this gift would cost it would run around 10K a bulb. I think the way that the budgets are done with the state, we MIGHT finally get some lights by 2042 according to my calculations. But that will just be for 77. For I-85 expect 2049.

A2

Yeah, but it will take the NCDOT 10 years to install them on I-77 so it is even.

[A2]

Yeah, but it will take the NCDOT 10 years to install them on I-77 so it is even.

sad but true , sad but true...

A2

[dubone]

http://www.charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/eqdu6...ffic_counts.pdf

traffic counts for roads in charlotte

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/new...ic/13095074.htm

Here is an interesting Observer article about local vs state road funding, and the huge deficit in needs vs funding.

It includes a link to http://www.ncgo.org/ , an organization that lobbies the state to correct their transportation problems. It is a fairly extensive site, which includes NC transportation history from 1584-1800 .

[RiverwoodCLT]

3.7 billion dollars is a lot. I would like to see a law pass, to stop taking funds from the Highway Trust Fund,

for nonhighway use.

[dubone]

Not even just taking it away from highway use, it is taken away from transportation use.

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/13155699.htm

With the Tyvola Colliseum no longer in use, Tyvola Road will no longer have reversible lanes. It was fairly sophisticated system, but obviously no longer necessary.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/13155765.htm

Also, the new auxiliary lane on I-77 northbound opens this week, adding a third lane to exit 23.

[nyxmike]

3.7 billion dollars is a lot. I would like to see a law pass, to stop taking funds from the Highway Trust Fund,

for nonhighway use.

Just curious - what are they doing with some that money? It's obviously not going towards education or law enforcement...

Does anyone think the new I-77 lane will help with the bottleneck? Or will it just cause a bottleneck furthur up the road?

[dubone]

I think the 77 lane will help some, although not that much. Many will choose to get off the freeway at exit 23. The current bottleneck provided no option to exit, so this bottleneck will not be as bad as the current situation.

Transportation bottlenecks go hand in hand with suburban sprawl. People want to escape the crowds and live farther out, but then so many people do it, that it strains the infrastructure.

[monsoon]

I think it will help some. Fortunately exit 23 really doesn't go anywhere so the people getting off at that exit will be Huntersville residents. Bad for the people that need to travel on down that road however. The NCDOT should have never approved a plan that drops the road from 4 lanes to 2 lanes with no hope to get off the exit.

They are putting up some quite nice highway lighting at this point.

Charlotte is indeed a city comprised of sprawl. I-77 N. is an interesting study in what is going on in the area as the highway is often clogged in both directions at the same time during commuting hours. The towns in the north have been pretty good at recruiting new HQs, manufacturing, and other office jobs, and many people commute from Charlotte to go to these jobs. I would argue that a 4 lane expressway (north of exit 23) is not sufficient for a metro with 1.5M people, especially when it is combined with an Interstate highway that is the gateway from the Piedmont to Western Va, W Va, and the industrial midwest.

I-77 N should be 8-laned all the way to I-40 where by at that point much of the traffic that remains is just passing through the area. The fact that all of it through Iredell county is just 4 lanes is one of the reasons the legislators there are very reluctant to commit funding to the N. Commuter Rail line as they would rather have the state fix this highway.

[orulz]

People want to escape the crowds and live farther out, but then so many people do it, that it strains the infrastructure.

What crowds. I see no real crowds anywhere in the state of NC. EXCEPT on the highways leading to these vaunted quasi-rural subdivisions.

Sure, some people crave a more "rural" lifestyle, but I don't think that's what is driving the outward oozing of subdivisions.

Rather, I think people are moving further and further out because land and housing stock is cheaper out there, subsidized by the cities' commitments to extend city services and infrastructure. We are conditioned and trained so that as soon as we can almost afford the payments on a 40 year mortgage of a $90,000 house, it becomes our sacred duty as Americans to buy, buy, buy! And today's feverish market is telling us that these built-to-crumble KB starter homes are sound real estate investments.

I don't desire to take away peoples' right to choose their own residence. But take out the infrastructure subsidy and most of that crap wouldn't even be built. Regardless, I have to wonder whether it isn't wiser for some folks to rent for a couple more years and then buy something more permanent for a first home?

[ChiefJoJo]

^What we need are MUCH higher impact fees, so that we can reduce the burden on public entities to provide new infrustructure in sprawling areas. Raleigh's are rediculously low--less than $2k per home-- and I'm sure many others could be looked at as well.

I'd personally like to see a state development impact fee (for greenfield development) that would go towards transportation projects and stay within the county or region it's collected.

[monsoon]

I think the last thing we need is to get the State more involved in local matters. If we had a state impact fee, the money would get collected in Charlotte and used to put up street lights in Bugtussle, NC. (probably somewhere in eastern NC)

[UrbanLifter]

I think the last thing we need is to get the State more involved in local matters. If we had a state impact fee, the money would get collected in Charlotte and used to put up street lights in Bugtussle, NC. (probably somewhere in eastern NC)

Monsoon. Yes, you are so correct. There are towns like that in the eastern parts. Bughill is in Columbus County. Its not far from Nakina. I am sure either would appreciate an extra street light or two.

[A2]

Speaking of street lighting I sent a long letter to our reprentatives in Raleigh yesterday. I have also contacted the Charlotte Observer. Hopefully my gripes will get some nod from someone. I am not going to let this issue go.

Here is a copy of my letter to the C/O:

Can someone please tell me who turned the lights off on every Major Interstate in Charlotte?

As a concerned tax-payer, I am appalled at how many lights are out on 77 North and I-85. I have noticed stretches going through the city that extend for more than a couple of miles at a time ! I mean NOT ONE BULB IS LIT !This is not only an inconvenience, but could be, quite deadly. I personally was almost side-swiped by a merging vehicle going north on I-77. I have to hesitate to find fault with the driver since the interchange (as well as the stretch of Interstate that he was merging onto was COMPLETELY dark. I fault the state. He and many other drivers have complained about this, but I have yet to see any steps taken in correcting this serious matter. Can we as tax-payers ever expect to see any relief?

We want to call ourselves a "world-class" city, but we can't even light up our roads.

I have seen a better job in lighting rural area roads, than lighting major thoroughfares in the middle of the LARGEST city in N.Carolina!

I am totally outraged at this since I have been to many cities across the US that do not have the same problem we do.

Many of the cities that I have been through have twice the lighting, but are two and three times smaller than Charlotte.

This is an outrage and needs to be addressed. I have contacted the state, but no response. This is OUR money that the state is spending, NOT theirs.

Is it possible to sue the state for negligence in the event another life is lost on our dark and treacherous roads ?

Concerned citizen and tax-payer

[Norm2]

SUE THE STATE! SUE THE STATE!

[A2]

SUE THE STATE! SUE THE STATE!

I just might norm2199. If I win I will personally allocate 90% of the money awarded to me to putting in some stinking light bulbs. (the other 10% for me of course ).

A2

[orulz]

I realize you're joking, but...

You could potentially sue the state to get them to install lighting, but no way would you get any cash out of the deal. You'd just be skimming money from the taxpayers. This is why legal action against government agencies is always a hairy matter.

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/13323492.htm

Some major relief may be coming to the transportation project backlog across the state, and especially in the Charlotte metro.

NC will finally start using garvee bonds, which most other states have been using for a while. It allows projects to be built now with only 4.5% interest, rather than how NCDOT has traditionally built roads. They traditionally just add the project to a waiting list, and in the mean time, construction materials, and land prices continue to rise, almost certainly higher than 4.5%.

Apparently Charlotte's NCDOT division will get almost 10% of the the almost $1B of bond money.

It will be interesting to see which projects take advantage of this money.

It appears that the only candidate projects for the money in this area are 85 through Cabarrus, and/or the Monroe Bypass.

I wish it could go to speeding up Independence Blvd, as that would reduce a serious amount of congestion in the core metro county. The two projects that this money will likely go toward create some risk for sprawl.

I hope the money goes to 85 in Cabarrus, as that is Charlotte's primary connection to the other cities in the state. It has always been comedy to me that the roads get smaller as you get closer to the largest city in the state.

[A2]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/13323492.htm

Some major relief may be coming to the transportation project backlog across the state, and especially in the Charlotte metro.

NC will finally start using garvee bonds, which most other states have been using for a while. It allows projects to be built now with only 4.5% interest, rather than how NCDOT has traditionally built roads. They traditionally just add the project to a waiting list, and in the mean time, construction materials, and land prices continue to rise, almost certainly higher than 4.5%.

Apparently Charlotte's NCDOT division will get almost 10% of the the almost $1B of bond money.

It will be interesting to see which projects take advantage of this money.

It appears that the only candidate projects for the money in this area are 85 through Cabarrus, and/or the Monroe Bypass.

I wish it could go to speeding up Independence Blvd, as that would reduce a serious amount of congestion in the core metro county. The two projects that this money will likely go toward create some risk for sprawl.

I hope the money goes to 85 in Cabarrus, as that is Charlotte's primary connection to the other cities in the state. It has always been comedy to me that the roads get smaller as you get closer to the largest city in the state.

^^^This is a great find D. Thanks for sharing.

A2

[nyxmike]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/13323492.htm

Some major relief may be coming to the transportation project backlog across the state, and especially in the Charlotte metro.

NC will finally start using garvee bonds, which most other states have been using for a while. It allows projects to be built now with only 4.5% interest, rather than how NCDOT has traditionally built roads. They traditionally just add the project to a waiting list, and in the mean time, construction materials, and land prices continue to rise, almost certainly higher than 4.5%.

Apparently Charlotte's NCDOT division will get almost 10% of the the almost $1B of bond money.

It will be interesting to see which projects take advantage of this money.

It appears that the only candidate projects for the money in this area are 85 through Cabarrus, and/or the Monroe Bypass.

I wish it could go to speeding up Independence Blvd, as that would reduce a serious amount of congestion in the core metro county. The two projects that this money will likely go toward create some risk for sprawl.

I hope the money goes to 85 in Cabarrus, as that is Charlotte's primary connection to the other cities in the state. It has always been comedy to me that the roads get smaller as you get closer to the largest city in the state.

Well the article says, "So far, the highway folks are talking informally about using the money to either widen Independence Boulevard, speed up work on the U.S. 74 bypass/connector in Union County or widen Interstate 85 in Cabarrus", so your wish about Independence might come true.

I agree - I'm actually torn between I-85 in Cabarrus or Independence Blvd. I know I might be attacked for saying this, but I think Charlotte should get a larger share of that money - enough so that atleast 2 projects can be completed.