Here is the current situation on the proposed interstate highway along US 70 from Raleigh to Morehead City, based on my observations and the NCDOT web site. This is a road that will actually be built, although completion is probably way out in the 2030s. Freeway exists (or will exist, when the Goldsboro Bypass is finished next year) on about half the route, and there is at least some preliminary planning on nearly all of the rest.
Section 1, Clayton Bypass. 10.7 miles freeway, interstate grade or close to it, opened in 2008, connecting I-40 at the west end to US 70 Business. Speed limit 70.
Section 2, Wilsons Mills Section. About 6.5 miles divided highway, US 70 Business to Buffalo Road interchange. The road is fenced and has no driveway connections, but there are at least 9 at-grade intersections and 2 traffic signals. Speed limit 55. The STIP calls for replacing the two principal intersections at Wilson Mills with interchanges in construction scheduled for 2020-22. Upgrading the rest of the section to a freeway would not be difficult but it is unfunded.
Section 3, Smithfield Bypass. About 3.5 miles freeway. The narrow shoulders of the road are clearly not interstate grade, so this section would need upgrading. The big problem is that US 70 crosses I-95 with no direct connection (traffic from US 70 to I-95 is shunted onto the old US 70A, which has an obsolete diamond interchange with I-95 and a major stoplight intersection with US 301). Speed limit 55.
Section 4, Pine Level Section. 2.2 miles divided highway, Firetower Road to Stevens Chapel Road, including the intersection with US 70 Business east of Smithfield. Until recently the road has had at-grade intersections, driveway connections, and two stoplights. Speed limit 55. Construction is underway to replace two intersections with interchanges and eliminate all left turns, but it sounds like the result will still have some driveway and side road connections.
Section 5, Princeton Bypass. About 13 miles old-fashioned divided highway, with many at-grade intersections and driveway connections and at least two stoplights. Improvement of this section is completely unfunded; a preliminary cost estimate study has been in progress and should be completed soon. It does not seem likely that this section can be upgraded without moving a significant fraction of the route to a new location.
Section 6, Goldsboro Bypass. 22.3 miles freeway, interstate-grade, on new location north of the city. The western 9.8 miles are complete and the eastern 12.5 miles are scheduled to open in June 2016.
Section 7, Lagrange Bypass. About 2.3 miles freeway with one interchange at NC 903. This is an old section (1970s?); it needs some upgrading to meet interstate standards.
Section 8, Kinston Bypass. Roughly 25 miles. Planning for this major section has been underway since 2009 and many possible routes have been considered and rejected. The alternatives still being considered are all south of the city. Most are on new location over nearly the whole length, but there is also a “close-in” alternative that would require a (difficult) upgrading of the existing route on the eastern and western approaches to Kinston. The draft environmental impact statement is to be released in early 2016. The project is not funded, so construction is unlikely before the late 2020s.
Section 9, Dover – New Bern Section. 26 miles freeway, speed limit 70. This is an older road, but it appears that it needs only interstate-width shoulders to be added to meet current standards.
Section 10, James City Section. About 2 miles 4-lane divided highway with parallel frontage roads passing through a commercial zone; there are at-grade intersections and several stoplights. A project in planning would upgrade this section to a freeway. The current STIP calls for construction beginning in FY 2021.
Section 11, James City – Havelock Section. About 13 miles 4-lane divided highway. A feasibility study for upgrading this section to a freeway was completed in 2012. The original STIP does not include it, but the amended STIP in fall 2015 calls for right of way acquisition to begin in FY 2025.
Section 12, Havelock Bypass. 10.1 miles freeway on new location south of the city. Right of way is being acquired and construction is scheduled to begin in 2018.
Section 13, unknown. It’s not clear where an interstate would go after passing Havelock. Would it continue to Morehead City? There has been a feasibility study for a project called the Northern Carteret Bypass, which would loop US 70 in an arc well to the north of Morehead City and Beaufort to end in eastern Carteret County. (That seems like an unlikely place for an interstate highway to end.)
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Topic: North Carolina (Read 982153 times)