North Carolina

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-16-i-40-aviation-pkwy-ramp-shift.aspx

MORRISVILLE – N.C. Department of Transportation contractors plan to shift traffic from the existing ramps on and off westbound Interstate 40 at Aviation Parkway onto newly constructed ramps on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.

The existing westbound exit ramp from I-40 and the onramp to I-40 West from Aviation Parkway will be closed. The shift in ramp alignments will update the interchange to new design standards and accommodate the construction of a new loop for I-40 westbound traffic exiting to travel south on Aviation Parkway.

[Mileage Mike]

Good explanation for the construction but, that didn't add a lane, plus I-26 is not a major commerce route like I-95.

NCDOT's AADT data show 46,000 vehicles on that section of I-26, 17% being trucks. At the Roanoke River on I-95 it's 49,000 and 21% trucks. Comparing volumes, the busiest stretch of I-26 sees 22,000 more vehicles per day than the busiest section of I-95. I-26 isn't a rural mountain drive.

Links please, plus, is that busiest stretch of 26 with or at the 40 junction?

NCDOT 2017 Freeway AADT Volumes
Web Map

South of I-40
Exit 31 to Exit 33: 84,000
Exit 33 to Exit 37: 85,000
Exit 37 to Exit 40: 82,000

Interesting. Looks like I-40 around RTP is now even busier than I-77 between the SC Line and Uptown Charlotte.

[ARMOURERERIC]

I wonder if NCDot sees a recession on the horizon  and thinks they can get lower bids on some projects if they wait a year or so.

[RoadPelican]

My question is Why is the NCDOT having shortfalls when A) The Legislature raised DMV Fees a few years ago and more and more people are moving to NC, which equals more NCDOT Funding and B) What about the Build NC bond money? 

I find it hard to believe that even with the recent Hurricanes and Map Act Litigation that the NCDOT would be having cashflow problems.

If I were Governor I would immediately call for an audit of the NCDOT!

[froggie]

Regarding A, at the same time the Legislature raised DMV fees, the gas tax also dropped, so it wasn't as much of a revenue gain as you may expect.  The Map Act litigation thus far has cost about two-years worth of what those higher DMV fees were expected to collect.  Their average costs for storm recovery over the past three years have also completely eaten up whatever increase the higher DMV fees would have provided.

Regarding B, as of the beginning of this summer, bonds had not been issued yet.  And keep in mind that, per the state law that authorized the Build NC bonds, NCDOT's existing revenues are to be used to pay the bonds back.

So yes, it's quite plausible that they're having cashflow problems.

[goobnav]

My question is Why is the NCDOT having shortfalls when A) The Legislature raised DMV Fees a few years ago and more and more people are moving to NC, which equals more NCDOT Funding and B) What about the Build NC bond money? 

I find it hard to believe that even with the recent Hurricanes and Map Act Litigation that the NCDOT would be having cashflow problems.

If I were Governor I would immediately call for an audit of the NCDOT!

LOL!!!  Cooper to ask for an audit of Dept ran by his party buddy.  LOL!!!  Guess it escaped everybody that they are moving the HQ from Raleigh, the capital, to Rocky Mount, Cooper's home base.

Seriously, only the Council of State, headed by Cooper, approved this, in opposition to a lot of his "friends" in Raleigh.  Yes, the current building is a dilapidated joke but, there are plenty of properties available to either lease or build, Knightdale was just voted the cheapest place to live in NC, that's eastern Wake county, to have a new DOT HQ at or near the seat of government for the state.  Rocky Mount is 50 miles from the Capital. 

The General Assembly can call for an audit, most likely will after this STIP comes out and projects are delayed or shelved.  Especially if it'll hurt Cooper's chances of being reelected.  Get ready, NC is about to have a road building roller coaster.

[LM117]

My question is Why is the NCDOT having shortfalls when A) The Legislature raised DMV Fees a few years ago and more and more people are moving to NC, which equals more NCDOT Funding and B) What about the Build NC bond money? 

I find it hard to believe that even with the recent Hurricanes and Map Act Litigation that the NCDOT would be having cashflow problems.

If I were Governor I would immediately call for an audit of the NCDOT!

LOL!!!  Cooper to ask for an audit of Dept ran by his party buddy.  LOL!!!  Guess it escaped everybody that they are moving the HQ from Raleigh, the capital, to Rocky Mount, Cooper's home base.

Seriously, only the Council of State, headed by Cooper, approved this, in opposition to a lot of his "friends" in Raleigh.  Yes, the current building is a dilapidated joke but, there are plenty of properties available to either lease or build, Knightdale was just voted the cheapest place to live in NC, that's eastern Wake county, to have a new DOT HQ at or near the seat of government for the state.  Rocky Mount is 50 miles from the Capital.

Only the DMV HQ is moving to Rocky Mount, not the entire NCDOT HQ itself.

[goobnav]

My question is Why is the NCDOT having shortfalls when A) The Legislature raised DMV Fees a few years ago and more and more people are moving to NC, which equals more NCDOT Funding and B) What about the Build NC bond money? 

I find it hard to believe that even with the recent Hurricanes and Map Act Litigation that the NCDOT would be having cashflow problems.

If I were Governor I would immediately call for an audit of the NCDOT!

LOL!!!  Cooper to ask for an audit of Dept ran by his party buddy.  LOL!!!  Guess it escaped everybody that they are moving the HQ from Raleigh, the capital, to Rocky Mount, Cooper's home base.

Seriously, only the Council of State, headed by Cooper, approved this, in opposition to a lot of his "friends" in Raleigh.  Yes, the current building is a dilapidated joke but, there are plenty of properties available to either lease or build, Knightdale was just voted the cheapest place to live in NC, that's eastern Wake county, to have a new DOT HQ at or near the seat of government for the state.  Rocky Mount is 50 miles from the Capital.

Only the DMV HQ is moving to Rocky Mount, not the entire NCDOT HQ itself.

Still a big part of NCDOT and an unnecessary move out of the Capital.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

I heard a story today about how our firm and another firm were given contracts by different staff at NCDOT to do the same work. They didn't realize it until they had a kick-off call and both firms were on the same call discussing the same scope of work. They had a follow-up call to divide up the work.

No wonder there's no money.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-23-pitt-county-ramp-opens-early-another-closes.aspx

GREENVILLE — Contracting crews finished improvements to a Pitt County interchange ramp early and will begin improvements to an adjacent ramp next week.

Between 9 a.m. Aug. 26 and 5 p.m. Sept. 9, drivers headed west on U.S. 264 will not be able to take exit 73A on the west side of Greenville to head toward Wilson.

Until it reopens, traffic will be detoured through three exit loops at the interchange. Drivers will take a right just past the bridge and the two immediate right exit loops to stay on U.S. 264 West.

Motorists should anticipate needing extra time for their commute and use caution when approaching the work zone.

This construction is part of the Southwest Bypass, which will be a four-lane, 12.6-mile freeway. It will begin just south of Ayden on N.C. 11, wrap around the west side of Ayden and Winterville and end at the U.S. 264 Bypass west of Greenville. The new highway is expected to open in 2020.

[tolbs17]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-23-pitt-county-ramp-opens-early-another-closes.aspx

GREENVILLE — Contracting crews finished improvements to a Pitt County interchange ramp early and will begin improvements to an adjacent ramp next week.

Between 9 a.m. Aug. 26 and 5 p.m. Sept. 9, drivers headed west on U.S. 264 will not be able to take exit 73A on the west side of Greenville to head toward Wilson.

Until it reopens, traffic will be detoured through three exit loops at the interchange. Drivers will take a right just past the bridge and the two immediate right exit loops to stay on U.S. 264 West.

Motorists should anticipate needing extra time for their commute and use caution when approaching the work zone.

This construction is part of the Southwest Bypass, which will be a four-lane, 12.6-mile freeway. It will begin just south of Ayden on N.C. 11, wrap around the west side of Ayden and Winterville and end at the U.S. 264 Bypass west of Greenville. The new highway is expected to open in 2020.

What?! 2020???? They said November 2019. They pushed it back again?!?!

[PiedmontHwys]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-23-pitt-county-ramp-opens-early-another-closes.aspx

GREENVILLE — Contracting crews finished improvements to a Pitt County interchange ramp early and will begin improvements to an adjacent ramp next week.

Between 9 a.m. Aug. 26 and 5 p.m. Sept. 9, drivers headed west on U.S. 264 will not be able to take exit 73A on the west side of Greenville to head toward Wilson.

Until it reopens, traffic will be detoured through three exit loops at the interchange. Drivers will take a right just past the bridge and the two immediate right exit loops to stay on U.S. 264 West.

Motorists should anticipate needing extra time for their commute and use caution when approaching the work zone.

This construction is part of the Southwest Bypass, which will be a four-lane, 12.6-mile freeway. It will begin just south of Ayden on N.C. 11, wrap around the west side of Ayden and Winterville and end at the U.S. 264 Bypass west of Greenville. The new highway is expected to open in 2020.

What?! 2020???? They said November 2019. They pushed it back again?!?!

North Carolina, always good at pushing projects back whatever the circumstance! 

[bob7374]

NCDOT has finally posted online the 2019-2020 State Transportation Map (the printed version started to appear at welcome centers last week). My review of the map is that it is better than the 2017-2018 version where a lot of it was already out of date when published. Though this one gets a lot more right, it's still a mixed bag. For example, they still mark US 17 along the Wilmington Bypass, though the full I-140 route to US 17 is shown on both the state map and inset. Those hoping that the US 70 Goldsboro Bypass would be marked as I-42 will be disappointed. Though they show the Greensboro Loop correctly, including the part under construction, they still sign the eastern section as I-840, not I-785. Though they show, both on the state map and the Triad inset, the entire Winston-Salem Northern Beltway under construction (marked on the inset as Future I-74), they still include US 311 along with I-74 east of Winston-Salem. They have dropped Business 40 but have not included the US 421 exit numbers that will be changed next year (Bus. 85 is still shown). I-285 is depicted along US 52. They do not show the Greenville Southwest Loop under construction. For the state map and Triangle inset they do show I-87 along the Knightdale Bypass, but not along I-440 (at least, unlike Rand McNally, they do not have I-440 along the I-40 portion of the Beltline). They do not indicate any Future NC 540 construction. The entire Fayetteville Loop is depicted as NC 295 and the future section is shown under construction. They do not show the new section of I-73 along US 220 north to NC 68, nor the extended part of I-73/I-74 north of Rockingham, both completed last year (nor the rest of the Rockingham Bypass as under construction). They still have I-74 marked on the Rockingham and Laurinburg bypasses. They do show US 74 as a freeway 6 miles east of NC 41 in Lumberton and west of Whiteville to Boardman.

See what you like/dislike. The front and back pdf files are at:
https://www.ncdot.gov/travel-maps/maps/Pages/state-transportation-map.aspx

The inset files at last check have not been updated from 2017-2018.

[LM117]

The Wilson inset STILL shows US-117 as being overlapped with US-264, even though US-117 was put back on it's old alignment between Wilson and Goldsboro in 2009 after I-795 took over the freeway.

[Mapmikey]

NC 906 is now shown
NC 37 extension to US 64 is still not on herehttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/Smileys/default/8.gif
Although correct on the inset, I-785/840 not shown open to US 29 on the northeast side of Greensboro
SC 460 north of Fort Mill is now shown but also shown erroneously west of SC 160
US 158 Bus in Warrenton still shown as US 158 ALT
NC 24 Bypasses of Autryville and Roseboro now shown, with old routes shown as unlabeled primary routes (not a lot of space to put the 24 Bus labels)
The NC 24-27 Troy bypass is shown for the first time, albeit under construction (is now open)
The US 64 Asheboro Bypass is not shown at all
The US 158 reroute at Reidsville is not shown
US 321 still shown as 2-lane south of Blowing Rock
NC 281 still shown with significant unpaved sections...all of it has paved for a while now

[wdcrft63]

NC 906 is now shown
NC 37 extension to US 64 is still not on herehttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/Smileys/default/8.gif
Although correct on the inset, I-785/840 not shown open to US 29 on the northeast side of Greensboro
SC 460 north of Fort Mill is now shown but also shown erroneously west of SC 160
US 158 Bus in Warrenton still shown as US 158 ALT
NC 24 Bypasses of Autryville and Roseboro now shown, with old routes shown as unlabeled primary routes (not a lot of space to put the 24 Bus labels)
The NC 24-27 Troy bypass is shown for the first time, albeit under construction (is now open)
The US 64 Asheboro Bypass is not shown at all
The US 158 reroute at Reidsville is not shown
US 321 still shown as 2-lane south of Blowing Rock
NC 281 still shown with significant unpaved sections...all of it has paved for a while now

So, someone's going to list all the errors and send them to NCDOT?

[RoadPelican]

More Errors:

(Under Construction) SW Greenville Bypass is not shown

(Under Construction) CF Harvey Parkway Extension (Kinston) is not shown

US 17 only the Maysville Bypass is shown under construction (the whole corridor from New Bern to Belgrade should be shown as under construction)

[bob7374]

The Wilson inset STILL shows US-117 as being overlapped with US-264, even though US-117 was put back on it's old alignment between Wilson and Goldsboro in 2009 after I-795 took over the freeway.

That may have been the 2017-2018 map version. However, they have now updated the inset maps to the 2019-2020 map version and it still shows US 117 with US 264. 

[LM117]

The Wilson inset STILL shows US-117 as being overlapped with US-264, even though US-117 was put back on it's old alignment between Wilson and Goldsboro in 2009 after I-795 took over the freeway.

That may have been the 2017-2018 map version. However, they have now updated the inset maps to the 2019-2020 map version and it still shows US 117 with US 264. 

I'm shocked.

[LM117]

Update on the Business 40 project in Winston-Salem.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-27-lanes-business-40-reopen-us-52-main-street.aspx

[D-Dey65]

Is anybody familiar with that rusty old motel sign along northbound US 301 just north of the overlap with NC 39 barely out of Selma?

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5509953,-78.272068,3a,75y,84.09h,88.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si3VlOkBrwdC554njitVZOQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

I tried to get a picture of the thing and it turned out terrible.

[Mapmikey]

Is anybody familiar with that rusty old motel sign along northbound US 301 just north of the overlap with NC 39 barely out of Selma?

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5509953,-78.272068,3a,75y,84.09h,88.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si3VlOkBrwdC554njitVZOQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

I tried to get a picture of the thing and it turned out terrible.

Here is a decent post card photo of it when it had that sign - https://www.ebay.com/itm/362690490087

There was apparently at least a prior version of the sign - https://picclick.com/SELMA-North-Carolina-NC-Roadside-362527481304.html#&gid=1&pid=1
This older sign was repurposed and was still standing until the early 2010s - https://deanjeffrey.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/carolyn-court-motel-selma-nc/

Historic aerials oldest year there is 1993 and it appears the motel was abandoned already.  The link above says there are a few ruins that have become part of the woods.

The online Selma city directories of 1957 and 1963 do not seem to list it.

[LM117]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to make improvements to I-40 between the Sampson/Duplin county line and the US-117 interchange in Pender County. Completion expected by June 2022.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-30-duplin-pender-interstate-contract-awarded.aspx

[PiedmontHwys]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to make improvements to I-40 between the Sampson/Duplin county line and the US-117 interchange in Pender County. Completion expected by June 2022.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-30-duplin-pender-interstate-contract-awarded.aspx

The question is: will they replace the I-40 roadway pavement with concrete, or just put in new asphalt? Just curious.

[tolbs17]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to make improvements to I-40 between the Sampson/Duplin county line and the US-117 interchange in Pender County. Completion expected by June 2022.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-08-30-duplin-pender-interstate-contract-awarded.aspx

The question is: will they replace the I-40 roadway pavement with concrete, or just put in new asphalt? Just curious.

Concrete is better and more fun to drive on. Asphalt is also good, but it wears off quicker because it's cheaper.