Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[deathtopumpkins]

I've mentioned this before, but VA/NC-168, and US-158 between Chesapeake, VA, and Nags Head, NC.

A better case could be made for Northampton between 64 and Diamond Springs (if not all the way to Shore Dr)...

Yeah, that would be good too. It's rather annoying getting off the interstate, sitting through a couple of traffic lights, and then back on the highway without a stoplight for the next 40 miles. This is actually one of the reasons I've stopped taking US-13 when heading north.


I came up with another good one:
US-258/W. Mercury Blvd. between VA-278/King St. and I-64. (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Hampton,+VA&sll=38.88306,-94.785589&sspn=147.765094,316.40625&ie=UTF8&ll=37.041819,-76.368628&spn=0.049053,0.077248&t=h&z=14) This, despite being 10 lanes wide for most of it, not counting turn lanes, is a traffic nightmare, as about 100,000 people have to use it as their most direct access to I-64 West. So I propose sacrificing the inner lane going each way from just west of King St., and in that space combined with the existing 3-lane-wide median, build an elevated 4-lane freeway with ramps at LaSalle Ave. (Google Earth says VA-167, but I've never seen it signed as a state route - An existing cloverleaf), Armistead Ave./VA-134 (The mega-intersection with the 3 left turn lanes), and a westbound offramp and eastbound onramp at Coliseum Mall (future site of Hampton Towne Center Mall), before the elevated lanes merge with I-64 WB at its existing interchange with US-258. One of these days I'm actually going to draw up a plan for all of this and maybe get something done about it.

[deathtopumpkins]

1) First, you could make a better case for US 258/Mercury between 64 and the James River Bridge.  Similar traffic, but west to the JRB has better connectivity.

Meh... I've never noticed traffic as bad on it, and I drive it up to 4 times a week heading out into Smithfield. My main reasoning for east of I-64 is that it backs up a lot as it is the only convenient access to I-64 WB for most of the city of Hampton.

2) Second, you'd have an easier time upgrading HRC Pkwy to freeway and extending it east to King St.  The latter has been suggested off-and-on for about 40 years.

I didn't think the Parkway existed 40 years ago...   I've proposed that too, but everyone I know who I canvassed about it when I was actually seriously considering trying to get something done about it said that they would rather deal with the traffic on Mercury than destroy all those wetlands an extension of the parkway would travel through. Thus my proposal for Mercury, as it would not require the acquisition of a new ROW, but rather use Mercury's existing wide median. And the parkway was completely a freeway until sometime around 2000 when they added an at-grade intersection with Coliseum Dr. and extended it westward past Big Bethel Rd. (SR-600) at-grade, and then in late 2008 when they added another signalized at-grade intersection between Magruder and I-64, which really screwed the whole road up. No one uses the new interchange, and to accommodate it they moved the WB onramp from Magruder down by about half a mile, creating a very short weave zone before the exit to I-64 NB.

LaSalle used to be VA 167, but the route was decommissioned in 1995.  Mapmakers have been very slow to remove it though, hence why it still shows up on some maps.

Thanks, I was wondering about that.

There's been on-and-off proposals for an interchange here anyway.  Would be expensive since you'd have to take out at least 2 quadrants worth of commercial property.

Ahh, BUT the commercial property on all corners is mostly set back from the intersection. If some sort of a volleyball or something was built, it might not end up necessary to demolish the surrounding businesses, just move their parking lots around a bit.

[deathtopumpkins]

Yes, well, this is just an idea... no one said VDOT was actually going to build it. 

And I mentioned ROW acquisition and moving parking lots in different situations. 

As for cost... eventually they will need to do something, and who knows, this could prove to be the cheapest option.

[deathtopumpkins]

VDOT doesn't maintain US routes? Hmm... 

But just to move the parking lots do you really think that they would need to acquire the entire property?

[deathtopumpkins]

Well I guess that makes sense...

And I'm splitting this off into a thread in the Mid-Atlantic board... I feel we've hijacked a bit.

[74/171FAN]

I've mentioned this before, but VA/NC-168, and US-158 between Chesapeake, VA, and Nags Head, NC.

A better case could be made for Northampton between 64 and Diamond Springs (if not all the way to Shore Dr)...

Yeah, that would be good too. It's rather annoying getting off the interstate, sitting through a couple of traffic lights, and then back on the highway without a stoplight for the next 40 miles. This is actually one of the reasons I've stopped taking US-13 when heading north.


I came up with another good one:
US-258/W. Mercury Blvd. between VA-278/King St. and I-64. (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Hampton,+VA&sll=38.88306,-94.785589&sspn=147.765094,316.40625&ie=UTF8&ll=37.041819,-76.368628&spn=0.049053,0.077248&t=h&z=14) This, despite being 10 lanes wide for most of it, not counting turn lanes, is a traffic nightmare, as about 100,000 people have to use it as their most direct access to I-64 West. So I propose sacrificing the inner lane going each way from just west of King St., and in that space combined with the existing 3-lane-wide median, build an elevated 4-lane freeway with ramps at LaSalle Ave. (Google Earth says VA-167, but I've never seen it signed as a state route - An existing cloverleaf), Armistead Ave./VA-134 (The mega-intersection with the 3 left turn lanes), and a westbound offramp and eastbound onramp at Coliseum Mall (future site of Hampton Towne Center Mall), before the elevated lanes merge with I-64 WB at its existing interchange with US-258. One of these days I'm actually going to draw up a plan for all of this and maybe get something done about it.

DTP:So how would US 258 SB traffic exit the freeway before I-64 if the freeway defaults onto I-64 WB?

[deathtopumpkins]

I said in that quote, a WB (SB 258) offramp and EB (NB 258) onramp and Coliseum, which is the last intersection before the 64 interchange.

[74/171FAN]

I said in that quote, a WB (SB 258) offramp and EB (NB 258) onramp and Coliseum, which is the last intersection before the 64 interchange.

  So the ramps would go to US 258 and the Coliseum I'm presuming?

[froggie]

Sounds to me like he's proposing an elevated, elongated flyover that would serve the following four movements:

- EB 64 to EB Mercury (with the touchdown at King St)
- Coliseum Dr to EB Mercury (as above, with the touchdown at King St)
- WB Mercury to WB 64 (with the ramp beginning at King St)
- WB Mercury to Coliseum Dr (as above, with the ramp beginning at King St)

[deathtopumpkins]

Yeah, that's it basically it froggie. But think more 'elevated freeway' not 'elongated flyover'. As I believe I previously mentioned, in addition to the ramps to 64 and it touching down at King St., there would also be ramps serving Coliseum Dr., Armistead Ave., and LaSalle Ave.

[74/171FAN]

Yeah, that's it basically it froggie. But think more 'elevated freeway' not 'elongated flyover'. As I believe I previously mentioned, in addition to the ramps to 64 and it touching down at King St., there would also be ramps serving Coliseum Dr., Armistead Ave., and LaSalle Ave.

  So US 258 traffic not coming to/from I-64 is supposed to follow a frontage road with ramps at Lasalle Ave and signals at VA 134/Armistead Ave and Coliseum Dr???

[njroadhorse]

Yeah, that's it basically it froggie. But think more 'elevated freeway' not 'elongated flyover'. As I believe I previously mentioned, in addition to the ramps to 64 and it touching down at King St., there would also be ramps serving Coliseum Dr., Armistead Ave., and LaSalle Ave.

  So US 258 traffic not coming to/from I-64 is supposed to follow a frontage road with ramps at Lasalle Ave and signals at VA 134/Armistead Ave and Coliseum Dr???

Looks to be that way 

[deathtopumpkins]

Not exactly. The frontage roads would just serve local businesses and US-258 would follow the elevated freeway between King St. and Coliseum Dr., with ramps between the frontage roads/freeway at Armistead and LaSalle. At Coliseum, the elevated freeway would merge back into a surface road, but ramps would continue to connect with I-64 WB. Let me draw a diagram in Google Earth:

That's the western end. Understand now?

[74/171FAN]

Yep I just needed clarification on traffic that wanted to stay on US 258.