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North Carolina

Started by FLRoads, January 20, 2009, 11:55:15 PM

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cpzilliacus

News & Observer:  NC DOT can blame its customers or learn from them

QuoteThank you for calling Customer Service. How may I insult you?

QuoteOh, let me count the ways.

QuoteYou could double-bill the drivers you hope to turn into loyal, paying customers for your billion-dollar toll road. Then, without apology, blame them for your blunder.

QuoteThat's the N.C. Turnpike Authority approach. Who do they think they are — the DMV?

QuoteAt the state Department of Transportation, now under new management, customer service is a hot concept. It was a catchphrase in Pat McCrory's gubernatorial campaign and became a mission mantra for Tony Tata, his new DOT secretary.

QuoteTata is focusing first on the Division of Motor Vehicles, where there's plenty of room for improvement in customer service. Chapel Hill, where I live, has gone three months without a license tag office. A note on the door tells drivers to go to Durham.

QuoteTata is considering recommendations to open offices on weekends, establish shopping mall kiosks, and provide online options for parents who keep driving logs for teens with learner's permits.

QuoteAnd after he makes DMV more responsive to the millions of drivers it regulates, Tata might be ready to fix the Turnpike Authority. He'll find some unhappy customers there.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.


cpzilliacus

News & Observer:  NCDOT Secretary Tata apologizes for toll-road double-billing, promises fix

QuoteIt wasn't their fault, after all, Tony Tata says.

QuoteMore than 800 drivers are receiving toll-road refunds and profuse apologies from the state Department of Transportation — by telephone and by mail — because they were double-billed for trips on the Triangle Expressway.

Quote"It was completely avoidable,"  Tata, the state transportation secretary, said Thursday. "It's our fault. And we are fixing the problem, and your account is going to be credited. So we accept full responsibility for this."

QuoteThe billing errors started Jan. 3, when the state Turnpike Authority began accepting electronic toll payments from drivers with E-ZPass transponders. Drivers who also had N.C. Quick Pass transponders in their cars were charged twice, through the separate debit accounts tied to each transponder.

QuoteLast week, N.C. Turnpike Authority and E-ZPass officials blamed their customers for the double-billing.

QuoteThey said drivers could have avoided the problem by complying with the fine-print terms and conditions of their contracts, which admonish toll-road drivers not to travel with more than one transponder in the car.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

TOLLROADSnews: Missing lines of code in transaction management software cause double billing in North Carolina

QuoteMost transaction management software looks for transponder reads in a lane that are very close in time to one another and dumps all but one of the reads. Those lines of code to match and dump redundant reads are apparently missing from the ACS/Xerox backoffice data processing algorithms, and ACS programmers are working on adding the function.

QuoteMeanwhile the NC Turnpike Triangle Expressway in Raleigh has been getting some bad publicity for double billing motorists with two transponders on their windshield - an E-ZPass on an account in Virginia, say, plus a 6B+ sticker tag brand NC QuickPass issued by NC Turnpike/DOT.

QuoteThe Raleigh News Observer's Bruce Siceloff quotes the NC secretary of transportation Tony Tata as saying today: "It's our fault. And we are fixing the problem, and your account is going to be credited. So we accept full responsibility for this. It was completely avoidable."
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

deathtopumpkins

Quote from: froggie on February 02, 2013, 08:46:28 AM
BTW, posted the following on Facebook last weekend but just realized I never posted it here:

- About 4 miles of US 17 south of the Washington bypass has been 4-laned, with "Superstreet" elements included in the construction.

A portion of it appears to already show up in Google's aerial imagery! http://goo.gl/maps/60VkV The next image south of this one shows pavement but no markings yet, and the next image to the north still shows a 2-lane road, and the lack of a Washington bypass.

Quote- Noticed that both the Windsor bypass (from US 13 North east to old 17) and the freeway segment around Edenton (including the Chowan River bridge) are posted 70 MPH. By comparison, the Washington bypass was "only" 65 MPH.[/i]

I'm glad to hear the Chowan River bridge has been raised to 70! Last time I drove down there (2010 or early 2011), the Elizabeth City and Windsor bypasses were posted at 70, and the Edenton bypass was posted at 65 east of the Chowan River bridge, with the bridge itself at a painfully low 55.
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

Clinched Highways | Counties Visited

cpzilliacus

Durham's 11 foot 8 inch "Bridge of Death" claims another victim.  This time a semitrailer. 

WRAL:  Tractor-trailer stuck under Durham bridge; some roads closed

Atlantic Cities article from 2012 about the bridge: Durham's Bridge of Death Will Decapitate Any Tall Truck
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

amroad17

Alright, the bridge clearance says 11'8"; my trailer is 13'6"...  :hmm:  Aww, I'll give it a try.

It's like watching trucks take the Onondaga Lake Pkwy. :-D
I don't need a GPS.  I AM the GPS! (for family and friends)

1995hoo

I don't see how the bridge is the problem. I remember that bridge from when I lived there and I remember there being plenty of warning signs. It seems to me it's the driver's responsibility to avoid it.

There's an even lower-clearance railroad bridge (10'0") in Charlottesville, Virginia. That one has a loud bell on each side that sounds any time a large vehicle approaches. Given that a couple of bus routes pass around the corner on the far side of the bridge as seen in this Street View image ( http://goo.gl/maps/OejNL ) that bell used to sound all the time. But the Charlottesville police ticket any truck driver who slams into a low bridge (basis for the ticket is either failure to obey a road sign or failure to pay full time and attention).



"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

#232
Quote from: 1995hoo on February 20, 2013, 01:59:31 PM
I don't see how the bridge is the problem. I remember that bridge from when I lived there and I remember there being plenty of warning signs. It seems to me it's the driver's responsibility to avoid it.

Agreed.  And CDL drivers especially, which the driver of today's tractor-trailer should have had (though most of the trucks featured in the video linked by the Atlantic above do not require a CDL).

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 20, 2013, 01:59:31 PM
There's an even lower-clearance railroad bridge (10'0") in Charlottesville, Virginia. That one has a loud bell on each side that sounds any time a large vehicle approaches. Given that a couple of bus routes pass around the corner on the far side of the bridge as seen in this Street View image ( http://goo.gl/maps/OejNL ) that bell used to sound all the time. But the Charlottesville police ticket any truck driver who slams into a low bridge (basis for the ticket is either failure to obey a road sign or failure to pay full time and attention).

Interesting regarding the bell, which I presume is the speaker-like contraption attached to the bridge itself?

There used to be one of those attached to one of the overhead sign assemblies on westbound I-64 approaching the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel inspection station in Norfolk, but I think it has been removed (I never heard it sound, but I presume it was pretty loud - maybe it was to alert any HAZMAT carriers or overheight vehicles  to pull in to the inspection station).  There's still one at one of the eastbound entrance ramps in  Hampton (GSV here).

A driver that strikes the bridge in Charlottesville like those two featured in your images above are (IMO) ideal candidates for one of those dreaded Virginia reckless driving summonses.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

1995hoo

#233
Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 20, 2013, 03:30:09 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on February 20, 2013, 01:59:31 PM
There's an even lower-clearance railroad bridge (10'0") in Charlottesville, Virginia. That one has a loud bell on each side that sounds any time a large vehicle approaches. Given that a couple of bus routes pass around the corner on the far side of the bridge as seen in this Street View image ( http://goo.gl/maps/OejNL ) that bell used to sound all the time. But the Charlottesville police ticket any truck driver who slams into a low bridge (basis for the ticket is either failure to obey a road sign or failure to pay full time and attention).

Interesting regarding the bell, which I presume is the speaker-like contraption attached to the bridge itself?

....

Correct. Also, you can't see it in those two images, but there's a light-up flashing sign to the right of that speaker thing as well (you can see it in the Street View image I linked).

I recall that bell thing seeming really loud when it would sound as I was waiting to cross the street there.

Incidentally, there's a sign warning of that low clearance as far west as Emmet Street (US-29 Business). You'd think there would be another at Rugby Road (the last light before the bridge, and the last street wide enough to accommodate large trucks without a very tight squeeze), but there isn't.


Edited to add: BTW, this one (also in Charlottesville, but on the other end of town) may be the lowest-clearance railroad crossing I know of....and it's a one-lane underpass too! http://goo.gl/maps/cJU7u
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 20, 2013, 03:53:50 PM
Edited to add: BTW, this one (also in Charlottesville, but on the other end of town) may be the lowest-clearance railroad crossing I know of....and it's a one-lane underpass too! http://goo.gl/maps/cJU7u

Here is one that's even lower - North Hollins Ferry  Road off of Md. 648 (Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard) in Ferndale, Anne Arundel County (not far from BWI Airport) under the Maryland Transit Administration's light rail tracks (formerly the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad), the posted overhead clearance is only 6' 8"!

Fortunately, it is one-way.  If you click on the photos, you will see a light rail train crossing the bridge from the "other side" of the tracks from Md. 648.

Nearby is another oddity - a fire station with its very own grade crossing of the light rail line.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

deathtopumpkins

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 20, 2013, 03:30:09 PM
There used to be one of those attached to one of the overhead sign assemblies on westbound I-64 approaching the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel inspection station in Norfolk, but I think it has been removed (I never heard it sound, but I presume it was pretty loud - maybe it was to alert any HAZMAT carriers or overheight vehicles  to pull in to the inspection station).  There's still one at one of the eastbound entrance ramps in  Hampton (GSV here).

There's one on the mainline approach too: http://goo.gl/maps/53wNB. I've never heard either actually sound though.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 20, 2013, 05:45:43 PM
Nearby is another oddity - a fire station with its very own grade crossing of the light rail line.

There's a similar example in Boston, on Huntington Ave at Ruggles St: http://goo.gl/maps/IGcK9
The Green Line tracks are in the median of Huntington, rather than between two two-way roads as in CP's example, but the crossing is exclusively for fire vehicles who wish to go west on Huntington.
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

Clinched Highways | Counties Visited

Mapmikey


Quote
Edited to add: BTW, this one (also in Charlottesville, but on the other end of town) may be the lowest-clearance railroad crossing I know of....and it's a one-lane underpass too! http://goo.gl/maps/cJU7u

Here's another 9'2" railroad underpass on SR 623 Falmouth with the added bonus that the road is itself a low water bridge over a creek.  This floods all the time though the diagonal thing you see across the road is an attempt to displace water better....

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fredericksburg,+VA&hl=en&ll=38.329,-77.449672&spn=0.002373,0.004823&sll=38.028719,-78.479949&sspn=0.0012,0.002411&oq=fredericksburg&t=h&hnear=Fredericksburg,+Virginia&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.329,-77.449672&panoid=Nm1UfnU499gAbqRNlO3Ekg&cbp=12,100.39,,0,0

Mapmikey

cpzilliacus

#238
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on February 20, 2013, 06:39:19 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 20, 2013, 03:30:09 PM
There used to be one of those attached to one of the overhead sign assemblies on westbound I-64 approaching the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel inspection station in Norfolk, but I think it has been removed (I never heard it sound, but I presume it was pretty loud - maybe it was to alert any HAZMAT carriers or overheight vehicles  to pull in to the inspection station).  There's still one at one of the eastbound entrance ramps in  Hampton (GSV here).

There's one on the mainline approach too: http://goo.gl/maps/53wNB. I've never heard either actually sound though.

Thank you.

The diameter of the one on the westbound mainline of I-64 on the Willoughby Spit approaching the HRBT was much larger in diameter (maybe because it was louder?), but as I told Hoo, I never heard it make a sound, nor was it clear how or who activated it.

Quote from: Mapmikey on February 20, 2013, 08:20:25 PM
Here's another 9'2" railroad underpass on SR 623 Falmouth with the added bonus that the road is itself a low water bridge over a creek.  This floods all the time though the diagonal thing you see across the road is an attempt to displace water better....

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fredericksburg,+VA&hl=en&ll=38.329,-77.449672&spn=0.002373,0.004823&sll=38.028719,-78.479949&sspn=0.0012,0.002411&oq=fredericksburg&t=h&hnear=Fredericksburg,+Virginia&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.329,-77.449672&panoid=Nm1UfnU499gAbqRNlO3Ekg&cbp=12,100.39,,0,0

Going to have to take a look-see at that the next time I am in the Spotsylvania County vicinity.

Fixed quote for you - Connor
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

CanesFan27

When NCDOT replaced the 65 mph signs on I-540 with the new increased 70 mph signs, they also installed new Interstate 540 shields.  The replacement also included this sign


IMG_3216 by Adam's Journey, on Flickr

..and its twin sign on I-540 East.

No word yet if any of the sign folks will be holding a memorial service for this sign.

NJRoadfan

What was wrong with the old signs? They were 5 years old, but likely in fine condition.

OracleUsr

It was too dark for me to get pictures, but NC DOT seems to have gone off track a little bit.  At the Old NC 10 (Exit 118) and Parker Padgett Road (Exit 75) interchanges on East I-40, they have upgraded their final signs to MUTCD standards, but they seem to have forgotten the part about DIRECTIONAL TAB ALIGNMENT.  Both have the EXIT ### tabs centered on the signs.  I hope the new signs in Morganton aren't like that as well.
Anti-center-tabbing, anti-sequential-numbering, anti-Clearview BGS FAN

Strider

Quote from: NJRoadfan on February 24, 2013, 10:01:59 PM
What was wrong with the old signs? They were 5 years old, but likely in fine condition.

Typical NCDOT actions. They usually replace signs that doesn't have anything wrong with them... way to waste more money.

CanesFan27

Quote from: Strider on February 25, 2013, 12:21:05 AM
Quote from: NJRoadfan on February 24, 2013, 10:01:59 PM
What was wrong with the old signs? They were 5 years old, but likely in fine condition.

Typical NCDOT actions. They usually replace signs that doesn't have anything wrong with them... way to waste more money.

I can name numerous DOT's that do the same.

They replaced the signs all the way from Exit 4 to Exit 26.  Some of the signs were leftovers from the 'Future' I-540 days and didn't have interstate printed on them or were without directional banners etc.  SO these signs were anywhere from 6-13 years old.

I have no problem with it. 

Strider

Yeah.. if they were to replace the leftovers from Future I-540 days, then I can understand why. But speaking of other signs that doesn't have issues.. and they replace them? for example: on Battleground Ave (US 220) in Greensboro, their shields were in great shape, but they get replaced anyways.

jcarte29

They should replace the "Future I-74" shields with "Interstate 74" shields in Forsyth County now that it is recognized as such all the way to I-40.
Interstates I've driven on (Complete and/or partial, no particular order)
------------------
40, 85, 95, 77, 277(NC), 485(NC), 440(NC), 540(NC), 795(NC), 140(NC), 73, 74, 840(NC), 26, 20, 75, 285(GA), 81, 64, 71, 275(OH), 465(IN), 65, 264(VA), 240(NC), 295(VA), 526(SC), 985(GA), 395(FL), 195(FL)

cpzilliacus

TOLLROADSnews: Studying the Red route while having declared it verboten, finis, terminar - NC540 SE ext

QuoteFederal permitting of highway projects has reached new levels of absurdity in North Carolina - that the Feds have suspended consideration of permits for the southeast extension of NC540 belt route unless North Carolina DOT reinstates studies of a 'Red Route' which by state law it is not allowed to do. Project planning  for the southeast extension - a southside part of the 540 belt route around the NC capital - has been on hold for over two years now.

QuoteThe project initiated by the NC Turnpike Authority since it is an extension of the Triangle Expressway. Since the Turnpike's extinction it is now NCDOT which also favors an alternative route. At issue is whether the belt route expressway in Wake County takes the shortest route through the town of Garner (the Red Route) or how it swings to the south (Orange route). There are also light blue (with a dark blue variant), plum, lilac and brown routes all of which are south of the main built-up area of metro Raleigh.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

jcarte29

Changin subjects, I am back in my hometown of Winston-Salem, just drove US 52 to check out the widening/bridge replacement project, scheduled to finish next month, and nothing looks different from the "grand plans" it entailed.

Still same ol', dangerous US 52 with stupid-short on/off ramps.
Interstates I've driven on (Complete and/or partial, no particular order)
------------------
40, 85, 95, 77, 277(NC), 485(NC), 440(NC), 540(NC), 795(NC), 140(NC), 73, 74, 840(NC), 26, 20, 75, 285(GA), 81, 64, 71, 275(OH), 465(IN), 65, 264(VA), 240(NC), 295(VA), 526(SC), 985(GA), 395(FL), 195(FL)

bob7374

I have posted photos taken along the next section of I-140 to open later this year and videos of driving along the Wilmington Bypass and US 74/76 in Brunswick County on my NC Future Interstates I-140 page:
http://www.gribblenation.net/ncfutints/fut140.html Enjoy.

Alex

Quote from: bob7374 on April 02, 2013, 10:53:54 AM
I have posted photos taken along the next section of I-140 to open later this year and videos of driving along the Wilmington Bypass and US 74/76 in Brunswick County on my NC Future Interstates I-140 page:
http://www.gribblenation.net/ncfutints/fut140.html Enjoy.

Nice coverage of the newest segment, I had no idea it was even under construction. I surmise that NC 87 will be moved to follow the new freeway segment when it opens and be the sole designation for it until I-140 is connected in 2015 or later. Is that the plan, or will it get signage displaying something like "TO US 17 south" and "TO US 74/76 west"?



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