North Carolina

[LM117]

Upcoming overnight closures on I-40 in southeast Wake County due to the widening project.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-09-i-40-overnight-closures.aspx

[bob7374]

Upcoming overnight closures on I-40 in southeast Wake County due to the widening project.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-09-i-40-overnight-closures.aspx

Another press release about the 'I-40/I-440' interchange without a mention of I-87. This may be okay for I-40 West traffic since the signage for the exit does not list I-87, but heading east it does. At least the detour link they provide does list heading on I-87/I-440 to reach Poole Road.

[wdcrft63]

I-40 will be reduced to 1 lane in each direction near Mocksville in Davie County to provide for replacing a bridge over Hunting Creek. The closing will last all summer (through mid November).

[csw]

Not sure where else to post this, but I thought it was worth mentioning - I drove I-74/US 74 from I-95 to Rockingham today and I laughed at how there are signs up within about 30 miles of each other denoting the highway as both the "American Indian Highway" and the "Andrew Jackson Highway". Can't have it both ways - I think someone needs an American history refresher.

[wdcrft63]

Not sure where else to post this, but I thought it was worth mentioning - I drove I-74/US 74 from I-95 to Rockingham today and I laughed at how there are signs up within about 30 miles of each other denoting the highway as both the "American Indian Highway" and the "Andrew Jackson Highway". Can't have it both ways - I think someone needs an American history refresher.

It's not unusual for the NC Legislature to rename highways that already have names. According to Wikipedia, in 1963 the entire length of US 74 in North Carolina was named the Andrew Jackson Highway. But the Lumbee tribe didn't care for that at all and in 2001 they persuaded the Legislature to rename the section in Robeson County as the American Indian Highway.

[LM117]

Overnight closures planned for I-40 East at the southeast interchange with I-440/I-87.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-16-i-40-east-closure-i-440-split.aspx

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-18-tentative-schedule-slocum-gate-construction.aspx

​HAVELOCK — Contract crews in Craven County have a set a tentative work schedule to finalize construction on the bridge into Slocum Gate.

Starting at 9 a.m. March 19, one lane of east or west U.S. 70 will be closed at certain times throughout the day from just north of Hickman Hill Loop Road to the light at the Wal-Mart. During the closures, contractors will complete construction work such as applying new asphalt and pavement markings.

The schedule, which is weather dependent, is as follows:

9 a.m.-3 p.m. March 19-20 (inside lane)
7 p.m. March 20 through 5 a.m. March 23
8 a.m.-dusk March 23-26

The N.C. Department of Transportation began building the overpass in August 2017 and it opened to traffic in December 2019. It's a $24.4 million project that is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-17-nc-quick-pass-temporary-closure.aspx

RALEIGH —To protect public health during the COVID-19 response, NC Quick Pass walk-in locations will be temporarily closed to customers effective at 5 p.m. today and extending until further notice.

NC Quick Pass is the N.C. Turnpike Authority's all-electronic toll-collection program on the Triangle Expressway, the Monroe Expressway and Interstate 77 Express Lanes.

The customer service call center and online services remain available, although customers may experience longer than usual wait times.

As a reminder, visit ncquickpass.com to:

-pay a toll bill
-update an account
-add funds to an account
-or open a new account

During this time, NC Quick Pass will be taking the necessary precautions to deep clean all customer service centers in preparation for reopening. To stay up-to-date on developments surrounding COVID-19 please refer to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services' web page devoted to the virus: www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus.

To learn more about the Turnpike Authority or NC Quick Pass, please visit ncdot.gov/turnpike or ncquickpass.com.​

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-19-i-40-west-closure-us-70-business.aspx

​GARNER — N.C. Department of Transportation contractors are planning a series of closures on westbound Interstate 40 near U.S. 70 Business (Exit 306) as part of the widening project from Southeast Raleigh to Clayton.

Tonight and tomorrow, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. the next morning, traffic will be stopped for up to 30 minutes at a time as crews take down overhead signs.

The overhead signs are being removed to allow for the widening of I-40 and installation of new signs.

Drivers should allow extra time and pay extra attention while driving through the work zone.

[tolbs17]

Because of Covid-19, should they just make the toll lanes free or simply close them?

[VTGoose]

Because of Covid-19, should they just make the toll lanes free or simply close them?

Why? It's not like there is a mass evacuation. We came through Charlotte on Friday (heading to Florida for the birth of our grandchild before it isn't possible) and there wasn't much traffic for midday. It was nice to use the express lane to avoid the slower traffic that was there, especially to get around the messy merge with I-85.

[LM117]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to widen US-117 in Goldsboro between US-70 and US-70 Bypass. Completion is set for fall 2023.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-23-us-117-widening-wayne-county.aspx

As someone that used to live there, I certainly have no complaints.

[RoadPelican]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to widen US-117 in Goldsboro between US-70 and US-70 Bypass. Completion is set for fall 2023.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-23-us-117-widening-wayne-county.aspx

As someone that used to live there, I certainly have no complaints.

I bet if you did a study on what cities under 100,000 got the most NCDOT funding, Goldsboro would have to be on top! You already have I-795 as a good northern route in that part of the town. 

[LM117]

NCDOT has awarded a contract to widen US-117 in Goldsboro between US-70 and US-70 Bypass. Completion is set for fall 2023.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-23-us-117-widening-wayne-county.aspx

As someone that used to live there, I certainly have no complaints.

I bet if you did a study on what cities under 100,000 got the most NCDOT funding, Goldsboro would have to be on top! You already have I-795 as a good northern route in that part of the town.

It's more of a safety project for local traffic, of which there is still a good deal of. NCDOT has been doing away with suicide lanes in recent years.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-26-lenoir-county-highway-closure.aspx

​KINSTON — A section of a Lenoir County highway is scheduled to close this weekend as N.C. Department of Transportation contractors continue work on the C.F. Harvey Parkway extension project.

N.C. 58 will close in both directions just north of the intersection at N.C. 148 beginning at 7 p.m. March 27. The highway will reopen by 6 a.m. March 30. During the closure, crews will install concrete bridge girders.

Drivers will use the following detours:

N.C. 58 South traffic will use Taylor Heath Road, Hugo Road to N.C. 58

N.C. 58 North traffic will use Hugo Road, Taylor Heath Road to N.C. 58 

To access N.C. 148 from N.C. 58 South: Taylor Heath Road, Hugo Road, N.C. 58 to N.C. 148

N.C. 148 can still be accessed from N.C. 58 North. 

Drivers should expect their commute to take extra time and plan ahead. NCDOT also urges those driving in the area to slow down and use caution around crews.

By extending C.F Harvey Parkway​ by 5.8 miles, connectivity will improve in northern Kinston between U.S. 70, N.C. 58 and N.C. 11. The $73.5 million project is expected to be substantially complete in 2021, with vegetation work finishing in 2022.

[sprjus4]

While the US-64 Asheboro Bypass won't be open for at least a few more months, Tom Allen, who has doing drone flyovers of different segments of the project since the beginning, actually got an opportunity to drive the length of the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MelPe7TmI0

No signage has been posted yet, except at the I-73 / I-74 interchange, as seen in the thumbnail. The control city for US-64 east is Siler City, and the bypass has a standard US-64 designation, not By-Pass. The old route through Asheboro will become US-64 Business.

Neat video and to see it from the driver's perspective.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-03-30-i-40-east-closure-bridge-work.aspx

​RALEIGH — N.C. Department of Transportation contractors are planning several overnight closures this week as part of the widening of Interstate 40 from Southeast Raleigh to Clayton.

Overnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning, I-40 East will be closed at Exit 301 (I-440 West). A detour will lead drivers to take the exit and proceed to Poole Road (Exit 15) to turn around and take Exit 16 to get back on I-40 East.

These closures will allow for structural steel to be set on the new flyover bridge from I-440 East to I-40 East.

Drivers should allow extra time to navigate the detour and pay attention while driving through the work zone.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Per the documents for the upcoming Board of Transportation meeting, it looks like the Shelby Bypass is being de-delayed by utilizing Build NC Bonds to fund construction. Construction was originally scheduled for FY 2021, delayed to 2024, and is now scheduled for FY 22. I'm not sure why section D has doubled in cost, though, unless the old STIP estimates were off.

Also, it looks like the Mid-Currituck Bridge is delayed to next year due to a lawsuit. Has that been discussed already?

Of course a lot of projects could be facing uncertain futures until we know what the economic fallout is going to be from the pandemic.

[bob7374]

Per the documents for the upcoming Board of Transportation meeting, it looks like the Shelby Bypass is being de-delayed by utilizing Build NC Bonds to fund construction. Construction was originally scheduled for FY 2021, delayed to 2024, and is now scheduled for FY 22. I'm not sure why section D has doubled in cost, though, unless the old STIP estimates were off.

Also, it looks like the Mid-Currituck Bridge is delayed to next year due to a lawsuit. Has that been discussed already?

Of course a lot of projects could be facing uncertain futures until we know what the economic fallout is going to be from the pandemic.

Also from the new STIP Revisions list: I-42 related construction along US 70 north of the Havelock Bypass is being delayed from 2020 to 2021 along with US 70 pavement rehabilitation in Lenoir County. Pavement rehabilitation and bridge rehab along US 64 in Nash County has been delayed from 2020 and 2021 to 2021 and 2022. The first project of the I-74 upgrade project from NC 41 to US 76 is listed, contract (I-6011A), that will construct a grade separation for US 74 (Future I-74) at Creek Road in Robeson County, to start in 2027. As part of converting the Chauncey Town Road intersection on US 74/76 in Columbus County to an interchange in 2022 they will construct a temporary reduced conflict intersection later this year at a cost of $2.4 million. And the eastern section of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway, between US 421 and I-40, has been delayed from 2020 to 2021.

[sprjus4]

Highways connect eastern North Carolina to the future

Three future interstate highways will further streamline existing eastern North Carolina corridors and will continue spurring economic development and population growth in the region during the next several decades, according to developers and transportation officials. These routes are future Interstate 87 between Raleigh and Norfolk, future I-587 between Zebulon and Greenville and future I-42 between Raleigh and Morehead City.

There are no accurate projections of when these highways will become fully completed interstates, since they are funded and scheduled for construction or improvement in sections that compete for priority, officials said. However, simply the promise of relatively continual upgrading of these routes to interstate standards over time is enough to quicken the pulse of economic development efforts in the counties and regions through which they pass. What are now rural, largely agricultural areas of eastern North Carolina will inevitably become better connected to highway networks, seaport facilities and rail terminals serving prosperous population centers throughout the eastern United States and beyond.

In some areas, like North Carolina's Crystal Coast – accessible by U.S. 70/Future I-42 – population will almost surely increase and generate a wave of related economic investment along with growth management challenges. In others, vitality-sapping population declines over recent decades will hopefully be diminished through the creation of many new jobs in advanced manufacturing, food processing, logistics and other infrastructure-dependent enterprises feeding off the new future interstates.

"Ninety percent of all new job creation takes place along these type corridors,"  said Christian Lockamy, a former Greenville economic developer who is now director of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Economic Development Authority. "All three of these future eastern North Carolina interstate thruways have driven a lot of looks at our region from companies we've been working to attract. As a result, businesses and industrial parks are increasing significantly along the routes."

Norfolk to Raleigh

Future I-87 from Raleigh to Norfolk will be the longest of the three routes at about 213 miles. The 180-mile North Carolina portion will follow present U.S. 64 east from Raleigh through Rocky Mount to Williamston, where it will turn toward the north and follow present U.S. 17 past Edenton and Elizabeth City to the state line. In Virginia, future I-87 will join interstates 64 and 464 in the vicinity of Norfolk and the Port of Virginia.

Even though it's widely estimated that future I-87 could take as long as 30 years to be brought to full interstate status, the existing multi-lane roadway from Raleigh to Norfolk is already a big selling point.

"We're blessed to have future I-87, in addition to I-95, as a conduit to get our clients' products to the end user quickly, efficiently and when the customer wants them,"  said Norris Tolson, president of the Rocky Mount-based Carolinas Gateway Partnership, an economic development group that focuses on Nash and Edgecombe counties. "Even now on present U.S. 64 and U.S. 17, the Norfolk port is within a two-hour drive from Rocky Mount, while the ports at Morehead City and Wilmington are both only two hours and fifteen minutes away. That makes the Rocky Mount area a great logistical hub – especially when you add in the new CCX intermodal rail terminal here that will become operational in January 2021."

"As future I-87 is upgraded to full interstate status in the coming years, Nash and Edgecombe counties can only become even more attractive as an advanced manufacturing, food processing and logistics center,"  Tolson said.

To cite just one example of what is happening already, Triangle Tyre selected Edgecombe County in 2018 for its first U.S. manufacturing facility. The Chinese tire manufacturing company will create 800 jobs and is investing nearly $580 million at a 1,449-acre advanced manufacturing megasite site located near Tarboro and just off future I-87. The project will contribute an estimated $2.4 billion to North Carolina's economy.

When future I-87 was signed into law and announced at the end of 2015, initial preliminary estimates were that the total cost of the route would be around $1 billion. But according to more recent information released by the N.C. Department of Transportation, estimates now range from $1.7 billion to nearly $2 billion. Approximate calculations of the cost of improvements to the section between Raleigh and Williamston range from $845 million to $1 billion. The preliminary estimates for upgrading the portion from Williamston to the Virginia border vary from $850 million to $945 million. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the federal government pays 90 percent of the cost of interstate construction.

The only portion of I-87 now finished and in operation as a completed interstate is a 13-mile stretch in eastern Wake County between Raleigh and Wendell. (That makes I-87 the nation's shortest current interstate highway.) Around three miles coincides with the Raleigh beltline (I-440), while the next 10 miles is known as the Knightdale Bypass, which extends as far as Wendell.

According to the DOT, improvements to bring future I-87 from Wendell eastward to Zebulon up to interstate standards, mostly through widening outside lane shoulders and upgrading some interchanges, are scheduled to begin in 2026. There is no firm timetable for how long that overall process may take.

Although no design work has yet been done on future I-87 east of the Wake-Nash county line, there is still a lot of work to be done to bring the roadway up to interstate standards. Existing paved shoulders will need to be widened, some bridges will have to be replaced and some interchanges will have to be improved to meet modern requirements – lengthening on-ramp lanes, for example. Certain segments on present U.S. 17 that still have intersecting side roads and driveways, traffic lights and other characteristics will have to be re-engineered or bypassed entirely. Some stretches of U.S. 17/Future I-87 around Windsor, Edenton and Elizabeth City, however, already meet most interstate standards.

"I've been working on I-87 for 15 years, and I always tell people we shouldn't be amazed at how long interstate highways take to complete, but rather that they get built at all,"  laughed Joe Milazzo with the Regional Transportation Alliance in Raleigh. "But bit by bit, they do get built. And those red, white and blue signs – even the ones that say "˜future' – are remarkable things, providing not only branding but focus for advocacy by local leaders and developers.

"Interstates won't "˜make' a region by themselves, since land, workforce and other infrastructure are also vital, but they do provide the opportunity to at least participate in the broader economic development game,"  Milazzo said.

Greenville spur

Future I-587, announced by the North Carolina Department of Transportation in late 2016, will run from future I-87 at Zebulon east to Greenville along an upgraded U.S. 264. Once future I-87 was approved and announced, officials and economic developers from the Greenville area lobbied the state and federal agencies for a spur route on behalf of the city. This rural freeway joins Raleigh to both Wilson and Greenville, as well as overlaying I-795 between I-95 and its continuation south to Goldsboro.

There is now a funded contract for two separate projects in Greene and Pitt counties related to upgrading U.S. 264 to interstate standards, according to Cadmus Capehart, Division Construction Engineer for North Carolina DOT's Division 2. Both involve widening outside lane shoulders from four to 10 feet, as required for interstate highways, and both will take place in conjunction with a process of rehabilitating the pavement through strengthening and resurfacing. These two projects, totaling approximately $22.5 million, should be complete in late 2020 or early 2021.

These improvements will still not bring Pitt and Greene counties totally up to interstate standards because there will still have to be more work in the future on bridges to bring them into compliance with vertical clearance and required length of on and off ramps. Altogether, it's estimated that $100 million will eventually be needed to bring the entire route from Zebulon to Greenville up to interstate standards.

"Greenville was the largest city in North Carolina without an interstate connection until I-587 was approved,"  said Vann Rogerson, interim director and CEO of the N.C. East Alliance. "Now, though, Pitt County can be presented to potential clients as well situated for going back up toward Raleigh, up Interstate 95 and up toward the Port of Virginia via the connection near Bethel with I-87."

"Now it's vital that we stay behind future I-587 and the other future interstates in the region to make sure they – and our local economy – remain competitive as far as the process of setting funding priorities is concerned,"  he added.

Economic catalyst

U.S. 70, the existing four-lane highway between the Raleigh area and Morehead City, is also undergoing upgrading and will eventually become I-42. The future interstate basically follows the U.S. 70 corridor in a southeasterly direction, connecting Garner, Clayton, Smithfield, Selma, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern and Havelock with Morehead City and its state port facilities. I-42 will actually terminate near the Carteret County line in the vicinity of Newport and will not enter Morehead City, although some congestion-clearing bridge construction near the port itself is part of the long-range transportation plan in the city.

Cutting travel time between Raleigh and the Morehead City-Beaufort area from three hours to a little more than two, the 137-mile roadway will function as a less congested hurricane evacuation route. It will become an improved freight-hauling corridor and will connect Seymour Johnson Air Force base and Cherry Point Marine Air Station, as well as Kinston's Global TransPark, to the interstate highway system.

Several new U.S. 70/Future I-42 segments are already complete, including the bypass around the north side of Goldsboro, but others will not materialize until after at least another decade of work.

A 32-mile stretch of the highway between Dover, east of Kinston, and New Bern is undergoing widening of the outer lane shoulders to bring the route up to interstate standards, along with strengthening and resurfacing of the pavement. This project began in 2019 and will continue through 2020.

Beginning at the southern end of the Neuse and Trent River bridges in New Bern, a 4.5 mile stretch of now-congested roadway in the vicinity of the New Bern airport will soon be under construction to eliminate five traffic-signal intersections through the construction of elevated interchanges. This work, locally known as the "James City Project,"  is set to begin in March of 2021, with completion planned for late 2023.

Future I-42 will follow a new bypass just begun around the west side of Havelock in Craven County, with completion scheduled for early 2024. Stoplights in Havelock and the resulting traffic backups have long been a source of frustration for travelers in this area.

"Within five years, there will be no stoplights at all between Dover just outside Kinston and the Carteret County line,"  said Carteret County Economic Development Director Don Kirkman.

The last major piece leading to completion of future I-42 will be the bypass looping around the south side of Kinston. A small piece of this project is scheduled to begin in 2026, but construction will not begin on the larger portion of the route until 2029.

"It's going to take us a while to get there, but I-42 will obviously be a game changer for Carteret County,"  said Kirkman. "But beyond that, I think this entire corridor is going to be transformational – a huge economic catalyst for all of central eastern North Carolina."

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Of course a lot of projects could be facing uncertain futures until we know what the economic fallout is going to be from the pandemic.

And the dominoes begin to fall....

As coronavirus keeps people home, North Carolina gas and sales tax revenues plummet

"The N.C. Department of Transportation will lose more than a third of its expected revenue over the next three months because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to Bobby Lewis, the department's chief operating officer. Lewis told the Board of Transportation on Thursday that NCDOT will receive up to $200 million less in revenue than it had counted on by July 1."

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-04-03-i-40-aviation-reopening.aspx

​MORRISVILLE — N.C. Department of Transportation contract crews have reached a significant milestone on the project to improve the Interstate 40 interchange at Aviation Parkway.

On Sunday afternoon, traffic is scheduled to shift onto the western half of the new Aviation Parkway bridge over I-40. The eastern half of the bridge will be built after the old bridge is removed.

At this same time, the ramp from I-40 East to Aviation Parkway (Exit 285) and the loop from southbound Aviation Parkway to I-40 East will reopen, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. The ramp and loop had been closed since Feb. 16 as tie-ins were made to the new bridge alignment.

Also opening will be the new exit loop from I-40 West to southbound Aviation Parkway. Instead of everyone wanting to access Aviation Parkway sharing the same exit ramp, drivers wanting to go south will pass under the Aviation Parkway bridge and immediately exit to the right onto the new loop. There will be a traffic signal at the end of the loop ramp, but both lanes of traffic will be able to make a right turn only onto the southbound lanes.

Northbound drivers heading toward RDU Airport will exit the same way they have been using a free-flow lane onto Aviation Parkway.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-04-06-i-40-i-440-split-closure.aspx

RALEIGH — N.C. Department of Transportation contractors are planning overnight closures at the junction of Interstate 40 and Interstate 440 this week as part of the widening of I-40 from Southeast Raleigh to Clayton.

Tonight and the next two nights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning, access from I-440 East to I-40 West is scheduled to be closed.

A detour will direct drivers to continue onto I-40 East (Exit 16) to Exit 303 (Jones Sausage Road) to turn around and take I-40 West.

The closures will allow for the demolition of a temporary bridge used during the Fortify project.

​Drivers should allow extra time to navigate the detour route and pay attention while driving through the work zone.

[LM117]

The McCrimmon Parkway extension from Airport Blvd to Aviation Parkway in Morrisville is open.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-04-09-mccrimmon-pkwy-extension-opens.aspx

[bob7374]

A segment of the Shelby Bypass (to NC 226) is to open on Tuesday, the next (to NC 150) in 2022:
https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-04-13-shelby-bypass-segment-opens.aspx