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[Jmiles32]

To clarify that last sentence, I'm still fine with new auxiliary interstates, just no more two digit routes that won't ever realistically be finshed.

[wdcrft63]

I wonder if NC will try and make VA reconsider since ya know they spent like a billion dollars  already on a now dead I-73. Lol classic NC.

North Carolina is going forward with construction of I-73 and I-74, and it doesn't matter at all whether Virginia (or South Carolina) build their sections.

[Strider]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.

Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

well.. they built roads that carry low traffic, so that shouldn't even matter. I-73 will be back. Not worried.

[Alps]

I wonder if NC will try and make VA reconsider since ya know they spent like a billion dollars  already on a now dead I-73. Lol classic NC.

North Carolina is going forward with construction of I-73 and I-74, and it doesn't matter at all whether Virginia (or South Carolina) build their sections.

Not worried about SC. They're moving.

[Strider]

I wonder if NC will try and make VA reconsider since ya know they spent like a billion dollars  already on a now dead I-73. Lol classic NC.

North Carolina is going forward with construction of I-73 and I-74, and it doesn't matter at all whether Virginia (or South Carolina) build their sections.

Not worried about SC. They're moving.

moving?

[sparker]

So ironic -- the impetus to re-do HPC 5 as a twinned I-73/I-74 originated with Roanoke interests; now, unless the situation changes down the line, that city won't see I-73 except at a distance!  At this point it appears that the whole purpose of that route north of Greensboro will be as an Interstate-grade access road to the Martinsville Speedway! 

[LM117]

I wonder if NC will try and make VA reconsider since ya know they spent like a billion dollars  already on a now dead I-73. Lol classic NC.

North Carolina is going forward with construction of I-73 and I-74, and it doesn't matter at all whether Virginia (or South Carolina) build their sections.

Not worried about SC. They're moving.

moving?

I think he's referring to this:

http://m.wmbfnews.com/wmbfnews/db_330822/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=btjvcAPG

[Mapmikey]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.

Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

Haven't been able to find the 1990s feasibility study VDOT did to see if tolls were initially considered.  However, the FAQ on VDOT's website says I-73 funding would be 90% federal and 10% state which strongly suggests Virginia's posture is/was if Congress wants an interstate in this corridor they will also need to pay for it...

[mvak36]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

[Grzrd]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.
Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

Haven't been able to find the 1990s feasibility study VDOT did to see if tolls were initially considered.  However, the FAQ on VDOT's website says I-73 funding would be 90% federal and 10% state which strongly suggests Virginia's posture is/was if Congress wants an interstate in this corridor they will also need to pay for it...

In 2014, the Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships issued its High-Level Screening Report, which recommended that the I-73 project be advanced to the Detail-Level screening phase of the process in order to, among other things, determine the feasibility of tolling. However, as this snip shows, the Virginia Commissioner of Highways disagreed and stopped further study:

[Strider]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

[Strider]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.
Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

Haven't been able to find the 1990s feasibility study VDOT did to see if tolls were initially considered.  However, the FAQ on VDOT's website says I-73 funding would be 90% federal and 10% state which strongly suggests Virginia's posture is/was if Congress wants an interstate in this corridor they will also need to pay for it...

In 2014, the Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships issued its High-Level Screening Report, which recommended that the I-73 project be advanced to the Detail-Level screening phase of the process in order to, among other things, determine the feasibility of tolling. However, as this snip shows, the Virginia Commissioner of Highways disagreed and stopped further study:

No surprise there. he is from Fairfax County. (Northern VA).

It is sad that some places in the state gets a lot of funding, while others don't. politics BS.

[LM117]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.
Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

Haven't been able to find the 1990s feasibility study VDOT did to see if tolls were initially considered.  However, the FAQ on VDOT's website says I-73 funding would be 90% federal and 10% state which strongly suggests Virginia's posture is/was if Congress wants an interstate in this corridor they will also need to pay for it...

In 2014, the Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships issued its High-Level Screening Report, which recommended that the I-73 project be advanced to the Detail-Level screening phase of the process in order to, among other things, determine the feasibility of tolling. However, as this snip shows, the Virginia Commissioner of Highways disagreed and stopped further study:

No surprise there. he is from Fairfax County. (Northern VA).

It is sad that some places in the state gets a lot of funding, while others don't. politics BS.

That's exactly the reason why I've been saying that unless there's a major political change on where transportation money goes in this state, I-73 will remain dead in VA. I'm not saying NoVA shouldn't get anything, but there's more to the state than just NoVA. It's basically the "I got mine, fuck you" mentality. I don't see it changing anytime soon, if ever.

[bob7374]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

Currently, I-73 construction stops at the NC 68 interchange being built north of Greensboro. If VA doesn't build their portion, I highly doubt NC will spend money to upgrade US 220 north to the border. Thus the great town of Stokesdale will be the northern terminus of I-73.

[LM117]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

Currently, I-73 construction stops at the NC 68 interchange being built north of Greensboro. If VA doesn't build their portion, I highly doubt NC will spend money to upgrade US 220 north to the border. Thus the great town of Stokesdale will be the northern terminus of I-73.

I agree with that. It doesn't make any sense for NC to spend any more money extending I-73 towards a state that obviously has no intention of building their part. The money would be better spent on projects within NC that they could actually benefit from, like upgrading US-70 to I-42.

[MazdaStrider]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

Currently, I-73 construction stops at the NC 68 interchange being built north of Greensboro. If VA doesn't build their portion, I highly doubt NC will spend money to upgrade US 220 north to the border. Thus the great town of Stokesdale will be the northern terminus of I-73.

I agree with that. It doesn't make any sense for NC to spend any more money extending I-73 towards a state that obviously has no intention of building their part. The money would be better spent on projects within NC that they could actually benefit from, like upgrading US-70 to I-42.

Yeah, I-73 will stop at the NC 68 interchange for now. I don't think NC has funded that section from NC 68 to VA border with the exception of upgrading US 220/NC 135 interchange, so yeah you're right.. Stokesdale will be the temporary northern terminus of I-73.. but for how long remains seen.

[Henry]

Talk about another state that will not build I-73 anytime soon...so this means that it will dead end at the border, like the new I-87/I-89 will?

[CanesFan27]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

Currently, I-73 construction stops at the NC 68 interchange being built north of Greensboro. If VA doesn't build their portion, I highly doubt NC will spend money to upgrade US 220 north to the border. Thus the great town of Stokesdale will be the northern terminus of I-73.

I agree with that. It doesn't make any sense for NC to spend any more money extending I-73 towards a state that obviously has no intention of building their part. The money would be better spent on projects within NC that they could actually benefit from, like upgrading US-70 to I-42.

The only difference is the need to massively upgrade 220 goes away.  They'll most likely continue with piecemeal upgrades as demand dictates. For example the improvements to the US 311/NC 135 interchange in Mayodan as currently listed in the STIP.  there was not, to the best of my knowledge, anything else happening north of NC 68 for some time.

[MazdaStrider]

Talk about another state that will not build I-73 anytime soon...so this means that it will dead end at the border, like the new I-87/I-89 will?

yeah politics and money seem to be the issue. Let's see how things go in 2025. 

[MazdaStrider]

So if the project is dead in VA, where will NC end I-73? At the VA border?

Yeah more likely it will end at the VA border.

Currently, I-73 construction stops at the NC 68 interchange being built north of Greensboro. If VA doesn't build their portion, I highly doubt NC will spend money to upgrade US 220 north to the border. Thus the great town of Stokesdale will be the northern terminus of I-73.

I agree with that. It doesn't make any sense for NC to spend any more money extending I-73 towards a state that obviously has no intention of building their part. The money would be better spent on projects within NC that they could actually benefit from, like upgrading US-70 to I-42.

The only difference is the need to massively upgrade 220 goes away.  They'll most likely continue with piecemeal upgrades as demand dictates. For example the improvements to the US 311/NC 135 interchange in Mayodan as currently listed in the STIP.  there was not, to the best of my knowledge, anything else happening north of NC 68 for some time.

Yeah a little upgrades, something like that. US 220 in that area don't really need much upgrades to interstate standards, which is probably it can wait until after 2025, depending on what VA does at that time.

[CanesFan27]

Seeing that the Greensboro Urban Loop is continuing to take shape, I wouldn't be surprised if they completed the link to Roanoke a decade from now.

Well that only took three years not 10.

[froggie]

That's exactly the reason why I've been saying that unless there's a major political change on where transportation money goes in this state, I-73 will remain dead in VA. I'm not saying NoVA shouldn't get anything, but there's more to the state than just NoVA. It's basically the "I got mine, fuck you" mentality. I don't see it changing anytime soon, if ever.

(and for Strider, too)

Believe it or not, far more money flows out of NoVA than goes back into it.  NoVA is a cash cow to the rest of the state and they know it.  It took tolls and a private partnership to get improvements to 95 and the Beltway that were warranted by traffic demands two decades ago.  Most of these "business-desired Interstates" are along corridors that just don't have the traffic volume to warrant their expense.  Furthermore, if you completely gridlock Northern Virginia, the entire state economy will suffer.  Or is it that you guys just don't care?

[wdcrft63]

So ironic -- the impetus to re-do HPC 5 as a twinned I-73/I-74 originated with Roanoke interests; now, unless the situation changes down the line, that city won't see I-73 except at a distance!  At this point it appears that the whole purpose of that route north of Greensboro will be as an Interstate-grade access road to the Martinsville Speedway!

Roanoke should get VDOT to replace the I-581 shields with I-73 shields. Whenever there's an obvious gap in an interstate highway, pressure will eventually build to get that gap filled.

[MazdaStrider]

That's exactly the reason why I've been saying that unless there's a major political change on where transportation money goes in this state, I-73 will remain dead in VA. I'm not saying NoVA shouldn't get anything, but there's more to the state than just NoVA. It's basically the "I got mine, fuck you" mentality. I don't see it changing anytime soon, if ever.

(and for Strider, too)

Believe it or not, far more money flows out of NoVA than goes back into it.  NoVA is a cash cow to the rest of the state and they know it.  It took tolls and a private partnership to get improvements to 95 and the Beltway that were warranted by traffic demands two decades ago.  Most of these "business-desired Interstates" are along corridors that just don't have the traffic volume to warrant their expense.  Furthermore, if you completely gridlock Northern Virginia, the entire state economy will suffer.  Or is it that you guys just don't care?

I don't live in NoVA so I can't comment on that. I'd believe what you said, however. If more money actually flows out of NoVA, where does they go? To unnecessary projects or? All I know is that the state is broke, but how?

Not that I don't care, but its just sad that parts of the state (not just VA, I am sure other states has similar issues) that gets funding while others either get a little or they don't. The I-73 link from  NC border to Roanoke is needed for economic reasons in that part of the state (even with I-77 just to the west). If traffic doesn't warrant it (I have seen PLENTY of traffic on US 220 as I drove up and down that road fairly a lot), the road still needs to be built either way, even if it is in a small segments and takes 20 years to complete.

I am really curious on how they are going to deal with the money they're holding for the I-73 project ($8 million).

[hbelkins]

Building it as a toll road could work.

As I recall, VDOT looked at this awhile back, but between low traffic volumes and high construction costs, it would still require public money.

Color me unsurprised by this.  Everyone who paid half an ounce of attention in Virginia realized this was politically driven, and with VDOT's perpetual budget woes combined with an increasing push to do something about urban area traffic, I-81, and I-95, this "I-73" idea never really stood a serious chance.

As well it shouldn't have. US 220 is a perfectly adequate link between Greensboro and Roanoke via Martinsville.