Interstate 87 (NC-VA)

[The Ghostbuster]

I hope Interstate 87 gets that funding and gets upgraded so the designation can be extended further east (and ultimately north). At 12.9 miles, Interstate 87 is, at present, dinky.

[tolbs17]

NCDOT seeking federal funding for proposed I-87

The N.C. Department of Transportation has asked the federal government for funding to complete Interstate 87 and to install broadband along the over 200-mile roadway from Virginia to Raleigh.

Future I-87 will also serve as an interstate connection between the Port of Virginia and I-95.

NC East Alliance Director Vann Rogerson, who leads one group pushing for the highway, said that NCDOT submitted an Infrastructure For Rebuilding America Grant application last week seeking federal funding for the project that started with a $1 billion price tag.

"This is a grand opportunity for us to get funding,"  Rogerson said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed.''

Rogerson said the state should know in about five months if INFRA funding will be available for the interstate project. He said the alliance is seeking letters of support for it from local governments, state and federal elected officials and business leaders in North Carolina and Virginia.

"The Port of Virginia needs a southern route out to Interstate 95 for that flow of materials,"  Rogerson said. "We have support letters from the Port of Virginia. Obviously, there are a lot of people interested in getting this corridor developed."

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden said he would pursue massive spending on infrastructure projects if elected. Following up on that priority, his administration will soon unveil a $4 trillion plan that's expected to allocate money for roads, bridges rail lines, water and sewer systems, improvements to the power grid and to expand broadband access.

Rogerson said the funds DOT are seeking are from a federal infrastructure grant.

"Back in January, we started focusing in a more united way to see if there were some rural federal infrastructure monies that we could get assigned since the Biden Administration was coming in,"  he said. "We feel this is a good opportunity because the federal government is going to spend money on infrastructure projects."

The grant application is also seeking to install fiber optic cable along the entire length of the future I-87 corridor, as well as the extension of U.S. 64 from Williamston to Whalebone in Dare County.

The broadband would allow NCDOT to install state-of-the-art wind and flood monitoring systems and could be the "backbone"  of expanding internet access in rural counties along I-87.

"They are going to have some excess capacity there that can be used by communities,"  Rogerson said. "I believe they are going to have some dark fiber as a part of that.'' Dark fiber is unused optical fiber.

Once completed, I-87 is expected to generate economic development all along the corridor, with Camden and Pasquotank counties especially benefiting because of their close proximity to the Port of Virginia.

"There are so many companies looking to be 30 minutes or an hour from an interstate and that corridor is just critical for us,"  Rogerson said. "

The grant application comes just three months after participants at a virtual work session on I-87 were told that many parts of the project were pushed back by several years because of NCDOT budget shortfalls.

NCDOT has faced several financial challenges that started with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and continued with Hurricane Florence in 2018, causing the agency to spend more than $400 million to repair damage caused by the two storms.

A decrease in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drop of gas tax revenue which further hurt NCDOT's finances.

Biden's $2 trillion bill will hope to get these projects back on track.

[froggie]

Somewhat amusing that the article makes no mention of how the Map Act fiasco has also hit NCDOT's pocketbook...

[LM117]

I'd much rather see an INFRA grant for I-795 at the moment. Wayne County could really use a second N/S Neuse River crossing, and that new alignment would also relieve the congestion in Mar-Mac, which would be a big help.

[Strider]

NCDOT seeking federal funding for proposed I-87

The N.C. Department of Transportation has asked the federal government for funding to complete Interstate 87 and to install broadband along the over 200-mile roadway from Virginia to Raleigh.

Future I-87 will also serve as an interstate connection between the Port of Virginia and I-95.

NC East Alliance Director Vann Rogerson, who leads one group pushing for the highway, said that NCDOT submitted an Infrastructure For Rebuilding America Grant application last week seeking federal funding for the project that started with a $1 billion price tag.

"This is a grand opportunity for us to get funding,"  Rogerson said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed.''

Rogerson said the state should know in about five months if INFRA funding will be available for the interstate project. He said the alliance is seeking letters of support for it from local governments, state and federal elected officials and business leaders in North Carolina and Virginia.

"The Port of Virginia needs a southern route out to Interstate 95 for that flow of materials,"  Rogerson said. "We have support letters from the Port of Virginia. Obviously, there are a lot of people interested in getting this corridor developed."

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden said he would pursue massive spending on infrastructure projects if elected. Following up on that priority, his administration will soon unveil a $4 trillion plan that's expected to allocate money for roads, bridges rail lines, water and sewer systems, improvements to the power grid and to expand broadband access.

Rogerson said the funds DOT are seeking are from a federal infrastructure grant.

"Back in January, we started focusing in a more united way to see if there were some rural federal infrastructure monies that we could get assigned since the Biden Administration was coming in,"  he said. "We feel this is a good opportunity because the federal government is going to spend money on infrastructure projects."

The grant application is also seeking to install fiber optic cable along the entire length of the future I-87 corridor, as well as the extension of U.S. 64 from Williamston to Whalebone in Dare County.

The broadband would allow NCDOT to install state-of-the-art wind and flood monitoring systems and could be the "backbone"  of expanding internet access in rural counties along I-87.

"They are going to have some excess capacity there that can be used by communities,"  Rogerson said. "I believe they are going to have some dark fiber as a part of that.'' Dark fiber is unused optical fiber.

Once completed, I-87 is expected to generate economic development all along the corridor, with Camden and Pasquotank counties especially benefiting because of their close proximity to the Port of Virginia.

"There are so many companies looking to be 30 minutes or an hour from an interstate and that corridor is just critical for us,"  Rogerson said. "

The grant application comes just three months after participants at a virtual work session on I-87 were told that many parts of the project were pushed back by several years because of NCDOT budget shortfalls.

NCDOT has faced several financial challenges that started with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and continued with Hurricane Florence in 2018, causing the agency to spend more than $400 million to repair damage caused by the two storms.

A decrease in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drop of gas tax revenue which further hurt NCDOT's finances.

I hope the federal government says "NO". NC has to finish other interstates first (I-26 Connector, I-42, I-73/I-74, I-795 extension, etc). I-87 isn't even that important.

[tolbs17]

NCDOT seeking federal funding for proposed I-87

The N.C. Department of Transportation has asked the federal government for funding to complete Interstate 87 and to install broadband along the over 200-mile roadway from Virginia to Raleigh.

Future I-87 will also serve as an interstate connection between the Port of Virginia and I-95.

NC East Alliance Director Vann Rogerson, who leads one group pushing for the highway, said that NCDOT submitted an Infrastructure For Rebuilding America Grant application last week seeking federal funding for the project that started with a $1 billion price tag.

"This is a grand opportunity for us to get funding,"  Rogerson said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed.''

Rogerson said the state should know in about five months if INFRA funding will be available for the interstate project. He said the alliance is seeking letters of support for it from local governments, state and federal elected officials and business leaders in North Carolina and Virginia.

"The Port of Virginia needs a southern route out to Interstate 95 for that flow of materials,"  Rogerson said. "We have support letters from the Port of Virginia. Obviously, there are a lot of people interested in getting this corridor developed."

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden said he would pursue massive spending on infrastructure projects if elected. Following up on that priority, his administration will soon unveil a $4 trillion plan that's expected to allocate money for roads, bridges rail lines, water and sewer systems, improvements to the power grid and to expand broadband access.

Rogerson said the funds DOT are seeking are from a federal infrastructure grant.

"Back in January, we started focusing in a more united way to see if there were some rural federal infrastructure monies that we could get assigned since the Biden Administration was coming in,"  he said. "We feel this is a good opportunity because the federal government is going to spend money on infrastructure projects."

The grant application is also seeking to install fiber optic cable along the entire length of the future I-87 corridor, as well as the extension of U.S. 64 from Williamston to Whalebone in Dare County.

The broadband would allow NCDOT to install state-of-the-art wind and flood monitoring systems and could be the "backbone"  of expanding internet access in rural counties along I-87.

"They are going to have some excess capacity there that can be used by communities,"  Rogerson said. "I believe they are going to have some dark fiber as a part of that.'' Dark fiber is unused optical fiber.

Once completed, I-87 is expected to generate economic development all along the corridor, with Camden and Pasquotank counties especially benefiting because of their close proximity to the Port of Virginia.

"There are so many companies looking to be 30 minutes or an hour from an interstate and that corridor is just critical for us,"  Rogerson said. "

The grant application comes just three months after participants at a virtual work session on I-87 were told that many parts of the project were pushed back by several years because of NCDOT budget shortfalls.

NCDOT has faced several financial challenges that started with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and continued with Hurricane Florence in 2018, causing the agency to spend more than $400 million to repair damage caused by the two storms.

A decrease in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drop of gas tax revenue which further hurt NCDOT's finances.

I hope the federal government says "NO". NC has to finish other interstates first (I-26 Connector, I-42, I-73/I-74, I-795 extension, etc). I-87 isn't even that important.

Or completing 540. And widening major arterials.

[tjcreasy]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

[sprjus4]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

Agreed. One of the problems with the corridor is that while North Carolina will be bearing most of the cost, the benefits to any major population center lie north of the border in Hampton Roads, specifically in regards to an interstate highway corridor connecting to I-95 and other southern population centers. From the point of view of the federal government, tying Hampton Roads, I-95, and Raleigh (two metros of over 2 million population and primary north-south east coast highway) together may seem more important than North Carolina sees it. For North Carolina specifically, I-87 isn't doing much directly for their state as much as I-42, I-795, I-73, or other in state corridors are that connecting internal population centers, which is why it's a lower priority for them. The main advocacy efforts are from those eastern counties which would benefit the most having an interstate highway connecting two major metropolitan areas coming through their county. There's support from Hampton Roads as well, but that's not going to do much in the way of pushing North Carolina to do work.

With all of this though, I still believe that I-87 has a higher chance of getting complete before VDOT turns a shovel of dirt on upgrading the US-58 corridor. There's higher gains for that type of project, but virtually no interest to Virginia due to its cost and lack of history at developing interstate corridors.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

Agreed, and my points above as to why I-87 is a lower priority for North Carolina may apply here to - it's not doing as much for internal population centers. Though this project certainly is almost complete, there's only one small segment that needs to be upgraded. I drove the corridor last year between Danville and Greensboro and it almost felt like a wash driving through that arterial segment, not much work would be involved to fully upgrade it.

[ahj2000]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

Agreed. One of the problems with the corridor is that while North Carolina will be bearing most of the cost, the benefits to any major population center lie north of the border in Hampton Roads, specifically in regards to an interstate highway corridor connecting to I-95 and other southern population centers. From the point of view of the federal government, tying Hampton Roads, I-95, and Raleigh (two metros of over 2 million population and primary north-south east coast highway) together may seem more important than North Carolina sees it. For North Carolina specifically, I-87 isn't doing much directly for their state as much as I-42, I-795, I-73, or other in state corridors are that connecting internal population centers, which is why it's a lower priority for them. The main advocacy efforts are from those eastern counties which would benefit the most having an interstate highway connecting two major metropolitan areas coming through their county. There's support from Hampton Roads as well, but that's not going to do much in the way of pushing North Carolina to do work.

With all of this though, I still believe that I-87 has a higher chance of getting complete before VDOT turns a shovel of dirt on upgrading the US-58 corridor. There's higher gains for that type of project, but virtually no interest to Virginia due to its cost and lack of history at developing interstate corridors.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

Agreed, and my points above as to why I-87 is a lower priority for North Carolina may apply here to - it's not doing as much for internal population centers. Though this project certainly is almost complete, there's only one small segment that needs to be upgraded. I drove the corridor last year between Danville and Greensboro and it almost felt like a wash driving through that arterial segment, not much work would be involved to fully upgrade it.

I drive it at least 5 times a year. It just looks like it could be an interstate with just the tiniest bit of work...but it won't til at least 2030.

[snowc]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

New quote added to my memory. For people knowing what tjcreasy said, Closed mouths don't get fed is an idiomatic phrase that means if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.

[Strider]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

Agreed. One of the problems with the corridor is that while North Carolina will be bearing most of the cost, the benefits to any major population center lie north of the border in Hampton Roads, specifically in regards to an interstate highway corridor connecting to I-95 and other southern population centers. From the point of view of the federal government, tying Hampton Roads, I-95, and Raleigh (two metros of over 2 million population and primary north-south east coast highway) together may seem more important than North Carolina sees it. For North Carolina specifically, I-87 isn't doing much directly for their state as much as I-42, I-795, I-73, or other in state corridors are that connecting internal population centers, which is why it's a lower priority for them. The main advocacy efforts are from those eastern counties which would benefit the most having an interstate highway connecting two major metropolitan areas coming through their county. There's support from Hampton Roads as well, but that's not going to do much in the way of pushing North Carolina to do work.

With all of this though, I still believe that I-87 has a higher chance of getting complete before VDOT turns a shovel of dirt on upgrading the US-58 corridor. There's higher gains for that type of project, but virtually no interest to Virginia due to its cost and lack of history at developing interstate corridors.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

Agreed, and my points above as to why I-87 is a lower priority for North Carolina may apply here to - it's not doing as much for internal population centers. Though this project certainly is almost complete, there's only one small segment that needs to be upgraded. I drove the corridor last year between Danville and Greensboro and it almost felt like a wash driving through that arterial segment, not much work would be involved to fully upgrade it.

I drive it at least 5 times a year. It just looks like it could be an interstate with just the tiniest bit of work...but it won't til at least 2030.

Exactly. It is moved because of "funding difficulties". I understood that... until they requested a FEDERAL funding for I-87 alone. Like others mentioned, it doesn't do much for that part of the state... They should have requested the funding to complete I-785, I-26, I-42, I-73 and I-74. They can go back to I-87 once the others are finished.

[sprjus4]

I understood that... until they requested a FEDERAL funding for I-87 alone. Like others mentioned, it doesn't do much for that part of the state...

Those other corridors have a higher chance of receiving in state funding than an isolated, lengthy corridor that mainly has benefits outside of North Carolina (i.e. Hampton Roads), such as I-87 does. Federal funding is likely the only route that corridor will ever get built within a reasonable amount of time.

Not to mention, like mentioned above, you can't blame those eastern counties for lobbying NCDOT for their wish list, you can only blame the counties on those other corridors for not lobbying and getting their wish lists pushed through.

And to be fair, I-42 (along with I-95 widening) and the US-74 corridor have received a share of federal funding through grants in the past few years.

[architect77]

I-95 is by far the only NC project deserving of that infrastructure plan.

I mean look at the dire need projects like a new tunnel under the Hudson to expand and relieve the 100+ existing tunnel that the entire Northeast relies on. It's damaged from Sandy and on a single hiccup affects hundreds of thousands of commuters and has a ripple effect much like air travel delays.

It could be finished by now and for a bargain of what it will now cost due to Christie and Trump. For Trump to have delayed something so important to the TriState  because of petty politics...

Or resurrecting the abandoned S line in Virginia that will connect NC's successful railroad to the Northeast Corridor with higher-speed rail service. That 100 miles is estimated to cost $4 billion but that seems far better use of that money than I-87 or other NC highway projects if you ask me.

[tolbs17]

the only important part for I-87 is widening the part between Wendell and Zebulon.

[The Ghostbuster]

Personally, I would upgrade the existing segments of the US 64 freeway to Interstate Standards before making the US 17 corridor from Williamston-to-Norfolk completely freeway. Or should it be vice versa?

[tolbs17]

Personally, I would upgrade the existing segments of the US 64 freeway to Interstate Standards before making the US 17 corridor from Williamston-to-Norfolk completely freeway. Or should it be vice versa?

US-64 to Williamston should be first. Going east of Tarboro, US-64 already meets interstate standards so don't really need to do anything there.

US-64 in Rocky Mount, they were planning to raise the speed limit to 70 through by increasing the radius of the interchanges. That part would need some work done.

[sprjus4]

If you went with US-17 first, you would at least establish a full freeway grade corridor between Norfolk and Raleigh. Then you can go back and upgrade the remaining substandard freeway segments. But I believe the official plan is the opposite, which will only push US-17, the unimproved portion, back longer.

[sturmde]

In the meantime, NCDOT could be proactive and renumber NC 87 to NC 187.
.
That opens up extending I-87 southward along I-40 to US 1 and then down along current freeway grade.... and end for now at US 421.  At least that would make it more south on a 'north south' route.

[tjcreasy]

In the meantime, NCDOT could be proactive and renumber NC 87 to NC 187.
.
That opens up extending I-87 southward along I-40 to US 1 and then down along current freeway grade.... and end for now at US 421.  At least that would make it more south on a 'north south' route.

NC 87 is a very important statewide route. Something has got to give with NC 87 and US 74. Hate to see it go, hopefully it can receive a US Highway designation like US 317? An I-87 extension to Sanford in the short term makes sense.

[Mapmikey]

In the meantime, NCDOT could be proactive and renumber NC 87 to NC 187.
.
That opens up extending I-87 southward along I-40 to US 1 and then down along current freeway grade.... and end for now at US 421.  At least that would make it more south on a 'north south' route.

If they didn't renumber NC 73 by now it seems unlikely they will renumber NC 42 or NC 87.

NC was still renumbering state routes to accommodate interstate numbering as late as the 1970s - NC 277 gone in 1979 and NC 195 changed to match Virginia renumbering their VA 195 in 1975.

[architect77]

"Closed mouths don't get fed" . Where are the politicians and advocacy groups pushing for their respective projects? I applaud the I-87 proponents for getting out in front on this potential funding source.

I want to see I-785 finished personally! It's so close to becoming a reality!

New quote added to my memory. For people knowing what tjcreasy said, Closed mouths don't get fed is an idiomatic phrase that means if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.

It doesn't mean that to me at all. I interpret it to mean, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." In order words, you've got to voice your wants and needs because you won't get anything remaining silent.

[architect77]

If you went with US-17 first, you would at least establish a full freeway grade corridor between Norfolk and Raleigh. Then you can go back and upgrade the remaining substandard freeway segments. But I believe the official plan is the opposite, which will only push US-17, the unimproved portion, back longer.

I would love to know some traffic counts between Raleigh and the Norfolk region, which now has a smaller CSA population than Raleigh-Durham.

I know it's a major port and Navy installation, however i don't see industries in the Triangle that are huge receivers of components coming off boats at ports.

I'm going to assail the notion that NC's rural Northeastern Counties are significantly dead enough to have diverted Hampton Road's major lifelines and associations away from Raleigh making it far lessor important to Virginia's coast than Richmond and points North.

[sprjus4]

It's not just Raleigh-Durham, it's I-95 South that's a major driver for Hampton Roads.

There's various routes that connect Norfolk to I-95 and Raleigh-Durham today, with the main being US-58, which does not go through Eastern NC but rather reaches I-95 in Virginia, along with others. A single interstate highway corridor would likely attract traffic from all routes onto it. I'd estimate volumes to be anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 AADT, though it's hard to say with certainty. These numbers will inevitably grow in the future as well.

NCDOT estimates traffic volumes will be around 15,000 AADT on the most rural portions of US-17 then up to 30,000 AADT on the high end between Norfolk and Elizabeth City, which would cover Virginia's portion of the corridor.

While the lower volumes do make such a project a lower priority, it's still an important long range goal to have an interstate highway connection between two metros of over a million population, and in general Norfolk to the south. It's a missing link in the system. I-64 provides a northwestern connection while there's a lack of anything to the southwest.

[The Ghostbuster]

Once the freeway starts getting closer towards the North Carolina/Virginia border along the US 17 portion of future Interstate 87, does anyone predict upgrading existing US 17 there and on the Virginia side of the proposed Interstate would stir up public resistance and NIMBYism to upgrading 17 (of course, that assumes that Interstate 87 one day makes it that far)?

[sprjus4]

Once the freeway starts getting closer towards the North Carolina/Virginia border along the US 17 portion of future Interstate 87, does anyone predict upgrading existing US 17 there and on the Virginia side of the proposed Interstate would stir up public resistance and NIMBYism to upgrading 17 (of course, that assumes that Interstate 87 one day makes it that far)?

I imagine there may be some resistance on the Virginia side, though I don't imagine any major pushback, especially if improvements are kept rural in nature - which largely will considering upgrades will consist of access control and rural interchanges. The fact the highway itself in both states is already mostly limited access in regards to private connections, helps significantly. It's simply a matter of addressing existing rural intersections. The main opposition is centered around new developments out in the area.

VDOT will likely not pursue upgrades on the northern side of the border until either the Elizabeth City - Virginia portion is complete, or until the vast majority of the corridor is upgraded to the point the Virginia portion sticks out like a sore thumb on what is otherwise an unobstructed 70 mph corridor to Raleigh once entering North Carolina.