Charlotte

[PColumbus73]

i don't think SC would be very open to that idea. What do they stand to gain from this? I-77 is the rare example of a SC road being of higher quality than a NC road. the interstate widens out to 8 lanes immediately south of the border, and stays that way for about 13 miles to exit 77. so why should SC need any further upgrades? Plus, there is no median space for the express lanes, so they would have to expand the right-of-way to accommodate.

That would be an interesting question, too. If NCDOT (State A) wanted to build and pay for the express lanes, would that mean NCDOT would be acquiring right-of-way for SCDOT (State B)? What would that mean if they had to condemn properties?

It's an interesting hypothetical question regarding state sovereignty, probably involving the Interstate commerce clause, and other Constitutional issues

[sprjus4]

I-77 is the rare example of a SC road being of higher quality than a NC road. the interstate widens out to 8 lanes immediately south of the border, and stays that way for about 13 miles to exit 77.

South Carolina doesn't do it much, but I can think another instance, this one much more recently. I-85 now widens to 6 lanes at the state line, and it seems SCDOT has finally completed what felt like a decade-long 6 lane widening between Spartansburg and the NC line.

When is NCDOT going to widen the approximately 10 miles between US-74 and the SC line?

[bob7374]

Whether you want to believe it or not, NCDOT says the I-485 Express lanes are to open in February:
https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2026/26-01-06-i-485-express-lanes-near-completion.aspx

[wriddle082]

Whether you want to believe it or not, NCDOT says the I-485 Express lanes are to open in February:
https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2026/26-01-06-i-485-express-lanes-near-completion.aspx

Yeah I'll believe it when I see it.  I think there was a bit of bridge work left to finish up in Matthews and the express exit in Ballantyne still looked like a mess when I last saw it about a month ago.  I think it's close to ready from Ballantyne to I-77.

I-77 is the rare example of a SC road being of higher quality than a NC road. the interstate widens out to 8 lanes immediately south of the border, and stays that way for about 13 miles to exit 77.

South Carolina doesn't do it much, but I can think another instance, this one much more recently. I-85 now widens to 6 lanes at the state line, and it seems SCDOT has finally completed what felt like a decade-long 6 lane widening between Spartansburg and the NC line.

When is NCDOT going to widen the approximately 10 miles between US-74 and the SC line?

Also in the Charlotte area, two lane NC 160 (Steele Creek Rd) widens to four lanes with a center left turn lane after crossing into SC and becoming SC 160.  NCDOT supposedly has widening Steele Creek Rd. in their plans, but nothing has started yet.

[WashuOtaku]

Whether you want to believe it or not, NCDOT says the I-485 Express lanes are to open in February:
https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2026/26-01-06-i-485-express-lanes-near-completion.aspx

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has created a new page for the I-485 Express Lanes; and bonus, here is the toll rate chart for the first year. Enjoy!

I have updated the I-485 Wikipedia article regarding the Express Lanes and I even gave my toll estimates of the minimum/maximum for inner-bound and outer-bound. Feel free to make corrections.

[Henry]

Any idea as to how the I-485 Express Lanes will connect to those on I-77? (the upcoming extension to the south, not the existing part to the north)

[WashuOtaku]

Any idea as to how the I-485 Express Lanes will connect to those on I-77? (the upcoming extension to the south, not the existing part to the north)

It is in the proposed I-77 express lanes project, here's the link: https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/i-77-south-express-lanes/Pages/project-maps.aspx

[architect77]

I-77 is the rare example of a SC road being of higher quality than a NC road. the interstate widens out to 8 lanes immediately south of the border, and stays that way for about 13 miles to exit 77.

South Carolina doesn't do it much, but I can think another instance, this one much more recently. I-85 now widens to 6 lanes at the state line, and it seems SCDOT has finally completed what felt like a decade-long 6 lane widening between Spartansburg and the NC line.

When is NCDOT going to widen the approximately 10 miles between US-74 and the SC line?

I would think that it will be at least 15 years before the final 10 miles of I-85 is widened to 6 lanes due to dozens of projects across the state that are far more urgent currently being delayed until 2031-2035. The Triangle had 9 improvement projects delayed for 7 years or longer this year as construction costs have risen 67% since 2018.

But I-85 will get another lane added in each direction between Charlotte and Gastonia starting this year. The first section is closer to Charlotte, and the 2nd section will begin after a couple of new overpasses are constructed over I-85, one being a railroad track. Working with the privately owned railroad companies is notoriously slow and a pain.

For I-85 there is a huge bottle neck of 8 miles of only 4 lanes between Durham and the merge with I-40 at Mebane that affects NC residents more than the Kings Mountain stretch. Most states put the final stretches of roadway at state lines lower on the priority list. Of course I-77 shouldn't and won't be de prioritized but I-85 at SC line a little less pertinent to NC gas tax payers and also over 50 miles of I-85 from the VA line to Durham is very old and still just 4 lanes with a lot of traffic volume with no plans for improvement that I know of.

[jdunlop]

I-77 is the rare example of a SC road being of higher quality than a NC road. the interstate widens out to 8 lanes immediately south of the border, and stays that way for about 13 miles to exit 77.

South Carolina doesn't do it much, but I can think another instance, this one much more recently. I-85 now widens to 6 lanes at the state line, and it seems SCDOT has finally completed what felt like a decade-long 6 lane widening between Spartansburg and the NC line.

When is NCDOT going to widen the approximately 10 miles between US-74 and the SC line?

I would think that it will be at least 15 years before the final 10 miles of I-85 is widened to 6 lanes due to dozens of projects across the state that are far more urgent currently being delayed until 2031-2035. The Triangle had 9 improvement projects delayed for 7 years or longer this year as construction costs have risen 67% since 2018.

But I-85 will get another lane added in each direction between Charlotte and Gastonia starting this year. The first section is closer to Charlotte, and the 2nd section will begin after a couple of new overpasses are constructed over I-85, one being a railroad track. Working with the privately owned railroad companies is notoriously slow and a pain.

For I-85 there is a huge bottle neck of 8 miles of only 4 lanes between Durham and the merge with I-40 at Mebane that affects NC residents more than the Kings Mountain stretch. Most states put the final stretches of roadway at state lines lower on the priority list. Of course I-77 shouldn't and won't be de prioritized but I-85 at SC line a little less pertinent to NC gas tax payers and also over 50 miles of I-85 from the VA line to Durham is very old and still just 4 lanes with a lot of traffic volume with no plans for improvement that I know of.

The section(s) of I-85 between the VA line and the Durham county line were rebuilt (in sections) over the past few years, and are not in need of any improvement.  The section between Butner and US 70 are in need of improvements; I believe there's a SPOT project submitted but don't know the status other than it's currently unfunded.

IIRC the section between US 321 and US 74 in Gaston County are a higher priority than the last ten miles between US 74 and the SC state line.  I expect the projects to go from north to south (as the highway is labeled.)  I'm sure the cap on corridor spending will push those last two sections out further.

[Dirt Roads]

For I-85 there is a huge bottle neck of 8 miles of only 4 lanes between Durham and the merge with I-40 at Mebane that affects NC residents more than the Kings Mountain stretch. Most states put the final stretches of roadway at state lines lower on the priority list. Of course I-77 shouldn't and won't be de prioritized but I-85 at SC line a little less pertinent to NC gas tax payers and also over 50 miles of I-85 from the VA line to Durham is very old and still just 4 lanes with a lot of traffic volume with no plans for improvement that I know of.

The section(s) of I-85 between the VA line and the Durham county line were rebuilt (in sections) over the past few years, and are not in need of any improvement.  The section between Butner and US 70 are in need of improvements; I believe there's a SPOT project submitted but don't know the status other than it's currently unfunded.

<architect77> is referring to the widening of I-85 in Orange County (between Durham -and- Hillsborough).  That section has been in the Top 5 of STIP for much of the past 27 years or so, but it constantly gets bumped for higher priority projects in Raleigh and Charlotte.  Moreover, the I-40 widening in Orange County (Chapel Hill -to- Hillsborough) had worked its way up higher in the priority list over.  Much of the dynamics for I-40 versus I-85 were related to the long-term impact of the East End Connector (I-885), which effectively cut off the utilization of the Durham Freeway as the best route to RTP from the west (as it was 20 years ago).

All said and done, widening of I-85 [west] of Charlotte is probably a higher priority (as validated by the STIP).

[WashuOtaku]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/new-i-485-interchange-will-open-jan-9-2026/275-9fb09213-ddc2-45a1-b4fb-3c87e43f5257

[wriddle082]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/new-i-485-interchange-will-open-jan-9-2026/275-9fb09213-ddc2-45a1-b4fb-3c87e43f5257

This may provide some relief to the Providence Rd interchange, but I guess we'll see.  I think the area around this new interchange is already pretty well developed residentially, so not sure how much new growth/sprawl will end up happening.

[jdunlop]

For I-85 there is a huge bottle neck of 8 miles of only 4 lanes between Durham and the merge with I-40 at Mebane that affects NC residents more than the Kings Mountain stretch. Most states put the final stretches of roadway at state lines lower on the priority list. Of course I-77 shouldn't and won't be de prioritized but I-85 at SC line a little less pertinent to NC gas tax payers and also over 50 miles of I-85 from the VA line to Durham is very old and still just 4 lanes with a lot of traffic volume with no plans for improvement that I know of.

The section(s) of I-85 between the VA line and the Durham county line were rebuilt (in sections) over the past few years, and are not in need of any improvement.  The section between Butner and US 70 are in need of improvements; I believe there's a SPOT project submitted but don't know the status other than it's currently unfunded.

<architect77> is referring to the widening of I-85 in Orange County (between Durham -and- Hillsborough).  That section has been in the Top 5 of STIP for much of the past 27 years or so, but it constantly gets bumped for higher priority projects in Raleigh and Charlotte.  Moreover, the I-40 widening in Orange County (Chapel Hill -to- Hillsborough) had worked its way up higher in the priority list over.  Much of the dynamics for I-40 versus I-85 were related to the long-term impact of the East End Connector (I-885), which effectively cut off the utilization of the Durham Freeway as the best route to RTP from the west (as it was 20 years ago).

All said and done, widening of I-85 [west] of Charlotte is probably a higher priority (as validated by the STIP).

While he mainly talked about Gastonia and the eight miles in Orange County, he said that the 50 miles from The VA 'line to Durham was old and in need, and I was correcting the status of that section.

The Orange County section in question is/was project I-0305; the Alamance section (to new I-85) was I-0304, completed in the mid-'90s, and the Durham section completed mid-2000s was I-0306.  Even longer than the 27 years you said!  Likewise, the I-40 section that's currently under construction was supposed to be done right after the Durham section was widened (up to 15-501).  Money and politics (from the notoriously anti-car Durham-Orange MPO) delayed both sections, as well as the badly needed widening of NC 147 (now I-885).

I think a sub-section of I-0305 from the Durham line to US 70 is funded and supposed to start relatively soon although I haven't checked the status lately.  That would help a lot, as that exit draws off about 12K AADT.  (AADT on 85 goes from roughly 65K to 55K there.  55K is reasonably manageable for a four-lane freeway.

[fillup420]

I think a sub-section of I-0305 from the Durham line to US 70 is funded and supposed to start relatively soon although I haven't checked the status lately.  That would help a lot, as that exit draws off about 12K AADT.  (AADT on 85 goes from roughly 65K to 55K there.  55K is reasonably manageable for a four-lane freeway.

man i hope so. The bottleneck just "south" of the NC 147 junction is among the worst i have ever encountered. 5 lanes go down to 2 in a just under 1 mile. it creates a nightmare every weekday afternoon, as well as after big DPAC events or Bulls games.

Durham county just rehabbed the pavement from the county line to exit 173. I have always thought extending the third lane to exit 170 (US 70) would solve most of the issue. But realistically, 85 needs 3 lanes each way to the I-40 junction. Which should've been done 20 years ago.

[bob7374]

NCDOT announcing Express Lane project related ramp closures on I-485 next week for overhead sign installation:
https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2026/2026-01-13-i-485-ramp-closures.aspx

[rickmastfan67]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/new-i-485-interchange-will-open-jan-9-2026/275-9fb09213-ddc2-45a1-b4fb-3c87e43f5257

Anybody know the exit number for it yet?

[Henry]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/new-i-485-interchange-will-open-jan-9-2026/275-9fb09213-ddc2-45a1-b4fb-3c87e43f5257

Anybody know the exit number for it yet?

According to Wikipedia, it's Exit 54.

[fillup420]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

[jdunlop]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg MPO asked NCDOT to delay building the interchange in order to reduce the immediate growth in the area.  Did the same on the other side of 485, at Oakdale.  They knew there'd be plenty of growth at the other interchanges, so tried to spread it out a bit.  Not sure it really worked, though.

[Rothman]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg MPO asked NCDOT to delay building the interchange in order to reduce the immediate growth in the area.  Did the same on the other side of 485, at Oakdale.  They knew there'd be plenty of growth at the other interchanges, so tried to spread it out a bit.  Not sure it really worked, though.

I would have liked to have seen how that played out at the MPO table, where they only have some control over in which FFY the construction funds are authorized.

[jdunlop]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg MPO asked NCDOT to delay building the interchange in order to reduce the immediate growth in the area.  Did the same on the other side of 485, at Oakdale.  They knew there'd be plenty of growth at the other interchanges, so tried to spread it out a bit.  Not sure it really worked, though.

I would have liked to have seen how that played out at the MPO table, where they only have some control over in which FFY the construction funds are authorized.

It was part of the planning of the outer loop, back in the late '80s.  The interchanges were identified for the entire loop back then, and then Charlotte said "not so fast" with these two.  (Wish they had told NCDOT that they'd changed their mind and provided water/sewer in the Ballentyne area after saying they wouldn't.  Would have changed the original design of the first sections from four lanes to (at least) six.) 

The later construction of Oakdale and Weddington had to "fight" for funding along with other projects in the area.  Oakdale was relatively easy, as the grading when that section was originally done included work for the interchange, so the later project "only" had to do fine grading and build the ramps and interchange.  (A change from the original plans were to build roundabouts at the ramp intersections and at Oakdale and Mt Holly-Huntersville Road.  Lessened the footprint of the Oakdale corridor.)  I believe Weddington, due to the higher buildup in the area, needed more adjustments (I helped with the final configuration but don't recall the "original" one.)

[Rothman]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg MPO asked NCDOT to delay building the interchange in order to reduce the immediate growth in the area.  Did the same on the other side of 485, at Oakdale.  They knew there'd be plenty of growth at the other interchanges, so tried to spread it out a bit.  Not sure it really worked, though.

I would have liked to have seen how that played out at the MPO table, where they only have some control over in which FFY the construction funds are authorized.

It was part of the planning of the outer loop, back in the late '80s.  The interchanges were identified for the entire loop back then, and then Charlotte said "not so fast" with these two.  (Wish they had told NCDOT that they'd changed their mind and provided water/sewer in the Ballentyne area after saying they wouldn't.  Would have changed the original design of the first sections from four lanes to (at least) six.) 

The later construction of Oakdale and Weddington had to "fight" for funding along with other projects in the area.  Oakdale was relatively easy, as the grading when that section was originally done included work for the interchange, so the later project "only" had to do fine grading and build the ramps and interchange.  (A change from the original plans were to build roundabouts at the ramp intersections and at Oakdale and Mt Holly-Huntersville Road.  Lessened the footprint of the Oakdale corridor.)  I believe Weddington, due to the higher buildup in the area, needed more adjustments (I helped with the final configuration but don't recall the "original" one.)

The timing's a little interesting.  At least per this ye olde link: https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/01/15/interstate-485-and-oakdale-intersection-opens, the study that recommended the delay in construction was in 1999.  What's interesting is that the Oakdale project was initiated in 2011 and then awarded in 2016.  I believe it was not eligible for Interstate Maintenance (IM) funding, due to being a new interchange.  Wonder what kind of funding they had to fight over to get it programmed and wonder if it was mostly NCDOT fighting against its own priorities.

[jdunlop]

Weddington Road interchange on I-485 is now open.

I always wondered why there wasn't an interchange there to begin with. I grew up in the area, and getting to 485 from, for example, the YMCA right next to the new ramps, was a huge pain for either direction. I know lots of folks were unhappy about the new interchange, but i think those feelings will change once they realize how easy it is to access 485 now.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg MPO asked NCDOT to delay building the interchange in order to reduce the immediate growth in the area.  Did the same on the other side of 485, at Oakdale.  They knew there'd be plenty of growth at the other interchanges, so tried to spread it out a bit.  Not sure it really worked, though.

I would have liked to have seen how that played out at the MPO table, where they only have some control over in which FFY the construction funds are authorized.

It was part of the planning of the outer loop, back in the late '80s.  The interchanges were identified for the entire loop back then, and then Charlotte said "not so fast" with these two.  (Wish they had told NCDOT that they'd changed their mind and provided water/sewer in the Ballentyne area after saying they wouldn't.  Would have changed the original design of the first sections from four lanes to (at least) six.) 

The later construction of Oakdale and Weddington had to "fight" for funding along with other projects in the area.  Oakdale was relatively easy, as the grading when that section was originally done included work for the interchange, so the later project "only" had to do fine grading and build the ramps and interchange.  (A change from the original plans were to build roundabouts at the ramp intersections and at Oakdale and Mt Holly-Huntersville Road.  Lessened the footprint of the Oakdale corridor.)  I believe Weddington, due to the higher buildup in the area, needed more adjustments (I helped with the final configuration but don't recall the "original" one.)

The timing's a little interesting.  At least per this ye olde link: https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/01/15/interstate-485-and-oakdale-intersection-opens, the study that recommended the delay in construction was in 1999.  What's interesting is that the Oakdale project was initiated in 2011 and then awarded in 2016.  I believe it was not eligible for Interstate Maintenance (IM) funding, due to being a new interchange.  Wonder what kind of funding they had to fight over to get it programmed and wonder if it was mostly NCDOT fighting against its own priorities.

Sorry, I wasn't clear on the date details.  The interchanges were included in the original planning documents for the loop, circa mid '80s.  For Oakdale, that section of I-485 was designed in the late '90s (The then head of design asked me about including the roundabouts at Moores Chapel Road about that time, which is why I remember the original design date for that section), and the 1999 date for delaying the interchange makes sense.  Sorry I inferred that the decision dates for delay were combined.  (Not sure when the Weddington delay request occurred, but since that side of the loop was built mid-'90s, I presume it was sooner.)

I never was involved in much funding decisions, so I can't tell you which pot was used for the interchange construction.  I do recall that because it was included in the original planning documents for the loop, we didn't need to do an interchange justification report for FHWA.

[architect77]

Lots of events took place from 1999-2020, and also:

1) Remember that the Charlotte region is handled by 3 different NCDOT divisions. That's important because up until McCrory became governor and completely changed funding for highway projects is allocated, a bigger portion of funding was being equally distributed to all highway divisions. Some rural regions had too much funding and metro areas didn't have enough funding. McCrory all but eliminated the portion that was being equally doled out (today only 5% of annual revenue is equally distributed). McCrory implemented scoring every project based on the most benefit to the most people which steered more to the populated regions. My home town has had a project make to the funding STIP and then removed over and over 3 times as another project elsewhere knocked it off the funding list.

2) So during the last 25 years, there were times when the divisions around Charlotte would have less and then more available funding for desired projects.

3) The great recession and slow recovery resulted in the state raiding the highway trust fund to pay the bills for a few years. But, give Gov. Perdue credit for rallying for Charlotte to receive the lion's share of big project funding for years that completed I-485 and got I-85 rebuilt at Charlotte to be today's nicest interstate in the state and beyond. On top of that she found another $400 million to replace the Yadkin River Bridge, where the old one caught Southbound I-85 traffic by surprise as a blind corner put you on a narrow 4-lane bridge over the river with no room for error for a scary 15 seconds.

4) Multiple hurricanes around 2017 decimated NCDOT's funds so badly that today on their website they have a weekly report on available cash on hand to operate.

5) And finally over the past 25 years NCDOT has changed what it considers to be the optimum size for interstates and they also decided to rebuild only one final time. So that's why the 8-lane freeway is the standard that they build. They used to just add a 3rd lane when widening interstates. Growth really accelerated in the 90s which likely influenced their future construction guidelines.

I just want NC to raise its gas tax since it maintains the 2nd largest system in the nation after Texas. SC and GA gas  prices are the same as NC and they maintain half as many miles as NCDOT.

[Rothman]

Lots of events took place from 1999-2020, and also:

1) Remember that the Charlotte region is handled by 3 different NCDOT divisions. That's important because up until McCrory became governor and completely changed funding for highway projects is allocated, a bigger portion of funding was being equally distributed to all highway divisions. Some rural regions had too much funding and metro areas didn't have enough funding. McCrory all but eliminated the portion that was being equally doled out (today only 5% of annual revenue is equally distributed). McCrory implemented scoring every project based on the most benefit to the most people which steered more to the populated regions. My home town has had a project make to the funding STIP and then removed over and over 3 times as another project elsewhere knocked it off the funding list.

2) So during the last 25 years, there were times when the divisions around Charlotte would have less and then more available funding for desired projects.

3) The great recession and slow recovery resulted in the state raiding the highway trust fund to pay the bills for a few years. But, give Gov. Perdue credit for rallying for Charlotte to receive the lion's share of big project funding for years that completed I-485 and got I-85 rebuilt at Charlotte to be today's nicest interstate in the state and beyond. On top of that she found another $400 million to replace the Yadkin River Bridge, where the old one caught Southbound I-85 traffic by surprise as a blind corner put you on a narrow 4-lane bridge over the river with no room for error for a scary 15 seconds.

4) Multiple hurricanes around 2017 decimated NCDOT's funds so badly that today on their website they have a weekly report on available cash on hand to operate.

5) And finally over the past 25 years NCDOT has changed what it considers to be the optimum size for interstates and they also decided to rebuild only one final time. So that's why the 8-lane freeway is the standard that they build. They used to just add a 3rd lane when widening interstates. Growth really accelerated in the 90s which likely influenced their future construction guidelines.

I just want NC to raise its gas tax since it maintains the 2nd largest system in the nation after Texas. SC and GA gas  prices are the same as NC and they maintain half as many miles as NCDOT.

Makes me wonder about how much in federal Emergency Recovery funding they get due to the hurricanes and what emergency funding the State has to come up with on their own and where that line is set.  NY only gets a large natural disaster every-so-often, so the ER funds flow in pretty well when that occurs and even for the smaller events that happen annually wherever.  Not a whole lot of core funding, whether normal federal allocations from the bill or state allocations gets put towards repairing damage from natural events (at least transportation-wise).  However, obviously NC gets hit harder with much broader damage in the gazillions, so just curious how the funding mix ends up down yonder.