Public apathetic about I-485 construction delays

For all the bluster made by local politicians about the NCDOT's decision to push back the completion of I-485 two years in addition to delaying the widening of the Interstate in Southern Mecklenburg County, one would think that the general public would have had an equally loud outcry about these two transportation issues.

Well, guess what...if you thought that...you were wrong.

Now I know, I am nearly two months behind in reporting this story...but it's still worth mentioning today.

At a January public hearing on the 2009-2015 NCDOT Draft Transportation Improvement Project List held in Charlotte, only four people showed up and not one spoke about the decision to delay Interstate 485. Furthermore, as of the January hearing date, the DOT had not received any letters or e-mail comments from the general public about the proposed pushback in construction. The only commentary that had been received at that point were from various politicians (which has been reported and commented on in this blog).

As a result of the lack of feedback on the decision - and the grim reality of shortfalls in transportation funding within North Carolina - it is almost certain that the two year delay in construction of both projects on I-485 will occur.

Ok, so I am guilty of not sending a message to the NCDOT either, and it's mainly because there are so many projects within the state, and the issue to me is not where the I-485 projects fall in line for funding or priority rankings; rather, the issue to me is the current funding system within North Carolina for transportation projects. Whether it is the district equity funding programs, the raiding of Highway Trust Fund monies for General Fund purposes by the state legislature, or various DOT practices that have ended up costing more money to complete past projects, these issues to me are more important to be address and fixed vs. moving the completion of the I-485 loop ahead two years or not. It won't be until these issues are addressed within the DOT and down the street here in Raleigh by our legislature that delays and funding gaps like these will be lessened if not eliminated.

Story: I-485 delay looks to be done deal ---News 14 Carolina

Comments

Deer Isle Bridge in Maine

As graceful a bridge that I ever set my eyes upon, the Deer Isle Bridge (officially known as the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge) surprisingly caught my eye as I was driving around coastal Maine one Saturday afternoon. About 35 miles south of Bangor, Maine , the Deer Isle Bridge connects the Blue Hill Peninsula of Downeast Maine with Little Deer Isle over the Eggemoggin Reach on ME 15 between the towns of Sedgwick and Deer Isle . It should be noted that Little Deer Isle is connected to Deer Isle by way of a boulder lined causeway, and there is a storied regatta that takes place on the Eggemoggin Reach each summer. But the Deer Isle Bridge holds many stories, not just for the vacationers who spend part of their summer on Deer Isle or in nearby Stonington , but for the residents throughout the years and the folks who have had a hand bringing this vital link to life. The Deer Isle Bridge was designed by David Steinman and built by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville,

Former US Route 99 through Athlone and the last Wheeler Ridge-Sacramento corridor expressway

Athlone was a siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in Merced County on the alignment of what was US Route 99 between the cities of Chowchilla and Merced. The Athlone corridor of US Route 99 was one of the first in San Joaquin Valley to fully upgraded to four lane expressway standards. The Athlone expressway corridor was inherited by California State Route 99 when US Route 99 was truncated to Ashland, Oregon during June 1965. The four-lane expressway through Athlone was the last segment of what had been US Route 99 in the Wheeler Ridge-Sacramento corridor to be bypassed by a freeway. The Athlone expressway corridor was bypassed by the modern California State Route 99 freeway in 2016. Despite being put on a road diet and narrowed what was the Athlone expressway corridor still displays evidence of being part of US Route 99. Above the blog cover photo displays the Athlone expressway corridor of US Route 99 south of Merced as depicted in the July 1939 California Highways &

California State Route 38

California State Route 38 is a fifty-nine-mile State Highway located entirety in San Bernardino County and a component of the Rim of the World Highway. California State Route 38 begins at California State Route 18 at Bear Valley Dam of the San Bernardino Mountains and follows an easterly course on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. California State Route 38 briefly multiplexes California State Route 18 near Baldwin Lake and branches east towards the 8,443-foot-high Onyx Summit. From Onyx Summit the routing of California State Route 38 reverses course following a largely westward path through the San Bernardino Mountains towards a terminus at Interstate 10 in Redlands. Pictured as the blog cover is California State Route 38 at Onyx Summit the day it opened to traffic on August 12th, 1961. Part 1; the history of California State Route 38 California State Route 38 (CA 38) is generally considered to be the back way through the San Bernardino Mountains to Big Bear Lake of Bear Valley

Gribblenation

Search This Blog