Skip to main content

What project is more important? Charlotte planning organization to debate ranking of three projects

  1. Widening/Upgrading Independence Blvd. (US 74) to an Expressway
  2. Building the Monroe Bypass (US 74)
  3. Completing the Interstate 485 Outer Loop
How would you rank in importance and need of these three Charlotte Transportation Projects?

That's the current ranking of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization, but that could change. They are meeting today to debate on shifting the priorities for the region's transportation needs.

And there's a little bit of political pressure too:

Governor Perdue has promised (during her election campaign) that construction on I-485 would begin this year, and it would be finished by 2013. But Transportation Officials admit that they don't have the funding to start now or even in the next few years.

To fulfill this promise, funding for other projects would have to be delayed in order to complete the highway. That could put projects like the widening and upgrade of Independence Blvd. way back on the "To Do List".

And in order to smooth the path in getting funding arranged - a green light by a shift of priorities by an organization like MUMPO - can help set the stage for it. If the local planning organization sees, the completion of I-485 as the top priority for the region, DOT officials can point to that to move money from other projects to the top of the list.

Though I would like Interstate 485 completed somewhat in my lifetime, I agree with the current MUMPO ranking and that improving and upgrading Independence Blvd. is and should remain the top choice.

Over the past 15 years, Independence Blvd. has been upgraded with interchanges at major intersections and better control of access to the various commercial/retail buildings and minor side streets. It has seen the elimination of numerous traffic lights allowing for quicker access to Uptown Charlotte from the eastern suburbs. So far the project has been completed from the Belk Freeway (I-277) to Albemarle Road (NC 27). The next phase of the project, which is staged to go all the way out to I-485, is to extend the expressway to Idlewild Road. This 1.4 mile extension is expected to begin in 2012. (You can see the plans for this segment here.)

The cost of this 1.4 mile upgrade is about $150 million - or just under 3/4ths the cost to finish I-485.

Story Link w/video:
Other projects to pay to fulfill Purdue's I-485 promise ---News14Carolina

Either way, its a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, what do you think?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w