NCDOT plans East Wake Highway Improvements

Tired of the morning backups on US 64 West between Zebulon and Wendell in the morning? Or the long queue to get on and off the highway at Smithfield Road? The next decade may see some traffic relief in Eastern Wake County as NCDOT tries to keep up with the steady growth here. Two projects have scored significantly high in regards to statewide mobility as they prepare their 2020-2029 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program listing. Both projects concern the Future Interstate 87/US 64/264 freeway.

The first is the eventual widening to six lanes and upgrading of the US 64/264 Freeway from Rolesville Road (Exit 430) to the 64/264 split in Zebulon (Exit 436). The nearly seven mile project scored the highest of all NCDOT Division 5 (Durham, Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance, Wake and Warren Counties). The anticipated cost is just under $60 million and is programmed to begin in 2026. This project will also most likely extend the Interstate 87 designation to Zebulon.

Also scoring high is improvements to the Smithfield Road (Exit 425) interchange. This project scored fifth highest in the district and would see the diamond interchange converted into what is known as a Diverging Diamond Interchange or DDI. This interchange, which has drivers briefly on the wrong side of the road, has grown in popularity within the state with over one dozen currently in use or planned.

Below is a video from NCDOT that explains how a Diverging Diamond Interchange works.

This project is expected to cost nearly $7.5 million and is also planned for a 2026 construction date.

Please keep in mind that this is currently a preliminary score and construction date. NCDOT is taking public comment on over 2,100 highway projects as they prepare their construction plans for the next decade. The comment period runs from April 30 to June 8th.

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California State Route 77; the real "Shortest Signed" State Highway

Over the last two weeks I visited almost every State Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area. The shortest State Highway by a large margin in the Bay Area is California State Route 77.

CA 77 is presently only 0.45 miles in length and is located entirely within the City of Oakland. CA 77 begins at Interstate 880 and heads eastward on 42nd Avenue to CA 185 on 14th Street. As presently completed CA 77 would rank as the third shortest State Highway only behind CA 275 and CA 283.

CAhighways.org list of Shortest State Highways

CA 77 presently has a 13.4 mile portion that has not been constructed. CA 77 as originally envisioned would have continued northeast towards Concord and would have junctions with; I-580, unbuilt CA 93, CA 24, I-680 and CA 242. According to CAhighways.org the present route of CA 77 was designated as Legislative Route Number 233 which was approved by the State Legislature in 1953. The legislative description of LRN 233 was changed to LRN 235 by 1957.

CAhighways.org on…

Local Sign Find - Georgia Route 280 found in Sutersville, PA?

Sign errors happen - a US shield in place of a state highway shield or vice versa. It's interesting to some and a pet peeve to others. But when Mike Natale found a Georgia 280 shield in Sutersville, Pennsylvania, you have to think something must be up.
And in this case, there's a reason for it. It's a prop for a television series. Netflix's popular TV series "Mindhunter" is shot in the Pittsburgh area. Mike came across the GA 280 sign in October 2018 and it is possible that the scenes involving Georgia 280 should be in Episode 6 or 7.

Georgia State Highway 280 is located in northwestern and western Atlanta. That's a far cry from the Mon Valley. It is common for television or movie scenes to be shot elsewhere than where they are set at. However, it is very rare to see a sign prop out in the wild while production is on going. This is a great find by Mike!

The strange evolution of Interstate 280 in San Francisco

Recently while in the San Francisco Bay Area I wanted to check out the north terminus of Interstate 280 in downtown San Francisco. I-280 as currently aligned diverges significantly from what was originally planned in the City of San Francisco.

Much of the finalized planning of the Interstate Highway System in the San Francisco Bay Area was largely plotted out by 1956. Between CA 17 in Los Gatos and CA 1 in San Francisco the path of I-280 ultimately followed Legislative Route Number 239 which was designated by the State Legislature in 1957.

CAhighways.org on LRN 239

LRN 239 can be seen appearing on the State Highway Map City Insert of San Francisco connecting to CA 1 by 1958.

1958 State Highway Map City Insert

I-280 was to take a far different route than it currently does in San Francisco. The original plan for I-280 was to follow CA 1 on LRN 56 towards the Golden Gate Bridge where it would terminate at I-480/LRN 224 and US 101. The original planned alignment of I-280 becomes apparen…

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