Gribblenation

Billy Riddle is in the area this weekend visiting relatives with his fiancee. He stopped down to Raleigh and we headed on a brief afternoon trip. And came across two pleasant surprises. Route: I-440, US 1, NC 42, NC 902, NC 87, US 64, US 1, I-440. Accomplishments: Billy gained three counties (Lee, Chatham, and Moore). I added mileage to NC 42 and 87 along with clinching NC 902. Notes: The US 421 Sanford Bypass is still under construction and I now know that the US 421 interchange with the US 1/15/501/NC 87 freeway will be a cloverleaf with collector/distributor ramps along US 421. US 421 will run over US 1. We soon got onto NC 42 West which is a rolling highway through fields, farms, and forests towards Pottery Country. Not that far along, we were very surprised to see a covered bridge built just north of where NC 42 crosses Pocket Creek. This is a recently built covered bridge on a small offshoot of former NC 42. It appears some final landscaping and clean-up is needed. I am g...

Officials from Wilmington's Transportation Advisory Committee are headed to Raleigh hoping to make the Cape Fear Skyway a step closer to a reality. The goal: persuading the North Carolina General Assembly to fund some if not all of the projected $439 million funding shortfall for the proposed $1 billion project. The funding gap could be solved with a 40 year annual allocation of $39 million from the state's budget. Backers of the Cape Fear Skyway aren't the only toll road proponents hoping to get some help from the General Assembly. The Raleigh-area Triangle Expressway needs an estimated $18 million annual investment from the state. Currently, the General Assembly and the NC Senate have not agreed on let alone pass a new budget. A stop-gap funding bill has been passed allowing the government to continue to operate until July 31. Funding for the Skyway may not occur in this session. However, if the budget includes funding for the Triangle Expressway, supporters of the...

We're not always going to have roadtrips or transportation commentary here at the blog. In May, a group of us from the office went over to the DBAP (formally known as the Durham Bulls Athletic Park) for a game between the Durham Bulls and the Tidewater Tides. The DBAP has been open for over ten years, and is one of the finest ballparks in the minor leagues. I've gone to a number of games in Durham when I lived in Raleigh a few years ago. This was my first game at the ballpark since 2004. Now unfortunately, the day had threatened rain but it wasn't until the game started that a steady shower began. So the pictures aren't the greatest. But it was great to be back at the ballpark, and it was just another thing that makes me glad to be back in North Carolina. This is looking back at the main grandstand from the leftfield corner. Most of the park is not under cover. A number of views of the "Blue Monster" and a replica of the famous bull that was in the movie...

This is where Google news alerts really come in handy. It appears that nine years ago tomorrow, there was a ceremony 'dedicating' US 29 from Greensboro to Danville as Interstate 785. From the opening of a 1998 Greensboro News & Record Article: "Say goodbye to U.S. 29. Say hello to Interstate 785. In a name change billed as an enhancement of "economic development," Reps. Virgil Goode of Virginia and Richard Burr of North Carolina will speak today at a ceremony marking the designation of U.S. 29 as part of the interstate highway system. It begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Piedmont Triad Visitors..." A few things have changed in the nine years. I'd love to say US 29 has now become fully integrated as Interstate 785, but that's not the item that is different today than nine years ago. Here's the change....North Carolina U.S. Representative Richard Burr is now North Carolina U.S. Senator Richard Burr. Other than that, there are a few ...

Along with the recent news on the Cape Fear Skyway, it appears that other possible toll projects in North Carolina are in the news. The proposal to build an 18 mile toll segment of I-74 in Brunswick County was also studied by Wilbur Smith Associates. And like the Cape Fear Skyway, there's not much good news. David Joyner, who is the executive director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA), told the Brunswick Beacon that tolls would only generate revenue for 42% of the highway's projected $378 million cost. If the highway would be open by 2015, the tolls for the entire 18 miles could be $2.15. In 2030, it is believed that the toll would be $3.15. The tolls are considered the amount that would generate the most possible revenue. The remaining money would have to come from other funding sources. Why the skepticism on the proposal? Well, the study points to a toll free US 17 which would parallel the Interstate to the east. The study, which isn't as detailed as ...

A section of Charlotte's South Independence Blvd. has recently been renamed to Charlottetown Avenue. The section of road from Kenilworth Ave. to East 7th Street will bear the new name. Originally the state's first urban highway, Independence Blvd. has seen numerous alterations to its routing over the past two decades. What was once West, South, and East Independence Boulevard has been broken into and renamed Carson Blvd., Stonewall St., and now Charlottetown Ave. The only part of the highway to retain the 'Independence' name is the section of US 74 east of Uptown. The name change was requested by the Charlotte Department of Transportation to eliminate confusion with differing directions with the Independence Freeway. Local property owners submitted the Charlottetown Ave. name. Source: Charlotte Observer

One of the more highly debated road construction projects in New York State's Capital Region over recent years was the construction of five roundabouts along NY State Route 67 near the I-87 Northway in Malta. In an effort to improve traffic flow in this growing section of Saratoga County, and in anticipation of future growth (such as the AMD chip fab plant that is supposed to be built nearby), NYSDOT had decided to replace existing traffic lights with a series of roundabouts. It is designed to be faster and safer, and the results in the 10 months since the roundabout construction was completed echoes those principles. According to a June 27, 2007 article in the Albany Times Union, traffic times have cut down to an average of 2 minutes per trip as compared to an average of 6 minutes per trip before the roundabouts were put into place. Accidents are also down. The complaint that many have with roundabouts has to do with navigation. People driving around the roundabouts in Malta ...