Gribblenation

South Carolina State Representative Tracy Edge will ask SCDOT to begin planning for an environmental study of the alternative to extend the Carolina Bays Parkway northwards into North Carolina. The proposed extension would ultimately become part of Interstate 74. The study would look at the six alternatives proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Since 2002, the state has reserved $500,000 per year for the I-74/Carolina Bays Parkway northern extension. The funds come from the SC Department of Commerce. It is estimated that the study would cost about $7 million to complete. Though the study would be an important step in seeing Interstate 74 become a closer reality, funding for construction in either state is currently not on schedule. Story link: North end roads ride on funding ---Myrtle Beach Sun News

Both the Triad and Triangle Business Journals last week published stories on the amount of funding for highway loops throughout the state of North Carolina. And when you look at the details, Charlotte doesn't have much to complain about. In fact, Charlotte has the greatest percentage of their loop miles completed or funded within the state. At 93 %, or 68.4 of nearly 74 miles proposed, Charlotte is well ahead of other cities like Raleigh or Greensboro and miles beyond Durham, Asheville , or Winston-Salem which show zero miles funded/completed. (See figure at right.) For years, residents and political leaders in the Charlotte area has complained about the lack of urgency in Raleigh to complete their loop. The reality of the chart shows that Charlotte is way ahead of any city within the state. The root cause for the infighting between North Carolina cities for limited highway funds can be traced to the variety of funding mechanisms for transportation projects within the state...

Construction will soon begin on a new bridge carrying US 220 over the North Branch of the Potomac River between Keyser, WV and McCoole, MD. The bridge will replace the 60 year old Memorial Bridge. The project came in under bid at $23.4 million. The West Virginia Department of Highways awarded the contract to Ahern & Associates of St. Albans, WV. In addition, a $1.3 million contract was awarded to Bear Contracting to construct a lift station for water service to McCoole. Construction on the new bridge is to begin in the spring and be completed in November 2012. Story link: State awards $23.4 million bid for new Memorial Bridge ---Mineral Daily News Tribune

A piece of the Interstate 73 puzzle in North Carolina will start to fall into place on January 14 th when NCDOT hosts a public workshop at Northwest High School in Greensboro. The workshop will be held from 4-7 pm in the high school's cafeteria. The informal meeting is to discuss a 13 mile project that will become part of Interstate 73. The project will include a four lane divided highway that will connect NC 68 to US 220. This road will be part of the I-73 corridor. Most of the road will be built to Interstate standards. Any segments of the highway that aren't to standards will be upgraded at a later date. For more details, Bob Malme breaks it down for you at his website . The project will also include widening of NC 68. Right-of-way acquisition is to begin in 2011 with construction starting in 2014. Northwest High School is located on 5420 Northwest School Road in Greensboro. It's possible that Bob or another member of the blog will be able to attend this meetin...

An annual topic here on the blog is the 20 Worst Bridges in North Carolina produced by AAA Carolinas . The 2010 list was recently released and the bridge making the most headlines is the I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River that is steadily climbing towards the top of the list. This year the Yadkin River bridge is ranked as the 6 th worst bridge in the state compared to being ranked 8 th one year ago. The complete list of 20 is available here (via WFMY -TV). The #1 least sufficient bridge in the state remains the I-40/Business 85 bridge over South Buffalo Creek near Greensboro. Most of the bridges on the list were built between 1950 and 1969. The two youngest bridges on the list -- a bridge carrying I-277 over Johnson Street and the SCLRR in Charlotte (#2 on the list) and the bridge that carries US 52 over SR 4315 in Winston-Salem (#14) -- were built in 1971. The oldest bridge on the list was built in 1943. It carries US 17 Business over the New River in Jacksonville. The brid...

Since 2000, my parent's church - St. Michael's Catholic Church in Elizabeth, PA - has been displaying a lifelike Christmas Creche (nativity scene). The scene started with the Holy Family and has grown, through kind donations, over the years to 27 figurines. The creche has become one of the highlights of the Christmas season in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Below is a handful of photos from the creche. The entire set can be found here .

Greetings from Phoenix, Arizona. After a treacherous drive in the snow to Scranton, and having to dash my way through the Detroit airport in order to catch a flight, I am visiting the Grand Canyon State for a few days with the intent of watching the New York Islanders face off against the Phoenix Coyotes in hockey. While I am out here for that, I decided I would do some sightseeing along the way. I spent yesterday afternoon checking out the scenery in and around the Phoenix area. While looking for Papago Park, I found Tempe Beach Park , which is situated along a dammed portion of the Salt River. While I did not see any actual beach, there are plenty of recreational activities to be had. There were even people fishing, which was about the last thing I expected to see in Arizona. I did go to Papago Park , which also features plenty of recreational activities, plus the Desert Botanical Gardens, the Phoenix Zoo and a number of neat red sandstone buttes, such as Hole-In-The-Rock....