Skip to main content

Could NC 172 be decomissioned?

Image
By
U.S Marine Corps officials plan to close a state highway that runs through Camp Lejeune. The road, NC Highway 172, would only be open to vehicles with Department of Defense decals. The highway is a commonly used short cut for motorist traveling between the Wilmington and Morehead City/Beaufort areas. The highway totally avoids Jacksonville, and parts of the highway runs through the heart of the Military Base.

The restricted access is for security reasons, although no specific threat was named.

"It's in response to an ongoing evaluation we've had of our security," said Col. Brant Bailey, director of training and operations at Camp Lejeune.

Besides commuters looking to bypass Jacksonville, NC 172 is also shared by NC Bike 3, the Ports of Call Route.

Story via the Durham Herald-Sun.

NC 172, US 17, and NC 24 around Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville. (Source: 2007 NCDOT Highway Map)

Commentary:

If this plan does happen, --- and from the story it looks like local leaders and a 1946 agreement between the state and the Marines will allow it -- I do not see the use for the NC 172 designation on the highway. Through traffic won't be allowed to use it.

I think another reason for it is that most of the US 17/NC 24 Jacksonville Bypass is open to the North. The new freeway bypass moves through traffic away from the congested main drags of Jacksonville, Lejeune (NC 24) and Marine Blvds. (US 17)

The military claims that the closing will add only nine minutes to the drive, while regular drivers claim more. The map image above shows NC 172, Camp Lejeune, along with the newly opened Jacksonville Bypass.

There is no hard date set for the restrictions to NC 172; however, base officials plan to educate motorists using NC 172 changes of the plan over the upcoming weeks. There also hasn't been any word that NC 172 would be decommissioned to a secondary or local route as a result, if at all.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. 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 Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more