Skip to main content

AAA Carolinas releases annual 20 worst bridges in the state list

Image
By
Every February, AAA Carolinas releases their 20 worst bridges in North Carolina listing. The release always makes local media outlets and becomes topic of discussion on various talk radio programs and even transportation forums.

So without further hype, here are some highlights of the 20 worst in North Carolina:

1. Business I-40/85 bridge over South Buffalo Creek - Guilford County. This bridge, built in 1955, handles nearly 117,000 vehicles a day, and is currently not scheduled to be replaced. It should be noted, that the completion of the I-40 and I-85 bypass on the Greensboro Loop should reduce the amount of traffic on this bridge.

2. Business I-40 Bridge over Liberty Street in Winston-Salem. This bridge was also built in 1955, handles nearly 68,000 Vehicles per day and is scheduled to be replaced in 2013.

3. US 220 bridge over SR 1452 and Business US 220 in Guilford County. This is the youngest bridge on the list (built in 1968) and is not scheduled to be replaced or improved. About 39,000 vehicles per day use this bridge.

4. I-440 Beltline bridge over Hilsborough Street and the Southern Railroad - Raleigh. This bridge on the Beltline was built in 1960 and will be improved/replace in part of a I-440 widening project scheduled to begin in 2009.

11. The I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River near Spencer. This structure, built in 1955, is arguably the most discussed and feared bridge in the state. The narrow two lane span that pre-dates the interstate system is scheduled to replaced in an I-85 widening project. However, the cost to replace the bridge and widen the highway makes it one of the most expensive projects in the state. There are some discussions to make the new bridge toll to help with the construction costs. Current estimates have 55,000 vehicles per day using this bridge.

13. US 117 bridge over the SCL Railway in New Hanover County. The oldest bridge on the list (built in 1934) is scheduled to be replaced this year.

For a full list of the 20 worst bridges in the state, go here.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more