A Carolinas Road Meet Preview

Bob Malme and I did a brief road trip today to scout for the upcoming Carolinas Road Meet on Saturday, May 31.

The meet will be featuring a tour of the soon to be completed US 70 Clayton Bypass. The bypass will carry US 70 around one of the more congested areas of the triangle, the town of Clayton. It will run from Interstate 40 at milemarker 310 to the current US 70/US 70 Business split west of Smithfield and Selma. Besides the two interchanges at the bypass' terminal points (I-40 and US 70 Business) there will also be diamond interchanges with NC 42 and Ranch Road.

The meet will be held at the Cleveland Draft House on NC 42 in Garner at 12:30 PM on Saturday, May 31st. The group will meet up for lunch and then head on a tour of the Clayton Bypass and perhaps a few other items. We should be done around 3:30-4 pm.

If you are interested in going to the meet, just send me an e-mail.

Since I usually never get around to taking photos the day of the meet, here are some photos from the trip today:

Overhead signs at the Western Terminus of the Clayton Bypass at Interstate 40.

Looking eastbound on US 70. The NC 42 interchange is ahead.

Line painting is taking place on soon to be US 70 East at Exit 326 - US 70 Business (The eastern terminus of the bypass)

A closer view of the Exit 326 overhead.

You'd think that the 55 mph speed limit sign here on Cole Road would have been removed.

Pretty soon this 'End' sign for US 70 Business won't be needed as it will continue west from here on the former mainline of Highway 70.

Comments

Bob Malme said…

Was glad to join in on the Meet scouting. Other items of note: According to NCDOT, the Bypass is more than 98% complete, so it's possible it could be open by the Meet. The fact that they were working on line striping on a Saturday shows there is an urgency to get the job done. They were almost finished with the eastbound side, and had not started westbound. All the US 70 signage on the route to be bypassed had hidden business banners installed. There also covered over US 70 signs on I-40, hopefully with the right directional banners.

Speaking of incorrect banners, the BGSs going east on I-40 still had not been corrected; with hidden 'Business' labels over the East US 70 signage, instead of over west 70. Hopefully this will not delay the project opening and they will notice to fix it at a prior time.

5:01 PM

Bob Malme said…

I've put up some photos that help illustrate some of my comments in the previous post at:
http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/
masshighway.html

Don't let the name fool you, the NC photos are toward the bottom, below the Mass. photos. They include a Jones Sausage Road sign photo as well.

5:57 PM

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80. This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail. Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range. The first documented wagon crossi...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River. Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207. Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939. Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune . Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903. The postal name was sourced...

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California. Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada. The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926. Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938. A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947. Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association. Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe. Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works during its Centennial Edition. The or...

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