Skip to main content

NCDOT Approves I-74 'Widening'

On the same day NCDOT announced a major reorganization to make it more efficient and less prone to errors they also announced the winning bids for several construction contracts. These included the design-build contract for the remainder of the US 311 bypass (I-74), 7.9 miles from Spencer Road to US 220. Construction is to start September 2 and the project is to be completed by 2012. It will be built using GARVEE bond funds. The one problem though is that in all press releases for this project they refer to the project as a 'widening.'

See the press release HERE.

Comments: At least it appears they got the mileage for the project correct this time. They still insist the 10+ mile section now under construction is about 6 miles long. I guess it's two steps forward and one step back, so I guess that counts as progress.

Speaking of the existing I-74 project from Business 85 to Spencer Road that is due to be finished in 2011, it is almost twice ahead of schedule as projected (40% vs 21%). A source that lives nearer the construction site took a look at the I-85 interchange area yesterday and said many of the bridges are now paved along with one of the C/D ramps they're building along I-85 which was being used by construction equipment. I may be out that way next week, if so I'll try to post some photos.

Comments

Bob Malme said…
When I saw no change yesterday in the press releases indicating that the new I-74 contract was for widening, I decided to e-mail the communications office. I pointed out that this was an error and that the project press release should indicate the design-build contract was for constructing a new roadway.

I guess NCDOT's new mantra of responding more quickly to the public is true in this case. If you click the link above to the press release you will notice a smaller type 'Constructing' has replaced 'Widening' in the first sentence. If only they were as quick as this in correcting sign errors.

Popular posts from this blog

Old River Lock & Control Structure (Lettsworth, LA)

  The Old River Control Structure (ORCS) and its connecting satellite facilities combine to form one of the most impressive flood control complexes in North America. Located along the west bank of the Mississippi River near the confluence with the Red River and Atchafalaya River nearby, this structure system was fundamentally made possible by the Flood Control Act of 1928 that was passed by the United States Congress in the aftermath of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 however a second, less obvious motivation influenced the construction here. The Mississippi River’s channel has gradually elongated and meandered in the area over the centuries, creating new oxbows and sandbars that made navigation of the river challenging and time-consuming through the steamboat era of the 1800s. This treacherous area of the river known as “Turnbull’s Bend” was where the mouth of the Red River was located that the upriver end of the bend and the Atchafalaya River, then effectively an outflow

Interstate 10S and the original Interstate 110 in California

Interstate 10S is a short spur of Interstate 10 along San Bernardino Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.  Interstate 10S begins at the Santa Ana Freeway (US Route 101) and extends east to Interstate 5 where it merges into mainline Interstate 10.  Interstate 10S is one of the oldest freeway segments in Los Angeles having been part of US Routes 60, 70 and 99 when it was part of the corridor of the Ramona Expressway.  The current corridor of Interstate 10S was assigned as Chargeable Corridor H following the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act.  Interstate 110 was a short-lived designation which comprised the segment San Bernardino Freeway from US Route 101 to Interstate 5 between 1964-1968.  The original Interstate 110 was dropped as a Chargeable Corridor during 1965 and consolidated as Interstate 10S during 1968.   The original Interstate 110 can be seen as the blog cover photo as it was featured on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.  Below the entire 0.65-mile length of Interstate

Vicksburg Bridge (Vicksburg, MS)

  Located a few hundred feet downriver from the Old Vicksburg Bridge, the Vicksburg Bridge, or the “New” Bridge, serves as the city’s vehicular crossing of the Mississippi River on the main highway connecting Vicksburg with northeastern Louisiana to the west and the state capital of Jackson to the east. The completion of the original Vicksburg Bridge in 1930 was seen as a huge success and the bridge proved to be a profitable entity for both road and railroad interests along the path of the Dixie Overland Highway and the subsequent US Highway 80 corridor. In the years after the creation of the National Interstate Highway System, planning commenced on a new bridge at the site that would relieve the congestion on the existing bridge while providing for a more modern crossing of the river that would be safe for all vehicles. The construction of the new bridge at Vicksburg was completed in 1973 and its design intentionally mimics that of its predecessor nearby. This was due in large part