Skip to main content

I-485 Hot Potato - Who wants it?

Image
By

It's our favorite subject at the blog (ok so it's mine - Bob takes care of the I-73 debacle in Greensboro) - but it's another round of the Interstate 485 hot potato game!

This time folks at the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) have basically told Governor Bev Perdue that they don't care about her campaign promise to complete the Interstate 485 loop, the plan to widen and upgrade Independence Blvd. will move forward.

This happened when again the NCDOT said that if the Independence project goes first, I-485 will be delayed.

MUMPO members would have none of that.

"I don't know why we should bite on this false choice,” said Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess. “We need to finish Independence as we've been planning for 30 years."

Burgess compared the pressure from Raleigh is similar to "...asking a parent to choose their favorite child."

Weddington Mayor Nancy Anderson would have none of it either, "This is not an option really, just kind of a way to confuse the issue and cover up for the governor's promises that are being broken.”

With what appears to be deaf ears in Raleigh from the governor on the issue, and with no response from Raleigh from the governor's office from letters that MUMPO chairman Lee Myers on offering suggestions to build both I-485 and widen Independence by 2013, MUMPO appears to be standing firm on their priorities list. The list has the widening of Independence Blvd. as their top transportation priority in the region.

MUMPO will formally announce their decision in October.

Story Links:
Mayor: Governor should apologize for broken promises ---WCNC-TV w/video
I-485 completion would put Independence project on hold ---News 14 Carolina w/video

Commentary:

There really isn't much more to say, but the silence from Governor Perdue's office is deafening. All we are hearing from the NCDOT is the same story. If you decide to improve Independence, 485 will have to wait until at least 2015.

Is it me or is the NCDOT doing the dirty work for Aunt Bev?

Perdue, who made the promise during her successful 2008 run for Governor, has been silent throughout this issue the past few months. She made the promise in Charlotte while running against Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. And surprisingly - to some but not myself - it certainly appears that either folks in Raleigh are ignorant to the issue, aren't willing to work through a solution to get both projects completed, or just really don't care.

Considering the Tar Heel state's history of West vs. East in politics - and the ongoing Charlotte vs. Raleigh squabbles, I have a feeling that the latter of the three is the most accurate.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tulare Lake returns

By
During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou
1 comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

By
  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 60/Former US Route 60/70 through the Moreno Valley Badlands west to Riverside

By
This past month I drove California State Route 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands westward towards the City of Riverside.  CA 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands was once part of the corridors of US Route 60 and US Route 70. The present route of CA 60 is a 70 mile (76 counting multiplex) slice of former US 60 between downtown Los Angeles east to I-10 near Beaumont.  The vast majority of CA 60 aside from a small section in the Moreno Valley Badlands is presently a freeway grade. For me CA 60 holds some personal history as it was the route I used most frequently accessing work sites in the Inland Empire circa 2011-2013.  Despite what many others probably would say I always really enjoyed the Moreno Valley Badlands portion of CA 60.  Considering I frequently worked on US 60 through Arizona and New Mexico the route holds even more appeal.  I even have a CA 60 shield hanging up in my garage. Part 1; History of Roadways in the Moreno Valley Badlands CA 60 between B
Post a Comment
Read more