Gribblenation

Interstate 277 around Uptown Charlotte can be an adventure. From backed-up traffic and crazy merges to slaloming through lane changes, I-277 is one of Charlotte's most talked-about highways. One of its most challenging interchanges has been memorialized in a video game . There are also proposals to turn the urban Interstate into a river . And on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, they run a 10k on it . If you've ever been struck in traffic on Inner I-277 between Graham Street and I-77, you may have wondered what this ramp stub was for. (Adam Prince - March 2019) I-277 isn't a long highway, running at just under 4.5 miles. It offers great views of the skyline and of the constantly changing cityscape. And I will admit, I'll sometimes drive around 277 just to get a view of the growing city. Above: The former North Graham Street ramp is located in the top center of the aerial photograph.  The long ramp was removed around 2005 to make way for Music Factory Boulevard and apar...

The United States and the metric system are like oil and water; they don't mix.  But that hasn't stopped us from trying. Beginning in the 1970s and continuing into the 1990s, the United States would occasionally attempt to sign highways in metric units at different times. Chapter 1: The 1970s America's first modern foray into metric signs quietly occurred in 1971 in Huntsville, Alabama.  268 metric speed limit signs were placed throughout the city, courtesy of the metrication committee at Marshall Space Flight Center. (1) Between 1971 and the passage of the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, a few states took the lead in marking highways in metric.  In 1973, Ohio became the first state to place metric signs along Interstate highways.  Starting with four signs in February, Ohio had at least 60 metric signs up along Interstate highways by the end of the year, including a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 75 between Dayton and Cincinnati. (2)   In 1973, Ohio was ...

North Carolina continues to see growth in their passenger rail service.  ( I'm now one of them .)  2024 was another record year - over 720,000 passengers took to the rails in the Tar Heel State, 12% more than the year before.  Meanwhile, feasibility studies on two additional corridors point the way to further expansion. 2024 Ridership Gains: For the third consecutive year, North Carolina's Rail Division has seen a record number of passengers.  The over 720,000 passenger ridership is also up 55% from pre-COVID levels.   NC's Rail Division is also being creative to attract passengers.  In addition to additional stops for key events - the North Carolina State Fair and the Lexington Barbecue Festival - special train runs, for example, the 2024 U.S. Open in Pinehurst, drove growth.  Limited edition runs for special events continued in 2025 with the " Rockingham Special ," a one-day round-trip service to Rockingham for the NASCAR race at Rockingham Spe...

Finally, I took the train here in North Carolina. After many years of following developments and writing about them, I boarded the #74 Piedmont train in Kannapolis on my way to Durham. My experience made me wonder why I hadn't taken the train more often, yet it also made me see where there are even more opportunities for the service to reach its full potential. The Ride: My wife and kids dropped me off at the Kannapolis station about an hour before departure.  The station is one block from the heart of Downtown Kannapolis, including Atrium Health Ballpark (Home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers), the recently restored Gem Theatre, and a thriving social district. Kannapolis's Train Station is both quaint and modern. Unfortunately, the rain prevented me from strolling through Kannapolis (fortunately, we visit here often).  The Kannapolis Train Station has plenty of parking, shares space with meeting rooms (I have early voted here a few times), and is within walking dist...

Pittsboro, like the rest of Chatham County, is growing.  As a result, heavier truck traffic along US 15/501 through Downtown Pittsboro has led local leadership to ask NCDOT to move US 15/501 as the North/South route through downtown.   Instead, US 15/501 will be routed along NC 87 North and west of Downtown Pittsboro to the US 64 Bypass.  At the Bypass, 15/501 will head briefly east on US 64 to pick up 15/501's regular route North towards Chapel Hill and Durham. But this is just temporary.  Just east of Downtown Pittsboro, the Chatham Parkway is being completed.  When that road is finished, US 15/501 will move to the new road and serve as an eastern bypass for North/South traffic around Pittsboro. NC 902 has been truncated slightly to end at NC 87.  There is no change to Business US 64, as that will continue to travel through Downtown Pittsboro along West and East Streets. NCDOT has now signed the changes around Pittsboro.  Tracy Snead, a friend o...

Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...