Gribblenation

For nearly half a century - the former junction of Interstate 40 and 85 in Greensboro was one of North Carolina's most notorious stretches of highway.  Whether it was from serious - at times deadly - accidents or sloggish traffic jams, Greensboro's 'Death Valley' was one of the most notorious stretches of highways within the Carolinas. 'Death Valley' is the name given to the roughly 2.5 miles of Interstate 40 that runs from the US 29 South/Business Interstate 85 (Exit interchange eastwards to the US 29 North/Henry Boulevard Interchange in Greensboro.  The first mention of 'Death Valley' in Greensboro is in a December 13, 1963, article by George Yow.  The article, which discussed the closing of an at-grade intersection with Patton Avenue after a gentleman died in a car wreck, featured a photo of a pin-marked map showing the locations of 154 wrecks, four deadly, along that stretch of highway in 1963. (1)  Within days, the nickname was mentioned in the edit...

For Christmas, my wife got me a new Canon 90D Camera to upgrade from the Canon Rebel XSi I've had since 2009.   Though I have done two small items with the camera so far, yesterday was really my first chance to try it out on a trip.  It was a local roadgeek loop - I went along NC 150, Old US 52, and NC 8 on a loop to get some crossroads and take in some roads I haven't been on yet.  Fortunately, I got a lot of new surprises on the way.  If you'd like to see the whole Flickr set of 153 photos, head here . The 1924 Wil-Cox Bridge was a highlight from my trip yesterday. My first surprise was in Salisbury.  Along South Main Street, there is an Art & Graffiti Park that I found really interesting.  Established in 2018, the Salisbury Graffiti Park encourages local street artists to experiment and try out their ideas but also be able to share their work at the same time.   The park has 12 large wooden art walls and three boulders that are used t...

Near Gaffney, South Carolina between exits 95 and 96, Interstate 85 separates to allow for a wider median.  The reason - a small family cemetery that dates to the mid-1800s.  The Lipscomb-Sarratt or  Ross-Lipscomb cemetery is an example of the numerous small family burial plots that were found within many rural farms and plantations throughout the South during the 18th and 19th centuries. The cemetery consists of at least 13 gravestones with six that still have legible markings.  Most of those buried passed away between 1850-1880.   The cemetery is also one of the oldest in Cherokee County. How the cemetery came to exist in the middle of an increasingly busy Interstate 85 is an interesting story.  In the early 1950s, South Carolina moved US 29 onto a newly built a two lane express highway from the North Carolina State Line near Grover to northwest of Spartanburg.  At the time, the cemetery sat just to the new highway's south.  What is now...

The end of another year, and quite an eventful one for followers of the progress in building I-73 and I-74 (and other new interstates) in North Carolina. A summary of what happened: I-73 It was quite a banner year for I-73, or should I say a removal of banner year, since by the end of 2017, for the first time in the routes existence, there was no section signed as Future I-73.  The I-73 shield was removed from the Future Route sign beyond the I-40 exit in Greensboro Two segments of the route north of Greensboro were completed adding 12 miles, or about 15%, to the route's total mileage. First was the I-73 Connector from the Bryan Blvd. at the PTI Airport to NC 68 construction which included a new taxiway bridge over I-73. I-73 Connector north lanes about to go under Airport Taxiway bridge in Greensboro. The new I-73 roadway crosses over NC 68 then crosses back with 2 separate exits for Greensboro/High Point and Oak Ridge traffic. Overhead signage for both...