Gribblenation

A new twist to the blog tonight...videos. An old friend of mine Joe Babyak took some road videos recently down in Wilmington. First, the entire signed length of I-140: And finally, the Eastern End of US 76: Joe plans on taking more videos so keep an eye out for them.

So you have an unused four lane highway just sitting there empty and in some cases for nearly eight years. You know, it's just waiting for a few bridges and a big interchange to be built. So what can you do with it. Use it for movies! And that's exactly what the WV Film Office wants to do. The WV Film Office is actively pursuing various video production outfits to use the empty freeway in their films, television shows, or music videos. The WVDOH has no issue with the freeway being used for video shoots as long as the proper permits were acquired and the filming would not interfere with the ongoing construction of the highway. So it is quite possible that you will actually see the West Virginia portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway on TV or the big screen before anyone will be able to drive it. Story & Video: WBOY-TV

Right on cue, various Charlotte and Mecklenburg County officials have voiced their displeasure over the proposed funding delays to Interstate 485 and other highway projects. The responses vary from blaming poor politics to calls to reform NCDOT, but the common theme was disappointment in construction delays for badly needed highway projects in a growing city. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said that the delays "... smells of bad politics ." McCrory who sent a highly critical letter to Governor Mike Easily pointing out that instead of completing freeway loops that have been underway for years, more loops get added to the list. McCrory was especially displeased that two loops, Wilmington and Fayetteville, have been added and seen construction since the Charlotte loop began in the 1990s. He was also unhappy that the Fayetteville loop did not see the amount of delays that Charlotte or other North Carolina cities received. McCrory told the Charlotte Observer , "Fayetteville an...

If the state's Draft Strategic Transportation Improvement Program for 2009-2015 stays the same, it will. It is entirely possible that the construction to complete the I-485 loop around Charlotte will not start until 2015, meaning that the loop may not be finished until 2018. More importantly, the desperately needed widening of I-485 from I-77 to US 521 in Southern Mecklenburg County would also be delayed until 2015, if no changes are made from the draft to the final version. The official verbiage is "To assist in balancing funds, construction of Segment 'E' delayed from FY 13 to FY 15." Segment 'E' is the missing link from I-77 in Huntersville to I-85 near Concord. The same "to assist in balancing funds" is used in delaying the widening of I-485 in Southern Mecklenburg County from 2013 to 2015. I would not be surprised that there will be a large uproar from Charlotte, Mecklenburg and regional officials over this delay. The widening has been pu...

Yesterday, I went with Dave Filpus to hike a former section of US 70 and prior to that NC 10 between Old Fort and Black Mountain. The goal was to hike the former highway (which is about three miles one way) and to see if any clues from the old road's past was still there. It's not difficult to get there. Take I-40 to Exit 73 (the Old Fort Exit) Turn North into town. At the T-intersection with US 70 in town turn left on to US 70 West. You'll be on US 70 West for about a half mile or so where you will turn right onto Old US 70 there will be a sign for Andrew's Geyser as well. Follow that road until it ends. The hike begins here. For the most part, the abandoned highway is still in decent shape, there are a handful of small washouts, and in numerous cases overgrowth has shrunk the old 20' roadbed to four-six feet wide. But there isn't really anything 'dangerous' to worry about with the old road. Early in the hike, we encountered this fella, who had ...

Got another blog tip in the mailbag today...this time it's an excellent blog on US 40 specifically the National Pike in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It's called, ' 125 N to B: The National Pike and National Road ' and is run by Christopher Busta-Peck. Check it out!

As you know from earlier this year, the future of Interstate 540 in Wake County is a pretty hot topic around these parts (Raleigh, NC.) Earlier today, I was tipped off on another I-540 blog site called Build 540 run by Kyran Connelly. If you have some time, check it out!