Gribblenation

Opponents of the Garden Parkway held a protest last night outside the Belmont City Hall. Sixty opponents of the Gaston County toll road hoped that their presence would persuade Belmont City Council to pass a measure in opposition of the toll highway. In addition to the protests outside, those against the highway were permitted to speak at the 7 pm council meeting. Though loud and with widespread Charlotte and Gastonia Media Coverage, their desired goal did not occur. By a 3-2 vote, the Belmont City Council reaffirmed their support for the 'Middle Route' of the Garden Parkway. The vote did not deter the members of Communities Taking a Stand Against the Toll Road as they plan to continue their fight against the highway. Story Links: Garden Parkway opponents rally against toll road ---Gaston Gazette Debate on proposed Belmont toll road continues on I-485 ---News14Carolina w/video Toll Road Protests Fails to Sway Town Council ---WSOC-TV w/video

The Raleigh News & Observer is running a summer feature series on a 1939 WPA Travel Guide on North Carolina. The book was titled "North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State" and featured numerous detailed roadtrips throughout the state. This summer the N&O is retracing these routes to see how 70 years of time has changed - or even not have changed - the sights and towns along the way. Today's Feature covers a drive along what is now Old US 421 from Liberty to Buies Creek. It's a great read, and the former alignment of US 421 is certainly worth exploring on your own. The old route is best taken slowly ---Raleigh News & Observer Photos I took last year along some of this route ---On Flickr Though the book is no longer published - it can be found in local libraries - and even now and then on eBay. It's a great piece of North Carolina History. UPDATE: You can find a copy of the guide on the Internet Archive .

Another piece of the complex financing puzzle for the Triangle Expressway (NC 540) fell into place today, as the US Department of Transportation signed off on a $384 million load for construction of the toll road. This along with two other pieces - $600 million in bond sales (which have just been recently put on the market) and from an annual $25 million in 'gap financing' in the North Carolina budget. the total cost of the 12.6 toll road about $1.1 billion. The loan comes from the USDOT's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program. The Triangle Expressway's tolls will help to repay that loan. The hope is to start construction later this year - maybe as soon as August ( though that line has been used for two or three straight years now ) - with completion of the Durham Freeway/I-40 connector by 2012 and the entire highway by 2013. We'll see how accurate those dates are. Story Links w/video: $384M loan approved for Triangle Expre...

If you travel anywhere in Horry County - whether as a tourist or as a resident - there's going to be a lot of construction going on in 2010. The final piece of the Carolina Bays Parkway - from SC 544 to SC 707 - is scheduled to see construction begin next summer. And at the same time, SC 707 will be widened to four lanes from the Parkway to US 17. Currently, the final phases of design and right-of-way acquisition of the 4.2 mile extension is underway. Construction should begin next summer and completion in 2013. Story w/video: Carolina Bays Parkway extension moves forward ---WMBF-TV

This is an interesting point that the opponents of the Garden Parkway are making. Does it carry any weight though? Opponents of the Garden Parkway - the NCTA project that runs through southern and western Gaston County - are using a South Carolina Toll Road as an example of a 'sure thing' toll road that hasn't lived up to expectations and promises. The troubled Southern Connector (aka Toll I-185) in Greenville, SC opened earlier this decade as a missing link in Greenville's transportation network. The highway afforded motorists the ability to bypass congestted areas of I-85 in the Greenville area. However, the Southern Connector more often than not sits empty. In fact, vehicular traffic is half than expected, and unless debt refinancing takes place the whole project is scheduled to go into default this coming January. Currently, the roadway handles about 8,000 vehicles a day. Over the past few years, the Connector has been using its reserves to pay off debt....

Slowly but surely another piece of the King Coal Highway (future Interstate 73 and 74) comes closer to completion in West Virginia. Work crews are in the final stages of completing a $16.2 million bridge project in Bluefield. The project will take the highway from US 52/460 and carry the highway approximately 160 feet over US 19. However, the highway will still be a "Road To Nowhere" as this project will cause the highway to dead end into a hillside. Officials are hoping to gain funding in the 2010 federal highway transportation bill to complete the highway to Route 123 to complete a 2.6 mile extension of the King Coal northwards from the US 52/460 interchange. U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., is requesting $60 million for the project. Story: King Coal Highway Bridge close to completion - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

The long-awaited final piece of the puzzle for the Mason-Dixon stretch of the Mon-Fayette Expressway is falling into place with awarding and start of construction of the final contract of the West Virginia portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. When finished, the entire West Virginia portion of the Interstate 68-to-Pittsburgh highway will be complete and opened to traffic. The contract which will include the freeway's tie in to Interstate 68 along with a total rebuild of Exit 10 on I-68 - was won by Kokosing Construction of Fredericktown, OH. The contract is funded by the 2009 American recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract's value? Just over $11.6 million. The contract was awarded on June 24th - construction began on July 6th. A temporary four month closure of Bowers Lane marked the start of new construction. Kokosing is also building another piece of WV 43 just north of Interstate 68 - a nearly $23 million contract (won in December 2008) for roadwork that is just nor...