Cover Story
Right: This
November the DOT is expected to complete the $125 million, 10-mile-long
Manteo Bypass in Dare County, much of it across the Croatan Sound side
of Roanoke Island. The bypass will link U.S. 264 with U.S. 64 at N.C.
345.
Open
Road
It will take years to solve the state's
worst bottlenecks, but some projects
are tantalizingly close to completion
By Heidi Russell Rafferty
It
wasn’t so long ago that “gridlock” and “road rage” were
terms heard exclusively in Charlotte, the Triangle and the Triad. But
today motorists all across the state are experiencing those problems,
a reality that’s become all too familiar to officials in the state
Department of Transportation.
From the mountains to the coast, North Carolina has experienced a
population boom in rural areas, and the DOT is hurrying to build or
expand roadways to stretch into the state’s nooks and crannies. It
will be years before many of the highway projects are completed, but
several will be completed within a year; some even within a few
months. When they do, driving suddenly will get noticeably better in
some of the state’s most notorious bottlenecks.
“It’s probably not inappropriate to say that the state’s growth
in the ’90s, both in population and economy, has put a tremendous
load on our roadway systems, and we are not able to meet that
demand,” says Calvin Leggett, DOT director of planning and
programming. “In 2010, we’re going to fix 2000’s problems. It
used to be that Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro were the problems,
but now we’re getting problems everywhere. In the ’90s, the
state’s population grew so much, that places that didn’t know what
congestion meant have got it now.”
Maintaining the state’s 78,000 miles of highways comes at a price
— this year the top 10 road projects as judged by the DOT total
nearly $4 billion. Most chambers of commerce welcome the expanded
roadway system, noting that better infrastructure translates into more
business, whether it means easier access to Raleigh-Durham
International Airport for technology firms or tourist interest along
the increasingly popular Outer Banks.
“I think the big issue is we need to continue to make an investment
in transportation,” says Harvey A. Schmitt, president and CEO of the
Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. “One of the biggest challenges
our market faces is mobility. And investment in roads like (the
Raleigh Outer Loop) improves mobility and economic development
opportunities.”
Most of the state’s current top 10 road projects have been under
development for some time. Some will be completed as early as this
November, while others have been delayed due to environmental
concerns. Here’s a rundown on where those projects stand.
Raleigh
Outer Loop
With 65 miles of highway, a projected completion date of 2025 and a
cost of $1.2 billion, the Raleigh Outer Loop (I-540) has surpassed the
Charlotte Outer Loop as the most expensive and intensive project in
the state’s history, Leggett says.
The loop, which was let in 1992, will eventually be six lanes
encircling the existing I-440 beltline surrounding Raleigh. Once
completed, it will divert traffic from roads leading to I-440 and
sections of I-40 near Research Triangle Park that bog down during rush
hour, Leggett says. It will also provide a more direct route to RTP
and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Construction is moving from east to west. Since 2000, the DOT has
completed three segments of the loop’s northern arc — one from
Leesville Road to Creedmoor Road, one from Creedmoor to Six Forks
Road, and one linking Six Forks with Falls of Neuse Road. Earlier, the
DOT also completed the Northern Wake Expressway, running from I-40 to
Leesville Road.
DOT’s goal for 2002 is to open the section stretching from U.S. 1
north to I-40 later this year, Leggett says. The state also wants to
let contracts in 2003 for a section from U.S. 1 north to U.S. 64 east,
to be completed by 2006 or 2007. Additionally, DOT wants to let
contracts for a stretch from I-40 to N.C. 55 near RTP in 2003.
“That piece will be an additional relief to existing I-40 and will
open up another 15 miles of loop in 2007,” Leggett says.
Schmitt of the Raleigh chamber says that so far, the work on the
northern part of the loop has improved the commute in burgeoning North
Raleigh. When it is completed, it will make the Wake Forest area “a
very attractive market.” Schmitt notes that Wakefield Plantation, an
upscale development, and the housing market in general were “greatly
affected” by I-540. And a variety of businesses and healthcare
facilities have tapped into the North Raleigh area as well as a result
of the newfound convenience. Kerr Drugs, for example, moved its
headquarters out of RTP to Wake Forest.
“To get into (RTP) before the advent of I-540 was a rather lengthy
experience,” Schmitt says. “Now you can get to the airport or the
park in 10 to 15 minutes flat. And, it opens up access to northern
Wake County, Wake Forest and also southern Franklin County. When you
have 50,000 people working in RTP, they’re looking for a variety of
lifestyles, and now I-540 is available to them.”
But Leggett says certain areas of the greater Raleigh area have
experienced unanticipated population growth since the project’s
inception 10 years ago. The area around the I-40 and I-95 interchange
in Johnston County has had “tremendous growth,” for example, he
says.
“When this thing is ultimately completed, then all of a sudden,
people from Johnston will be able to get to RTP and the airport
without coming into Raleigh.” There is a significant downside,
however, in that funding has not yet been identified for that southern
section of the loop. Thus, relief may not come until after 2010.
“Traffic has gotten much worse in the past four to five years,”
Leggett notes. “We had not anticipated that to the extent that it
has happened.”
Charlotte
Outer Loop
Since May 1998, the DOT has been constructing the 63.4-mile Charlotte
Outer Loop, or I-485. The loop, costing $1.1 billion, will bypass U.S.
74 and I-77 and also help connect outlying communities, Leggett says.
Business leaders have lauded the project as a draw for increased
business development. The entire loop is in Mecklenburg County, and 80
percent is within Charlotte proper.
So far, DOT has constructed the southern arc, stretching 26 miles. In
addition, since 2000, the DOT has completed another five-mile section
stretching from U.S. 74 to N.C. 218. Originally, the DOT had projected
completion as late as 2013, but Leggett says it now should be
completed by 2010.
Currently under construction is a section from N.C. 218 to N.C. 49 in
the eastern part of Mecklenburg County, as well as N.C. 160 to I-85
south in the western part of the county.
Leggett says DOT started out constructing the loop in segments
according to population growth patterns. “And we worked around from
the south going on the east side and working to the north on the west
side, with the stretch of I-77 to I-85 being the last,” he says.
The part yet to be constructed goes from I-85 south to north on the
west side of Mecklenburg County. “We will be letting contracts
starting in the next year through 2006, with hopeful completion by
2010,” Leggett says.
Interstate
26 Corridor
Asheville’s scenic vistas and quaint way of life has placed it among
the top 20 places in the world for retirement, according to a recent Barron’s magazine ranking. Richard Lutovsky, president and CEO of
the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, says the combination of
retiring baby boomers with business migration has placed a heavier
burden on roadways. “We’re not growing as much as other parts of
North Carolina, but well beyond the national average,” Lutovsky
says.
Feeding into all of this is interstate traffic. Truckers from
midwestern plants pass through Asheville from Tennessee, South
Carolina and Georgia. In December 2003, the DOT is scheduled to
complete a new 30-mile corridor of Interstate 26 from Mars Hill to the
Tennessee line, northwest of Asheville. The cost of the highway is
$330 million, 80 percent of which is covered by the federal
government. It will replace a hazardous, two-lane mountain road that
the trucks share with local drivers and school buses. The project has
received final paving contracts and is the last missing piece of I-26
between Tennessee and South Carolina.
“What this will do is provide a much more direct route for regional
traffic out of the industrial Midwest to the East Coast, whether that
is Asheville, Charlotte or the Charleston harbor. And it will
segregate truck movement from the local road with the school buses.
It’s really going to make a big regional difference,” Leggett
says.
Lutovsky says there are many separate projects to handle Asheville’s
growth that could total up to $400 million, including plans for an
I-26 connector, costing up to $200 million, to ease traffic flow in
and around the city. “That’s not scheduled for completion until
about 2012, and there’s a considerable gap of planning, right of way
acquisition and construction,” Lutovsky says.
When the I-26 corridor is completed next year, it will initially
create more congestion in the metropolitan area, because the other
projects won’t be completed for a few more years. “We look upon
all of it as a sign of progress,” Lutovsky says. “A great deal of
work went into promoting that (I-26 corridor) project, and individuals
should be commended for their foresight. It will create additional
pressures downstream, and now we’re working to accommodate that
flow. We look upon it as a plus for the area.”
Above: Progress is evident on the $275 million, 14.7-mile
Greensboro Bypass
Greensboro
Bypass, I-40 Widening
Traffic from I-85 and I-40 mixes with local Greensboro motorists,
creating a congested urban freeway. The Greensboro I-85 Bypass, a $275
million road stretching 14.7 miles, will alleviate that, Leggett says.
When completed in 2003, the bypass will link I-40 and I-85 in eastern
Guilford County with I-85 just southwest of the city. That will open
up the southern part of Guilford County for more development.
“This allows people to bypass that stretch of road that runs through
the south side of Greensboro and will segregate the traffic from I-40
and I-85,” Leggett says. “It also will be part of a complete loop
around Greensboro.”
The accessibility to the I-85 bypass in the southeastern section of
Guilford County, as well as an extension of sewer and water lines
there, is expected to facilitate commercial growth, according to J.
David Jameson, president and CEO of the Greensboro Area Chamber of
Commerce. “The city has a well-thought infrastructure plan that
deals with the I-85 opening, and it will help us grow smartly and help
us take full advantage of the opportunities,” Jameson says.
To complete the loop, the DOT anticipates letting contracts in the
next three years for I-85 south on the west side of town, swinging to
the Piedmont Triad International Airport and then on to the north.
That project should be open by 2010, Leggett says. A northern arc will
be constructed beyond that timeframe, he says.
The other project in Greensboro has drawn the ire of motorists for
years. The widening of I-40 between the Gate City and Winston-Salem
was launched in 1993 — a $235 million project that covers 10.9 miles
and will widen the interstate from four lanes to eight. Current
completion costs still total about $120 million, Leggett says, but
Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett delivered some good news at
NCCBI’s Legislative Conference in late May when he said that three
lanes would be open on both east and west routes by the end of the
year.
“They cannot get I-40 widened soon enough, I can assure you,”
Jameson says. Leggett also says a new FedEx hub at the airport will
create more traffic. The I-40 widening and the eventual extension of
the I-85 bypass to the airport will help serve that anticipated
demand, he says.
“We know how beneficial both of these corridors will be to
Greensboro, but because we’re in the hub between Raleigh and
Charlotte, lots of North Carolinians will be happy about these
changes,” Jameson says.
I-85,
Rowan County
Rowan County is benefiting from Charlotte’s growth, with new
residents who decide they can trade a longer commute for lower housing
costs, says Robert H. Wright, president of the Rowan County Chamber of
Commerce. Since 1997, the DOT has been working to widen I-85 from the
town of Spencer to the U.S. 29-601 connector near China Grove to help
traffic flow.
The letting of the last contract for the project was delayed to 2003
because of environmental issues, pushing the completion date to 2007,
Leggett says. When it is finished, the 13.2-mile stretch will have
been widened from four lanes to eight. Wright says that so far, the
project has been “rather benign in spite of disruptions.”
“It can’t do anything but wonderful things for us,” he says,
adding that the new highway will make the region attractive to
companies that need access to an interstate. County planners have put
an industrial overlay on undeveloped portions of land near highway
interchanges to encourage business. “The county has stepped back and
recognized the importance of good land use management and is not
making the mistake of some of its neighbors, who allowed the
residential to build up. You can imagine the impact of a brand new
highway,” Wright says.
But even after DOT completes its latest project, more work will be
needed to the north, say Wright and Leggett. Ten lanes merge into four
at U.S. 52, I-85 and Business I-85 just south of Lexington. “The
results are fairly predictable,” Leggett says. The DOT is scheduled
in 2007 to begin construction on a 6.8-mile stretch from Spencer to
the U.S. 52/I-85 Business split, with completion set for 2010. The
estimated cost for that project is $150 million, Leggett says.
U.S. 421,
Boone
The main transportation priority near Boone is widening a 32-mile
piece of U.S. 421 to I-77 that’s expected to be completed by 2003.
The project, which was let in several pieces between 1998 and 2000, is
estimated to cost $190 million by the time it is finished.
Boone, home to Appalachian State University in northwest North
Carolina, has been steadily growing, and U.S. 421 is its economic
backbone, say Leggett and Michael A. Wagoner, president and CEO of the
Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.
“The existing two-lane road is straight but hilly. Because of the
hills, when the traffic volumes got close to the highway, we had lots
of accidents,” Leggett says. People coming over the hillcrests
rear-ended others who stopped to turn left, he added.
Wagoner says the project will provide easy access to I-40 and the
eastern part of the state, especially Winston-Salem. Students and
alumni of Appalachian State may be encouraged to make Boone their home
because of the improved roads, he says. “It’s surprising how many
people come to school here and want to stay. We think that we need to
do everything we can to try to provide the kinds of jobs that would
match their skills,” Wagoner says, noting that healthcare and
tourism are the top ranking industries in the area.
Because of the mountainous terrain and the cost to grade land, Boone
does not compete with other areas of the state for large
manufacturers, Wagoner says. Instead, the area is marketed to
“entrepreneurs who can locate anywhere but choose to come here
because every room has a view.
“Our strategy is to help our local businesses to grow and prosper,
and certainly, transportation is important for them to move their
goods to market. We are trying to balance progress and preservation.
We’re looking for the right kind of businesses to blend into the
mountain community,” he says.
Bypasses
Around Three Eastern Cities
The Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base drives the economy around
Jacksonville, and a new bypass, scheduled to be completed in 2006,
will lessen congestion in town, Leggett says.
Because of waterways and other constraints, the three legs of U.S. 17,
N.C. 24 and U.S. 258 merge into one road through town. On the way out,
the road splits again into U.S. 17 and N.C. 24.
The last contract for the 8.5-mile road will be let in 2003, and the
project should be completed by 2006. It’s cost: $160 million.
“We’re actually going to have the stretch from U.S. 17 south to
N.C. 24 east complete in 2003,” Leggett says. “That’s a
significant interim completion. That’s five miles of it, which is
the biggest chunk of it.”
The Wilson Bypass, a 14.2-mile road, will allow eastbound and
westbound traffic on U.S. 264 to avoid the town. The $125 million
project, which was started in 1995, is expected to be completed by
January 2004. Leggett says U.S. 264 is “essentially a city street
— a lot of strip development.” It runs concurrently with U.S. 301
for a stretch and serves as a major connector between Raleigh and
Greenville.
“It’s a case where a highway has turned into a city street, and
when you mix high-speed long distance people who are saying, ‘I’m
in a hurry to get there,’ with local people saying, ‘I’m pulling
out of my neighborhood, turning left and getting a burger,’ those
two traffics don’t mix well,” Leggett says. “It creates
accidents.”
The DOT has completed a portion of the bypass, but so far that section
is not usable. “The western end, from 264 west of I-95, across I-95
to N.C. 42 is open,” Leggett says. “In the global sense of the
word, that doesn’t help things very much until the rest of it is
built.”
Meanwhile, this November, the DOT is expected to complete the 10-mile
Manteo Bypass in Dare County, which also has a price tag of $125
million. Manteo, on the Croatan Sound side of Roanoke Island, is a
quaint gateway to the Outer Banks with a three-lane main street. The
bypass will link U.S. 264 with U.S. 64 at N.C. 345. “It cuts out the
loop that cuts through Manteo,” Leggett says. “The through traffic
that wants to go to the Outer Banks won’t go through Manteo at
all.”
Leggett says the bypass will also provide an additional emergency exit
for hurricane evacuation. There will be a new four-lane bridge that is
parallel to the current road, he says.
John S. Bone, president and CEO of the Outer Banks Chamber of
Commerce, says the area has steadily seen an increase in tourist
traffic during the past 20 years, and the new road and bridge will
offer welcome relief. “One bridge is not going to make a big
difference, but combined with other improvements, people will find
it’s easier to get to the Outer Banks,” he says. “The other
thing is, the bridge will hopefully improve the life of our local
traffic by alleviating congestion.”
Recapping the Top 10
Project: Raleigh Outer Loop
Distance: 65 miles
Year Let: 1992
Scheduled Completion Date:
2025
Estimated Cost: $1.2
billion
Project: Charlotte Outer
Loop
Distance: 63.4 miles
Year Let: 1988
Scheduled Completion Date:
2010
Estimated Cost: $1.1
billion
Project: I-26 Corridor
between Mars Hill and Tennessee line
Distance: 30 miles
Year Let: 1996
Scheduled Completion Date:
2003
Estimated Cost: $330
million (80 percent of which is paid by the federal government)
Project: Greensboro I-85
Bypass
Distance: 14.7 miles
Year Let: 1997
Scheduled Completion Date:
2003
Estimated Cost: $275
million
Project: I-40 widening
between Greensboro and Winston-Salem
Distance: 10.9 miles
Year Let: 1993
Scheduled Completion Date:
December 2002
Estimated Cost: $235
million total, $120 million for current construction
Project: I-85 in Rowan
County
Distance: 13.2 miles
Year Let: 1997
Scheduled Completion Date:
2007
Estimated Cost: $215
million
Project: U.S. 421, Boone
Distance: 32 miles
Year Let: 1998 to 2000 (let
in several pieces)
Scheduled Completion Date:
2003
Estimated Cost: $190
million
Project: Jacksonville
Bypass
Distance: 8.5 miles
Year Let: 1998
Scheduled Completion Date:
2006
Estimated Cost: $160
million
Project: Wilson Bypass
Distance: 14.2 miles
Year Let: 1995
Scheduled Completion Date:
January 2004
Estimated Cost: $125
million
Project: Manteo Bypass
Distance: 10 miles
Year Let: 1998
Scheduled Completion Date:
November 2002
Estimated Cost: $125
million
Recently completed major projects
While it may seem that it takes forever for the DOT to finish a
highway project,
several major projects in fact have been completed in the past year or
so, including:
Project: Rockingham-Hamlet Bypass U.S. 74
Distance: 13.1 miles
Year Let: 1997
Completion: June 2001
Cost: $128 million
Project: US 64 Pittsboro
Bypass
Distance: 9.4 miles
Year Let: 1996
Completion: July 2001
Cost: $66 million
Project: 421 in Yadkin
County, east of I-77 from 77 to US 601 in Yadkinville
Distance: 8.5 miles
Year Let: 1999
Completion: June 2002
Cost: $55 million
Project: Segments of the
Charlotte Outer Loop From US 74 east to NC 218
Distance: 4.9 miles
Year Let: 1997
Completion: June 2001
Cost: $51 million
Project: NC 50-I-95
interchange
Distance: 1.3 miles
Year Let: 1999
Completion: January 2002
Cost: $10 million
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