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Old 04-30-2012, 06:51 PM
 
3,375 posts, read 6,218,462 times
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I think I've posted this before, but this recent article by Mayor Thomas deserves another posting. The Regional Transportation Alliance is an advocacy group for bigger roads in the Triangle. They are supporting Future I-44, which would connect Raleigh to Norfolk, Virginia. The route they have has US 64 going from Raleigh to US 17 to Norfolk.

Priorities - Regional Transportation Alliance

You have to think we have a leg up getting US 264 in the mix as the primary route if this comes to fruition.
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Old 04-30-2012, 07:32 PM
 
3,375 posts, read 6,218,462 times
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The article:

All roads do not lead to Greenville, but the urban area's principal planning group wants to see that a top-tier U.S. highway does.

Mayor Allen Thomas, in his dual capacity as chairman of the Greenville Urban Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), sent a letter on March 28 to Neil Lassiter, division engineer and liaison to the city for the N.C. Department of Transportation, requesting that the department investigate the possibility of reclassifying a portion of U.S. 264 to interstate status - from where it intersects Interstate 95 in Wilson County to N.C. 11 in Greenville.

"The lack of an interstate designation for this critical highway segment hinders economic development for the entire eastern North Carolina region," Thomas wrote.

It could make the difference in attracting economic development opportunities, Thomas said.

"We have to do what we can to make Greenville as attractive as we can," Thomas said. "The MPO members as a group saw this as an opportunity, and we're doing what we can to move it along."

U.S. 264 is considered a strategic highway corridor for the state. Reclassification from a freeway to an Interstate would encourage more freight movement and economic growth in the eastern portion of the state, Thomas said.

State Traffic Engineer Kevin Lacy said last week he is planning to attend a local MPO meeting to discuss the issues surrounding the highway's potential reclassification. The department gets many requests for interstate reclassification and conversion, more than there are roads that can be converted, he said.

"Companies and consultants are currently talking with communities about economic development and viability and telling them they need an Interstate," Lacy said. "What they don't tell them is that getting one of their roads converted to an Interstate is a huge undertaking."

It is important for local planners to understand all of the factors and challenges associated with this kind of undertaking, he said.

"There's a whole lot that has to get done," Lacy said. "There's a different set of standards for an Interstate, with very little opportunity for deviation from those standards. And, of course, you have to determine whether reclassifying a road to an Interstate is the best use of funds."

Actual approval for an interstate highway must come from the U.S Department of Transportation, which maintains a separate highway maintenance fund, or the American Association of Federal and State Highway Officials, or both, Lacy said. Both groups would be heavily involved in the conversion discussion, he said.

To determine the feasibility of conversion and reclassification of U.S. 264 to Interstate 264, evaluators would examine specific aspects of the highway and determine what changes and upgrades would be necessary, including road shoulder widths, truck and car volumes, bridge height and width clearances, and designs for speeds including into and out of curves. Most of the design requirements are predictable but would depend on when the road was built, Lacy said.

"Whenever people ask to add a road as an interstate, the question is how it compares to our current interstate standards, not those of 1975 or 1983," Lacy said.

Lacy agreed that Greenville meets many of the necessary thresholds for conversion. The fact that the highway bears a high proportion of traffic for its length is one. It also connects two large cities - Raleigh and Greenville - and intersects an interstate, I-95, also favorable factors in the discussion.

Being a vital hub for eastern North Carolina is another, Lacy said.

One of NCDOT's major responsibilities is to help communities pursuing an interstate understand what it takes to convert a highway into one.

"There will likely be millions of dollars of work that needs to be done," Lacy said. "The local MPO and regional planning organizations must consider where the project falls in its own priority list, and how it affects other metropolitan areas where it also would have to exist. The good news is that there are lots of options available from which to approach the discussion."

Cost is rarely what trips up a community in pursuit of an interstate highway, Lacy said.

"The tripping block is deciding what route to take to accomplish it," he said. "And even if everyone involved, from the federal government on down, is gangbusters about the idea, it would still be years - with a capital S at the end of that word - before you see the interstate signs go up."

Thomas is counting on his extensive history working with NCDOT leadership to position Greenville and Pitt County for the best infrastructure decisions.

"It can't hurt to ask, and it's always years too late when it comes to transportation, so the sooner you get the process going ... you always have to think decades ahead," he said.
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Old 04-30-2012, 09:26 PM
 
54 posts, read 74,638 times
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Is it just me or does it seem that allen thomas has done more/trying to do more than the previous mayor did the entire time she was here?
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Old 05-01-2012, 05:22 AM
 
Location: Greenville, NC
2,305 posts, read 6,063,233 times
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DSM Dyneema is expanding their defense contractor facilities in Greenville again!

The Daily Reflector

What I would like to see happen (instead of another restaurant) is more defense contractors coming to Greenville.
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Old 05-01-2012, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Greenville, NC
889 posts, read 1,328,164 times
Reputation: 233
Quote:
Is it just me or does it seem that allen thomas has done more/trying to do more than the previous mayor did the entire time she was here?
I agree with you. I've seen people online bashing him for whatever reason, but I am pleased so far. I know a lot of the current development (Dick's / Mellow Mushroom / Bonefish) was being worked on under the previous mayor but overall he does seem to be trying harder or at least releasing more positive information than Pat Dunn ever did. The city council still seems to hold Greenville back more often than not, but Allan's trying hard in my opinion to get positive things done.


Quote:
What I would like to see happen (instead of another restaurant) is more defense contractors coming to Greenville.
We do indeed need more big businesses coming to town...but where will they eat?
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Old 05-01-2012, 04:53 PM
 
3,375 posts, read 6,218,462 times
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Something small, but has anyone been on Stantonsburg/Allen Road lately? There is a brick base for a sign.

My assumption is Greenville is getting a new, hopefully better, entrance sign.
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Old 05-01-2012, 04:55 PM
 
3,375 posts, read 6,218,462 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Martin View Post
DSM Dyneema is expanding their defense contractor facilities in Greenville again!

The Daily Reflector

What I would like to see happen (instead of another restaurant) is more defense contractors coming to Greenville.
Could you imagine an interstate that ran through Greenville, that connected us to Norfolk and via I-95 to Fort Bragg. And having Camp Lejeune not too far away either. And Seymour Johnson close as well.
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Old 05-01-2012, 06:07 PM
 
1,807 posts, read 2,733,618 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBojangles View Post
Something small, but has anyone been on Stantonsburg/Allen Road lately? There is a brick base for a sign.

My assumption is Greenville is getting a new, hopefully better, entrance sign.
It's been there in that state for about a month. I'm assuming what you're assuming.
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Old 05-01-2012, 09:19 PM
 
3,352 posts, read 6,402,656 times
Reputation: 1128
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBojangles View Post
Could you imagine an interstate that ran through Greenville, that connected us to Norfolk and via I-95 to Fort Bragg. And having Camp Lejeune not too far away either. And Seymour Johnson close as well.
That would tremendously help the Greenville economy, I would hope that more defense contractors would come.
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Old 05-02-2012, 03:09 AM
 
232 posts, read 471,404 times
Reputation: 77
Anybody been to the mellow mushroom yet? I heard it was slammed as expected. I've never been to one!
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