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I suspect politics and the pull of OBX business interests had a lot to do with 1997-2003 improvements to US 64 from Rocky Mount eastward. Basnight, for instance.
Good points. I've never driven on 70 east of Smithfield, but I have driven 64 and part of 17 east of Rocky Mount and can attest to the sparseness, as well as the modern-ness of the freeway.
On another note re: extending I-795 to I-40, it seems like NCDOT has a thing for creating Interstate numbering violations wherever possible.
Count yourself lucky. I grew up near Goldsboro and commuted often on US-70. Goldsboro was a huge bottleneck before the bypass was built. The US-70/Grantham Street interchange caused huge backups since there was only one lane in each direction for traffic that wanted to stay on US-70. Eastbound traffic had to follow a tight loop ramp.
To give an idea of the backups that interchange caused everyday, here’s a Streetview image from 2011 of the single-lane ramp carrying traffic for US-70 West. Be sure to look behind as well. It often backed up all the way to the William Street interchange. I’ve been there a few times since the bypass opened and it’s helped a lot.
Right now, the worst stretches are between Goldsboro and Smithfield/Selma (especially around Princeton) and between New Bern and Newport. Kinston can get congested, but it’s more tolerable than the stretches I just mentioned. Most of my commutes were between Goldsboro and Clayton.
A public meeting is being held on Nov. 29 in La Grange to discuss upgrading US-70 between NC-903 and the Jim Sutton/Willie Measley Road intersection which includes it’s conversion to an interchange, meaning one less traffic light on the way to the Crystal Coast. A map of the preferred alternative for that interchange can be found here:
NCDOT has posted it’s feasibility study (dated October 2018) for the US-17 portion of the I-87 corridor between Williamston and the Virginia state line.
Interesting that they're still considering the alignment to connect to 168 near the VA line. I wonder if they're serious about that or if they expect it to get tossed for environmental concerns and want to make the US17 alignment look better by comparison.
US70 is absolutely the most important and most vital of all highways in eastern NC. (for those of you who haven't traveled East of Smithfield.
It's the corridor of commerce and connects several military bases.
The I-87 interstate is what I don't agree with because it ventures too far from a direct "as the crow flies" shot between Raleigh and Norfolk to ever be used en masse.
I don't think those rural folk are making weekly trips to either endpoint city either, so I don't support this project.
And I'd rather it be a 3-digit interstate thar breaks the rules rather than having two I-87s on the East Coast that have nothing to do with one another whatsoever.
Interesting that they're still considering the alignment to connect to 168 near the VA line. I wonder if they're serious about that or if they expect it to get tossed for environmental concerns and want to make the US17 alignment look better by comparison.
NCDOT is only considering it because then-VDOT secretary Aubrey Lane and Currituck County asked for that alignment to be included in the study. On the other hand, Pasquotank County and Chesapeake wants I-87 to stay on US-17.
Given the sensitive environmental issue, it’s a safe bet I-87 will stay on US-17.
US70 is absolutely the most important and most vital of all highways in eastern NC. (for those of you who haven't traveled East of Smithfield.
It's the corridor of commerce and connects several military bases.
The I-87 interstate is what I don't agree with because it ventures too far from a direct "as the crow flies" shot between Raleigh and Norfolk to ever be used en masse.
I don't think those rural folk are making weekly trips to either endpoint city either, so I don't support this project.
And I'd rather it be a 3-digit interstate thar breaks the rules rather than having two I-87s on the East Coast that have nothing to do with one another whatsoever.
For people who do regularly travel between the two areas and want to avoid both Richmond-Petersburg traffic and the US 58 corridor, this new interstate would be a welcome alternative. All the more so if they end up finding a way to route 587 back to the parent route so that traffic coming south has a direct freeway route to Greenville.
I agree with you about the numbering though. I'd rather they have used something like 46, 48, 52, 54, 56, or even 62. The route is almost entirely east-west, anyway.
The I-87 interstate is what I don't agree with because it ventures too far from a direct "as the crow flies" shot between Raleigh and Norfolk to ever be used en masse.
I don't think those rural folk are making weekly trips to either endpoint city either, so I don't support this project.
The real reason for I-87’s routing is to give eastern NC an interstate connection to Hampton Roads. It allows ENC to use I-87 as a marketing tool for recruiting businesses since they can claim that they have an interstate link to one of the largest deepwater ports on the East Coast.
Calling it the “Raleigh-Norfolk corridor” just made it easier to get it through Congress...
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