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All the potential northern bypass alternatives for US 70 in Kinston have been eliminated by NCDOT now. They're looking at possible southern bypass alternatives or possibly upgrading the existing roadway to a freeway.
I'm curious to see how they're going to do US 70 in Selma since the current bypass does not have an interchange with I-95 and the mainline US 70 which does is riddled with stoplights and a major intersection with US 301.
This is why there needs to be regional collaboration for these projects. Such a short sighted decision based entirely on money.
Yes, it is cheaper to add a Kinston bypass on the southern route...thing is it isn't really a Kinston bypass, since most all of Kinston is north of the existing route.
Not only could a northern route utilize the existing CF Harvey Parkway at the Global Transpark, but it would also connect it to Highway 11...whats north of Kinston on Highway 11, but one of the largest plants in Eastern NC...giving that easy Interstate access.
AND if a Northern route was coming out of Dover towards Highway 11 North, it would be probably less than 10 miles from the Greenville SW bypass connection just south of Ayden. So, if you wanted to travel from New Bern to Greenville, you could get on an Interstate that would drop you off just south of Grifton in probably 20 minutes and in another 20 be at the 264 interchange at the Vidant Hospital and ECU Medical Campus. Taking what now would be an hour trip and making it about 40 minutes. It would also help with the North South traffic on 17 to and from Greenville, providing a high speed 4 lane connection to 17.
I guess that is all not worth the additional cost. A better link for Greenville to the beach, New Bern/Jacksonville, the Military facilities, Wilmington, etc...I guess its better to just use that 2 lane Highway 43 and take that traffic through Vanceboro...for likely ever. I can guarantee no DOT folks looked at the Greenville aspect of the Kinston bypass.
All the decision makers care about is getting to the beach from Raleigh as fast as possible.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. That's pretty much the whole purpose of US 70 being upgraded to freeway in the first place. Much like US 64 to the Outer Banks years ago.
For the Kinston Bypass I can kind of see their reasoning. A southern bypass would definitely be more costly due to the terrain it has to cross, but a northern bypass would be better for the region as a whole since Greenville lies to the north. However, the Northern route would probably take longer than the southern one to traverse and people wouldn't use it for going to the beach.
I just thought of something. Assuming NCDOT chooses a number soon (I'll use I-42 as an example), they could apply to AASHTO and FHWA to have the Clayton Bypass and the Goldsboro Bypass (once it's finished) designated as I-42, since one of the requirements for a freeway to be signed as an interstate is that it has to connect to another interstate (I-40 near Garner, I-795 in Goldsboro). It could be signed in sections as US-70 gets upgraded, like the way NCDOT is doing with I-74 (Maxton to I-95 in Lumberton, Ellerbe to I-40 in Winston-Salem and Mount Airy to I-77). Also, according to NCDOT's progress report page, the listed completion date for the Goldsboro Bypass is listed as June 2016, but the Revised completion date is March 2, 2016. Assuming the winter remains mild and the bypass opens in March, NCDOT could send the application to AASHTO in time for their next meeting, which is scheduled for May 24-26.
I just thought of something. Assuming NCDOT chooses a number soon (I'll use I-42 as an example), they could apply to AASHTO and FHWA to have the Clayton Bypass and the Goldsboro Bypass (once it's finished) designated as I-42, since one of the requirements for a freeway to be signed as an interstate is that it has to connect to another interstate (I-40 near Garner, I-795 in Goldsboro). It could be signed in sections as US-70 gets upgraded, like the way NCDOT is doing with I-74 (Maxton to I-95 in Lumberton, Ellerbe to I-40 in Winston-Salem and Mount Airy to I-77). Also, according to NCDOT's progress report page, the listed completion date for the Goldsboro Bypass is listed as June 2016, but the Revised completion date is March 2, 2016. Assuming the winter remains mild and the bypass opens in March, NCDOT could send the application to AASHTO in time for their next meeting, which is scheduled for May 24-26.
Saw it the other day, no reason they can't meet that March deadline...may be even before if weather holds.
Good news. I just checked the US-70 Corridor Commission December 3rd draft minutes and according to NCDOT, they plan to post "future interstate corridor" signs along US-70, US-117, US-64 and US-17 beginning in May, which leads me to believe that NCDOT plans to apply to AASHTO (who happens to have their meeting in May) to go ahead and allow the Clayton Bypass and the Goldsboro Bypass to have Interstate shields posted on them since they already connect to existing interstates (I-40 and I-795) and already meets interstate standards. I anticipate NCDOT will also send their applications to FHWA at the same time. They still haven't mentioned what Interstate numbers they will use. I'm not sure how to directly link documents, but the minutes can easily be found on this page: Meetings / Meetings
The sign unveiling of the future United States Route 70 interstate highway was lackluster. The route has not been assigned an interstate highway number.
Further reading:
"Sign for future U.S. 70 interstate unveiled in Goldsboro." Goldsboro, North Carolina: WNCT-TV. 2016-03-30.
So is the plan to eventually have interstate all the way from Raleigh to Morehead or just a portion of 70 will be interstate?
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