"Proposed Raleigh-Norfolk corridor clears U.S. House, heads to conference with Senate" (Chesapeake: commute, best)

[LM117]

I just found an article from 1992 that some of y'all might find interesting. Seems that talk of a Raleigh-Norfolk interstate goes back at least 24 years.

Norfolk-raleigh Plan On Road To Nowhere - tribunedigital-dailypress

I was surprised that the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization was opposed to using US-17 and that they and NCDOT favored using US-13 to connect to US-58 in Suffolk and using that to connect to I-64 in Bowers Hill. Only VDOT favored US-17 at the time.

IMO, US-17 was the way to go...even if it took at least 24 years for it to become the official route of what would become I-87.

[LM117]

"Future I-87" signs are going up along US-17 between Williamston and the state line.

New Interstate 87 construction could begin within a decade | Traffic & Transportation | pilotonline.com

(Before anybody points it out, yes, I'm fully aware that this announcement only affects NC's portion, but I know there are people that commute US-17 from Hampton Roads to NC and vice-versa and I thought it would be a good idea to keep this thread updated with any new developments related to I-87 in either state.)

[LM117]

It seems that Virginia has requested consideration of an alternative routing for I-87 that would have it follow VA-168 to the I-64/I-464 interchange rather than using US-17.

DOT to post I-87 concept maps online - Daily Advance

The NC Department of Transportation will soon make its concept maps of Interstate 87 available online, allowing the public to weigh in on the $1.35 billion project that will reshape travel through Williamston, Hertford and other communities on the way to Virginia.

NC DOT personnel agreed to make the maps available for review and comment at the urging of local officials at an Interstate 87 meeting in Elizabeth City last week. Even though planning for Interstate 87 remains in early stages, local officials said the public is already calling for more information on the project that could impact several communities and many property owners.

According to an email from DOT Transportation Engineer Shane York, the maps should soon be available at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/proje...ies=*&Region=*.

During the meeting, DOT’s consulting firm, AECOM, explained how they might turn US Highway 17 into Interstate 87, documenting the sections of road that need widening and the intersections that need changing if the road is to become a high-speed, “restricted access” highway allowing unimpeded travel from Williamston to the Virginia state line. Interstate 87 would also include US Highway 64 from Raleigh to Williamston, a road already close to interstate standards, but AECOM focused solely on US 17 during the local meeting.

AECOM officials Christy Shumate and Laura Fisher said US 17 from Williamston to Virginia is about 80 miles long. For planning purposes, AECOM has broken that corridor down into 10 segments needing varying levels of work. In a followup email, York added about 24 miles of that road are already at “freeway” standards, meaning DOT only needs to widen US 17 from Windsor to Castelloe Road, from the Chowan River almost to Edenton, and along the roughly 11-mile Elizabeth City bypass.

Things get more complicated in Williamston, Windsor and in the Town of Hertford, where keeping US 17 on its current route would require overpasses and numerous service roads to be constructed. Fisher noted several alternative routes for parts of Interstate 87, including arcing it east of US 17 in Williamston before tying back into the bridge over the Roanoke River, diverting it west of US 17 south of Windsor so it cuts around Windsor before tying into the existing bypass, and diverting it west of US 17 north of Winfall to tie into an interchange on Chapanoke Road. That Chapanoke interchange would avoid impacts to numerous properties around the intersection of Chapanoke and existing US 17.

Fisher proposed no alternative to taking I-87 through Hertford; however, which would require a diamond interchange be built at the intersection of US 17 and South Church Street.

Additionally, Fisher presented an alternative to the final stretch of I-87 in Camden, which would create an interchange not only connecting to the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, but create a connection to US Highway 168 in Currituck. Fisher said AECOM added that route at the request of officials in Currituck and Virginia.

Though DOT and AECOM officials agreed to provide their current concept maps, they noted those maps have been developed before the release of a “feasibility study” that will include a more formal public comment period; that study is expected by year’s end. As the name implies, the feasibility study is still a preliminary document itself; it sets the stage for submitting individual I-87 projects for possible state funding.

Meanwhile, I-495 in NC has been decommissioned and replaced by I-87.

Interstate 87: NCDOT puts up new signs between Raleigh and Wendell | News & Observer

[LM117]

Originally Posted by LM117

It seems that Virginia has requested consideration of an alternative routing for I-87 that would have it follow VA-168 to the I-64/I-464 interchange rather than using US-17.

DOT to post I-87 concept maps online - Daily Advance



Meanwhile, I-495 in NC has been decommissioned and replaced by I-87.

Interstate 87: NCDOT puts up new signs between Raleigh and Wendell | News & Observer

Here's NCDOT's presentation showing the proposed connector linking US-17 and VA-168. I-87 will still follow US-17 in VA and not VA-168.

http://www.dailyadvance.com/.media/2...16cdf09686.pdf

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by LM117

Here's NCDOT's presentation showing the proposed connector linking US-17 and VA-168. I-87 will still follow US-17 in VA and not VA-168.

http://www.dailyadvance.com/.media/2...16cdf09686.pdf

I’m confused, I thought this thread was about an interstate from Raleigh to Norfolk.

[lammius]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

I’m confused, I thought this thread was about an interstate from Raleigh to Norfolk.

It is. And the link LM117 is about NCDOT's plans to construct part of that interstate.

[Old Dominionite]

I think that it makes more sense for I-87 to enter Virginia via the Route 17 corridor, as opposed to the Route 168 corridor. I also think that the Virginia segment of I-87 hasn't been considered and approved by AASHTO, yet. I-87 currently ends at the NC-VA state line, and Virginia hasn't been nearly as bullish as its neighbor to the south on designating new Interstate highways.

Here's an interesting excerpt from the News & Observer article:

"NCDOT had initially requested to call the highway Interstate 89, but there’s already one of those, too, in New Hampshire and Vermont. AASHTO spokesman Tony Dorsey said the organization’s route numbering committee decided that the new North Carolina highway has a better chance of one day connecting to I-87 in New York than to I-89 in New England, and decided the road between Raleigh and Virginia should be I-87."

I guess that AASHTO thinks I-87 will someday travel north along the Route 13 corridor to Wilmington, and then with I-95 to New York.

[LM117]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

I also think that the Virginia segment of I-87 hasn't been considered and approved by AASHTO, yet.

Correct. VDOT has yet to send an application to AASHTO and I'll be surprised if they ever do.

I guess that AASHTO thinks I-87 will someday travel north along the Route 13 corridor to Wilmington, and then with I-95 to New York.

Wishful thinking on their part. The sensitive environment of the Eastern Shore and the sky high cost of upgrading the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to meet interstate standards instantly kills any hope of connecting the two I-87's.

The Eastern Shore would never support an interstate there, anyway. Especially Northampton County. That's probably the most NIMBY county in the entire state.

That being said, I don't think I-87 needs to go any further north than Norfolk.

[LM117]

Originally Posted by LM117

Here's NCDOT's presentation showing the proposed connector linking US-17 and VA-168. I-87 will still follow US-17 in VA and not VA-168.

http://www.dailyadvance.com/.media/2...16cdf09686.pdf

I spoke too soon. That connector is indeed a proposed routing for I-87. It seems Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Lane has shown interest in the connector as well. Meanwhile, the city of Chesapeake seems to prefer that I-87 remain on US-17.

NCDOT mulls I-87 route to Currituck - Daily Advance

[LM117]

Originally Posted by LM117

I spoke too soon. That connector is indeed a proposed routing for I-87. It seems Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Lane has shown interest in the connector as well. Meanwhile, the city of Chesapeake seems to prefer that I-87 remain on US-17.

NCDOT mulls I-87 route to Currituck - Daily Advance

Pasquotank County is strongly opposed to having I-87 follow the proposed connector route. They want I-87 to stay on US-17. VDOT has also begun it's study of Virginia's portion of I-87. However, I-87 has not been included in the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization's 2040 long-range transportation plan and isn't considered a priority for any of it's jurisdictions.

Where should I-87 go? Locals: No reroute through Currituck - Daily Advance