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Well this sounds fun. The N&O reports that DOT is going to embark next year on a 3-year reconstruction of sections of I-40 and I-440 around the southern side of Raleigh.
Quote:
The state Department of Transportation expects to spend $168 million to replace every speck of concrete and asphalt pavement on the lanes, ramps and shoulders of the 30-year-old expressway, from U.S. 1/64 at Cary to U.S. 64/264 on the east side of Raleigh.
With three to five lanes each way, these 11 miles of Interstates 40 and 440 carry as many as 110,000 cars and trucks through south Raleigh each day. All that traffic will be crammed into two lanes each way – day and night – for months at a time during construction, DOT says.
I don't think repaving the US1/64 ramps for 40 is going to solve the fact that those interchanges don't even remotely handle the amount of traffic that travels on them.
I don't think repaving the US1/64 ramps for 40 is going to solve the fact that those interchanges don't even remotely handle the amount of traffic that travels on them.
Hear, hear. This money would be wiser spent on rebuilding that interchange from hell.
I dread being anywhere near 401/70 when this starts taking effect. Too bad they couldn't finish 540 before working on this, but I know 540 is not funded and ten years away.
Why are they doing this - because of cracks in the road?
The article explains it:
Quote:
This part of the Beltline is afflicted with what pavement wonks call ASR: alkali-silica reaction. DOT built this roadway with concrete that has cement with high alkaline levels, plus sand and gravel with high levels of silica.
When Bowman described how this ASR combination makes the concrete expand and crack, I realized that he was explaining the unusual cracks drivers noticed on the southern Beltline over the past decade or so.
They’re not like the common cracks and potholes we see on other Triangle roads. They’re more like the widening fissures on a bread loaf swelling in the oven, or a juicy bratwurst on the grill.
Engineers identified the ASR problem in roads, walls and runways across the country about 25 years ago, Bowman said, after the southern Beltline was built.
This is why DOT spent a few million dollars four years ago to plug cracks, dig out some of the worst concrete, and cover the old pavement with a thin layer of asphalt. That job was a stopgap measure, buying time until DOT had enough money for the full-scale fix.
Here's to all of those that decided to drive until they could buy! This is going to make the commute from SE Wake and JoCo that much more unbearable.
Michael
Personally I'd never take joy in others misery. I also realize not all drove until they could buy. I realize some bought there because they liked it. Particularly the school system over the Wake County school mess.
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! This is going to make the commute from SE Wake and JoCo that much more unbearable. 
