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I'm a self-described "road geek", so is LM117, I think, but you're right, that's one of the reasons for upgrading it to interstate standards, it will/should help drive industry and businesses to relocate/start in a certain area, it also helps the connectivity of people and goods, since Norfolk is a major port.
There's many limited access highways/freeways, throughout the US, that are/were built to interstate standards, others that were not, but still limited access. Many times, local chamber of commerce, local businesses, counties, state try and get an interstate shield placed onto their highway/freeway, because they know that's the "gold standard" when it comes commerce.
What will be the economic impact? I live in Zebulon... I always considered myself just out of reach of Raleighs mess. Does this highway suddenly mean that last bit of pristine farmland from I-540 to the wake county border east to west, and 401 in Rolesville to southern wake county north to south will suddenly be swamped with developments? I love life in the countryside here and couldn't ask for anything better other than to be safe from becoming another generic suburban town.
How about significant economic impacts further away from Raleigh? Why does the perception of an interstate matter so much? The current roadway gets you where you need to be just as quick as an interstate. Crazy that a little blue shield has such an impact but it does as evidenced by the boom in suburbia after WWII.
Crazy that a little blue shield has such an impact but it does as evidenced by the boom in suburbia after WWII.
It's definitely interesting and weird. That interstate shield makes a road meet a certain set of standards, unless of course the road was "grandfathered in", which has happened throughout the US, but that's a whole other topic.
LM117, might be able to explain better than me, but companies/businesses, seek out those blue shields and tend to want to be near them. Sure, there might be businesses/companies already along limited-access highways/freeways through the US that are "interstate quality" and meet all those standards, but there just isn't that shield on there, for whatever reason. You smack a blue shield on that road and undoubtedly, more companies/businesses will eventually start to pop up.
I wouldn't worry too much about crazy development, since it could take decades to start seeing huge, if any impacts. Could be more housing developments, more distribution centers, more fast food places, more manufacturers.
LM117, might be able to explain better than me, but companies/businesses, seek out those blue shields and tend to want to be near them. Sure, there might be businesses/companies already along limited-access highways/freeways through the US that are "interstate quality" and meet all those standards, but there just isn't that shield on there, for whatever reason. You smack a blue shield on that road and undoubtedly, more companies/businesses will eventually start to pop up.
I wouldn't worry too much about crazy development, since it could take decades to start seeing huge, if any impacts. Could be more housing developments, more distribution centers, more fast food places, more manufacturers.
You pretty much summed it up. If anything, NC-540's planned extension from Holly Springs to I-540 near Knightdale will play a much bigger role for development in southern/eastern Wake County than I-87 ever will and even at that, unless there's suddenly a HUGE population boom in eastern Wake County, I think the farmland (or at least most of it) will be safe. Zebulon is also far enough to likely escape any potential problems caused by whatever development might occur.
There's a commonly held belief that most companies (especially those dealing in distribution/logistics) will not set up businesses near a town/city unless it has nearby interstate access. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not. The argument that's used for it is that while an interstate shield automatically means the road is a fully controlled-access freeway, US routes can vary in quality from a simple 2-lane road to an interstate quality freeway. An interstate puts a city/town "on the map" so-to-speak, which gives local governments a marketing tool when trying to lure and recruit businesses. That's why Greenville fought hard to get US-264 between Zebulon and Greenville designated as Future I-587.
What will be the economic impact? I live in Zebulon... I always considered myself just out of reach of Raleighs mess. Does this highway suddenly mean that last bit of pristine farmland from I-540 to the wake county border east to west, and 401 in Rolesville to southern wake county north to south will suddenly be swamped with developments? I love life in the countryside here and couldn't ask for anything better other than to be safe from becoming another generic suburban town.
How about significant economic impacts further away from Raleigh? Why does the perception of an interstate matter so much? The current roadway gets you where you need to be just as quick as an interstate. Crazy that a little blue shield has such an impact but it does as evidenced by the boom in suburbia after WWII.
Unless something crazy happens, I doubt Zebulon will be impacted much by I-87. Growth in Zebulon has been relatively steady (it's kind of on the wrong side of Raleigh to benefit much from the development in RTP and North Hills), and while I think influx into the eastern towns will probably pick up eventually, it will be a while, as Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, and Morrisville are taking the brunt of the suburban growth.
The 65 foot, high-rise bridge is on track to open this fall, at least partially. Senior Assistant Resident Engineer for the State Department of Transportation Rhett Gerald says the span over Gallants Channel will open for a two lane, two way traffic pattern while crews finish construction.
“We’ll have traffic in that phase for probably about four or five months, and then we’ll have the complete project finished and that includes the Turner Street bridge and have traffic in a four lane pattern.â€
Currently, DOT crews are working on the architectural rail for the Turner Street bridge and completing the tie-ins on the west and east portions of the project. The 66.4 million dollar Gallants Channel bridge replacement has experienced some minor setbacks since construction started in early 2014, pushing completion back a couple of months. The entire project, which includes the removal of the old bridge and final traffic patterns is slated for early 2019.
What will be the economic impact? I live in Zebulon... I always considered myself just out of reach of Raleighs mess. Does this highway suddenly mean that last bit of pristine farmland from I-540 to the wake county border east to west, and 401 in Rolesville to southern wake county north to south will suddenly be swamped with developments? I love life in the countryside here and couldn't ask for anything better other than to be safe from becoming another generic suburban town.
How about significant economic impacts further away from Raleigh? Why does the perception of an interstate matter so much? The current roadway gets you where you need to be just as quick as an interstate. Crazy that a little blue shield has such an impact but it does as evidenced by the boom in suburbia after WWII.
I know that the former mayor of Greenville was very adamant about getting 264 upgraded partly because of this way of thinking with companies about interstates.
It's like buying a car. Some people really want heated seats in their car, and won't look at any other car that doesn't have them. It doesn't matter if it's the exact same color, style, and has every other amenity under the sun that they are looking for. They still won't buy it because it doesn't have heated seats and will look elsewhere until they find exactly what they want.
It may sound like a petty reason (especially since a large chunk of 64/264 is 70 mph highway), but that's what cities have to deal with when trying to attract employers.
So far, most of the development has stayed away from Zebulon. However, Northeast Raleigh (between US401 and Buffaloe Rd. off 540) and Knightdale are starting to become more and more developed. Even Wendell has the huge future development in Wendell Falls. It's certainly possible that 10 years from now, Zebulon will be a lot more crowded, mainly because people are going to try to escape the higher home prices from the triangle.
NE NC is in sad shape economically, and if I lived there I'd be trying to do something, anything, to improve the situation. I question whether I-87 will be magic for them, but I don't have a better idea.
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