I-885

[Richhamleigh, DC]

I-885 may be a game changer for development in the Northern Triangle and north Durham.  I-885 will put southern Granville County  (Butner) 10 non-stop miles from RTP and 15 from RDU.    The Northgate area will be just 5 miles from RTP.   Even downtown Raleigh will be more "closer" in travel time for I-85 travelers coming from Granville County not having to use NC50 or US 70 or navigate downtown Durham.    Points north of Granville, including  VA and DC may be easier to access downtown Raleigh, Cary, etc. via I-885 than US1.  (46 miles via US1 to downtown Raleigh with 20 miles of stop lights vs. 60 miles via 85/885 with no stoplights = faster travel time?).

 

[KJHburg]

here is the official interstate guide.  so I-885 will be tagged from I-85 to I-40?

Interstate 885 North Carolina - Interstate-Guide.com (interstate-guide.com)

[Seaboard Fellow]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

here is the official interstate guide.  so I-885 will be tagged from I-85 to I-40?

Interstate 885 North Carolina - Interstate-Guide.com (interstate-guide.com)

Yes, I-885 will be signed at the I-85/US 70 interchange in west Durham and the I-40/NC 147 interchange in south Durham. Here’s an in depth write up on it.

https://malmeroads.net/ncfutints/fut885.html

Edited January 27, 2021 by Seaboard Fellow

[Richhamleigh, DC]

The longest shortest road project in world history.  1.25 miles under construction for 6 years now.   Fortunately, we hope, widening what is currently 147 to I-40 and from the 85/885 interchange to Granville won't take 20 years.  Both road segments, especially the 147, are already close to or past design volumes.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Phillydog

[rolly]

I still can't find a good map of I-885 from 85 to 40.    Also I recall it would be 'toll road 885' for the segment 147 from south of 40 to 540.

[KJHburg]

this might help

Interstate 885 North Carolina - Interstate-Guide.com (interstate-guide.com)

or this

Future I-885 / Durham East End Connector (malmeroads.net)

from what I understand it will be flagged I-885 from I-85 to I-40 not sure if it will be south of that where NC 147 turns into the toll road. 

NCDOT: East End Connector - Project Highlights

Edited April 9, 2021 by KJHburg

[Richhamleigh, DC]

On 4/9/2021 at 6:44 PM, KJHburg said:

this might help

Interstate 885 North Carolina - Interstate-Guide.com (interstate-guide.com)

or this

Future I-885 / Durham East End Connector (malmeroads.net)

from what I understand it will be flagged I-885 from I-85 to I-40 not sure if it will be south of that where NC 147 turns into the toll road. 

NCDOT: East End Connector - Project Highlights

147 south of the 40.  147 will "share" the 885 until it splits to go downtown while the 885 continues north to the existing 85 north to Butner and Virginia

Edited April 14, 2021 by Phillydog

[rolly]

@KJHburg I've been through those links, but thanks for posting. Note the absolute lack of a map of the project. Crazy!

 

[DownEast]

If you go to his NCDOT link, scroll until you see project maps. Select it. The only available link you can then choose is "east end connector map." It's as good as any map that I've seen for the project.

[rolly]

This is one I had seen awhile back. This is the only depiction I've seen of I-885 (in red).

Also confirmed that the 147 south of I-40 will also change to 885, but as a state route:

"The Triangle Expressway portion of Toll NC 147 south of I-40 will be renumbered as NC 885."

[Richhamleigh, DC]

5 hours ago, rolly said:

@KJHburg I've been through those links, but thanks for posting. Note the absolute lack of a map of the project. Crazy!

 

It's worth repeating...  Planning for this started in the 1950s.  A 1.25 mile -- that's 1 POINT 25 or 6600 FEET --  has been under construction for SIX YEARS and it's STILL not opened.  The entire southern loop of the 540 will be completed in less time.  When people point their fingers at Raleigh and think "if it doesn't benefit Raleigh directly it's not a priority", this project is one of the poster children.  

Edited April 14, 2021 by Phillydog

[nicholas]

On 4/14/2021 at 3:40 PM, Phillydog said:

It's worth repeating...  Planning for this started in the 1950s.  A 1.25 mile -- that's 1 POINT 25 or 6600 FEET --  has been under construction for SIX YEARS and it's STILL not opened.  The entire southern loop of the 540 will be completed in less time.  When people point their fingers at Raleigh and think "if it doesn't benefit Raleigh directly it's not a priority", this project is one of the poster children.  

Retweet.  I drove through Durham last week, and don't recall seeing a single construction worker in the NC147/I-885 interchange construction zone. 

[DownEast]

All the construction is pretty much complete on that end. The US 70 side is what's currently being worked on.

[DPK]

6 hours ago, DownEast said:

All the construction is pretty much complete on that end. The US 70 side is what's currently being worked on.

This.  They spent the better part of the last few years on the 147 side, which is now mostly complete.  Work has shifted now to the other side.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

17 hours ago, DPK said:

This.  They spent the better part of the last few years on the 147 side, which is now mostly complete.  Work has shifted now to the other side.

It's 1.25 miles.  There's no other road project I've ever seen that takes 6 years to complete and is only 1.25 miles.  Even the I-95/I-495 interchange project in DC was done in four.  There's no excuse for this.  At all.  

[cowboy_wilhelm]

18 hours ago, Phillydog said:

It's 1.25 miles.  There's no other road project I've ever seen that takes 6 years to complete and is only 1.25 miles.  Even the I-95/I-495 interchange project in DC was done in four.  There's no excuse for this.  At all.  

It took NCDOT five years to replace two bridges on I-26 over Pond Rd. near Asheville. They're already five years into replacing the Brevard Rd. bridge and widening just over 1 mile of I-26 and they still aren't done with that.

I was hoping the "project prioritization," acceleration, etc. they started pushing a decade or so ago for funding projects would make its way over to the construction side, but it hasn't.

[DPK]

On 4/17/2021 at 11:49 PM, Phillydog said:

It's 1.25 miles.  There's no other road project I've ever seen that takes 6 years to complete and is only 1.25 miles.  Even the I-95/I-495 interchange project in DC was done in four.  There's no excuse for this.  At all.  

It's not just 1.25 miles – US-70 has been getting a major overhaul on the other side.

I'm not defending the timeline, however there's more to this than just that connector and a few flyovers.

[#1Son]

@DPK nailed the reason this project is taking so long to complete.  I ride through the US 70 side of this project all the time to go to work .  They had to relocate a cemetery, replace/widen a railroad trestle and create three new interchanges and replace the mainline bridges over NC 98.  The 1.25 mile "connector " has been complete for 2 years.  I will be so happy once this project is finished.    

 

[dmccall]

It took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

[nicholas]

Quote

When construction of the East End Connector began in the spring of 2015, the four-mile highway between the Durham Freeway and Interstate 85 was expected to be finished in 2019.

By the end of 2019, the N.C. Department of Transportation was saying the road would be done this past June. In June, the department estimated it would be completed by the end of the year. [Has just been bumped back to the end of this year ]

Now NCDOT says the section of the East End Connector between the Durham Freeway and U.S. 70 — the new stretch of road that closes a gap between two existing highways — probably won’t open to traffic until this coming June.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article248194765.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

East End Connector will not be open to traffic in June 2021. The contractor is completing final construction items throughout the project before they place the final layer of asphalt. I am unable to give an exact date of opening right now. Although the entire project will most likely not be 100% complete by the end of the year, we do expect the connector from NC 147 to US 70 (I-885) to be open to traffic by that time.
Please do not hesitate to contact me again with any questions or requests for updates.
Kind regards,
Liam Shannon, Resident Engineer

^this is from a poster on another forum I'm on.  Given the number of delays so far, I doubt it opens by the end of this year.  We are looking at 7 years to build/upgrade 4 miles worth of an interstate, and I am sorry but that is beyond ridiculous.  How many of us would get fired for missing deadlines by several years?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by nicholas

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Lamest excuses ever.  Freight trains?  Underground utilites?  Santa Claus?  Now, 2022.  The next a n y o n e complains about transit fiasco, mention I-885.  What a joke.

https://abc11.com/amp/east-end-connector-ncdot-durham-freeway/10673823/

[rolly]

I'm sure that article is a prank. This 4 mile road should be done after 6 years of construction.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

8 hours ago, rolly said:

I'm sure that article is a prank. This 4 mile road should be done after 6 years of construction.

It's worse...it's less than 2 miles!

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Apparently the contractor on this project (Dragados USA) is the same contractor that caused $800 million in cost overruns on the California High Speed Rail project.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-22/california-bullet-train-dragados-design-changes

[jthomas]

1 hour ago, cowboy_wilhelm said:

Apparently the contractor on this project (Dragados USA) is the same contractor that caused $800 million in cost overruns on the California High Speed Rail project.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-22/california-bullet-train-dragados-design-changes

Cost overruns seem to be an epidemic in American infrastructure projects. If you're not familiar with the blog Pedestrian Observations, there are many good articles there about construction costs, particularly for rail and transit projects. Here is a good recent article discussing some of the issues that cause ballooning costs. (Spoiler: putting the private sector in charge of public projects does not result in increased efficiency)