North Carolina's Business Interstates

[Creasy336]

What if I-85 bypass, I-40 bypass and, I-95 bypass were never built, and instead were improved? How would this have changed the way cities along this corridor developed? How would the corridors themselves had been developed by now? Would downtown Fayetteville be thriving? What would Green 85 be like now if it WAS the main I-85 now? What about Green 40 in Winston-Salem? Something to think about... This is just a "what if" question.

[Jerseyman4]

I-95 would of NOT been near downtown Fayetteville much longer after 1982. Theres a brief 5 lane boulevard segment by NC 24 so that area would of been at least bypassed. The rest of the highway could of been easily improved by closing off the at-grades near the frontage roads. The area would of been 60mph maximum through the area since the four lane highway is pretty narrow and does not provide a lot of room to expand. You never know but if I-95 was not bypassed to the east, the locals may have called this stretch of I-95 "eastern blvd". Kinda like Painter Blvd in Greensboro sorta

[Creasy336]

I-95 would of NOT been near downtown Fayetteville much longer after 1982. Theres a brief 5 lane boulevard segment by NC 24 so that area would of been at least bypassed. The rest of the highway could of been easily improved by closing off the at-grades near the frontage roads. The area would of been 60mph maximum through the area since the four lane highway is pretty narrow and does not provide a lot of room to expand. You never know but if I-95 was not bypassed to the east, the locals may have called this stretch of I-95 "eastern blvd". Kinda like Painter Blvd in Greensboro sorta

It would have been alot closer than it is now. I wonder if death valley could have been fixed, Yes I know it would have been very expensive. but about 4 miles past it you find a very modern strech of I-40 thats about to be Green 40.

[NcSc74]

I hate all green designations....it seems so backwards to me.

[blburton]

yeah... I think upgrading I-85/40 to 8 lanes through Death Valley and thougtfully reworking the 29/70/220/421/85/40 interchange would probably make that area flow much better and reduce any need for a bypass to the south. Probably make for a neat stack interchange there. But in addition to the expense, keeping the road open during construction would make traffic much worse for several years with detours, road blocks, bottle necks, lane closures, etc. It was at more than capacity before the bypass was completed in 2004. Rush hours through that area were a mess especially if there was precip or a wreck.

[Creasy336]

yeah... I think upgrading I-85/40 to 8 lanes through Death Valley and thougtfully reworking the 29/70/220/421/85/40 interchange would probably make that area flow much better and reduce any need for a bypass to the south. Probably make for a neat stack interchange there. But in addition to the expense, reconstructing that stretch of road would make traffic much worse for several years with detours, road blocks, bottle necks, lane closures, etc. It was at more than capacity before the bypass was completed in 2004. Rush hours through that area were a mess especially if there was precip or a wreck.

Traffic used to back up to Rock Creek Dairy Rd frequently. I remember before I-40 was widened and there wasn't a I-85 bypass I was in traffic from Winston-Salem to Burlington. Its hard to remember but this was only about 5 years ago. Yeah reworking death valley to 8-10 lanes with a stack at O'Henry would have been nice.

[NcSc74]

yeah... I think upgrading I-85/40 to 8 lanes through Death Valley and thougtfully reworking the 29/70/220/421/85/40 interchange would probably make that area flow much better and reduce any need for a bypass to the south. Probably make for a neat stack interchange there. But in addition to the expense, keeping the road open during construction would make traffic much worse for several years with detours, road blocks, bottle necks, lane closures, etc. It was at more than capacity before the bypass was completed in 2004. Rush hours through that area were a mess especially if there was precip or a wreck.

Ueah right a stack xchange...our state is alaready overbudget and fight just to get the current projects completed. I love huge flyover infested interchanges but we can't afford them. If we could NCDOT prpobably wouldn't build them anyway. I have said this many times here that our state is slow to adopt BIG ideas when it comes to transportation. I wonder what the environmental impact of a sprawling 2 level stack as opposed to a 4 level stack. The amount of earth moved for some 2 level stacks is crazy.....example I-40/540...I-40/95

[Jerseyman4]

^

The future at NCDOT is to do cloverleaf with C/D lanes at all major junctions. I dont have a problem with them but they do take up A LOT OF SPACE!

[Creasy336]

^

The future at NCDOT is to do cloverleaf with C/D lanes at all major junctions. I dont have a problem with them but they do take up A LOT OF SPACE!

That does seem like thats the case. It seems NC has some of the most sprawling new interchanges. Nothing impressive. I know a stack isn't feasible for NCDOT in death valley. It would have been nice to have one though.

[jasoniman24]

I would hate to see the traffic on Business 40 in Winston if it was still the mainline I-40 today. Even worse, imagine the tie-ups if NCDOT tried to widen it, and replace all of the bridges. It was a big ordeal just straightening the Hawthorne curve. Speaking of being backwards, I still can't understand why Greensboro refuses to call its interstates freeways. Why not call the Greensboro urban loop Painter Freeway instead? Same for Preddy Blvd, and Fordam Blvd.

[Metropolitan's]

I think all of Winston's Interstates and Highways need to be larger like GSO and other NC cities.

[blburton]

and don't forget Bryan and O'Henry Blvd. Expressway would work for some of those, too. Maybe Greensboro is trying to be unique??

I would hate to see the traffic on Business 40 in Winston if it was still the mainline I-40 today. Even worse, imagine the tie-ups if NCDOT tried to widen it, and replace all of the bridges. It was a big ordeal just straightening the Hawthorne curve. Speaking of being backwards, I still can't understand why Greensboro refuses to call its interstates freeways. Why not call the Greensboro urban loop Painter Freeway instead? Same for Preddy Blvd, and Fordam Blvd.