Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction

[Seaboard Fellow]

On 12/21/2019 at 9:22 PM, JerseyBoy said:

Thanks for the pics! I really wish Cintra/NCDOT would've (finally!) reconstructed the full I-77/85 interchange during this project. I realize that would've likely made the project cost prohibitive, but it's likely these new express lane bridges and ramps will have to be torn up when the time comes that patches on this junction will no longer be sufficient.

I was thinking the same thing. This interchange may end up staying sub standard for the foreseeable future. 

[JRNYP2C]

14 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

C’mon man. Just let my post live .  Also, I’m not sure you’re right either. ... Actually, hard to know without finding the exact locations of these other roads. I’ve been flying around Google earth and I can’t find the 15 lanes in ATL or the 14 in Louisville...

edit to add: I think I found the 15 lanes In ATL.  It’s on I-75 just before it merges into 85 south of town near Hartsfield. It’s only for 15 lanes for a split second but it includes exit lanes. 

 

I always thought 85 in Northeast Atlanta (between where 985 cuts in and Spaghetti Junction) had the highest amount of lanes at some point.

[CLTranspo]

The Katy Freeway (I-10) in Houston reaches up to 26 lanes wide! 

[KJHburg]

12 minutes ago, CLTranspo said:

The Katy Freeway (I-10) in Houston reaches up to 26 lanes wide! 

Yes it is and I have photos of course I have to find.  Basically it has 4 tolled express lanes HOV lanes in the middle(  2 each way) and this stretch is really for only a couple of miles I think it is around Beltway 8 to Loop 610.  

[DownEast]

Yeah. The Katy is the widest by a mile. Don't understand why it's so far down the list.  Having never come into to Charlotte from 77N, I must say it feels like you are coming into monster city. Especially nearing uptown.

[KJHburg]

someone posted this before but this is the average traffic volumes on NC's highways.  The darkest red purple  busiest are I-40 near RTP in SE Durham county and parts of I-40 near Cary and west  Raleigh.  In Charlotte I-85 between N Graham St and I-77.  as I have driven all these areas I can attest to the validity! 

https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/State-Mapping/Pages/Traffic-Volume-Maps.aspx

[Crucial_Infra]

2 hours ago, CLTranspo said:

The Katy Freeway (I-10) in Houston reaches up to 26 lanes wide! 

Katy Freeway is only 26 if you count frontage roads which the agency says shouldn’t count —> https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/apr/13/sylvester-turner/worlds-widest-highway-not-where-sylvester-turner-t/

[CLTranspo]

Fair to exclude the frontage roads. But I would still include managed and express lanes, which would put the Katy at 18 lanes (12 mainline plus 6 express)

[KJHburg]

yesterday the Monroe Toll expressway which I noted is getting a lot more use.  Saw lots of SC plates and a couple of Walmart trucks probably heading to their Pageland SC DC.   Noticed there is no longer any left turns on US 74 between 485 and Monroe without having to do a U turn.    My favorite NC toll road.  

[KJHburg]

also noticed this new signage up on 77 express lanes (wasn't feeling the toll lanes today)   I will be glad when this project is really done the lanes are still jacked up and acceleration lanes too short from 277 to 77 north etc. 

 

[Eightane]

I finally got to utilize the widened Lanes on 85 through Rowan county when I went to Burlington for a holiday in-laws visit. Though the one bridge close to China Grove is still "solidlaned" (white lines are solid underneath the bridge, disallowing passing) due to work, no lane closures existed and it easily shaved 15-20 minutes off my commute.

I want more mass transit options most of all, esp. between uptown and the airport, but the importance of inter-metro roads in this state can't be understated. As most Southern cities were laid out in a way that flatters/encourages car culture, we can't underfund nor undervalue their existence.

Soapbox over, happy holidays everyone!

[nicholas]

3 hours ago, Eightane said:

I finally got to utilize the widened Lanes on 85 through Rowan county when I went to Burlington for a holiday in-laws visit. Though the one bridge close to China Grove is still "solidlaned" (white lines are solid underneath the bridge, disallowing passing) due to work, no lane closures existed and it easily shaved 15-20 minutes off my commute.

I want more mass transit options most of all, esp. between uptown and the airport, but the importance of inter-metro roads in this state can't be understated. As most Southern cities were laid out in a way that flatters/encourages car culture, we can't underfund nor undervalue their existence.

Soapbox over, happy holidays everyone!

If I don't get stuck in Triangle traffic, I can do the Raleigh to Charlotte drive in  a little over two and a half hours now via 85/40.  I used to almost always take 49/64 through Asheboro, but now if I'm not going to be hitting rush hour traffic, it's easier to just hop on the interstate.  When I drove down for Christmas, I made it door-to-door in 2 hrs 20 mins (helps when everyone else is doing 85-90 though lol).

Edited December 28, 2019 by nicholas

[KJHburg]

This should be interesting in the next year.....

Flyover construction to close one of the main entrances to Concord Mills.

https://www.independenttribune.com/cit/concord-mills-entrance-closing-during-bridge-project/

[cowboy_wilhelm]

10 hours ago, nicholas said:

If I don't get stuck in Triangle traffic, I can do the Raleigh to Charlotte drive in  a little over two and a half hours now via 85/40.  I used to almost always take 49/64 through Asheboro, but now if I'm not going to be hitting rush hour traffic, it's easier to just hop on the interstate.  When I drove down for Christmas, I made it door-to-door in 2 hrs 20 mins (helps when everyone else is doing 85-90 though lol).

I've noticed over the past couple of years that everyone is going faster on 85 between Charlotte and Greensboro. Used to be comfortable at 5-10 over, but now I'm looking down and realize I'm doing 10-15 over and people are blowing my doors off. There doesn't seem to be much of a SHP presence when I go through, and the locals aren't out like they used to either. It seems like there's a trooper every few miles on 40 between Hickory and Winston.

[thenewkage95]

I've noticed over the past couple of years that everyone is going faster on 85 between Charlotte and Greensboro. Used to be comfortable at 5-10 over, but now I'm looking down and realize I'm doing 10-15 over and people are blowing my doors off. There doesn't seem to be much of a SHP presence when I go through, and the locals aren't out like they used to either. It seems like there's a trooper every few miles on 40 between Hickory and Winston.

I think it’s a celebration for the 10+ years of nonstop construction that had traffic backed up worse than 77. Having 4 lanes from Charlotte to Greensboro is a miracle compared to previous years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jednc]

The Wall Street Journal reports on the unpopularity of the I-77 toll lanes. The article doesn't mention what will be done in the future with these lanes, but does quote a state senator who says she doesn't think lanes like these will ever be built in the state again (public/private partnership).

https://www.wsj.com/articles/motorists-scorn-north-carolinas-first-public-private-toll-road-11577548802

[KJHburg]

In terms of high speeds on the area interstates  I remember driving to Atlanta 15 years ago and thinking boy these people drive fast.   Well the Atlanta way of driving has come to Charlotte.  People drive extremely fast on the interstates here and I noticed how Raleigh Durham Cary people don't drive quite as fast as those in Charlotte.   When I go to Charleston I feel like I am crawling on I-526  given the speeds down there. 

Since Charlotte is more congested now when the highways are free people floor it. 

[kermit]

On 12/27/2019 at 9:33 PM, KJHburg said:

This should be interesting in the next year.....

Flyover construction to close one of the main entrances to Concord Mills.

https://www.independenttribune.com/cit/concord-mills-entrance-closing-during-bridge-project/

How nice NCDOT can find $11 million for this corporate welfare project without any public comment or revenue steam to support the investment.

I suspect commuters from the lake or rush hour blue line riders could identify some more beneficial (and productive) uses of that money.

How about a $5 toll on this flyover (or exit ramp) until its paid for?

Edited December 29, 2019 by kermit

[nicholas]

7 hours ago, KJHburg said:

In terms of high speeds on the area interstates  I remember driving to Atlanta 15 years ago and thinking boy these people drive fast.   Well the Atlanta way of driving has come to Charlotte.  People drive extremely fast on the interstates here and I noticed how Raleigh Durham Cary people don't drive quite as fast as those in Charlotte.   When I go to Charleston I feel like I am crawling on I-526  given the speeds down there. 

Since Charlotte is more congested now when the highways are free people floor it. 

I think it's mainly because modern cars are so much more capable and comfortable at higher speeds than they used to be, but the driving habits of northern transplants probably just exacerbate everything lol.  I drove down with my parents and brother in my dad's Audi, and at 90mph the engine is only spinning at around 2k rpm, not to mention that the car feels absolutely unflappable (everything feels like 45 mph, especially 90).  Even at that speed, I still had people passing me who were doing at least 100.  With the introduction of CVT and 8+ speed transmissions, it's easy (or at least easier) to mask higher speed because there's not as much audible commotion as there was in decades past.  In my car, 90mph is much more noticeable due to the engine is screaming along at ~3800rpm.

The southeastern portion of the GSO loop is an absolute autobahn though.  Sooooo wide and so straight, feels like the posted speed limit needs to be in the triple digits at minimum.

Edited December 29, 2019 by nicholas

[Crucial_Infra]

17 hours ago, nicholas said:

The southeastern portion of the GSO loop is an absolute autobahn though.  Sooooo wide and so straight, feels like the posted speed limit needs to be in the triple digits at minimum

Yep. Truth is our interstates have largely gotten better and better over the past 30 years and speed limits are probably lower than what they can handle safely as compared to what road conditions were like in the 1980s. Yes speed can kill but it’s pretty rare on our modern interstate highways. Secondary roads remain the killing fields of North Carolina. I personally have no issue with people driving fast on interstates but speeding in town remains a menace. 
 

/rant from a former traffic safety guy

[grodney]

Quick note about tolls.  Back when the Monroe bypass opened, I ordered toll stickers for both our vehicles, for which I had to submit both license plates.  Got both stickers in the mail....put one on our main vehicle but never got around to putting the 2nd one on the other.  So last week I drove the 2nd vehicle on the tollway before remembering I didn't have the sticker.  Wondered if I'd get a bill in the mail.  Nope.....they just deducted it from my account, and even at the discounted transponder rate!  What a nice surprise.

[lit]

Looks like a few ramps to get on/off of the John Belk Freeway are going to be closed all weekend. That should make getting around Uptown and SouthEnd pretty interesting.

 

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2020/2020-01-02-weekend-uptown-ramp-closures.aspx

[KJHburg]

widening and addition of express lanes along I-485 south is moving fast.  Photos today from I-485 between Matthews and Ballantyne. 

[KJHburg]

Concord Mills flyover construction starts tonight and supposed to be finished by Nov. 2020.

NCDOT photo. 

 

[t_money]

They could (should?) have done a straight bridge over the top for both sides and then the turns underneath.  Then we'd all feel like we were in Florida on vacation anytime we went to the mall!