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Triad Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction


JerseyBoy

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I like interchanges such as I-73/I-40/I-840 in Greensboro with the multi level bridges. reminds me of some of those interchanges in Charlotte or Atlanta. Another such interchange will be built near PTI where a future section of I-73 merges with hwy 68 with a series of flyover ramps. That interchange will also be in close proximity to the airport taxiway that will go over I-73. It will be unique in NC because there is no taxiway in the state that goes over a highway. Its common in cities such as Chicago.

 

 

I-73/I-40/I-840 Greensboro

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A taxiway over I-73 in Greensboro will look similar to this. Construction is suppose to begin next year and if Boeing comes to Greensboro, it would link the Boeing assembly plant with PTI. without a taxiway bridge, Boeing would have never even considered Greensboro because I-73 will be a barrier between the airport and over 1,000 acres of undeveloped airport land set aside for industrial development related to the airport. Another major aircraft company like Boeing wanted to build there but they passed Greensboro over for another state because there was no taxiway connecting the land with the airport.

 

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Here is a single point interchange (Charlotte has one as well). Greensboro has had one of these for years now over a 10 lane section of I-40. I remember when that section of I-40 was 4 lanes 25 years ago. That was when all the state transportation dollars went to Charlotte and Raleigh.

 

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Edited by cityboi
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I remember when it was 4 lanes when I moved here 13 years ago. There has never seemed to be all that much traffic that warranted building that type of single point bridge at that interchange. I suppose NCDOT was looking to experiment to see how they would move traffic through an intersection as a test case.

Edited by zalo
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  • 8 months later...
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  • 2 years later...

The entire beltway around Greensboro could be complete in four years or less. Upon completion, I-840 signs will finally be placed at interchanges along I-85 and I-40. Now they cant label it as I-840 on the northern leg because the segment on the east side of town and the segment on the west side of town dont connect. The entire northern segment will be labeled I-840. The northeastern segment will be I-840/I-785. (I-785 will follow the Hwy 29 route to Danville, VA) The current southern section is I-85 with a small portion of it labeled I-85/I-73. The southwestern segment is labeled I-73 and the northwestern section labeled I-73/I-840. Some have said thats just too confusing and the whole loop should be called I-840. Obviously I-73 would still be labeled on a portion of the loop. 

http://myfox8.com/2017/07/05/greensboro-urban-loop-project-speeds-up-could-be-finished-more-than-a-year-early/

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Edited by cityboi
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14 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Greensboro as I have always said has the best highways in the state. I love driving around up there on 840, 73, your new 85. old 85 etc. 

That wasnt always the case lol. I remember back in the early mid 80s when I-40 in Greensboro was 4 lanes ( 2 lanes in each direction) and was in badly need of repaving. Today a big section of I-40 is 10 lanes. Looks totally different today. Years ago there was nothing but trees between Wendover Ave and the airport along I-40. Thats not the case today. Its all been developed. The interesting thing about the loop so far is that it has not spurred urban sprawl and thats a good thing. The landscape looks so nice around the open sections of the loop and I hope it stays that way. The purpose of the loop is to alleviate traffic through the city not create more traffic. Before the loop "death valley" was a traffic nightmare. They are constructing a very long bridge on the northwestern section of the loop over wetlands. Its suppose to be one of the longest bridges in the Triad. 

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I also love the flyover ramps that go over the bridges

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One interesting feature along I-73 in Greensboro is the airport taxiway that crosses over the interstate. Its the only taxiway in the state that crosses over a freeway. Imagine driving along I-73 and seeing a boeing plane cross right over you. 

The northeast section of the loop is under construction (I-840/I-785) the interchange over highway 29 is àlso under construction. Here is a section on the north east segment. 

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Edited by cityboi
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In addition I-785 shield has already been put up at the I-40/I-85 split in east Greensboro at the loop. Danville, Va is listed on the sign. Once I-840 is complete they'll add that shield as well in the blank spot.  Danville, Virginia is about a 30 to 35 minute drive from Greensboro. Once Highway 29 has been completely upgraded to interstate standards and the speed limit all the way is 70, it should cut commute time to about 25 minutes to the Virginia state line. 

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Signage on the other side of the interchange.

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Planned. Signage near the airport lists Martinsville, Va on it

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Edited by cityboi
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58 minutes ago, DCMetroRaleigh said:

"Greensboro Urban Loop" is a very awkward and unappealing term.  Why didn't they stick with the more natural "Greensboro Beltway" they once called it?

I just hope if they name it they dont call it boulevard. I-40 is called Fordham Boulevard. They need to start labeling highways in Greensboro "freeway" with the name. Highway 29 in Greensboro is called O'Henry Boulevard. Same thing with Bryan Boulevard in Greensboro which connects downtown with the airport. Its technically an expressway but they call it Boulevard. However Hwy 421 coming into Greensboro is called the Joseph M. Hunt Jr Expressway. And Highway 68 in west Greensboro near the airport is called the Lynwood Smith Expressway.  Greensboro has quite a few highways that converge in the city not counting I-840. (Hwy 29, Hwy 68, Hwy 70, Hwy 220, Hwy 421, I-40, I-85, I-73 and I-785) I-74 runs just south of the city in High Point. The weird thing when comparing Greensboro and Winston-Salem, When it comes to the downtown areas Winston-Salem looks like the bigger city because of its bigger and more dense skyline. But when you go out side of downtown, Greensboro looks like the bigger city with its freeway network and development. Greensboro is much more developed outside of downtown. In fact coming into Greensboro you would expect that it would have a much larger skyline than it does based on what you see coming into the city with the wide freeways and highrise hotels overlooking the interstates. But that will begin to change with the projects being discussed in other threads. If project 561 does indeed become a reality, its height will allow you to see it from the interstates. Greensboro is much like Durham in that its skyline is not really visible from the interstates. There are only a few section of I-40 where you can get a glimpes of Greensboro's skyline. In the winter you can see Greensboro's skyline where I-40 and business 85 merge and you can see the tops of Greensboro's skyline on I-40 where it crosses over East Gate City Blvd on the eastern edge of town. 

 

Bryan Blvd and interchange near PTI airport. You can see the FedEx hub in the background. 

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Honda Aircraft Company jet factory and world headquarters at PTI in Greensboro is visible from I-840. The taxiway bridge on the other side if the airport allows PTI to expand and attract another major aircraft manufacturer such as Boeing. 

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Edited by cityboi
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You are right Winston's skyline is better but Greensboro has more freeways per capita than any city in NC! Interstates 85, 40, 840, 73, and now 785 too. I made it from New Garden Rd and Bryan Parkway via 840/73 then to 85 to Concord is less than an hour even with construction slowdowns in Cabarrus County. Greensboro has the freeway system to be a city of 750,000 people I think. 

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I drove on that side of town today and looked at the new directional signs. The west bound lane signs have  "to I-785 Danville"  on them before the split at the loop. They didnt just add the shield, they replaced the whole sign and it is massive in size. That one sign is 27 feet high x 58 feet wide and im talking about just the panel itself. They are in the process of putting more signs up over the highway. The way it looks through there, I feel like im driving into Atlanta. 

Edited by cityboi
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  • 4 weeks later...

Economic developer proposes another interstate coming into Greensboro. His proposal would upgrade hwy 421 to interstate standards and link I-95 with Piedmont Triad International Airport. It would likely be a triple digit interstate like I-895 or something like that. A number of the state's industrial megasites are along the corridor including the Greensboro-Randolph megasite which is being marketed to attract an automobile plant. This is the main purpose for his proposal, to make these sites attractive for big manufacturers. If his proposal were to become a reality, Greensboro would have highways with six interstate designations. (I-40, I-85, I-73, I-840, I-785, hwy 421 corridor/I-895? ) It would also mean that a section of Greensboro's beltway would have three interstates on the same stretch. 

His proposal comes very close to linking Greensboro with Fayetteville via interstate highway.  I think the route should directly connect Greensboro with Fayetteville. 

http://www.greensboro.com/business/is-there-a-megasite-highway-in-the-region-s-future/article_d3f6cdec-20ec-500f-a40c-050fe798d747.html

Edited by cityboi
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  • 2 months later...

Two sections of the Greensboro beltway could open before the end of the year leaving only a small section of the loop on the north side of town to be built. Greensboro's beltway will be almost entirely complete. 

http://www.greensboro.com/news/government/new-urban-loop-improvements-coming-online-soon/article_4405f7d5-d16a-5b3e-97ca-aa120e35f713.html

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  • 1 month later...

The entire eastern half of Greensboro's beltway is complete. Only the northern section has to be complete which should be open to traffic in about 2 to 3 years. The last part of the western section will open in February.  80% of the loop is complete. 

http://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/eastern-portion-of-greensboro-urban-loop-has-opened-ncdot-says/article_05f2c82b-a555-5aa2-9f20-2b5cb743746d.html

Edited by cityboi
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Schedule for the remaining sections. There are a few errors on the map. "I-77" is suppose to be I-73 and they left out I-785 on the eastern leg.  Also I-40 is not routed on the loop.  The section that opens in February has a bridge over wetlands thats nearly a mile long. 


http://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/western-section-of-urban-loop-slated-to-open-next/article_e141b281-053e-5427-96e9-2a91e3a95e02.html

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Bridge over wetlands

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Edited by cityboi
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Photos of the newly opened eastern section of Greensboro's beltway. 

Along Hwy 29 at the I-785/I-840 stack interchange

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On HWY southbound. Travelers no longer need to take HWY 29 through Greensboro into death valley. Eventually I-785 will extend to Danville, VA along the HWY 29 corridor which is already a four lane highway. 

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You can see that they have saved a space for the I-840 shields which won't be officially designated until the entire loop is complete over the next 4 years. 

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Edited by cityboi
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  • 5 months later...

Work begins on the final leg of the Greensboro beltway. They are currently building a stack bridge interchange with a flyover ramp at highway 29 

http://www.greensboro.com/news/government/greensboro-urban-loop-s-last-section-is-in-the-works/article_dd9d5687-def5-5239-bc9d-a71c0e5e7c77.html

 

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Edited by cityboi
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1 hour ago, gman430 said:

Why does the beltway seem to have fifteen different interstate names? :wacko: :blink::huh: My head hurts looking at that map. 

I would have loved the whole loop to be named just I-840 but I understand why they didn't do that. The point of the loop is to alleviate traffic going through town on I-40 and if I-85 continued on the old route that would not happen because travelers will stay on I-85. Put I-85 and I-73 on the loop and travelers won't go through the city.

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3 hours ago, cityboi said:

I would have loved the whole loop to be named just I-840 but I understand why they didn't do that. The point of the loop is to alleviate traffic going through town on I-40 and if I-85 continued on the old route that would not happen because travelers will stay on I-85. Put I-85 and I-73 on the loop and travelers won't go through the city.

That makes no sense though because I-85 goes through the heart of Charlotte and Atlanta. Both cities have beltways that are just one interstate name also. I don’t understand why it can be done in those cities but not Greensboro which is much smaller. 

Edited by gman430
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4 hours ago, gman430 said:

That makes no sense though because I-85 goes through the heart of Charlotte and Atlanta. Both cities have beltways that are just one interstate name also. I don’t understand why it can be done in those cities but not Greensboro which is much smaller. 

You know I thought the same thing.  But thats NCDOT.  Not sure who is running the place but whoever it is they need a lesson in interstate naming, intersections construction and the need for for certain highway types.  I will say this the Triad region, Winston-Greensboro-Burligton is large to have a robust interstate system but it lloks haphazard to me.  Better planning, and the state could have saved the state bout a billion bucks.  My idea, one large loop or 2 expressways linking Winson and G-boro with 29, 421, being the major feeder expressways to both cities.  NCDOT smh....

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