Gribblenation

The northwest quadrant of Interstate 485 has had a laundry list of issues. Concrete and asphalt problems, sign problems, and other delays has caused portions of the highways to fall 18 months behind schedule. Well, if all goes well this week (And with I-485's history, it won't.), an additional 2.3 miles of Interstate 485 will open to traffic. See today's Charlotte Observer for more. The new opening will be from Interstate 85 in western Mecklenburg County northwards to NC 27 (Mount Holly Road). There is also an exit with Moores Chapel Road in between. This is the first of three segments of Interstate 485 to open between now and the first half of 2007. Early in 2007, the highway is to open a few miles further north from NC 27 to Brookshire Blvd. (NC 16). Then later in 2007, the Northwest corner will be complete as I-485 will be extended further to Interstate 77 and NC 115 near Huntersville. It is believed that this part of I-485 will ease traffic on NC 16 and NC 27 fr...

This gem is found on North Church St. in Schenectady. It's a required stop and see for Capital Area Roadgeeks. As Doug Kerr, Charles Slater, Chris Jordan, and now myself have seen and taken a photo of it. It is an old NY 5 shield. With the NY inside the shield, the small twigs kinda are in the way of the 'NY'.

And that's what the "Special Announcement" was during the I-73 funding summit in Columbia this past Monday. Nelson Walker, 76, who founded and heads the I-73/74 Corridor Association handed over the reigns of his lately inactive group over to the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. In 1991, Walker began what would evolved into the I-73/74 Corridor Association in Bluefield, West Virginia. The goal was to petition for funding to make much needed improvements along the US 52 corridor within the state. The group went to United States Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), who would start the groundwork that lead to the creation of the I-73 corridor (a six state highway running south from Michigan, through Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, before ending in South Carolina.) later that same year. Since then, North Carolina has been the only state to have parts of I-73 open and signed to traffic. South Carolina is agressively pushing to build the highway, while Virginia...

As the path of Interstate 73 through South Carolina becomes more specific, the forum for discussion has now turned to, "How are we gonna pay for the darn thing?" With nearly $85 million in federal funding already received for the route and with the real possibility the highway will be tolled, discussing how the Interstate will be paid for may seem far fetched. But it's not. Take a look at the numbers, I-73 is expected to cost upwards of $2 billion - with a b - to complete. The $85 million isn't even 5% of what the highway will eventually cost. Even with the traditional 80 (federal)/ 20 (state) split of funding, the toll may not be enough to cover the state's share of the bill. So this coming Monday, November 20th, the South Carolina I-73 Association and United States Senator Lindsay Graham (R-Seneca) will hold a public meeting to discuss possible funding solutions to build I-73. The meeting will be held from 10 am to 2 pm at the Columbia Metropolitan Conv...

2006 has been a bad year for Interstate 88 when it comes to the weather. In June, heavy rains forced the closure of nearly half the Interstate, and a collapsed culvert killed two truck drivers in Unadilla. This time it was mudslides. The heavy rain Thursday and Thursday night caused a mud and rockslide on I-88 between Interstate 81 and Port Crane near the city of Binghamton. The slide caused a multiple vehicle wreck, seriously injuring one. Another slide damaged Interstate 81 in Binghamton near the Kamikaze Curve. Tier weathers another storm ---Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin UPDATE: The total amount of cars involved in the wreck from the mudslide was 20. The most seriously injured was an Arizona couple whose rental car was thrown into the air and landed on another vehicle. Witnesses said the slide sounded like a loud train moving through when the slide occurred. Witness says I-88 mudslide soulded loud as a train ---Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.

In a recent op/ed in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, NYSDOT Thomas J. Madison, Jr. wrote about the work that construction crews performed replacing the collapsed section of Interstate 88 in Unadilla. He wrote that DOT crews and outside contractors worked 24/7 to repair and then open the highway. He mentioned that some of the crews went to work immediately even while their own families and property were affected by the rain and floodwaters. He writes: Work on I-88 and other parts of the state has been performed safely, expeditiously and expertly. In many cases, projects that would normally take a year or more to complete were finished within a few months under adverse and sometimes dangerous conditions. This commitment demonstrates why New York state's highways are among the safest and best in the United States. To read the entire opinion, please go here . Commentary: There's no doubt that the repairs to Interstate 88 and other highways damaged by the floods were done ...

Mosites Construction, located in Pittsburgh, appears to be the low bidder in the latest project aimed to complete West Virginia's four mile "missing link" of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. Mosites has bid $19.87 million to construct a bridge over Morgan's Run Road. The contract should be awarded within 30 days with construction to start in the Spring of 2007. The bridge should be completed in 2009. No word on when the next bids for the highway will be let, some of which include the construction of the I-68/WV 43 interchange. Article: Contractor picked for Mon-Fayette Expressway bridges ---AP Commentary: Another step towards the eventual completion of WV 43. The state still plans on a 2011 overall completion date. See: WV awards MFE contract WV eyes 2011 for completion of Mon-Fayette Expressway

In South Carolina, concerns on Interstate 73's effects to a wildlife preserve may add some small hurdles in the proposed highways path to completion. The issue: I-73's impact on the Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve along the Horry/Marion County Line. I-73's right of way will take over 27 acres of land and nearly another six acres where the highway will cross the river. The SC Department of Natural Resources is in support of I-73 but has withheld support of the preferred alternative because of their concerns over the Preserve. The DNR prefers a route that would have I-73 built over top of SC 9 or US 501. However, the DOT's study for I-73 shows that more wetlands and environmental areas would be impacted over the SC 9 or US 501 route. The DNR has agreed that the DOT's findings are correct. Indications are that the DNR will sign off on the preferred alternative but expects to receive the maximum amount of compensation as possible. By compensation, that may incl...