Gribblenation

I took another I-73/74 Trip this past Saturday. Having visited the Randleman and Asheboro areas a couple times, I thought this trip should cover the southern part of the corridor from Rockingham east. Perhaps getting as far as to view progress on the US 74/NC 242 interchange project, which according to the NCDOT Contruction Progress Report was more than 99% complete on July 15. With this destination in mind I headed south on NC 751 to its end at US 64, then continued straight through the intersection to eventually connect to US 1 South. Where There's Smoke.... I made good time on US 1 through Sanford and onto the Vass Bypass. (Will they ever upgrade this to a complete freeway bypass without interchanges mixed with the occasional at-grade intersections? I know they were hurrying to complete this for the US Open, will another one have to come to fully complete this?) Just after the NC 24-27 interchange I began hearing a strange noise from the back of my car. I planned to pull over

Took an early Sunday morning trip to check out progress in the last month in completing the first segment of the Triangle Expressway from NC 55 to US 64 now due to open August 1. With the aid of an iced coffee break at Dunkin' Donuts, I actually got to explore further south before the thermometer got to high. The first part is basically a repeat of last month's journey, so I'll just include any highlights of what's new: NC 55-The new exit signs that were stored in the median in June have been put up. Here is a comparison of the new (overhead) and old:   The ramps had received what looked like their last layer of pavement. Lane striping and traffic signal work remains to be completed. McCrimmon Parkway This view back toward NC 55 shows the addition of lane markings and additional signage in the past month--   Panther Creek High School is behind the trees to the right.    Looking south, similar progress can be seen--  Three lanes in each d