Proposed I-795 Quad East loop (Raleigh, Wilmington: 2015, construction, high school)
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R-2554BA - Complete - I-795 to Wayne Memorial Drive
R-2554BB - Under construction/complete 7/2015 - Wayne Memorial Drive to Creek Road
R-2554C - Under construction/complete 7/2015 - Creek Road to US 70
The U.S. Highway 70 Corridor Commission had a meeting, and some of the highlights.....
Interstates must run to a major metropolitan area, in which Greenville qualifies
the eastern part of eastern North Carolina had two routes, which would be most easy to turn into interstates. The routes were US Highway 264 from Raleigh to Greenville and US Highway 70
If the US Highway 70 Kinston Bypass is the northern route, it would cross over NC Highway 11 and would be approximately ten miles from the US Highway 264 Bypass to Greenville
With the completion of the Goldsboro Bypass, Kinston Bypass and Havelock Bypass, a large portion of US Highway 70 would be built to interstate standards.
US Highway 264 from Raleigh to Greenville was the most ready to be interstate quality with a small area needing to be cleaned up.
The shoulders on US Highway 264 from the Greene-Wilson county line west have been widened to Interstate 95.
Transportation officials stated gaining an interstate parallel to another interstate is extremely difficult. US Highway 64 parallels US Highway 264 and US Highway 264 was selected.
US Highway 264 and US Highway 70 were the quickest avenue to get interstate service in our section of eastern North Carolina.
The minutes are found here. Start with Interstate Options section, or search for Greenville. I quickly went over it, and bulleted anything interesting I saw.
I didn't see anything about bridge height, so I assume that isn't an issue.
Seems everyone is on board on doing whatever necessary to make 264 and 70 as the preferred interstate routes.
But it sounds like Craven County isn't happy about being excluded, even though they would benefit immensely. I think they are wanting US17 as the interstate route, and not US11.
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My opinion: I see where Craven is coming from, but they need to be quiet and sit back down. Is there even any movement on upgrading US17 from New Bern to Washington? Or upgrading US264 to Freeway standards (not even Interstate), between Greenville and Washington? It wouldn't take much to make sure the Kinston Bypass connected to the current freeway in between Kinston and New Bern.
But I assume this won't hinder the progress. New Bern will benefit, even without an interstate going through their town.
To be honest, I don't get the Quad concept...I don't see it necessary to link Greenville and K-town by Interstate as some "priority"...certainly the bypasses need to be done, but that is more of a local issue of traffic on main arteries.
The focus should be on the 264 corridor and the 70 corridor. Craven has a legit concern about the 17 corridor. If an Interstate followed 264 to 17 it would end in Washington, most likely bypassing Greenville on the Southern side, which in the long run needs to be done (hence Ayden gets its Interstate).
Kinston wants 70 to be bypassed on the northern side because of the GTP, which is fine...but that doesn't mean Ayden Grifton High School needs an interstate?
I think 17 should be being built to Interstate standards NOW...not this crap they are throwing up north and south of Washington...taking two years to make it 4 lane with all access from every farm. That's substandard work the DOT is putting out there and ENC legislators eat it up as some sort of progress. 17 is a highly traveled road, especially from Jacksonville to Myrtle Beach...there is no reason it shouldn't be to Interstate standards and it should extend to New Bern, Washington, Edenton, and E-City all the way to Norfolk....264 and 70 should also be interstate standards....
It really is that simple...way too much localism going on as usual and not enough regional, common sense thinking.
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"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
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Location: Greenville, NC
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This is getting more messed up by the day. Everybody has their own agendas and in the end, a whole lot of feelings are going to be hurt. Everybody is acting like they think having an Interstate is going to fix all of their economic problems. It won't. I-95 goes through hundreds of little towns on it's way from Maine to Florida and it hasn't done a thing for any of them. Having US 264 converted to an Interstate probably wouldn't even do that much for Greenville. Greenville is growing by leaps and bounds without an Interstate or a large jet certified airport.
Before they will build an Interstate to anywhere you have to have somewhere to build it to. The only reason Greenville is supporting this stupid quad loop thing is because it was the only way to get Kinston to support converting US264 into an Interstate. And Kinston wants their Interstate before Greenville gets theirs. There is NO REASON to build an Interstate to Kinston. Nothing will be served by it.
This is getting more messed up by the day. Everybody has their own agendas and in the end, a whole lot of feelings are going to be hurt. Everybody is acting like they think having an Interstate is going to fix all of their economic problems. It won't. I-95 goes through hundreds of little towns on it's way from Maine to Florida and it hasn't done a thing for any of them. Having US 264 converted to an Interstate probably wouldn't even do that much for Greenville. Greenville is growing by leaps and bounds without an Interstate or a large jet certified airport.
Before they will build an Interstate to anywhere you have to have somewhere to build it to. The only reason Greenville is supporting this stupid quad loop thing is because it was the only way to get Kinston to support converting US264 into an Interstate. And Kinston wants their Interstate before Greenville gets theirs. There is NO REASON to build an Interstate to Kinston. Nothing will be served by it.
Talk to some of the economic developers in the region and they will all tell you that cities like Greenville, Kinston, New Bern, etc...are at a significant disadvantage to attract job creating industries because of the lack of "interstate" access. It has always been an issue for the GTP in Kinston. Companies know how to be efficient and start and stop traffic is not efficient when it comes to shipping every day. Many companies will not even consider a community without BOTH Interstate and rail access.
You say that Kinston doesnt need an interstate...but the port in Morehead City does...Kinston is just on the way. The point is the 70 corridor needs to be done, just as I-40 was done previously. As for 17, the traffice becomes worse and worse every year along the coast and a highway is needed to move along our coast and north to south from the growing Wilmington area.
I would love to see US17 at Williamston and north be turned into a freeway, through the Elizabeth City bypass, and connect to the Chesapeake Expressway in Virginia.
And US13 from the Greenville Bypass to north of Bethel turn into a freeway.
For both, neither interstate standards, just freeway. Unless the difference isn't that much.
The end result would be a new freeway connection from Raleigh to Virginia Beach. That would do wonders.
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