Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm sure the people in southeastern Wake and Johnston County will be relieved once I-40 is widened and that bottleneck is removed. If only the other bottleneck on I-40 between I-85 and 15/501 was funded....
The proposed flyover from inbound Wade Ave. to inner I-440 will be a tremendous relief for the congestion that occurs there. Widening Wade Ave. to six lanes is in the not-too-distant-future as well.
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold an open-house public meeting and a combined public hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 8, regarding proposed improvements to I-440 in Wake County.
These suggested improvements – I-440 between just south of Walnut Street in Cary and north of Wade Avenue in Raleigh – are needed to improve traffic flow, access and efficiency along the roadway. Changes include widening the roadway from four to six lanes, replacing pavement and bridges and upgrading interchanges. More information on these improvements, including project maps, is available online at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/i-440improvements/.
The meeting and presentation will be held at the McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St. in Raleigh. Interested residents may attend the meeting any time between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The public hearing begins at 7 p.m.
NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and listen to comments regarding the project.
For questions or additional project information, contact Diane Wilson, NCDOT Senior Public Involvement Officer, at 919-707-6073 or pdwilson1@ncdot.gov.
“Meredith College appreciates the need to improve I-440’s traffic flow,” Allen said in a statement released Monday. “But plans put forth by the N.C. Department of Transportation are not reasonable as they could wipe out a significant portion of the western side of Meredith’s campus. Meredith’s students, faculty, staff and supporters call upon the N.C. Department of Transportation to come up with more equitable plans that pose fewer impacts on this historic campus.”
The challenge for DOT engineers is that the I-440 corridor is narrow, with buildings and property on both sides. Shifting the road away from Meredith’s campus would simply take more property on the other side, where the University Club already stands to lose all its tennis courts and its parking lot.
I can see why they'd be slightly annoyed. All three alternatives through that area of 440 would take out a good chunk of their commuter parking. It might be time for them to level up and build a parking deck on part of their campus and consolidate commuter, staff, and resident parking.
Proposals to reconfigure the I-440 interchanges at Wade Avenue and Hillsborough Street would take 19 acres from the club, including all of its tennis courts, most of its parking lot, part of its par-3 golf course and a new tennis shop and snack bar next to the pool.
“The pool will be less than a Frisbee throw from the traffic,” said Jim Crisp, a history professor. Crisp said the loss of those facilities would be “crippling if not fatal.”
Odds are that a lot of people are going to be unhappy - that's a very tight corridor with not much room on either side of 440. Add to the fact that the beltline carries a bunch of traffic and is probably projected to have even more in common years so these innovative interchanges are needed to prevent the crazy merges/weaves that are currently taking place on that section.
I honestly feel terrible for all those who will be affected by this, including a friend of mine near the Melbourne overpass who will be losing his house, but that stretch is about 20 years overdue for expanding larger than 2 lanes in each direction. As others have said, it's only going to get worse if they don't do something.
Yabut they were happy to have a convenient exit/entrance nearby for all those years. Now pay the price.
There was also a period of time where they'd lock a gate on their side of the pedestrian bridge that goes over 440 there at dusk. So if you biked across and were coming back you'd be slightly screwed.
I do feel bad that they're no doubt going to loose a chunk of their land, but they do have quite a bit to develop on still. Honestly Meredith would never have developed dorms on that land anyways or anything requiring minimal noise. That's why it's currently parking and an intramural field.
If anything at least they'll be compensated for it better than the University Club which is already on state owned land which is leased by NCSU to the UC. It'd be incredibly easy for the state to just completely screw over the University Club.
Were I in their shoes, I'd try to somehow haggle a price that the amount received would pay toward an ample sized parking deck shoved into a corner of the campus. Least they'd have parking covered for the foreseeable future for commuters, faculty, staff, students, and people showing up for games at their new stadium thing.
Many people don't realize that the property "in front of" the University Club (i.e., between HB street and the entry road to the Club) is not part of the Club. Rather, it is held by NCSU and earmarked for the Centennial II campus (aka biotech campus). So not only will the University Club lose its land, also a good chunk will be taken from the anticipated C-II campus.
Rhetorical question: How much damage is NCDOT willing to inflict in the spirit of not inconveniencing drivers who have never been willing even to carpool?
In my opinion, the only reasonable solution is to eliminate the 440-HB exchange, and thereby do away with the ghastly designs that survived the first screening. These incredibly complex designs are the epitome of poor engineering. All the renovation of HB street to date -- the traffic circles, etc. -- argue that HB street is not to serve as a through artery. So why not just eliminate the exchange with 440, save C-II and the University Club, and preserve Meredith's beautiful campus?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
