news-record.com

NEWS

2 sections of Greensboro loop tapped for completion

Article
Comments (9)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

(Updated Friday, July 30 - 9:19 am)

By Taft Wireback
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Urban Loop ranks high in a new statewide review of such projects by the N.C. Department of Transportation, meaning two of its last three sections could be finished by mid-2020.

A new ranking of 21 unfinished sections of North Carolina’s planned urban loops rates the two unfinished Greensboro segments high — a 5-mile stretch of the western loop from Bryan Boulevard to Lawndale Drive, and a 5-mile part of the eastern loop between U.S. 70 north to U.S. 29.

A draft timetable calls for DOT to start buying the remaining land needed for Bryan-to-Battleground next year, with construction starting in 2014. It schedules final land-buying for the eastern-loop section in 2015, with construction from 2017 to 2020.

After their completion, one segment of the eastern loop would remain before the entire loop is complete; across Greensboro’s heavily populated northern tier between U.S. 29 and Lawndale.

The DOT screening process ranked loop projects from Wilmington to Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville on such factors as their ability to reduce travel times, move freight and spur economic development.

Winston-Salem fared poorly in the rankings. Its proposed loop finished low and was not recommended for land-buying or construction during the next decade.

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Photo Caption: A sign along the Greensboro Urban Loop’s western section

Comments

View Comments

This article has been closed to new comments. Comments are generally closed after 14 days. However, comments may be closed earlier at the discretion of the News & Record.

Inappropriate content? Please report abuse.

bobberpopper

July 29, 2010 - 1:49 pm EDT

The year 2020 is a long ways off by 2020 the greensboro loop might be out dated and another loop will be needed

citywatcher

July 29, 2010 - 2:55 pm EDT

LOL by then Charlotte will be proposing its second outer belt "metrolina loop" connecting Salisbury and Gastonia. We'd be competing for loop dollars. But I don't know if another loop will be needed for a very long time. Greensboro DOT must be smoking crack because they built an 8 lane southwestern loop designed to carry I-40 and I-73 traffic only to have I-40 reverted back to the old route. The excuse? motorists were getting confused and elevated traffic levels caused noise concern to nearby neighbors. I don't buy those excuses for one minute. The truth is a lot of businesses including our Koury Convention Center are on the old route and the visitors and convention bureau raised a fuss about that. So they put I-40 back on the old route to satisfy them. Now we have an over built southwestern loop with only a hand full of cars driving on it. Its almost empty. Your tax dollars at work controlled by a bunch of idiots ;)

beedev

July 30, 2010 - 8:59 am EDT

Let's get it right. It was NOT the Greensboro DOT who made that decision, it was NCDOT. A perfect example of what happens when engineers in Raleigh think they know what is appropriate for Greensboro. And yes, the entire Interstate numbering convention on the loop is stupid.

InventorNC

July 30, 2010 - 12:56 am EDT

No doubt about it bobberpopper.
The FedEx hubs - both of them - will encourage manufacturers and warehouses to locate close by. Let's not forget what a catalyst these two facilities will be for the Triad and especially western Greensboro, Kernersville and adjacent areas. A lack of roads will strangle the area.

Mazdastorm

July 29, 2010 - 4:50 pm EDT

2020?! why? why? what's wrong with NCDOT? I wont be surprised if the city decided to go with the tolls here.

jandrew28

July 29, 2010 - 5:11 pm EDT

I don't buy the excuses given for reverting I-40 either, it was clearly marked and just as GPS units were updating the new loop, they switched it. Could the dependence on GPS units be the problem? Sorry, what am I thinking, why would I assume that every driver on the road would look at a map of a new area before they visited it, or worse yet, follow the signs. What did we do before GPS's?
As far as the four lane southwestern loop, I am one of the ten cars using it everyday. Love it, except for the days that I get behind the four drivers running side by side, driving less than the posted speed limit!

weatherwithyou33

July 29, 2010 - 11:12 pm EDT

10 years and 10 miles of road. Seems about right for NC.

Greensboro_42

August 9, 2010 - 6:28 pm EDT

I moved here from a large southern city and you're right. I've never seen a road project take 10x longer than it needed to as I have in NC. And then, when it's finished, to be so poorly engineered in terms of traffic flow. It's crazy!

InventorNC

July 30, 2010 - 12:49 am EDT

We must remember that roads create wealth, they don't cost money. Roads give low-cost access to areas that would not otherwise be developed to best advantage.

Roads are a profitable investment.