View 540 Outer Loop in a larger map

Seventeen miles of Raleigh's northern 540 Outer Loop will receive a fresh coat of asphalt this year in an $8.4 million repaving project that could start by the end of February.

The state Department of Transportation says it awarded the contract to the Fred Smith Co. of Raleigh. The work will cover all lanes of 540 from Interstate 40 near Research Triangle Park to Triangle Town Boulevard in northeast Raleigh.

The work will be done at night to reduce travel delays on the Outer Loop, which carries 78,000 cars and trucks each day.

All lanes will stay open from  6 a.m. to 9 p.m on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. The project also includes some shoulder repairs and work on ramps at interchanges.  Nov. 15 is the deadline for completion.

The first section of the 540 Outer Loop, from I-40 to U.S. 70, opened in January 1997.  The newest section included in the repaving project, between Falls of Neuse Road and Triangle Town Boulevard, opened in August 2002.

After some confusion on Orange County's position, plans for the light-rail line between Chapel Hill and Durham got unanimous approval this morning from a bi-county transportation committee.

Today's vote for a "Locally Preferred Alternative" route keeps the project on schedule to apply for a federal grant this year. It also moves the project along to another round of public hearings, on environmental effects, in the spring.

Lemon owners of the world, unite!
You have nothing to lose but your small-claims court filing fees! 

That's pretty much the message sent out by Heather Peters this week after she won her false-advertising claim -- and $9,876.19 in damages -- against American Honda Motor Co. in a California small-claims court. (The 26-page ruling is attached below.)

[2/7/11 update: NC small claims filing fee is $86, plus $30 for service by sheriff. NC small claims would be less friendly to Peters approach, but we do have a lemonlaw. See today's Road Worrier.]

Rejecting Honda's your-mileage-may-vary defense, the judge ruled that Honda misled Peters in its advertising about the fuel economy she could expect when she bought her 2006 hybrid Honda Civic, and again when Honda persuaded her in 2010 to accept a software upgrade that only made her problem worse.

I'll be reporting on this Monday. I'd like to hear from lemon Civic owners who have joined the class-action settlement, and from any who are taking the small-claims route.  Please email me, and don't forget your name and daytime phone number. ... [MORE]

New permits required for driving on the beach at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore will cost vacationers and surf-casters $50 for a week or $120 for a year,  the National Park Service says.

New restrictions on beach driving take effect Feb. 15 for the seashore, which includes the beaches from south of Nag's Head to Ocracoke.  Besides requiring permits for drivers, the park service now puts limits on the locations of beach routes that will be available -- some of them only from Nov. 1 through March 31 -- for off-road vehicles. (See 1/21/12 story and 2/2/12 story with reader comments.)

The permits will be available at three locations: Bodie Island at the north end of the Coquina Beach parking lot, Hatteras Island at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and Ocracoke at the National Park Service visitor center.

Last week DOT mailed out its first batch of bills to car owners who have driven on the Triangle Expressway, North Carolina's first modern toll road, without using an N.C. Quick Pass transponder.

Did you receive a bill? How much was it for? Do you think you'll buy a transponder?  I'll be reporting on this, and I'd like to hear from folks who have received these bills.  Please include your name and your daytime phone number.

The price of a one-way trip on TriEx is 50 cents for transponder users and 77 cents for the rest of us.  ... [MORE]

View NC 12 & NC Ferry Routes in a larger map

Ferry patrons will have two chances this week to speak out at public meetings -- tonight in Morehead City, Tuesday night in Southport -- about DOT plans to set higher rates for ferry tolls and commuter passes starting April 1.

Under orders from the General Assembly, DOT will start charging tolls on two commuter ferries now toll-free, and it will increase rates collected on three ferries where riders pay now (see 1/11/12 story with reader comments) and more in 1/4/12 blog post).

At this week's meetings and another one Feb. 15 in Grantsboro, DOT officials will hear public comment after they outline the options they're considering:

Currituck - Knotts Island (Currituck Sound)
Free ferry, 45 minutes. Will remain toll-free.

Swan Quarter - Ocracoke (Pamlico Sound)
Toll $15 for car & driver. 2 hours 30 minutes.
Proposed new toll $25 to $33, plus possible $5 passenger fare.
One-year commuter pass (now $150) proposed $300, $400 or $500.

Hatteras - Ocracoke (Hatteras Inlet)
Free ferry, 40 minutes. Will remain toll-free.

Bayview - Aurora (Neuse River)
Free ferry, 30 minutes.
Proposed new toll $10 or $12 for car & driver, plus possible $2 passenger fare.
Proposed one-year commuter pass $200, $400 or $500.

Cedar Island - Ocracoke (Pamlico Sound)
Toll $15 for car & driver. 2 hours 15 minutes.
Proposed new toll $25 to $33, plus possible $5 passenger fare.
One-year commuter pass (now $150) proposed $300, $400 or $500.

Cherry Branch - Minnesott Beach (Neuse River)
Free ferry, 20 minutes.
Proposed new toll $4 or $7 for car & driver, plus possible $1 passenger fare.
Proposed one-year commuter pass $150, $400 or $500.

Southport - Fort Fisher (Cape Fear River)
Toll $5 for car & driver. 35 minutes.
Proposed new toll $10 or $12, plus possible $2 passenger fare.
Proposed one-year commuter pass $200, $400 or $500.

Here are the public meeting locations:

Tonight (Monday, Jan. 30), 7 p.m.
Morehead City-Beaufort, NC No. 1710 Elks Lodge
400 Miller Farm Road, Morehead City
 
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m.
I.L.A. Union Hall
211 W. 10th St., Southport

Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
Pamlico Community College
Ned Everett Delamar Center Auditorium
5049 Highway 306 S., Grantsboro

Karen E. Fussell, a Wilmington native and a 22-year veteran of the state Department of Transportation, today became the first woman ever to be named a DOT division engineer when she was put in charge of all Highway Division work in the six-county Division Three.

Fussell has an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from N.C. State University and is a licensed professional engineer. She will oversee DOT employees in Brunswick, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender and Sampson counties.

“We are proud to name Karen as Division 3’s new division engineer,” Jim Trogdon, DOT chief operating officer, said in a news release. “Karen has proven her ability to manage large projects, engage the community and build effective and efficient teams.”

In her most recent job, Fussell was a resident engineer overseeing road projects in the Wilson area. She starts her new job Monday, in Division 3 office at Castle Hayne, at a salary of $115,232.

View US 70 Clayton Bypass in a larger map

The state Department of Transportation says it will continue for the next several years an unusual traffic lane change put in place last September as an experiment on westbound Interstate 40 at the U.S. 70 Clayton Bypass:

To make the morning rush hour run more smoothly, DOT closed one of three lanes on I-40 and one of two lanes on U.S. 70 as it merges with I-40. The lane slimming was called temporary in September, but DOT will install lane markings to make it semi-permanent on Wednesday.  Traffic studies indicate that the morning drive runs a bit smoother and faster with two lanes than it did with three lanes. ... [MORE]

Transit planners are nailing down details, including the locations of four Raleigh train stops, for a $655 million plan to run rush-hour commuter trains between Duke in West Durham and Garner. (See today's Road Worrier with reader comments).

You can read tons of details on the buses-commuter trains-light rail plans for Wake, Durham and Orange counties at the ourtransitfuture.com website.  It took some searching but I finally found the July 2011 Alternatives Analysis reports on this page.  (Note: When you see mention of the "Durham-Wake" corridor, that's the commuter trains.  There are separate light-rail studies for the "Durham-Orange" and "Wake" lines.)

The Wake County commissioners face a big vote in May (probably after the primary election) on whether to approve an ambitious plan for more buses, new commuter trains and new light rail trains in that chronological order. And whether to let voters decide in November ... [MORE].

NCDOT says it wants to get moving on long-sought improvements to Interstate 95, starting in 2016 with a project to add lanes along 60 busy miles between Lumberton in Robeson County and Interstate 40 in Johnston County.

The state expects to join Virginia in winning federal approval to pay for improvements to I-95 by collecting tolls from its drivers. A long-range plan to add lanes, rebuild interchanges and replace bridges is estimated to cost $4.4 billion.

The Federal Highway Administration recently approved an environmental assessment of NCDOT's plans for upgrading I-95 from Virginia to South Carolina. Public hearings are scheduled from Feb. 7 to Feb. 27. Details and documents are online at www.driving95.com.