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NCDOT says it will put down some pavement reflectors this weekend to help drivers keep their place in shifting lanes on Interstate 40 between Harrison and Wade avenues in West Raleigh. The work is planned between 8 and 11 a.m. Sunday.
That's good news for nervous drivers on a stretch of I-40 that is being widened, a $49 million job that will be finished by July.
And about time. Work crews laid down fresh white stripes a few weeks ago on most of this stretch of I-40, but not all of it.
It can be pretty exciting, especially in the rain or in bad ligh conditions, when you find yourself trying to guess whether your lane just shifted a little to the left or a little to the right. NCDOT says:
With the NHL All-Star Game being held this weekend in Raleigh, and rain in the forecast for much of next week, further delaying the striping of the westbound lanes, it was decided to put the reflectors in place. They will make it easier for motorists driving at night or in rain to see where lanes have been shifted as part of the on-going project to widen six miles of I-40. Crews will refresh the existing temporary lane markings for the westbound lanes once the weather improves.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the
Comments
RE: THE SPEED OF NCDOT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS BEING COMPLETED
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 20:20 — beachbum3The speed with ncdot construction projects in north carolina are being ram thru to completion are a big part of the reason behind the sorry *ssed quality of the work that is being completed in such short time frames . Remember the I-540/15-501 SCREW UPS AN THE I-795 project as well as others THAT HAVE ENDED UP COSTING THE TAXPAYING CITIZENS OF THIS STATEMILLIONS OF EXTRA TAXPAYERS DOLLARS CAN ANYONE OUT THERE SAY 22 MILLION DOLLARS TO FIX SCREW UPSTHE NCDOT ALSO NEEDS TO ALLOW IT'S INPSECTOR TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALY DO THEIR JOBS AN FOR THE NCDOT TO PUT A STOP TO THE PRIVITIZATION OF SUCH HIGHWAY WORK/INPSECTIONS THAT ARE IN FACT REALLY NON-EXISTENCE THANK YOU
Wild-west jockeying
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 17:16 — dwcattyI was in Connecticut over Christmas and was never happier to return to NC and the well marked and well signed roads. Exits there would have one sign, about 100 yards before the exit ramp. Talk about wild-west jockeying! And lane markers were non-existent in many locations. I was glad to get home to our well marked and signed highways.
dwcatty!
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 19:15 — chaboardFancy running into you here.
Benchmarking other states,contract letting process & oversight
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 16:52 — mikeychawlI totally agree with PlainAndSimple - there are many states who have mastered the construction process while providing safe travel through the process and the construction zone. Get out of NC and see what the world has to offer in roadbuilding.
Keep exits on ramp/off ramp access to a standard frequency - I-40 between I-540 and NC 147 is a nightbmare of lane jockeying, with Page Rd, Miami, Davis and NC 147 all within close distances. I see accidents and near misses in that stretch every day.
Too many stop lights - Check out the EU countries and the roundabouts - done properly, these allow convergnence of several roads without energy-inefficiency and idling cars waiting for ill-timed traffic signals. Massachusetts has roundabouts for roads that intersect with freeway offramps. Allows you to slow down but keep moving..very efficient.
Another area for possible improvement - the contract letting process, the methods and resulting timing for construction and the oversight by NCDOT to prevent the costly errors such as the I-40 and I-795 paving fiascos.
DOT needs to get around some
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 16:08 — PlainAndSimpleNC DOT needs to travel outside the state a little. There are lots of places that know how to do construction without causing the level of confusion and danger that this project has. Maybe the DOT managers should take road trips once in a while.
At the same time, maybe they could find out how to engineer and mark a major roadway split in a way that avoids wild-west jockeying in the last hundred yards.