The scenic route around Clayton

Channel 5 repors that inbound I-40 was a bit trafficacious this morning for Triangle commuters who have the bad luck to live in Johnston County and points east.

So?

Slow traffic is newsy because today's bottleneck was in the vicinity of the new US 70 Clayton Bypass, which opened for business yesterday.

The question:

Was this just another dreary I-40 day -- better than some mornings, worse than others? Or did the new bypass make it worse?

My tentative answer (pls click the Comment button to supply yours):

There probably wasn't enough traffic on the new bypass to make a difference on I-40 this morning.But once US 70 commuters start making the switch in droves. other I-40 drivers will suffer.

Some mornings, the I-40 backups start around Exit 306, where (old) U.S.
70 Business adds lots of cars and trucks and the interstate expands to
six lanes wide.

On other mornings, the slowdowns start farther out, where I-40 is just four lanes wide. That's how it was this morning.

The new bypass enters I-40 in that narrow four-lane stretch. Sooner or
later, when more drivers discover their new option, the new US 70
surely will add thousands of rush-hour vehicles to the skinny four-lane
part of I-40 -- traffic that previously showed up after I-40 becomes
six lanes wide.

This was the first morning the bypass became an option for commuters,
and indications are that traffic on the bypass itself was light.

So in the not too distant future, commuters and other motorists will
discover occasionally that it's faster to drive the old US 70 Business,
stoplights and all, than to use the new bypass combined with that
clogged four-lane stretch of I-40.

Beachgoers, don't worry. The US 70 Bypass is still the best route between Raleigh and points east.

Except when there's a wreck on I-40, we're talking about a problem that will be limited mostly to rush hour traffic.

DOT is years behind in plans to widen I-40 to ease this problem
(construction won't start before 2016!). But there's new real-time
technology in use here to help rush hour drivers choose the faster
route.

Watch for the electronic message boards that give live estimates of
travel times on both US 70 routes. They should give you plenty of time
to decide which way you'll go. Or call 511.

You also might want to bookmark DOT's traffic info / highway cameras page for this area.

Mouse over the camera icons for a fresh traffic snapshot.

Mouse over the color-coded circles (green fast, yellow slow, red slower) for estimated traffic speeds.

And let the rest of us know how it's going.