Diverging diamond for 40/42 exit

THANK YOU!

 

I'm just saying split the congestion not move it from one place to another. I want what's best for the community!

 

Not mad at all. I actually feel bad for the spot they're in, but the logic being used to 'gripe' is misguided. I fully expect them to speak they're mind and make sure they make the most of the bad situation, but complaining about conspiracies and under the table deals isn't going to get them anywhere. Acting like this is all 'out of the blue' is also just not believable. Creating a constructive dialogue with NCDOT about how to best manage the situation is the best route at this point. Hopefully an attorney has been hired. I have seen projects like this look dire before and the person ended up with a fairly decent situation (not the best, but decent) due to a little creativity.

 

You are right. The traffic situation is so bad, this project will happen regardless. However, I am sure it can be influenced with little nips and tucks here and there to make sure it has the least impact possible.

Your last comment gives me pause though. It seems sarcastic, but I am not sure. Regardless, that is what got us here and local leaders are to blame. They should be paying attention so that it doesn't happen again.

 

Somewhat sarcastic because this fix will probably just lead to more growth

 

How do you propose "fixing" more growth?

 

What I mean is, this project is desperately needed, however once it is complete, there will be so many more houses and residents in the area we will still be in a bind. I am not against the project at, I am for growth, and I don't know that there is a perfect solution, I doubt there is one.

 

There will be more growth for sure and there will be more complaining about it happening! Just the way it is.

I’m surprised that we haven’t seen more building on Cornwallis! Just before the housing bubble burst there was an item on the county commissioners agenda to consider a rezoning request for 900+ new homes on the land just the other side of the bridge up to 42. It was pulled because of the collapse but I’m surprised it hasn’t come back.

 

The Commissioners have changed the development ordinances limiting the amount of units per acre and access to sewer. Many of these tracts are either not suitable for septic or are too valuable to develop at 1.5 units per acre.

 

Does anybody know if Phase II of Wellesley Subdivision on McLemore will include townhomes? They just broke ground last week, and word is that townhomes will be built there in addition to single family homes. I can't find the site plans anywhere to verify this.

 

yes. what I hear

 

Thanks.

 

Did they mention in the meeting anything about how long 40/42 would be closed during the construction/cutover/change? I guess if new bridges were built along side the existing like it looks in the map, it wouldn't be too long.

 

I think this is a distinct advantage to the approach. The new bridge can be built while the old one remains in service and if there is any outage it would be very minimal while they 'cutover' to the new one. Maybe a few days or more at the most.

 

So I finally got a response from Mr. Deaton who permitted me to share his response:

Please let me apologize for the delay in getting to your question.


Between the deluge of comments and my going on vacation in October, I’m still wading through a pile of emails.



To your question: Why a new interchange at Cleveland Road and not Cornwallis ?


Well, on the one hand, you are correct that both interchanges provide some benefit (relief) for the interchange at NC 42 & I-40. We have an entire group of traffic-nerds who LOVE to work on what we call “congestion management”. These folks are really smart and great at what they do (I am not one of them). Anyway, they ran computer models and looked at traffic counts and the local road network and came to a pretty clear conclusion that the Cornwallis interchange (combined with the improvement at NC 42, but no interchange at Cleveland) would indeed draw some of the traffic from the NC 42 interchange. However, when they ran the same scenario for an interchange at Cleveland Road, that one drew a demonstrably larger share of the traffic FROM the NC 42 interchange. And it’s that effect of “drawing or attracting” traffic FROM NC 42, that was the most significant factor in our decision to go with the Cleveland Road interchange. The model-runs showed that not enough folks who wanted to get to the Cleveland Road area, would travel 2-miles further south and then work their way back up to their neighborhoods. By the way, our “design year” is 2040, so that’s the year that we are looking at to have the project continue to provide benefits and improvements to traffic conditions out there.


To paint the picture a bit more: Much of the problem at the NC 42 interchange is the result of folks who want to get to Cleveland road and beyond, trying to access NC 42 and then take the left-turn onto Cleveland Road. The alternative that we chose, will improve the NC 42 interchange with a Diverging Diamond (which has a simpler traffic signal system) and allow a better transfer of traffic onto and off of the interchange. There will be more “green-time” when it comes to waiting at traffic signals. Further: The “Collector-Distributor” system that will be in place linking Cleveland Road and NC 42 will allow a commuter to take the exit for NC 42 (coming home in the P.M.), then slide along-side I-40 (separated from I-40 by a barrier or median), then accessing Cleveland Road. So there will be no intermingling of traffic between I-40 and Cleveland Road. Think of this as one stretched out interchange with the NC 42 ramps on the north and the Cleveland Ramps on the South, and no direct access in between. It’s intended and designed to enable folks who want to get to the Cleveland area neighborhoods/vicinity, to bypass the NC 42 interchange and get right to Cleveland – without opening Cleveland up as a traditional “interchange”.



In addition, since the Cleveland Road corridor is developing quickly with loads of traffic already using it, we felt that there would be less of an impact putting the access there, than down at Cornwallis Road, where there is less traffic and less intense development. Cornwallis could still be a future project, but it will be some time before the need gets to that level.



Our modeling shows that with the addition of the Cleveland Road interchange, the NC 42 interchange will continue to operate at a much better “level of service” until after the year 2060.



So all considered, the Cleveland interchange combined with the NC 42 improvements, made more sense and provided more benefit to the issue of traffic congestion and the ability of folks to access many existing origins and destinations in an already quickly developing area.



Hope that my long-winded explanation helps. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have more questions or need more info.


The project, in combination with the widening of i-40 up to the beltline, will likely begin construction in late 2018 or very early 2019.



Bob Deaton

NCDOT-Project Delivery

 

Best solution would be for the State to buy most of the homes in the subdivisions, design an area that could handle the new homes and move the people to the new homes. NOT WORKABLE!

 

There's more green-time because there are less iterations of the light cycle. In a typical intersection, there are 4 different green-red cycles (with left turns and straight). In a diverging diamond there are only 2 green-red cycles since there are no turns at the lights. So that makes the green-time more overall, in all directions.

 

Question for Mr. Deaton: Are those the same "Traffic Nerds" that designed the new intersections along Hwy 55 in Holly Springs?

If they are ....... We're in for some major morning and evening traffic jams.